by B. T. Narro
“I’ll try,” Leo promised.
She laughed again and kissed his head before returning to her cooking.
“I came to Jatn looking for your father. It had been many years since I’d seen my brother, but I had hoped he was here. He always talked about this place as a haven for criminals and people with false identities. That’s us now, I realized when we escaped prison. Even my stubborn brother knew the same.” She changed her voice as she spoke, almost as if she was putting on a show. Rygen seemed to enjoy it, giggling at times. But Leo still felt it strange to be talking with their aunt as if they’d known each other for years. He wasn’t sure he could give up trying to find his father and put that entirely on her. He knew little about her still.
“I can’t describe how good it feels to have new, proper, identification papers with my new name now.” She danced over to Leo and rubbed his head again. “Thank you very much, Leo. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. He didn’t know why he felt so uncomfortable, but he had a feeling his brother would be able to voice his concerns better than Leo could.
Rygen asked in a whisper, “How did you escape the king’s prison?”
“You don’t have to whisper, sweet thing.” Then Miqu raised her voice as if to announce to the neighbors, “We’re just telling fanciful stories here.” She winked at Rygen again. “I have my proper papers now—all right, your question. Oh! Leo, you never told me what you want to call me.”
“Miqu is fine,” he said solemnly.
“All right, if you wish,” she said in a facetious voice as if teasing Leo. “Cheer up, nephew. Things will only be easier from now on.”
He was still having trouble believing that. “Are you going to be living here? Because there’s no bed. Rygen’s staying here.” And Leo didn’t want to share a bed with his brother.
“Oh no. I’ll be fine in my own room in my place of lodging. Now that I have papers, I can actually find work. To answer your question, pretty girl, I didn’t do much to escape prison.”
“We should wait for my brother,” Leo interrupted. He knew everything would be repeated otherwise, and there was something off about this woman that was starting to make him nervous. He hoped it was only because she was so different from their father, completely opposite of what he expected DVend Quim’s sister to be like.
“You’re right.” She flicked her finger. “The two of you should tell me everything about yourselves. Let’s start with my strong and handsome nephews. I’m very proud of my brother. He did well with you and…Andar’s his name, right? Then I want to hear about you, sweet thing. Don’t think I’d forget about you.”
She seemed to have a habit of asking questions to which she didn’t care to receive the answers. When Leo had read about this woman in the book that told the tale of his family’s strife with the king, he remembered details about how she’d struggled to help the family. She wasn’t good with anything related to military strategy, and she couldn’t do the math required to keep books. She’d tried so hard that she’d cried upon failure, but she just didn’t have it in her to be like her brother. They were very different, Leo was realizing, but she was family.
His father had taught him a lesson that Leo would not soon forget. “The only people you can trust are yourself and your family.”
Watching Yune speak was like watching a play. There was some fun to it, but it was exhausting, and Leo was already so tired. He took a breath to gather his stamina and started telling her all about himself. He told her about living beside Rygen, working on the farm together, and then Rygen leaving to work at the Bookbinding Guild. Leo’s dream had been to work there as well, but so much had happened after he finally accomplished it. Now other worries kept him up at night. He surprised himself by divulging his fears about making enough coin, keeping their home, and his biggest fear of all—what would happen because of the army being in the city. Leo knew his brother’s involvement with them was far from over, unfortunately, and it even seemed as if Leo and Rygen might one day be involved.
Miqu listened to everything without reply as she finished preparing their supper. Leo didn’t know what she had done exactly, but it tasted much better than when he and Rygen made the stew themselves.
“I see a lot of my brother in you, Leo,” his aunt told him. “You worry like a grown man, yet you’re only a child. Don’t take so much onto yourself. Everything will be fine.” She offered a smile but no other words.
“Thank you,” Leo muttered, feeling none the better.
“Now you, beautiful,” Miqu said with practically a chirp.
“Leo already described my life very well.”
“Yes, but there must be so much more to what makes Rygen Rygen. Tell me about your joys, your fears, your dreams. Tell me everything!”
“All right,” she said with a nervous laugh.
Rygen and Miqu spoke much, but Leo already knew everything that Rygen described about herself. She enjoyed reading. She, like Leo, feared losing her job and not having enough coin. She dreamed of seeing her creature, Jin, again soon and talked about the strange connection she felt at great length. By the time she was done and beginning to ask questions about summoning, Andar entered.
Leo was so happy to see his brother again that he almost jumped from his chair when he went over in preparation of giving him a hug. Andar would figure out what they should be worried about concerning their aunt. Before Leo could even hug his brother, though, his aunt was already there wrapping her arms around him. “I’m very happy to see you again, other nephew. Andar Litxer, right?”
“Uh, yes.” His arms dangled.
“Are you hungry?” Miqu asked. “There isn’t much stew left, but I saved some for you.”
“I ate, thank you.”
“You can call me Miqu or Aunty, though I’m sure you know my real name.” She gave him a nudge with her arm.
Andar quickly closed the door.
“Relax,” she laughed. “You’re just like your brother, who is just like my brother.” She showed him her identification papers. “I have my papers now, so everything will be fine. Relax, relax! Sit, take off your boots. You must be exhausted after your ordeal.” She guided Andar over to a chair.
“All right,” he said with a nervous laugh.
“I just finished hearing all about Leo and Rygen. Now I want to hear about you, Andar.”
He had a long sigh. There were dark circles under his eyes. “It’s been a long day, Aunty. How about you tell us about yourself instead?”
“Are you sure?” She cocked her head to the side.
“Completely.”
She lost some of her energy as she took in a slow breath. “I don’t know exactly when I came to the city, but it feels to be a while ago now. I knew I needed false papers to find work, and eventually I met a man named Raenik who could falsify papers for me, but he had demands I did not want to meet.”
“Raenik?” Leo asked. “Does he have blue eyes and he combs his hair back?”
“How do you know him?” Her brow creased.
“He’s met with Gartel a few—”
“Gartel Lusitan?” Miqu interrupted.
“Yes.”
“What could he want with Raenik?”
“I don’t know.” It seemed strange for Leo to be answering that for his aunt. Wasn’t she here to help them instead of the other way around?
“Raenik has made himself rich by falsifying papers,” Miqu said. “I’m sure he disobeys the laws in other ways as well. But when I met Gartel, he clearly was not the same type of man. Has he changed?”
Leo lifted his eyebrows at Rygen. She nodded in silent agreement that Leo should tell Miqu.
“We think so,” Leo said. “The army stole coin from him.”
“A lot of it,” Rygen added.
Andar asked, “Could Raenik be the man Father went to for false papers?”
“Could be,” Miqu said.
They were all silent for a moment.
“It could be
dangerous to work in the Bookbinding Guild,” Miqu told them.
“There’s no other place we can work,” Rygen informed her.
Miqu nodded. “I know. Just be careful.”
“We will,” Rygen said. “Will you tell us now how you escaped prison?”
“Aha, I never did answer that now did I? First, I must ask you a difficult question. You are so beautiful, dear, that I worry. Have you ever been bothered by men?”
“One time,” Rygen answered quickly and confidently. “But Leo and Andar helped me, as I’m sure they would again.”
“I’m glad to hear that. When you’re alone, though, you must be careful. I learned that life can be very difficult in the city for a woman. It’s important that we never ignore another woman if she is in need of help. Many times a man believes his target will not defend herself, and he’s especially not prepared for another woman to involve herself. The surprise alone can change his mind. You are too young to worry about this now, but it is something you should remember as you get older.” Miqu exhaled slowly and shook her head. “I’m getting ahead of myself. Do you have any idea what I might be talking about? No, right?”
“I do,” Rygen said.
Miqu let out her breath. “I wish you didn’t, but I suppose I am glad you do. Now, where was I? My escape. There was one person responsible for helping me and your father escape. Because you read my story, you might remember her name: Karlinda.”
“The most beautiful woman in the world,” Rygen said.
“Yes, but I fear that’s not the truth anymore. If she’s even still alive after helping us, then her life must be full of misery and hardship. She’d gained the trust of the royal family, the Orellos, only to betray them later.” Miqu looked mostly at Leo as she spoke. “Your father and I had nothing when she helped us get out of there. We fled back to Halin to collect what belongings we could, knowing we were pursued. Your father got your mother and Andar, and rode out of there. We disagreed about where to go. He thought Jatn was the right city, but I felt that it was still too close to the castle and they would know to look for us there. We decided separating would be best, for it was more suspicious to enter a city as a group than as a single family. I was in Lectin for years. I did many things I wasn’t proud of for food and shelter. I never found work because they’re strict about showing papers, unlike some guilds are here in Jatn. Eventually I was able to make my way here, where I did more things I was not proud of to survive.”
“Like what?” Andar asked.
Miqu frowned at him. “Not only are they embarrassing, Andar, but I’d rather not remember them.”
Leo found his heart opening to his aunt as he watched her close up. It was then that he realized why he had been concerned. He had feared she would get them in trouble because she seemed to enjoy talking about everything on her mind. She’d seemed as if she hadn’t lived in the same world as the rest of them, as if she hadn’t been affected by the Analyte betrayal of their family, as if she hadn’t experienced poverty. But it only took a moment, a single expression of pain, for Leo to realize that his aunt had gone through the same troubles that Leo’s father had. It had affected her in the same ways. She knew when to keep things to herself. The only difference was that she knew when to share as well. She knew when to enjoy life. Father had never learned those skills, which had led to many arguments between him and Andar over the past year.
Leo hugged his aunt.
“Oh?” she said in surprise. “Oh thank you, Leo. That is sweet of you, but I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Leo stepped away and saw her smiling at him. What surprised him, though, was Rygen grinning ear to ear when he took his seat again.
“Before the army came,” Miqu said, “I worked at the Full Well Inn but not in any official manner. I helped out the owner in exchange for board, but I made no coin to my name. Everything will be easier now that I have papers. I plan to find work as I write my next book.”
“What will it be about?” Rygen asked.
Miqu smirked at her. “Oh, nothing interesting,” she said sarcastically. “Just a couple small things called Artistry and Esitry, and the dark realm.”
Rygen gasped. “Can you tell us everything you know right now!”
“Another day, beautiful. All of you should be in bed by now!”
“We should,” Andar agreed. “But at least finish your tale.”
“Oh, I have nothing interesting left to tell,” she said as she let out her breath. “We will have plenty of time to talk later if you think of any questions. Come here, all of you.” She opened her arms.
The three of them walked toward her. She wrapped her arms around them as much as she could.
“I’m so proud of all of you.”
Then she waved goodbye and was gone, just like that.
It wasn’t a moment after that Rygen announced to Leo and Andar, “I’m going to start work on a farm.”
“What? Why?” Andar asked.
“I don’t want you or Leo to talk me out of it, because I know you can.”
“There’s no reason for you to work on a farm,” Andar said. “You know the army will provide payment to the Farmers’ Guild for us to stay here as long as I dig for the commander.”
“That’s exactly why I need to do it. You almost died there today. You should not go back tomorrow or ever again after. I’ve been thinking about this for days now, and I’ve made up my mind. Meeting Miqu helped me realize that even your family can do little to improve our situation. It has to be up to us, and I haven’t done enough. You and Leo cannot work on a farm because of Rhenol’s ban of your family, so I want to do it.”
Leo didn’t know what he could say. He felt as though his heart was being pulled in two directions and might tear in half. He agreed with Rygen that Andar should no longer go into that dreadful hole again, but sending Rygen to work on a farm was condemning her to a life of misery.
She would be safe, though, he realized. Andar would not. This was the right decision.
It didn’t seem as if his brother had any words either, staring at Rygen with his mouth open as if wanting to speak.
“Tomorrow morning I’m going to the farm southwest of here,” she continued. “I do not know the name of the overseer there, but I will learn it along with all the tasks that he requires of me. I realize it’s farther than Rhenol’s farm, but I’d rather walk to the farther farm than deal with him again.”
“I didn’t know you hated him,” Leo said. “You always obeyed everything he told you to do.”
“You did, too, and didn’t you hate him?”
“I suppose, yes,” Leo realized.
“Every overseer will be the same,” Andar said. “Our father taught us that.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Rygen said.
“You really don’t have to do this.” Andar leaned down. “I want to go back. I want to be near the rift. I’m fairly certain I’ve felt Artistry, and I wish to train with it.”
“What if the rope breaks again?” Rygen asked.
“Then Leo will come for me.” He looked toward Leo for reassurance, but Leo couldn’t agree with his brother. He had no idea if he had it in him to detect the next time Andar would be in danger. He would rather not risk it.
Andar put his hands on his hips. “Don’t you agree with me?” he asked Leo.
“I don’t disagree,” he said, taking a lesson from his brother. Andar had used the same line many times when his father had lectured Andar and tried to get him to agree with his lesson. “And I don’t disagree with Rygen, either.”
“The three of us will never make enough coin for a real life,” Rygen said. “We need your income, Andar…from all the places you can get it. Don’t you miss…taking it from the rich?”
“I never enjoyed pickpocketing. It’s dangerous.”
That came as a surprise to Leo. Was his brother lying? “But you’ve always been proud of what you take.”
“I am proud because I know how much it
helps us. That doesn’t mean I enjoy the process.” Andar put up his hands. “It’s late. We should all get to bed and go to our normal places of work tomorrow.”
“Andar.” Rygen waited until she had his gaze. “The only reason I’m going back to the Bookbinding Guild in the morning is to tell Gartel that I’m going to start work on a farm. If you decide to keep digging, then that is up to you. At least now you have the choice.”
“Don’t do that to yourself.”
“Andar, please!” she shouted.
Andar took a step back.
Rygen’s eyes glistened with tears. “Please don’t try to convince me not to. I know this is the right decision.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A week had gone by and Yune had not returned. It came as a disappointment to Leo, but more so as a surprise. She had shown great worry and care, but so had Gartel toward Rygen.
The morning after Yune’s visit, Rygen had begun her work at the Bookbinding Guild until Gartel came in. Then she went into his office to tell him of her plan to start work on a farm. It was a short meeting. She came out and gave Leo a hug, and then she was gone.
He was glad he still saw her at night, but he missed working beside her. He had begun to feel so alone these days. There was something different about the Bookbinding Guild now. People didn’t talk to each other as much.
Although no one had spoken much with Leo in the past, he at least had enjoyed watching others converse. He missed seeing people smile and laugh, even if he wasn’t part of the jest.
There didn’t seem to be anyone to blame except for the army, but Andar spoke highly of the commander. If not Rolan Kipper, Leo didn’t know who else he could blame. He felt that his anger needed a source. Without one, each day had brought more frustration.
Andar still worked in the Tisary. Leo worried about him every day, but he’d assured Leo that he’d investigated the rope closely and so had the commander. There was no sign of anyone cutting into the thread so it would eventually break. It looked as if it had ripped naturally. They would replace the rope every week now to ensure that did not happen again.
