by D.D. Chant
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Una
Astra sat up a little in her chair.
“This is not the way home, Senior.”
“No, this is the way to my father’s house,” returned Kai shortly.
“Why?”
He sighed.
“It is customary that you make your greeting to my parents.” He looked down at her irritably. “It seems you have forgotten everything about the customs of your own people. You will be invited to take tea with my mother; it is a symbol of her blessing on our Bonding.” Kai paused and his eyes took on a frosty light. “Do not upset my mother, Aya.”
The pod stopped, and the door slid open, allowing them to disembark. Kai turned, holding out a hand to her. Slowly she stepped out onto the stone path, placing her cold fingers within Kai’s. His fingers closed around hers, the gentle pressure reassuring.
“They’ll not eat you, Aya.”
Astra started. Looking up at Kai’s serious face made the words seem less a friendly encouragement, and more a statement of fact, as though there was a possibility that they would indeed eat her.
The thought brought a smile to her lips.
“I had not supposed they would, Senior.”
Kai led her up the path to the front door. The House of Sen was built along the same lines as her brother’s house, but the garden that lead up to the house was different. The garden in front of Singh House was a delightful array of miniature ponds and ornamental Acers. Sen House was fronted by intricate terracing, its vantage point much higher than Singh House. Large decorative pots, filled with blooming flowers, were interspersed with delicately carved marble statues and rose covered arbours. The large front door bore a mosaic of a man holding aloft his clenched fist, as if in victory. As they waited for the door to open, Astra studied the picture with interest.
“It's a mural of one of the leaders of the U.N.A., who fought the threat that was destroying the earth's natural resources. He is an ancestor of the Sen Family.”
Astra nodded thoughtfully.
“The Tula has not completely wiped out natural resources in their Strongholds. It’s true that they have infringed upon them, but there are still unspoilt places that are protected by the government.”
Kai stiffened, but before he could answer, the door opened slowly, and the elderly butler within bowed.
“Master Kai.”
“Where is my father, Dhal?”
“In the gardens by the koi pond, Master Kai.”
“Thank you, Dhal.”
Kai turned to Astra.
“Dhal will take you to my mother.” He leaned a little closer and dropped his voice. “Remember what I said to you.”
“You’re not coming?”
Kai looked surprised by the question.
“It is not customary for me to join you.”
He bowed slightly, and before Astra could say another word, had crossed the hall and made his way out into the garden. Astra found herself following Dhal across the stone-paved hallway and up the grand staircase to the upper story.
The gallery led to a large and airy corridor, deserted but for a single maid, vigorously polishing the wooden floor. She looked up as they passed, and Astra noticed golden hair beneath her headscarf, and cheeks pink with exertion.
Dhal led her to the very end of the hall, and knocked lightly on the heavily carved and gilded door, before standing aside and gesturing that Astra should pass through in front of him.
The woman within sat in the middle of the room, on a delicately carved chair. A coffee table separated her from the matching chair placed opposite her, and light streamed in from a full length window behind her.
“Thank you, Dhal, please could you see that tea is sent up right away?”
“Yes, Lady Sen.” The old man bowed and closed the door behind him as he exited the room.
Astra felt the woman’s gaze return to her and bowed deeply, waiting for Lady Sen to break the silence.
“Aren’t you going to sit down?” asked Rae Uel Ne Sen after a few moments. “It's making me a little nervous to see you hovering just inside the door as though you might run off any minute.”
“Thank you, Lady Sen,” returned Astra, accepting the proffered chair and sitting down.
Kai’s mother continued to look her over carefully, and Astra started to wonder if she had dirt on her face.
“You look like your mother,” stated Rae abruptly.
Astra hesitated, unsure how to respond.
“Thank you, Lady Sen.”
Rae continued as though Astra hadn’t spoken.
“I never liked her.”
Lady Sen seemed to hear her own words, and raised her hand.
“That came out wrong. You’ll have to excuse me, I have no filter process. What I meant was that I once heard Hyun Jae say that she was beautiful. It was before we were married, of course, but I was never able to like her after that.” She shrugged. “Silly I know, but I can’t help it. You understand how it is one day.”
She paused again and the silence stretched out awkwardly.
“You’re not very talkative are you?”
“Forgive me, Lady Sen.” Astra inclined her head slightly. “What would you have me speak of?”
Rae waved a hand.
“I don’t care… your family? The Tula strongholds? Life, the universe, and everything?”
Astra smiled a little.
“I doubt whether my views on life, the universe, and everything would interest you.”
“Maybe not,” returned Rae. “What about your family then?”
Astra stiffened.
“What would you like to know?”
“What is it that you would like to tell me?”
Astra’s brow creased, and Rae heaved a sigh.
“This isn’t going very well is it? I never was any good at small talk; it seems such a pointless waste of time.” She fixed her eyes on Astra ruefully. “Believe it or not, this is me trying to get to know you, but I seem to be almost as bad at it as Kai is!”
Rae ran a distracted hand through her unruly curls, pulling a face of extreme concentration that distorted her features comically. Astra watched her performance with some surprise. She wasn’t sure what she had expected from Kai Uel Ne Sen's mother; austerity perhaps, the same coldly appraising glance. However, Rae was nothing like her son. She radiated the warmth that her name suggested, and the gangling clumsiness of a newborn colt. Her harried awareness of her own social ineptitude relaxed Astra, and made her feel more at home than she could remember feeling for a long time. She was also a good deal younger than Astra had expected; still somewhere in her forties, and exuded a joyful youthfulness that made Astra want to smile.
“My life within the Tula Strongholds was not very interesting, nor was it very pleasant. Perhaps instead, I could ask you to tell me something of the situation that my brother and your son find themselves in due to my… absence?” Astra frowned, shaking her head. “It seems that there is more to the situation than I first realised. If I know a little more about it, I might be able to ease the burden on them both.”
Astra paused, carefully setting several sharp pleats into her skirts.
“Sometimes I feel that, in my ignorance, I make things harder on them.”
Rae’s eyes lit up.
“You’re talking about gossip, aren’t you?”
She grinned, and shunted her chair forwards. The legs screeched across the wooden floor, protesting at her enthusiasm.
“Where do I start?” she asked herself. “Stupid question: at the beginning of course! There has always been unrest between the Head Families: the struggle for power. Yet over time, the problem has gotten worse. When the Head Families were set up, they were equally strong, but as the years passed, some lost power and others increased in influence.” Rae’s brow creased. “You know that the Elder Headman rules as a King, but a King needs the support of his subjects to rule. Elder Headman Amajit made the unpopular decision to only defend
ourselves against the Tula, and not to attack them. He said that peace would not be achieved through warfare, that we must learn to accept them, and they must learn to accept us.
“Not all of the Headmen are willing to make peace with the Tula. Some hate them too much, and will never be able to live in peace with them. So, for the first time in the history of the Una Head Families, factions split the Headmen apart. There are three divisions: those loyal to the Elder Headman, those who follow Headman Chopra, and The Nine.”
“The Nine?”
“They remain neutral, and when differences within the Una High Court prompt a vote, choose a side on a case by case basis.”
“That sounds very unstable.”
“It is,” returned Rae. “It’s the reason that there is so much danger surrounding your Bonding with Kai. The House of Sen is one of the strongest supporters of the Elder Headman. Headman Chopra seeks to use you as a means of weakening Elder Headman Amajit’s support.”
Astra remained calm, as though Lady Sen’s words hadn’t unleashed a torrent of worry in her mind. Rae leaned forward and took Astra’s hand in hers.
“Aya, I don’t blame you for this mess. I know that none of this is your fault.” She hesitated. “I need you to do something for me.”
Astra resisted the impulse to put more space between them, and inclined her head.
“What do you need from me?”
Rae chewed her lip anxiously.
“I need you to help Kai.”
“How can I possibly help him?”
“By being there for him, by understanding the pressure he is under, and the burden he carries.”
“I'm sorry, Lady Sen, but I don’t understand.”
Rae leaned back in her chair and heaved a sigh.
“That’s because I’m useless at explaining it to you. I probably sound like a crazy old lady, don’t I?”
Astra smiled.
“Well, not old.”
“But still crazy?” chuckled Rae, before carrying on in a more serious tone. “Kai is an only child, and he has been brought up with a huge weight of responsibility on his shoulders. I know that is true of every Apprentice Headman, but it is even more so in Kai’s case. I can’t tell you why the two of you were Bonded, but I want you to know that it has put a great stress upon him. Your abduction from Hope Valley hurt him more than you realise. He felt he had failed to protect you. He even mounted a stealth operation to get you back.”
Astra felt a rush of surprise flood her veins at the older woman’s words.
“What happened?”
Rae shrugged unhappily.
“Although they made it past enemy lines, they ran into a patrol and Shin was badly wounded. Kai knew that if he didn’t get Shin back to the Territories, he would die. Yet he also knew that if he brought Shin back he would have lost the chance to find you. In the end he decided that he had a better chance of saving Shin than you.”
“Is that why Senior Shin gave up so much that day in the Justice Chambers? He was repaying a debt?”
“No, it was more than that.” Rae hesitated. “Shin is a younger son. In our society, firstborns do not usually have any interaction with second or third sons, but Kai and Shin have always been friends.”
She stood abruptly, and walked the length of the room in agitation. Every now and then she cast Astra a contemplative glance, until finally seeming to decide on something.
“You're going to find out anyway, so I might as well tell you now: Shin is Headman Chopra’s second son.”
“And Headman Chopra is the man who attempted to have me executed on my return, correct?”
She nodded, and for a moment Astra looked at her with unseeing eyes.
“Why did Senior Shin stand against his father?”
“Because he knows that his father wishes both our families, and the Elder Headman himself, harm. He feels the guilt of his father’s actions as heavily as if they had been his own, and so attempts to avert any injury Headman Chopra seeks to cause.”
“That is why he wears no colours,” Astra murmured absently.
“He hasn’t worn his family colours since he was sixteen years old.” Rae paused, sadness creeping into her expression. “He has been almost as lonely as Kai. I think that’s why their friendship is so strong; they have been to the same dark place, filled with bitterness and hate.”
“What is between our families, Lady Sen? What is it that both links us together and yet has the strength to rip us apart?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
Astra cocked her head to one side.
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
“A little of both,” Rae grimaced. “The truth is that even I don’t know all the facts. My husband, bless him, thinks that if I don’t know, I won’t worry.” Rae smiled a little.
“Then why are you telling me any of this?”
“Because I know that Kai won’t tell you, and you need to know, so that you can understand why Kai is the way he is, and why he does the things he does.” She paced the length of the room again. “I know that Kai seems cold and unfriendly. Actually to be fair, he is cold and unfriendly, but… I’m making such a mess of this!”
She paused, dragging one hand through her hair, and crushing her skirts with the other. Astra rose slowly from her chair, and made her way to where the older woman stood. Reaching out, she placed her hand on Rae's arm.
“I understand, Lady Sen.”
Tears welled up in Rae’s eyes, and she clasped Astra’s hand tightly.
“What I’m trying to say is that Kai has his bad points, but his good points make you forget that they exist.”
Astra nodded in what she hoped was a placating manner. She was beginning to feel that perhaps Kai Uel Ne Sen was not the brute she had once thought him. However she was by no means ready to accept that he was as pleasant as the picture his mother drew. A knock at the door startled them both, and Dhal entered, followed by a manservant bearing a huge tray. Rae turned away quickly, using the hem of her skirts to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. With forced bravado she smiled and returned to her seat.
“Thank you, Dhal.”
“My pleasure, Lady Sen. Is there anything else?”
Rae shook her head, and both men bowed before leaving the room.
“What will you have, Aya? Tea? Or maybe coffee?”
Astra shivered in distaste.
“Tea if you please, I don’t like coffee.”
“Please tell me that you’re not one of those irritating women that are always on a diet, and harp on about calories and carbs all the time?”
Astra smiled.
“Not at all.”
She leaned forward, selecting a pastry tart filled with chocolate mousse and topped with a swirl of whipped cream from the plate of cakes before her. Rae smiled approvingly as she brushed the flaky pieces of pastry scattered across her skirts to the floor.
“Never trust anyone who doesn’t eat cake; there’s something not right in their head.”
Astra smiled, but before she could reply, the door opened. Kai stood on the threshold, his face drawn into a frown. He looked first at his mother and then at Astra, before stepping into the room. He was followed by an older man, with thick grey hair and dark piercing eyes. Astra imagined that Kai would look very much the same in thirty or forty years. She rose to her feet and bowed.
“What happened?”
It was Rae who spoke, her voice strangely flat, as though she expected the worst, and now nothing could surprise her.
“We have been summoned to the High Court.”
“Again? Why?”
Kai’s eyes turned to Astra, as though he was waiting for her to answer the question. Astra remain silent, her eyes cast down, wondering what had happened. Fear clutched at her chest. Had they found out about Ben? No, they couldn’t have, she was just being paranoid.
“It is nothing to worry about, Mother.”
Rae looked somewhat less than reassured by his words, and frowned.
Hyun Jae Uel Ne Sen stepped forward, and slid his arm around his wife's waist, giving her a comforting squeeze. He was older than Astra had expected; some ten or fifteen years Rae’s senior from what Astra could tell.
Rae wriggled out of his hold and stood, hands on her hips, in front of him.
“If it’s nothing to worry about, you won’t have any trouble explaining it to me.”
Both men looked slightly uncomfortable and remained silent.
“You see what I have to put up with? They’re conspiring together to give me grey hair!” She flopped down in to a chair and mumbled irritably to herself.
Hyun Jae Uel Ne Sen smiled fondly down at his wife, and moved forwards to place a hand on her shoulder.
“Really, my dear: how could you cause a scene and make our guest uncomfortable?”
Rae snorted.
“Aya isn’t a guest, she’s family!”
Astra felt the strangest warmth flood through her at Rae’s words, melting the frozen wastes that surrounded her heart. She blinked rapidly, aware of tears that threatened to spill forth, and of tightness in her throat. There was relief too, pushing away the fear that she had refused to acknowledge, the tension and horror that had filled her at the thought of being in the complete control of these people.
It was the unknown element that had scared her most: she could imagine the worst that they could do to her, the pain they could inflict, the degradation that they could make her suffer.
Councillor Ladron had often used her imagination against her like that. It had been his enjoyment of her fear that had forced her to develop a protective barrier of impenetrable calm. Yet Rae’s words brought the relief of knowing that she didn’t have to be scared any more, at least not of Rae.
“We need to leave.”
Astra tried to appear as though Kai’s voice had not startled her, but turning to find him standing so close made her uneasy. He held out his hand, and Astra obediently took it, and allowed him to lead her forwards to bid his parents goodbye.
“Thank you for your blessing, Mother.”
Rae regarded him from eyes that spoke eloquently of her disgruntled state.
“See that you keep my new daughter safe,” she replied, returning the appropriate response to Kai’s formal recognition of her acceptance. However, with characteristic irreverence for the occasion, she leant forward, adding, “Or don’t bother coming home!”
Hyun Jae chuckled and raised eyes filled with amusement to his son before bestowing a kiss on his wife’s averted cheek.
“I must attend also, my dear.”
“Yes, yes… All of you leave and enjoy your secret meeting.” She tossed her head in an airy gesture of unconcern. “I’m not interested in the least.”
Astra smiled and looked up at Kai, but could see no reaction to his mother’s words. She had always assumed that the cold demeanour he displayed with her was particular to their dealings. Yet despite his obvious care for both his parents, that cold formality was still there. Astra discovered a growing curiosity about the man who was her Bonded mate, and it surprised her.
Normally she only cared to understand other so that she could protect herself from them. However, there was more to her interest in Apprentice Headman Sen. He intrigued her. She wanted to know what he was thinking, his secrets, why he was so cold and aloof.
What made him so withdrawn?
She knew that she would never be truly easy until she had some answers.