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kasihyaTitle: now that i come to fall
Character: Bran
Location: Dein Efyd
Date: Three Weeks Earlier
‘Bran! What are you doing?’ Mama’s shadow fell across me.
I looked up. ‘Nothing,’ I said, scrambling to hide the bits of beads and stones and strings I’d gotten from Tanwen’s bodyguard. I stuffed them into my pockets, and stuffed my hands in on top of them to make it look like I’d planned on doing that all along.
‘Mm-hm.’ Mama looked hard at my hands. I followed her eyes down; a couple strings of red linen stuck out over the black pleats of my skirt. Darn it! ‘What did Aunt Cari tell you to do?’
I shrugged. ‘I forget.’
‘Think!’ She snapped her fingers in front of my face.
‘Oh.’ The snapping reminded me of when Aunt Cari did the same thing, when she told me what to do. ‘Make sure that Tomos and Urien stay out of trouble.’
‘And why aren’t you doing that?’
‘Because they’re so frustrating,’ I blurted out. ‘Why can’t Kieve do it? They listen to him.’
‘Bran Tlachinolli, I don’t have time for this. While I’m talking to you, reminding you of what you should already be doing, I’m losing customers because your father doesn’t know the first thing about selling tea, and I had to have him take over the stand. Kieve is busy selling, too, so go find your cousins and bring them back here, now.’
I pulled a face, but I knew that if I argued here — out in the middle of the Annan marketplace, with hundreds of people all swarming around — then I’d really get it later. From Mama, and probably Uncle Delwyn, and Grandmother, too. So I ran after Tomos and Urien, grumbling.
‘And give those things back to Rhydwen!’ Mama shouted after me.
Darn it, darn it, darn it.
Uncle Delwyn’s two children were playing a game that mostly involved running through the entire marketplace, chasing each other and weaving around everyone else. I caught up to them just before one of the market’s Peacekeepers did. ‘Hey!’ I grabbed Tomos, who was the older one by a hear and a half so Urien would follow along with him.
‘Are these your siblings?’ The Peacekeeper loomed over us, spear in hand. He wore spiky rings on one hand, which I didn’t realize was something that the Peacekeepers did — I thought it was for battle warriors. I swallowed.
‘No they are not, sir,’ I said, covering Urien’s mouth with my hand. ‘They’re my cousins, and I’m going to bring them back to our family right now.’
The Peacekeeper narrowed his eyes at me. One of his compatriots materialized out of the crowd of Cysgoth merchants to the left. ‘Do you need any help here, brother?’ he asked the first one.
‘No, no, we’re just about to go,’ Tomos said. ‘Back where we ought to be.’
‘You’ll understand if we accompany you, just to make sure that you aren’t bothered by anyone else,’ said the first Peacekeeper.
Tomos and I looked at each other. It was one of the facts of life that no one likes a teithwyr, and that everyone would always be suspicious of us, but getting an escort for three hundred feet in one of the safest cities in the Enwythau Empire seemed a little unnecessary. ‘Um … yes, sir. Let’s go, Uri. Let’s go, Tomos,’ I said to my cousins. I made sure to talk to them in Enwythau language; second rule of life, no one wants to hear us talking our own language, either.
For once, they both just shut up and followed me. I took them each by the hand and pretended that I was our great grandfather. When he and his family first came to this country, Great-grandfather said, everyone thought that they were freaks. He told Grandfather Idris how the people had stared at him, and given them the name ‘daangwent’, thrown it at him, and he’d thought it sounded fine until he learned that it meant ‘shifty-eyes’. So I figured that if Great Grandfather could put up with that, being all alone and not even knowing that people were making fun of him, then I could walk with the Peacekeepers at my back.
I took my cousins to the corner of the market where our family was sprawled out. On the way back, we passed another Peacekeeper. He saluted the two with us, and I noticed two things. One, he didn’t have the rings on either hand. Two, the signs on his uniform were different than the ones on the men behind us. I gripped my cousins’ hands tighter, and breathed faster. Mama had said to bring them back to her or Aunt Cari, but Rhydwen always told us that if the Peacekeepers, or anyone military, gave us any trouble, we should go to him about it. I didn’t know whether he meant for that to include people who were just pretending to be Peacekeepers, but if they wanted to play at being military, then they ought to be treated like military. Rhydwen was stocky and strong, and he only came to our family at first to keep Tanwen safe, but he said he’d protect us all if we needed it. And now we had two men breathing down our necks.
I found Rhydwen with Tanwen, measuring out dragons’ claws at the edge of our family’s area. Tanwen saw us coming, and hit him with her elbow. I was too afraid to say anything aloud, so I tried to communicate with my eyes. At first, I thought that he wasn’t going to get the message, and I panicked. But then I saw him give a very brief nod. I glanced back at the two fake Peacekeepers. They weren’t even looking at us anymore; they were watching Rhydwen and Tanwen.
‘Go to your mama,’ I told my cousins, very quietly, and in teithwyr.
‘Why?’ asked Urien. ‘You’re not the draethyr.’
‘Because I said so.’ I gave him and Tomos a push in the other direction.
‘Bran, leave,’ said Rhydwen in Enwythau.
‘Not yet.’ One of the fake Peacekeepers gripped my shoulder with one hand. Tomos and Urien were already leaving. I wanted to break away and run after them, too, but that might get me into even more trouble — and them, too. I have to be like Great Grandfather, I told myself. I have to keep my back straight, and not show anyone that I am defeated. I will be brave. My heart pounded too hard.
Rhydwen stepped around Tanwen. He held his spear casually, like he’d almost forgotten that it was still at the end of his arm. The market around us had gone quiet, and I could see people watching out of the corners of my eyes. ‘Let Bran go,’ said Rhydwen.
The Peacekeeper cracked his neck. ‘Why do you trouble yourself with these rats?’ he asked. I felt a little sick. ‘Is it their money?’
Rhydwen didn’t answer. ‘Let him go,’ he repeated.
‘Step away from the woman,’ said the second Peacekeeper. Off to the side, I saw another Peacekeeper — a real one — watching. He had his weapons, and he saw us, but he didn’t move to make the fake Peacekeeper let me go. I shifted a little, and his hand tightened on my shoulder, nails digging through the cloth of my outfit. ‘Give her to us, and the boy is allowed to live.’ I felt something sharp press against my throat. I didn’t dare move again, but if I strained my eyes, I could see the long shaft of the spear with its stone blades embedded along the edges. I tilted my head up a little, and the blade just pressed closer. I shut my eyes.
‘Who sent you?’ Rhydwen asked.
‘Everyone.’ The man’s voice reverberated through my chest, he was so close. I couldn’t breathe. ‘Everyone who wishes to see the Enwythau Empire remain pure and uncorrupted, until such time as the Mandate decides that its time has passed.’
‘Step back.’ I’d never heard Rhydwen so angry before. It even scared me a little, and I was the one he was trying to protect.
The fake Peacekeeper’s blade pressed a little harder into my throat. ‘You should do that.’
‘Rhydwen?’ I said. Be brave. Be like Great-Grandfather. And in teithwyr: ‘Can you save me, and still save Tanwen? Tell the truth.’
The noise around us had almost completely faded away; at the other end of the marketplace, business still went on as usual, but here, I knew without opening my eyes that everyone was watching. Rhydwen took a moment to answer. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Of course he can, Bran,’ said Tanwen.
‘Tanwen …’
‘Give us the woman,’ repeated the fake Peacekeeper.
I heard rustling footsteps come closer, and then I heard my Mama say my name, and then from very close by, Rhydwen said, ‘No.’
chapter one
Character: Bran
Location: Dein Efyd
Date: Three Weeks Earlier
‘Bran! What are you doing?’ Mama’s shadow fell across me.
I looked up. ‘Nothing,’ I said, scrambling to hide the bits of beads and stones and strings I’d gotten from Tanwen’s bodyguard. I stuffed them into my pockets, and stuffed my hands in on top of them to make it look like I’d planned on doing that all along.
‘Mm-hm.’ Mama looked hard at my hands. I followed her eyes down; a couple strings of red linen stuck out over the black pleats of my skirt. Darn it! ‘What did Aunt Cari tell you to do?’
I shrugged. ‘I forget.’
‘Think!’ She snapped her fingers in front of my face.
‘Oh.’ The snapping reminded me of when Aunt Cari did the same thing, when she told me what to do. ‘Make sure that Tomos and Urien stay out of trouble.’
‘And why aren’t you doing that?’
‘Because they’re so frustrating,’ I blurted out. ‘Why can’t Kieve do it? They listen to him.’
‘Bran Tlachinolli, I don’t have time for this. While I’m talking to you, reminding you of what you should already be doing, I’m losing customers because your father doesn’t know the first thing about selling tea, and I had to have him take over the stand. Kieve is busy selling, too, so go find your cousins and bring them back here, now.’
I pulled a face, but I knew that if I argued here — out in the middle of the Annan marketplace, with hundreds of people all swarming around — then I’d really get it later. From Mama, and probably Uncle Delwyn, and Grandmother, too. So I ran after Tomos and Urien, grumbling.
‘And give those things back to Rhydwen!’ Mama shouted after me.
Darn it, darn it, darn it.
Uncle Delwyn’s two children were playing a game that mostly involved running through the entire marketplace, chasing each other and weaving around everyone else. I caught up to them just before one of the market’s Peacekeepers did. ‘Hey!’ I grabbed Tomos, who was the older one by a hear and a half so Urien would follow along with him.
‘Are these your siblings?’ The Peacekeeper loomed over us, spear in hand. He wore spiky rings on one hand, which I didn’t realize was something that the Peacekeepers did — I thought it was for battle warriors. I swallowed.
‘No they are not, sir,’ I said, covering Urien’s mouth with my hand. ‘They’re my cousins, and I’m going to bring them back to our family right now.’
The Peacekeeper narrowed his eyes at me. One of his compatriots materialized out of the crowd of Cysgoth merchants to the left. ‘Do you need any help here, brother?’ he asked the first one.
‘No, no, we’re just about to go,’ Tomos said. ‘Back where we ought to be.’
‘You’ll understand if we accompany you, just to make sure that you aren’t bothered by anyone else,’ said the first Peacekeeper.
Tomos and I looked at each other. It was one of the facts of life that no one likes a teithwyr, and that everyone would always be suspicious of us, but getting an escort for three hundred feet in one of the safest cities in the Enwythau Empire seemed a little unnecessary. ‘Um … yes, sir. Let’s go, Uri. Let’s go, Tomos,’ I said to my cousins. I made sure to talk to them in Enwythau language; second rule of life, no one wants to hear us talking our own language, either.
For once, they both just shut up and followed me. I took them each by the hand and pretended that I was our great grandfather. When he and his family first came to this country, Great-grandfather said, everyone thought that they were freaks. He told Grandfather Idris how the people had stared at him, and given them the name ‘daangwent’, thrown it at him, and he’d thought it sounded fine until he learned that it meant ‘shifty-eyes’. So I figured that if Great Grandfather could put up with that, being all alone and not even knowing that people were making fun of him, then I could walk with the Peacekeepers at my back.
I took my cousins to the corner of the market where our family was sprawled out. On the way back, we passed another Peacekeeper. He saluted the two with us, and I noticed two things. One, he didn’t have the rings on either hand. Two, the signs on his uniform were different than the ones on the men behind us. I gripped my cousins’ hands tighter, and breathed faster. Mama had said to bring them back to her or Aunt Cari, but Rhydwen always told us that if the Peacekeepers, or anyone military, gave us any trouble, we should go to him about it. I didn’t know whether he meant for that to include people who were just pretending to be Peacekeepers, but if they wanted to play at being military, then they ought to be treated like military. Rhydwen was stocky and strong, and he only came to our family at first to keep Tanwen safe, but he said he’d protect us all if we needed it. And now we had two men breathing down our necks.
I found Rhydwen with Tanwen, measuring out dragons’ claws at the edge of our family’s area. Tanwen saw us coming, and hit him with her elbow. I was too afraid to say anything aloud, so I tried to communicate with my eyes. At first, I thought that he wasn’t going to get the message, and I panicked. But then I saw him give a very brief nod. I glanced back at the two fake Peacekeepers. They weren’t even looking at us anymore; they were watching Rhydwen and Tanwen.
‘Go to your mama,’ I told my cousins, very quietly, and in teithwyr.
‘Why?’ asked Urien. ‘You’re not the draethyr.’
‘Because I said so.’ I gave him and Tomos a push in the other direction.
‘Bran, leave,’ said Rhydwen in Enwythau.
‘Not yet.’ One of the fake Peacekeepers gripped my shoulder with one hand. Tomos and Urien were already leaving. I wanted to break away and run after them, too, but that might get me into even more trouble — and them, too. I have to be like Great Grandfather, I told myself. I have to keep my back straight, and not show anyone that I am defeated. I will be brave. My heart pounded too hard.
Rhydwen stepped around Tanwen. He held his spear casually, like he’d almost forgotten that it was still at the end of his arm. The market around us had gone quiet, and I could see people watching out of the corners of my eyes. ‘Let Bran go,’ said Rhydwen.
The Peacekeeper cracked his neck. ‘Why do you trouble yourself with these rats?’ he asked. I felt a little sick. ‘Is it their money?’
Rhydwen didn’t answer. ‘Let him go,’ he repeated.
‘Step away from the woman,’ said the second Peacekeeper. Off to the side, I saw another Peacekeeper — a real one — watching. He had his weapons, and he saw us, but he didn’t move to make the fake Peacekeeper let me go. I shifted a little, and his hand tightened on my shoulder, nails digging through the cloth of my outfit. ‘Give her to us, and the boy is allowed to live.’ I felt something sharp press against my throat. I didn’t dare move again, but if I strained my eyes, I could see the long shaft of the spear with its stone blades embedded along the edges. I tilted my head up a little, and the blade just pressed closer. I shut my eyes.
‘Who sent you?’ Rhydwen asked.
‘Everyone.’ The man’s voice reverberated through my chest, he was so close. I couldn’t breathe. ‘Everyone who wishes to see the Enwythau Empire remain pure and uncorrupted, until such time as the Mandate decides that its time has passed.’
‘Step back.’ I’d never heard Rhydwen so angry before. It even scared me a little, and I was the one he was trying to protect.
The fake Peacekeeper’s blade pressed a little harder into my throat. ‘You should do that.’
‘Rhydwen?’ I said. Be brave. Be like Great-Grandfather. And in teithwyr: ‘Can you save me, and still save Tanwen? Tell the truth.’
The noise around us had almost completely faded away; at the other end of the marketplace, business still went on as usual, but here, I knew without opening my eyes that everyone was watching. Rhydwen took a moment to answer. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Of course he can, Bran,’ said Tanwen.
‘Tanwen …’
‘Give us the woman,’ repeated the fake Peacekeeper.
I heard rustling footsteps come closer, and then I heard my Mama say my name, and then from very close by, Rhydwen said, ‘No.’
chapter one
