Servants and Followers (The Legends of Arria, Volume 2) (57 page)

“
I suppose so.” Fobata said, and
Kala turned back around to open her pack again.

“
I’m afraid this is the last of
the guest handkerchiefs,” Kala said, pulling out a similar one to
Fobata’s and handing it over to him, “All that’s left is my own.”
She sighed, closing the pack again. “All of the guest handkerchiefs
are the same as my own, except that their gift to me had indigo
thread, not red.” She smiled sadly as she turned back to Fobata.
“They stitched all of these handkerchiefs just for me. I never
thought that they would, after the way that I left them, but that
was my fault. Still, I chose my path, and I’m glad of it. Glad,”
She said, patting her pregnant belly. “I got to enjoy my life with
him, if only for a short while, and I don’t regret that one bit.”
She said softly, almost crying.

“
Are you sure you can’t stay?”
Fobata asked her.

“
No, Fobata, no. I told you, I’ve
got to go.” She said, turning around to mount up her horse,
although Fobata had to help her up. “The Sna season is almost upon
us, and I have to reach my destination. I’ve lingered too long
already.” She muttered.

“
Please, Kala, please, it’s not
safe--” He pleaded.

“
Fobata, I’m going to be fine,
it’s you I’m worried about. You and my little sister…oh, Fobata, I
almost forgot.” Kala said, looking down at him. “I told my little
sister Niobe that if she were ever in any kind of trouble at all,
she could always depend upon you to help her. She can come to you
for help if she is in trouble, can’t she?” Kala asked.

Fobata sighed. “Of course I will
help Niobe, whatever is wrong.” He said.

Niobe. Goga. Oh, gods, what
horrors had come from that, Fobata still remembered. Kala would
only despise him for his cowardice and ignorance, for allowing such
indignities to happen in his house, if she ever saw him
again.

Lord Lagotaq led the group members to
his study, where they could talk privately, and the guards closed
the doors behind them. A study seemed to be a common thing amongst
lords and noblemen, or those that aspired to be just like them, a
study where they could retreat, and work out the problems that
plagued their estates. The study was sparse, containing just a few
pieces of furniture with a weary desk, some threadbare covered
chairs, and one or two long, low bookshelves half full of ragged
volumes. A plain parchment rug covered the stone floor in the empty
part of the room, and that was it, no tapestries or paintings
covered bare stone walls.

The group looked around, intrigued by
the decor insofar as it might give them a clue as to their
benefactor’s character, and whether or not they may be able to
trust the man. Lord Lagotaq’s Coe Wina seemed to be starker and
greyer than Lord Fobata’s Coe Aela. Though Coe Aela was squat and
square, disguising its ugliness and decay through lavish
furnishings, grandiose celebrations, and displays of pride--much
like Lord Fobata himself in his decadence--Coe Wina appeared to be
both exposed to the elements, like a bone left out for dogs and
other wild animals to strip clean of its meat, and bristling with
defenses against these elements, such as the guards sent out on
patrol and the hillside barricades.

Coe Wina was narrow and full of ridges,
split between the lower half where most of the ordinary servants
and guards lived and worked, bustling with activity on the outside
and probably inside of the small buildings, and the upper half
where the castle loomed over everything, haunting and wild on the
outside, but half empty and gloomy inside, with barriers between
them. The group did not know what to make of Coe Wina, nor did they
know what to make of its lord, but they knew that they may not find
much comfort here.

“
I want you all to
know,
the humans amongst
you,
” Lord Lagotaq started to
say
, omitting Fato
as he sat down behind his desk, “that you are or
might be descendents of the Knights of Arria, as your abilities to
wield the Swords of Arria without getting hurt seem to indicate
that your ancestries lie in that direction. I understand that you
have some knowledge as to the Swords--” He said, stopping Basha and
Gant in particular from speaking,
even though Fato was in a bit of a huff,
“But I wanted you all to know, for certain, that
this is what it means. Magic is generally passed down through
bloodlines, with strong or weak tendencies depending, and sometimes
skipping a generation or two, but usually it crops up somewhere.
And you can expect that your ancestors had some of your
specialties, and owned the Swords
that
you wield. Your ancestor,
Monika, for example, wielded the Blue Sword because his or her
specialty laid in that direction, as did yours, Oaka, towards the
Red, and Basha and Gnat--” He said, turning to the young man and
girl. “Your ancestor wielded the Black.” He said.

“
Our
ancestor?” Gnat asked, stunned. “But we’re not related, your
Grace
, Basha and I have only
just met. We have no common ground. I grew up in Coe Aela, he grew
up in Coe Baba, how can we be related?”

“
Humans and magic, why do they get
all of the magical abilities?” Fato muttered to himself. “Birds
could use magic as well, we need it more than they do, and we would
do a lot better job at handling magic.”

“
I don’t
know how you two can be related, but of course you two are related,
how else can you both have touched the same Sword?” Lord Lagotaq
asked
Gnat, ignoring Fato.
“Your ancestor might be from twenty years ago, a hundred years ago,
or a thousand years ago, but in some way, you two are related.” He
insisted.

“
How can--” Basha
started to say, but then stopped a moment, stunned. His heart
pounded as he realized
Your ancestor
wielded the Black
—could this be true?
Could this be something true about his family’s past? “How can you
know
this
, your Grace?” He asked, his breath caught in his
throat.

“
Ever
since the Red Sword came into my possession, as lord of Coe Wina, I
have studied the matter of the Swords of Arria thoroughly, and I
know a great deal abo
ut
them.” Lord Lagotaq told him, and then he began to state some
simple facts about the Swords of Arria already covered by Monika in
the cave behind the waterfall. Out of politeness, Basha listened to
him, and Gnat paid attention as well, because she had missed part
of this conversation in the cave.

Meanwhile, Oaka
marveled to himself, “The Red Knight, he must have lived in Coe
Baba. There is no way that he could have lived anywhere else. All
of my ancestors, as far back as I know, grew up and lived in Coe
Baba. The Red Knight, he or one of his descendents, must have
started up The Smiling Stallion inn in the first place! That would
be something to boast about.” He remarked.

“
That would be a
laugh!” Fato remarked from Basha’s shoulder.

“
So it’s true, then, that I had an
ancestor who wielded the Blue Sword? Who was a Knight of Arria?”
Monika asked, and then sighed. “Of course it’s true, it’s bound to
be true.” She said, answering her own question before anyone else
could. “I just wish it wasn’t.”

“
What is
your problem with that?” Oaka asked
Monika.

“
My
people were exiled from Arria hundreds of years ago, forced to
wander the Za Desert to this very day by the Corricans and their
descendents, not to mention all of the wars and disputes that have
arisen since this displacement, and I have a Knight of Arria as my
ancestor, the ultimate Corrican warrior? I am bound to have some
very mixed-up feelings in this regard.” She remarked. “I grew up
with stories about how Arria really does belong to us, the Zariens,
and that the Corricans stole it.”

“
She’s got a point there.” Fato
remarked. “You humans are certainly a bit messed up when it comes
to peaceful societal relationships.”

“
But
surely—it was so long ago--” Basha tried to say
, caught up in between the different
conversations.

“
My
mother and my grandfather had a distinct dislike for the Corricans
who exiled their ancestors, passed do
wn to them over the generations.” Monika said. “Plus, they
still had to fight some battles in their own time period, against
Arria and Pakric and Pinal, battles that never would have happened
if we had Arria, or some other country to call our own, besides the
Za Desert. Though it might be barren in many areas, it’s still a
hotly contested piece of territory. I suppose I did share in that
sentiment.” Monika said. “Part of me does not want to be even
distantly, remotely, related to the Corricans, and yet I have the
Blue Sword in my possession. It is a source of strength for me and
a part of my identity now. I don’t want to lose that part of
myself, and yet I might very well be Corrican because of it. I am
very confused at this point.” She added.

“
Lord
Lagotaq, if you know so much about the Swords of Arria, then
c
an you tell us, please, who wielded the
Black Sword, who specifically
amongst the Knights
?
” Basha asked, turning
back to the Duke of Coe Wina, who had finished his
lecture.

“
I would
also like to know who wielded the Blue Sword, who specifically, if
they were or were not Corrican.” Monika remarked.

“
Can’t
you give that hatred
of the
Corricans thing a rest?” Oaka asked her.

“
It’s
hard. It takes time to cope with it.” Monika said. “I heard these
stories for years, it’s not like you can easily forget them. Plus,
I don’t really want to be descended from the Corricans, especially
when I am—or will be—or should be--ugh.” She said, slapping her
face.

“
What?” Oaka asked.

“
Nothing, nothing, nothing.” She waved him away. “It’s just
something that is really important to me and my family. You
probably wouldn’t even care.” Monika muttered.

“
I might, we might care, if you
would tell us.” Oaka remarked.

“
Now is
not a good time or place for it.” She said. “Maybe
later.”

Oaka
groaned to himself as Basha continued,
“
Can you
please
tell us their
names,
your Grace,
or anything
else
about them, the people
that
I--Gnat and I--”
Basha
said,
and then,
before Lord
Lagotaq could speak,
he
interrupted,
“Wait a moment,
Gnat and I,
we don’t know anything about our ancestors, not even our own
parents.” He said, slamming a hand down on the desk lightly. “And
what about Goga?
”
He
asked,
horrified. “Goga wielded the Black Sword as well, according to
Gnat!”

“
Oh gods
no!” Gnat cried. “Not him! Please say we’re not related to
him!”

“
You don’t know
anything about your parents?” Lord Lagotaq asked, staring at both
of them. “How is this possible?”

“
I do know something
about my mother, your Grace,” Basha said, “A few things, but
precious little. She died giving birth to me, her name was Kala, my
father’s name might have started with an M, he died before I was
born, my mother had sisters--”

“
Wait a minute, stop,
stop, stop,” Lord Lagotaq said, holding a hand up. He stared at
Basha with an intensity to rival a stone’s face. “You said your
mother’s name was--”

“
Kala. Do you know of
it?” Basha asked, curious, beyond all doubt that he might find
something out here.

“
Never speak that
name aloud.” Lord Lagotaq told him in a low, furious voice. “Never
speak that name aloud, the further south you go, especially in Coe
Kiki. It’s too dangerous down there. Only speak that name aloud in
a safe, secure environment, a peaceful place where you will be
certain that you will be safe, amongst friends. Coe Kiki is too
dangerous a place to utter that name.” He muttered to
himself.

“
How harsh can you get?” Fato
muttered to himself.

“
Why? What is wrong
with--” Basha started to say, his heart breaking.

“
Did she die giving
birth to you, or did she die because of her pursuers?” Lord Lagotaq
countered. “Was she weakened by the chase, or was it
because--”

“
She died because of
me, it was my fault!” Basha cried, ‘her pursuers’ barely crossing
Basha’s mind.

“
Not neccessarily.”
Oaka said, interrupting them. “My mother and father, Habala and
Geda, they raised Basha alongside of me, and they were there on the
night that Kala, Basha’s mother, arrived at the inn, as were many
of the townspeople.” He said. “People in town say Kala came to the
inn with a bloody sword, half exhausted, and that a man’s body was
found in the snow--”

“
Those are just
rumors!” Basha cried, turning around to face Oaka, as Monika, Gnat,
and Fato gasped in astonishment, having never heard that
fact about Kala
before. “Rumors and lies! She didn’t--she couldn’t have--” He
fumbled, trying to find the right words. He never had wanted to
believe that it was possible that she had killed a man, fearing
that his mother might be revealed as a villain of some kind, but
this talk of pursuers—