Aarae 1006

I ran down the dusty, narrow path through the forest to Es Seli, my heavy cloth backpack full of shovels and other metal trinkets bouncing with every step. The Tvarnaer’ village head had asked me to trade for crushed seeds to make the Summer Solstice pastries. Es Seli had a mill. Tvarnaer’ didn’t.

I loved running. I loved the feel of grasses and soil beneath my feet. I loved the forest sounds, the rustles, hums, and chirps. I loved getting away from everything. I loved feeling important, the fastest runner in the village even if I was just fourteen. I was the only female in my household, the only one who could cook or mend. Men lacked the patience for household tasks, my mom had always said. I also lacked the patience, but I would never admit that to either of my aunts, even though I knew they would help. I was as stubborn as my mother, who had moved out from the family home when I was very little. I was terrible at writing and bookkeeping, too.

The trees brushed against my bare arms. Good. I knew the path narrowed near the stream. It opened into a meadow with the stream. I cupped my hands to drink some water. I found the sturdy rocks to cross the stream. My feet were used to the sharp rocks; we only wore shoes when the ground was freezing.

On my return, I waved to the other villagers working hard in the fields and the orchard. Alina, our village head, was near the community oven. She was an old, thin woman, but still strong.

I swung the backpack down. “Cayaina gave me two barrels and four jars for all but the two smallest shovels.”

“You did very well, Tika. Let me give you your bread.” The praise from Alina was eaten up just as happily and greedily as the piece of bread that I ripped off the loaf.

“Cayaina told me that the Lilacans have a new leader. A Queen this time.”

Chief Alina nodded. “I am not surprised. They always have so much unrest. Did Cayaina know what family this new Queen is from?”

“She didn’t say.”

Alina shrugged. “What happens in the Lilacan Islands doesn’t affect us. They’re across the ocean. And Lilia Island lies between us.”

I placed the bread in the cold cellar. It was such a nice day—perfect for being outside and swimming. But the whole house smelled funny from the dirty laundry, account papers, announcement papers, and toys littered all over. I considered cleaning until I heard laughter coming from the pond. I searched for a clean set of clothes. Or the cleanest I could find. Did it matter?

The rest of the village young people were already at the pond. It was a warm Aarae afternoon, after all. Tlinie, sixteen, was the oldest still playing in the pond. She’d left her towel right by the edge. Nari, a year older and the beauty of Tvarnaer’, was wading in a slow-moving stream with the women. The men went to a different spot on the stream when they didn’t want to be splashed by boisterous youngsters. I didn’t care. I did almost as much splashing as the boys. Unlike them, I was careful not to splash little Lili, who was being taught how to swim by her older sister Lenera. I paddled gently up to Lenera instead.

“I heard you ran to Es Seli?”

“Yes.” One of Tlinie’s brothers, Eled, splashed me in the face. I sputtered and splashed back at him. “The Lilacan Islands have a new queen.”

“I thought they just got a new king.”

“That’s the Lilacan Islands for you,” Tlinie said. “At least our Queen is young.”

“Is she forty yet?” Lenera asked.

Neither Tlinie nor I knew.

“Oh, and we have news,” Tlinie said. “Saria is quite ill.”

I looked up at the sky. It might be Aarae, but death could happen any time of the year. I’d had an older sister, once. My mother had told me about her. Saelia. She had died during her second summer, the year before my older brother was born. My mother had told me about her before she’d died. I had promised to name my first daughter after her.

Lenera distracted me from my gloomy thoughts. “In better news, Nari had a suitor this morning. The Aza Chiefdom Senator.”

I knew I should have been preserving food or cleaning the house, but I stayed in the pond splashing and gossiping until early evening. My father and brothers were hungry after working in the fields all day. I quickly tore off four pieces of bread and picked some fresh salad greens. It was not enough to satisfy their hunger, but I didn’t know how to do any better. I did my penance by tidying the house until the sun’s rays cast their last shadow, leaving behind a pleasant dim blue light. I climbed the ladder to my tiny bedroom. We would be able to feast on Solstice Day.

Ts Esel 1007

Oh no. I opened the bin of grain only to find bugs. I opened the next. It was also full of bugs. How had this happened? What would we eat? I had discovered just four days ago that I hadn’t dried out the herbs properly. The mold had spread to some of the root vegetables. We didn’t have enough food left to get us to snowmelt, let alone until the plants began to grow again and the birds to lay eggs.

I heard footsteps. Corian joined me in the kitchen. “It’s time I set off to explore and find myself a wife, anyways,” he said. I had no words. My oldest brother, leaving my family? That day would come, I always knew that, but so soon?

A week later

A bell suddenly started chiming, its low notes clear despite the snow. “Tika, go run to Es Seli and find out what it is. Noln, get our bell chiming.”

I ran through the snow as fast as I could with my shoes. They were made of woven grasses and wool. My feet stayed mostly dry, and, more importantly, warm, but they were clumsy to run in. I didn’t need to worry about the stream, because it was iced over. I flew across it and up to Es Seli.

The villagers were gathered in their town center. No one knew why the bells were ringing. They were waiting for their runner, a young man a couple years older than me, to get back. Someone had once joked to him that he ought to marry me, but his facial expression had been one of disgust. How was that a surprise? I was fifteen and already the matriarch of my household. And a poor one at that. I would be lucky to marry.

Bells don’t ring for no reason. Bells ring for news villages all around need to know instantly. Eleven years ago, the bells had rung for good Queen Aeroresa. Not that I had more than a dim memory of everyone standing around with blue shawls, crying. But Queen Aralina was young. Could the Lilacans have invaded? The Dinae violated the peace treaty? I hoped not. All of our young men would leave to fight if that had happened.

The Es Seli runner arrived back, panting. “Queen Aralina is dead. Her daughter shall ascend the steps immediately. Rhetia’s youngest queen ever. Probably has ascended by now. Queen Aralina died this morning.”

Now, it was my turn to sprint through the forest. Almost certainly, there would be town runners waiting in Tvarnaer’ for me to get back. My feelings of sorrow gave way to my feelings of importance—shameful feelings, I knew—from being the Tvarnaer’ runner.

I told my town the news. People gasped. Nari’s mother fell to her knees and held out her arms. Only Alina kept everyone together. She calmly told the villagers to find their blue scarves and meet back at the center for a prayer. I felt nothing. I hadn’t felt anything at my mother’s death, though I’d found it easier to fake feelings. I walked away to hide my tearless face.

We joined hands in prayer. It was a special prayer, supposed to be rare. Over the past hundred years, it had been sung just four times. Today would make that five. Alina led the prayer.

Next