Grains of Sand

by Varian Morn

  Down below on the ground floor, were groups of people. They were sitting at tables, and seemed to be relaxing. Maybe some kind of gathering area, or just a place to rest in-between work.

  I couldn't blame them for choosing here to rest though, considering its beauty.

  “It's beautiful,” I said.

  Yes...

  This place was as beautiful.

  But at the same time...

  “Come on, we're near one of the best restaurants on the Line and if you're half as hungry as me we can put them out of business,” Sarley said with a tap on my shoulder.

  Her mention of food quickly changed my course of thought, but at the same time made them delve even deeper into the darkness.

  “I'm not sure about that, but we can try,” I said as I went to follow her.

  Thanks to this balcony hallway being smaller than the others, I was able to stay behind her as we walked. Hopefully, before we reached our next destination, I would be able to calm myself... so she wouldn't notice my internal discord.

  After all, I was doing my best not to smile in giddy apprehension.

  I was about to get to enjoy a wonderful meal! A real one... maybe even an exotic one, from lands beyond...

  If the food was even a fraction as tasty as that earlier drink had been... Then...

  Feeling the excitement, I nearly hurried up enough to walk alongside Sarley. The only reason I was able to stop myself, was the cold fear deep inside of me.

  This wasn't good.

  I needed to hate this place. To... despise it.

  If I fell in love with it, then I'd not be able to do what had to be done.

  To destroy what I hated, I needed to stop myself from falling in love with this place.

  Hopefully it won't get any harder than this...

  “Oh, it's the boss,” Sarley stopped walking as she peered over the railing.

  Unlike her, I had to get up next to the railings to see over it. I wasn't as tall as her.

  Although we were no long near the large window, we still overlooked a large sitting area. Most of the chairs here were empty, but people were walking to and fro... or some of them were. The rest were all huddled around someone else.

  “You can tell from here?” I asked.

  “Easily enough. He's being teased by the looks of it,” she laughed.

  “So everyone does it, not just you and Jamthi?” I asked.

  Echoes of laughter reached us, and Sarley chuckled alongside them as if she had heard whatever joke had been given.

  “Mostly. It's his fault, always making himself an easy target. Come on,” Sarley said, and returned to walking away.

  “So my presence is just another tool used against him then,” I said.

  “Somewhat... You're rather unique in that regard. This has never happened before, not just since I've been here but ever. I've never even heard of a Line Commander marrying randomly on the spur of the moment, let alone like this,” Sarley said, her voice telling me clearly how much she was enjoying this.

  “Glad to humor you,” I said softly.

  “Keep it up! You have my full support!” she said loudly.

  I knew my smile was as fake as could be as we rounded a hallway and headed for a stairwell. I didn't even try to mask it with a real one.

  “So please keep teasing him,” she then said softly, stopping a few feet from the stairs.

  The large muscular woman seemed softer, almost weaker, as she smiled at me.

  A request, or a hope, I wonder?

  Either way... it was something I couldn't fulfill.

  Since after all... I'd not live long enough to do so.

  Chapter Twenty Six – His Snoring Guest

  The light snoring was both annoying and confusing.

  “Why the hell didn't you give her a room?” I asked Sarley.

  “She didn't want one. She wanted to wait until you got back... she really does expect to spend as much time with you as possible,” she said from behind me.

  Sarley had stood upon my return, but hadn't gotten too close to me. I could tell she wanted to tease me, but at the same time was worried I'd grow angry.

  Maybe I should.

  The young woman was curled up haphazardly on the couch, and was half covered by a small blanket. She was hugging close one of the small pillows that decorated the couch, and the other was a few feet on the floor.

  She looked comfortable, and content. Her light snoring, and that strange smirk of a smile that was half hidden by the pillow, told me she was having a good dream.

  In fact she looked too content.

  A woman who had just been sold into a political marriage shouldn't look so at ease.

  Maybe she wasn't what she seemed...

  “Is she a spy?” I asked.

  “Telleya?” Sarley scoffed, sounding almost offended. “Nonsense. I mean, she probably will tell everything she hears and sees to whomever she takes orders from... but anyone would. No, she's just making the best out of her situation.”

  “Which includes falling asleep leisurely in my office,” I said.

  “Well, we just ate. She ate quite a bit, by the way... Nearly as much as me,” she said.

  I turned a little to look at the large woman. She was heavier than me, and most of it was muscle.

  Sarley nodded, agreeing with me on how insane it sounded. “It's true. It's not surprising if you take into account her lifestyle... from what I've heard and seen, her people are poor. It might have been the first good meal in a long time,” she reasoned.

  “Possibly.”

  “She also asked for some alcohol, but I decided to not let her have any,” she said.

  “Of course she did. Refuse her anything like that from here on out,” I said, glaring at the sleeping woman.

  “Hm. Don't want her doing anything stupid after all,” Sarley agreed.

  No, I just didn't want her to drink all of the good stuff.

  “All in all boss, from what I can tell she's been given an order. To be your wife. She knows it's temporary, and that it's fake... but she'll fulfill it anyway. Do what your told, type mentality,” Sarley explained.

  “Hmph. I can't even laugh,” I said.

  “I don't expect you to. Which is why we will,” Sarley teased.

  “I want an eye on her. All times. Several if you can spare them. Let everyone know that although she's a guest, she's also not a member of the Front-Line,” I ordered.

  “Got it.”

  “And next time get her a room. No excuses. I know you just allowed it because you want to use it as a way to tease and spread rumors,” I said.

  Sarley flinched, but didn't seem too bothered at being found out. “Going to be a little hard boss... Quite dedicated, your wife. She's quite adamant in being with you until the end,” Sarley teased.

  “She's dedicated to her House, not me,” I retorted.

  “Sure, but in theory you're part of her House too now aren't you? Speaking of that do we need to take that into account now? Noth of Derri? The Front-Line of the House of Derri?” Sarley teased.

  I turned to look Sarley in the eye, and her smile vanished once our eyes met.

  There was a lot I wanted to say, but I knew if I spoke my voice would wake up the cause of all of this.

  “Sorry boss... I didn't mean it that way,” Sarley softly said.

  With her apology, I sighed and nodded. Why did I allow myself to get so angry over it?

  “Let her sleep. Get back to work,” I said, and headed for my desk.

  Sarley gave me a silent salute before quietly leaving the room. She made sure to close to the door as softly as possible.

  While I sat down, I noticed that my desk was still a mess. Neither Sarley nor the cause of it had done anything about it.

  “Pain in the ass,” I mumbled, and went to work cleaning it.

  As I worked, the young girl snored. It was not a sound I was familiar to at all, least of all in my office of all places... and it unsettled me.

 
Glancing to the closed door, I wondered if I should leave too. Or have ordered Sarley to wake her and take her elsewhere.

  She made a strange noise with her nose, and then moved a little to get more comfortable. At first I thought she was going to wake up, so I could snarl at her, but instead she returned to snoring.

  Blasted woman.

  Sorting the mess she had made earlier, and had neglected to clean up, I made sure to do so quietly.

  Sometimes having such a competent crew had its negatives. When everyone was so efficient at their job, it meant there was little to do on my end. It’s too bad our lives are so dependent on people being good at their jobs, or I’d purposefully hire fools just to give me someone to yell at.

  Still…

  Glancing at the girl, I noted that the officer dress she wore was a little loose. Even for a woman her age and size. It had been so readily apparent when she had been in that gown, but for some reason the sight of the sleeves being loose was more distinct.

  Maybe it was because it was clothing I saw constantly, and always on people fitted for them.

  If she had been one of my own people, I would have worried for her health. I would have ordered others to keep an eye on her to ensure she ate her fill, of healthy meals.

  Kana had said nothing was wrong with her, however. Malnourished, yes… but nothing worse. An otherwise healthy woman.

  Noticing a torn paper, I groaned when I realized it wasn’t a report but something I needed to send to Sarley. I’d have to redo it now.

  Although the snoring woman was my stepping stone to success, it sure did feel as if she was causing me to slip. My desk hasn’t ever looked like this. Not even when the whole Line gets shook from impacts by giant creatures, or cannons from other Lines.

  Stacking more papers, I took refuge in the sound of shuffling paper as she snored away.

  Hopefully I could finish this ordeal before she made an even bigger mess of my life...

  Or at least, before I found myself regretting the messes she’s already made.

  Chapter Twenty Seven – Waking in the Front—Line

  Not only was I alone, but the room was somewhat dark.

  Spending a few moments to stretch and relax, I let out a decent yawn before standing.

  The moment I stood from the couch, the room became brighter. Returning to the same level of brightness I remembered it as.

  “Hello?” I asked, looking around for the cause of it. But there really wasn't anyone else in the room. The office was empty, except for me.

  Had I just been sleepy, or was it some kind of strange magic?

  “Noth...?”

  Walking around the room for a moment, I wasn't too surprised to find it was still empty. I didn't know why, but I really hadn't expected to wake up alone...

  “Granted, I didn't expect to be allowed to sleep too long either,” I said to myself as I walked along the shelves.

  Although I had somewhat examined them before, I had done so while trying to get the bottle of spirits. I hadn't actually examined them.

  So I was happy to get the chance to spend my time looking into every cupboard and examining each shelf.

  It was regrettable I wasn't as tall as Sarley or that giant of a man, since they went all the way to the ceiling. I was missing out on nearly half the amusement thanks to the lack of visibility.

  Though...

  Pulling a chair over, I got up onto it and was able to look into the next few levels of shelves. Like the ones below, they were mostly full of books. Occasionally there were other things, like glowing crystals or strange artifacts, but it seemed that the higher the shelves went the more books they held.

  Getting off the chair, I decided to try and open them again. This time I tried another wall, in case it had only been that wall that was magically sealed.

  Picking a random one, I grabbed the small handle and tried to open it. Just like before, it felt like I was pulling on the wall itself.

  It didn't even budge... not even the tiniest of nudges. It was almost as if there weren't even doors at all, but they were simple decorations.

  No, even a decoration would move a little when pulled roughly. Yet this...

  “Magic,” I said with a sigh.

  Giving up trying to open any of them, I decided to walk over to the large desk.

  It had been cleaned, somewhat. Most of the papers and books I had knocked over earlier were now simply stacked in random places. Someone had cleaned it up, but had done so quickly.

  Smiling at myself, I went ahead and took a seat behind the desk.

  Noth's chair was a little larger than the rest in the room, but I immediately noticed it wasn't as comfortable.

  Rearranging myself a little, and trying to get comfortable, I wondered why it felt so... disagreeable with me.

  The chair had cushioning, and was made from some kind of soft leather, but at the same time it felt... hard.

  “He should get a new one,” I said, thinking of all the chairs that were probably available to him. You'd think someone as powerful and wealthy as he would have only the finest.

  Even though I was only playing the part of his wife, it still made me somewhat offended.

  Looking over the desk, I saw many papers that I wanted to look at, but instead I focused on the drawers of the desk.

  Or more specifically, the one that was cracked open a little.

  With a little bit of excitement I opened the drawer all the way, and peered in. I found a surprisingly large recess area, but only a few things within.

  A small box and a few bundles of paper.

  I ignored the papers, since I probably couldn't read them anyway, but the box looked promising.

  Mostly because it looked familiar.

  Putting the box on the desk, I was surprised to feel the familiar sand-stone.

  It was old, and cracking in places, but the box had definitely been made by my people... I didn't even need to see the House of Derri's symbol etched onto the surface of the lid to know this.

  At first I couldn't understand why it was here, but chances were he had simply acquired it with trade... or it had been given to him by Rivini, or one of the other elders.

  Maybe it held the formal agreement between them, concerning their trade.

  Although it had a small lock upon it, the box lid easily slid open. The lock seemed broken, maybe from time.

  If they had given it to him, then they were even more audacious than I had thought... Usually they would have wanted to keep up their appearances as well as possible.

  They could have ordered one of us to give them a better box if...

  Staring into the small box, I was surprised to find rolls of paper. Old paper. Dirty paper.

  Pulling them out, I quickly noticed that the words written upon them were of my people. They weren't like the words written on the rest of the things here.

  Carefully unfolding the paper that was now naturally curled thanks to time and wear, I quickly read the small and mess handwriting.

  “My people need seeds. They need water. They need your Line,” I read aloud.

  Cold understanding dawned on me as I realized what these were. This wasn't the agreement Noth had just made with my House or the others... but our ancestor.

  The one who had sent him our way. The one who he made the original promise with.

  Most of the papers seemed to be hastily written, and not because it had been written by someone who didn't know how to write.

  Whoever had written these had done so with urgency...

  Several of them were actually saying the same thing. What we needed. What the House of Derri needed.

  How we needed food, and sustainability. How we lacked the proper resources to even defend ourselves, or to stop the very sand from burying us alive.

  Why had he written several pages saying the same thing...?

  It felt similar to reading an old broken person’s rambling. Usually I heard such things by those with horrid wounds, with their last grains of s
and pouring from their body.

  My eyes stopped on one of the papers, and I noticed a strange writing on the bottom of it. One that wasn't our language.

  Noth's writing maybe?

  A few other papers had similar symbols, but none were the same... in fact they were decidedly different.

  It didn't take long for me to scan most of the papers, and decide that there was little there. Just endless lists of what my ancestor thought we needed, and a brief guide to our location.

  “Follow the sand,” I said, and I wondered if that was why it had taken them so long to find us.

  What a horrible way to lead someone to a destination.

  Sand was everywhere, after all.

  Going to put the papers back, I noticed there was a small book within the box. It like the papers was raggedy and torn, but the string that bound it together looked new and fresh.

  Noth must have had it repaired, to keep it from falling apart.

  The book was small, especially compared to some of the very large ones scattered around me, but was oddly heavy.

  Within I found the same type of writing as what had been on the papers, but in much cleaner fashion.

  This had been written calmly, and with precision. The penmanship was still beautiful, even with the pages having been damaged by time and wear.

  At first I had only planned to skim through it, just to see what the contents possibly could be... but surprisingly, I ended up reading each and every word.

  When the moment finally came that I turned the last page, and saw my ancestors signature, I felt both relief and exhaustion.

  It was a good thing the book itself wasn't that long, else I would have been stuck reading it for much longer than I wanted to.

  Putting the book down onto the desk, I released a long sigh and wondered if this was why Noth was so patient with the elders and the rest.

  Or rather... how much farther he was willing to go.

  Staring at the small journal, and the knowledge it had brought me, I quickly tried to plan my next step.

  The knowledge could be used. But how well? And in what way?

  Enough to bring down the House of Derri?

  Enough to bring down the Front-Line?