Yes, Tedrac had been an important part of her marriage and her life. And, now, here he was: Tedrac, the renowned scholar who seldom left his library and rarely traveled from his village, which was at least a month’s trek from The Valley. Why had he sought her out, tonight of all nights?
She reached for a green-enameled tin canister from a top shelf. “If I remember correctly, you have a fondness for mint tea.”
“I’m honored that you remember.”
Turning from the counter, she met his gaze. “Please, Tedrac, don’t do that. We’ve known each other too long to fall into ritual. Is it so very different from the old days, sitting here in my kitchen?”
“In one word, yes. You are now an Allesha.”
“Yes, I know, and Jared is no longer here beside us, connecting us.” She sat in the other chair, across the kitchen table from him. “But must everything between us be erased and forgotten, now that I am an Allesha? Did the Mwertik destroy that, too?”
“Of course not. If anything, Jared’s death made Mistral’s and my connection to you stronger than ever, because Jared is no longer there between us.”
“Did you know that Mistral’s son is to be my First Boy?”
Tedrac leaned back into his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “I heard that you would listen to his petition.”
“But when I agreed to hear it, I didn’t know who he was.”
“Would it have made a difference if you had known?”
It was the same thing she had been asking herself since the meeting. One of many questions, none of which she had been able to answer to her full satisfaction. “Mistral’s Allesha thought it might. She claims that’s why she didn’t tell me… because she wanted me to judge the boy for himself.”
“And you’re discomforted by it.” It was a statement, not a question. “You know you don’t have to accept him as your First Boy. It is your choice.”
“Is it, Tedrac? Is it really?”
“In the final analysis, yes. But no decision, at least none this important, can be made in a vacuum. Still, I do ask you to consider carefully. What you do today will change things for you, for your entire life.”
She had seen Tedrac like this before, the consummate scholar and strategist, analyzing situations. If he followed his usual manner, he would soon be offering different viewpoints, working his way into the core of an issue, not directly but in spirals of ideas, knowledge, answers and new questions. Did he already know where he was headed tonight? Was this why he had come? “You sound like Eli.”
“Oh?” Tedrac uncrossed his arms, which somehow changed his focus from portioning to gathering information. “I didn’t know your son was here.”
“No, not now. That was when I first came to The Valley.”
“So he wasn’t talking about Mistral’s son?”
“No, of course not. Neither of us could have known back then that the boy would be my first Petitioner. Eli was warning me about other things, about how being an Allesha would change things for me.”
“I see.” He nodded his satisfaction and leaned back once more.
“Tedrac, why are you here? Was there something you wanted?”
“To pay my respects, Allesha.”
“Please, Tedrac. Am I no more than a title to you?”
“Of course, you are. But you are also more than my Triat’s wife, and far beyond the young woman I once knew as Jinet. What name could I use to encompass all that you have become?”
“Please call me Rishana. It is the name the Alleshi have given me.”
“Then I am doubly honored, to be given your true name.”
“Do you really believe that, Tedrac? That it is my true name?”
“Perhaps the question should be: do you believe it?”
“I don’t know anymore. Tonight, I will shed even that, becoming a blank slate for a boy I did not truly choose for myself.”
“Then don’t accept him. Turn him away.”
“You would have your Triat’s son remain unBlessed?”
“I would prefer to not see my Triat’s wife compelled.”
“Does one preclude the other?”
“I’m not the one who can say, Rishana.”
“I will not send him away.”
“Then it’s decided already. But you must remember, it is your decision, and no one else’s.”
“Why is that important to you, Tedrac?”
“Because I would not have my Triat’s wife compelled.”
“Is that all? Is there no other reason you’ve come?”
“I wanted to offer my friendship, Rishana. My help, any time you might need it. My support, whenever you want it. Beyond being my Triat’s widow, or an Allesha, or even the Allesha to my other Triat’s boy. For yourself.” Tedrac leaned forward onto the table, his chair squeaking as he shifted his weight to reach toward her. “Rishana, Eli was right. Things are going to change for you, in ways you can’t possibly foresee. If I can assist in any manner, I will.”
She placed one hand over his. “Then I am the one who is honored, Tedrac.”
The kettle whistled, and she got up to prepare the tea, using dried mint leaves and bits of lemon peel, the way he liked it. When she sat down again to serve the cookies and tea, the moment had been broken. But she couldn’t shake a feeling that something more than what had been said had passed between them. And that something important, perhaps vital, had been left unsaid.
Chapter 10
Everything changed when Ryl heard from the Battai that he was to be Blessed. He could even put up with Mistral’s constant instructions as he dressed and prepared himself. However, all that noise and nonsense Pa spouted about what it would be like when they would be Allemen together had begun to grate on his nerves, especially when he realized that Mistral still hadn’t accepted the fact that Ryl and Lilla were promised to each other. Not that Mistral could do anything about it. No one would ever separate them again, once Ryl was an Alleman and master of his own life.
Shria was fluttering and smiling as she came into the Petitioner’s Wing to walk with them to the Battai’s study, “It’s near time. Are my two men ready?” She fingered the fringes of Ryl’s traditional leather tunic to untangle them, straightened the front where the lacing was pulling a bit, and stood back to admire her handiwork, her dark eyes shining.
“Ma,” Ryl began to protest, but refrained. Instead, he spread out his arms and pivoted around once. “Well, what do you think?”
“Oh, Ryl…” Shria choked back tears of pride. “I can’t believe this day has come so quickly.”
Mistral stepped forward, pulling Shria to his side. Though Mistral wasn’t tall, especially when compared to the men they had seen in the inner villages on their way here, Shria was diminutive and fit neatly under his arm.
“Look, Mistral,” she said. “What a fine young man we bring to the Alleshi! Wasn’t it only yesterday when you carried him to the council for his Naming?” With her free hand, she pulled her son toward her, so she could have an arm around each of them. “We’ll miss you terribly, Ryl, but I’m so very proud of you,” she said.
She held them both, but when Ryl’s hand accidentally brushed against Mistral’s, where their arms were wrapped around her back, he quickly stepped away.
“Come on; let’s go,” Ryl said as he strode down the hallway, not looking back to see his parents following.
The Battai’s spacious office had been transformed into something mysterious yet wondrous by the simple act of turning down the gas lights and filling various nooks with candles. Shadows flickered on the wall-lining bookshelves and the green ceiling-to-floor curtains that covered the large windows.
During his three long interviews with the Battai, Ryl had stared out those windows, at the trail leading down to The Valley, convinced that he would never walk that path. The view was blocked now, but in his mind’s eye, the path stretched open before him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it had to be a mistake. Yet he knew that the Alleshi didn’t make
mistakes. Still, why did they want him, when everyone else treated him as though he were nothing but trouble?
The Battai stood as they entered. Somehow, the man seemed taller, as though his ceremonial brown wool jacket with its Alleshine green edging, collar and cuffs gave him added stature. His gold badge of office gleamed on his left breast. Instead of sitting behind his massive oak desk, he gestured to Ryl, Mistral and Shria to sit with him at the large round walnut table, to await the other signers.
The Healer arrived first, having been in the inn since the early afternoon, when she gave the boy his final examination. Old and gaunt, she had more grey than black in her hair. Her ceremonial robe of deep blue, trimmed in the blood-red symbols of her craft, made her appear more substantial than she was.
The five of them had barely been seated at the round table again when they quickly stood for another woman who entered. Her yellow robe marked her as a Storyteller, though Ryl had never seen her before. She had a thick mane of pure white hair, but her dark face was so vibrantly youthful that he couldn’t decide if she were older than a granny or younger than his mother.
The Battai then left the room by a side door. When he returned, he announced, “Please greet the Allesha.”
Everybody immediately stood in respect.
A short, plump woman in her late seventies or early eighties glided gracefully through the door. She wore the traditional green robe; its hem dragged along the floor. Obviously, the robe was old but well cared for, and from a time when the Allesha was younger and taller.
While she embraced the Healer and the Storyteller, the boy pulled the Battai aside and whispered, “This isn’t my Allesha, is it? I’m supposed to get that new one. Right? A younger one.”
The Allesha heard the boy’s question. “You’re correct, boy,” she said. “Your Allesha awaits you below in The Valley. I am here only to see that her Agreement is signed correctly.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know. I thought…” Ryl stumbled over his words, worried that this Allesha could break the Agreement before it could be made.
She nodded. “It’s understandable.”
After the Allesha accepted Ryl’s, Mistral’s and Shria’s ritual greetings, she sat at the table and gestured to Ryl to sit beside her. The others arranged themselves in appropriate order around the circle.
“Tell me, boy, what do you understand about the Agreement you and your parents will be signing here today?” The Allesha spoke directly to him, as though he were the only person in the room.
“Well, I’m promising to become a Defender of the Peace, an Alleman.”
“What does that mean to you?”
“I guess it means that I’ll have to fight anyone who tries to break the Peace. But I’d do that anyway. You don’t have to make me promise.”
“Yes, I am certain you would fight for our Peace. But, sometimes, the most difficult battle is learning when not fighting will win it for you.” She touched his hand and smiled. “Shall we read the Agreement together?”
They bent over the wide, round handwriting on the soft vellum while the Storyteller read another copy aloud.
Blessed is the Boy, son of Mistral, Alleman, Chancellor of the Birani; son of Shria, daughter of the Healer of the Reen; and grandson of the Headman of the Birani. The new Allesha blesses this Boy and welcomes him to her home, the House of the Apple Trees, to share her First Season. And Mistral’s Allesha welcomes this Boy and his Allesha into her care.
The Boy acknowledges the new Allesha as head of the household and agrees to be bound to the Allesha’s words and deeds, as she wills, for the four months of their Winter Season.
The Boy honors Mistral’s Allesha and agrees to be bound to her words and deeds, as she wills, for the four months of the coming Winter Season.
The Boy and his family also agree to provision the two Alleshi, according to their needs and desires, for as long as they live.
The Boy vows that, for all the days of his life, he shall be a Defender of the Peace, and accepts all the responsibilities, obligations and allegiances that entails.
This Agreement is binding upon the Boy, his parents, his future wife or wives and any children he may have, down to the generations that spring from the Boy. Also, in accordance with the traditions of the Birani, the village of the Birani assume their Chancellor’s obligation as their own.
“What do you think of it?” the Allesha asked the boy when the Storyteller had finished reading.
“It’s awfully one-sided,” the boy replied. “I promise to give her anything she wants, forever, and to accept whatever you Alleshi require of me as a Defender of the Peace. All she does is promise to give me a place to live for the next four months.”
“This is true,” said the Allesha. “Has anybody given you reason to believe it would be anything other than this?”
“Well… yeah… sure.” Looking at the gentle old woman, Ryl felt twisted about and uncertain. “I mean, she’s supposed to teach me stuff. How to do things, like be a leader, solve disputes, initiate me into the mysteries of… damn it… I don’t know what you’re trying to get me to say.”
“I want you to say what you think, so I can gauge your understanding and commitment to this Agreement. So tell me, how can I judge whether you will honor it? “
“I thought that’s what you’re supposed to know, how to read and mold the future. Isn’t that what Alleshi do?”
“We do many things. Right now, I’m asking you a question.”
“Well, I’ve never broken a promise. Ask my pa. He doesn’t like me much, but he’ll say that about me.”
“Son—”
The Allesha glanced at Mistral and, with a slight shake of her left hand, silenced his protest.
“Why do you honor your promises?” she asked the boy.
“Because…” Ryl hesitated; his sense of honor had always been rooted in deeds, not words. “Promises are oaths on your name. You can’t let your name become nothing, mean nothing. It’s not manly. It’s not right.”
“I see. And, if at some time in the future, you are convinced that the promise was forced on you or would lead to inequity, are you still obliged to honor it?”
“I think so. Yeah.” Ryl was silent for a moment, then admitted, “I don’t know.”
“Good,” said the Allesha “Not knowing is a good beginning.”
“But you’re supposed to judge whether I’ll keep this Agreement, and I just said I don’t know. How can that be good?”
“I’ll let you think about that for a while. If, after you have been with your Allesha for a month or so, you still don’t understand, then ask her to bring you to visit me, and we’ll talk about this again. Now tell me of the girl you hope will be your wife.”
“Lilla.” Saying her name made Ryl feel warmer, more alive, even if Mistral winced at the sound of it. Ryl couldn’t understand what Mistral had against Lilla.
“Did Lilla share in your decision to come to our Valley?” the Allesha asked.
“Did she ever! Her ma wouldn’t have me anywhere near her, unless I came. Unless the Alleshi accepted and Blessed me.”
“Did that made you angry?”
“Yeah, it made me angry! Lilla and I love each other, belong together, and that old hag got the idea into her head that no one except an Alleman would have her daughter.”
“And Lilla agreed?”
“Yeah, Lilla agreed. Her ma can turn anything around so Lilla will agree. She’s a shrewd one, she is. Could even turn Lilla against me.”
“So, it’s thanks to the mother, whom you call an ‘old hag,’ that we have the pleasure of your company?”
“Well….”
“Would you be here, if it weren’t for her?”
“No…”
“Are you sorry that you have come?”
The boy saw the trap too late. Damn, this old Allesha isn’t as sweet as she looks. “No, of course not. I’m excited as anyone could be about being Blessed.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” s
aid the Allesha.
“You believe me, don’t you?”
“Shouldn’t I?”
“Well, yeah. My word is good. It’s just that… oh, I don’t know. It seems that you wanted to trip me up or something.”
“No, I simply wanted you to speak your thoughts, so I could know the person we are welcoming into our community. I think I now know you a bit better.”
“And I’m still to be Blessed?”
“Of course. Your Allesha has already chosen you.”
“So you had no say in whether I’d be accepted?”
“None whatever.”
“Then why did you put me through all that?” Ryl demanded. “You’ll have nothing to do with me. You’re not my Allesha. You’re not anything to me.”
The Allesha’s posture and expression remained unchanged, but Ryl felt the room chill with her disapproval. “Hey, wait, are you angry at me now?”
“Shouldn’t I be? You’ve told me I’m nothing to you.”
He frantically sought some way back to the way things were before he had screwed up yet again. But what did that matter? What did anything matter, other than getting this Agreement signed and getting down to The Valley? After a moment of silence, the boy turned to the Allesha and said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to insult you.”
With a warm smile, the Allesha patted his arm. “I accept your apology.” Then she nodded to the Battai, who spread out the three copies of the Agreement and placed ink sponges around the table and an ink bowl in the middle.
The Battai turned to the boy. “Before we begin the Signing, I must ask if you have any more questions for any of us?”
“No,” Ryl answered.
“Fine. Let us begin,” the Battai said.
Each person around the table rose in turn, took out a personal seal, pressed it on an ink sponge and applied it to the three copies of the Agreement. First the Healer, certifying that both the Allesha and the boy were healthy. Next, the Storyteller, who confirmed that she had studied both the Allesha’s and the boy’s bloodlines, and that they were free from familial or bond constraints. Then Mistral, giving his village’s pledge to the two Alleshi.
The Winter Boy Page 5