by Orr, Krystal
Arizira, her bow level and her body once again taut, relaxed for a moment and lowered her arms. Looking back at Talliea, she pretended to contemplate the accusation before nodding and pursing her lips. "I believe your words to be a truth. I held no favor with your skirts."
Again, Talliea laughed and the sound was both light and carefree. She watched Arizira for only a moment before a second arrow caught her eyes. As before, the arrow landed exactly were Arizira had intended.
"You are very good," she commented, stuffing her gloved hands under her arms for added warmth. The day was not yet at its zenith and, though the cold winds were still proving to be a bitter friend, the sun was high enough in the sky to keep the two women more comfortable than disagreeable.
Arizira smiled her acknowledgement of the compliment, dimples adorning each cheek, and looked up into the cloudy sky above. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply of the cool and crisp air around her. "Tell me more about you," she said after a moment, her head lowering and her eyes opening once again. "What does Tah-li like?"
Talliea wrinkled her brow and shrugged. "I am not certain of what you mean."
Looking around the two of them at the white landscape with towering evergreens, heavy with snow and pine needles, sharp rock croppings and various bushes, twigs, and leaves, Arizira returned her attention to Talliea.
"What makes your heart joyous, Tah-li? For me, it is the forest and Her cycles. It is the perfection of that which is around me. What gives you this feeling?"
Talliea blushed and lowered her eyes. She knew of the feeling Arizira was describing. It was a feeling of peace and serenity. It was a feeling of complacency and relief. Glancing back up into her friend's eyes, she finally replied, "I-it is silly."
Arizira turned fully around so that she was facing Talliea. The sound of squirrels scurrying in the trees above her came to her ears and she smiled. "Nothing you say is ever silly. Tell me."
Talliea took a deep breath and let her eyes follow the movements of a doe and her fawn as they hurried through the thick trees ahead of her. Thinking back on a different time in a seemingly different life, she let herself remember moments from long ago.
"When I was a child," she began, catching Arizira slightly off-guard, "I remember war being the companion to my people they did not wish to alleviate themselves of. The Southlands are not like this place, Ari. They are barren and without the sounds of life. Skirmishes were a constant as all the clans fought for resources. Our settlements were the pinnacle of our achievements, yet the cost for such grandeur was evident in the lack of vibrancy our homes held. Instead of helping one another, each clan tested the mettle of its neighbor until a victor was named."
Talliea looked up at Arizira before continuing. "We were depriving ourselves of life, eagerly walking toward death, yet our pride was a misleading foe. Do not ask of the politics of the situation. I was young and, as a woman, the full extent of the wars was not my place to know. I will say that the Esu people were locked in a civil war for many long years. It was that war that led us here to the fabled forest of your people, Ari."
Arizira said nothing. She had not heard Talliea speak so much about her people the entire time the two of them had known one another. Often, she had wondered what had caused the mythical dark skins to suddenly appear before her people, but she had never ventured to ask, believing the information too delicate a subject.
Now, however, Talliea was speaking to her of matters she never could have guessed. Walking over to where the other woman sat, Arizira seated herself next to her and snuggled against her side for extra warmth. She was quiet and silent and allowed Talliea time to organize her thoughts.
"There were whispers in the air that other clans had left for the Great Trek before our own. We know not whether any of the others arrived here safely or not. It was a time of sorrow and despair, Ari. Even being a child, innocent to the ways of the world, I always knew that matters were more than they seemed. I remember leaving the walls of our settlement when I was around my ninth summer. I became lost and soon was turned around. I walked for ages with nothing but the brown and dead earth beneath my feet to keep me company. As the sun was retreating, I caught sight of a flower not far from where I was."
Arizira watched a small and wistful smile shyly come across Talliea's face. The other woman was lost to the tale she was recounting.
"A flower," Talliea repeated. "How could something survive in the waste my people had made of the land? I walked toward it and it was white, pure as winter snow, with small, purple, crescent-like shapes appearing over the petals. I thought it was beautiful, magical. There was only the one as far as I could see. I remember sitting down next to that flower, my heart no longer carrying the weight of my misgivings, and thinking that there was hope left for those that sought it.
"Not long after the sun left the sky, a group of Lat'sa'val found me. They said Taetylona, the Sage woman, had divined my location. I picked the flower and took it with me as we returned. The following sunrise, I showed Taetylona what I had fonud."
Talliea paused and turned her head toward Arizira. Their eyes met and soft and easy smiles graced their lips. "What did the Sage woman say?" Arizira asked.
"She said the flower was a sign. It forecasted what was to come. The flower was named Tahlet Vahllah."
Arizira lowered her brows and shook her head. "This word does not...I-I can not see this word, Tah-li." Talliea nodded and took one of Arizira's hands in her own. They sat together for a quiet moment. "Tahlet Vahllah is an older Esulan word. There are not many who speak it as its dialect is viewed as more archaic than useful. Taetylona taught me some of it after I discovered the flower."
"What does this word mean?" Arizira asked.
Looking into pale blue eyes, alight with a soft white glimmer, Talliea smiled and replied, "Tahlet Vahllah means remover of sorrow. After my discovery, the one thing that brought me joy, that made my heart rejoice, was flowers. As we neared this forest on our journey, I noticed flowers of every shade and always it brought back to my mind Tahlet Vahllah."
Smiling, Arizira reached up with her free hand and brushed a strand of Talliea's hair away from her eyes. The story had made her appreciation of Talliea grow all the more. She could not imagine living in a dead and barren landscape like what Talliea had described. How could a group of people exploit their environment so? With the Esu being in the valley, and the possibility of more soon to arrive, was her beloved forest in danger of becoming like the Southlands?
"Ahmanae?" Talliea's voice brought her from her thoughts. "Hm?" she replied.
"You asked me what brought me happiness?"
"Yes," Arizira responded softly. "It is still Tahlet Vallah, yet instead of presenting itself in the form of a flower, my remover of sorrow is now in the body of a woman." Talliea paused, wanting to ensure she held Arizira's full attention. "You," she said. "You are my Tallet Vahllah now, Ari. You bring me happiness and remove my sorrow."
Instead of responding verbally, for words could not adequately translate the feelings in her heart, Arizira leaned forward and tenderly kissed Talliea's lips. The other woman reciprocated slowly and turned her head to deepen their embrace. The cold around them had caused both of their lips to chill but their kiss was quickly changing that. Arizira's right hand settled against Talliea's neck as she rubbed their noses together and slipped her tongue inside her love's mouth.
A small moan left Talliea's lips and she let herself scoot closer so that her own hands could wrap around a slender waist.
Arizira pulled away slightly, trying to control the overwhelming passion she felt for Talliea, before giving in again and reuniting their lips once more. Talliea's story had touched her heart. It was another piece of who she was as a person. Being her Tahlet Vallah and knowing how strongly the other woman was feeling for her, was a powerful and heady sensation for Arizira. She had worried that Talliea would be unable to feel for her the things she herself felt. Her insecurities over Talliea's upbringing had very nearly kil
led the birth of their feelings for each other and yet, all of that no longer seemed to matter.
Despite the odds and their own fears, despite the fact that their peoples were enemies of old and their union would most likely never be accepted, the two of them had still found one another and grown closer over their time together. They had each been drawn to the other for reasons neither of them could explain. The force between them could never have been denied. It was too strong.
As if it had always been meant to be.
Lightly peppering Talliea's lips with small pecks and nips, Arizira finally pulled herself away and smiled. Her lips and tongue tasted of fresh mint. She watched Talliea run a tongue over her own lips and savor their unique taste and knew she, too, was experiencing the flavor of mint.
With their heads still close together, Talliea reverently trailed her fingers over Arizira's collarbone and whispered, "My Tahlet Vahllah, my Ahmanae."
Arizira chose not to reply right away. She held Talliea close to her, the hand that had been on her neck moving to cradle her head, and let her lips brush across the shell of Talliea's ear. Sighing happily, she finally whispered back, "Always."
* * * * * *
The observer watched the two women and felt a hot ire rising from deep within them. How could she? the observer thought. How could she do this? Did her people mean nothing to her? She was sacrificing everything for...for the enemy? The observer could barely fathom, let alone reconcile, what they had just witnessed. It had made them sick. They knew the information they had been withholding for so long was finally ready to see the light of day. No longer could the observer keep such treason to themselves.
It was time to let the others know of the situation. One of their own had turned against them. One of their own was lying in union with the enemy.
Chapter 24: Comings and Goings
Lao'dahn walked at a brisk pace toward the small dugout that housed the Sage woman. After Taetylona's defiant attitude a few days before, he had taken it upon himself to speak to the other men of the Lat'sa'val. Leadership of the group of men was determined on a case by case basis. If a dispute broke out over land or resources within the clan, then three men of the Lat'sa'val were put forth to act as a ruling voice on the matter. The remaining men would then vote on which of the submitted men would act as the leader for the said issue.
All matters of unrest or upset were handled in this fashion. If a member of the clan was suspected of disobeying the edicts of Esuval or, in some way, hindering the progress of the clan as a whole, a vote would be issued on which man of the Lat'sa'val would act as the judge and jury.
Lao'dahn had spoken with several of his brothers over Taetylona's supposed usefulness. He had withheld his true intentions for having visited her and instead only divulged that he had sought her help in finding his attacker. Never once did he mention his suspicions that the marksmen had been Talliea or that he had managed to leave the area with an arrow as evidence.
The other men had listened to him with open minds and after a day of deliberating, had agreed to speak with the Sage woman and reevaluate her contributions to the clan as a whole. With them having finally reached the Northlands after so many summers in the open and wide world, several of the men had already voiced similar sentiments in regard to Taetylona. When they had still been in the south, Taetylona had been an invaluable well of information. Through her, the men of the clan had always stayed one step ahead of their enemies and kept enough resources to ensure their own clan's survival.
Now, having been in the mystical forest of the north for over two months, the men of the Lat'sa'val, with no known enemies to speak of in their new home, thought it long overdue to see about a complete social reform for the clan.
Taetylona, the Sage woman, seemed to them to be the best person upon which to start their radical new reform.
Lao'dahn neared the old woman's home and a smug smile spread over his lean face. Taetylona had sought to be his equal when he had visited her. She had played coy and treated him as if he were a child! In her defiance, she had made him leave that day without the arrow he'd kept. How dare her! Luckily for him, Taetylona had seemed content to remain to herself after his departure and so he knew the arrow was safe and away from Markahn's prying eyes. That was enough.
"You are to come with me at on --"
Lao'dahn stopped mid-sentence upon pulling the oiled flap from the doorway entrance of the Sage woman's abode. The fire pit held no life and only ashes could be seen to his eyes. He looked around the walls, where before there had been animal parts and mammal teeth, hides of leather and bird feathers, and an assortment of other oddities he'd never cared to commit to memory, and noticed only hardened rock and dried mud. The dugout was empty, void of all life save the wrinkled woman who sat on the ground to his left.
He studied Taetylona curiously. She kept her eyes locked on his but said nothing at all. Three small pouches, two on her right hip and the third on her left, lined her waist while a medium sized leather sack was secured over her back with a thin cord of knotted rope. The shawl she always wore was wrapped around her shoulder and over it, an old weather beaten cloak hung down the front of her chest. Taetylona's messy head of dark hair looked to have been recently braided and no longer appeared as unruly as it normally did.
Did she know he had come for her? Did she know she had been summoned before the Lat'sa'val? "Going somewhere?" Lao'dahn asked snidely.
Taetylona stood up slowly and squared her broad shoulders. "I believe you already possess the answer to that question. Why you would feel the need to express it completely baffles me."
Lao'dahn took a step forward and thought to finally give the old woman her due, his hand balling into a fist, but he stopped himself and took a calming breath. He could not show up to the Clan Circle with Taetylona carrying a black eye. It would only hurt his cause and make the woman a martyr figure to any other women in the clan who thought as she did.
Grabbing her roughly by the arm instead, he yanked Taetylona out of her dugout and into the cold, high sun. "I told you this would be brought about and you would have no one to blame but yourself," he said as he began to lead her to the center of the camp.
A large ring of rock and stone had been laid out between the eastern and western fire-pits. It was known as the Clan Circle. Every Esu clan eventually placed one in their settlements, its purpose being to make decisions and judgments before the rest of the clan in as public a setting as possible.
Today, the Clan Circle would be where Taetylona would be judged. The Lat'sa'val would all stand at the western side, beneath the large stone building still in construction, while the rest of the clan members would spread out around the circle in an arc. Lao'dahn led Taetylona to the center of the Clan Circle and moved to take his place with his brothers.
"Sage woman," Haldynn, the man who had been appointed to act as speaker for the Lat'sa'val, began.
Taetylona looked around at the men and women she had known for most of her life. There was not a one of them of whom she had not helped or aided in some way over the years. She watched them as they watched her. Was that pity in their eyes? Anger? Disgust?
She shook her head slightly and took a deep breath. It did not matter how they felt about her. None of them were aware of the events that were to come and nothing she could say would make a bit of difference to any of them. She wondered how the almighty and self-serving Lat'sa'val would take the news that creatures of myth and intrigue were lurking just beyond the rim of the forest. Would they laugh at her if she told them? Call her lost to the whims and fantasies of her old mind?
She felt a pity of her own for them. None of them were aware of how much larger the world around them was. None of them could imagine the things she had seen, the things she had been shown. They lived their lives from day to day without ever contemplating if there was a deeper connection to everything.
The women were oppressed, the men their oppressors. Free thought was frowned upon just as much as free will. H
ow could a people thrive when they were locked and bound by their own punctilious set of beliefs?
Life for all of them was nothing but duty and strict adherence to a god whose original divine plan had been long forgotten to the annals of time. They were all children, and that fact showed in their blinding ignorance as they gathered around her.
"Sage woman," Haldynn spoke again after a moment. "Taetylona." Looking up into the stocky man's dark brown eyes, Taetylona smirked to herself and finally acknowledged him. "Yes?"
"You have been summoned henceforth to stand before the rest of the clan in judgment. Your worth to the clan shall be brought into question and--"
Taetylona inhaled deeply before sighing in agitation. The Lat'sa'val were too long winded for her tastes and she was needed elsewhere. She wondered if the men of the Order enjoyed listening to the sound of their own voices or if they were just deliberately trying to waste her time.
Holding up a hand, she silenced Haldynn and looked around at the people she had shared her life with but had never been able to call family. "Let us give haste to this gathering for that is what we all truly wish. It is cold and I, for one, wish not to watch my breath freeze upon the wind."
Several gasps sounded around the Clan Circle. Lao'dahn appeared furious while several of the other men looked to their fellows for a proper reaction. Haldynn, his age showing in the grey lining the sides of his head, looked first to the right and then the left trying to ascertain how best to proceed. An outspoken woman was something the men of the Esu had very little dealings with.
"That quietened matters," Taetylona muttered to herself also looking around. Bringing her eyes back to Haldynn and the ruling Lat'sa'val, she began speaking once again.
"I believe, given that my judgment was most likely mete out before I arrived, that we can skip the formalities." She turned and looked at each individual face staring back at her and continued. "None of you desire me to remain among you," she said and looked back toward Haldynn and the Lat'sa'val, "and none of you wish to test me, for you know not how to handle an animal free of chains."