The Lord of the Plains

by Sarah Chapman

Chapter 64

  Despite the growls and threats flying through the air, Riley was pleased.

  Finally, finally, they had come to her first before tearing into each other.

  ‘What’s going on here?’ she asked. Her hands were on her hips and she was trying to look serious, but she couldn’t hide the smile from her face.

  Three gemengs were the focus of the anger. Two males, one female.

  One flung out a shaking finger at the other two, ‘I raised his child for years! And that cowardly, lying, ugly pig knew! Let me kill them!’

  Riley’s eyebrows rose. Recriminations were now flying from the other two. This was new. Considering the dynamic between gemeng partners she was a little curious how this had come about. But she didn’t ask.

  Instead she asked, cutting through the insults, ‘is this true?’

  She locked her eyes on the female gemeng, a serious look on her face.

  The woman hesitated. Riley’s eyes sharpened. The woman talked, ‘y-yes, I believe so.’

  ‘And you are both certain he,’ she cocked her head towards the second male, ‘is the father?’

  She nodded.

  ‘And did you both know?’

  There was uncomfortable nodding.

  ‘I’ve provided for her and her children for years! You must let me kill them both! They made me their slave!’ the deceived male demanded. He rounded on Riley, his eyes glowering and gleaming. ‘Let me kill them.’

  Riley shook her head. Then she looked the three over. Her gaze locked on the other male. ‘You’ll have to take over care of the child. Do you want anything more to do with it?’ she said to the first male.

  He looked at her as if she was crazy. When she didn’t say anything he said, ‘no.’ as if he couldn’t believe anyone would ask something so obvious.

  She felt a pang of despair. Did these people feel anything? Did they care for anyone? Was there no one they could let down their guard with?

  ‘Alright. You and you,’ she said as she watched the parents. ‘Will have to make recompense to this man for your deception. I believe if both of you share half your food with him for… how long did you look after the child?’

  ‘Seven years.’ the man said bitterly.

  ‘Seven years then.’

  All three gaped at her.

  ‘I can live with that.’ the first man said, startled, as if he couldn’t quite believe it, as if he hadn’t conceived of satisfaction without violence.

  The other two just nodded dumbly.

  But they didn’t argue or complain. And the man they had deceived was happy. So the threat of violence was gone and a child had a new father.

  The atmosphere had changed.

  When Riley walked through the camp she heard insults flying, but the threats of violence- and requests to commit violence- had decreased rapidly. Why, the tribe went days without anyone asking to kill anyone else! She spent enough time hiding and spying on her tribe that she was sure they weren’t just hiding their fighting from her. They had actually changed.

  She stopped by a gemeng who had just been called a whole host of names by another gemeng and had walked away.

  ‘Why did you do that?’ she asked curiously.

  The gemeng gazed at her, he was her height (which made him on the short side for a Plain’s gemeng). ‘Well, you never let us kill anyone.’ he sighed. ‘You’re pleased I didn’t fight him?’

  ‘Is that the only reason?’ she asked, her mood plummeting.

  He stared at her, his brows crinkled. ‘You don’t want fighting. I don’t fight. You happy with me.’ he scrunched up his face, as if thinking hard. ‘What else is there?’

  And despair came to her as she studied this confused gemeng. They hadn’t changed. Everything was exactly the same. The lord of a tribe defined gemeng life. She was stronger than them. They feared her. So they would obey her, and even try to please her. But that was all. There was no more to it than that.

  Riley and the gemeng went their separate ways. Riley barely noticed.

  What more could she do? The moment she was gone everything would revert back to what it had been, for the change was purely superficial. But what else could she do?

  Riley gathered herself. Her mouth set in a grim line. Well, nothing. All she could do was show them another way and hope this way of living would come to mean something to them. And then when she was gone… if this way of life meant anything to them, they’d have to protect and maintain it themselves.