Rook

by Robin Roseau

  “You never made it a wish before,” she said. “But if I grant you your wish when speaking my words, it will also grant your wish when speaking theirs.” She gestured. “And so you must choose.”

  I looked at Alta, and I looked at the others. “You can’t all be serious.”

  Alta closed the distance. “She offered to help you.”

  “She did.”

  “No, Yalla,” Alta said gently, taking my hands. “Your voice is uniquely yours, and I wouldn’t wish you to change. Please, tell her ‘no’.”

  And so I nodded.

  “So be it, Yalla,” said the Goddess. She gestured, and I was filled with her magic. It settled into me.

  As did my accent, mine forever.

  “Well,” I said when I’d collected myself. “I wasn’t quite expecting that.”

  “I have a wish,” said Alta. “Prestainamatta.” She paused, looking in the right direction.

  “She’s listening,” I said.

  “Terél,” Alta said. “I want you to translate my words for me.” And so the priestess nodded. “Prestainamatta, I wish for Yalla to see herself through my eyes. Can you do that?”

  There was a pause after Terél translated, and then the Goddess floated to her feet, moving towards me. “Yalla, you will repeat, and Terél will translate. I can grant this wish, but there are others here with the same wish. Let all who share this wish for another step forward.”

  Mesenorié stood and held her hand to Tradódid. And then Ralalta was there, standing beside me with her hand on my shoulder. Seeing that, Larien collected Terél’s hand, and Naddí held Féla’s. And even some of the guards stepped forward. The Goddess smiled. “You must each hold each other and wish this in your hearts, and you must kiss. Yalla, you have two to hold and kiss.”

  I translated that, and then I felt myself held by Ralalta and Alta both. And then Ralalta kissed me, a motherly kiss, and then Alta, and it wasn’t at all a motherly kiss. And it was while Ralalta was kissing me that I felt the magic enter me, and it was while Alta was kissing that I felt it wrap around and bind me.

  And then I stepped away. I could see myself, but I was seeing myself twice, from two different directions.

  In one of those views, I was staring back at myself, my mouth opening and closing several times. In the other, I was smiling.

  In both, I was... I was beautiful, willowy and strong. My hair glowed, and my skin glowed. In both, that was the same.

  In one of the images, I looked younger, and somehow I looked innocent. In the other, I looked younger than I thought I was, but my womanly features were more accented, my lips a little fuller, a little brighter, and the smile was more playful.

  In both, my eyes were bright, and my hands delicate.

  But I could see more than that at the same time. I saw inside myself, but not with my eyes. Not exactly. And I saw inner strength, and love, and determination, and joy, and more love, and more love, and more love.

  And then I stepped back to both images, and I was hugging myself, twice over. My eyes closed, and when I opened them again, I felt Ralalta against me, and Alta, and both were holding me tightly.

  “Oh, Yalla,” said Ralalta. “I feel I couldn’t possibly be all that.”

  “You are,” I whispered. “You both are. The Goddess wouldn’t give us false images.”

  We clung tightly to each other, and around me, I knew we weren’t alone. And later, from the looks shared, I knew no one had been disappointed.

  “Was that the wish you expected?” I asked the Goddess.

  “No. That was unexpected. You must keep looking.”

  I nodded, kissed Ralalta and Alta, and said, “I have more to do here.”

  Slowly they pulled away, and the others, holding each other tightly, sank back to the ground.

  I looked around. “Well. Someone else has a wish.”

  At first, no one said anything, but then I heard a small voice say, “I couldn’t ask.”

  I turned to the voice. “Mellara. You have a wish.”

  “No.”

  “Yes,” said the Goddess.

  I turned to her and set my gaze on Mellara. I moved forward and pulled her to her feet. I stepped backwards, drawing her to the center, in front of our fire. “What is it, Mellara?”

  “I couldn’t.”

  “Why not.”

  “I’m not a lady or anything like that.”

  “I’m not sure that matters tonight, Mellara.”

  “Of course it does. The Queen is going to place the girls in the home of some great house somewhere.”

  “The Queen doesn’t know where she’s going to place the girls,” Ralalta said. “But if you have ideas, I would love to hear them.”

  “What is your wish, Mellara?”

  She looked away.

  “Yalla,” said the Goddess. “She should ask.”

  “Mellara,” I said. “I trusted you so much, and you never failed me. And now, don’t you trust me? What is your wish?”

  “I want them. Let me be their mother. That’s my wish. But it’s impossible.”

  “Why should it be impossible?” asked Ralalta.

  “I don’t speak Altearan. And they don’t speak Framaran.”

  “Well, they must learn Framaran,” I said. “And you could learn Altearan.”

  The Goddess stood. “Yalla, you also have another wish, don’t you?”

  I looked at her and nodded.

  “Tell Mellara.”

  “I miss you, Mellara. You were my first friend, after Juleena, and now I never see you. I don’t need you to be my maid, but I do need you to be my friend.”

  Alta stood. “Mellara, Yalla needs you as a friend, but she also needs someone to help her with her projects. Larien and Terél do much, but there are things you could do as well. Would you like a job, one that is flexible in keeping with the schedule of a new mother of four daughters?”

  “I can have them?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

  Ralalta and Mesenorié stood. “I will transfer funds for them,” Mesenorié said. “To Queen Ralalta. They must attend school and later be free to pursue opportunity as they choose.”

  “And so, Mellara,” said Ralalta. “It looks like yes, you may have them.”

  “Shouldn’t we ask them?”

  Ralalta smiled. “Yes. From this moment forth, you are their foster mother. We will review that status after you have talked to your husband, and again in three months.”

  The Goddess was smiling, but made no effort to rise again. No magic was required. And so I turned to the girls, sitting together, quiet all night. I switched to speaking Altearan, then collected Mellara’s hand and pulled her towards them with me.

  “Girls,” I said. “You have met Mellara. She is a dear friend of mine. She is to be your foster mother. And so Lamarta is now your foster sister.” I hugged Mellara and pushed her to them. She sank down to the ground and pulled the closest to her. The girl crawled into her lap, and I would see later she had fallen asleep there.

  I smiled for a moment and then rotated to return to my former place. Everyone else had already settled.

  “We’re not done, Yallameenara,” said the Goddess with a smile. She floated to her feet, took my hand, and led me to Ralalta. “Repeat my words, and Terél will translate.” She paused only a moment. “Queen Ralalta, in the Heart of the Goddess, you expressed a desire to learn my words. Was that a passing fancy or a heartfelt desire?”

  Ralalta stood as soon as she realized the Goddess was addressing her. She smiled. “A heartfelt desire, but I understand it is forbidden.”

  “Anyone may learn my words, if I give permission,” the Goddess replied. She smiled. “But if you wish to learn my words, you must learn all about me, and you must read the books I select for you, at your pace.”

  Ralalta smiled. “I would love to read anything you offer, Prestainamatta.”

  “Very good. Vérundia, Féla, Naddí. Larien and Terél must be free to serve the needs of my High Priestess.
And a tutor for children may not be the best tutor for a queen. You will assign someone. Perhaps there will be a volunteer.”

  As soon as I said that, Hallámierté was on her feet. “For as long as she would have me, I would be her tutor.”

  And then, everyone looked at everyone else. Vérundia looked at me. I looked back at her then shifted my gaze between Féla and Naddí. They looked at me, but when they caught me looking at them, they shifted their gaze to Vérundia.

  “We have not yet replaced you,” Féla pointed out.

  “You do not need my advice on this decision,” Vérundia replied. “And if you look where the High Priestess is looking, you have half an answer.”

  And so they both looked at me, and then they turned their gaze. “Queen Ralalta,” asked Naddí. “Do you accept Hallámierté’s offer.”

  Ralalta reached over and clasped her hand. “I do.”

  “Hallámierté, I am sure Yallameenara will have other duties for you, when you are not tutoring the queen,” Féla said. “Congratulations. I believe you will enjoy Marport.”

  “Does it matter that I don’t speak very much Framaran?”

  “You’ll learn.”

  * * * *

  Later, as they were on the way to Ralalta’s pavilion, I caught up to them, pulling Vérundia, Féla, and Naddí with me. “A moment of your time, Hallámierté. I’ll send her into you shortly, Ralalta.”

  We waited until Ralalta had disappeared into her pavilion. It was possible she could overhear us, but I wasn’t about to say anything I couldn’t say in front of her.

  “Hallámierté, Queen Ralalta has duties far more important than learning of the Goddess. However, I believe this is important to her. It is definitely important to me.”

  “I won’t let you down.”

  “I know you won’t. You will teach her anything we would teach a new acolyte, and you will hold her learning to the same standards, but on her schedule.” The priestess nodded. “I will want weekly, written updates on her status. I imagine Féla and Naddí will also ask for status updates.”

  “All our priestesses provide quarterly updates,” Vérundia said.

  “For now,” said Naddí, “we will continue that schedule.”

  “I do not directly oversee the priestesses in Framara,” I said. “I work through Larien and Terél. If they assign duties to you, they speak with my authority.”

  Hallámierté nodded understanding.

  “Good,” I said. “You have multiple responsibilities. You must become fluent speaking Framaran. Larien and Terél will talk to you about that. It is between you and the queen if she wishes to practice her Altearan. You will make yourself available to Ralalta as much as she wants. Other duties you are assigned are all secondary to those duties.”

  “I understand, High Priestess.”

  “I wish you to begin teaching the queen immediately, again, on her schedule. If it fits her schedule, I believe she may enjoy some of the games the children have been playing during their studies.”

  “And thus, the queen will wear a mask?”

  “I believe you will find her a joyful student. However, she is a queen, so you will not be able to order her the way you might an acolyte.”

  “I imagine not.”

  “Feel free to seek inspiration from Larien and Terél. They have experience with an adult student, and I learned well from both of them. However, as you have undoubtedly noticed, Ralalta and I are very close. You may come to me as you deem necessary.”

  “Thank you, High Priestess.”

  “I now consider you a member of my household. Over time, you’ll grow to learn what that means. And I want to warn you. I will offer you a room in our portion of the palace. Queen Ralalta may invite you to her chambers, or she may expect you to accept my offer. Do not take it personally. The queen frequently conducts business late at night in her chambers, and the sort of business that comes to her in the dark of the night is not the sort that she shares with everyone. You must be entirely understanding if she does not include you. It is her decision.”

  “I understand, High Priestess.”

  “To be clear, if you are witness to private business, you are to repeat it to absolutely no one, not even me. The queen must know she can trust your discretion.” Again she nodded. “I have one more item then. If either Princess Juleena or Princess Lásenalta expresses an interest in what Ralalta is learning, you will teach them and tell me at your next opportunity. The Goddess would be particularly pleased if Juleena were to invite her into her heart.”

  At that, she smiled.

  “That’s all I had. Anything else? Did you have questions?”

  Family

  We reached the coast, specifically arriving at a fishing village called, in Altearan, Deep Cove. This tiny village was notable for one reason, and one reason only.

  Terél had been born here, and most of her family still lived in or near the village.

  Terél’s father and brothers were fishermen. I could only imagine what a difficult life that could be. But her mother’s cousin’s family were farmers, and it was there upon a fallow field that we pitched our camp. We’d sent messengers ahead with our arrival, and Mesenorié had arranged for a festival, inviting the entire village. The villagers were already waiting for us by the time we arrived, but we set up separate camp and begged an opportunity to prepare before meeting everyone. I pulled Larien aside.

  “What does Terél want me to wear?”

  “She wants you to be yourself.”

  “You know that means leather and not vestments.”

  “You look good in leather, Yalla,” Larien replied. She brushed at my tunic. “But perhaps clean leather.”

  “Of course.”

  I scurried about. Alta and Riesa were seeing to our daughters. Mellara had command of Féla’s nieces. Vérundia and Hastiá had command of the remaining acolytes. And so I presented myself to my hastily erected pavilion, expecting to dress myself. Instead, I found Féla and Naddí waiting, and they already had my best traveling leathers laid out.

  “You two aren’t my maids anymore.”

  “We are today,” Féla said. “Está and Níta are helping the queen.”

  “I can dress myself.”

  “We’d be half done if you didn’t argue with us,” Naddí said. “Besides, we want to be members of your household today.”

  “You two will always be members of my household, regardless of where you’re living.” But I stepped forward and held out my arms, leaving them to see to my needs. They undressed me, cleaned me quickly, and then redressed me in entirely fresh clothing. Then they sat me on a small stool and worked on my hair and face. I had grown long accustomed and let them do as they desired.

  They were nearly done with me when there were voices at the door. “Are you ready in there?”

  “Queen Ralalta,” I said. “Come in.”

  Féla and Naddí let me stand to meet the queen. She stepped in, Alta with her, and we looked at each other.

  I knew I looked good, but my hair was the only thing that gave away who I was. The same couldn’t be said about Queen Ralalta. She looked every bit the queen, and she even wore jewels. Her neck and hair glittered, and she was in a deep russet gown.

  “Wow,” I said. “I didn’t know you brought any of that.”

  “I didn’t. Mesenorié arranged all this. She made it a gift.”

  “And a royal gift at that,” I said. I crossed to her and we exchanged small kisses.

  Then I turned to Alta. She was dressed like a princess of Alteara. “Your mother?” I asked.

  “It’s from the palace,” she said. “No new gifts for me.” She did a little pirouette. “How do I look?”

  “Amazing. Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

  She smiled. “Once or twice.”

  “And how amazing you are?”

  “Once or twice.”

  “And how much I love you?”

  “Maybe more than once or twice.”

 
I sighed dramatically. “I believe I am underdressed.” Then I grinned. “However, I am comfortable, and dressed far more in keeping with a farm field festival.”

  My wife looked me up and down, her expression clear. We grinned at each other. But then she took Ralalta’s arm -- not mine -- and the two led the way from our small pavilion.

  * * * *

  Nearly everyone had arrived who was going to arrive, although a few in the outlying areas would filter in over the next hour or so. Tradódid and Mesenorié were seated under a shelter, talking with whoever wished to visit with them.

  The younger children, including the acolytes and all of Mellara’s new charges, had organized into a game and were loosely supervised by Riesa and what appeared to be a couple of fathers from the village. It looked like they were trying to chat up the nanny, although I wondered how they were doing with the language barrier. Riesa spoke some Altearan, but it was halting and far from fluent.

  Here and there were pockets of other people, a few villagers in one place, a few priestesses in another. Hallámierté was surrounded by several people, but I thought she’d been watching for Ralalta. She excused herself and hurried over. “Your Majesty,” she said with a smile. “You look quite regal.”

  Alta released the queen, who stepped forward and took Hallámierté’s arm. “Would you like to introduce me to your friends?”

  Together they stepped away, and Alta moved to my side. We leaned together, watching after them.

  “Do you think it’s going to last?” Alta asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ll talk to Ralalta about it.” I sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to do that tonight. She may not want Hallámierté traveling to Marport with her. This might just be a little fling.”

  Together we looked out to sea. Harsprite was anchored in the cove and would leave early tomorrow to return the queen home to Framara. Mellara and the girls would be traveling with her. I’d miss the queen -- and Mellara as well. But it was best to get them settled into their new home and new lives.

  I wondered what Mellara’s husband was going to say. She’d left with one daughter but was returning with four others. Surprise!

  “Well, shall we meet Terél’s family?” Alta offered.