The Broken Kingdom

by Sarah Chapman

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry.’ and he smiled that charming smile again. It was very effective. Then he said, ‘perhaps I just like being near you.’

  Riley gave him a look that was more confused than anything else.

  But Ellis moved, and the meeting went on.

  ‘He’s confusing.’

  ‘Confusing how?’ Vann asked as he came up behind her and put his arms around her.

  They stood near their tent. Riley was watching Ellis intently as he chatted with some other Mixed. He had come to every council meeting. It wasn’t just that though, he had a way of popping up next to Riley and acting as if he was supposed to be there.

  ‘He says stupid things. Why is here? He doesn’t like this place, he was very disappointed when he saw all the tents.’

  Vann shrugged. ‘Maybe he likes you?’

  ‘He came here to take over. But he hasn’t challenged me.’ Riley said, ignoring him. ‘Do you think this is some strange way of trying to do this?’

  ‘What, by flirting with you?’

  Riley made an annoyed noise.

  Vann laughed at her.

  When it subsided Vann asked, ‘do you really think he’s still trying to take over?’

  ‘I don’t know what he’s doing.’

  ‘Hm, well, if he’s going to stay here we could make him go through training and earn his place as a warrior. Though if you’re worried about his intentions, he might just make friends and build support. He’s very charismatic.’

  Riley made another annoyed noise.

  ‘Should I take that to mean you noticed?’

  When Riley didn’t respond Vann said, ‘don’t worry about it just yet, Riley. We’ll keep an eye on him. If something comes up, we can deal with it.’

  Riley reluctantly agreed.

  Riley was soon given something else to worry about besides the ever-present Ellis. Karesh returned and with him came a surprise.

  ‘They’re human.’ Vann said in shock.

  ‘I thought they were funny looking.’ Karesh replied.

  ‘Where were they, Karesh?’ Riley asked as she observed the ragged group of diminutive people.

  ‘They were on this small shelf of rock that jutted out into the ocean. There were caves, but they weren’t very deep. It looked like they’d caved in a long time ago. It’s nearly impossible to get to them without flying, I had to carry them up. They survive by fishing off the rocks, they have no boats.’

  ‘And they just agreed to come?’ Riley asked.

  Karesh shook his head. ‘When they saw me they were surprised. They didn’t think there was anyone else in the world but them. They’re difficult to talk to, we don’t share a language, but if you speak Plains speech and wave your hands it’s ok.’

  Riley nodded, and smiled. ‘This could be a good opportunity. Vann, I think you should deal with them mostly, they might be more comfortable around you.’

  Vann nodded. ‘Most likely. Alright, I’ll get them set up.’

  ‘And how was Kalgen, Karesh?’

  ‘Nervous.’ Karesh replied. ‘He kept looking at me whenever he made a decision. He got better though.’

  Riley smiled in amusement. ‘I can’t imagine you’d be very comfortable if I decided to watch you lead a mission.’

  Karesh hesitated before saying very calmly, ‘if that’s what you wanted to do.’

  She laughed. ‘Well, I’m glad to hear you have no complaints about Kalgen. I’ve had no issues with the survivors he’s brought in, so I’m satisfied he’s doing a good job.’ She sobered then and said, ‘Karesh, there’s something else I need you to do.’

  ‘Yes, Master?’

  ‘We have a newcomer.’ Riley hesitated. ‘I’m not sure I trust him.’ She admitted. ‘Though he hasn’t done anything nearly every other gemeng hasn’t tried before. I want to put him into one of the groups you train. I… I guess he’s charming, he acts like he has authority and people give it to him. I need you to make sure he doesn’t get treated as anything other than a new member of the tribe.’

  Karesh thought about this carefully. ‘Yes, Master. I’ll take care of it.’

  Ellis observed the newcomer carefully. He was a small and delicate man, and clearly had authority here. Riley had introduced Karesh to him personally, so whether she liked it or not, she was also treating him like someone special.

  ‘Ellis, you and I must talk.’ Riley said after Karesh departed.

  ‘Of course.’ he said and smiled disarmingly.

  ‘You seem to think you have a position in my tribe that you do not. You have no position here, Ellis, you are nothing.’

  ‘What have I done?’ He asked, his blue eyes going wide.

  Riley narrowed her eyes, as if it was obvious.

  ‘Listen, maybe I don’t know your customs or something, I am from pretty far away, but I really haven’t meant to offend you.’

  Riley relented slightly, wondering if she was overreacting.

  But then he smiled again at her, and she felt oddly threatened. Why was that?

  ‘I don’t want to be anything here.’ he said gently. ‘Well… that’s not true. I see how lonely you are. I used to be lonely too… I know how it feels. Those you command, those you’re so different from… they can’t be your friends.’ and he looked sad for a moment, his eyes downcast. But he shook it off and smiled up at her again. ‘I just want to be your friend.’

  ‘I have Vann.’ she said in surprise.

  ‘He’s your partner.’ Ellis chided, and hearing him acknowledge that calmed Riley. ‘I want to be your friend. It’s different. You need more than one person…’

  Riley said nothing for a moment, but the threatening feeling was gone. And so she considered what he said.

  ‘I’ll admit, I came here looking to take over. But that’s only because I have no place where I come from. Let’s just say I made a few mistakes back home. I thought I needed to conquer this place and take over to find my home. I’ve tried to live with humans you know, and pretend I was like them. But they always find out, and people weaker than you get mad even though you just wanted to be friends. I could never be weaker, so I had to be stronger- and like I said, that caused…. that caused some problems.’ He sighed. ‘I didn’t handle it well- uh, I’m getting off track. What I’m saying is, I thought of this place the same. It didn’t occur to me I wouldn’t have to take over and set ground rules and all that first to find my place.’ he smiled at her. ‘I can just be here. And I thought we could be friends- I mean, we’re both half valkar.’

  Unexpectedly, that thought resonated with her. An image of her mother, her sisters came to her mind. People who had never wanted her. She shook her head.

  ‘Maybe I’ve been unfair.’ Riley replied. ‘Mm, but listen. I’m the Master here. I’m trying to run this place fairly, even if we’re friends, you need to be treated the same as everyone else. Do you understand?’

  Ellis blinked. ‘Sure. Um, what about Vann?’

  ‘What about him?’ she said, and suddenly her voice was cold.

  ‘I mean, would you really treat him the same as just anyone else?’

  ‘Vann has earned his position. He’s proved himself time and again. But no, I’m not capable of treating him like anyone else.’ and she glared at him.

  ‘Hey,’ he laughed. ‘That’s what friends do, right?’

  ‘Huh?’ her frosty anger faded a bit.

  ‘Point out what maybe you don’t see. You can say all that stuff about treating everyone fairly, but you’ll sound like a hypocrite if you try and pretend Vann’s the same. I’m just helping you out.’

  Riley was silent. ‘Oh.’ she finally said.

  ‘Friends?’

  Smiling a little nervously Riley said, ‘let’s see how it goes.’

  ‘That’s all I ask!’ he smiled in return.

  Riley could not let go of her last lingering suspicion, though everything told her it was unfair. She had trusted others before and it had ended very badly. She’d let that little seed of doub
t stay where it was, though she hoped that Ellis’s offer was genuine.

  ‘What’s your name?’ Vann asked kindly.

  The girl, tiny and dressed in tattered rags, looked up at him with big eyes.

  Vann pointed at himself and said, ‘Vann.’ he pointed at her then and waited.

  ‘C-Catariah.’ she stumbled.

  Miming eating food, Vann said, ‘hungry?’

  She nodded eagerly.

  Using motions and talking slowly, Vann was able to get the group to eat. They were surprised at the amount of food there was, and after eating and seeing the river and tents they began to relax. The girl stayed near him, even going so far as to grab onto him. Everyone was so short and underfed it was hard to tell their age.

  He had some trouble getting Catariah to let go of him.

  Vann pointed at the tent that she was sharing with some other girls and then mimed sleeping, using his hands as a pillow. ‘Sleep.’ he said. ‘I’ll come back tomorrow.’

  On the verge of tears, Catariah hung on.

  It took some rather creative miming on Vann’s part to get that message across, and finally, she let go.

  Sighing, Vann headed to his own tent. Finding Riley there already, lounging on their animal-skin bed spread, his tiredness drained away.

  Her face lit up when she saw him. ‘How’d it go?’ she asked.

  ‘I think they’ll be ok. It’ll take some time to teach them the language.’

  She snuggled up closer to him and he held her tightly. She was quiet for a moment. ‘Ellis said he wanted to be friends.’

  ‘I’m happy for you.’ Vann replied.

  ‘I had a few friends in Astar…’ Riley went on, ‘it feels like so long…’

  ‘You’ve never told me much about that time.’

  ‘You want to know?’

  ‘Mmhmm.’

  Riley was silent for a moment.

  ‘Hey,’ and he squeezed her tight. ‘They’ll be ok.’

  ‘I hope so.’ she sighed quietly. ‘I hope so.’

  Chapter 61

  ‘How do you think they survived?’ Riley asked Aerlid.

  ‘Judging from what Karesh has told me,’ Aerlid mused, ‘when the ehlkrid arrived centuries ago they must have hid in caves in the area, which collapsed at some point. They were virtually inaccessible, most gemengs wouldn’t have been able to get to them. The only danger would have come from the sea. Most of the humans who survived were like these people. They have nothing, no culture, no traditions, no beliefs, all they do is survive. They lost everything.’

  ‘You haven’t even talked to them.’

  ‘I’ve heard them talking, besides, you merely need to look at them to know. Also… I did live in Astar.’

  ‘What about Astar?’

  ‘They are exactly the same as these people, Riley. Over the years they hid in the caves from the gemengs they lost everything they were. The Seiaans had a rich culture, but now all they have is fear of the gemengs. They have forgotten they were ever anything else. I imagine the population became quite small at some point, and as Seiaan was mainly an oral language, not enough people remained to remember their stories. Fear may also have played a part, and pain at everything they lost. Perhaps it was easier to forget.’

  ‘Hm. How’s the book coming along?’

  ‘You may as well stop asking me, Riley. It could take me years.’

  Riley looked aghast for a moment. Then, ‘do you think you can continue it in the valkar prison?’

  ‘Seeing as I won’t be able to move, no, Riley, I don’t think so.’

  Riley left then and headed over to Vann, who was with the humans. They clung together, refusing to mix with the rest of the tribe. For the moment, Riley was willing to allow that, though it certainly slowed their learning of the language. Vann was teaching them Astarian. The rest of the tribe was also slowly learning that too. If her plans went as she hoped, they would need it.

  ‘How’s it going?’ Riley asked Vann.

  He smiled as he saw her. The short girl clinging to him gave Riley a dark scowl. Riley ignored it. It was almost amusing watching him trying to free himself from the girl and walk over to her. The humans looked much healthier now than when they’d arrived, and cleaner. The girl was small, but she had big dark eyes and a pleasant wave to her brown hair.

  ‘They’re afraid of the Mixed.’ Vann finally said when he reached her. The girl did not leave, she followed, standing very close to him.

  ‘It’s not a surprise. I don’t know whether I want the Mixed spending too much time with them when they’re acting like this, they won’t respect them. But it won’t get any better if I let them stay apart.’

  ‘I’ll pick a few of the Mixed kids I teach R-Ball too. Meguk’s always friendly with the new children, and the human children aren’t as fearful as the adults.’

  ‘Wait, R-ball?’

  Vann nodded. ‘You’re the Master, they named it after you.’

  Riley stared, flabbergasted, while he just grinned at her.

  Just then the girl said something to Vann. It was not in any language either of them understood.

  ‘Catariah, I don’t understand you when you talk like that.’ Vann sighed.

  Casting Riley another dark look, the girl said this time in clear Astarian, ‘who is she?’

  ‘This is Riley, the Master of this tribe and my partner.’

  Catariah scowled at Riley and moved a little behind Vann.

  ‘She’s not going to hurt you.’ he glanced quickly at Riley.

  ‘Hello.’ Riley said, recovering from her shock at R-Ball. She held out her hand and said, ‘my name’s Riley.’

  Catariah ignored the hand.

  Vann sighed. ‘I’ll work on it.’

  ‘Is she an adult or a child?’ Riley asked.

  ‘I’m not quite sure. Cata, how old are you?’

  ‘I’m an adult.’ Catariah declared. ‘I’m old enough to choose a man and have children.’

  Vann looked momentarily surprised. ‘Well, there you go.’ and he shrugged.

  Riley frowned, but said nothing along the lines of ‘she’s too old to hold on to you like that then.’ Instead she just said her goodbyes and headed off to inspect the rest of the camp.

  Though it was only a camp of tents, it was orderly and clean. The tents were well made and kept the rain out and everyone was safe and clean and well fed.

  She paused, observing some of the warriors as they trained. She spotted Ellis and smiled. Karesh told her Ellis was behaving himself well and was well liked by the rest of the tribe. She had no reason to doubt his words.

  Many days after leaving, Rose finally returned to the camp, an unknown valkar man with her.

  Vann immediately dropped whatever he was doing, fetched Riley, and dragged her over to the meeting. Rose, the man, Adila and Ladana were all gathered around Aerlid. The unfamiliar valkar looked different to the other valkar, though it took Vann a moment to realise what the difference was. This new valkar somehow looked distant, as if he was fading into the world. He looked like he might vanish if Vann closed his eyes. When Vann mentioned it in an aside to Riley she murmured back, ‘I think he is very old, even for a valkar.’

  The valkar spoke their own language, while Riley translated for Vann, but they soon switched to Plains speech.

  ‘You are welcome to come to the city.’ Ladana said. ‘You may stay or just visit, as it pleases you.’

  ‘The Judgement Master has told me this.’ The man said, ‘but I must think on it… it is… we never expected this. I never thought I would meet my own kind again.’

  ‘You don’t have to leave the home you have made.’ Adila said. ‘As Ladana said, you are free to come and go as you please.’

  ‘Yes… well, I think I will visit then.’

  ‘We have some questions for you.’ Aerlid interrupted. ‘We have a man here, part valkar, part human. How is it he is whole and claims he will live two hundred years?’

  The man looked surprised. ‘O
h. Well. There weren’t enough valkar to sustain a valkar population, but we didn’t want our community to die out. Or the ones who started it didn’t. So they worked very hard on fixing the half breeds. They are whole, yes, and can breed with each other and produce children on their own that are also whole. Mostly they don’t do that though, I prepare the child for couples who want them. It has kept them… let us say, half and half, when they should be only a very small part valkar by now.’

  It was while he was talking that Ellis wandered up. He looked at Riley and smiled, who did not quite smile back.

  ‘Hello. I was wondering if I could come listen, as you have Taelid here, who I know.’

  ‘Very well, you may stay.’ Riley said.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Vayellis, this is where you went.’ Taelid said to him. ‘I know many who are worried about you.’

  Riley glanced at Ellis quickly, hearing him referred to by a different name.

  ‘I told them where I was going,’ Ellis replied, though in a much more deferential tone than he used with anyone else, ‘there was no need to worry.’

  ‘I’ll tell them you’re well then.’

  ‘I would be fascinated to hear exactly how you managed all that.’ Aerlid interrupted again.

  ‘Some from the city may also be interested.’ Rose added. ‘Whether we like it or not, we cannot deny the existence of the half human children.’

  ‘I will be happy to show you.’ Taelid said. ‘It’s a long process though, before the egg is implanted back in the mother. We’ve refined and improved it, but it can still take a year or more.’

  ‘I’ve noticed Ellis’s ability with languages. Can he speak valkar?’

  ‘No, he can’t speak or understand it.’ Taelid shook his head. ‘Our language comes from the same place our… otherness comes from. You have only to look at him to see he lacks that. He looks human. We managed to give them language though, it was an experiment. It has worked well.’ His eyes flicked to Riley. ‘But I see she does not look human, yet she is not valkar.’

  ‘That’s what we wanted to ask you about. Ellis says he will live hundreds of years, Riley will only live thirty or forty, at best. Can you extend her lifespan?’ Aerlid asked bluntly.