Ten Crescent Moons (Moonquest)

by Marilyn Haddrill

  She had heard of this place, called Harbor City, on the Prime Continent. It was the main port between the islands and the mainland occupied by citizens of the Crescent Houses.

  As they walked down the street toward the carriage that awaited them, curious eyes gaped at the arrival from the frontier of the famous Captain Kalos and his mysterious, ailing wife, unable even to walk except with his arm propped under her shoulder.

  The unhappy child, Calasta, stayed so near to them that they almost tripped over her.

  Perhaps Adalginza's ears, trained in the frontier, were overly keen. Or perhaps her sick mind simply imagined the whispered conversations around her.

  Look at that savage child. I've never seen one before, have you? Why would they bring such a creature here? And isn't the captain's new wife the daughter of Lady Donzala? Stricken with the same madness, perhaps? How unfortunate.

  This frail young woman has the most stunning indigo eyes. Exactly like those of Lady Swiala, don't you think?

  Adalginza was aware of a carriage ride to somewhere. And then very soon she saw those exact same eyes, staring back at her in an appraising way.

  "She must rest." Lady Swiala's voice was even more severe than her expression as she addressed a swarm of uniformed servants hovering in the background. "Take her to her own bed and quarters. Captain Kalos, you will sleep in another room for now. Lady Adalginza has only the strength to manage for herself."

  "Lady Swiala, I must insist on being with my wife!" Captain Kalos snapped.

  "I said no. Your presence disturbs her. Anyone can see that. And you there, child! Are you a servant? From the looks of you, you must be. Off with you then. You will stay in the servants' quarters."

  Poor Calasta. Kalos must have chosen not to mention any kind of special relationship.

  In the passage of time that followed, Calasta disappeared almost completely from Adalginza's awareness. And in her swirl of confused memories, even Kalos became an indistinct, handsome face in the background.

  Adalginza heard his voice raised in protest from time to time. But it was clear that he was not the captain in this abode.

  It was Lady Swiala who dominated the foreground, always hovering — as if transfusing her own formidable will directly into Adalginza. From time to time, she even stated aloud that her only granddaughter was the last hope for preserving her clan's bloodline.

  She announced that Adalginza most certainly would not be allowed to die.

  You are wasting your time with me, elder. I cannot bear children.

  But, of course, Lady Swiala did not hear her thoughts.

  Adalginza knew the why of it from a long ago memory. Bruna had done something painful and terrible and cruel to her, when she was very small.

  Bruna told her it was part of a plan devised for her so that she would never bear the child of an enemy. Or any child at all.

  It was vile to have this mutilation of her body suddenly remembered so clearly, when she was already in so much pain. At the same time, she knew she must keep quiet about what had been done to her.

  But the truth of it came in another way, when a man named Polyper arrived in her sleep room.

  He was introduced only as an esteemed gnostic and practitioner of medicine. His face was indistinct as he examined Adalginza in a most intimate way, but only under the strict observation of Lady Swiala.

  "I believe she has female problems," her grandmother declared authoritatively. "It might explain why she is so weak."

  A clearly disturbed Kalos also inserted himself protectively into this scene, on the other side of the bed. And it was Kalos, not Lady Swiala, who Polyper now addressed.

  "I tell you, sir, this woman cannot bear children. Nor has she ever born a child." Polyper dipped his hands in a basin of soapy water, and then wiped them dry on a white linen. "I found an incision made when she was very young. It left a pronounced scar."

  "You say someone did this to her as a child?" Kalos asked incredulously.

  "It appears that way. If she has no memory of it, it would be most certain." Polyper's voice sounded kind and comforting. "This woman has been through much more than any of us could ever imagine."

  "Then it would help explain her delusions." Kalos sounded profoundly upset.

  "Delusions are common in the female line of Lady Donzala's clan," Polyper said gently. "I have personally tended others of that clan."

  "So after all this trouble, we learn that the girl is barren and my line will never continue."

  It was Lady Swiala who made the bitter declaration without a hint of sympathy in her voice.

  "This is not about you, old woman!"

  Adalginza opened her eyes and saw Kalos give the lady a look that was as piercing as his sword.

  "I am tired of your rants. Now that you find her useless for your purposes, I suppose you will now cast her out of your abode? Which will be her good fortune ultimately, I am sure. Who would want to share your churlish companionship?"

  "How dare you, sir?"

  Kalos ignored Swiala, speaking above her protest and directly addressing the holy man.

  "Could Adalginza's mother have possibly done this in a state of madness?"

  "I am not old!" Swiala shouted, interrupting.

  Polyper, who also pointedly ignored Lady Swiala, answered gravely.

  "I have never known of Lady Donzala's type of madness to turn to violence. Neglect, maybe — but never violence. I would doubt this theory."

  "Then it seems someone made a deliberate attempt to rob her of her bloodline."

  "This sounds more reasonable. But considering her age when this was done, we will never know the truth."

  "It is the best of fortune for any young woman to be my granddaughter!" Lady Swiala interrupted again, without achieving any notice from the two men.

  "I am her husband," Kalos said to the gnostic. "It seems that I should have noticed something wrong?"

  The gnostic looked down at Adalginza, and briefly placed a comforting hand on her forehead.

  "The effect is only upon her capacity to have children. She is fully a woman in every other way."

  "Then this is why she is not already with child from our marriage." Kalos sounded thoughtful. And deeply disappointed.

  "Furthermore," Lady Swiala continued, as though the two of them had never exchanged a word. "I would never for any reason consider a granddaughter of mine useless — for my purposes, or for any purposes! In fact, I will now go out of my way to prove the worth of her!"

  "I know the worth of her already," Kalos said, smiling slightly as he again turned his attention back to Lady Swiala. He lightly touched her shoulder. "Forgive me. This has been a very hard time for me. I grieve for my wife in many ways. For you must also realize that I, too, will be without a bloodline."

  "Then you have the right by the rules of your House to disavow your marriage to this woman," Lady Swiala said briskly. "All you need do is declare it so in front of witnesses. And then leave Adalginza with me. As my companion."

  Kalos dropped his hand. "What are you saying?"

  "Go your way, Captain Kalos. You are released from your duty here. I already have heard whisperings that Lady Sagawea has been inquiring about you, since your arrival."

  "My apology is withdrawn, old woman. And you will not be rid of me that easily."

  "I am not old! I am still sought after to model the very latest in fashion."

  Lady Sagawea? Here? And asking about Kalos?

  Time continued to drift, but Adalginza heard many whisperings from the servants and from Lady Swiala herself about how bold Lady Sagawea had become. Her visits now were quite frequent.

  How dare this woman invade the household when the wife of the captain was so clearly ailing?

  Lady Sagawea was at the door. Again. Would she be permitted to come inside and say hello to her old friend, Captain Kalos? But, of course.

  This was Lady Swiala answering a servant. Show the lovely young visitor to the parlor, and do summon the captain q
uickly.

  What was Lady Swiala doing?

  The visits became so common that the servants were now whispering furiously.

  Wasn't it well known in the royal court that Kalos and Sagawea were once nearly betrothed?

  Poor, pathetic Lady Adalginza. She wasn't even well enough to rise up and defend her honor against this brazen interloper.

  It was only then that Adalginza began to revive, inflamed by a hot, burning rage that caused life to flare once more.

  "It is auspicious that your husband, who has been so lonely without you, has such a good, dear friend in Lady Sagawea. Even at this very moment she is downstairs entertaining him."

  These words spoken on one afternoon blasted away the lingering fog in her mind, causing Adalginza to stir angrily. She sat up in her bed and looked straight into the triumphant, indigo eyes of Lady Swiala.

  The elderly woman seemed prepared for her reaction, and casually handed the younger woman a cup of hot, steaming soup.

  "As I told your captain, we have no need of a holy man to awaken your spirit. I have my own ways."

  "And Lady Sagawea? Is she really here?" Adalginza took a feeble sip of the hot liquid.

  "Oh yes. And she sits with your captain in the parlor as we speak. You must regain your strength quickly, granddaughter — and your wit — or the battle will be lost."

  "You...really are...a horrible...old woman..." Adalginza gasped out the words, as she struggled to sit up even higher in the bed.

  "I am not old!"

  Adalginza sank back into the bed, as her head swam with the dizziness of sudden movement. Her grandmother eyed her sharply.

  "Lady Sagawea has a strong and most appealing body. I'm sure she could bear Captain Kalos many children."

  "That is a most cruel thing to say!"

  Adalginza's furious voice sounded strong, surprising even herself.

  "Then how do you — and your captain — judge your worth? This is a most important issue for you both to determine. He was deeply disturbed to find you could not give him children, and has since continued to withdraw from you."

  "I thought it was you who were disturbed."

  "So you heard all this? I stated it, to test him. And he defended you. A good sign at least. But that was a long, long time ago."

  "That long?"

  Lady Swiala gave an exaggerated sigh as she inspected her granddaughter critically.

  "Longer than you realize. Your muscles have been kept toned because of your mindless night wanderings, which I have permitted under the watchful eyes of that adorable little savage girl you brought with you."

  "Calasta?"

  "Yes. But now that you are with us again in your mind as well as your body, your choices are your own. So you tell me. Will you languish here in this bed until your spine turns to sponge?"

  "Give me that wrap." Adalginza reached a hand toward the brightly flowered kiminu lying on a nearby chair.

  Lady Swiala reached for it, and threw it on the bed within Adalginza's reach.

  "That's my granddaughter," she said approvingly. "Now. Let me go find that girl of yours to help."

  Soon Calasta shyly entered the room, followed by Lady Swiala. Calasta, under Swiala's directions, helped Adalginza with her bath as well as the cleansing and drying of her hair.

  Lady Swiala lingered long enough to help braid the long tresses and to pinch some color into Adalginza's cheeks. Then the older woman departed, announcing she must take care of other household business.

  "Thank you, child," Adalginza told Calasta, as she donned her kiminu.

  She was suddenly struck by how much older the girl looked.

  "And now I must ask you. How is it with you here?"

  Calasta's expression was stoic. "Fine."

  "No, dear. I mean, really. How is it for you here?"

  "The servants hate me." Tears pooled in Calasta's eyes, but they did not spill over. "My skin is darker than theirs."

  "My skin is darker, too. It comes from living in the frontier."

  "They call you terrible things, too."

  "Such as?"

  "Demented. Like Lady Donzala." Calasta gave her a curious look, and with childlike bluntness spoke in a straightforward way. "They say you bathe naked in the sun. They say you wander at night, and talk directly to the crescent moons. That you ride sturmons like a man. Are you really crazy?"

  "Sometimes. But not in the way other people think."

  "What about me? Am I crazy because I have so few memories? The servants say I am."

  "Speak no more to the servants of these things," Adalginza said sharply. "Speak only to me. And the captain."

  "Captain Kalos no longer notices me." Calasta finally allowed a lone tear to escape. "I want to go back home. To Sola Re. And Lady Redolo. And even back to that blister bug, Zartos!"

  "Oh...Calasta." Adalginza wrapped the child in a hug.

  There were so many other things she wanted to say. That she was sorry for Calasta's aloneness. That she was sorry for prejudice.

  She was unable to explain that Calasta was in this predicament because she was in dire danger. Someone wanted her out of the way.

  Adalginza was certain she knew who that someone was. But she had no proof.

  Most of all, Adalginza was sorry that Kalos — once he learned that Calasta could not possibly be Adalginza's daughter — had rejected her.

  Did he still believe that Calasta belonged to Benfaaro? Adalginza didn't think so. Otherwise, he might be tempted to use her as leverage against his enemy. Or worse.

  Adalginza desperately hoped that the captain would not harm a child. But she was no longer certain of anything in this cruel world, not even of the man she loved.

  "Thank you for your help." Adalginza gave the girl a warm hug. "Now go take your meal in the kitchen. I have things I must do."

  ***

  By the time Adalginza confronted a startled woman servant and received directions to the parlor, her mood already was foul.

  She reminded herself that she should be grateful for the sudden and miraculous return of her sanity. She instead felt disoriented, displaced, and without purpose in these opulent surroundings.

  Her irritation grew as she made her way down a series of plushy carpeted hallways, interspersed with stairways to numerous unused rooms.

  This simply illustrated the extremes of self-indulgence within Lady Swiala's palace.

  All this space was required to house one cantankerous old woman? How selfish could she be?

  While Lady Swiala's son had sworn allegiance to the House of the Fifth Crescent Moon, the birthplace of his father, Swiala herself had stubbornly remained loyal to the First House to which she had been born. And it was this house that produced most of the power brokers, money lenders, and courtesans.

  It was no secret even in the frontier that most members of Lady Swiala's immediate clan adored extravagance and wealth.

  Their antics and love affairs were the subject of much discussion and speculation in the regular news dispatches sent from the Prime Continent and distributed to the islands and the frontier.

  These people were famous. They were celebrated. And Lady Swiala, with her enigmatic beauty, was the most famous of all.

  But why should so few among all of humanity have so much? And all strictly by accident of birth, rather than from their own labors?

  Like Calasta, Adalginza found herself yearning to go back to the frontier where things made more sense —even among the societies of the more practical Crescent House citizens who had settled there.

  It did not help Adalginza's dark thoughts when, upon flinging open the door to the parlor, she saw Sagawea and Kalos seated so closely together that their heads almost touched.

  The two of them stared down at a scroll laid flat upon a small gaming table as though it contained all the secrets of the vast skies beyond this speck of a world.

  They were so locked in intimate conversation that neither of them noticed Adalginza's presence.

  "
So Kalos," she said quietly. "I see you have a guest."

  Sagawea hastily scooted her chair backwards and away from Kalos, her expression clearly filled with guilt.

  Kalos rose to his feet and regarded his wife with open delight.

  "Adalginza! Your eyes are so clear. And you are on your feet, too. This pleases me greatly."

  He wore his off duty uniform, casual but with the Crescent knight insignia sewn onto the collar of his blue tunic.

  His beard was neatly trimmed, and his chest hairs exposed in the "V" of the uniform's design. Unexpectedly, Adalginza felt a stirring of old passions just from the nearness of him.

  He strolled over to Adalginza, slipped his hand behind her neck, and gave her a long, searching kiss.

  When Kalos released her and turned back to Sagawea, he seemed completely unaware of the hostility Adalginza felt upon meeting her rival for the first time.

  Sagawea was a handsome and statuesque woman. Attractive, but not beautiful. She had sharply defined bone structure. Reddish hair. Gray eyes brimming with a sly intelligence.

  She wore no masque, as would be the custom of a woman from the captain's own Ninth House. And she was dressed as Lady Redolo typically was in an unadorned, simply designed white frock.

  Disturbingly, Lady Sagawea seemed not in the least cowed by Adalginza's fierce gaze.

  Adalginza wondered if this was because of what she had overheard Lady Swiala once say. Her standing as honored wife was quite tenuous now that it was proven she could not continue the captain's bloodline.

  Marriage vows in the Ninth House were considered sacred for the good of the children. But, if there could be no children…

  By the rules of his House, all Captain Kalos need do now was verbally declare in public that the vow was broken. Considering how the servants here loved to gossip, Adalginza was certain that Lady Sagawea was well aware of the status of their marriage.

  Still oblivious to anything being amiss, Kalos reached for a nearby frayed cord that he pulled to create the tingling of a bell in the kitchen. This signaled the need for refreshments.

  Without asking their permission, Adalginza purposefully walked over to the table to peer down at one of the scrolls that had so captured their attention.

  She saw the name of Lady Redolo written on the scroll, followed by the name of Lady Sagawea. The title of the work was: A Study of the Life and Teachings of Medosa, Gnostic of the Frontier: He Who Was Murdered by the Soulless Savages He Befriended.