Pawn (The Pawn Series Book 1)

by Robin Roseau

  I was the only one truly upset by it.

  We didn't stay in the huts. Instead, we stayed at a place Juleena called a barracks. While I'd seen the barns and farmhouses during our trip here, I'd never been inside a permanent building. I'd never walked across a wooden floor. I'd never slept on a bed that was more than padding laid out on the ground. Juleena took me to dinner at what she called a pub. I'd never sat on a chair.

  It was all overwhelming.

  But Juleena recognized my utter lack of experience in the things the Framarans took for granted. Unlike most of our troop, she and I received a private room in the barracks, and it was there that she sat me down and looked into my eyes.

  "You see new things now," she said in her heavily accented, broken Arrlottan. "We go slow. I show. Important you learn."

  And so I learned about beds and chairs and eating at a table. Juleena began teaching me manners, which I thought was silly, but she said it was important. The next day, I learned about shopping. I learned about money.

  I was dazzled by the shopping. She took me on a tour of the shops in Wallarty. There were bakers and a butcher and I realized that in a town, not everyone could hunt for his family, and that there were people who provided food to others in exchange for the small pieces of metal Juleena showed me. There were people who sold candles and others who sold books. Other shops sold things made largely from metal, including exceedingly good knives.

  The Arrlottan do not work metal. Oh, we had metal, which we traded for, but it was very dear, and I'd never had a metal knife.

  And the places that sold clothing, so many types of clothing!

  I couldn't fathom it all.

  Juleena gave me the complete tour then took me to an outdoor market, which was equally as overwhelming. She tasked me with buying us lunch, giving me some of the metal coins. I stared at them in my hand. She made me count it out, ensuring I knew the value of each of the pieces. "You must buy enough for us to both eat and drink with what I've given you."

  She said it slowly, in Framaran. I didn't know all the words, but I understood the responsibility she was giving me. And then she took two seats at a table and sent me on my way.

  I wasn't stupid. Arrlottans didn't have shops, but I understood about trade. I understood about bargaining. Oh, I wasn't an expert, but I understood about it.

  I wandered the carts selling a variety of food. There was much I didn't recognize, but there was enough I could make choices. I approached one of the carts, eyeing the foods carefully. I had no idea what it was. Well, I had a partial idea. I could see it was some sort of stew, but I didn't know what was in it, and from the scents, I worried it was too spicy for me.

  The woman running the cart was short and chubby with lines suggesting she smiled a lot. "What'll it be, dearie?"

  I cocked my head and ran the sounds through my head twice before I understood the question. I pointed and asked, "How much this two plate?"

  She heard my words -- and presumably my accent. She looked at me carefully then asked, "Where are you from, dearie?"

  "The Hippa," I said, using the Arrlottan name for the high steppes of my birth. Confusion shown on her face. "Um. You call Garneer. I Arrlotta."

  "Oh, a traveler," she said. Then she went into a long speech selling me on the quality of her food. I understood about one word in ten, if even that, and I stared at her blankly. Finally, smiling, she stopped speaking.

  So I began speaking in Arrlottan. I was sure she wouldn't understand a single word at all, and so I only spoke a few sentences before I stopped, smiling back at her.

  "I didn't understand that at all, dearie," she said. I didn't know what a dearie was. It sounded like the name for one of the woodland creatures we'd seen during our trip, but different at the same time. But she was still smiling. "I suppose you didn't understand me, either."

  "Know only few words," I managed to say. "Please. How much two plate?"

  She named a figure. It wasn't quite everything that Juleena had given me, but I still needed things to drink and more than just this one food. But I let my chagrin at the price show on my face. "Oh," I said. "Too much. I try other wagon. Thank you time."

  I turned away, but the woman reached out and grabbed my arm. She was gentle about it, and I knew if I tried to pull away, she would have let me. But I turned back to her. "What's your name?"

  "Yallameenara," I said. "You say Yalla."

  "Well, Yalla," she said, holding out her hand. We clasped briefly. "You can call me Tally, and I'll not have a slip of a girl like you go away hungry."

  I got the gist.

  "Pleased meet," I said. "Sorry words. I learn still."

  She brushed my hair with one hand then spoke slowly. "Do you understand how to bargain?"

  "Not know last word," I replied.

  "Hmm. It means... I give you one price. You say it's too high and offer a lower price." She'd already forgotten to speak slowly, but as I knew the concept, I was able to puzzle through it.

  "Ah. Understand now. Thank you word."

  "You're a polite thing," she said. Then she set a hand on her hip. "What is your offer?"

  I looked at the stew. "Not know what is."

  "It's lamb stew," she said, "with-" And I didn't understand a single word after that.

  "What lamb?"

  "What is lamb?" she asked. "You've never had lamb?"

  "Not know. What is?"

  "A baby sheep."

  "Baby sheep?" I offered a puzzled expression. I didn't know either word.

  "Sure. A sheep. You don't what a sheep is." I shook my head. She went on to describe an animal, a little taller than my waist, with thick fur.

  "Ah. I think see. On farms."

  "Yes, probably," she said.

  I looked over at the stew. "Afraid too..." Then I waved my hand in front of my open mouth as if the food was too hot.

  "Oh, no. Here. You try some. You're going to love it." She retreated behind her cart, retrieved a wooden spoon, and then dished a small amount of the stew onto the spoon, making sure it included a little of the meat. "Lamb," I thought to myself, rolling the word on my tongue.

  She held the spoon out, and I tried it carefully.

  It was amazing. I'd never had anything like it, but it tasted amazing. I began to smile, and I think the woman knew she had a sale. She looked at me triumphantly. "Now," she said, "What do you offer for two plates."

  I took out my pouch and peered into it, trying to offer a look of chagrin.

  "Don't try those games with me, Yalla," she said. "I've seen them all."

  "This all have," I said. "Must buy two... um..."

  "Two entire meals?" she prompted.

  "Yes. Think so. Juleena wants learn money. Learn buy."

  The woman's eyes narrowed. "Juleena, is it?"

  "Yes." I turned and pointed. "You know Juleena?"

  "Everyone knows Juleena," Tally said. "What else did you need to buy?"

  "Bread." Then I made a face. "Lora juice."

  "Is that face for the bread or for the lora juice?"

  "Too sweet," I said. "Juleena make drink. Say good me."

  "It is, isn't it," she agreed. She smiled. She was always smiling. Then she hollered over her shoulder, far too quickly for me to understand. There was a back and forth for a minute, and then a little girl came running over with a loaf of bread wrapped in a little paper. It was still steaming. And then another girl came from another direction. She was holding a mug. Tally told the first girl to wait a minute. Then she took the mug and handed it to me.

  "Try this," she directed. "If you don't like it more than the lora juice, I'll keep it."

  I took a sip from the mug. "Is apple."

  "Yes," she said. "So you have apples."

  "No. Juleena give one." I gestured at the mug. "Is good."

  "Then you should get two mugs of the apple juice, the loaf of bread, and two plates of my fine lamb stew."

  "Apple juice not lora juice. Juleena say lora juice."

 
"Juleena will let you drink this instead. It's good for you, too. What will you give me for your two meals?"

  I thought about it carefully then told her less than half of what was in the pouch. She smiled and named an amount three times that. But this part I understood. We went back and forth, finally settling on a price just slightly less than what Juleena had given me. We clasped hands on the agreement. I handed over the money. Tally then helped me carry everything to Juleena. I didn't provide introductions; Tally said she knew Juleena, after all. The two spoke briefly, and then Tally returned to her cart.

  Juleena smiled at me. "Do you have any money left over?"

  I withdrew the pouch and showed her. She didn't take it but asked how much remained.

  "One of these," I said, withdrawing a small coin with. "And one of these." I withdrew another small coin.

  "And how much is that?"

  "This is twenty pence, and this is ten," I said.

  She leaned over her plate and inhaled, smiling. She examined the mug of apple juice and nodded. Then she broke a piece from the loaf of bread. "Lamb stew. Good choice. Did you get a good price?"

  I nodded. "Yes. I didn't pay anything. You did."

  She laughed. "Did you get a good price for me?"

  "I don't know. She asked two crowns and twenty and five pence. I paid one crown and forty pence. I get good price?"

  "It's very good stew," she said. "And hot, fresh bread. Yes, you got a good price."

  I grinned.

  "Did she know you were with me before you haggled?"

  "Haggled?"

  "Agreed on a price."

  "Oh. Yes. Told her you teach me. She said you friends."

  "Is that the word she used?"

  I thought back. "No. She said she knows you. Said everyone knows you." I looked around. "All these people know you?"

  "They know my name," she explained. "Because of who I am."

  "Clan chief's daughter."

  "Yes."

  "But your mother not clan chief here. She is clan chief in Mar- Mar-"

  "Marport," Juleena provided. "Yalla, my mother is the queen -- clan chief -- of all of Framara."

  I dipped my head to my lunch, unsure if I could believe her. "Stew good."

  "Yes, it is," she agreed.

  I waited a minute or two before I asked, attempting to be casual about it, "All Framara one clan?"

  "Yes."

  After we had eaten and washed -- the easy way they had with water would surprise me for some time -- Juleena took me back to the shops. "What do you think of everything?"

  "So many things," I said. "Just candle shop." I shook my head. "Different colors. Different sizes. Five shop sell clothes. More shops for shoes and boots." I shook my head again. "How you decide?"

  She laughed. "That can be half the fun. Come on. You need another dress."

  "What wrong this dress?"

  "It's a good traveling dress," Juleena explained. "I'm going to buy you some traveling leathers, too."

  "You not answer question."

  "You cannot meet the queen in that dress," Juleena explained. "And we won't have time to buy something after arriving in Marport."

  I didn't completely understand. There was so much I didn't completely understand. But she threw an arm around my shoulder, and together we went back to the stores.

  I didn't understand the process very well. Juleena spoke to the shopkeeper, and I was reminded how carefully she spoke when speaking to me. Then I was led behind a little wall and made to strip down to my under things. I didn't understand why they made me stand behind the wall, but I did what I was told. The shopkeeper then examined me using a ribbon of some sort, placing it across and around various places on my body, and her daughter made notes.

  Then I tried on a number of different dresses. Juleena smiled at some, frowned and shook her head on others. Finally she had selected three, and I tried each of them on again. This time the shopkeeper pulled me in front of a mirror for each and encouraged me to look this way and that, examining my reflection in the mirror.

  I'd never seen such a large mirror!

  While I was looking at myself in the second dress, the shopkeeper stood behind me, fussing with my hair and clucking at it. "Father cut it short. He worry. Say boys go too..." I turned to Juleena and asked for her to tell me the Framaran word for "crazy". She laughed and provided it. I turned back to the shopkeeper. "Say boys go too crazy I so beautiful long hair."

  She shopkeeper guffawed. Juleena smirked at me and said in Arrlottan, "I can believe that."

  I didn't think these dresses were very practical. The material was thin. I thought they would tear easily. Arrlottan women didn't wear dresses or skirts; we wore trousers just like the men. And so the dress Juleena already made me wear was a change. But I was sure I couldn't ride in these dresses. I couldn't do anything in these dresses.

  It was while I was still wearing the third dress when Juleena stepped up behind me. The shopkeeper stepped away, and Juleena put her hands on my shoulders. We looked at each other in the mirror.

  "Which do you like the most?"

  "I don't understand." I shared my concerns.

  Juleena laughed. "You're absolutely right, and I've made the same complaints from time to time. Dresses like this are not meant to be practical. They are meant to be pretty."

  "But-"

  "You wouldn't wear this dress often. You would wear it to meet the queen. You might wear it for special dinners and events. I don't actually know what Mother will do with you, so I can only make guesses." She spoke slowly and carefully, and I was able to understand, more or less, anyway.

  Confusion and worry battled for dominance on my face. All these new thoughts made me nervous. Juleena wrapped her arms around me and hugged me, pulling me against her. "Don't worry about any of that. Trust me. We need to buy a dress. I like these three the most. Do you like them or should we look in the next shop?"

  "But-"

  "Yalla, we need a dress like one of these. You need to trust me."

  I sighed. "Then you should pick. You know best."

  "I picked these three. Now you must pick from them or ask us to look in another store."

  I looked at my reflection then at the other dresses. "Is that one okay?" I asked, pointing to one that was white with light blue accents.

  "That one is lovely," Juleena said. And it was only a minute later that I was wearing the selected dress. Juleena had me turn this way and that, admiring myself. I'd never spent so much time looking at my own reflection.

  "Do you like it?" she asked.

  I didn't. I couldn't ride a horse in it. I could see to my duties. I couldn't do anything but stand here and, well, pretend I was some sort of flower.

  Juleena waited a moment then laughed. "You hate it."

  "I can't do anything in it. I'll ruin it."

  "You can do everything you are expected to do while wearing this dress."

  "I don't think so."

  She grinned. "Yes. You are expected to walk into a room, curtsey to the queen, and then let her get a good look at you. I'm sure you can do all that in this dress."

  I looked over my shoulder at her. "Now you are teasing me."

  "Maybe a little."

  I looked back at my reflection, my face growing sadder and sadder.

  "Yalla, what is wrong?"

  "This color," I said, brushing my fingers against the blue, "Is color Mama's eyes." I turned to face her. "I'll never see my mother again, will I?"

  Her smile faded. "I know this is a lot for you. I'm sorry. No, you probably won't."

  I turned back to the mirror. "If we have to buy one, and if it's my choice, then this one please."

  * * * *

  It was another shop that she bought clothes that were far more suited for our travels. I found myself in leather leggings and tunic, well-fitted through the use of a set of laces on either side of it. Once dressed, Juleena stood behind me as I studied myself in another of the unbelievable mirrors.
/>   "You look quite dashing," she said.

  I fingered the leather. It was soft and felt really good. And I had to agree. I thought I looked good. I looked over my shoulder at her and smiled.

  "I take it we're getting it?"

  I nodded enthusiastically.

  By the time we were done, the afternoon was growing late. I was wearing my new leather, and the dress I'd been wearing was in a bag that Juleena carried. The things we had bought from the first shop were shipped to the inn for us. I thought it was odd that Juleena trusted them not to cheat her, and I would have taken it with us, but she assured me no one would dare cheat her.

  I imagined not.

  "All right, Yalla," she said to me. "We need one more thing."

  "What is that?"

  "I don't know. You tell me."

  "I don't understand."

  She grinned. "What do you want to buy?"

  "I don't have any money."

  "That's not true," she said. "You have thirty pence. But I admit, that's not going to buy much. I have money for you. Was there something small you particularly wanted?"

  I looked around. I could see several of the shops from where we stood, and I knew where the others were.

  "Really?" I asked.

  "Really," she said.

  I slipped my arm around her waist. Hers went around my shoulder. And then I led us to one of the shops that sold metal goods, including knives. We looked through the window -- what a marvel, a wall you could see through.

  "Is this too much?" I asked her.

  "You want a sword? I don't think I can allow that."

  "I was thinking of one of the knives. I've never had a metal knife before."

  "The Arrlottan have metal knives."

  "We trade for them, but only the men get them."

  "Then what do you use?"

  "They're made from bone or horn," I said. "But you have a sword and a knife, and I saw the other women all have them, too. Does that mean girls may have metal knives?"

  "Let's see which one you like." She pulled us towards the door.

  Inside she released me but led the way to a case displaying a wide variety of knives in a variety of sizes. They were all quite fancy. Most of them were far too large for me, but there were some that were closer to the size I wanted. But they weren't what I wanted.