The tallest boy nodded at her. “Ean.”
The five of them stood in the middle of the path. The three boys glanced between Alina and Senri, as if they did not know who to devote their time to. They all looked different from Senri with their dark hair and freckled complexion, though something about their facial expressions and mannerisms seemed mirrored in one another.
Senri cleared her throat. “Um, shall we go inside, then?”
The cottage felt small to Alina. The entrance opened out to a kitchen and sitting room. Everyone squeezed in the doorway, elbowing one another as they kicked off boots. Senri’s parents arrived soon after and Alina went through a whole new round of introductions. “This is Sonya and Markos,” Senri said, gesturing to each of them. In turn, her parents smiled hesitantly at Alina. Senri’s brothers taunted her mercilessly about bringing someone home, and her parents, while being completely welcoming, still treated Alina like she was an oddity. Senri’s mother, upon examining their armor, ordered the two to go change into something more appropriate for dinner. Senri fought but soon lost and shyly led Alina away to one of the small bedrooms.
Alina shut the door behind them and examined the room. It had to be smaller than any of her living arrangements. She could not imagine how someone as tall as Senri moved around comfortably while sharing with a sibling.
Senri stooped over an old, wooden chest and pulled garments from it. She set some clothes aside on the floor. “These should fit you.” Senri nodded at the pile. “I think they fit me a few years ago, before my last growth spurt.”
Alina grabbed the clothes and looked around the room. “Where should I change?”
“I won’t look.” Senri pulled her own clothes from the chest and straightened up. She kept her back turned to Alina.
She looked down at the coarse-spun clothes. Senri had given her a skirt to wear. Before she could change, she heard the clanking of metal and looked up. Senri had unbuckled her armor and laid it down along with her chain shirt. The plain flaxen shirt underneath looked crumpled and stained from several days of use. Senri pull the hem up over her head, revealing the smooth, muscled expanse of her back. She tossed the shirt aside and Alina caught a glint of light off a delicate golden chain. Senri still wore the necklace she gave her.
Alina looked down. It was rude to stare. Instead, she changed into her own clothes. As she finished tying the skirt in place, Senri said, “Let me know when you’re done.”
She tied off the last knot and faced Senri. “All right.”
The Warrior turned around. She wore a simple tunic and trousers. Somehow, away from the capital, the clothes seemed much more rural. The small pendant rested on the outside of her shirt. Senri’s hand reached up and touched it, probably to make sure it stayed in place.
“You look—” Alina stopped herself. Beautiful. She had blindly lusted after this woman, practically thrown herself at her. Senri deserved more, though. Much more. “Senri, we don’t have to pretend to be lovers. I don’t want to make your life any harder than it is for my sake.”
Senri stepped forward and looked Alina over. She straightened Alina’s tunic and pulled the strings to the front slit tighter. Then, she tucked a strand of Alina’s hair behind her ear. It was all Alina could do to keep from shaking with nerves. Senri’s fingers lingered on her cheek. “Sometimes it’s nice to pretend.”
With that one statement, Senri sapped all of Alina’s willpower. Her gaze drifted down to Senri’s lips, then back up to her eyes. Those emerald eyes, just like she had first seen in the market, only this time Senri truly stood before her.
Senri’s hand lowered. “Come on, we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
***
Evening had approached quickly. Senri sat at the inn bar with Nat and Lanan while Alina and Yahn danced with the villagers outside. The bonfire had attracted everyone’s attention and left the inn pleasantly quiet for the three friends. Senri twirled an empty mug on the countertop.
“And how did the dinner go, then?” asked Nat. “You two weren’t feeling each other up under the table?”
“No.” Senri shook her head. “Nothing like that. My parents were really polite. My brothers were, well, you know.” She shrugged.
Lanan laughed and took a swig from her own mug. “Senri, you’re the only person I know to get in such a fix.”
“And what does that mean?” Senri leaned over the counter and glared at her friend.
“The girl you were hopelessly pining after is now plotting Alina’s death, and the girl you are currently pining after wants you and you don’t even grab the line she’s thrown you.”
Senri slumped back into her bar stool and stared at the countertop. “She’s happy here, I don’t think I’ve seen Alina so happy.”
Nat grinned. “She’s had you to herself all day, why wouldn’t she be?”
Senri nudged his arm. She lacked the conviction to punch it like usual. “It’s more than that. She’s happy about being normal. She likes being Alina, the sharpshooter in our company of Warriors. She likes being Alina, the simple village girl who met me during training one afternoon at the archery range.”
“Not a complete lie,” said Lanan.
“Yeah. It’s not like she has a responsibility to the whole kingdom or anything.” Senri snorted. She thought back on the dinner they had shared with her parents. Senri had almost been convinced of the guise herself. “Sometimes I think she forgets that she has to go back.”
“Who could blame her? I’d run away from the palace first chance I got if they wanted to put me in charge.” Nat tipped the last of his mug’s contents into his mouth.
“Do you think she plans on returning at all?” asked Senri. The topic had puzzled her all afternoon. Both shrugged.
“Why not ask her?” said Lanan.
“Because that would be too practical,” Nat replied. “We don’t do practical.”
Senri glanced down at her empty mug. Her mother had said something earlier that day about brewing cider. “No, I think practical might be a good thing this time.” She pushed the mug aside and stood. She fetched her sword from the rack and retied the scabbard to her belt.
Her friends said their goodbyes and she took off out the back door of the inn. Senri’s stomach felt like a pit, and the feeling only grew worse as she walked back to her parent’s cottage. She thought over what she would do if Alina did decide to stay out in the villages. As much as Senri wanted to have Alina to herself, something about running off with her felt wrong. She wanted Alina the way she was, fully committed to the betterment of others and selfless in her duty. The heart of their problem showed clear. They could not attempt an honest relationship without being dishonest to themselves.
***
Alina loved dancing with the villagers. It did not matter that Senri sat with her friends in the inn. She was having too much fun. One of the village guards danced with her at first. Then, he passed her on to the blacksmith’s apprentice. He babbled on about Senri, retelling stories from their childhood while they danced.
The dancing reminded her of being a child. Only this time, she let the small children hang from her arms and dance on her toes. Alina wanted the night to go on forever. Waking up the next morning meant returning to reality. A song finished and her latest dance partner, a young boy, thanked her and ran off. Alina smiled and hugged herself against the cold. Perhaps she would go drag Senri out for a few dances. But when she turned to leave, an old woman stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ve been looking for you,” said the crone.
Alina frowned and took a step back. “I’m sorry. You must have me confused with someone else.”
The old woman shook her head and stepped closer. Alina swallowed a gasp as the firelight revealed the seer’s marks etched onto her skin. “No, child, I have seen you many, many times before.”
Aside from her mother, Alina had never encountered another seer before. She had only ever caught far-off glimpses of the temple seers or village herm
its. They lived in seclusion. Speechless, she stared and waited for the woman to do something.
“Please, come with me,” the old woman said. “It is time we spoke.”
Alina thought about ignoring the old woman and heading to the inn, but something about her demeanor seemed trusting. She obviously knew who Alina was and had not reported her existence. It would only take a few seconds of searching to confirm Alina’s seer markings. She glanced behind at the dancers to make sure none waited for her, and then took off with the old woman. She led Alina away from the bonfire and into the forest.
“Where are we going?” she asked. The village grew pitch-dark around her, the music slowly fading in the distance.
“To my grove.” The old woman stayed close, a dark silhouette. “It will be safer to talk there.”
They walked for a long while. The cold autumn air made her shake and she wished she had stayed by the bonfire. Finally, the trees fell away and revealed a clearing bathed in faint moonlight. The old woman stepped onto an outcropping of rocks and sat down. The way she so easily folded her legs and settled suggested this was a daily activity. The old woman gestured at the ground in front of her and Alina seated herself.
“You have come a long way.”
Alina nodded. “I had to.”
The old woman looked down at her. The seer’s markings crisscrossing over her face melted into shadow. “You fight to save your people from slavery, but your actions may fling this kingdom into all-out war.”
“A subjugated kingdom means everyone is enslaved, not just those taken as cattle.” Alina remembered her father saying something to this effect long ago. She liked to think he would be proud to see her speak that way.
The seer nodded. “Yet you have not been completely honest with those helping you.” She gazed past Alina, into the forest. “You said no one would be harmed. I think you know this conflict will cost lives.”
“I...I’ve seen our safe return.” Alina tried to recall the almost-kisses with Senri, the visions in her chambers. They had to mean something.
“I have seen strife. I have seen anger, mistrust, fear. These are caused by lies.”
“But I have had visions!” Alina leaned forward. “Are you telling me that the visions are arbitrary and can change?”
The old woman blinked. “Fate is not fixed into place. Your suppositions are dangerous, however. Tell me, how much training have you received?”
Alina settled back down and thought back to the brief lessons her mother had given her. They focused on hiding her ability through sheer willpower. “I—”
“You suppress your gift and it lashes out unpredictably.” The seer looked down at her. “It is hardly your fault, though. If I express any anger, it is toward those who made the decision.”
“Did you take me here to insult me?” Alina stood. “I’ve done the right thing. Don’t question that.”
“You have.” The woman nodded. “You have done the best you could. I have taken you here to assist you, and before we can begin, you need to understand what you have done wrong.”
Alina rubbed her arms, forcing the chill away. “What would you have me do, then? Ignore my visions?”
“I would have you practice proper meditation and control your visions,” said the seer. “As of now, you are a slave to them and your emotions. They show you fractured glimpses of the future and come and go at random. If you had been properly trained—”
“I would not be where I am now. I would be sentenced to life in a tower or village somewhere and Osota would fall under the heel of Shedol.” Alina paced the grove. She wished she had Senri at her side.
The seer nodded. “I am not questioning where our paths have crossed. Osota is on the brink of war or enslavement. If the kingdom has any hope of surviving, you must be in control of yourself. I do not want you to throw someone’s life away because of an incomplete vision or fantasy.”
Alina’s temper chilled. She turned back to the old woman and stepped forward. “What have you seen?” The old woman did not respond. “What happens? Does...does Senri…” Her voice died.
The seer looked at Alina. Her brow furrowed. “Your actions put her in considerable danger, more than if you were completely open with her, but Senri’s life is ultimately in her own hands. And you might lose her sooner than you wish.”
Not Senri. Not her. I’d rather die. “Name it. I will make it happen. I will order her to stay here, send her away to the capital. I—”
The old woman shook her head.
“I won’t let her die,” yelled Alina. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I care for her!” The answer seemed so obvious. How dare the old woman question such a thing? Alina’s head ached.
“But why is she special? If there comes a time that the trading of Senri’s life is worth a thousand, will you still value that one above all others?”
Alina threaded her fingers through her hair. The pain worsened. “I…no...I mean…I don’t want to live without...”
She gasped. The trance swept over her before she could run or do anything. The world swept away and she stood in the palace once again. It lay in ruin. Tapestries hung in tatters and the walls crumbled around her. Soldiers fought: Shedol against Osota. A dragon roared in the distance. She breathed and it felt like fire. The world around her burned. It crumpled like ashes. She breathed again. The ashes fell away. She descended into that abyss of reality once more. She slowly opened her eyes and the seer stood over her. Sprawled on the forest floor, Alina groaned and tried to sit up.
The seer reached out a hand and pulled her into a sitting position. “Do you see how easily your emotions hold sway over you?”
Alina nodded. Her skin felt clammy. She crossed her arms and rubbed herself for warmth.
“I brought you here to teach you control and to help you pursue a mastery over your abilities. Without these teachings, you will forever be enslaved to your own visions, and that path will ruin you.” The woman smiled and sat back down on her stone slab. “My name is Mala.”
Alina nodded and took a deep breath, her thudding heart returning to its normal rhythm. “What will you teach me?”
She tried to calm down and focus on whatever Mala intended to tell her. But Alina’s mind still reeled from the vision. The seer’s warning stood out more prominently in her mind, chasing the others away. No matter what vision haunted her, Alina feared Senri’s death most of all.
Chapter Sixteen
ALINA SAT ON THE worn wooden bench. Usually, a servant would stop her from dirtying herself so, but she could do as she wished out here. She might have taken fuller advantage of it if the evening’s events did not weigh so heavily on her mind. Her borrowed flaxen skirt would be fine caked with a little earth. The lesson with Mala had lasted for perhaps an hour. When Alina returned to the village, Yahn had encouraged her to return to the inn, but she insisted on staying out for just a little longer.
At the moment, she stared into the heart of the bonfire. The heat of it flushed her cheeks; the smoke blew her way and she squinted against the ash. The fire calmed her, despite the intensity of the heat in her latest vision, the one she had experienced in the forest. She worried about the war she drove her kingdom toward. It seemed inevitable from the glimpses of her vision. Was it still worth it to ally with the dragons? Or was all time on a fixed point that she could not sway? Mala had instructed her on nightly meditations. They would encourage visions to come and give her a small amount of control over them. If she practiced enough, she would be able to actively seek out visions tailored to people’s requests, like professional seers did, but the amount of training required would take up too much time and be too difficult to cover up. Someone sat down on the bench beside her, interrupting her thoughts.
“Mind if I join you?” Senri asked. Alina shook her head, studying the way the flames ate at the wood. When Senri cleared her throat, she looked over at the young woman and smiled. Senri grinned back, her face silhouetted by the l
ight of the fire. “I brought you something.” Senri lifted up a mug and gestured to her.
Alina took the offered drink with a nod. “Thank you. You did not need to…”
“I wanted to,” said Senri. She held her own mug so tight her knuckles whitened.
Alina sniffed her contents. It was hot, whatever it was, and it smelled sweet. She took a sip.
“This is delicious.” She took another small sip, savoring the bittersweet flavors on her tongue. “What is it?”
Senri picked at the rim of her cup. Her face looked flushed, but it could have been the fire. “It’s a cider,” she said. She looked up at Alina again with a shy glance. “Distilled from the apples in my mother’s orchard. She made me this all the time on cold nights.” Senri drank some of hers, staring over the rim at her. Alina met the gaze, but then Senri averted her eyes. Alina’s heart ached. She looked down.
“That’s very sweet of you,” she muttered. She looked back to the fire. They sat like that for a while, drinking in silence. Alina liked the quiet, feeling naturally peaceful about sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Senri by the bonfire. She sighed, knowing they might not have a moment like this again.
Senri tipped her mug up and emptied the last of the drink into her mouth. The young Warrior wiped away the foam from her lip. Alina smiled. Who knows? We could have this moment again. Senri set her mug down in the dirt and looked back up at Alina. “Can I ask you something, your Highness?”
Alina’s smile shrank. She hated how Senri’s demeanor could shift so rapidly. She turned on the bench, crossing her ankles. The shift to formalities probably meant she would not like whatever conversation approached. “Of course, Senri.”
“I was just wondering.” Senri looked up at the sky and then out at the village. “Why are you doing this?”
Alina looked at her hands resting in her lap. “What do you mean?”
“Why are you fighting so hard for Osota?” Alina glanced over at Senri. The Warrior studied her close. Senri took a deep breath. “I mean, it would be easy enough for you to let someone else take care of all this, or even leave the kingdom. But here you are, doing all you can.”
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