The Lord of the Plains

by Sarah Chapman

Chapter 8

  The week Riley had first awoken had been hellish. Aerlid had worried constantly over her shoulder, and worked every day, when what he really needed to do was sleep for three days straight. Now though, Riley seemed fully recovered and he was starting to feel half alive again himself. He couldn’t be sure about her shoulder though, not until he was recovered enough to check properly. She’d practiced some routines the other day and he hadn’t noticed that she was favouring her other side or having difficulty moving her shoulder at all.

  Yesterday he’d noticed Riley was getting shifty about being locked in the apartment all day. He’d taken that as a good sign. There was one day of rest every seven days. Last Restday both of them had been too tired to do anything, but this Restday he intended to show her Astar. As preparation for that, he’d had to tell Riley that she wasn’t to go catch any birds (or Lady forbid, somebody’s pet) for food.

  That morning before work he moved some of the meat to the ice box. It didn’t really need to be there to last, but it kept the bugs from getting at it, at least. When he arrived at the clinic he was greeted in a friendly manner by his colleagues. He hadn’t been in the right state to pay much attention to them previously, and thankfully they had understood. His colleagues were typical Astarians. They were a people with pale blonde or light brown hair and predominantly blue eyes. Men and women wore their hair in the same way; short.

  ‘You’re a little early today, Arntar. Keila and Lann aren’t here yet.’ Jania, the receptionist said with a smile. She was an older woman and reminded Aerlid of a grandmother. She also acted as a physician when she wasn’t in charge of the waiting room. ‘How is your little girl? Do you have someone looking after her while you’re here?’ she asked.

  ‘No, she is alone. I do not know anyone and I am not sure if this is an appropriate place for her, fei…’

  ‘Nonsense! Bring her with you, she can play with the toys. I can watch her while I’m here. Better than being alone all day.’

  Aerlid smiled, ‘thank you.’

  There was the sound of a door opening. Aerlid turned as Keila, one of the two other workers at their small clinic, arrived.

  She smiled when she saw him and said hello to Jania. ‘You look better today.’ she said to Aerlid, looking him over critically with a physician’s eye. ‘How is your little girl?’

  ‘Better. I think she will be ok.’ he sighed, trying to keep his expression from darkening.

  ‘You should bring her in.’ she said frankly. ‘If she needs her arm removed better to do it now.’

  Aerlid’s stomach clenched, the blood drained from his face. Keila suddenly rushed towards him and sat him down on one of the chairs. ‘There, there, I’m sure it will be all right. That’s just the worst case scenario, it doesn’t happen often.’

  Aerlid swallowed. ‘No…no, she’s ok, fei.’ He suddenly wondered what would happen when people realised Riley had full mobility in her shoulder. Almost as if she’d never been shot. He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts away. He couldn’t deal with that right now. Suddenly he asked Keila about her child- he vaguely remembered she had one.

  The conversation turned to his worries about Riley starting school, which seemed rather pale in comparison to his other concerns. Keila was quite charmed by his concern for his niece- that was the story he was going with- and told him she often took her son to the park to play with the other children.

  Keila looked up as the first patient of the day came in. ‘Well, why don’t you and your niece come to the park with us on Restday? It’ll give her a chance to meet some other children before she starts school.’

  Aerlid had trouble hiding his surprise at her kind offer. ‘Yes, that would be- thank you, fei.’ He was relieved and apprehensive at the same time. Well, if something was to go wrong, better it go wrong with fewer witnesses.

  She smiled kindly at him and touched his arm. ‘Don’t worry, everything will be fine.’ Then she stood, her attention turning to the patient.

  As soon as Aerlid arrived home that night Riley popped up to greet him- she’d been waiting. Aerlid felt another surge of relief at her bright smile and shifting feet. She was recovering nicely.

  He’d been too tired to continue her lessons, fighting or intellectual, though that didn’t stop her from practicing.

  ‘What have you been doing all day?’ He asked as he sat down on the hard wooden chair. No comfort here.

  Riley smiled, ‘training! And cleaning.’ she frowned as she looked around. ‘There was not much to clean.’ With a frown she asked, ‘where do you sleep?’

  ‘On the floor.’ he replied.

  ‘Why do I not sleep on the floor?’

  ‘Because you were sick.’

  ‘But I am not now.’

  ‘I think you still need some rest.’

  ‘You sleep on that…’ she waved at the bedroom.

  ‘Bed.’ Aerlid supplied.

  ‘Bed. I will sleep on the floor.’

  ‘Riley-’

  ‘When do I get my parrying dagger?’ she asked, excitement back in her voice.

  Aerlid closed his eyes. Riley was like that. When she thought the conversation was over, it was over. But a bed would be a welcome change, so he wouldn’t argue about it now. He’d have to buy an extra one sometime soon. Well, if furniture was priced like food, at least it shouldn’t be too expensive.

  Wait… what had she said? ‘You still want a parrying dagger?’ he asked, his voice weak.

  ‘Yes!’ she beamed.

  ‘You know most people suffice with just one weapon, would that not suit you? And you really should master one weapon anyway before moving on to two.’

  ‘No, two suits me.’ Was that contempt in her voice? Where on earth had she gotten such ideas? He’d certainly never spoken to her of dual wielding. She was still talking, though he wasn’t paying as much attention, ‘and I should practice now. I’ll practice both styles. You teach me hand to hand and sword fighting at the same time. Why can’t I learn to use one and two weapons at the same time?’

  Aerlid opened his eyes and sat up. He looked deeply into her eyes. The wan tiredness dropped from him and he shone, shone like he did in the forest. His hair was silver- moonlight, not grey, his eyes dark- like night. Sometimes you could see a flicker of starlight in there. There were no lines on his face and his skin did not tan. ‘Seta?’

  Riley just looked at him, as if he hadn’t said anything- or if he had and it hadn’t been directed at her.

  His movements deliberate, Aerlid reached inside the neck of his shirt and pulled out a necklace. On the end was a clear, empty orb. He held it in front of her.

  ‘Do you know what this is?’ he asked, straining to remain calm.

  ‘It’s your necklace.’ She said, clearly uninterested. ‘I think I can learn to use two swords!’

  Aerlid sighed and closed his eyes, the shine dropping off until he looked mostly human again. It took a moment before he could speak again. ‘You realise I can’t teach you much about that style.’ he said, his voice hollow. He struggled to maintain his composure. He turned his mind back to the conversation. He vaguely remembered seeing a dual-wielding style once or twice before, (Flent, was it called?) but he’d never learnt it, never seen enough of it to understand it. Then, remembering what else she had said, added ‘and that is not really comparable!’ Seta had not fought with sword and a parrying dagger anyway. Seta had not shared Riley’s interest in fighting. He squeezed his eyes shut as his heart thumped against his chest.

  Riley was talking again. ‘I can teach myself. And it is.’

  He tried a different approach, arguing with her rarely got him anywhere. ‘Well Riley, before we invest in another weapon for you, I would like you to make a wooden one- and not out of any of our furniture.’ Not that any of it would be any great loss, but he would probably have to pay to replace it.

  ‘Really? Can we go get some wood?’ she asked, her excitement palpable.

  Aerlid had to think about
this for a moment, dragging his mind back to the conversation at hand. He couldn’t leave Riley outside while he was at work to go look for wood herself, and he was so often too tired after work to do much except sit. Part of that was because he was still recovering from the testing centre, and it would be some time before he was healthy again. Perhaps in the park? He’d have to ask Keila. Though that gave him another idea. ‘I could bring you to work…’ he said slowly. Jania had already said it was alright. It would be a good chance to expose her to humans and to show her part of the city before she played with Keila’s son. Also, it would be good to expose her to someone else’s Seiaan. It couldn’t be much worse than staying here alone all day.

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Hmm…’

  Aerlid opened his eyes and straightened up in the chair. He looked at her carefully through eyes that always went curiously pale when he changed his appearance. If a plain, human colour had to be used, were his eyes more light than dark? ‘Riley, humans are very different to you and I. They are very different to gemengs.’

  Riley nodded at him seriously, her eyes wide in her little face.

  ‘They are soft, Riley, what would not hurt you could kill them. They get hurt easily, they die easily.’

  ‘Do you understand? You have to be very gentle with them. Very gentle.’

  ‘They are soft.’ she repeated in a tone that made him think she understood. ‘I have to take care of them.’

  A smile twitched his lips. ‘You have to take care around them.’ He sighed and brought her closer in a hug. ‘Watch them closely, see how they behave with each other. Be very cautious. You are different to them, and they know it.’

  Riley looked around in awe as Aerlid led her through the city to the clinic, though she remembered what he’d said last night and stayed close to him. They left early so there were few people about, and Riley solemnly stepped out of the way of those that were about, as if merely standing in their way might do them harm.

  Aerlid opened the door of the clinic and gestured for Riley to enter ahead of him. The room was shabby but clean and tidy. The wallpaper was an uninspiring brown (the brown of paper bags and cardboard boxes), the chairs though had a modicum of stuffing in them, a step up from their apartment. There was a box in one corner of the room with colourful toys for children and a counter along one wall behind which sat Jania the receptionist.

  When he entered Jania was the only one there. She greeted him with a friendly smile. Riley looked at her solemnly. She was being very solemn lately.

  ‘Hello, fena.’ she said politely.

  Jania peered over her desk at Riley. ‘Why, is this your little girl?’

  ‘My niece, yes, fei.’ Aerlid did not in fact like pretending to be related to Riley, and had explained to her that they were not- it was just for show. ‘Yes, this is Riley. Is it alright for her to stay here today, fei?’

  ‘Why of course! My,’ she squinted at Riley from behind the desk. ‘What interesting hair you have there, child. I’ve seen my fair share of gemengs I think and I’ve never seen hair like that.’

  Riley didn’t respond, she’d paid attention but it had meant nothing to her.

  Aerlid on the other hand had to work hard to still his suddenly racing heart. Her hair. Such beautiful hair. Such inhuman hair. This old lady, indeed, all the workers at this clinic had contact with gemengs- sick gemengs. He was pretty sure the views these people had towards gemengly strangeness were quite different to that of the general population. He remembered the man at the testing centre- he’d been around gemengs a lot too. Yet the flashes of summer in her hair had unmanned him completely.

  While he was thinking all this Jania invited Riley to sit down, and would she like to play with the toys?

  ‘Where did those toys come from?’ Aerlid asked, stumbling as he tried to turn his thoughts to something else.

  ‘My husband made them.’ Jania smiled, lines forming around her eyes and mouth. Smile lines. ‘Our children are grown now so I brought them here, something for the children while they wait.’

  Aerlid looked at the box curiously, which Riley was pawing through. ‘What did he make them from, fei?’

  ‘Oh, mostly wood from the park.’

  Aerlid looked at Jania quickly. You could gather wood in the park?

  She smiled, ‘if the wood has fallen on the ground anyone can use it. It isn’t good enough to be used in production, no reason to let it go to waste.’

  Aerlid thought about that curiously, could he make a wooden dagger for her from the sticks in the park? He gave Jania a smile and thanks and went to sit by Riley, who was being very grave in her playing with the toys.

  ‘You do not like them?’ he asked.

  ‘I do not want to break them.’ she replied as she delicately picked up a block and turned it round and round.

  ‘I am sure you will be careful, but that does not mean you cannot enjoy yourself.’

  Riley smiled, and then it grew wider. ‘Like with the cats?’

  Aerlid had to bite his tongue for a moment before replying. It nearly killed him to say, ‘yes, like with the cats.’

  Then, to spare himself any more torture he stood and went to chat with Jania while he waited for patients to arrive.

  When Keila arrived she rushed over gushing, ‘Ooh, is this your niece? My, isn’t she pretty!’

  Riley looked up as Keila advanced on her, somewhat startled at her speed. ‘Hello, fena.’ she said.

  ‘O-oh…’ Keila’s words faded as she crouched by Riley. ‘What interesting hair you have there…my, I’ve never seen the like.’

  Keila, suddenly a tad faint, turned back to Aerlid. ‘Well, we better get started hmm?’ she said with false cheerfulness before straightening up and walking quickly to her office.

  Riley looked at Aerlid as if to ask, ‘may I play now?’

  He gave his permission and looked at her hair sadly. Such beautiful hair, all her family had hair like that. He sighed. Perhaps it was too strange for the humans. He would have to think about this.

  ‘Will you be ok here on your own?’ Aerlid asked.

  Riley nodded. ‘I will take care of them.’

  ‘Take care around them.’ he said with a smile then turned to enter his own office as he saw the door open and the first patient of the day arrive.

  Riley was fascinated by the coloured blocks and things in the box. Some were broken and old and didn’t work right anymore, though she didn’t know this. She picked them up and turned them over, inspecting them on all sides. These were for playing? Like trees? After inspecting each one Riley carefully placed it beside her before going on to the next. There were blocks for building- not many so the structures she would create would be on the small side, flimsy cards with pictures on them, and little figures made out of wood. There was one with wheels and one that looked like the ’creature’ - the human guards.

  As the clinic filled up children approached the box. Riley had never had to share before- except with Aerlid really, so she wasn’t overly familiar with the concept. However she was to take care of these weak ones, so she very seriously shared the toys out with all the children. She kept few for herself, content to watch the weak ones as they played.

  ‘Pow pow, pow’ a little boy was waggling the guard around at a green block. ‘Pow, die gemeng, die!’

  ‘I wanna play!’ a little girl cried, ‘Gimme!’

  ‘No, you’re too young to play with gemengs.’ the little boy said sternly. ‘They’re too dangerous for you.’

  ‘Hush!’ a woman leaned down to the children. ‘Meitar, let Jeina play - oh,’ she looked at Riley for a few moments. The look on her face said she wasn’t quite sure…was she human? There was something about her, her colouring was different, though without the flash of summer in her hair it was hard to notice. ‘Put those toys away and come sit here.’

  The children grumbled and climbed up onto the chairs next to their mother. The mother kept shooting Riley looks until it was time for them to leave. />
  Whenever he could Aerlid came out and checked on Riley. Jania seemed fond of her and offered her lunch.

  Riley wasn’t sure what to say, she thought she should wait for Aerlid. Jania took her silence as a yes and brought her a sandwich. Riley was once again amazed, she asked what this stuff was, and that stuff, and it was strange tasting to her. ‘You’ve never seen bread? Poor dear…’

  When Aerlid returned Riley told him of bread, a dark grainy substance which stood guard around things she recognized. She asked what animal it came from.

  ‘Bread? Where did you get bread?’

  Riley pointed at Jania.

  ‘It is not polite to point, Riley.’ he said absently as he approached Jania. He thanked her and apologized, then offered to pay her for the food- it was expensive here.

  ‘Oh, that’s very kind, but there’s really no need. She seems to have come through the testing quite well. It’s usually very hard on the children.’ she said in a lower voice.

  Unease gripped him hard. ‘Oh, quite well. I think her shoulder should be fine, fei.’ he said carefully, testing to see how she would react.

  ‘Ah, she’s extremely lucky then.’ Jania sighed. ‘Most people never get their mobility back.’

  ‘How much should I pay for the food?’ Aerlid asked, changing the subject. Jania’s reaction was promising. Maybe it would be ok… Riley didn’t even have a scar. The only time he didn’t remove a scar from her was when she had been phenomenally stupid and he wanted her to remember what had happened. He was sickened at the thought he might have to give her one to keep her safe.

  As the last patient left the clinic Aerlid thanked Jania again and led Riley back home. He took her up to the apartment and then went to check the icebox. They would have meat tonight again- though smaller amounts than usual. They’d have some vegetables too at least. Meat in Astar was much more expensive than vegetables. People got most of their protein from vegetables and lived on a mainly vegetarian diet. Meat was a special something, eaten perhaps once every two weeks or once a month. He supposed that was because animals needed to be fed before they could in turn be eaten. They were probably lucky to be having so much meat. He intended to save it and space it out. Besides…he was getting heartily sick of it.

  Aerlid entered the common area on the ground floor where the ice box and wood stove were located. You had to provide your own fuel if you wanted to use the stove. Another reason meat was a more expensive meal- it had to be cooked. He’d noticed different families tended to cook meals together when it involved the stove as it made better use of the fuel.

  He opened the ice box and frowned. The lock on his compartment was broken. He opened the top and looked inside. Empty. Slow anger began to burn in him. Carefully he closed the ice box and walked over to the landlord’s office.

  He knocked three times before the door was opened. ‘Yes?’

  ‘My food has been stolen from the ice box, faya.’ he said coldly. ‘What is the procedure when this happens?’

  ‘Oh, the meat.’ the man shrugged. ‘Not much you can do.’

  ‘That meat could have lasted us months. You say there is nothing I can do about it, faya?’

  ‘Well, you could tell the Internal Order Forces…but by the time they get round to it…how are they going to find out who did it, anyway?’

  ‘So nothing? I just do nothing?’

  He shrugged again. ’Not much of a crime is it? Now some family will be feeding their human kids some good strong meat, you should be pleased.’

  Aerlid was silent for a moment. His head pounded, his skin went cold. ‘My girl is a gemeng…are you saying our food was stolen because Riley is not human?’

  The man shrugged, a gleam in his eyes. ‘Most likely. People don’t like to see gemengs gorging on meat when human kids ain’t getting enough.’

  Aerlid closed his eyes. He counted. He controlled his breathing. Oh how his hand wanted to go to his sword- his sword that wasn’t there anymore. It remained in his room, where anyone who looked upon it would not recognize it as a weapon. ‘Use of the ice box is included in the rent, correct?’

  The landlord’s eyes widened. ‘Yes, it is…’

  ‘Well I will not be paying for that anymore, and I expect a refund for what I have paid.’

  ‘Now hold on-!’

  ‘You may not care if gemengs get stolen from, but I am human, and I think the authorities might be interested in that.’

  Food was important here. It was a big deal. He was sure he was right. He was sure this slimy little creep didn’t want the authorities to know he turned a blind eye to food theft.

  ‘O-of course…I’ll calculate your new rent now.’ Slowly the man walked back into his office.

  Had he not expected that? Had he expected Aerlid to accept the theft calmly- in fact to be pleased some good human children were eating well on his food?

  Once the landlord returned and handed him his money Aerlid bid a very cool good-day and left

  When he entered the apartment Riley looked up at him expectantly. He wouldn’t tell her. He thought she would take it well, might not understand. Even so, he wouldn’t tell her.

  ‘How do you feel about salad?’

  Riley shrugged. ‘Am I allowed to help?’

  Aerlid paused, usually Riley was to be kept far away from any food preparation at all times. But tonight… ‘yes, come over here and I’ll show you how to make it.’

  He felt an ache as he watched her. In some ways, it looked like this place was going to be worse than the gemeng village.