Chapter 13: Troubles

Around the circle the song grew louder and quicker, feeding the beat that pulsed like a living thing among the Kaelasin. And amidst it all were the bright flames dancing the destructive pattern of war.

Leaf

The day dawned gray and cold, and the sun showed no signs of coming out of hiding. Lir walked into camp and headed for the camp fire. Maybe they would accept a little help around the breakfast fire. He told himself.

Many other people had had that same thought. The usual crew was almost doubled with people willing to help. Or at least, willing to stand around the crackling fire. Lir slipped in unobtrusively, and picked up a hard nep, and began to peel it. Soon though, he found himself staring into the bright flames, watching their bright patterns and their never-ending consummation of wood. He jumped at the woman next to him. "Give me those Lir. You're doing little more than taking up space." Lir willingly gave p his fruit and knife, for he was sufficiently warm. He moved off to his tent.

Fina and Mara and Ren were already there, busily braiding each-other's hair. There was another woman with her back turned to him. He did no question the strangers presence, because women were constantly in and out of the tents.

"Have any of you seen Lia?" He asked of his family.

"Not since this morning." Ren said. "Why?"

"Well, I was supposed to meet her outside this morning, but she never showed. I waited until I couldn't feel my fingers, and then I went to help with the breakfast." Lir caught his mother's glance. "Now, don't look at me that way, Mae, The fire was nice and warm, and I did help…a little."

"I am only wondering if Lia s out there looking for you." Mara said a little sternly.

Lir's eyes widened. "Floods! You don't think she is?"

Ren's look affirmed his concern "She could be Lir. She seemed excited about it last night."

"She told you she was going to come?" Lir swore. "It's freezing out there. I'd better go look for her!" Lir ran back out of the tent.

Lia turned around "Now that wasn't fair! Who knows how long he'll stay out there?"

Ren shrugged, unrepentant. Only as long as it takes for him o be cold again. And besides it was too good a joke to waste." She grinned at Lia. "Cheer up, Lir will have forgotten by breakfast."

Mara spoke up. You know, Liana, that look suits you. You are almost a Kaelasin, with your hair braided, and wearing Ren's clothes."

"Which I expect to have returned. Ren said warningly. "That's my favorite scarf you dug up there." Ren looked Lia over appraisingly. Though it does look better on you."

"Did you know your eyes change colors?" Fina asked suddenly.

"What color are they now?"

"I don't know, but they are different from when you were worried that Lir would be angry." Mara jerked her head straight. "Sit still, Fina."

"You don't think he will be?" Lia asked again.

The tent flap swished. "No, I'm not. I can take a joke." Lir ducked back in, to the surprise of the women. "Though I must say, I deserved it. I should have realized that Ren would not lend anyone but Lia her favorite scarf." He grinned. "That braid suits you Lia."

"Thank you. "Lia felt herself blush. She reached into her bag and pulled out her cloth covered journal. She was sill busily scribbling when Raeh stepped in. she nodded a greeting to the others and sat near Lir. "Breakfast is served in a half-hour."

"What is for breakfast?" Lia asked.

"Porridge and fruit." Lir laughed at her grimace. "Tired of porridge?"

"And soups and stews and chowders. I wish we could have some good solid meat! back at the tower…" Lia stopped herself suddenly realizing how ungrateful she sounded. "I'm sorry."

Ren rescued her. "It's alright Lia. I have felt the same way. Now I just look forward to Spring Saen. Than we get real fruit and fresh meat and cheese."

"And new, fresh baked bread." Fina licked her lips in anticipation. "But that is months off."

"Then we'll be happy with what we have until then." Mara patted her daughters hair. "There" She said with a little bit of pride, "That should hold you at lest until evening." Fina leaned back against her mother's knees. The tent walls shuddered with the force of the wind pressing against them, but inside, all was peace and warmth.

Leaf

He bowls of porridge steamed invitingly, and even Lia found it in herself to down some as a shield against the chill. Winter had well and truly settled in.

"I can't wait for spring!" Lia complained.

Jakai laughed. "But its only been cold for two days!"

"Well, two days is long enough for me." Lia hugged herself. "Are you alright, Raeh?'

"What?" Raeh shook herself. "Yes. I was just thinking about something." Lia watched her still.

"Where were you two this morning?" Raeh asked to get Lia's attention off of her.

Jakai shrugged. "Here and there."

"What's going on?" Lia asked suspiciously. He brother had the face of guilty

innocence that meant he was hiding something.

"Oh, nothing, little sister."

"I don't believe that. What are you guys hiding?"

"Look-out!" Ren's voice shouted behind them. They all turned in time to see her come hurtling towards them, with Lir in hot pursuit.

"Save me Torne!" Ren ducked behind Jakai, who, instead of shielding her, grabbed her.

"Here she is, Lir." He said, holding her there, ignoring her false protests. Lir advanced on her, tickling her ribs until she shouted for mercy.

"Now then. Lets set this straight. Who can throw knives better?"

"You can." Ren said with mock sullenness.

"That's right. And we will not forget it either, will we little sister." Lir plopped down in the grass. Ren sulked.

"What happened?" Lia asked.

"Oh Ren just got it into her head that she could out throw me. Of course I had to set her straight." Lir grinned wickedly and Ren waggled her tongue at him.

"It is good to see that some of you may have fun." They all turned to look at the man who had spoken. He did not sound glad for them at all. "Though I wonder that you consort with traitors."

"I hope I did not hear that, Feril." Jakai's voice was not yet dangerous, but his eyes flashed a warning.

"I would not insult you Jakai. Not Skren's adopted son." The man's lips twisted, and an ugly scar suddenly appeared . "You who left us for six years, return a prodigal, and then bring strangers into our own camps. Strangers who bring harm and blood on our own heads." This he said with a pointed look at Lia, who felt suddenly cold.

Jakai stood, slowly, deliberately, and Lir and Luc stood with him. "If you speak of Kirf's injury, then the blame must go to me. I threw that knife, and had I the chance, I would have thrown it harder and take his arm off."

Feril took a step backward, a little unsettled by the three cold gazes that bore into him. But he did not surrender, not yet. "Do all of you see?" he raised his voice, including the scattered group. A few looked up, curious. "Do you see how they corrupt our own. Three stand against me, in the defense of a coward. One of the Royals who sit in their tower growing softer, while we stay out here in the cold and the heat, scraping out a livi---" his words were suddenly choked off. Jakai's knife was at his throat, and their eyes locked.

"Do I seem soft to you now, Feril? You know not what you say, and I will no listen to nonsense. I have no respect, or patience for fools, so I would suggest," and Jakai pressed the steel a little harder, leaving a miniscule cut and a scarlet trickle of blood, "That you back off. Now."

Feril's eyes were wide, and he stepped down. Jakai kept his knife out, now speaking to all who were listening. "You are my family. Those who believe I betray them by bringing friends to meet my family, speak with me first. I will do my best to convince you otherwise. But." Jakai raised his voice. "Anyone who brings a hand against my friends, will very soon hear from me." His voice softened and he appealed to the people who had raised him. "I do not want to harm any of you. I do not want to alienate any of you. I want you to know the truth. The royals are not soft. They are no cowards, they have only chosen a different way of life. Like you, they wait for a chance to take back what was theirs. And I want to be there when they do." Silence greeted his words, and then one man stood. Skren.

"Well, said, my boy. I think that all of us should take heed of what our son says, for he has grown wise in the years he has been away from us." Skren shook his head sadly to see what they had come to. There had been more than a few heads nodding in agreement with Feril. "We may not make assumptions about strangers until we know their stories, and we may not cast blames on them for our own mistakes." Skren nodded to Feril. "I know who put you up to this, boy, and I grieve that you find so much pleasure in creating malice. However, this act can not be put aside. Jakai has given you a warning, and I add my authority to it. I am thankful that some of you have found that the royals have not been idle, for the three who came here bring willing hands. Welcome them, and show them the hospitality we once offered in full at our own Harvest Home." Murmurings of agreement greeted this speech, and a few of the Kaelasin left the area to continue daily tasks. Feril slipped away, ashamed.

Jakai sat back down, still holding his knife. He slapped it against his palm, agitatedly. His eyes were distant, watching the fields around them, as if he expected something to happen.

"I'm sorry." Lia said. "I did not want--"

"Lia, do not apologize for my people." Jakai's eyes had lost the usual warmth that resided there. He was silent for a time, and then he went on. ""Skren may speak his beautiful words, and he may urge the Kaelasin to be kind and good to you, but I know these people. They are fickle, and do not think it will be long until they are back in their old ways." He sighed, suddenly morose. "I wish that it were not this way." He stared off into the distance.

"We are not all this way." Ren reminded him. "I am friends with you, and I will fight I need be.

"And you have to admit." Lir grinned. "It was worth it to see Feril's expression."

"Where did you find such anger Jakai?" Lucarn asked curiously.

"Jakai was always that way when he lived with us." Ren glanced at him. "Truth to tell, I wondered when it would come out again."

Jakai nodded. "She's right. I have changed a lot since six years ago."

"Six years? You were only with us for four. Where were you for the other two?" Lia asked.

Jakai looked at her thoughtfully. "No where in particular. I wandered on my own for a bit, journeying here and there."

"Why did you leave the Kaelasin?"

"That is a harder question to answer Luc, and today, I am not in the mood to try." His friend accepted this, as Jakai had known he would. All eight sat in simple silence, choosing to dwell on separate memories. Raeh could not shake the look of anger that had momentarily twisted Jakai's face. She had seen something like it when she had struck out at him, that day in the meadow when he had come to find her. But that had only been a momentary flash. She wondered now just how much Jakai kept hidden from the world.

Ren and Lir thought of the same event, sharing a mind as they often did. The gray, cold morning their elder bother had walked out of their lives, despite Fina's tears, and Mara's silent unacceptance. Jakai had left angry, a sack slung across his back, and he had not looked back.

Lia remembered the day Jakai had come to the Tower, thin and defiant, pockets stuffed full of stolen fruit from their orchards. She had been afraid of the wild boy then, had shied away from him because he was too reckless. It had been an entire month before she had even got up the courage to greet him, and long after that she began to recognize him as a friend. The Jakai she knew now was vastly different from the one she had first met. She wondered if the old Jakai had never truly gone away.

Jakai had memories, nightmares locked inside him that sometimes refused to be shaken away. His friends all had terrible pasts, that was true, but he had a feeling he could show them all up with one day of his childhood. Life on the river in the forests of Rhi had been difficult, but the day that haunted him was one of fire and blood, of a dark-haired barbarian who had raped killed his mother while he watched terrified and unable to fight back. The eyes that haunted him were silvery blue, and the mouth was wide and gaping in a roaring laugh. The mouth had also spewed blood, when Jakai's knife found his stomach. To this day, Jakai could feel the warmth of the man's heart-blood on his face, and he could see the flames of his village rise above the trees, and the corpses of the people, his fair-haired people, burned and desecrated on the river-banks. Life on the river had been hard, but life without it was sometimes much worse.

Leaf

Lia found Raeh outside the camp, beating the air with a startling savagery. Her jaw was tight, and the darkwood staff was only a blur.

"Raeh?" Her friend did not answer.

"Are you alright?"

Raeh glanced at her friend. "Go away."

Liana hesitated for moment, and then sat. "What's wrong?"

Raeh gritted her teeth. Did I really expect her to obey? " Nothing."

"Something is wrong. Who are you angry at?"

Raeh threw down her staff "I am not angry at anyone!"

"Feel better?"

Silence. "Do you want to talk?"

"No." Raeh glared at her friend. Sometimes she never gave in. Lia stared back, neutral, waiting.

Why do you let them Shun you, Lia? Why do you let them hate you?"

Lia was a little surprised. "Well. . . I mean. . ."

They make you an outcast for something they did and you sit and take it! Why?!"

Lia was still. "I don't want to cause trouble Raeh. I don't want them to hate me but. . . Not all of them do. Ren and Lir are my friends. And Fina and Mara. The Kaelasin just need time. . ."

They've had time. How long before you stand up for yourself? How much more are you going to take?"

"I do things differently than you Raeh. I don't want to argue out right with them. I can prove to them that I am not so different than them. Just because I am not angry doesn't meant that I accept this situation. But there is no sense n giving them reason to dislike me, which is all lashing out at them will do."

"I don't understand you sometimes Lia. And I don't like this."

Lia's eyes were green-gray. "I know you don't Raeh."

"Then you'd better do things your way quickly." Raeh sat down near her firned. "I don't like seeing my friends unhappy."

the two friends sat in peaceful silence, needing no words for their thoughts to be shared.

But after a while, Lia spoke.

"What do you see Raeh?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you notice most? I see the sun like a beast returning to sleep, it's last rays cast across the grass. What do you see?"

Raeh glanced at her friend. "The beauty of the stars. Now I only enjoy the song of the night, the smell of the grass."

Lia nodded slowly. "What was it like to be blind?"

Raeh shrugged. "Not so bad as it may seem, because I was never able to see in the first place. Darkness was all I knew, so I never wished for something different. I did not know that I was different, until I came to the tower, and even then I never realized…" Raeh gestured at the stars, because she did not have the words to say what she wanted.

"I understand." Lia sad softly. They sat in silence once more, happy and content in their friendship. A great winged thing silhouetted itself briefly against the sky, and Lia gasped. "Look." She pointed out the shadow against the pale blue sky.

Raeh looked up. "What is it?"

"A bikta." The creature was larger than the Llantra, and it moved as if it were searching for something, winging in wide loops through the stars. It flew across the moon, and eight dark spikes stood out on it's neck. Something about it was both fascinating, and eerily wrong. The two women watched it in silence

The red moon rode above the glimmering sky, marked by the silhouette of the creature. And behind them the wanderer's rose their voices in an old song, one that sent shivers up Lia's spine. She hoped that Raeh could not hear the words, but she was wrong. Two pairs of ears heard the bitter tones, and two hearts beat futilely against it.

Bright red

Naelren shines

Bright red

my family's blood

Bright red

My own heart's hate

Bright red

Thief king take heed

Bright red

Bright red

Leaf

Ren grimaced in disgust as her brother cracked the bones in his back. "Gross. Stop that."

"Stop what?" Lir popped each knuckle luxuriously. "I'm not doing anything."

"That! Stop messing your bones around."

"What, you mean like this?" He rolled his neck back and around, allowing each and every pop to be heard. Ren shuddered. "Fij. You'll never grow up."

"You are right. I don't plan to." Lir grinned, unashamed. He lay back in the grass with his hands behind his head.

"So. Is Lia picking up fist fighting?"

"She's alright. She wouldn't' last an hour in real combat. Yet." Lir closed his eyes. "We just have a lot of work to do." He yawned. "I haven't been getting much sleep lately. The sun feels so good."

While her brother slept, Ren quietly picked his pockets, and then snuck away to leave him to his dreams.