The structure was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, broad and strong and ornamented with carved stone pillars. Evergreen wreaths and brilliant red ribbons hung in garlands along the railing and two enormous wreaths of the same bedecked the two tallest pillars at the bridge’s entrance. It looked like a frozen fortress guarding the enchanted land of winter.
“This is the south fork of Itah Creek,” Gieaun said knowledgeably.
As they crossed the creek, Jahrra’s eyes widened even further. Ahead there lay something even more wonderful than the granite bridge spanning the stream. A great, beautiful city made entirely of polished stone in every color imaginable towered into view.
The carriage train moved smoothly down the main street of Kiniahn Kroi and immediately became surrounded by an assortment of sights, sounds and smells. Manicured yards and tall gleaming houses of stone flashed by, their small gardens kept tidy and contained by strong iron fences. Every shrub and plant was kept in top shape and every door was ornately carved and painted in rich ocean blues, brick reds, and blazing whites.
All of the houses were at least two or three stories high with a neat stone path leading to the front door; in every entryway hung beautiful oil lamps made of pale green glass. The streets were lined with ancient sycamores, lamps similar to those in the doorways hanging from their bare branches or perched upon lampposts on every street corner.
Everywhere the children looked, they saw the signs of the season. Bows and ribbons of silver and gold, bright red berries, rich green holly and branches of evergreen garnished the elaborate fences and lampposts of the massive labyrinthine town.
Along the way, the carriages passed many public gardens, large and small, their lily ponds now black and empty of life during these cold months. Everything looked very clean and Jahrra imagined that gnomes and fairies flitted and dashed around after dark to keep the streets and sidewalks immaculate.
If Jahrra hadn’t known any better, she would’ve thought the entire city was enchanted. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what those strange lamps would look like when lit at twilight. A smile crossed her lips as she pictured a thousand lanterns, emitting a soft green glow as noble couples strolled through the parks during a warm summer evening.
Jahrra inhaled deeply, the cold air reminding her summer was still far away, and realized this city wasn’t filled with the unpleasant smells she usually recognized in the other towns of Oescienne. The air here was pungent with frost and the faint, clean odor of berries and apples, all infused with the deep, cool aroma of damp, mossy granite. In the distance she heard an orchestra playing a familiar Solstice song enhanced by the constant light jingle of bells.
Kiniahn Kroi was quieter than Aldehren, if a bustling city could be quiet. There was definitely something different about the noises here. People didn’t shout across the street at one another and those driving horses didn’t whistle, but seemed almost to lead the animals with their minds. Jahrra thought it was all very strange, but sat back and enjoyed the passing scenery anyway.
They passed fancy restaurants stuffed with well-dressed patrons, a clothing store selling nothing but silks and lace, and even a building with a sign that read Hot Springs. Wow, wouldn’t that be nice! Jahrra thought, imagining hot water coming out of the ground and collecting into a deep, steaming pool. What she and her friends didn’t see however, were livery stables, butchers’ shops or smithies. Jahrra decided that such noisy and smelly places would not be acceptable within Kiniahn Kroi’s boundaries.
The people here were different, too. Finely dressed men and women ambled down the wide sidewalks, rode fine semequins, passed by in expensive buggies or shopped for gifts while enjoying the crisp air. One woman, weighed down by yards of rich ruby skirts and topped with a ridiculous feathered hat, had a small covey of servants trailing after her, each one trying hard not to drop the mountain of packages they carried as she barked out orders. Jahrra imagined each of these decorated people had at least one relative who lived in a palace somewhere and wondered if any of them might be related to Eydeth and Ellysian.
Once through the main part of town, the caravan headed further north along a wide cobblestone road that began to turn west. Jahrra stuck her head through the window and noticed, behind the screen of bald sycamores and birches, another arm of tall hills looming up ahead.
“Those hills split the two canyons,” Gieaun explained. “And I think we’re headed for the north canyon. It’s where the richer people live,” she continued with a slightly sour face.
Jahrra couldn’t begin to imagine what the richer part of town might look like.
“Kiniahn Kroi is built right up against the tip of that range, placed directly between the two canyons,” Scede added, seeing Jahrra’s somewhat puzzled look.
The cobbled road followed Itah Creek around the hills and continued westward. Jahrra gaped at the huge mansions nestled against the wooded hillside, and as the white carriage train moved further up the canyon, the houses gradually became larger and more ornate. Many of them were built right up into the side of the hills, making Jahrra wonder if there might be an entire second set of rooms reaching deep inside the heart of the earth.
About thirty minutes after the wagons entered the canyon, the beautiful houses suddenly ceased and the caravan passed through a massive gate. Jahrra leaned out of the window once again and glanced at the buggies ahead of their own.
They were now traveling up a long cobbled road lined with evenly manicured holly bushes, all of which were adorned with bright red berries and glossy white and green leaves. The western-most tip of the canyon was draped in shade by the tall hills and the winter air here stayed hidden from the sun, remaining cold and unmoving. The world seemed frozen and secluded here and Jahrra sunk back into her seat, feeling like she was intruding in a land where she wasn’t welcome.
The wagon train clattered along steadily for what seemed like hours until finally Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede felt their comfortable carriage slow to a halt.
The three friends stood up and peered shyly through the window on one side of their coach. At the end of the long drive there stood the most beautiful house Jahrra had ever seen. The drive circled around a great fountain and two massive, arching staircases led up to the second story.
The mansion itself was four stories tall and was built close to the eastern curve of the canyon’s end. Jahrra blinked as she registered the color of the great stone house. It was a deep butter color, with a dark goldenrod tile roof speckled with moss and lichen. She’d always loved yellow, but now she wondered if she would ever consider it a happy color again.
The eight carriages all came to a crunching stop over the gravel drive and several men and women dressed in clean but simple uniforms came rushing out to help the children into the main house. Jahrra suddenly felt very nervous and glanced warily at her two friends, who returned the same look. They purposely waited for all of their other classmates to line up behind the twins and proceed, entranced as they were, up the side staircase and into the main entrance hall. The awkward trio joined in at the back of the group, keeping their distance and hoping that the other children would be too hypnotized by their surroundings to notice the Nesnan and her traitorous friends.
As soon as they entered the huge, heavy double oak doors (opened by servants of course), the children were engulfed in a wave of color, sound and movement. Elegant and beautiful women were gathered in circles or sitting on overstuffed couches chattering away like hens. Some dashed across the room several times, whispering secrets to their friends only to burst into red-faced giggling when listening to the reply.
The men, smoking pipes and dressed in the most ornate clothing Jahrra had ever seen, didn’t even notice the children come in. She found it peculiar that the men stood around talking openly to one another in the middle of the room while the women took a much more secretive approach to their style of conversation.
“I wonder if they’re supposed to do that,” Gieaun whispered once Jahrra poi
nted the strange scene out to her.
Nevertheless, the fancy patrons seemed to be enjoying themselves, eating refreshments and drinking what Jahrra could only guess was sparkling wine. The aromatic buzz of conversation was only interrupted by the light, cheery music floating in from another room.
Jahrra pulled her attention away from the busy environment and looked more closely at her surroundings. It was a large space, complete with a vaulted ceiling and a half-moon staircase leading to the upper levels of the house. The interior of the mansion was tiled with white marble, and many fine paintings and tapestries hung in the great hall, their rich blues, greens, reds, oranges and blacks contrasting with the pale lemon walls. The windows were beautiful as well; thousands of small diamond shaped panes, glittering like rough sheets of ice in the afternoon light, filled the space above the stairs from ceiling to floor.
The ceiling itself was exquisite, complete with an enormous crystal chandelier hanging from its center. Jahrra wondered quietly if the castle on the Sloping Hill had once looked like this so many centuries ago. She craned her neck to see the entirety of the amazing, high-domed ceiling. A mural told a story with the characters boldly painted, but before she could discern what the tale was about she felt a tug at her arm. It was Gieaun and she was pointing over to where the left wing of the crescent staircase began.
Ellysian stood there with all of their classmates gathered around her. Jahrra grimaced as the girl shouted over the din, “Now, you all must come see mine and Eydeth’s rooms. We have the finest bedding and furniture father could find.”
She said something more, but Jahrra made no effort to listen. The last thing she wanted to do was see the twins’ rooms. Gieaun and Scede agreed with her, and they decided to head in the opposite direction towards a glass door next to the other side of the staircase that opened out onto a nice, shaded terrace. The three friends wove their way through the boisterous crowd, not worried about alarming the adults who were too intent on their noisy gossip to notice three wayward children.
They stepped out onto the stone terrace and saw that it was really a raised patio with the creek flowing below it. The patio cut into the side of the rocky wall of the canyon, creating a small, protected grotto. Several chairs and a heavy stone table stood within the small alcove, and feathery ferns and other shade-loving plants added an extra soft, delicate touch.
A carved marble railing enclosed the patio, and marble benches and statues stood in perfect harmony with the many curves and turns of the terrace. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede took a seat on one of the benches facing into the canyon. Once settled, Jahrra breathed in the fresh air and plucked lightly at her skirt, grateful to be away from the stuffy drove of people inside.
“Well,” sighed Scede dramatically, tugging on the sleeves of his tunic to mimic Jahrra, “if we stay out of the way, we may just survive tonight.”
Gieaun and Jahrra nodded in agreement. Jahrra sighed deeply then glanced towards the western edge of the courtyard, only to notice a simple staircase leading down to a path running above the creek. It was a narrow path and it trailed away behind a curve in the canyon’s wall. She immediately got up and headed towards it.
“Where are you going?” asked Gieaun with a perplexed look on her face.
“There’s a path down there. Come on, let’s follow it. We’ll definitely be out of everyone’s way if we do.”
Gieaun and Scede gladly followed Jahrra, hoping the adults really hadn’t noticed them before.
The pre-occupied Resai men and women may not have noticed the Nesnan girl and her two Resai friends, but Eydeth had. As they made their way up the narrow path, Eydeth watched them from the tall window at the top of the stairs.
He’d lingered behind as his sister led their classmates to her room. He’d been on his way up behind his classmates, but something had flittered in the corner of his eye, and when he turned to see what it had been, he caught sight of Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede wandering off onto the terrace. A cold smile crossed his lips and as he watched them disappear further into the canyon, he thought of a way to humiliate Jahrra once again.
***
The path crawled snake-like along the edge of the rocky tributary that fed Itah Creek. Every few yards or so, the stone path would widen, creating a nice little overlook with benches for sitting. The trail itself rose and fell along the way, and in some places it was only a few feet above the creek where in others it was much steeper. The hillside on the opposite side of the creek was shaded by low oaks and the ground below them was carpeted with the crimson leaves of the now naked poison ivy branches clinging to the tree trunks.
Jahrra grinned as she and her friends traipsed down the tidy gravel trail, the crunching of their boots overwhelming the quieter sounds of the canyon. The cool taste of frosty air and the subtle voice of the bubbling stream below followed the trio as they gradually moved further and further away from the house, now standing like a beacon in the golden light of the late afternoon sun. Every now and then they would pause to gaze into the deep pools beside the creek, dropping small pebbles in each one and counting the tiny fish as they scattered for cover.
A half hour after they left the great house they came around a final bend in the path to find themselves at the canyon’s end, or rather, the canyon’s beginning. A narrow ribbon of black water, fenced in by a path of green ferns and moss on either side of it, trickled down the steep hillside and collected in a large pool below.
Jahrra, followed by Gieaun then Scede, walked down to the edge of the pond where the path spilled onto a stone patio surrounding the pool. More stone benches and statues adorned the dark corner of the gully, and when Jahrra looked up to locate the top of the waterfall, she frowned. Thick, green oak branches completely blocked the view.
“I bet this pond is deeper after a good rainstorm,” Scede commented as he tapped the shallow water with the bottom of his boot.
“I bet it makes a great swimming pool in the summer, too,” Gieaun added, plopping down on a nearby bench.
Jahrra squatted down next to Scede and reached out to touch the surface of the water. It seemed so smooth, so perfect; she wondered if touching it would be like touching the surface of a mirror.
“Don’t even think about moving any closer,” said a cold voice from above.
Jahrra yanked her hand back in surprise while Scede turned quickly to see who had spoken. It was Eydeth, of course, with what appeared to be the entire class crowded behind him. Jahrra was stunned, and although her heart echoed loudly in her ears, it didn’t block out the voice she heard next.
“Eydeth, why on Ethoes did you leave the party to walk out here . . ?” Ellysian said irritably as she pushed her way through the throng to confront her brother. When she saw Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede, however, her gaze of annoyance turned to a one of distaste.
“What are you three doing down here?” she demanded, thrusting her hands on her hips.
“We just wanted to get some fresh air,” Gieaun said timidly. “We’ll be heading back now . . .”
She moved to stand up from the bench she’d been sitting on, but Eydeth’s movement in her direction forced her back down.
“Oh no,” he said in a chillingly silent voice, a dry smile creeping across his face, “you’ve seen our secret swimming pond. The only way you can leave now is to fulfill a challenge.”
Gieaun turned white as a ghost, looking slightly blue in the waning light, and Jahrra felt Scede tense up beside her. It was one thing to defy the twins at school but it was quite another to do so here. This was their territory; they were in control and Jahrra had no idea how to get out of this mess.
She stood and glared at Eydeth, despising him more than ever. “What ‘secret swimming pond’? We saw no sign warning us off. We did nothing wrong.” She crossed her arms and waited for him to say something.
Eydeth turned slightly pink and as their classmates started to fill in around him, he continued on. “Do you think you can just walk past all of us then?” he demanded, wa
ving nonchalantly at the small crowd surrounding him. “You must compete against me in a contest. You have to beat me to the top of the waterfall if you want to leave here unharmed. If you fail, you and your friends will spend the night out here.”
Jahrra was horrified. She was certain that Eydeth could enforce such a threat at his own home. She glanced at Scede and then Gieaun. Scede looked like he might have lost his ability to speak and Gieaun looked like she was about to faint.
Jahrra turned her eyes back on the malicious boy standing in front of her. “Alright, I’ll do it,” she said, starting to feel angry and frightened at the same time.
The crowd began sniggering and whispering amongst themselves, the twins looked wickedly pleased, and Gieaun and Scede looked like they were melting from the inside out.
“Jahrra!” Gieaun hissed. “You can’t do this, you’ll fall for sure! And your clothes! What are you thinking!?”
Jahrra was afraid Gieaun would go into hysterics, but she refused to back down. She shrugged off her jacket and handed it to a rather stunned Scede, then pushed up her loose sleeves and stared up the face of the water-slick cliff with stony determination.
It didn’t look too daunting. The tops of the oak trees grew right up against the wall about twenty feet up, and the top of the falls couldn’t be much higher than that. Jahrra raked her eyes over the damp wall in front of her and saw a system of gnarled roots protruding from stone and soil. She smiled weakly, knowing that these would make the climb easier.
The two competitors moved towards the base of the narrow fall, Jahrra doing her best to step on the large stones protruding from the pool so that she wouldn’t get her boots wet. She risked a glance at her friends. Gieaun had managed to snatch her suede jacket out of Scede’s hands and was now clutching it in a very distressful way, her brother beside her looking just as anxious.
Jahrra glared over at Eydeth. He looked her up and down as if she were something unsightly, then turned his eyes towards the canopy above. Everyone crowded in closer to the scene and Ellysian stepped up onto the closest bench, raising one white-gloved arm.
[Oescienne 01.0] The Finding Page 21