Winter Solstice Holidays 1007-08
The sun woke me up. I remembered that I was outside. I’d found a spot between trees that was relatively sheltered. I’d laid down bare branches under and over me, so my clothes wouldn’t get wet. I grabbed a bite of bread—I couldn’t cook the grain, not with all the wood in the forest so wet.
I found my way back to the road. I could still turn around and head back to Tvarnaer, but I didn’t. I wanted to get to Yahvsii Isvar by sundown. I would find an abandoned house again, and, this time, stay there. In Aeli, I would ask the new Queen for a plot of land.
But the guards turned me away. “No migrants. The city is closed.”
Migrant. If I was a boy, no one would have used that word. A migrant was a girl with no house.
“It is the Day of Shelter and Clothes,” I pleaded. “Please give me shelter.”
But the guards wouldn’t relent. I walked away. I didn’t know where to go. It was much, much colder than last night. A few dead branches wouldn’t keep me warm.
I heard footsteps behind me. It was one of the guards. He started speaking fast, even though he was still out of breath. “There’s a cave in the forest if you head west around the city, as if you were going to go to Tevocae. There will be a hill off the path. Go to it. It’s an old herder’s cave and probably unoccupied. Tevocae is closed, too. But the port is not. The ice might be frozen, but there’s likely to be work at the port anyways.”
“Thank you, sir.” He was gone.
I found the hill. The world was black and white in the little bit of light that was left. A dark, gaping hole must be the cave. I entered, calling out a “hello”. No one answered. I found some dead branches, but I’d forgotten that they were to wet to light. I cursed and ate some of the last of my bread. I was filling a little funny, and I realized I hadn’t drunken actual water in two days now. Snow was a poor substitute, especially since it cools the blood. A fire would have allowed me to heat some snow for water.
I huddled in a corner and tried to sleep. The blanket did little for me. I woke up and I was freezing cold. In my dream, my mother had told me something. I didn’t remember what. Waking up meant I was no longer as warm as I’d been in the dream. And my mother was dead.
The wind screeched through the trees. It howled into the cave. I even felt snow. I wished that I could see further into the cave, so I could know if it was safe to go further in. Perhaps there was another chamber. But caves, despite providing shelter, could also be treacherous. I had no light.
I sat up and pulled my feet to my chest. I couldn’t feel my toes, I realized. I pulled off my shoes, which I’d left on for warmth, and wiggled them with my hands. My shoes had gotten soaked through, I realized. But the feeling came back into them, painful at first. I realized I didn’t dare try to get anymore sleep. The dream from my mother had been a message. I had to stay awake and move around to keep from freezing to death.
When first rays of light filled the small cave, I put my shoes back on. I ought to just walk. I kept the blanket around me for another layer of warmth. It was still cold, but the wind was not as strong as it had been in the night.
I reached the port by early afternoon, but it was closed. It was the Day of Visiting, after all.
“Little girl, what are you doing?” A man asked.
“I want to cross to Buarvige.”
The man laughed. He looked as old as my father. I wondered where my father had gone. “Look, girl. See that ice? No boat is going to Buarvige for a while.”
Another man walked up. “What do you want in Buarvige, anyways?”
“I’m looking for work.”
“What kind of work?” I really didn’t like the glint in the younger man’s eye. I might be fifteen, almost sixteen, but I knew I looked younger.
“You can stay here with us,” the younger man said. “We could use someone for housework, as it’s just us.”
I guessed that he might want more than just housework. “I’m just twelve; our parents died a few days ago and I am trying to make an honest living for me and my siblings.”
“You could still stay,” the younger man said.
“No, I’ll go tell my siblings that we’ve got to keep looking.” I hoped my lie was convincing. I was now scared that they might follow me.
“There is a lot of work to be had here in summer. Perhaps you and your siblings want to stay here. We have some extra grain. By Aeli, this place will be busy and there will be plenty of work to be had.”
The older man guffawed. “Aarae, more like it. I’ve never seen so much sea ice, and so thick. You could probably walk across! Good luck, little one. This is a hard winter.”
I left, walking until I got to the first turn that took me out of sight of the port. Then, I sprinted as fast as I could through the southern woods. I was happy I’d been a runner.
Richenda 