by Ian Gregoire
“As you wish.”
Fay remained rooted to the spot as Ari stepped away to walk alone back along the grey brick pathway that would lead him out of the flower garden. She was relieved to have secured a reprieve for Kayden, even if only a temporary one. Although she couldn’t be certain what he had planned for the apprentice, there was no doubt Ari was the best person to get through to her.
After a protracted moment in which her thoughts dwelt on her young charge, Fay remembered that she should probably return to the mess hall to check up on Kayden, if she was still there. After that, she would visit Ari in his quarters to discuss this supposedly demoralised Sanatsai he had mentioned. Like her counterpart, moments earlier, she stepped away from the bench in the shade of the willow tree, and began the walk back to the mess hall, following the grey brick footpath. As she did so, she couldn’t help but wonder about the identity of the Sanatsai to whom Ari had been referring.
CHAPTER TEN
Wild Speculation
Kayden thanked Rina for the meal as the matronly woman cleared away her empty dishes. She glanced around the mess hall contemplating whether she should sit and wait for Fay’s return, or if she should just make her own way to Kassani House and go to the common room where Fay said she would come find her. She estimated that the Sanatsai had been gone for at least a quarter of an hour by this point, if not longer. There was no telling how long the woman would be gone, or if she even intended to come back, at all. That was reason enough to head to the main building forthwith. Kayden stood up and, without ceremony, headed straight for the nearest exit.
Back outside, Kayden glanced this way and that, taking in the sights of the grounds as she made her way to the front of Kassani House. She wondered what it would be like to call Temis Rulan ‘home’. She wondered if she would actually get the opportunity to call it home. She still didn’t know the reason for her being there, after all. What she did know was that when Fay departed the mess hall, the woman had looked troubled. It was as though she was dreading having to impart some bad news. But whatever the reason for her still unexplained presence, it couldn’t be to expel her and bind her Zarantar. There was no real justification for it, not to mention that it could have been done back at Antaris campus.
Kayden shook the negative thoughts from her head as she approached the front of Kassani House. She had attracted a few cursory glances from people while walking to the building, but no one attempted to interfere with her so she paid them no mind. She went up the steps leading up to the main entrance as though she belonged there, and had walked those steps innumerable times before. She proceeded to enter the building in the exact same fashion.
The interior of Kassani House was even more impressive than Kayden imagined. The grandiose foyer was immaculate; she doubted she could successfully locate even a single speck of dust, no matter how hard she looked. She stopped to cast an admiring eye around the place. There was an elaborate chandelier hanging from above, and two large, intricately detailed tapestries on either side of the foyer, adorning the walls. There were a number of abstract sculptures sitting upon marble pedestals and, on the floor just ahead of her, a large mosaic crafted into the insignia of the Order, complete with the inscription: To Wield Great Power Is To Carry Greater Responsibility.
Kayden turned her attention to the staircase on her far left, then to the other on her far right. She wasn’t sure which one to take, though presumably they both led to the same floors of the building, making a decision between the two redundant.
“You look a little lost, sweetheart.” The female voice at her side caught Kayden by surprise. She mentally berated herself for being distracted enough to allow someone to come upon her undetected. “Do you need some help?”
Kayden glanced to see who the voice belonged to. Standing beside her was an unusually tall woman bedecked in the cream and beige garb of a Jaymidari. The Sister had two or three inches on her in height, her blonde wavy hair cascaded down almost to her waist, and her pale, pretty face was welcoming, with sparkling blue eyes and a warm smile. The woman couldn’t possibly hail from the Nine Kingdoms; her complexion was all wrong, as was the colour of her hair and eyes. Though she couldn’t place the accent, Kayden was able to deduce that her new companion was from one of the lands in the southwest of Karlandria.
“I’m supposed to go to the common room on the third floor,” answered Kayden, “but this is my first time here, I’m not really sure where I’m going.”
“In that case, why don’t you follow me?” offered the Sister. “I can show you the way.”
Kayden fell into step beside the statuesque Jaymidari who promptly led her towards the staircase to their left. As they proceeded up the stairs Kayden noticed the Sister staring intently at her.
“My name is Nelda Barinsdattar,” said the woman, introducing herself. “And what do they call you, my love?”
“Kayden. Kayden Jayta.”
“It’s nice to meet you Kayden. And, I must say, you are something of a curiosity…in more ways than one, I suspect.”
Uncertain as to whether she had just been complimented or insulted, Kayden simply replied, “What makes you say that, Sister?”
“For one thing,” began Nelda, “your uniform indicates that you are still just an apprentice, yet apprentices are never permitted to visit Temis Rulan. So how is it you came to be here?”
“The administrator of the Antaris campus brought me with her today. I don’t really know why. But she was called away a short while ago to meet with the leader of the Order. She said that I should go to the third floor common room and wait for her there.”
“Interesting!” Judging from the expression on Nelda’s face she certainly did find the revelation interesting. “If Fay Annis, of all people, has brought you to Temis Rulan, then you must be a very special young woman indeed. In any event, your master has certainly honoured you with her favour.”
Kayden was growing weary of repeatedly hearing that sentiment, though she refrained from objecting.
“Another curiosity is your heritage, if you don’t mind my saying so. You are clearly of Vaidasovian extraction,” stated Nelda, pointing out the obvious, “but your accent is unmistakably Astanese. While I realise merchants from the empire of Zenosha regularly make the arduous journey across the mountains into Astana and Lirantana, for trading purposes, it’s unusual for any to settle down in either kingdom permanently—or long enough to pick up an accent. Consequently, it is extremely rare for the Order to find Astanese subjects of full Vaidasovian descent who manifest the Zarantar of the Sanatsai. Prior to you, I was aware of only seven such individuals in the entire history of the Order. And do you know what’s even more unusual than that?”
Kayden didn’t respond. She had no idea what the correct answer was, though she was certain Nelda would tell her whether she wanted to know or not. And the Sister did not disappoint her.
“You consenting to undertake the ten years apprenticeship to become a full-fledged Sanatsai of the Order,” said Nelda answering her own question, leaving Kayden to wonder how and why that was deemed so unusual. “It is unprecedented, in fact. When the previous seven individuals were found and presented with the choice to have their Zarantar bound or train to master it, each of them adamantly insisted on having it bound.
“The peoples of Vaidasovia view Zarantar, and those who have mastery over it, as evil. The rulers of the continent go to great lengths to kill those believed to be tainted by it, which would explain the choice made by your predecessors. It’s also the reason why the Sisterhood has always had to function clandestinely in Vaidasovian territories, and why there has never been a Vaidasovian Sanatsai inducted into the Order. You will become the very first should you successfully complete your training.”
They continued their ascent of the staircase making small talk—or more precisely, Nelda spoke while Kayden listened. Upon reaching the third floor, Nelda guided Kayden directly to the common room—its double door entrance wide open. The Sister gave Kayd
en the go-ahead to enter, before bidding her farewell and departing to resume her duties.
Kayden wandered slowly into the common room and felt the eyes of everyone present upon her. The room stilled and conversations paused abruptly. There were at least two dozen Sanatsai throughout the room, most lounging on couches, some seated on chairs around tables, while one or two were standing idly about. Nobody made an effort to address or confront her, so she sauntered to the row of bookshelves that caught her attention at the far end of the room, and the conversations quickly resumed.
Kayden was curious to know whether Temis Rulan housed volumes that were not available to her in the library back at Antaris campus. A cursory examination of the books on display revealed most of them to be works of fiction. Perhaps not so surprising since the common room was intended for rest and relaxation, rather than being a place for quiet study. The final shelf she checked proved to be an exception. Here she noted that the volumes were principally comprised of history books. There were also biographical works about various historical figures within the Order—Fay Annis was notably the subject of many of these books—as well as the diaries of a number of less well known Sanatsai.
None of the titles on display really jumped out her, but Kayden decided she may as well pick out one book to read, just to pass the time; there was no way of knowing how long she would be waiting for Fay to come and find her. She eventually settled for a memoir entitled, Dawn of a New Day: The Pledge at Kassani River, by Ari Shinadu. Though she already knew the story of how the Order was founded, having learned about it during history lessons back at Antaris, it would still be interesting to read about it in Master Ari’s own words. She grabbed the book from the shelf then began to look around the room for a secluded spot where she could sit down. The unoccupied small table in the corner, overlooked by an east-facing window, would do just fine—despite being in rather close proximity to a group of six Sanatsai seated on two couches, facing each other across a tea table.
Casually, Kayden made her way to the table with book in hand. She set the volume down upon it then moved one of the chairs around so she could sit facing the window, her back to the rest of the room.
She had not been reading for more than a couple of minutes when her attention was drawn away from the memoir to the conversation taking place between the six Sanatsai sitting nearby. Under normal circumstances Kayden wouldn’t deign to eavesdrop on other people. But on this occasion—though the group had lowered their voices—her hearing was acute enough to hear that she was the topic of conversation for the four men and two women, especially the male Sanatsai whom she gathered was called Kassano. For some reason, he in particular seemed to have a bee in his bonnet about her.
“I’m telling you Larita, what other plausible reason could there be for her to bring an apprentice here?” she heard Kassano say.
“Certainly not for the reason you seem to be suggesting,” said a female voice Kayden assumed belonged to Larita. “You see, unlike you, Fay Annis is a Sanatsai of impeccable character. She would never abuse her position for her own gratification.”
“You might think that,” continued Kassano, “but I find it just a little too coincidental that Fay was made the administrator of Antaris campus only days after she led the yearly inspection of the campus. And in the three years since taking up the post she hasn’t returned to Temis Rulan once, not even to visit Ari himself. But now she’s finally back and she has brought an apprentice with her, in contravention of decades’ worth of protocol.
“What about you, Niko? You were part of the inspection team that went to Antaris earlier this year. Did you hear any gossip about Fay from members of staff there?”
“There might have been some…rumblings from a few of the instructors,” admitted a male voice Kayden had to presume was Niko. “And I did pick up on the general impression, whether it was justified or not, that an ill-disciplined apprentice called Kayden has gained Fay’s favour to the point where she is able to escape adequate punishment for her misconduct. But as I said, it was only a small number of instructors who made mention of this. And it’s by no means conclusive proof of an inappropriate relationship, as you seem to be implying. Besides, we don’t even know if the named apprentice is the same person sitting over there.”
Kayden heard an exasperated sigh. It had to be Kassano, frustrated by his inability to get his fellow Sanatsai to buy into his theory—although twisted, juvenile fantasy was probably a far better term for what he was insinuating. To Kayden’s mind the very idea was absurd.
“Am I really the only person here who can put two and two together?” asked Kassano. “When have any of you ever seen Fay with a man? And now, after three years slumming it as a campus administrator she pays a visit with an attractive female apprentice in tow. None of you can deny the girl is a looker, arguably more beautiful than Fay herself. It seems pretty clear to me that Fay and this apprentice are lovers.”
“You idiot!” snapped the other female Sanatsai who wasn’t Larita. “Fay is not that way inclined. And the only reason you want to believe otherwise is because your own laughable attempts to charm your way into her bed failed so spectacularly.”
There was a brief chorus of laughter at Kassano’s expense.
“Belen, if my charm is good enough to get you out of your clothes and into my bed,” retorted Kassano, “on more than one occasion I might add, then it’s good enough for Fay.”
Kayden heard what sounded like a cushion being thrown and finding its target.
“Just because I took pity on you a few times,” said Belen, “doesn’t mean Fay would give you the time of day.”
“Oh, I don’t care what you say. And don’t act like I’m the only man in the Order who wants to fuck Fay Annis. Even Zanti Alberino failed to get under her cloak when he attempted to seduce her.”
“Keep your voices down,” urged Larita in a hushed tone, though not quiet enough to prevent Kayden from hearing. “Do you want the apprentice to hear you then report back to Fay?”
Kassano resumed his spiel in a quieter voice. “The point I’m trying to make is, Zanti is a man who has no trouble wooing women. Sometimes it seems as though he’s laying down with a different one each day. He surely must have bedded every unmarried female Sanatasai in Temis Rulan by now. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s had his way with a few married ones too, probably some of the Sisters as well for that matter. The bottom line is, any woman who passes up the opportunity to get fucked senseless by Zanti, obviously has no interest in men whatsoever.”
Kayden hoped the sound that preceded Kassano’s yelp was a thump from one of the other Sanatsai. She also quietly lamented that being inducted into the Order wasn’t sufficient to prevent some men from being pigs. Belen was right to call Kassano an idiot—he most certainly was. But Kayden resisted the urge to issue some stinging barbs of her own. She didn’t want the Sanatsai to know she was eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Kassano, would you give it a rest,” said Larita, clearly getting annoyed. “Fay would never take an apprentice as a lover, it is prohibited. And, as Belen mentioned, there’s no grounds for believing she is inclined towards women in that way. Besides, to answer your earlier question: have we ever seen her with a man? Before you were inducted into the Order, Fay was married to a Sanatsai from Shintana called, Renik Katarnian—Marit’s older brother.”
Kayden’s ears pricked up at that titbit of information. Fay was married? Who in the world would marry such a cold, detached, and quite possibly frigid woman? she wondered. But Larita had used the past tense, so whoever this Renik Katarnian was had obviously cut his losses and divorced her.
“As for why you never see her with a man today…some people just never get over the death of a spouse.”
Fay’s husband was dead? Kayden almost felt a little pang of guilt for assuming the marriage had ended in divorce.
“Or maybe Fay simply hasn’t met another man worthy of her affections.” Larita concluded.
“Or…�
�� drawled Kassano. What inanities is he going to utter now? thought Kayden in annoyance. “Maybe Fay has recently acquired an appreciation for the gentler sex, courtesy of her nubile young apprentice.” He affected a decidedly lecherous tone of voice to add, “It can’t have escaped your notice she’s Vaidasovian. And you know what they say about Vaidasovian women.”
“Actually, no we haven’t heard what they say.” Belen’s tone suggested she had heard what was said about Vaidasovian women but gave such tales no credence, not to mention she clearly thought Kassano a fool for even bringing it up. “Why don’t you enlighten us?”
“Well, not only is it said that Vaidasovian women have insatiable needs, they are also said to be so skilled in carnal pleasures they can literally drive a person to insanity. I’ve even heard stories of men dying from sheer ecstasy between the sheets. If true, no one could really blame Fay for succumbing to temptation.”
“Oh! In that case, you must be right,” said Belen with mock sincerity. “But there is only one way for us to be certain.” Kayden could tell from the woman’s tone that she was baiting Kassano. “You’ll have to go over and work your charm on the apprentice, right now. If she responds favourably to your overtures, then presumably you’re mistaken. But if she spurns your advances, we can safely assume that she and Fay truly are lovers.”
Well played. Kayden was beginning to like Belen. As for Kassano, he would have to be an even bigger fool than she thought if he took the bait.
“That’s not a bad idea.” He had taken the bait. “And if it turns out that I am wrong about them being lovers, it may still present me with the chance to learn just how accurate those stories about Vaidasovian women are.”
Kayden mentally prepared herself for what to do if Kassano did try to approach her as suggested.