by Murray, Dean
Who among us hasn't worried that we've been handed too much power and that we'll misuse it?
The debate raged back and forth for nearly a cycle before Va'ma stood and presented a plan that would neatly solve all of their concerns, with only three people's happiness as the price of success. In the end, both On'li and Javin voted against it, but it didn't make any difference.
##
Va'del looked up at Mar'li in confusion, too shocked for anger to have taken root inside him yet. "I don't understand. The Council isn't supposed to involve itself in marriage decisions to this extent."
Mar'li shifted uncomfortably in the chair she was sitting in. "I'm sorry, Va'del, On'li and Javin both voted against the motion. They don't even know that I'm here yet, but I thought you deserved the unvarnished truth."
"So they were going to lie to me?"
The Guadel shook her head vigorously. "No, but they might not have gone into some of the details I just did. They mean well, but they have to weigh what they want, and sometimes even what the rest of us want, against what they see as being in the best interests of the bloodline. I on the other hand am just Mar'li. Not a Councilor, not the head of a bloodline, just me."
"Nothing's really changed. They still want me to do their dirty work and they won't even give me the option of being able to marry Jain. Instead I'm supposed to marry a stranger."
"That isn't true. They'll let you marry Jain, they just want someone older to serve as your first wife. They're scared. We've always been careful to try and conceal the capacity for violence that most of the Stephens men possess. When Cindi let slip how terrified she was of linking with you again, it really rattled them. They want to make sure that there are controls in place to ensure that you don't abuse your gifts."
Va'del felt anger start to grow inside him. "That's exactly what all of this is about. Control. They want to make sure that they have control over me. They won't let me marry Jain because then they couldn't tell me what to do anymore. They'll keep dangling it in front of me as a reward if I do what they want, but they'll never quite give it to me, and even if they do, she'll be my second wife, and have to defer to the first wife in nearly everything."
Mar'li pulled her feet up onto the chair, seeming to shrink as if to make herself a smaller target for Va'del's anger. Suddenly he realized how much it was costing her to be in the same room with him. Mar'li was so shy that even coming to his room was a sacrifice. Being forced to listen while he yelled at her was much more than she should have to endure.
"I'm sorry, Mar'li. You don't deserve that."
The timid Guadel shrugged as if to say it didn't matter, but her manner was so full of relief that it was obvious her attempted nonchalance was a lie.
"Does Jain know?"
Mar'li shook her head. "I can't imagine that she does."
##
It took Va'del several minutes to walk to the dormitories where the Daughters slept, but his mind was so full of anger at what the Council expected from him that he arrived before he realized that he didn't have any idea how to find Jain.
A part of Va'del kept telling him that he shouldn't make waves, that he should go back to his room and wait until a more appropriate time to talk to Jain, but the rest of him was worried she'd hear about the proposed marriage before he had a chance to talk to her. Somehow he knew that would be disastrous. Mostly though he just really didn't care whether or not he got in trouble. He was tired of being pushed around.
The teenager took a deep breath and walked around the corner that separated the hall from the common room. Surprisingly there was someone still awake. The thirteen-year-old girl jumped a little in surprise at the sight of a young man bold enough to go the one place most likely to get him in trouble regardless of who he was.
"Who the--oh, Va'del. Do you have any idea the problems you could cause by coming here?"
"How did you know who I am?"
The girl dropped her eyes, and for a second Va'del thought she was blushing. "Your skin color. Nobody else has such exotic skin. Everyone talks about you. Your rescuing Jain, and then her nearly burning herself out to stop Be'ter from killing you. It's so romantic."
Despite the leftover anger from talking to Mar'li, Va'del found he liked the girl. Most of the Daughters his age would have screamed for an instructor rather than calmly asking if he knew what was going to happen if he got caught.
"In answer to your question, I have a pretty good idea they'd do all kinds of things I'd rather not have happen to me if they find me, but I really need to talk to Jain. Which room is hers?"
"Oh, Powers! You aren't even in the right wing, let alone the right common room."
"You mean there's more than one?"
The girl looked for a second like she was wondering if he was drunk or otherwise incapacitated, then shrugged and nodded. "There are like four or five times as many Daughters as there are candidates. Only the girls a year or two from graduation are allowed to spend any time around the candidates, so you couldn't have known how many of us there are."
"Can you tell me how to find Jain?"
"I could, but that's a silly idea. I don't think anyone here would turn you in, but Mali is in Jain's year class and she's sure to get you in trouble if she finds out. No, you wait here, and I'll go get her. They don't like us to run around at night, but even if they catch me they'll just make me clean some old storage room. My chores back home were way worse than that."
Va'del bemusedly let the girl guide him into her room and push him down into a chair.
"Stay there, I'll get her."
Just before the girl turned to walk away, she darted forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I think you're incredibly brave, and I'm glad you're a candidate now so you can marry Jain."
A few minutes later the girl reappeared with Jain in tow.
Va'del could tell Jain was worried by his presence, but she calmly turned to the girl.
"Thanks, Ann'i. We'll leave now so that you don't get in trouble."
"More like because you don't want me to hear what you're going to talk about, but that's okay. I understand; my sister used to be the same way before they took me away from home."
Va'del nodded his thanks, and then he and Jain crept through the dim corridors. The Daughter pointed to a sliver of darkness as they walked passed, and used gestures to communicate the fact that there was someone there who was supposed to be watching for Daughters sneaking out, or boys sneaking in.
A short time later, the pair found an empty storage room and Jain created a ball of light above them so that they could see each other. "What's wrong?"
Now that he was faced with actually telling Jain what had happened, Va'del found that the words wouldn't come.
Sensing his distress, Jain reached out and wrapped her arms around Va'del. "Whatever it is, we'll get through it together."
Va'del shook his head. "What if we can't get through it, what if there isn't a solution?"
Jain was silent for several minutes, and when Va'del finally looked up and met her eyes, he saw tears making their slow way down her face.
"There hasn't ever been anything you couldn't tell me before."
"I'm trying, but the words won't come out."
Jain pulled back away from Va'del and wiped ineffectually at the tears. "You're scaring me. Just tell me what's wrong."
"They want to make me a sub-Guadel, but they'll only do it if they can pick my first wife."
Jain turned to run away, but Va'del caught her, gently restraining her before she could leave.
"This isn't what I want. Mar'li says they're scared that you won't be strong enough to make sure I don't give into all the violence I'm capable of. She says I can refuse the marriage, but the same fear will probably show back up in a couple of years when I finish up the more traditional route and they have to decide whether or not to let me take my final vows."
Jain shook her head like she didn't want to hear, but her mind was obviously processing the implications of what Va'd
el was telling her. "So if you refuse this, they may not let you become a Guadel. After all, if what you've done already isn't enough to convince them you can be trusted, nothing will suffice."
Va'del's throat had constricted too tightly for him to speak, so he simply nodded.
"Who do they want you to marry?"
"Someone named Vi'en."
"Why did you come here? Just to tell me it was going to happen?"
Va'del shook his head. "No, to ask you what I should do. We could run away if you're still willing. I don't want to do anything to hurt you, that's more important than whether or not I become a Guadel."
Jain looked up at him through tear-filled eyes, seeming to stare straight into the very depths of his heart. Va'del returned her gaze, and hoped she couldn't see deep enough to know what it would cost him to leave.
"No, we can't run away. You don't have it in you to flee from a challenge while there's still a chance you might overcome it. If we run away it would eat at you, and eventually it would come between us."
Va'del found new tears welling up in his eyes as he acknowledged to himself that Jain was right. Even after everything they'd done to him, after all the reasons they'd given him not to want to be a Guadel, he still wanted to prove, to himself if no one else, that he could do it. If anything the hunger was worse now than it'd been before. Ultimately that was why he was here talking to Jain rather than just refusing their 'solution' outright. He'd still leave with her if she wanted, he loved her too much to do otherwise, but he'd always wish there'd been some way to be true to her while still becoming a Guadel.
Jain squeezed Va'del's hand, her dark blue eyes still shiny with tears. "Marry her, I don't like it, but marry her anyway. It may not make a difference, they may still refuse to let you take your final vows. It doesn't matter though because as small as the chance is, it's still the only way we'll get to be together."
Chapter 14
Va'del followed the directions that On'li had given him, and far sooner than he would have wished found himself standing before Vi'en's rooms.
The Guadel invited him to enter in response to his light clap, and he soon found himself sitting in a chair facing the woman he was going to marry.
Vi'en was a short, slender woman whose hair was surprisingly dark still for someone who'd seen so many years.
"So you're the one Va'ma expects me to marry, and that before I'm even properly out of the white of mourning. Powers, you all get younger every year."
More than a little taken aback by Vi'en's brusque manner, Va'del revised his original plan and decided to get straight to the question. "I've been told that the first wife has the right to refuse permission to her husband regarding marriage to any additional wives."
Hard, black eyes looked at Va'del appraisingly. "Somebody's been bringing you up to speed on all kinds of things, haven't they? Fair enough, it's all stuff you would have learned sooner or later. Yes, once we're married I'll be able to refuse you the right to marry anyone I don't think proper, and I fully intend to exercise it, young man. Everyone keeps going on and on about your incredible potential, but it seems to me you really need someone who'll keep you from making all the stupid mistakes that result in most Guadel pairings being useless for the first decade or so."
Va'del suppressed the anger Vi'en's tone brought surging up in him, and continued. "I've come to ask for your promise that after we're married you'll allow me to pick my next wife, preferably as soon as possible. That is the only way I'll agree to go forward with this."
"Oh, you've some sweetheart, do you? Well, even my dear Bob'ae never got away with dictating those kinds of things to me. We'll spend the normal year together before a second wife is considered, and then I may grant you permission to marry whoever it is your heart is currently set on. Even assuming you're still enamored of her, there's the question of whether or not she'll make a good second wife. After all, she'll probably be a first wife soon enough after I go to join my Bob'ae."
Va'del opened his mouth to tell Vi'en that he wouldn't marry her, but she interrupted him. "Don't be forcing me to call your bluff, boy. You'll accept my terms and smile about them because there's a need in you to become a Guadel. There must be, or you'd never have put up with everything those fools in the Council have done to you. Bob'ae never would have put up with that. You don't have a tenth the self-respect he did, but that's part of what I'm here to teach you."
Vi'en let her husband-to-be stew in his anger for several seconds and then looked up from the embroidery she'd picked up while they were talking. "I don't think we've any more to talk about, and since we aren't married yet there really isn't need for us to spend any more time together. I'll let Va'ma know that you've agreed to the marriage. You can let yourself out now. Don't trouble yourself to stop by before the wedding."
Va'del stiffly got to his feet and turned to leave, but Vi'en had one last parting comment. "Now that we're engaged, the rules of courtship are in play, and I'll expect you to limit your contact with whomever it is that's caught your eye to the standard three cycles a week."
##
On'li watched Va'ma finish his presentation, and felt a wave of relief that the big man had finally abandoned his alliance with Ja'dir. He wasn't necessarily on their side yet, but he didn't always vote against them either. Of course putting Vi'en forward as a wife for Va'del might have hurt Ja'dir, but it wasn't exactly what On'li had been hoping for either. Allies like that were only a bare step above enemies.
The one time that On'li had tried to talk to Vi'en about the upcoming marriage, the other woman had been so incredibly inflexible that she'd made the old Cindi look positively accommodating. The other woman had made it very clear that while Va'del might belong to the Stephens bloodline, Vi'en still looked to Va'ma as her commander and chief. Meanwhile she'd probably told Va'ma that she belonged to Stephens now. There wasn't any kind of precedent for this situation, and On'li was worried that going to Va'ma and asking him about the status of the pair would give him the leverage he needed to steal both of them out from under her. Poor Va'del. As opposed as she'd been to the marriage from the start, she was becoming more and more certain that things would end up even worse than she'd feared.
"It is obvious that there's some force driving the bag'ligs further up the mountains towards us. They are becoming increasingly bold, and it is only a matter of time before they attack one of the smaller villages. Now is the time to do something about the root of the problem. We must send down a substantial party to the lowlands with the purpose of figuring out what's causing the bag'ligs to migrate."
Ja'dir lunged to his feet, full of anger and obviously feeling more and more cut off from the rest of the Council. "I've told you. Our people have had extensive conversations with every lowland power within a week's journey of Crimson Rocks. There's no reason to believe the lowlanders are at all involved in what's going on."
Va'ma shook his head, his grizzled face showing the first hints of a matching anger. "With all due respect, we've just finished mopping up a sizeable armed force that was very much intent on making life miserable for us. By definition, it had to have come from one of those lowland nations. Something is going on, and it may be that we need someone with a fresh perspective to figure out what it is."
All but frothing at the mouth now, Ja'dir shook off the restraining arm of his last remaining ally on the Council, and slammed his hand down on the gray, stone table. "Fine, send your party down, but don't expect any help from my bloodline. If you're all so convinced we're incompetent, maybe you should try your own hands at negotiation and see where you get. We won't interfere or distract you all with anything as prosaic as mere facts."
On'li got the feeling Ja'dir would have stormed out of the Council chamber if the massive stone door hadn't been shut. Instead the furious Councilor sat back down and ignored everyone else as plans were made for a large force of guards and Guadel to be sent down to Crimson Rocks village in two weeks.
Eight days after the marriage. Poor
Va'del.
##
Va'del shivered in the cold as he waited for the ceremony to begin. He'd followed Javin and Fi'lin down through the darkness until they'd finally reached the sound of dripping water, and then the three of them had waited for nearly half a cycle.
It was expected Va'del would use the time to reflect on the decision he was making, but if he'd done that there was a chance he'd have turned and walked back up into the dim light of the inhabited parts of the Capital. Instead, the young man had spent the time thinking about Jain and the fact that On'li had sent word with Javin, promising to smuggle the Daughter down to the ceremony.
As the minutes passed, the barely-perceptible sound of a handful of people breathing was the only clue that the few spectators had taken their place. The breathing suddenly grew quieter, so that it was almost possible to believe the spectators had somehow disappeared, leaving him and his two escorts alone in the cold.
A gentle breeze tugged at the thin material of the white shirt and pants tradition had dressed him in, and then the expensive, holy candles in Javin and Fi'lin's hands suddenly ignited themselves. Accustomed as his eyes had been to complete darkness for so long, the candles seemed brighter than the sun, but their glow, bright as it was when contrasted against the darkness, was still too weak to penetrate more than a few feet ahead of the trio.
From somewhere ahead a small gong rang out, and then a clear voice echoed through the cavern. "Two come separately but not alone, surrounded by the cold and dark to which they were born. Listen. Those who have given them light now approach."
Javin, his sword bare and raised against possible attack, strode off towards the voice. Standing in the smaller pool of radiance provided by Fi'lin's candle, Va'del watched the progress of the other point of light that had appeared from off to the left.