A Song of Snow and Ashes

by S.J. Drew

been talking about me?"

  He laughed a little. "Yes. We've been talking about your future."

  "I thought you might," she replied.

  "Did you remember to stop by the message office?" asked Adiva.

  "I'll do it first thing in the morning."

  Her parents sighed. "You can't keep forgetting such things, especially when you get married. You'll have to run the household," she scolded gently.

  "Yes, Mother."

  "Well, come sit down. This is your future, so we ought to discuss it with you," said Lior.

  "Yes, sooner than later," she thought as she sat down. "But there's no help for it now. Time to set my mind to the task and get it done, no matter how unpleasant it may be." She set her shoulders and address both her parents. "Mother, Father, can I refuse any match you make for me?"

  "Of course, but you must have good reasons," answered Adiva.

  "We wouldn't object if one of the many young men you know came to court you, as long as they were of good standing," added Lior.

  "Thank you."

  "We want you to be happy, daughter," he said.

  The three talked until midnight, discussing suitable families and prospects. Now that she had decided to accept the idea of marriage, she didn't feel so apprehensive, and so fell asleep quickly.

  "What? Not again," she said out loud. It was night, and she was alone in the deep desert. She was not lost in the middle of sandy expanses, but in rocky wastes. There was not a breath of wind. She stood still for a moment, but the ground seemed stable. Then she started to pick her way across the rocks, looking for an outcropping or possibly a cave that would provide her with shelter. She scrounged around looking for anything that would burn. She finally gathered up enough dried plant material to make a small fire. Shivering, she patted down her pockets, but found nothing in them. As she set her mind to figuring out how to light the fire, the plant material spontaneously burst into flame. "Good gods!" she blurted, backing away. The fire was very hot. She waited for the fire to burn out, confused, frightened, and just slightly annoyed that her hard work to gather up fire material was going to be wasted. The fire, however, did not burn out. Instead, it started to grow. She continued to back away. "What's going on here?" she thought. "This isn't possible." The plant material had already been consumed, and the fire seemed to be burning up the very rock. Suddenly overcome by fear, she ran away from the strange, growing conflagration. She dashed straight into the cold desert night, not looking back, but absolutely certain the fire was chasing her. Her side ached and it hurt to draw breath, but she could feel the warmth on her back, and continued to run, but it was of no use. The unnatural flame engulfed her in a flash of light and heat.

  She sat bolt upright in the bed, panting and drenched in sweat. Shaking her head to clear it, she listened for footsteps, hoping she hadn't woken anyone up. The house was dark, quiet, and cool. After a few minutes of sitting still in her familiar and comforting room, she lay back down, her body calm but her mind racing. "What's going on? Is there something wrong with me? Why am I receiving such terrifying visions?" She relaxed, and realized she felt exhausted, as though she had actually been running for her life. Soon she was asleep again.

  A month passed in Renfrew. Alain increased the time he spent practicing for the city guard, and Donnan grudgingly agreed to help. They were not bothered by any guards, but Donnan did see Aolani when she walked past the tavern on her way back from the school where she taught. As she was always surrounded by a group of people, he could never quite pluck up enough courage to talk to her. The day came for the city guard tests, exactly one month after the solstice. The brothers couldn't get the day off, but they did manage to leave after the lunch crowd in order to reach the western guardhouse by mid-afternoon.

  The main guardhouse was in the center of the city, and had no place suitable for the testing or training of guards. The western guardhouse was actually a large compound located on the outskirts of Renfrew. There were three long, narrow buildings that served as barracks for the trainees, a large, square building that served as a classroom, a narrow building that served as the living quarters for the instructors, and a smallish building that served as an administration building. The grounds had areas marked off for an archery range, a sword fighting area, an obstacle course, and a track. The workout areas were flanked by wooden bleachers for spectators and judges. There was a high fence around the compound and two gates, once facing the city and one facing the farming areas. The brothers entered the front gate and bypassed the administration building to head directly to the workout areas. There was a table set up by the entrance to the archery range. A crowd of about sixty young men, standing in a single-file line. Alain immediately got in line and Donnan went and found a spot in the mostly empty bleachers to watch the tests.

  After everyone was signed in, three of the instructors administered the tests. They were all in their late fifties or sixties, and all wearing a breastplate and a sword belt with both a dagger and a longsword.

  Donnan watched as the men lined up on the archery range and were handed longbows. He rolled up his sleeves, trying to stay cool in the hot afternoon sun. The bleachers shook slightly, and he realized someone was walking toward him when he caught a whiff of lavender perfume.

  "Excuse me," said a female voice.

  He looked up and saw Aolani standing next to him. She was wearing a light blue sun dress and had a broad hat on her head.

  "Aren't you the nice man who caught my lesson plans on solstice night?" she asked.

  He nodded.

  "May I sit here? I really don't like sitting alone, and you're the only person who even looks familiar to me."

  He nodded again, barely believing his good luck.

  She sat down very primly. "My name is Aolani," she said, holding out her hand.

  "Donnan," he returned, feeling stunned. "Pleased to meet you."

  They listened to the instructor drone on for a few more minutes before he finally allowed the first man to step up to the line.

  "So, Aolani, what brings you here? I mean, this isn't exactly a spectator sport," he said, trying to sound casual.

  She smiled. "No, it's not really very exciting, is it? I wouldn't be here, but this is Kennet's first time trying out. He just reached the minimum age. That's my little brother, right down there," she answered, pointing out a thin young man with dark red hair.

  "I'm here for my brother, too. That's Alain, my older brother."

  "I hope he appreciates my moral support. It's so very hot out today."

  "It really is," he agreed. "I'm glad I don't have to be out there."

  Each man got three shots with the longbow. Those who weren't sufficiently close to the target were rejected. The test was then repeated with a short bow and a heavy crossbow. Donnan noted with some amusement that Aolani held her breath when Kennet was up at the line.

  "Well, now it should get more excitin'," Donnan commented.

  "Really? What's next?"

  "They get to don armor and do some fightin' with wooden practice weapons," he answered, as the men were moved to a different area. "We'd better move if we want to be able to see well."

  "Alright. I've never been to one of these things before. I hope they don't take too long."

  He stood up and summoned his courage to hold his hand out to her.

  She took it daintily and they started to step down the bleachers.

  "Shouldn't be too long. Usually they're finished by about dinner time. The worst part is the interview at the end. That's when they have to go into the administration buildin’ and get their records reviewed," he explained.

  "Oh, goodness. Well, I suppose that makes sense. You wouldn't want a thief in the city guard," she remarked as he lead her to another set of bleachers. They took a seat. "How many of these tests have you been to?"

  "Three now," he answered, sounding just a touch bitter.

  "All for your
brother?"

  He nodded.

  "I guess the tests must be very difficult," she replied diplomatically.

  "The interview is the worst part."

  The instructors paired off the remaining men and signaled for them to start. They walked around the fighting pairs, taking notes and changing out partners.

  "I don't think Kennet's doing too well," Aolani commented worriedly.

  He had noted with some amusement that she gasped and cringed when her brother took what seemed to be pretty hard hits. "He's not doin' too bad. I've seen worse fighters get into the guard. They aren't supposed to be lookin' for someone fully trained, just someone with enough talent or discipline to get properly trained."

  "That's a relief. He's been practicing, he really has. He's just a bit clumsy. Your brother seems to be doing well."

  "He's been practicin' too," Donnan replied, flexing his shoulders. "Part of me hopes he gets into the guard just so I can stop helpin' him practice."

  She laughed.

  He fought a blush and smiled nervously.

  "Suddenly I feel sorry for Kennet's friends. He probably got them to help him practice."

  They watched as the men fought for about half hour, with the instructors switching out pairs, weapons, and armor. More men were turned away, and the instructors started to herd them to another area.

  "Oh, good, Kennet made it."

  "I'm not surprised," he replied, bitterness seeping into his voice.

  She pretty face clouded up.

  "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly. "I didn't mean