“It reminds me a little of Bergen,” Donte said.
Akira looked at him. “Bergen has mountains like this?”
He smiled. “Actually, they are much taller and there are many grassy valleys.”
She stood for a moment, obviously deep in thought. Finally she sighed. “I wish I could travel.” She turned and started down a steep trail.
Donte said nothing. If she knew these trails so well, she must have done more traveling than most people in Bergen. In fact, she had been traveling when she was captured. Maybe she meant in other colonies. That was a strange thing for a person to say who believed the colonies should be isolated from each other. Once again it occurred to him that the Lochfowk might resent his presence - perhaps even question his treatment of Akira. It might be a good idea to let her travel the remainder of the way home alone and strike off for home on his own. It was a brief thought. Of course he couldn’t do that. He had promised to talk to their leader, Sima, Akira’s brother.
Donte lifted his head and looked around. Something was stalking them.
“Akira.” He called softly.
She stopped and turned around. “What is it?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Stay close to me.” His gaze scoured the rocks around them, but he saw no evidence that anything was out there.
Akira dropped back and walked so close to him that it was difficult to maneuver the narrow trail. “I don’t see anything.” She said, still watching the trail with intense interest.
A small rock bounced down the embankment ahead of them. Donte gently pushed Akira behind him, speaking softly to her. “Do people live here?”
“I don’t know.” She stayed close to him. “There are wild caprines.”
He shook his head again. “It’s a human.”
The words had no more escaped his mouth than a man stepped onto the trail ahead of them. He wore white trousers and shirt and rested one foot on a large rock, one hand resting on his thigh. For a moment they stared at each other.
The man’s brown eyes, black hair and golden skin tone declared that he originated in Libertad, but there was something more. Donte knew that face. He had seen it in pictures in his father’s house. They thought he died thirty years ago. Donte finally found his voice. “Kenyon?”
A huge smile dominated the man’s face. “Then it is you, Donte. I heard you had been executed.” He glanced at Akira. “I recognized that head of red hair and your walk from a distance, but I couldn’t figure out who you had with you. I had to get close, and even then I couldn’t believe my eyes.”
Akira exhaled a sigh of relief. “Kenyon, you frightened me!” She looked at Donte. “You two know each other?”
Kenyon gave her a wry smile. “We’ve never met, but we know each other. We’re half-brothers.”
Akira looked back and forth from Kenyon to Donte as if comparing and analyzing. “I can see a physical resemblance.” She gave Kenyon a sour look.
Kenyon shrugged, turning his attention back to Donte. “Obviously you escaped.”
“They let him go,” Akira said. “He was instructed to take me home and plead their case.”
Kenyon studied Akira for a moment. “And you thought that was fair?”
“They’ll make an exception in his case.”
Kenyon grimaced. “Why? Because he saved your life? I doubt it.”
“What are you talking about?” Donte asked.
Kenyon frowned at Akira. “You didn’t tell him?” His gaze riveted on Donte. “It’s a law here. If you come in uninvited, then you don’t leave…ever.”
Donte looked at Akira for confirmation, but the way she avoided his eyes told him it was true. He turned his attention back to Kenyon. “Dad wondered what happened to you.”
Kenyon shrugged again. “Yeah, well, their no-contact laws didn’t leave me much choice.”
Donte frowned. “But no one is watching you now. Why don’t you leave?”
Kenyon laughed without humor. “It wasn’t always like this. I spent years in chains because I refused to agree to stay here. I thought it was better to live here in partial freedom than to spend the rest of my life in chains. I vowed to stay here.”
Donte clamped his teeth together to prevent the vile thoughts from escaping his mouth. He should leave now, before they found him. He turned a bitter scowl on Akira. She had betrayed him.
Akira met his gaze. “It isn’t true, Donte. You have a mission here besides bringing me home. You were invited - by me.”
That much was true, but at least she could have prepared him. He wasn’t going to stay. Once he had completed his mission, he would leave - one way or another.
“You make a decision,” Kenyon persisted. “You stay or you die.”
Donte stepped around Kenyon and continued on the trail. “Then I will die.”
Kenyon turned and fell into step with him. “Use your head, boy. If you leave now…”
“I’m not leaving until I finish my mission,” Donte said. “And then I intend to leave or die trying.”
Kenyon looked back at Akira. “Do you ever think of anyone but yourself, you…” His description of her was both profane and vulgar.
Donte stopped and gave Kenyon a stern look. “Don’t talk to her that way.”
Kenyon’s brows shot up. “You defend her after what she did to you?”
Akira looked like she was going to cry. Donte frowned at Kenyon. “I know you didn’t learn to talk to a woman that way at home.”
Kenyon shrugged. “I tell it like it is. You should hear the way she talks about men.”
Donte kept his voice even. “It isn’t about who she is or what she says. It’s about who you are and how you represent others.”
Kenyon dropped back behind them and eventually left the trail. Donte couldn’t blame him. He had developed a habit of lecturing others about their morals. This morning he had nearly thrown his morals away for Akira. Who was he to say what was right and what was wrong?
They marched down the side of the mountain and into a valley in silence. From the corner of his eye, he saw Akira watching him. He wasn’t going to lecture her. Kenyon might be tethered by a vow, but he wasn’t, and he intended to make sure Kenyon got back to his family. Why did the Lochfowk think they were any different than the Nyumbani?
A man mounted on an equine came across the valley toward them, leading another equine. Kenyon stopped beside them, his dark gaze resting on Donte.
“If I can’t stop you from going, at least I can take you in style.” He handed the lines of the spare equine to Donte.
“Thank you,” Donte said. He helped Akira on the equine and swung up behind her. He nudged the equine into motion.
The trail became a road and they gradually passed more farms…and lakes. He had never seen so many lakes. There were structures that held huge flat arms. Akira explained that they caught the wind and there were stones inside used to grind grain. The farms grew smaller as they neared the center of the colony. After a while, cottages replaced the farm, standing side-by-side, much like the ones in Bergen. Kenyon stayed with them as they approached a large complex. At Akira’s request, they were allowed to enter a large gate surrounding the building.
An armed guard approached them, his concerned regard falling on Akira first, then on Kenyon and finally resting on Donte. He let his gaze drift over the robe before coming to rest on Donte’s eyes. He said nothing to either man, turning his attention to Akira instead. “We are happy to see you have safely returned.”
Donte slid off the equine and helped Akira down. She took his arm and led him to the door. Donte glanced back and found Kenyon following them.
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” Kenyon said, his mouth twisted in a sour smile.
The entrance to the building opened to a large lobby. Akira took them to a door that opened into a large hallway with doors at intervals. A door at the end of the hall opened and a woman stepped into the hall. She gasped when she saw them.
“Akira!”
she cried.
“Sima!” Akira answered and raced to meet her. The two hugged and finally Akira turned and held out a hand to Donte. This is the man who rescued me, Sima. Donte, the Prince of Bergen. Donte, this is my sister, President Sima.”
Donte wasn’t sure how to greet a woman president. She held out a hand, palm up. I am grateful for your efforts.”
Donte gripped her arm. “I am pleased to meet you.”
Sima’s gaze passed Donte and fixed on Kenyon. “Why are you here?”
Kenyon met her gaze in a bold way. “I wanted to make sure you treated my brother with respect.”
Sima’s gaze shot back to Donte. “You are his brother?”
Donte released her arm. “Yes, we share the same father - Quade, President of Libertad.”
Her reflective gaze went from Donte to Kenyon and back again. She glanced at Akira. “He saved your life?”
Akira nodded. “He has a message for you from the Nyumbani.”
“A message?” Sima echoed, her curious gaze returning to Donte. “I heard that they executed you.”
Donte smiled and rubbed his neck. “It was too close for comfort.”
She looked at his neck, as if expecting to see blood oozing from a cut. Her gaze came back to his face, studying every detail before resting on his eyes.
Donte met her gaze, waiting for her reaction.
“Follow me.” She turned back to the door. She led them down a short corridor and into a room with a large round desk. “Wait here while I gather the council. They are all here right now, so we might as well get it over with.”
Kenyon glanced at Donte and grimaced as he spoke in the language of Libertad. “This is not good.”
Donte pulled out a chair and sat at the table. He certainly wasn’t in the best mental state to defend himself. Physically, he was dirty and in the wrong clothes to be successful as a representative of the Nyumbani. Likely he would have little time to speak, anyway.
Akira sat on one side of Donte and Kenyon sat on the other. It was an anxious wait for the roundup, but eventually Sima arrived with 4 council members. Donte, Kenyon and Akira stood.
Sima introduced Donte first, not as the Prince of Bergen, but as Donte, Kenyon’s half-brother. He would have preferred to face them alone, simply as Donte, but he had to make the best of what he had.
Sima began introducing Donte to the council.
“Donte,” she said, indicating an old man with a beard. “This is Biast. He represents our farmers.”
Donte shook the man’s hand, meeting his faded green gaze. “I am pleased to meet you.”
The next council member was a young girl named Fia who represented the school system. Donte clasped her forearm arm and smiled “Fia.” She looked surprised for a moment, but returned his smile as she gripped his arm. She seemed surprised that he knew she was a mascot. He couldn’t say how he knew, but he always knew when the woman he met was a mascot.
The third council member was an old woman who looked into his eyes with a stern expression, as though there was nothing he might say to her that she had not already heard. She represented their aging population. Donte shook her hand, and with a slight bow of respect, said “It is an honor.”
The last member was a young man named Chait, a representative of the mascot association for men. Donte initiated the forearm shake, but Chait shook his hand instead. His eyes were a cold clear green and by the expression on his face, he had a score to settle. Donte nodded and released his hand, turning back to Sima.
She ignored Chait. “You all know why we are here so let’s sit down and get started.”
Donte glanced at Kenyon, unsure if he was supposed to begin. Kenyon shrugged. A glance at Akira gave him no more information or assurance. She refused to look at him. Sima began the questioning, without ceremony.
“Tell me, Akira. What did this young man do to save your life?”
Akira opened her mouth several times to speak, but shut it. Finally she managed a brief explanation. “He started by killing Farasi before he could order my execution.”
Sima shifted her gaze to Donte. “You did this to save her life?”
“Partly.” Donte said.
She nodded. “Then it wasn’t a selfless act for her benefit.”
Donte looked her square in the eye. “No.”
She studied him a moment before shifting her gaze back to Akira. “In what other way did he save your life?”
Akira gnawed on her lower lip for a moment, her gaze seeking Donte’s. If he planned to get out of Lochfowk alive, he’d best not depend on her defense.
Donte leaned forward, addressing Sima. “May I explain?”
Sima leaned back in her chair, her full attention on him. “I wish someone would.”
Donte began with the killing of Liana and Bjorn, and the reason he was in Nyumbani. As he told the story, he looked at each of the council members in turn. Without the full story, they would not understand his motive.
He told Sima the way Farasi treated his daughter and granddaughter. She leaned forward in her chair, and listened through the capture and treatment of Akira. Finally he paused and looked at Akira. “In front of a crowd, the way they treat their criminals, they made her kneel with her head on a post so that they could remove her head. She was brave, not crying or begging like some did. They were waiting for one thing, the kill order from Farasi.” He looked at each of the horrified council members before concluding. “I killed him before he could give that order.”
Sima turned her attention to Akira. “I didn’t know. I couldn’t imagine such barbaric behavior.” She turned her attention back to Donte. “It doesn’t surprise me that she was brave, though.” She frowned. “But I heard you were executed for assassinating Farasi.”
Donte looked into her eyes. “I was only seconds away from execution when they decided to take another course of action. It was the new government that decided Akira would be returned to her home. They decided to send me with her over the mountains.”
Sima nodded. “Because you are mountain bred.”
“Yes, and because they wanted me to express their regret about the raid, and Akira’s capture, to the Lochfowk. The new government wants peace. They need the patience of Lochfowk as they reform. Any retaliation would distract and possibly destroy their efforts”
Biast stroked his beard as he listened. When Donte finished, he spoke. “What about the food and equines they stole? Will they return these?”
“I was not sent here to negotiate those things,” Donte said. “I can tell you from personal observance that they are starving. The food and equines they stole went to Farasi’s raiders, not to the humans of Nyumbani.”
The old man frowned. “They were given a fertile land with an abundance of food and water. Are they too lazy to work the land?”
Donte was aware of Kenyon’s intent gaze. He glanced at each of the council members again as he spoke. “It was the decision of The Parliament to give the Nyumbani colonists the least assistance because they felt the abundance of food and water was a distinct advantage for that colony. They were given no beasts of burden. They were expected to catch and tame the wildlife. They were given no equipment to farm the land and no seeds because food was available everywhere naturally. But without the equipment, they were unable to keep pace with the jungle of growth. They fought floods and droughts. The animals they caught proved to be of little value for farming. They were hardest hit with the plague because their medical orders were survival of the fittest. In actuality, they had less than any other colony.”
Chait snorted. “That was three centuries ago. The Parliament has been gone for thirty years.” He looked at the other council members. “This is an excuse for the raids. They could have adjusted by now if it had not been so easy to take from others.”
Donte waited for the council to consider the information. Finally Sima turned to Donte. “Have you anything more to say in their defense?”
Donte shook his head. “I am not defending their
raids. That was the work of Farasi’s raiders. I am trying to give you all the facts so that you can make an informed decision.” He turned to Chait. “The Nyumbani were originally fishermen. They are now excellent seamen. They were the first to make contact and trade with other colonies - even before The Parliament left. Their assigned government was Monarchy. Things were progressing well until Farasi got the plague and went insane. It wasn’t simply other colonies that he turned on. He turned on his own people as well.” He shifted his gaze to Fia. “They lacked the educational foundation that other colonies had and Farasi, in his insanity, insisted that education would create unrest among the colonists. He ordered all books burned.” He returned his attention to Sima. “The Nyumbani are good hard-working people who want to progress peacefully. They aren’t asking for your help. They are merely asking you not to interfere while they try to stand on their own.”
Moire spoke for the first time. “You make a good case for them, Donte, but how can we be sure that they will not go back to raiding?”
Donte nodded. “That’s a good question, and one I can’t answer with any assurance. I can tell you that some of Farasi’s raiders escaped from the new government and came after Akira and me with the intent to kill us before we could get to Lochfowk. The new Nyumbani government sent a militia after them, into Anialwch to get them. I would also like to note that the Anialwch captured the raiders and peacefully turned them over to the Nyumbani for punishment. They agreed to send a representative to a conference that King Neirin intends to host.”
Sima leaned forward, her arms resting on the table. “I know nothing of a conference.”
Donte smiled. “I’m not surprised. He only spoke of it a few days ago and I was elected to invite you to send a representative. I haven’t had much opportunity to do so until now.”
Akira finally found her voice. “Donte has focused on all the things he was entrusted to tell us. No one could tell it like Donte because no one has the language skills, experience and education that he has, let alone the temperament. We pride ourselves on a good education, but how many of us know about the airfield where you can catch a flight to the spaceships that protect us? Donte has been to the library aboard one of those ships. He learned the languages of all the colonies and he studied the history. He didn’t do this because someone shoved a book in front of his face and told him it was his responsibility to learn. He did it because he was genuinely interested in improving not only his life, but the lives of all the colonists.” She looked at Chait. “We all could learn a lot from him, if we weren’t so full of how superior we are.” She turned her attention to Sima. “There is a lot here he isn’t telling - his part. It doesn’t matter if he had a thousand reasons for wanting Farasi dead. The fact is that he was forced to do it at that moment to save my life. He was certain that they would execute him for it - and they nearly did. He accepted the responsibility for taking me home, even though I was rude and disrespectful to him. I didn’t think I needed his help. In spite of everything I did, he was always respectful of me. He repeatedly put his life at risk for my benefit.” She looked at Donte. “He taught me a valuable lesson that involved a farm and a fowl.” Her attention went back to Sima. “I’ll tell you about that later.” She looked at the others. “King Neirin and some of his men came out to meet us because his daughter had a vision that we were in the desert in need of help. They welcomed him - and me because I was with him.” Her gaze went back to Chait. “We can sit here and pat ourselves on the back and tell each other how advanced we are, but I can tell you for a fact, we know nothing about being good neighbors. We think only of our colony. We only care about other colonies when they invade us.”
The Purlieu Experiment, Book 1 Page 11
