The beach wasn’t as busy as it would become later in the day, but busy enough. Mayl had early on made clear her objections to the entire business on modesty grounds—which caused much ironic amusement—so she was absurdly but chastely allowed to sit behind a screen and under a parasol while everyone else (including several Prij, though not the women) played and swam naked as the day they were born. The Prij who settled in Darshek tended to quickly lose their scruples about nudity, at least when it came to swimming. Those who were offended avoided it altogether but the only concession the women who came to the beach made was to not bathe naked, or in the same area as the men. Arman thought Mayl’s excessive scruples on the subject were pure caste snobbery. Very few highborn Prij lived in Darshek—which suited Karik just fine.
Once she was settled, and everyone’s clothes piled up, they ran into the sea, the boys squealing ecstatically—it was far and away their favourite pastime, and if the swimming beach were any closer to the barracks, Karik was sure they’d never get them out of the water. Jok had to stay up on the sand, sitting on the other side of the screen, watching them all rather enviously. “Poor Jok,” Karik called to Romi. “Maybe you should spell him later?”
Romi grinned. “Rank has its privilege.”
“Poor Jok, all hot!” Ry-zilim yelled, then giggled at his joke, which he had to repeat several times to make sure everyone got the pure genius of it.
Of course the first thing was the splashing game, then the chasing game, and then the race to see who was the fastest swimmer, and then who could float on their backs the longest. Karik felt almost like a child again himself, playing with them, and watching Kei fling himself about enthusiastically, splashing back as good as he got, and yelling without the slightest concern for his dignity, Karik knew the idea of him being too old to be a father was simply nonsense. In his heart, Kei was about five and that was all that mattered.
After a bit, Romi suggested they play up on the sand. Since sand was also one of the boys’ favourite things, along with a couple of old tin mugs from the barracks and a flat bit of drift wood that made an excellent shovel, they were happy to pile out of the water and see what Romi, the master of this game, would invent for them this time. As Karik sat and watched with Kei, Romi helped the boys build mountains and dams, and rivers and anything else that their joint and fertile imaginations could conceive.
Karik was so absorbed in the latest construction and his lover’s cleverness, he almost missed Kei’s quiet words. “Sorry—you said...word’s come? From Utuk?”
“Yes. Keep your voice down. It’s not good news. His Serenity expressed sympathy with the Darshianese position and earnestly hopes this will not lead to conflict with our nation, but if we don’t return her within a week, he will, most reluctantly, have to consider it a hostile act. You can tell he wants this no more than we do, Karik. I don’t think he’s thirsting for her blood, but he has to draw the line somewhere, and Mayl and Mekus were that line.”
Though it was hardly unexpected, Karik felt himself growing cold with sick dread. He’d tried not to think about it too much, tried not to care—but he couldn’t have even handed Soza over to be hanged. Mayl was a horrible person—but her crimes weren’t against him. That made it even harder. “What will they do?”
Kei’s face was solemn. “The Rulers met this afternoon. Arman will tell me when he gets here. But...if it’s a choice between war and her...our people and her...if there really isn’t an alternative...they’ll have to send her back.”
“And the boys?” He stared anxiously at his brothers, so oblivious to the politics which would decide their fate, absorbed in dribbling wet sand onto the fantastical looking mountain Romi had built for them.
“Nivuman’s made it absolutely clear they are safe, Kuprij neither demands nor claims them, and so far as he’s concerned, you’re the only person with authority to decide their fate. It’s really up to you. Lady Nera has a list of suitable families, and all you have to do is decide.”
“Kei, I’ve—”
But a sudden scream cut him off. “Help! Help! He’s drowning! Help!”
Kei and Karik leapt to their feet, as did nearly every adult on the beach. A woman stood at the water’s edge, calling hysterically and pointing a long way out onto the bay where a man was struggling, his arm raised, signalling he was in trouble. “Romi, you and me, now!” Kei snapped. “Karik, stay with the boys.”
Romi was already running down the sand, Kei’s long legs catching up in no time, and though other people were heading towards the drowning man, Kei and Romi were by far the strongest swimmers. The woman continued to call and cry out, and those who had not joined the rescue, stood on the water’s edge, anxiously watching events unfolding.
“Ka-chi, what’s wrong?” Minan asked.
Karik kept hold of him—he didn’t want either of them running off. “Someone’s gone out too far,” he said, trying to see if either Kei or Romi had reached the man yet. The boys wouldn’t understand, and if this went badly, they might not want to see the result. “Never mind, Kei and Romi will find him. Show me what you’re building. How do you do that trick with the sand?”
He made them concentrate, and kept his own eyes off the drama to the far left of him, but it was taking so long. Would that pissing woman ever shut up? How could it help to carry on in that way when all that could be done, was being done? She hadn’t been bathing herself—she was still clothed. Perhaps she couldn’t swim. Fortunately, Kei and Romi could, but her friend had been rather foolish in getting out past his ability.
He managed to keep the boys occupied by drizzling wet sand in patterns on their arms. “And that says ‘R.y.c.h.i’,” he said, as Ry-zilim looked at his forearm, his mouth open in an ‘O’ of fascination.
“Show mama,” the boy announced. “Mama! Look!”
He ran up the beach, carefully holding his arm out to preserve the pattern. Karik glanced towards the water—swimmers were returning, but whether the man had been saved, he couldn’t see. Ry-zilim had to show Jok of course—Jok had been watching the rescue, but now smiled at the child and led him around the edge of the screen. Karik turned back to Minan, but then jerked as he heard Ry-zilim cry out, “Mama! Mama gone! Mama!”
Blessed gods! Karik scooped Minan up and ran back up the beach to where Jok was restraining Ry-zilim from running off. “What in hells...she’s gone? How could she be gone? Jok?”
The young man looked sick. “I don’t know—I was here the whole time, but I was watching the water...she must have run off. Karik, please, mind the boys, I have to search!”
Karik grabbed Ry-zilim, and had to fight the two of them to stop them running after Jok. “No, listen! Jok will find her. She’s probably just gone for some water—Minan, please, don’t....”
In the end, all he could do was keep a firm grip on them, but they were already crying and distressed. Where in hells had Mayl got to? And how could it happen so quickly?
Bearing Fruit: 12
Kei felt the boys’ distress almost before he could see them, and ran, suddenly afraid of what might have happened. It was some relief to find the children and his nephew safe, but what had upset them? Where were Mayl and Jok?
“Karik, what’s happening?” His nephew was trying desperately to keep hold of two struggling, upset children.
“She’s disappeared—Jok’s gone to find her.”
Gods. “Romi! Hurry!” He waved to get Romi to come over, then knelt and pulled Minan over into his own lap and held him firmly, though the boy was calling incoherently for his mother and trying to get away. “Shhhh, Minichi, it’s all right, we’ll find her.”
Minan’s face was streaked with tears, and the desperation in his eyes nearly broke Kei’s heart. “Mama! Kei-chi, I want Mama!”
“We’ll find her, don’t worry, just calm down. You have to be a brave boy for us now, Minichi.”
Karik was coping—just—with Ry-zilim, but it was amazing the strength two determined children had in their small bodies
. Karik wrapped his arms around the boy again as Ry-zilim burst into tears. “Shhh, Ry-chi, don’t fuss, we’ll find your mama.” He looked up at Kei. “Jok said he was here the whole time.”
“I know. That man was in surprisingly little difficulty,” Kei said grimly.
“A distraction?”
“Possibly. Now come on, Minichi, Ry-chi, do you want your mama to come back and see you all upset? That’s a good boy, shhh.” Though it was cheating, Kei had no compunction about using his gift to leach away some of Minan’s distress, and Ry-zilim’s too—because this might only be the start of something very painful, and he didn’t want them to suffer for Mayl’s unutterable selfishness.
“What’s going on? Kei? Where’s Jok?” Romi brushed water off himself and had grabbed his shirt. “Karik?”
“Mayl...went off,” Karik said, shooting a warning look towards the boys. “Use Seiki.”
Romi nodded, and concentrated, dressing as he carried on a silent conversation with Seiki’s help. The children had now calmed down a little, crying quietly and calling for their mother less hysterically, but it wouldn’t last, Kei knew.
“Karik, we better get dressed.” “Neka?”
“Kei, what’s happening? Everyone’s all...she’s disappeared?”
“So it seems. Where’s Arman and Tije? And can you sense Mayl?”
A long pause. “Seiki’s searching, she knows her mind better than me, poor love. Arman’s nearly at the beach—do you want me to stop him?”
“No, he needs to get here now. Damn it, where’s she gone? Why can’t we sense her?”
Neka had no answer. Kei kept his anger out of his expression and his action, smiling reassuringly at a miserable and very worried Minan. He could hardly dress the boy because he kept looking around, wondering if his mother was on her way back. No chance, Kei thought. Mayl had fled.
Soldiers poured onto the beach. Romi, now dressed, snapped out orders, and told two soldiers to find the woman and man who’d raised the alarm. “Kei, we need to get the children away—”
“No!” Minan yelled. “Waiting here. She’s coming back!”
“Minichi, when your mama comes back, Romi will bring her over to where we are. Would you like to see where I live? I’ve got a house all of my own.”
“No! Mama, come back!” Minan began to cry again, which set Ry-zilim off, and all Kei could do was hold him and try and calm him once more. Romi just had to let him get on with it—the arriving soldiers needed direction, and Mayl had to be found.
Arman and Tije arrived very soon after that. Arman demanded a report, which he got, listening to Romi with a grim expression. “Kei, the boys need to be taken back to the barracks.”
“I thought...our house, Arman.” Because there will be no one there at the barracks, and it will remind them, Kei thought.
Arman gave him a considered look, perhaps coming to the same conclusion, then nodded. “Tije, would you mind helping Kei and Karik?”
“No, uncle. I’ll do whatever you need me to.”
“Then Kei, take charge. Whatever you need, just ask for it—take the calash, it’s faster. Romi, you and I will take over here. Kei, I’ll send Emia over to the house and let Pira know.”
“Thank you. Come on, boys, we’ll get cleaned up and have something to eat.”
Without his gift, it would have been impossible to get the children off the beach without force, so he used it shamelessly, though between their distress and the agitation of the soldiers and the crowd, he was developing a shockingly bad headache. Fortunately, Tije and Karik were wonderful with the boys, distracting them and keeping their minds firmly off their mother’s whereabouts, which, even if only a temporary relief, was still worth having.
The children were quiet, clinging tightly to the adults, as the calash took them back to Kei’s home. But when they arrived at the house, Minan’s feet barely hit the ground before he ran up the path, crying, “Mama! Mama! She’s here, Kei-chi?”
Kei ran after him and caught him. “No, Minichi, she’s not here, not yet. You’re going to wait for her, remember?”
Minan’s eyes bored into him. “Bring her back now,” he said, glaring.
“I can’t, I’m sorry. Romi’s looking for her. You have to be brave and help Ry-zilim.”
“Minan.” Ry-zilim ran to his brother and flung himself against him. “Where’s Mama? I want Mama!”
Kei knelt and put his arms around them both. “Boys, listen to me. We’re looking for your mama now, but until we find her, I need you to be good, brave boys for me.” He took his handkerchief out and wiped Minan’s face. “Minichi? There’s a really nice lady in there called Pira, but she’s very, very old and she’ll be so upset if you cry. Can you be a good boy for me and not cry too much? I know you want to cry a little bit.”
Minan’s bottom lip trembled. “Mama,” he whispered.
Kei dabbed at his face, and kept his voice gentle. “I know, but we’re trying very hard to find her. Can you be a brave boy for me? So Pira won’t be frightened?”
“Yes.”
“You’re such a good boy,” he said, kissing his forehead, and using his gift again. “Ry-zilim, can you be a brave boy too?”
“Mama come back?”
“We hope so. Minan is here, and he’ll look after you. We all will. Can you try to be brave?”
“I want Mama!”
Minan took his hand. “Come inside, Ry-zilim. You mustn’t cry cos you’ll scare Pira.” Ry-zilim gazed up at him and then nodded, only pouting a little. Such good children.
Kei opened the door ahead of them, and walked in, keeping his hands on their shoulders and feeling their misery and fear, but under that, Minan’s courage, and Ry-zilim’s sweet trust in his brother. Behind him, Karik and Tije were anxious, desperate to help. What a pissing mess this was.
Pira had been warned, fortunately, and was all smiles and welcome. “Well, well, who are these fine young men, Kei?”
Tije translated for them, and then introduced them. “Pira, this is Minan, and this is Ry-chi. Say hello to Pira, boys.”
They did so quietly, and Pira clucked. “I don’t know if someone might like a sweet cake or two, but I’ve just made some which I think need to be tested. Minan, dear, would you like to see if the cakes are any good?”
Again Tije translated. Minan looked uncertain. “Look, Minichi,” Karik said cheerfully. “They’re really nice.” He took a bite, then offered Minan one. He accepted it suspiciously, then nibbled it. From his expression, he found it good. Ry-zilim had no hesitation, and had to be prevented from stuffing an entire cake straight into his mouth.
Under the influence of tea, cakes, determined cheerfulness and not a little exhaustion, something like peace was restored, though Minan jumped at every little sound, and Ry-zilim asked for his Mama disconsolately from time to time. Emia arrived with their clothes and some of the donated toys—they were happy to see her, but it set them off thinking about their mother again, so the process of calming them down had to begin once more.
Though everyone stood ready to help, Kei decided it was best to let Emia take charge, at least for now, because she was the person they were most familiar with, and most used to. Pira did what she could to coax the two tired, upset children to eat, and then to wash and make them comfortable in a strange bed, which they shared with Emia. Only once she and they had retired for the night, could the adults speak freely.
There was still little news, unfortunately. Arman had ‘called’ several times to say they were still trying to find Mayl and the people they believed had helped her escape, but despite the best efforts of Neka, Seiki and quite a large section of the Darshek-based army, nothing had been found. Finally, Kei told Karik and Romi to take the calash back to the barracks. “I’ll let you know the moment we hear anything, but there’s no point everyone being overtired and worried.”
“I’ll come back in the morning, first thing,” Karik said firmly. “Kei—we need to talk about what’s going to happen to them.”
Kei rubbed his eyes. He felt like an eighty-year-old. “Yes, we do and soon. But tomorrow.” He smiled at his nephew. “They were lucky to have you both today. All of you—Romi, Tije, Pira. Thank you.”
Karik gave him an odd look. “The person who made the difference was you.” He got up and gave him a warm hug. Kei was glad to have it, to feel Karik’s love and affection, knowing his nephew was his friend, always.
When they had gone, Pira offered to make them more tea, but Kei suggested she had an early night. “What about Arman, dear?”
“I’ll wait up for him. Go on, Ma—tomorrow is going to be a long day.” He kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”
“Those poor little loves—I do hope they find their mother. They miss her so much.”
“Er, yes. They do.” They had shielded Pira from the frankest discussion about Mayl’s shortcomings, so she wasn’t aware their mother was hardly a blessing. But perhaps it was best she would be more positive about Mayl than anyone else could manage. “Anyway, I suspect they’ll be here for a few days—I’ll arrange for Emia to stay and look after them, so I hope it won’t make too much work for you.”
“Oh, never mind about that, Kei. I’d do anything to help those boys. Good night—good night, young Tije.”
Tije bowed politely as she left. Kei brought the kettle over to the stove cistern and drew hot water for tea. “Well, Tije, you can’t complain your visit to Darshek has been dull,” he said, giving the lad a wry smile.
“No, I can’t. Has she got away, do you think?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what it means if she has. Your sovereign might blame us—or it might be seen as an elegant solution to a thorny problem.” He made the tea, and shook the pot a little to encourage the brew, then sat down and looked at the lad. “What do you think?”
Home Ground (Darshian Tales #4) Page 15