by Varian Morn
“Well, take her with you of course. Then you can do whatever you wish with her. Sell her, toss her into the sands... just do it beyond the watchful eyes of this city,” she said plainly.
With her words, came the understanding.
I see.
She really had removed her mask.
For a few moments my heart pumped cold blood as I stared at the elderly woman, who was still smiling in pride.
Pride for her capability to think of such a profound and flawless plan... pride in her quick wit and luck.
Pride in her willingness to sacrifice a woman, possibly her own flesh and blood, without a moment’s hesitation.
While staring at her, I silently debated abandoning her and her people.
I owed that madman. I owed him dearly.
But had I not paid that debt in full?
I had brought them wealth.
Power.
Thanks to me, they would now have crops. They would have cold and fresh water. They now had resources the likes of which they've not had for generations.
Thanks to the Front-Line, the House of Derri wouldn't get buried into the sands.
Wasn't that enough?
One could argue that if I didn't do this, then my promise was not kept... my obligation not fulfilled. My lack of effort kept them from truly benefiting, choosing greed over honor.
However...
A line had to be drawn somewhere.
If I participated in this... foolish ploy, there was no guarantee it'd change anything. It may stave off their destruction now, but for how long? A few years later another problem may simply arise.
Would I return then, to aid them as well? How far would I allow my promise to that madman to go? How much was I willing to sacrifice, and how much was I willing to abandon?
The hot room wasn't being kind to my emotions. I was growing angry, and impatient, and it was something I rarely allowed.
After all, I was a Commander. An Owner. I was the Front-Line.
I could not afford such emotions.
No matter how disgusted I was over this conversation, and where it was heading, I had to bite my tongue and forcibly calm my stomach.
Instead of growing angry, I needed to calculate.
After all, I had mouths to feed. Six thousand of them.
While biting my lip, I sat back down in the chair. The hard wood felt like pins and needles.
“You understand that if I do this... I will most likely never return,” I said.
For the first time since starting this conversation, Rivini suddenly looked worried. “I see... Is what I ask such a great insult to you?”
“Very. I do not judge, nor do I allow my own personal convictions to interfere in business as a Line owner... but the Front-Line does not allow slavery. We trade in everything but people. That is the one product that has never been found, nor ever will, on the Front-Line.”
A long moment passed as the old woman studied me, and I noticed a small part of her mask had returned. Either intentionally, or subconsciously, I couldn't tell.
When she finally broke her silence, it was with a whisper of a voice. “I can see how you could live in such a manner, with your wealth and power... but I am not asking you to trade in slaves, I am asking you to partake in a play. A grandiose one, to save many lives... maybe even the whole city. It is nearly the exact opposite,” she said, trying to reason.
“I understand,” I said calmly. There was no point in arguing with her, she had her ways and I had mine.
All I could do was what was necessary.
“So... you're willing to do this then?” she asked, unsure of herself.
It was my turn to go silent, but I didn't study her.
I no longer cared about her.
She disgusted me.
But what I did care about, was my people. And if I said no... We’d have to leave. Today.
Doing so was possible, repairs were close to being finished... but there was another problem.
Only one cargo compartment was full. Twenty more were still empty.
Although the goods in that one compartment more than made up for the lack in the others, it was still a strikingly small number.
If we left now, with only one cargo full of goods... my people would question me. They'd be concerned.
They'd wonder if they'd be able to eat when we returned to our normal route. And once we finally docked in one of the common home cities we frequented, they'd start to question if they earned enough on our long voyage. Then they would question if staying under my employ was worth it, both financially and logically.
All it took was one bad venture on a Line to render it distrusted.
All it took was one.
Would a single cargo compartment be enough?
It was impossible to calculate, since the value of goods was never constant. Especially the type of goods the House of Derri had given as payment.
If we were to have a string of bad luck... the single cargo wouldn't even pay for the expenses of this trip.
I had no choice.
I needed the other Houses. I needed more cargo containers to be filled.
And I could only trade with them if there was peace.
After all, even though the Front-Line would be fine even if they erupted into a civil war... I'd then have no choice but to leave the city anyway.
I couldn't endanger my people, no matter how small the risk... at least in such a way as that.
“You'll have to give me a night. I shall give you my answer in the morning,” I said, reaching my conclusion.
It was really the only conclusion to give.
Rivini hesitated for a moment, but had no choice but to nod in acceptance. “I understand...”
Standing, I nodded back. “I promise to give it heavy thought. I'll have a messenger sent in the early morning to let you know my answer,” I said, then left.
“Noth?” my cousin sounded concerned as I left the room, but I wasn't in the mood to explain here and now.
Leaving the House of Derri, I didn't even wait for one of the Derri guards to guide us out, or part ways. Nor did I care to wait for a contingency of guards for the city itself.
Yevin quickened his pace, passing me so that he'd walk ahead of me. Thanks to his actions, I was able to see that I had been walking at far too brisk a pace. Yevin was nearly jogging.
Slowing down, I sighed as my cousin hurried next to me. He was sweating, and only partly from the heat. “What happened?” he asked with his tone full of concern.
“When we return, ready a vote. Or votes, depending on the outcome of the first one,” I ordered.
He coughed, and I slowed my pace even more to allow him to catch his breath. “I see. That bad huh?” he asked.
With our slower pace, I was also able to calm myself. Thankfully it wasn't too hard. And with my newfound calmness, I was able to notice that the sky was dark.
I hadn't been talking to the elder for that long...?
“A storm I guess. One of the young girls had informed us of its approach, a sandstorm. She had said it would be a small one, and not to be concerned... but it looks quite large,” Jamthi said, noticing where my eyes wandered.
“Fitting.”
Chapter Seventeen – Derri’s Savior
The sandy floor was hot to the touch, even though there was a cool wind blowing.
Magic was strange.
“You'd pass on this honorable duty?” Rivini asked from above me.
She had stood from her seat, and I could hear the confusion in her voice. She couldn't believe the sight in front of her.
Granted, the sight of me prostrating myself was something rare indeed...
It's been a very long time since I've incurred someone's wrath to such a degree that needed such a gesture.
“Rather, I am ill suited. Please choose another,” I begged, keeping myself prostrated.
“Your mother says otherwise. Your grandmother proves otherwise,” Rivini said.
For a
long moment I kept my forehead on the sandy floor. When I couldn't resist it any longer and lifted my head to look at the Grandmother, most of the sand had remained stuck to my forehead. “What do you mean?” I asked.
My mother made sense. She'd sacrifice me without hesitation... but my grandmother...? She had been kind to me. At least, for as long as she had remembered me. Once she forgot who I was, and her mind broke with age, she had become cruel.
“Your grandmother was once a bride of peace. Married into our family to ensure war could be avoided... at the time. You're the best choice, if not my only choice, considering your ancestry.”
Although it was interesting to hear of my blood-line, it was also disheartening.
So this was why my mother was such a vile woman. She had been the child of such a marriage.
And why I now had to suffer.
“So I must suffer, because my grandmother did first,” I said softly.
“You must do it, because no one else can.”
I shook my head.
“You have to, Telleya. There are only five others of age, and two have children. And of the rest, you're the only one who doesn't have a history of sickness,” Rivini said.
“Too afraid to show a malnourished bride to the city?” I taunted.
“They'd know this wasn't real if we showed them such a sight. One does not give a sick and weak bride to secure a generational pact. One gives the finest they have to offer,” she said.
“Hrenda or Marli are finer,” I said, but the moment their names left my lips I felt sick.
I just tried to sacrifice two sisters.
Lowering my head again, trying to stop myself from throwing up, I found it hard to breathe for a few heavy heartbeats.
So I really was a daughter of Derri.
How could I have said that?
May the Sands bury me.
“Marli is too young. Hrenda wouldn't survive childbirth with her body,” Rivini said plainly, seemingly ignoring my current state.
Childbirth? She was acting as if this arrangement was actually going to last that long.
Was it to make it seem as real as possible to the onlookers, or was it pure delusion and hope on her part? There was no way this Commander of such a powerful Line was going to ever return here after this being forced upon him.
Our people weren't worth it.
“I... I can't...” I whispered.
“You can. You're bright enough to act. You're wise enough to know your place. In fact... this very moment proves it,” Rivini said, and I could hear her amusement.
My body shook a little, not just in anger but disappointment. She wasn't going to let me free myself.
I was going to be given to this man, and he would then ensure that the House of Derri returned to its former glory.
Derri would live, and I would suffer and die.
The Sands were cruel beyond reason.
“I could fail,” I said softly.
“Ha. Such threats are worthless. How could you? Anything you did to jeopardize the marriage would be known to all to be your own doing. No House would take affront to it,” she said.
Glaring at the old woman, and her amused calmness, I found myself hating her almost as much as I hated myself.
She was such a woman of Derri, with her haughty arrogance.
“Plus, you're too kind to your fellow sisters. You know that if you don't do this, or if you fail, that they'll simply take your place. You suggested Marli, correct? If you fail, even someone as young as her will be used if needed. You wouldn't allow that,” she reasoned.
With clenched teeth I had no choice but to sit there in silence as the old woman vocalized my predicament.
There was a reason she was the Elder, the Grandmother. There was a reason the House of Derri had survived this long, even in its desperate state.
She and the rest of the Elders were not stupid... at least, not when it came to controlling its people.
Unable to say anything else, or think of another way to argue, the Grandmother nodded to me. She saw that I had given up.
“Now we must prepare. He will be here shortly. Come, child. Do not shame our House,” Rivini said, standing from her seat and heading for the door.
Still on my knees, I realized my eyes were not blurry.
I wasn't crying.
Or was it that I couldn't cry?
Who would have thought that the House of Derri could take even my tears away.
The door opened, and a small wave of hot air warmed my sweat.
Rivini paused in the doorway, staring at me with an odd level of patience.
I knew she could simply order me. I knew she could force me, too.
A few words, and there'd be a man in here who would be more than happy to convince me with pain.
But if I was foolish enough to need pain to obey, I'd have been dead a long time ago.
Forcing myself up was hard, and I was unsteady. I hadn't been kneeling too long, but it felt as if I had been lying on the floor all day.
A tiny part of me wanted to argue further... to find a loophole or a way to convince her to find another... but I knew it was hopeless.
I barely had the strength to stand and walk, let alone fight and argue.
The House of Derri was going to survive... and I was now the only one to blame.
Following Rivini out of the room, we headed to wherever my fate laid. My legs hurt as I walked, but it didn't matter.
Nothing did anymore.
Chapter Eighteen - Vote
“Another Yea!”
The crowd cheered as the number was erased and replaced with the new one.
Seven hundred and three was the new number, and the other side of the board held only a single digit.
A large circular zero.
“Oh! Finally a Nay!” Jamthi shouted, and I hurriedly looked up. I needed to get my hands on that vote, to find out who had submitted it.
They deserved a raise, and a promotion. Maybe even Jamthi's position.
“No! Wait!” Jamthi stopped the vote tally writer, who had been about to erase the large zero. “It's not a nay; it's a nay for leaving. Why'd you write it like this Kana? You nearly got him a vote!” Jamthi explained, causing a round of laughter to erupt.
My head fell, and I was half tempted to revoke Kana's recent promotion. I'd send her to clean pipes in the animal pens!
“It's your fault for showing them the goods before the vote,” a deep voice said, barely audible between the hollering and laughter.
“Ugh,” I groaned, and couldn't even think of anything to say.
My expression must be bad if even Yevin is trying to comfort me.
I had partly expected them to not vote in my favor... but for it to be so one-sided...
Did they have no loyalty? No fealty?
They were basically as bad as those blasted Elders. Just as they were selling off a young woman for their gain, my own people were now doing the same.
So this was what a loaf of bread felt like, as it was being haggled over by a hungry passerby and the merchant who sold it.
“Another Yea!” Jamthi shouted, and quickly more and more followed.
Once the number made it to nine-hundred, I went ahead and stood.
Usually such a vote required at least three-quarters of votes to be counted, even with such a disparaging difference... But the fear of all six thousand votes being tallied, and me not getting even a single one, was too scary of a thought.
Jamthi paused in the middle of unfolding the next vote, noticing me. With his look, the crowd's eyes followed.
Everyone around me grew quiet, but the large smiles and the sound of people snickering told me exactly what my position was.
“Enough. Yea's win,” I said plainly, loud enough for all to hear.
While a few hats flew in the air, several people began booing me. They had wanted to ridicule me longer.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, walking towards the stage.
It didn't take long
for me to climb up onstage and join Jamthi. The billboard remained, but the one who had been writing the votes had left the stage already and joined the crowd.
“Sorry cousin, just the way it is,” Jamthi said, patting me on the back.
Ignoring his massive smile, I looked around to my people. All of them were smiling, just as amused as my giddy cousin.
With a heavy sigh, I nodded. “Alright. I'll take part in this foolish play and marry into Derri,” I said.
“Take one for the team, boss!” someone shouted.
“But!” I raised my hand and pointed at them, before more could shout. “I'm going to remember you all sold me!”
“You just became the most expensive groom in history, cousin... you really have no room to complain,” Jamthi said.
“Quite a dowry!” I heard Sarley shout, causing a wave of laughter.
“Such a greedy bunch,” I mumbled, unable to speak. They were all laughing and cheering far too loudly for me to be heard.
My cousin gripped my shoulder, drawing closer so he could be heard. “All's well, Noth. Look how happy they are. Just bite your tongue and bear it. Who knows, maybe you'll have fun.”
“Fun? And bear it? Jamthi, they'll never let this die. Years from now they'll still tease me over this...”
“That's the best part,” he laughed.
“Oh it wasn't the mountains of gold and jewels?” I asked.
“Well... those are nice too,” he admitted.
“Back to work! I'm going to go earn a fortune, and I expect you all to load it properly!” I shouted, drowning out most of them as the Front-Line shook.
Normally when I shouted so, they grew quiet and forlorn, but this time they only erupted into more cheers as they went into motion. People hurried to return to their duties, and were far more than eager to do so.
Chances were they'd all work harder than ever... I should probably utilize their newfound vigor as long as I could.
There were a few projects I could get them to focus on, and they'd probably finish them far faster than normal thanks to their expectations.
Had to profit off this somehow, after all.
“So, to the House of Derri?” Jamthi asked as we both watched the crowd disperse.