Hidden Ability (Book 1) (5 page)

Jalan could hardly follow what they were saying. A boy? A boy who was supposed to be trained and he was that boy? Why? Why would he need training to survive? He was certainly being trained. He practiced with knives and swords and bow. He had been working with a lance too. But, that was perfectly normal. Everybody did it. Well, maybe his brother Tomac did not do everything he did. And, outside of the lancers stationed at Yen manor nobody trained with as many weapons as Jalan did. Even most of the lancers only worked with sabers, lances and bows. Staves, he’d forgotten about staves.

With the thought of one more weapon the entire swirling mass of practice sessions and multiple weapons crashes together to form a single image, his image. Jalan. The only thing all the practice, and exercise and chores have in common is Jalan. He is the only person doing them all. And the question that he avoids asking, the one he barely acknowledges having, the concern that he fears will bring an end to all the training, forces its way out of his mouth. “Why?” he asks in a puzzled expression of his bafflement.

Lady Shara looks distressed and says to him, “Because I love you.”

Jalan never thought of that. He never knew that someone could make things difficult because they love you and also make things easier at the same time. He knew his mother was telling him why she hoped all the training was enough even though he was asking why he does more than anyone else. Love is the answer to both questions.

“I love you too, mother,” says Jalan as he looks directly at Lady Shara. “But, do I do more than anyone else has to?”

Lady Shara is visibly upset and Jalan can see that she is trying not to cry. “You know you are our foster child. Mine and father’s?” says Shara. Her voice sounds tender and reluctant to Jalan.

“Yes,” he says.

“That means that we, Lord Hallis and I, are... That we are not your real parents.”

“Yes,” he says again. Jalan has always known he is a foster child and he came to the family as a baby. He does not know why it is important now and it is making him nervous.

“Who do you think your real parents are?”

“What do you mean?” Jalan could hear the stress in his own voice.

“Jalan, look at me,” says Enmar. Jalan feels relief at being able to do something other than answer his mother’s question. He looks away from her to Enmar.

“I am a messenger. I tell people things. That is what a messenger does. Do you understand?”

That makes sense to Jalan. A messenger gives you a message. He could see that. “Yes,” he says.

“I would like to tell you something. Would that be all right?”

The messenger seems very considerate. He really seems to care what Jalan wants. “I guess so.”

“I wish to tell you who your parents are, your real parents. Would you like to know who they are?” asks the messenger.

The man seems honest. He is not upset. It might be all right. His mother is right here sitting next to him. His father died in this room. Jalan is not sure what having real-parents means. But, it seems very important to the messenger. Jalan says, “I don’t know.”

Enmar gives Jalan an understanding smile and says, “I know what you mean. Often, when I have a message for someone they are not certain they want to hear it. New things worry people sometimes. They worry that learning something new will change something they already know. For example, you know Lady Shara loves you. And, she has always been a mother to you. I can see she loves you just as much as she loves her other children. Nothing I say will ever change that. I can also see that you love her. What I tell you will never change that either. But, what I want to tell you is important to you. Even without knowing who your real parents are, the fact of who they are governs your life.

You are here in House Yen because your parents wanted you to grow up in safety. They knew that at your birth home it would be much more dangerous for you. They sent you here because they love you and they wanted you to be safe, just as Lady Shara has allowed Captain Erida to train you so that you will learn skills to help keep you safe when you are older. Your real parents love you and Lady Shara loves you. Would you like to know who they are? Would you like to know who loves you as much as Lady Shara does?”

Jalan loves his mother. He does not believe anyone could love him more than Lady Shara does. But, maybe someone might love him almost that much. And if they do, then maybe he should know who they are because maybe they worry about him and he could tell them he is fine and not to worry. And he could just stay here and grow up with his brother and sisters and everything would be fine.

“Yes, I would like to know,” says Jalan even though the words scare him a little as he says them.

Enmar looks very serious as he says, “Your parents are King Tamaron and Queen Urala.”

The names mean almost nothing to Jalan. It is as if the messenger just told him his parents are the sun and the moon. He knows who they are. They are the rulers of Ojmara. But, Jalan has never seen them. They live far away in Lavembra. The man is right. What he said changes nothing. Jalan notices that everyone is looking at him. He is not sure what to do.

“Oh,” he says. “Um, thank you for telling me.” He looks at Lady Shara and says, “May I have some more cheese?”

Walking down the hallway with a freshly loaded plate of cheese wedges and dried fruit, Jalan sees his brother Tomac and sister Vee hurrying toward him.

“What did the messenger say?” asks Tomac in a voice rich with curiosity. And with barely a breath in between he adds, “Hey? Can I have a fig?”

“Me too, please,” says Vee.

Jalan holds out his plate and Tomac takes two figs and a cheese wedge. Vee takes the last pieces of dried apple.

“Thanks,” says Tomac as he pops a dried fig in his mouth.

Vee just smiles and eats a piece of apple. Jalan decides to finish what is left while he still has something to call his own. In short order the plate is empty. He and Tomac have finished their share. Vee is just eating her last apple piece. With the food gone, Jalan walks toward the back of the house to return the empty plate to the kitchen.

“Well?” says Vee as she steps up to walk beside Jalan. Her eyes shine with interest.

“The messenger wanted to tell me who my parents are,” says Jalan without slowing.

“What do you mean?” says Tomac from behind.

Vee rolls her eyes and says, “He means his birth parents.”

“His what?”

Vee stops walking to look directly at Tomac. Jalan is tempted to keep going but he stops also and watches them.

“His birth parents are the people he was born to. Our birth parents are mother and father. Jalan was born to someone else. He is our foster brother,” Vee explains with exaggerated patience as though she thinks her words might really be too complex for Tomac to understand.

“But, Jalan’s our little brother,” says Tomac with a hint of uncertainty.

“Yes, our foster brother. He is also mother and father’s foster son, which means he has real parents and father agreed to foster him, to raise him as one of our own family.”

“His real parents sent him here to grow up with us?”

“Darla said a carriage brought Jalan,” says Vee.

Mother said something about a carriage to the messenger recalls Jalan. “What carriage?” says Jalan, hoping the answer will help him recall Lady Shara’s words.

“I just said,” replies Vee, exasperation with Jalan filling her words. “Not that you would remember as you were a tiny infant. You came in a carriage. I heard Darla and Guri talking about it once. Guri said Captain Erida led the escort. Lieutenant Burk was with him and some other lancers too.”

That was it thought Jalan. Messenger Enmar said he was protecting travelers and Lady Shara said there were six lancers and a carriage. Then the messenger said Lady Shara could ask Captain Erida about an ambush. What they said had not made sense. Now Vee tells him Captain Erida escorted the carriage that brought Jalan to House Yen. Captain Erida knows where Jalan came from. He might even know Jalan’s real parents. It had not occurred to him that anyone he knew might know his parents.

If the captain came with the carriage, then he must have been at the capital and Lieutenant Burk has been there too.
What about the messenger?
The messenger works for the king. The king is far away in Lavembra. But Jalan is beginning to understand that the king’s influence is much closer.

“Who are his real parents?” asks Tomac.

“I don’t know that,” replies Vee with a look that says Tomac was foolish to ask her. “Didn’t you hear Jalan say the messenger told him?”

Appearing unfazed by their sister’s dismissive tone, Tomac turns to Jalan and asks, “Who are your real parents?”

“The messenger said my parents are the king and queen,” Jalan says. He shrugs and adds, “But, I don’t know. That’s just what he said.”

“You are making that up!” says Vee. “If you are not going to tell us what he really said then say so, but don’t make up stories.”

Vee’s disbelief annoys Jalan. It adds to his discomfort with everyone knowing things about him that he does not know. He did his best to endure the parlor and comfort his mother and keep her safe. He listened politely while Darla, mother and Messenger Enmar talked about things that made no sense. It is not fair. How could he help it if his parents where King Tamaron and Queen Urala? The only parents he wants are mother and father and he would trade the king and queen to get Lord Hallis back if he could.

There is an undercurrent of emotion welling up in Jalan. He does not feel in control and he does not know what to do about it. His agitation pushes at him and he pushes back harder. It crystalizes within him and he puts this new thing completely into the words he speaks to Vee. “I am not a liar.”

The color drains from Vee’s face and she steps back while reaching out to the hallway wall to steady her. Tomac drops to one knee and does a quick shake of his head.

“Jalan!” shouts someone.

Feeling very tired, it takes Jalan a moment to focus on the person who called him. Lady Shara with her skirt caught up in her hands is running toward him.
How odd. Mother never runs.
Jalan decides to sit down. He half lowers himself and half collapses to a seated position on the floor.

Even though she shouted his name, his mother moves past Jalan and wraps her arms around Vee who is still having trouble standing. Shara assists Vee as the girl lowers herself down to sit on the floor. Lady Shara puts her hands on both sides of Vee’s head and examines her. Jalan sees an expression of relief form on his mother’s face.

Lady Shara leaves Vee sitting on the floor with her back and head propped against the wainscoting and goes to Tomac. Tomac appears to be trying to stand, but Lady Shara instructs him to sit down for a moment until his head clears.

Finally, his mother comes to Jalan. She looks concerned, but perhaps a little less anxious then when she examined Vee. She takes one of his hands in both of hers and looks at Jalan closely as if watching for something. Again she looks relieved.

“Stand up,” she says, and helps Jalan rise to his feet.

He feels less tired, more like right after sparring instead of the exhaustion that forced him to the floor.

“Go to your bed and sleep for a bit. I’m sure you’ll feel better afterward,” says his mother as if coaxing a sleepy child to take a nap.

Jalan looks down and says, “The plate.”

Lady Shara follows his gaze and smiles. “I’ll take care of it.”

Δ

Jalan wakes with sunlight streaming through his window and his mother sitting on a chair next to his bed. Her smile brightens his morning even more.

“Good morning, Jalan,” she says. “How did you sleep?”

Too long. “Too well,” he says.

“Don’t worry. I sent word to Captain Erida not to expect you first thing this morning.”

Jalan was relieved and curious, “Why?”

“I knew you would need rest,” says Lady Shara. “All of you,” she continues. “It was to be expected after you, Vee and Tomac ate that bad cheese yesterday.”

“Bad cheese?”

“Yes, you had taken some cheese with you from the parlor and shared it with them. Apparently, the cheese had gone bad. It made all of you ill very quickly.”

“But, Vee didn’t eat any cheese,” Jalan says.

“Jalan, my son, please listen to me. If it was not the cheese then it was the fruit. There is no other explanation for it.” The last sentence sounds as if his mother means there is no other explanation allowed.

“Yes, mother,” says Jalan.

His mother looks very pleased by his answer. She reaches out and pats him on the arm. Then, rather than pull away, she rests her hand on his forearm and leans forward. When she speaks, he has to listen closely to hear her.

“Now, just between us, let’s play a game.”

“All right,” says Jalan quietly in return.

“It is an imagination game. We will pretend that there might be some other reasons for what happened in the hallway. But, this is just our game, our secret. Yes?” Her voice sounds light and happy, but her eyes look serious.

Jalan is uncertain about what is happening but he knows it is not a game. “Yes, mother,” he says.

Shara smiles again and her grip on his arm eases. “Has Master Hern taught you about the Society?”

Master Hern, his tutor, has told him about many things. The Society does sound familiar. “I think so,” says Jalan.

“What did he tell you?” asks Shara.

“That everyone with the Ability belongs to the Society. That it is like a guild.”

“That’s right,” she responds encouragingly. “But, it is a very strict guild with rules against anyone using the Ability that is not part of the Society.”

Jalan gently pulls his arm free of his mother’s hold and pushes himself to a sitting position in his bed. “What is the Ability?”

As part of our game I will pretend to know something about the Ability and I will tell you what I know. All right?”

“Yes, mother.”

“Many people have some Ability. The Ability is really many things. The name makes it sound like one thing because that idea is more comforting to those without it. Long ago, before the Society existed, people with the Ability had no one to guide them or watch over their actions. Like everyone does in life, some of the people used the Ability for good purposes and others used it for bad. Eventually, the bad actions of a few damaged the reputation of everyone that used the Ability. Ordinary people no longer distinguished between good and bad users. They considered anyone with the Ability to be bad and tried to kill them. This caused many more problems including wars between those with the Ability and those without it. Finally, a compromise was found. Everyone was tired of fighting. Those with the Ability agreed to limit themselves. They would wear only the color red so that everyone would know them on sight. They would isolate themselves from the community and live in their own society, the Society. And, the Society would take responsibility for everyone with the Ability. If anyone misused it, the Society would deal with them. If anyone with the Ability refused to join the Society, the Society would kill them. The ordinary people agreed that the Society has total control over its members. They agreed not to kill those with the Ability, to bring any new users to the Society where they could be controlled and to assist the Society when it hunts rogue users.”