by Jann Rowland
She finally answered, “I suppose I might, though I have always felt close enough to Terrain in my own home.”
The king gave her a gentle smile. “There are many hidden wonders beneath the surface. Every piece of Terrain’s creation is wondrous, save for that which was twisted by the jealousy of Celesta.”
Tierra pressed her lips together, resisting the urge to be defensive. Her experiences with Skye and his people had taught her that not everything was as black and white as Groundbreathers tended to believe. But Celesta was not Tierra’s god, and it was best to leave off the issue.
When she did not respond, Canyon said, “I feel very close to our god beneath the ground. Whenever I visit the surface, there is far too much sky glaring down upon me. Down here, we are enveloped by Terrain alone.”
“But you are missing out on other glories given to us by Terrain—trees and bright green grass, lakes and rivers . . . all of the natural wonders on the surface.”
“We are not entirely without lakes,” Canyon said with a smile, “but your point is well-taken. Perhaps part of how I feel is because this setting is what I am accustomed to. But I like to think that Groundbreathers are good at adapting to new surroundings. You seem to have adapted well to being underground.”
“It helps to have River with me,” Tierra said. “But she is wilting in this place instead of thriving.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” Canyon said softly. “The lack of sun can have that effect on occasion. I suspect she shall become more comfortable as she spends more time here.”
Tierra did not agree, but she merely dipped her head.
“Your attendants are treating you well?” Canyon asked, murmuring the question so that Violet and Garnet could not overhear.
“Yes,” Tierra said. “I have been treated well enough, considering the circumstances.”
Canyon looked away, once more giving Tierra the impression that he felt guilty about her situation. Then he took in a deep breath and asked her, “Will you dine with me again tonight?” His voice sounded hopeful, and the emotion was only supported by the way he peered at her.
They had dined together every night since Tierra had arrived, and River, when she was not sulking, had commented that he appeared to be interested in Tierra. But Tierra knew it would come to naught, and she resolved not to spend much time contemplating the extent of Canyon’s feelings—if, indeed, he truly had any for her. It could have been that he was trying to assuage his conscience over her situation. Regardless, it did not matter in the end.
Tierra quirked an eyebrow. “Do I have a choice?”
“You always have a choice,” King Canyon told her gently. “You know that.”
“Well, I suppose I do have to eat,” Tierra said. “I might as well have some company while I do it.”
“I am glad,” Canyon said. He then bowed to her, though not before she saw a certain happy gleam in his eyes. “I shall leave you now to let you prepare for dinner. As always, tell River she is more than welcome to join us.”
“I suspect River has even less choice than I have,” Tierra murmured.
Though Canyon frowned, he did not comment. Instead, he bowed once more and left the room.
Tierra gazed at the door through which he had departed, thinking of the man, her situation, and all that had happened in the past weeks. It was still uncertain whether Canyon was the one in charge here, though the other Groundbreathers paid him more than enough deference. Yet the shadow of Quicksilver was always present, and Tierra wondered what the man’s role in this society was, as she had not been able to glean anything from her captors.
“Shall we prepare you for dinner, Your Highness?”
The voice startled Tierra from her reverie, and she looked back at the woman who had spoken. Violet had busied herself with something inside Tierra’s closet, leaving Garnet to pull Tierra from her thoughts. Even now, the woman was regarding her, that typical irksome amusement for something only she could see still splashed on her face. Violet was tolerable, but Tierra did not like Garnet.
“Of course,” Tierra said, stifling her pique. “Please inform River of the king’s invitation.”
“River has already been informed,” a voice said flatly.
Tierra turned and saw River sauntering in through the adjoining door. The young woman then threw herself into a nearby chair, her usual sulk affixed to her face.
“But then again,” River continued, “though it is impossible to know the time by looking out the window in this accursed place, River understands well when the dining hour arrives. She does have a clock in her room, you understand, and she is capable of winding it.”
“Accursed place?” Garnet exclaimed. She gazed at River with horror, even as she attempted to come up with the words to deny such a heresy.
“Yes, accursed,” River growled. “What else would you call a land where there is nothing but oppression and captivity, where you cannot feel the sun on your face or the caress of grass on your skin? You Chosen might content yourself with nothing more than grayness and rocks, but I require a little more in life.”
When Garnet did not respond, River waved her hand in a shooing motion. “I believe you are to prepare your mistress for dinner. Perhaps you should get to it?”
Though affronted, Garnet spun on her heel and moved away, muttering to herself. Tierra glared at River; this attitude was evidence of one of the unsavory character traits that had appeared in River after they had come to Hearth. When she was not sulking in her room, River was ordering the servant women about, treating them no better than she had Skychild slaves.
“Perhaps you should not act in such an offensive way toward these women,” Tierra hissed at her. “We might need them some day.”
River snorted. “Yes, I am certain they would disobey their king and help us escape, especially seeing as their every comment is designed to extoll the virtues of their home and the man who keeps making cow eyes at you. You do remember you are engaged to your Skychild barbarian, do you not?”
“Canyon is not that overt in his attentions.”
The look River gave Tierra suggested she thought Tierra to be blind and mentally deficient, but she said nothing further, for Violet had approached.
“Come, Your Highness,” Violet said to Tierra. “I have chosen the perfect dress for you. I am certain it will be much admired.”
Tierra gazed at the woman with a frown. Violet held a yellow dress that would complement Tierra’s dark hair and features well. But in a perverse desire to be difficult, Tierra shook her head.
“No, I would prefer not to wear that one. Bring me the brown dress. I will wear that tonight.”
“Your Highness—”
“Oh, you may as well let her have her way,” River said, waving the woman off. “She does not wish to be admired by anyone. At least, not anyone here.” River leaned forward and regarded the servant with a smile that seemed to suggest she was imparting a secret. “You have never seen her alongside the wild Skychild with whom she has been keeping company. The way they carry on with each other is positively sickening. If you had seen them, you would know that your king can eye Tierra all he likes. It will never affect her.”
Tierra’s lip twitched, but she did not bother chastising River or contradicting her words. Instead, Tierra watched as Violet hesitated for a few more moments—as though she wished to protest further—before returning the dress to the closet.
Tierra was satisfied when Violet returned with the requested article of clothing. It was not an unhandsome garment, and the color was a rich reddish-brown rather than a dull hue, but it also had the distinction of being the gown Tierra had worn the last time she had eaten dinner with the king. Assuming he was interested in her, perhaps Tierra’s unwillingness to put forth any effort to attract his attention would inform him of her disinterest.
Soon, the two women were busying themselves. Tierra endured their fussing as well as she was able. It would have been much more tolerable had they kept silent.
“I am,” Tierra replied. “And a better man you could not find.”
River snorted, but Tierra ignored her. The attendants said nothing for a few moments, and soon Tierra was dressed, enduring their fussing as they plaited her hair.
“Excuse me if I am speaking out of turn,” Violet said, “but is marrying a Skychild wise?”
“It is inconceivable,” Garnet said. “Even if you completely disregard what our god would feel about such an alliance, how could you ever marry a Skychild? Skychildren are beastly savages created by a wild goddess. How could you possibly be happy with such a heathen as a husband?”
Tierra turned her head, pulling her incomplete plaits from Violet’s hands, to fix Garnet with a glare.
Violet clucked at her with annoyance.
“Have you ever met a Skychild, Garnet?” Tierra asked.
“No, I have not,” the woman replied. “And I am glad. No Skychild has ever sullied the holy ground we walk in the depths of Terrain’s earth, and I would wish to keep it that way.”
“In that case,” Tierra said through gritted teeth, “I would suggest you be silent and not speak of things you know nothing about.”
For a change, Garnet appeared to understand that Tierra was displeased, and she held her tongue, busying herself by assisting Violet with Tierra’s hair.
“Now, now, Your Highness,” Violet said, once again taking up the strands of her hair, “I do not think that Garnet meant to be disrespectful.”
Tierra shrugged. “I am not so displeased with Garnet as I am with all of you in Hearth. It is this ignorance I find and this intolerance for people you only know from the pages of a book that disgusts me. Yes, the Skychildren and the Groundbreathers have been enemies from the dawn of our races, but the Skychildren are not all evil, and the Groundbreathers are not all benevolent. You will find good and bad in both peoples. I have met Skychildren who are some of the best people I have ever known.”
“I have heard,” Garnet said, speaking hesitantly, “that Skychild kings kill people who displease them.”
A snort of disdain escaped Tierra’s lips. “This is exactly what I have been speaking of. You know nothing about Skychildren, yet you judge them by texts that were written centuries ago and that are no longer relevant.
“In fact, Skychildren have never executed people. They exile those who do not fit in with their society.”
“Just like with what happened to her Skychild,” River interjected.
“Oh?” Violet asked, her interest aroused.
Tierra glared at River, but her cousin only returned her gaze with a lazy form of insouciance.
“I had thought your . . . Skychild was the king.” Violet’s words contained a probing quality that Tierra did not like, but she would not lie to the woman.
“He is,” Tierra said shortly. “His father banished him for a time, but Skye returned to the sky realm and eventually claimed the throne. I did not truly know his father at all. There were extenuating circumstances, and Skye’s father was not himself.”
“Extenuating circumstances?” Garnet asked, her tone skeptical.
“Yes,” Tierra replied, fixing the woman with a pointed look. “It had nothing to do with anything Skye did or did not do. Someone set him up so that it appeared like he had done something wrong, and his father became displeased as a result.”
“How can you trust a people with a history like that?” Garnet asked. “A father banishes his son merely for displeasing him? That sounds barbaric to me.”
“The king was addled in the head and jealous of his own power. Skye would never banish someone else so senselessly.”
“You have not known him for long, have you? How could you know?” Garnet asked pointedly.
Tierra clenched her fists at her sides. She wondered if all of Hearth knew the details of her engagement to Skye or if these women had merely been apprised of some of the circumstances due to their assignment as her attendants. Why had these underground Groundbreathers been paying so much attention to their brethren on the surface? For that matter, why was Tierra even here?
Out loud, Tierra said, “That is not—”
“You must admit it is strange,” Jade interrupted.
Tierra turned and looked at her in surprise. She had not realized the other woman had entered the room. But there she was, standing in the doorway and looking every bit the disgruntled servant.
“Your Skychild fiancé probably has an eye on your kingdom,” Jade said. “I would not be surprised if he wants to control both earth and sky. Through you, he could do it one day.”
“You are wrong,” Tierra said adamantly. “You are all wrong.”
And then came a surprising voice: “Maybe you should listen to what they have to say.”
Tierra turned a shocked expression on River. “What?”
River held up her hands and spoke hastily, as though afraid Tierra might tear into her. “I do not like these people any more than you do, but they do make a few good points. You have not known that Skychild for long. You cannot know all of his motivations. It would be a tempting thing, would it not? To have a chance to rule over two kingdoms?”
“I cannot believe you would side with them!” Tierra exclaimed. “You! You have done nothing but insult these people since you arrived!”
“I am not siding with them exactly,” River said. “I simply cannot help but admit that part of what they are saying makes sense. Your Skychild could be pulling the wool over your eyes. Everything has happened so quickly. To go from taking a whip to your slave to wanting to marry him? That is not the usual way of things. And Tierra, you must know that it would be easy for the potential for such power—the chance to rule two kingdoms—to go to someone’s head.”
“By that argument, I must be biding time in hopes of taking over both earth and sky myself,” Tierra said. “Do you know how ridiculous you all sound? Do you think Groundbreathers would ever kiss the feet of a Skychild king? The very notion is inconceivable! I would have expected you to have a little more faith in my ability to discern the intelligence of my future marriage partner. Skye is not daft enough to believe he could waltz in and take up the reins of the Groundbreather kingdom. Furthermore, you all appear to be forgetting one tiny detail. I am not a queen. My sister is set up to rule after my father.”
“Wisteria could be taken out,” River said. “And frankly, I think it would be better for all if she was. Of course, I would not want your Skychild to take her place, but you would do a good job.”
“River!” Tierra exclaimed. “She is my sister!”
“Yes, she is. But something is not right with her. You have to admit that. You would make a much better queen.”
“I do not wish for Wisteria to die,” Tierra said adamantly.
“Your parents should have disinherited her long ago,” River said.
“It has never been my decision to make.”
“But who you marry is your decision,” Jade said.
“Yes, it is,” Garnet said. “And I am certain that King Canyon would make a more handsome king than your Skychild. He is a fine specimen of a man, and he would be a much better catch. Imagine how impressive it would be for you to unite Terrain’s two kingdoms in such a fashion.”
“I refuse to discuss this matter any longer,” Tierra said firmly. “My marriage and my position in the Groundbreather kingdom on the surface are not up for debate. Furthermore, you all seem to forget that I am joined to Skye by Terrain’s water and therefore know him better than I have ever known anyone before. I will not discuss this subject any further. Now, finish preparing me for dinner.”
She did not miss the look exchanged by the three attendants—nor the facial twist made by River—but she kept her mouth clamped shut and projected a frigid demeanor that discouraged any unnecessary conversation.
By the time Tierra and Rive
r arrived at dinner with King Canyon, Tierra was positively fuming. She had already been tired of defending her relationship with Skye to everyone living on the face of Terrain’s great green earth, and now she also had to defend her choices to people living beneath the earth! It was scarcely to be borne!
Tierra responded to the king’s kind greeting with something curt—she was not even certain what she said—and then she seated herself at the table with a petulance that would not have been remiss in a three-year-old.
After their meal had been placed before them—just as bland and uninspired as ever—King Canyon looked over at Tierra. “Is something wrong, Your Highness?”
“Nobody in this place listens to me,” Tierra said. “I find it tiresome, to say the least.”
“I like to think that I listen to you.”
“Do you?” Tierra asked. “If I tried to speak to you of Skye, would you listen?”
Canyon’s lip twitched. “I might.”
“Nobody understands what Skye and I have gone through. When he was exiled from the sky realm by his father, he hated my people. We enslaved him and beat him. He should have gone on hating us. But I tried to help him as best as I could, and he saw that. Would you be able to forgive someone who had beaten you?”
“I admit it would be difficult,” the king said. “But I do not think that forgiveness—whether real or feigned—can speak to any potential motives.”
“His father was being manipulated by a corrupt man. Skye would not have been plotting to take over my father’s kingdom at the time. He was too worried about retaking his own kingdom.”
“Perhaps it is as you say,” Canyon replied. “But it is also possible that he was merely attempting not to burn any bridges.”
“We have shared Terrain’s water, as you know,” Tierra said. “You must realize what it means for us to be bound in such a way. I would be able to tell if he were hiding something from me.”