The Lord of the Plains (81 page)

Suddenly thirty or forty seemed very
old.

And she decided not to think about it
anymore

Inside the garden it was a little cooler.
Aerlid walked ahead of her, his eyes darting around.

He did not go very far before he stopped,
Riley with him.

‘She knows someone has entered her garden.
She’ll come now, we will go no further without her permission.’

And so they waited.

Riley was too hungry and tired to think of
anything except eating. Time seemed to pass slowly.

And then… it was hard to explain, but Riley
became aware of someone’s presence before she heard or saw
anything. It was as if the garden took a breath and held it. A
woman, a valkar, came towards them from between the plants and
greenery.

Riley stared. She had seen many valkar in
the short time she had been in the city. Rivers and air and clouds
and moons and plants and suns… but nothing like this creature.

It was as if the essence of life itself had
formed itself into a woman’s shape. It was impossible to describe.
She understood then, what the Queen meant to the valkar. Love.
Reverence. Awe.

Aerlid glanced at her and smiled when he saw
her expression. He inclined his head imperceptibly, as if in
agreement.

As the woman drew closer Riley noticed
something else. There was a certain vagueness to her gaze, a dream
like quality to her movement. Riley had a sense there was something
missing, and she felt a moment of sorrow. The feeling was not
dispelled when the woman spoke.

She spoke in Valkar, of course. She was
difficult for Riley to understand, far more so than any of the
other valkar.

Riley frowned slightly. She thought she must
be hearing wrong.

‘Mother, the birds do so well, but the trees
are feeling cramped. Has something happened to the mountain?’

Riley glanced at Aerlid. Suddenly he looked
so very tired.

He spoke softly to her, ‘she thinks you’re
her mother. Ah, I suppose to the valkar you look old. Let me speak
to her.’ Louder he said, ‘Rilodana, do you know me?’

The woman’s attention drifted to Aerlid.
‘Why, Moonsinger, yes!’ She came forward and took his hands in hers
and smiled. ‘Yes, did you know I have had a daughter, finally?
Mother is so pleased! Everyone can relax now!’

‘That’s wonderful news.’ Aerlid managed.

Rilodana had already moved on to Riley. She
grabbed her hands like she had grabbed Aerlid’s. ‘Come, Mother, you
must meet her! I’m afraid she took such a long time to find her
soul, I can’t imagine why. Please don’t be mad at me, Mother.’ and
she began dragging Riley deeper into the garden.

Riley looked back helplessly at Aerlid. He
followed at a close distance and whispered, ‘Don’t upset her, just
nod and smile, don’t say anything.’

‘Rilodana,’ Aerlid said louder, ‘your mother
has been travelling a long time. Why don’t you bring her something
to eat?’

‘Of course, you’ll be so proud. But first
let me show you? And then you can name her with me!’

Rilodana moved quickly through the garden.
It was not long before they came to a clearing. Though judging from
how tense Riley was it had been
far
too long.

Ferns, trees and flowers surrounded and
shaded a grassy space where a young valkar woman sat. Riley was
stunned for a moment as she looked at her. She was like Rilodana.
Life.

In another second she realised this was one
of Rilodana’s other children.

The woman looked up as they approached. Her
eyes almost immediately went to Riley. Surprise lit her
features.

‘Mother, this is her!’ Rilodana finally let
go of Riley’s hands and rushed to her other daughter’s side. A long
suffering look came to her face. She said nothing as Rilodana
continued, ‘isn’t she the most beautiful child you have ever seen?
What shall we name her?’

Riley stared.

Aerlid felt far worse than Riley. He knew
Rilodana and her daughters. The young woman sitting on the ground
was Rilodana’s eldest daughter. She was far, far older than Riley
(though by valkar standards a young woman). She had been born and
named long after Rilodana’s mother’s death. And yet where was the
second child? But he knew- she had to stay away. Her presence, when
Rilodana did not remember her, would have greatly upset her.

As Riley remained quiet Rilodana’s smile
faltered.

Aerlid quickly stepped in, ‘we discussed
this on the way, Rilodana, your mother feels you should name your
daughter.’

‘Oh, oh, really? May I?’ she beamed, ‘I have
been thinking so hard! I think I shall name her Rilodana!’

The young woman on the ground closed her
eyes.

‘What about Ladana?’ Aerlid suggested.

‘Oh,’ her face fell again. ‘No, no, I don’t
like that name.’

‘Well, let’s think on it later.’ Aerlid
smiled sickly. ‘You must be very tired, why don’t you go rest?’

‘Oh, yes. Having children is very hard work,
Moonsinger. Yes, I’ll go rest.’ She made as if to try and pick
Ladana- for that
was
her eldest daughter’s name- up.

A look of consternation passed across her
face.

‘Ah, why don’t you leave your baby here? I’m
sure your mother would like to spend some time with her.’

‘Oh…oh, of course. Mother, do you know how
to look after a baby?’ Rilodana looked worried for a moment.

‘Yes, of course she does.’ Aerlid said,
‘Please, you look so tired, go rest.’

‘Oh, yes, alright…’

It took some time but eventually Aerlid
convinced Rilodana to leave.

The young woman, Ladana, sighed. She stood
and smoothed off her dress. ‘You handle her well, Moonsinger.
You’re the man who took the mixed girl?’ she spoke in Valkar. After
Rilodana’s mixed up voice, Riley found her very easy to
understand.

Aerlid stiffened. ‘Your half-sister, yes.
And she understands Valkar well.’

The woman’s eyes moved to Riley. They stayed
there for some time.

‘She appears ill.’ she said after a long
pause. ‘Have you taken good care of her?’

‘Of course I have. And she’s not ill.’

‘I see.’ Ladana had a slow, meditative way
of speaking that was soothing after Rilodana’s mixed up
flightiness. ‘And why have you brought her here?’

‘I wanted to introduce her to her mother and
her sisters.’ Aerlid said coolly.

Riley remained mute.

‘Very well,’ Ladana turned slightly.
‘Ralana, you may come now. Mother is gone.’

It did not take long for another young woman
to appear from the greenery. She was shorter than Ladana, but not
as short as Rilodana- who was a small woman. There was a wide eyed
curiosity to her that Ladana lacked.

Ladana turned to look back at Riley. ‘This
is the mixed girl. The Moonsinger who took her wishes her to meet
us.’

Ralana’s eyes widened. Riley was surprised
to see fear flash there. Riley turned to look at Aerlid. ‘I still
haven’t eaten.’ she reminded him.

‘Oh, of course. Mm, would either of you be
able to get something for Riley to eat?’

Ralana nodded quickly. She darted away into
the greenery.

Ladana looked at them as she said, ‘so, you
have met us.’

Aerlid could not entirely hide his
anger.

Despite her gnawing hunger, Riley felt there
were things she needed to ask. It seemed the valkar were as much a
part of the world as gemengs and humans. She could not just ignore
them.

‘You have a problem with humans?’ Riley
asked.

Aerlid was surprised at the way in which she
asked this, as if she were merely collecting data, it was not an
accusation.

‘Yes.’ Ladana’s eyes widened ever so
slightly, as if surprised by the question. ‘They are monsters.’ she
stated.

‘All of them?’

Ladana nodded.

‘And me?’

She nodded again.

Riley frowned. ‘I’ve never done anything to
you.’

‘No.’ Ladana agreed, though it almost
sounded like
not yet
. ‘Humans enslaved and killed many of my
people. Even those we thought were our friends. Humans cannot be
trusted. They are the reason I cannot, and have never, walked on
the ground.’

Aerlid did not necessarily disagree with
Ladana yet still he seethed on Riley’s behalf.

‘I see. And yet I’m half human. How did that
happen?’

‘Mother disappears.’ Ladana shrugged. ‘She
wandered off one day and found a human. She gets confused easily. I
don’t know what she saw in him.’

‘But she went to the ground.’

‘Yes.’

‘So couldn’t you as well?’

Ladana suddenly glared at her. ‘Yes, and
you’ll go walking around the ehlkrid land, will you?’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend
you.’

Ladana’s glare subsided. ‘It’s alright.’

‘He calmed her down.’ Aerlid interjected
suddenly. ‘Rilodana did care for your father, Riley. But you have
seen how she is, she forgot about him. But perhaps that’s for the
best… he died not long after.’

‘Ah. Is Ralana coming back soon?’ Riley
asked.

Ladana glanced behind her. ‘You’re very
impatient.’

At the look Aerlid shot her, Riley managed
to keep her mouth shut.

Luckily, Ralana returned not long after. To
Riley’s abject disappointment, she returned with one, round piece
of fruit.

Ralana handed it to her, pleased and afraid
at the same time.

In less than a minute, Riley had finished
it. It was delicious- juicy and tangy, but not nearly enough.

Aerlid glanced at her. ‘Well, this has been
lovely. Riley, shall I take you back down now?’

‘Please.’

The goodbyes were swift and clean.

Aerlid quickly took Riley to an edge of the
city. It was still daylight, so the journey down would probably be
very unsettling for Riley, but less so than starving up here.

He was just about to begin when he heard a
commotion behind him. He turned, mildly irritated.

A group of valkar approached. But no, he
realised. One woman was approaching them, the rest were just her
entourage.

She had a sure stride and a ramrod straight
back. She did not look as though she smiled often.

He already knew who, or what, she was.

Her hair and lips, the colour of rose
petals. Her hair went just past her shoulders, it was unadorned,
like all of the valkar. Her fringe was long enough that it looked
like she almost didn’t have one, it was parted and fell easily to
either side of her face, leaving her features unhidden. She was
lovely. And yet… her thorns were obviously displayed in her
expression. She wore a long dress, her bare feet just visible
beneath the hem. Her dress looked like it had been made out of the
petals of a very large rose. It wrapped around her waist tightly,
two pointed ends of the petals going over her shoulders, like
straps. The skirt was looser, leaving her more freedom of
movement.

Rose.

The woman’s eyes swept critically over
Riley, and then landed on Aerlid.

It was then that Aerlid realised what was
missing. ‘Where is the cape?’ he demanded, startled and outraged at
the same time.

Rose lifted her chin up and gazed down at
him haughtily, though she was shorter than him. ‘That is what
Sunsingers wear. I am the Judgement Master, but I am not a
Sunsinger. I will not wear it.’

Aerlid was about to argue when he spotted
Adila, some way behind Rose. She shook her head ever so slightly at
him.

‘Very well.’ he managed through gritted
teeth. ‘But consider,’ he began, his tone relenting slightly, ‘I
only ask because I recognize you as the Judgement Master.’

She paused, somewhat mollified, though when
she spoke again her tone was not gentle, ‘why have you brought a
mixed here?’

Aerlid had to fight down anger that was once
again rising. He bit back the urge to ask how long,
exactly
,
had she been the Judgement Master? ‘Is the Queen’s daughter not
welcome here?’