Late Le Esel 1007
“I have sad news,” Mrs. Mirin said.
I looked up from my spinning. I’d never enjoyed housework, but they gave me food to eat and a warm bed in the attic in exchange. Mrs. Mirin hadn’t asked me too many questions. Her oldest daughter, Eliya, had just had twins.
“What is it, Mother?” Corian asked. He was the older son, and a year or two older than me. He was the first friend I’d had in years.
“The Senate voted. Satina is no longer our Queen.”
“But who is then?” Mrs. Eliya asked.
Mrs. Mirin shook her head. “Kristiana, Queen of the Lilacans.”
I gasped. We had been conquered! For hundreds of years, the Rhetians had fought off the Lilacans.
Corian looked just as shocked. “What happened to Queen Satina?”
“She fled. Her Regent went with her.”
“Amyra,” Eliya said. “She spoke to us at religious training.”
Girls from wealthier families spent a few years at the monastery in Buarvige to learn more about our religion and history. I hadn’t. No one from my village had. The chief’s daughters and the daughters of other important people had, I was sure.
I woke up in the middle of the night. It was freezing in the attic. I glanced down the ladder. The fire was out. I wondered how the family was keeping warm in their beds down below. The moon was still mostly full, so a little light came through the windows. I carefully climbed down the rungs until I got to the floor. The earthen floor muffled my footsteps, but that didn’t matter. I’d forgotten there was a barrel of grain in the middle of the floor. Ouch! My toe hurt. The barrel hadn’t gone anywhere, of course.
I stood still. Maybe the family wouldn’t wake. But no.
“You ok?” Corian asked.
“I just stubbed my toe,” I whispered.
He stood up and walked over to me. “Why is it so cold?”
“The fire is out.”
“Yes. Let’s re-start it.” Corian deftly struck the stones against each other until he got a spark. It didn’t light the wood, but the next spark did. We watched the fire grow larger and larger.
I didn’t want to go back to bed yet. It was too cold. Corian seemed to have the same idea. He put his arm around me to keep us warm.
“Where’d you come from?”
I repeated the lie I’d told his mother. “The poor section.”
“I know that’s not true. You’re not from this city.”
“A village in the west.”
“Why’d you leave?”
“They were low on food and didn’t have enough. My mother had left her family. Everyone resented us for that. I was always an outcast, but things were okay until the famine.”
Corian hugged me. “I’m sorry for that. My father was a Senator from the north before he died. I’ve always lived in more luxury, I suppose.”
“When did he die?” I found myself asking. I knew Mrs. Mirin’s husband had died, and that was yet another reason for her to take me on.
“A couple winters ago. There was illness.” Corian sounded sad. He must have loved his father.
We kept talking until the house warmed up. I was just about to go to bed, when we heard someone get up.
“Tika! Come here.” I didn’t like the sound of Mrs. Mirin’s voice.
“Why are you talking to Corian in the middle of the night?”
“The fire went out,” I explained.
“Get up to bed. Tomorrow, we have a lot to do to prepare for the winter solstice holidays.”
I imagined the fun I’d have. Winter solstice in the city! Despite the famine, there was plenty of food for the rich people. They might have to cut back on some of the treats, but it would still be more than it had ever been at home.
But that was not to be. Mrs. Mirin pulled me aside. “Tika, I’m sure your family would like to see you for the holidays. Please go to them.”
I shook my head. “No, they are fine without me.” That wasn’t a lie.
“I can’t have Corian getting close to you. Look—you’re a little migrant girl. He’s the son and grandson of some of the finest people this country has ever produced. I’m sorry to be harsh, but he’s going to marry into a family with tradition and means.”
“I don’t mean for him to marry me,” I said. That had never crossed my mind.
“I don’t care. I don’t have work for you anymore. I don’t want to see you around, or else I will report you.”
She hadn’t believed my lie. Migrant girl did describe my life now, even if it hadn’t once. I didn’t have a home.
Mrs. Mirin was kind enough to give me a bag with a moth-eaten blanket and some bread. I still had my grain, fire-stones, and cooking bowl, which I grabbed from the loft when I was getting my clothing. I left the city through the gates. The snow on the road was almost up to my knees at some parts.
It was nearly dark out when I came to the crossroads. Should I go the left and try again at Yahvsii Isvar? The riots might have stopped. Or I could go to the right and go home to Tvarnaer. Give up.
Richenda 