by J. Naomi Ay
When I returned outside to collect the cookie tray, I discovered not birds, but the boy destroying the treats I had so carefully created. He was sticking his finger in the middle of every one and licking off the jam that he withdrew, leaving all the rest of the cookie in a pile of crumbs.
"What are you doing here?" I gasped before catching my tongue. "Of course, they are for you, Sir. You can have as many as you want."
"Thank you," he replied softly and proceeded to do this to every one while I knelt on the porch furtively watching him from the corner of my lowered eyes. He looked healthier than he had been when he had arrived in our village the week before. His coloring was not so pallid nor his cheeks so thin. Even his hair had a glossy shine as it curled and waved past his shoulders. He was handsome, I decided as I stared at his face. In fact, handsome wasn't the correct word at all. Beautiful seemed more apropos. At the same time, there was something almost frightening in his calmness and bearing.
"Walk with me," he said and rose to his feet. He headed toward the gate, assuming I would follow at his command. "Tell me where we are. What is this street called? Whose house is this here and over there?"
"Yes, Sir," I replied and looked at the neighbor's house. I named everyone on the street, and when we entered the village square, I pointed out the bakery, the butcher and the school. We walked through the fields so I could show him the rising stalks of corn. Over there, I pointed out the sheaves of wheat and barley. Down this way, I lead him to the farm. The cattle and the sheep were grazing in the pasture beyond the barn. The horses were in their own pasture, behind this corral. Now, we went through the valley towards the river. The bridge that crosses the bank was on our left. The dock where one might fish was on the right, just past the shed where the boats were lined up by size. There was a swimming pond on the other side of that bank, that was warm in the summer and in the winter it was frozen so one could skate. The Temple was in the woods behind those trees, just past the King's house which was hidden from view. By the time, we had concluded our grand tour, the sky was completely dark.
"Thank you," he said again leaving me at my gate.
"Wait!" I called, but he had disappeared.
"Cinda?" It was my father, his form but a shadow in the chair on our gloomy porch. "Get to sleep. We are waking early tomorrow as we shall leave together for Shrotru."
****
"Put down that bottle, Diridan," my aunt snapped. "If you are going to live in my house, you will abide by my rules."
"What rules?" My father slurred. He waved the bottle as if to emphasize his point. "This was our father's house, and by rights, it should be mine."
"No, it's not!" Aunt slammed her fist against the table. "I'll throw you out on the street along with your insolent little girl. You chose to move to Kudisha, and this house became my property instead. I make the rules, and I say who shall live here with me." My father roared some incomprehensible words about how once he had been the King's confidant. He rose to his feet and waved a fist in his sister's face.
"I chose to follow Prince Lot into battle. I fought for Karupatani and shed my blood. This is how a warrior is repaid by those he defended?"
"You were a foolish teenage boy who sought glory in war. I am tired of hearing about your false bravery against the Mishaks. It is your stubborn pride that has alienated you from the King, nothing more and nothing less." Aunt continued to shout at my father as I ran from the room. I quickly slipped on my boots and ran out the kitchen door. I forgot my coat, which had been drying on a hook by the fire. The snow was falling in large wet flakes from a heavy gray sky that hung oppressively overhead. The ground was wet and filled with brown slush, which instantly soaked through my boots and chilled my feet. I wrapped my arms around my chest as I headed toward the village meeting hall where surely a fire was lit, and I could warm up.
"Nobody is there tonight," a girl said as I pounded on the door. "All the meetings are cancelled as a storm is coming through. I know it's wet and melting now, but my mother said by midnight we'll start accumulating snow. By morning, it will be perfectly white and quite deep. Are you cold?" Apparently, she just noticed my chattering teeth. My arms were trembling as I tried to keep my body warm. "Don't you have anywhere to go? Who are you? Are you new here? Oh wait, I recognize you now. You're Diridan's daughter, the one who just moved from Kudisha."
I nodded my head as I couldn’t control my mouth to speak.
"Come with me." She pulled me to her house. There the fire was burning so brightly my eyes began to tear.
"Come, come, Cinda," her mother said and put me in a bed. She piled blankets on top of me and wrapped warm socks upon my feet. She brought me hot tea and soup and made me sleep until I felt better. She cared for me all through the storm which lasted nearly a week. That was fine with me as I was content here inside. In this house, nobody yelled. Nobody drank until they fell asleep. Nobody cursed any princes or kings for ruining their life. Instead, they laughed and spoke joyously of their good fortune.
The entire week of the storm, I lay in bed all day and night and gazed at the pure white snow as it piled in drifts. It turned the night from dark to day. It was as if a new world was being born while everything bad was buried deep underneath. The two golden moons reflected off this world filling it with promise. For the first time, in a year, I began to have some hope. Like the flowers below, I too was hidden from the sun. Maybe, when the spring came again, I'd rise to spread my leaves and bloom again.
"You can wear this one." Minka handed me a dress. "It hasn't fit me in years. Here's another one too. This belonged to my sister, Garinka. She's the one that married Prince Tuman."
"I know of Garinka," I replied, slipping on the dress. It fit me around the hips and waist, but the chest was far too large. The dress hung lifelessly in the front creating a huge gap. "I remember when Garinka came to our village. Everyone thought she was too loud and impolite. Oh!" I covered my mouth with my hand as I realized how impolite I had just been. Minka laughed heartily and handed me another dress.
"Garinka is exactly as you say. Do you know her husband, Tuman? What do you think of him?"
"Tuman's very nice and his brother, Pedah is as well. My father despises Prince Sorkan although I've never met him." This dress was a little short but tighter all around. It would do for the banquet next week. The boys of Kudisha were coming to visit. The snow had abated somewhat, but the ground was still cold and covered in frost. We had heard the MaKennah was joining them on this adventure. They were traveling on horseback and had left a few days ago.
"Did you meet him?" Minka lay on her stomach across my bed. She had here heels in the air and was swinging them about. Her chin was propped in her hands as she looked anxiously back at me from the mirror. "The MaKennah, I mean." Even though the snow had cleared enough to make travel in the village passable, Minka's family had insisted I stay here until my father and aunt worked out their differences. I was happy to do so. Minka was only two years older and seemed to enjoy having me around. Not only did she pile old clothes into my room, but she spent most of her time offering sisterly advice. Now, I stood in front of the mirror and studied myself from all sides. I wished I had more to fill up this empty bodice. I arched my back, trying to expose as much as I had there. "I'm being saved for him, you know," Minka continued.
"What?" I gasped, my chest deflating, my bodice falling flat.
"Our family is directly descended from the Dukes of Shrotru or Kirkut. That's how come Garinka was matched with Prince Tuman. My twin cousins are being saved for the MaKennah, as well. They're older, so he'll get them first."
"You're not going to marry him?" I whipped off the dress and quickly put on my old tunic and leggings. Minka shrugged and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. It fell straight as soon as she let go.
"Even if I did, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one. There might be a dozen of us altogether including a few Mishak girls if he wants them. So, what did you think of him?" Minka sat up and crossed her leg
s. "I've heard a lot of strange things said."
"He's nice," I replied abruptly, my face heating more than it should. "But, too young for you."
"He won't always be." She shrugged again and then watching my face, she laughed. "There is no chance Diridan's daughter is going to be matched to the MaKennah. Even here in Shrotru, we know all your father is out of favor. You had better set your sights a lot lower. After the King exiled your father, there is no chance you'll be allowed to return to Kudisha."
I had no idea we were in exile. I thought my father had come here voluntarily. Even if, I didn’t want to go back, it felt so much worse knowing I never could. And, if even I knew there was no chance I could ever be matched to the MaKennah, it felt so much worse knowing that Minka with her magnificent chest, and her two twin cousins with their lustrous long black hair and tiny waists were the ones who would be.
At the banquet, I had to sit in the back with my father and aunt. As we were low ranking, we were last to be fed and by the time our trencher was filled, the meat was cold. The potatoes were all gone, and the only bread left were the end pieces. My aunt spat upon our food and cursed at my father before rising to leave. My father was well into the drink, by then, and regaling loudly of his adventures with Prince Lot while those sitting around us turned their backs. Then, the drums began to beat as the ceremony commenced with the Chief of Shrotru rising to his feet. I craned my head to see down the length of the hall where the Princes and the MaKennah all sat upon the dais. They were all too far away, and I could neither see nor hear a word. Only afterward, did I learn from Minka what was said. Her uncle, the Chief had offered the MaKennah his gift as was customary to do for a king. He presented his twin daughters, Minka's cousins, to the Crown Prince who refused to take them even as concubines or slaves.
"Well, he is still young," I remarked later that night as Minka lay in my bed recapping her evening. I gladly listened as mine wasn't worth recalling.
"Not so young," she murmured, her voice becoming airy and far away. "He's quite handsome, even more so than the other princes. Have you seen his eyes, Cinda? They are truly something odd, but in a way I want to stare into them forever." Now, something in my stomach began to twist and burn a bit. Every word she spoke seemed to make it grow hotter still. "I'm so glad Garinka is married and has left the MaKennah for me. Tuman is nice, but Sehron is exceptionally grand."
"Sehron?" I spat as the worm burned like fire in my heart. "How dare you call him by his name when it is forbidden!"
"There's no one here but you and me!" Minka cried. "Sehron, I will call him when we are alone. I will shout it to heavens when he has made a woman of me."
"Get of my bed," I snapped and pushed her away. "I'm tired now, and I want to go to sleep."
"I think that you are jealous," Minka sniffed as she padded across the floor. "No matter how beautiful you are, Cinda, you are still no one of any rank. Your father was an almost-chief who now has been expelled. Pity, poor Cinda, Diridan's daughter."
The next morning, I swallowed my pride and apologized, for in truth, I was nothing and had nowhere else to go. My aunt wouldn't take me in, and my father was now sleeping in the streets. I would never be worthy of prince and certainly not the MaKennah.
"It's alright." Minka kissed my cheek. "I shouldn't have bragged in the way that I did. When I become Queen of Karupatani, I'll make certain you're married off well. I'll find someone wealthy and kind who will take care of you."
"Right," I agreed for what was love? It sent you spiraling out of control, your heart longing for one you could never have. Or if by chance, your love was returned, it crushed you into pieces or sent you drifting like a rudder-less boat. Love sailed away with heart in someone's keeping.
On the day the boys of Kudisha made to depart, the entire village lined the streets to see them off. Everyone wanted one last glimpse of the boy who would be our king. He rode out of town on his fierce-looking, coal black horse that grew skittish as the crowds pressed into the street.
"Goodbye," Minka called and sighed. " Someday, I shall leave with you." I wanted to slap her face, but instead, I smiled contritely.
"Perhaps you shall," I agreed as we started to walk back home. It was then that we heard a shot ring out. The villagers began to yell, and some to cry. Minka grabbed my hand as we ran back to the village square. There was my father blocking the MaKennah's horse. He was waving his gun in the air and shouting drunkenly. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he vowed to protect Karupatani from the Mishak Prince. Then, he pointed his gun at the boy and pulled the trigger.
"No!" I screamed covering my ears. My knees went weak, and I collapsed into the dirt. The only sound that I heard was the wailing of my own voice.
"Cinda!" Minka snapped and pulled me back to my feet to witness the scene as it unfolded before us. Neither one had been shot. Instead, the gun had fallen from my father's hand, and now lay at his feet, a molten sodden mess. The boy gazed down upon the man from astride his horse, his face hard and cold, as if something evil lived within him. His eyes spilled light upon my father like silver fire from the bowels of Hell. Now, I grew fearful for both Diridan and for the boy who possessed such a power in his soul.
"What happened?"
"The gun burst into flame while still in Diridan's hand," Minka gasped, her own gaze still locked upon the silver light. "He dropped it, and it burned, then it melted upon the ground."
"Diridan!" Prince Pedah was urging his horse to the front. "You are blocking our path. Kindly, move away."
"No," my father declared, now raising his sword. "I shall never bow before this boy. He is twice cursed as Sorkan's son and the descendent of the Mishak Saint. He shall bring evil to the land of Karupatani, though you foolishly revere him as if he were already King."
"Diridan!" Prince Tuman joined his brother. "You have been a good and loyal friend, a proud warrior of Karupatani. You have drunken too much, and your mind is muddled. Go home and go back to your bed." My father made a noise, a growling sound that erupted from his throat, and became a roar.
"I have no home!" He screamed and waved his sword about, nearly decapitating Tuman's horse and prompting Pedah to lift his own sword to intervene. Then, it became a dance of horses, swords and men, all shouting and striking every which way. The MaKennah's skittish stallion became only more so and backed from the fray into the crowds. I was kicked by a hoof although I couldn't say for certain to whom it belonged. I fell once again to my knees, losing Minka's hand and becoming trampled by the villagers as they hurried away. Then, an arm reached down for me and pulled me up against his body. He held me tightly until all the crowd had disappeared.
"Are you hurt?" He demanded. "I'm afraid it was my horse that struck you. Forgive me. I am forever in your debt." I looked up into his eyes that were surprisingly clear and blue and recognized the boy from my home village. He was a few years older than me and son of the great warrior, Torim, who was neither a chief, nor a prince but merely a man.
"Pori," I said his name and it came out like a song, like the sound a blue bird trilled when the dawn awoke. Though I had known him throughout my life, he had been a bully and a tease. I had disliked him most of that time for he took pleasure in pulling my hair. He was forever bumping into me, or knocking my books off the table at school. He had broken my colored pencils and dumped my pots of paint.
"Ay yah, Cinda," he laughed, holding my chin. "We have missed you back in Kudisha. I can see now you are more beautiful than even before."
"Come now, Pori," a Prince's voice called, for the commotion had concluded. What had become of my father, Diridan, was not important at all. Suddenly my future was quite apparent. It was here with this man who Pori had become.
"I'll be back for you someday, Cinda," he said. "Wait for me." Then, he quickly bent down and touched my lips. Before I could respond, or even take a breath, he had mounted his horse and galloped off.
****
I stayed in Shrotru for another summer and winter, living wit
h Minka's family and working in their shop. I attended the village school and learned to cook and sew. By the time, I was sixteen and fully grown, I was ready to be married. My father had long since disappeared. I hadn't seen him since that cold winter day when the boys of Kudisha departed. I had heard from a passing trader some time during the following spring that Diridan had been seen near Kirkut. By summer, a group of caravans reported that he was living in the mountains outside of Twisk while a troop of summer scouts recalled camping by his fire in Birkat. The next summer, I was told that, my father had gone to Mishnah which was too implausible for me to believe it true.
"You never know," Minka's mother said as I stood by her side drying the dinner dishes and putting them away on the shelf. "Strange alliances are made between enemies with a common foe."
"The MaKennah?" Could my father be plotting the Crown Prince's downfall? Would he have aligned himself with the Mishaks just to see the boy destroyed?
"He'll never succeed," Minka said with resolve. She was sitting at the table filing her nails to tiny points, which was considered the height of fashion in Shrotru. Minka was nearly nineteen now and exceptionally pretty. She was also past the age when most girls had wed. In fact, all of her friends in the village had at least one babe propped upon their hip while Minka had not even acquired a husband. "I'm being saved for the MaKennah," she told everyone, so they would not wonder what was wrong with her. "When I am Queen, I shall bear a dozen boys who will make all of Karupatani proud. Everyone will wish their daughter could marry one of my princes."
