"Why don't you have some coffee?" Einar's gruff question snapped Nerissa from her thoughts. "At least the bitterness will give you an excuse to make that kind of face."
Nerissa forced a small smile. "I have no idea how you can drink that so early in the morning." She had never heard of drinking coffee in the morning. It was far too bitter to be paired with anything other than desserts or sweets. Yet here in Darnal, it was customary to drink it with breakfast rather than after dinner.
"It's an acquired taste," Einar replied as he poured himself a refill.
Ildiko watched her husband add cream to the cup, smiling at him patiently. "You should try it with milk or sugar sometime," she suggested to Nerissa. "Though I doubt that you'll want to use quite as much as he does," she added wryly.
Einar paused in the middle of pouring a third heaping spoonful of sugar into the now light-brown liquid. Tiny grains continued to spill over the edge of the spoon anyway. "Humph."
"I think I'll stick with cold tea," Nerissa replied. "Even if you pay no mind to the taste, I have no idea how anyone can drink something so hot in this weather."
"Drinking something hot makes you feel cooler," Einar replied. He seemed to think this was common knowledge. No sooner had the words left his mouth than a knock came from the front door.
"They're here early," Ildiko said, sounding only moderately surprised.
"Since he came by early, he probably thinks we'll offer him breakfast." Einar's muttering was barely audible over the sound of his chair grating across the floor as he left the table.
The low rumble of men's voices, followed by the sound of shoes coming off and hitting the wooden floor of the entry way, made it obvious that the visitors would be staying for a while. There were two visitors, if she had counted the number of thumps correctly.
"Who is it?" Nerissa asked. She hadn't known that any visitors were coming today.
“You’ll see shortly. Their visit was meant to be a bit of a surprise...something to cheer you up. I'll let them explain," Ildiko replied as Einar returned to the room, followed by Haku and Jin.
"Good morning, my Lady Nerissa." Haku bowed, placing one hand over his heart in a single fluid motion. The movement was so natural that it seemed he had done it hundreds of times. Then again, Nerissa supposed he must have greeted her parents that same way many times during the twenty years he had spent with them. Haku straightened and turned to Ildiko. "Good morning to you as well, Ildiko."
Jin also bowed to Nerissa, though lacking Haku's fluidity. "It's rather hot this morning, isn't it, Lady Nerissa?"
Nerissa chuckled despite herself. "I think that may be an understatement."
"Indeed, and it won't be any better this afternoon!" Jin laughed and inhaled the aromas of breakfast with evident appreciation. "That smells delicious, Ildiko!"
"You're welcome to help yourself if you like," Ildiko replied, sounding amused. Einar glanced at her, his expression blank and unreadable to most. Ildiko, however, knew that look. Many years of marriage had given both of them the ability to understand the other's subtle cues. Though Einar said nothing, that look most clearly said to her 'I told you so'. Ildiko rose from the table to pull extra plates from the cupboard.
"I couldn’t possibly refuse some jam and bread. You make the best strawberry jam I've ever tasted!" The grin slid from Jin's face a second later, and he rapidly added, "Please d-don't tell my wife I said that."
"I wouldn't think of it," Ildiko replied smoothly. She ignored another of those looks from Einar as she slid a plate across the table to him. "Would you like something, Haku?"
"No, thank you. I ate before I came." Haku smirked, taking a seat at the table.
"I ate beforehand too!" Jin protested around a mouthful of bread and jam.
The chair creaked as Haku leaned back. He sighed while scratching at his short beard. "Considering the heat, today is a particularly good day to visit that place," he commented, attempting to change the subject.
"What place would that be?" Nerissa asked.
Haku chuckled. "A place that is always cool, no matter how hot it gets outside. First though, Hania asked us to bring you to his home.”
"There is something there that he has wanted to show you," Einar added before Nerissa inevitably asked why. “We were waiting until you had recovered enough to go out.”
“Really?” Nerissa looked to Ildiko, who responded with a nod and her usual serene look. "Why not tell me what these mysterious things are now?" she asked Einar.
"It's easier for you to see it for yourself. Under normal circumstances, we would have taken you there a short time after you had been given the ring of the Blood,” Einar explained.
Nerissa knew by now that there was no point in pressing them. Einar and Haku clearly had no intention of revealing either the mysterious "place" or "things" until they arrived at Hania's. That didn't stop her from being curious. The city of Darnal seemed to hold an unending number of mysteries. This was in no small part due to the fact that she had been completely unaware of the existence of this city and its inhabitants until a very short time ago. She had been stunned to learn that, in addition to there being a secret group of guardians for her family, there was also an entire hidden city full of people supporting them. There were those among the Ohanzee who lived as tradesmen: farmers, teachers, artisans, smiths, apothecaries, and doctors. Some of their crafts served dual purposes. The smiths made metalware not only for household use, but also forged weapons of extremely fine quality. There were others, whose trade was dedicated solely to the protection and defense of Chiyo: spies, archers, swordsmen, and specialists in hand-to-hand fighting arts. The spies often posed as merchants and traded goods made by the artisans in Darnal as a cover for their true occupation. Still others lived permanently within villages throughout Chiyo and sent their reports back via Hania’s network.
Every vocation within the Ohanzee fell under the jurisdiction of one of the three Chiefs. Einar was the Chief Guardian. He was the leader of all of the skilled fighters and was also Rica’s personal guardian. Haku served as the Chief Preceptor. He oversaw academics and specialized training for both the tradesmen and guardians in Darnal. Hania, the Chief Advisor, was the leader of all the Ohanzee messengers and informants. He managed a network that spanned the entirety of Chiyo and portions of Marise.
Jin, who was just a few years older than Nerissa, would one day replace Hania as the Chief Advisor. When they first met, he had laughingly introduced himself as “Hania’s errand boy.” To watch him now, it was a bit hard to understand why Hania had chosen Jin. Compared to Haku, Hania, and Einar, he seemed impulsive, capricious, and even a slight bit childish. However, that playful, easygoing attitude belied a cunning and shockingly astute mind. He was able to instinctively filter the truthful grains from rumors and gossip and could readily deduce relationships between bits of information. Nerissa had learned over recent weeks that Jin’s reasoning skills were one of the Ohanzee's greatest assets. When questioned about the seeming dichotomy of his nature, Jin replied that not thinking about trivial matters left his mind free to focus on the important ones. Nerissa wondered if the real reason weren't simply that he knew he could get away with it.
Nerissa finished the last bites of her bread and excused herself from the table. Returning to her room, she paused in front of the mirror, staring at the stranger reflected back at her. All that remained of her beloved, waist-length hair was a close-cropped shag that now clung to her neck and forehead. The front portion was so short it barely reached one-third of the way to her eyebrows. Sunken cheeks and lips from weeks of unconsciousness made her cheekbones and jaw line protrude in an almost masculine way. Green eyes narrowed and watered slightly in disgust and anguish at the virtually unrecognizable image in front of them. The face was unfamiliar, but at least the eyes were the same.
A sudden movement in the reflection made her gasp, and Ildiko’s face appeared over the stranger’s shoulder.
“Don’t despair. Your cheeks will fill out
as you recover, and hair always grows back with time,” Ildiko said, seeming to read her mind. She squeezed Nerissa’s shoulder sympathetically.
“Still, will I ever really be myself again? My family, my identity, my country…my future have all been stripped away.” Nerissa closed her eyes and turned away from the mirror.
“It is a small comfort, but you aren’t the only one to feel this way right now. Think of those men in the kitchen. They failed to perform the most critical of their duties. Our leaders are lost, or were nearly lost, and our country is in our enemy’s hands. As a result, their future and the future of our village is in peril. All of their past accomplishments mean nothing in light of this,” Ildiko said quietly.
“No!” Nerissa protested. “They are far from failures! What more could they have done to prevent the attack? Some gave their lives fighting. Einar saved me.”
Ildiko nodded in agreement. “Yet the Blood and Bond still perished. How long will it be before Casimer sends the Senka to find us? They know we have a stronghold somewhere in Chiyo. In hundreds of years, they have never found our village, nor we theirs, but now they are free to move openly within our country.”
Nerissa dropped onto the edge of the bed, eyes wide. The security of this village and the safety of the Ohanzee were things she had taken for granted in the weeks since she had awakened. Nerissa’s expression must have made her thoughts apparent.
“Do not worry about the village. You were unconscious when Einar brought you here, so you didn’t see that our location is naturally hidden. The entrance is blocked by a force of nature. There is only one way in and out, and we can bar the path at a moment’s notice.”
Nerissa couldn’t imagine how this was possible, though she had already seen that the village was surrounded by cliffs and mountain tops on all sides. The entrance would be the weak link. No gate or wall could be impenetrable. Before she could ask about it, however, Ildiko continued on.
“The village wasn’t my point. What I’m trying to say is that everyone has done all they can. Circumstances are bad, but nothing can be done about that now. Just don’t forget that you are the Blood of Chiyo now—whether you feel like you are or not.”
Nerissa’s eyes watered again, but she willed herself not to cry. “You reminded me of my mother,” she said, brushing at her eyes with one hand. “I’m sorry for being a sullen, angsty mess. All I have now is time to dwell on my misery.”
“She was a good woman,” Ildiko said in a comforting tone. She rose from the bed. “I think you’ll find that Hania’s surprise will help you. Remember that Chiyo may be in ashes, but the phoenix will rise again. That is its nature, after all. Now hurry and change. They are waiting for you.”
*******************
A short time later, Nerissa followed Einar, Jin, and Haku on one of the many cobblestone paths that ran through the village. The dark, rounded stones were uncomfortably hot beneath her feet. The heat seeped through the thin leather sole of her sandals so readily that she may as well have been barefoot. Even those patches of stones in the shade were warm. Jin walked beside her, giving no sign that the heat affected him in the slightest.
While Einar and Haku merely nodded and lifted a hand in silent salutation to each person they passed, Jin waved energetically, calling out jovial greetings of good morning. Nerissa opted for a simple nod as well, trying not to draw attention to herself. Her arrival in the village had already created quite a stir. While a handful of the Ohanzee traveled in and out of the city as part of their duties, strangers entering Darnal were an extreme rarity. According to Hania, it had been twenty years since the last outsiders had come to the city. It was natural that news of Einar’s arrival that night carrying an unconscious young man had spread like wildfire. Einar had stopped on the way back to the village to remove her tattered gown and hastily treat her wounds. He had replaced her dress with the clothes he had on hand—an extra one of his shirts and a pair of pants. Nerissa felt her cheeks redden at the thought of Einar seeing her undressed, even if it had been to tend to her wounds. The clothing, combined with her close-cropped hair, would lead anyone to identify her as a man. It was happenstance that had led to the confusion, but the three Chiefs had done nothing to dispel or correct the story.
Hania lived on the opposite side of the village from Einar, at the end of a long path off the main road surrounded by trees and situated at the foot of sheer cliffs. The roar of a nearby waterfall echoed off the surrounding stone walls as they approached. Hania had told her that, unlike the other Chiefs who lived where they chose to, the home of the Chief Advisor was passed from one to the next in succession. Nerissa assumed that there must be a reason for this, but she had no idea what it was. There was nothing in the outward appearance of the house that seemed different from any others she had seen in the village so far. A smaller, but taller hexagonal building was nearby, attached to the main house by a covered walkway. Hania was walking between the two buildings when they arrived. He waved and gestured for them to go ahead and enter the house.
They stepped inside, and Nerissa scanned the interior for anything out of the ordinary but found nothing unusual there either. The main room had obviously been decorated with a woman’s touch. Ruffled pillows sat on each of the chairs and lace curtains draped the windows. Over the fireplace, was a portrait of a young Hania and a woman Nerissa presumed was Hania’s late wife, Gerda. The only thing she found odd about it was that Hania had hair.
“My Lady,” Hania said, bowing with a grace most men his age no longer possessed. “Welcome to my home.”
Nerissa smiled. “Thank you. I hear that you have something to show me? Einar, Haku, and Jin have been quite secretive about just what that is.”
“The Archives are certainly no secret,” Hania said, looking confused.
Einar sniffed and looked away. Haku folded his arms across his chest.
“We didn’t say it was,” Jin explained, laughing. “Just that it would be difficult to describe. Although, I suppose we could have at least told her we were going to the Archives.”
“Well, the Archives are easy enough to explain. The next place we will go to…” Einar hesitated. “Well, that place is a bit difficult to describe. And one of us still won’t be seeing it for some time yet either.” He directed a pointed look at Jin.
“All of the work and none of the benefits,” Jin pouted. “You’ll tell me about it later won’t you, Nerissa?”
She glanced at the other three Chiefs, uncertain how to respond. In unison, the three shook their heads. “It seems not, Jin,” Nerissa replied.
Jin feigned a crestfallen sigh and winked. “It was worth a try.”
Hania cleared his throat. “I know of your great affection for books, so I thought the Archives would be of particular interest to you. You are welcome to spend as much time here as you like, and you may read anything you want. It would be a good way to pass the time while you recover.”
Nerissa’s interest had piqued immediately upon hearing Hania say Archives. History books were not her favorite reading material, but she suspected these would be considerably more interesting than a textbook. “I think that is an excellent suggestion!” she said.
“In that case, come this way.” Hania gestured toward a door on the side of the room.
The wooden planks thumped softly with each step as they crossed the covered walkway. While they walked, Hania explained that the home of the Chief Advisor passed from one person to the next because maintenance of the Archives is one of their primary responsibilities. They reached the door and Hania opened it, waving for Nerissa to enter first.
Shafts of sunlight poured down from skylights and filtered through sheer fabrics in a myriad of hues, bathing the room in a rainbow of color. The effect was stunning and reminded Nerissa of the stained glass windows of the cathedral in Niamh. She inhaled deeply. The scent of books permeated the air. It was the intoxicating aroma of old paper.
Nerissa’s pulse quickened with every breath. How many books were h
ere which could not be found in the University Library, even the Special Collection? What treasures lay hidden in these stacks?
“What do you think?” Hania asked.
“I can’t wait to take a closer look! I have to ask though, who decorated? The style isn’t particularly…masculine,” she replied.
“Indeed. I did not.” Hania chuckled.
“My mother, the previous Chief Advisor did,” Haku explained.
Nerissa’s eyebrows twitched upward. “So women can be Chief?”
“Of course,” Hania said, looking perplexed. “Wasn’t that obvious?” Haku, Einar, and Jin all looked equally nonplussed.
“Let me make sure that I understand what you’re saying. Women can be rulers. They can be Chiefs. Yet, they are not allowed to be guardians. If women are fit to be leaders, why can’t they train and fight side by side with the men?”
“You seem to have a misperception about the reason why only men serve as guardians.” Haku folded his arms across his chest again. He was clearly uncomfortable with the underlying insinuation.
“It is a matter of tradition,” Einar said, now looking as uncomfortable as Haku.
Hania wandered away from the group, apparently in search of a book among one of the farthest stacks.
Jin, however, grinned. “Believe me, if the Ohanzee women even thought they were perceived as being inferior to the men in any way, they would not rest until the idea had been beaten out of us. The tradition has been practiced almost as long as the Ohanzee have existed. It stems from the time of our ancestors, the Gullintanni. At that time, men and women did fight side by side. The leader of the Gullintanni, our founder, was a woman. It was the women who first laid down their swords and swore to never pick them up again. Since that time, no woman among us has taken up the sword.”
That revelation caught Nerissa by surprise. “What was the reason?” she asked.
Reflection: The Stranger in the Mirror Page 13