by Lloyd Baron
“You look ill,” Aunt Maida chirps from the wagon. Darwin’t shades his eyes against the sun with his hands and looks up into her round face. “Maybe you should stay behind. It’s a shame. I had wanted to talk to you about the feast and your bonding. There is still much to talk over.” She casts down her soft pale eyes almost sulkily and sniffs, pursing her plump lips.
“I’m just sleepy, Aunt Maida,” Darwin’t says forcing a yawn into his hand. “I can still come with you into the village. But…” He looks her straight in the eyes then drops them without another word.
“You want the day off?” She sniffs again and narrows her eyes. For such soft eyes she knows how to make them look hard and icy. “Very well. You lay off the kaff and the wine for the next week, mind! Can’t have you staggering into everything on your bonding day. Get up. You can still come, but you don’t have to work.” She is displeased, however thankfully she never stays that way for long. Halfway down the path she is already smiling and chatting as if nothing has happened; she even starts singing, but a glance at an embarrassed Darwin’t hushes her with a giggle.
The path into Hill Woods is hard-packed earth and pebbles, and the wagon vibrates vigorously as the large wooden wheels bounce across the solid bumpy surface. Darwin’t is glad of the cushion placed on the seat by his aunt just before they had set out. He has made that mistake far too many times for it to be funny anymore The first time when everyone was pointing at him because he could not walk properly had even amused him, though since then it has happened six times. Once he was even left badly bruised. The trees envelop the sun as the wagon lurches under their canopy. It feels oddly cold with the sun shut out and dark like dusk. He rests his head on the side of the wagon and watches the trees pass by. His aunt begins to speak and he listens with only half an ear. He closes his mind and lets the rolling of the wagon rock him back and forth. Sleep pulls him in.
The wagon lurches violently to one side and Darwin’t opens his eyes in a panic. Aunt Maida sits cursing softly to herself. He does not make out what she says and he is glad for it. Her mouth can be vile at times if she thinks no-one is listening. She notices that he has woken and falls silent. A moment later and she begins to hum to herself. The path through the small wooded area of the lane is dotted with potholes that the mayor promises each sun to fill. It must have been one of those the wagon had driven into. It seems unlikely with Snowflake pulling the wagon. She knows where all the holes are and avoids them. Unless... “Did we hit a pothole?” He asks.
Maida glances at him and a smirk appears on her mouth. “I don’t know. I was talking to you and you fell asleep. I looked over at you and well. I must have not noticed I guess.”
“I guess.” He simpers back at his aunt. “What were you talking about, anyway?” The wagon lurches again and he bangs his head against the back. Aunt Maida chuckles deeply before offering a quick apology. Darwin’t should know not to play his aunt for a fool. She is far from the simple countrywoman her garments portray. She had been raised in the city of Atlant and her wits are as sharp now as they had been when she was a girl. She had given up that life to look after him when he was only five suns old. A remarkable woman and the best mother anyone could ask for. Not that he would ever call her mother. She had insisted on being called aunt from the first day and would except no other title. But whatever her name, she is the best mother he could have asked for. “Sorry,” he mutters rubbing his head. A small bump has begun to sprout under his hair.
Aunt Maida pats his knee with her thick fingers before returning her hand to the reins. For a while they sit in silence. The only sounds coming from the rumble of the wagon wheels on the hard packed bumpy ground. A bird call echoes from a bush off to his left and is answered by another from the trees to his right. No other sounds fill the air. “Twenty-two suns,” Maida bursts out. Darwin’t almost bangs his head again. He had begun to drift off. “It has gone so fast, my boy,” Maida continues, not seeing his surprise. “It only feels like yesterday. Well, I guess it is time to let you go. Canace is a good girl who will keep a good home and provide you with strong sons and pretty daughters. Oh, and you will be a master weaver and will take over my shop when I am gone.”
“Don’t say that, Aunt Maida. I don’t like thinking of you not being here.” That is the truth, though it is the thought of those kids, the house, the job and running the shop that makes him want to change the subject. “I am looking forwards to the feast of light. It’s always much fun and with my birthday falling on the same day....”
His aunt’s eyes glisten when she looks at him, though her voice shows little of the emotion that edges her features. “Now I said you were not to drink.”
“Wine, Aunt Maida. And kaff. But I was thinking more of ale or cider. You know how much I like cider.” He chuckles to himself. Maybe he would be good with the future. All he would need to do is make sure Canace does not have any of those worrisome daughters.
Aunt Maida sniffs to herself with a shake of the head, though she smiles at the same time. “Well. Just as long as you know that you start out towards the shrine the following day and you will need a clear head. Hush now. We are there.”
2
DANLYNN
The wagon shudders as its wooden wheels hit the level road leading into Gressgs and then falls still, the ride comfortable for the first time since the outset. The ground here is hard packed and blasted to give it a solid and thankfully smooth condition. Blasting is expensive however and one of the reasons Mayer Bloom is reluctant to use it on the outside roads. To him Gressgs comes first and everything else has to take second position.
Darwin’t turns his face away from the road ahead and stares off into the woods falling away behind. Something catches his eye; a child stands beside the path, a few paces into the tree line, watching them roll on. He leans forwards in an attempt to see the child better. A girl, with short-cropped red hair, her face dirty and clothes tattered. He is about to ask aunt Maida to stop when a shadow rushes towards the child, the light seemingly seeping away as if it too is afraid of the thing. The girl raises her hands and drops to the ground. “No,” Darwin’t screams as it is about to engulf her. But then both the girl and shadow are no longer there. He wheels around in the seat and clambers into the cart. Nothing. Where could she have gone? What was that thing wrapped in darkness?
He searches the trees with his eyes, his heart pounding behind his ribs through fear. He is suddenly aware of Aunt Maida tugging at his shirt, mumbling something about dreamers and maybe a fever. He stares into the trees for a second more before returning to his seat. His heart resumes its normal rhythm but leaves a dull ache where it had almost exploded from his chest. He reassures his aunt that he is all right and that he must have fallen asleep. That is the only explanation for what happened. He only wished he believed it wholly himself—it had seemed too real.
For the next few minutes, as the wagon glides down the road, he keeps his eyes locked onto the trees, and as the trees end and the village begins he turns to his aunt and gives her a grin. “It was just a dream.” It must have been. That is the only answer, it was only a dream.
Gressgs emerges before them slowly as they crest the northern hill; a small village of only two hundred inhabitants but large enough for its residents. The main road leads through the heart of the village all the way to the inn and the south field. The inn is the only stone building in Gressgs and is the largest, with five rooms upstairs. Although he has never been aware of any outsiders staying in them. They are mostly used by those who are having their roofs mended during thatching season or after a storm. He has never been inside the inn himself, though his friend Danlynn says it’s marvelous and has a fireplace big enough for three people to stand inside without touching the sides. Although he could not work out why you would want to stand inside a fireplace.
The other buildings in Gressgs have a more uniform appearance. All are made of wooden beams; some stained darker than others, yet all are of the same wood cut from the trees
growing locally. They are mostly two stories high with peaked thatched roofs. A single window at the front with a window box usually filled with fresh blooms. Most except for the Blings who opted for ivy three suns before and now have a house made of the vines which they say was their plan, although everyone in the village has heard them arguing over it at some stage or another. The doors are the same wood as the houses, though most remain unstained and some are even painted in bright colors. Small fenced-off gardens at the front filled with more colorful flowers line the road. The fences and storage shacks built onto the sides of many of the homes are once again the same light wood, stained, natural or painted. Apart from one house, the house that belongs to Riochald Haldana.
Going against all custom, three suns before she had refused to go to the shrine and be bonded. She claimed it was to do with her responsibilities as a nurse to keep free of a family, but those close to her, of which he used to be one, knew that no bonded was found for her. It was the first time in history that no bonded came forward. She told people it was her doing; however most knew part of the truth and the ones who did not thought it could start a rush of young men and woman pulling out of the bonding. It had not, and in less than a sun the events were forgotten.
Darwin’t could not work out why Riochald would be shunned by so many that were ready that sun. She was not a great beauty, having the build of a man, if men had ample bosom. She kept her hair long but chose to wear it in a bun atop her head, which only enhanced the beefiness of her build and stern look to her face. But even so she was a jolly girl who was always up for a game or a laugh, or had been until that day. After the bonding days were over and her without one she went to the wood and felled a tree. Before any of the men had finished their first house for their bonded she had built two, one for her to live and the other to treat the sick. They are identical to each other and completely different from everyone else’s. They are both only single-story with two big windows at the front. They are set further back from the road to make the garden twice as large as any other and more beautiful with its many different flowers in all colors. However, it was not only her house that was built differently, she too had changed. She no longer laughed as much of joined the games. She immersed herself in her nursing and cut herself off from the rest of the village. Only Canace still visits her out of friendship.
The wagon rolls past Richard’s yard and continues towards the shop at the far end of the village beside the inn. The largest wooden structure within the village, apart from the stables in Bili Pyrena's field, the shop is painted with dark green and blue paints. Two large windows show off some of Charlotte Bells stock, clothes and food. The village supports itself the best it can, only receiving help in harsh times of drought or when the crops have failed, which has not happened in Darwin’t's lifetime. Everyone pulls together to keep the village alive. Bili Pyrena supplies the village with milk, butter, cream and eggs from his huge farm to the north, helped by his wife, Hyacinth. Isas Lucius and his wife, Rurl, are also farmers providing fresh meats for feast days and parties but mostly fresh vegetables and grain. Val and Tam Midigon are teachers. Val teaches the basics of reading, writing and mathematics and Tam teaches farm and building skills. He is also known as the best builder within the country of Hillsbough and is often summoned to nearby villages to help fix up old buildings or to teach others how they can. Pollock Dencs is a bee-keeper and supplies the best honey and honey cakes anywhere in the world, or so he claims. Daron Bling is the local nursery nurse, and her husband Gan’flec owns the shop that supplies the seeds and flowers which line the road and fill most of the window boxes. Although he takes no responsibility for what has happened to his own house claiming that it was all his wife’s doing. And his Aunt Maida is a weaver.
“If you just give me a hand down with this lot then you can head off to find…” She tilts her head to one side and smiles thoughtfully, “whoever.”
Darwin’t glowers playfully at his aunt before jumping down from the seat. His legs give way and he staggers the first few steps to the wagon. Aunt Maida lowers the bundle of sheets down and hops after it. Snatching them back once she has found her own feet. Without another word she strides through the multicolored beaded curtain and into Charlotte’s shop. He is about to follow her when he catches sight of movement from the corner of his eye.
A young man with blond hair, tightly curled like a mop and of average build, leaps behind a row of barrels and drops to a crouch. Two other young men run past, one pointing and laughing and the other swinging a club. They vanish from sight and the blond man stands, brushes himself down and turns with a grin towards Darwin’t.
Danlynn Lucius runs a bony hand through his unruly hair and acts as if he is just taking a stroll. Darwin’t knows differently. The two who had run past were Tye Slocot and Tarfleam Midigon. They are both as rotten as week old cabbage soup and crafty to go with it. He too has hidden from those two when they were playing cat with a mouse. Danlynn licks his thin lips and gives a faint lopsided smile. He is of average height and build, with a narrow face. Everything about him is pale and slight, except his nose, which is thin but as long as a finger. “Those guys will stop once I go to the shrine.” He glances over his shoulder once again. “Talking of which.” He punches Darwin’t in the arm. A blow which, if used on Tarfleam Midigon, would send him off crying to his mother.
“Please, not you as well. Aunt Maida has talked of nothing else.” He hops up onto the wagon and sits, his legs dangling off the back. Danlynn joins him and they sit in silence for what seems like hours, though it must only be a minute, before he adds, “Not that I’m not excited about bonding Canace.”
Danlynn gives him a reassuring smile and pats his leg. “Nobody said you were not. It’s a big change, I suppose. I can’t wait. I have Florence Bloom lined up for next sun.” He must have seen Darwin’t’s eyebrows shoot up because he adds, “I’m going to ask her at the feast of the lights.” Darwin’t wants to laugh at his friend but he just nods, keeping the bursting humor inside. Danlynn would make a bad bonding. He is caring, fun and above all very loyal, Darwin’t could not ask for a better friend than Danlynn, though his idea of what a woman’s use is will land him in trouble. “A woman is for keeping the home and her bonded tidy and safe,” he had once said in a conversation about the feast. “A Man’s place is to work and put his feet up with a tankard of ale or some of that cider from Lou. I can’t wait to be a kept man.” His bonded would not know what had happened to her for the first few days and then, if what he knew of women were true, they would begin making his life a misery. In a way he feels sorry for Danlynn more for it will be him who does not know what has hit him and he will be kept in a way he did anticipate.
Danlynn slaps the side of his face with the flat of his hand and jumps from the wagon just as Darwin’t is about to react. He runs around to the front and puts Snowflake between him and Darwin’t. Danlynn’s lopsided grin returns. He is so easygoing and carefree, nothing seems to upset him or worry him for long. All their lives he has been the brother figure that Darwin’t so desperately longs for. Best friends and companions in getting into mischief. Along with Damilayas they had been The Three D's. Together they had wreaked a kind of good havoc across Gressgs, playing jokes on each other and on the villagers. If something went wrong then they were blamed and most of the time rightly so. They had been the best days of his life. “…dream about you.” Danlynn finishes.
“What?” Realizing he has not heard a single word of what his friend has said he nods and pretends he had. “What dream?”
Danlynn frowns for a brief moment then his beaming smile returns. “One day you will listen to a whole story and not just the good bits. “I said I had a dream about you. Well, it was more I was in a dream and I dreamt about you. No. It was my dream and you were in it.” He nods his head once hard before adding. “But you were in it for only a second. I was on a cart, I think. You were watching a show. It did not make any kind of sense to me.” He smiles again, one of his cheek
y grins which means he is thinking of getting them into trouble.
“I had a dream too,” Darwin’t puts in. “Well I think it was a nightmare. It didn’t make sense either. However it’s not the first I have had in the last few days. Damilayas is always in them.” Danlynn grasps his shoulder tightly and shakes him a bit. Darwin’t chuckles to himself. “It was just a dream.” He knocks his friends arm away and dives at him, sending both sprawling to the dirt. “First for three seconds,” he laughs as he tries to grasp hold of Danlynn’s legs.
“Cheater,” Danlynn roars in mock protest. “I’ll still beat you, weaver!” Moving like a snake, Danlynn rolls both of them over and ends up on top, Darwin’t’s legs in his hands so that his neck is pinned to the ground. He collapses into laughter once he has counted three, declaring him the winner. “Come on.” Without waiting he stumbles into a run and vanishes around the back of the shop.
