It seemed…dull to me, somehow. My eyes, they could focus on nothing, and how I longed for home in those long moments of forever. How I longed for him, my sweet Lampaea, to pick me up and carry me back to Betharanei, but he was not here. I was alone, and I alone had made that choice. I stumbled, more than once I stumbled, and someone caught me on the way to the outhouse, I think, and then cast me off again. Or perhaps I had cast them off. The door to the outhouse was locked, occupied, and so I met the damp ground with a heave of my belly; I could make no sense of what was coming out of my body, only perhaps that there might have been some blood in the mix. The air of the night could not stop my head from spinning, from vibrating, and then I saw my friends walking over to me. These two generous men, my friends, generous in all their hospitality…my friends… Generous in their own sport and in my witless little lamb-brain. They were coming for me now. But those two men, they were not my friends.
I almost snatched the letter from her in hysteria when I saw it there in her hand, crumpled beneath the handle of a wicker basket heavy with fresh vegetables. I received a scolding for it, and probably rightly so.
‘I’m sorry, Mother,’ I laughed, ‘but who else would it be from?’
‘Oh, you’ll not grant me three guesses, then?’ Mother retorted in jest. I had never seen her truly angry. Here in Betharanei, our small corner of the great world, she was loved and adored by all in the village. Her nature was good and kind, and truly there was little room for anything else; she wore a smile for everyone and her eyes would twinkle at them, two blue stars of the purest.
I had her eyes, they would say, blue as the Sorpha river. And her hair, long golden tresses that curled at my hips, though Mother always pinned hers up in some fashion whilst I let mine fall thickly about my shoulders any which way it pleased. I shared her skin, too, almost a deathly pale from head to foot that I was not quite as thankful for, but at least we each bore a little pinkness in our cheeks to ward off death. That was where the similarities ended, for the rest of me was long and leggy, whilst my mother was plump and a little rounder each new year. My father was the skinny one, the villagefolk had told me, and many still remembered the day he died in a tragic farming accident. I was too small to remember anything, but his heart was always open, they said, bounteous and forgiving, and that was good enough for me.
‘It is from him,’ I said excitedly to myself as I tore the letter open:
Halemedra,
I have been counting down the days to your birthday. I am currently in Droha, though my transport across the Sorpha has not shown up, leaving myself and a few other dismayed travellers with no option but to walk the five or six leagues into the north. I will be on the road from Peghanei, and after the river, I can pay for cart transport into Otra. This means I will be with you in four days instead of two from your birthday, I am sorry to keep you waiting. It pains me more than you know, but I will have you in my arms again soon.
Pack your things, my golden sun, I cannot wait to take you out into the world.
Lampaea.
‘Well, what did he say?’ Mother called from the scullery.
‘Four days hence, not two,’ I replied, somewhat disheartened but still smiling faintly to be reading his words upon the paper, scrawled in the short and ungainly strokes so typical of his hand.
‘Oh, he must have run into some trouble on the road. It happens. In any case, the travel cloak you wanted from the tailor will be ready tomorrow. I shouldn’t think you need anything else now, do you?’
I smiled heartily again, too delighted to hold it in as I pranced into the scullery. ‘No, other than food I have been packed for a week, ready to go. Suppose Lampaea were to turn up early after all? I hope he does. I still think I could perhaps leave tomorrow and just meet him on the road, surprise him instead! I cannot stand the waiting.’
Mother turned around wiping her hands on a cloth, eyeing me gently. ‘Leave on your birthday? Let me have that one last day with you, at least. And I should prefer it if you wait until Lampaea comes for you, even now it shakes me a little to see you go so suddenly after your eighteenth. I shall miss you terribly, you know.’
‘And I you, Mother. But you needn’t worry about me, Lampaea has already been travelling Enphiah for the past two years, he will know a thing or two. And I will wait, if it pleases you.’
‘It would. Besides, I’d like us to go to the Valley House for dinner tomorrow and we shall give you a proper send-off. There are quite a few going there tomorrow who would like to wish you well before you go.’
I rolled my eyes appreciatively, knowing she likely also had the cook bake me my favourite raisin and almond cake. I slid out of the scullery and took a walk around the village, taking in all that I could remember. Everyone knew me as they did my mother, and I them. They were wonderful people to grow up with, I could not have asked for a happier childhood in Betharanei. But I would not miss them, I knew that. I was too full of energy, too eager to see what lay beyond my land. My eyes were bright, and my belly rumbled for sweeter sights.
The next night, it seemed as if the entire village had come to wish me farewell at the Valley House. Many of the older and fretting women asked me not to go at all, and some, the men included, warned me not to be so trusting of young boys, and that young love can lead pretty little things like me astray. I laughed and remained amiable with them all. Nothing could bring my spirits down, and certainly my mother made sure of that when the raisin and almond cake presented itself at the table, just as I had foretold.
As the night began to wind down, Mother yawned wearily and leant her head against her fist, picking at crumbs of cake and rogue raisins on her plate.
‘You should go home, Mother,’ I said, but I know she wanted to extend her time with me as much as possible.
‘The night is young, Halemedra.’ She stifled another yawn in a strange stretch of the chin.
‘Not for you. Go on, get some sleep. I’ll be along in an hour or so.’
Mother sighed in resignation. ‘Very well. You’ll feel like this one day, old and decrepit.’
I laughed and sat back to finish my drink as she took her leave. Old and tired one day, perhaps, but not now. Now I was so alive I could have been bouncing off the walls. I could have stayed up all night. I stayed until closing time, when the barman began his sly practice of extinguishing the torches on the walls one by one as a hint to any remaining villagers. I bid him and the other stragglers goodnight as a few of them struggled to redirect their inebriated friend to the door.
As the lanes cleared and fell into silence all around me save for the local cricket chorus, the darkness deepened and the sky was clear, revealing innumerable stars glimmering in the everlasting void of the night. I loved it, and I wished that Lampaea had been there with me to see it in that moment. More than that I wondered how the sky appeared at night in other lands. Was it as beautiful as this? Would the moon still shine upon the forests, the seas and the mountains with such refulgence as it does the desert sands here? Would the shadows fall so crisp and clean as the raiment of the Otran eventide? Otra was my land, and it would always be my home and loved for it, but it was time to spread my wings.
So fixed was I upon the sky above me and my mind drifting away somewhere in a wonderland, that the quick footsteps approaching me seemed to come out of nowhere. I almost uttered a cry of fright, but this was Betharanei, nothing could harm you here.
‘Forgive me if I startled you,’ said a man’s voice in the dark. He came a little closer until I could see him better in the moonlight. He appeared to be wearing dark travelling attire, a cloak sweeping his ankles, his hood thrown back revealing a tidy brown beard framing his small mouth. His head, too, seemed small with cropped hair and narrow eyes that glittered inquisitively.
A merchant, I assumed. I did not recognise the man, and most newcomers in Betharanei were merchants staying the night at the Valley House. He had probably lost his way in the dark.
‘No, that’s alright. Are you looking for the way back to the Valley House?’
‘No, in fact, I was looking for you.’
I smiled at him in confusion. ‘Me?’
‘Yes,’ he said rather sheepishly. ‘I overheard at the Valley House that you were soon to be travelling around Enphiah and, well, how exciting, yes? It just so happens that I and a friend of mine are on our way tomorrow to see something incredible; there is a hidden spring just outside of Saph Nehn in Acro, and it’s the only place where the Imbruvia foxes are said to gather outside of Setra. We’ve heard their night-casting abilities are a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and these days only the Setrans are able to witness it. You seemed so excited to see the world, I thought I could not have you miss the opportunity, and there will be three others we will be picking up on the way. All we ask is that everyone helps contribute to food and shelter. What do you say?’
Yes. I say yes, was my first thought. The opportunity sounded wonderful. But then some sense kicked in and I remembered that Lampaea was coming to pick me up. I could not entertain a life on the road without him, he was everything to me. And then another thought – this place was near Setra, Eastern Enphiah, the land of deceivers, of the wicked. Was it safe to be so close to their borders?
‘I’m sorry, I think I may have to decline,’ I said reluctantly. ‘I am waiting for someone, and I am not sure how my mother would feel about me being so close to Setra –’
‘Oh, it is perfectly safe, I assure you. The spring is so well-hidden that even the Setrans do not know of its existence, and they rarely pass beyond their precious borders. And if you are waiting for a friend, well, we could pick them up along the way if they happen to be on our path? Are they in Droha at any point? We plan on picking up someone else in Peghanei.’
I could hardly keep my beaming smile from erupting all over my face again. Lampaea was already on the road from Peghanei, how shocked and overjoyed he would be to have me meet him halfway, and he would not have wished to miss out on seeing the Imbruvia foxes. It was too perfect.
‘Yes, I think it would be very possible to find him on the way. It works very well with my plans indeed, but I will have to speak to my mother first. Will you and your friend still be here in the morning?’
‘Not for too long, but yes, we should still be at the Valley House. You can find us there; we will wait as long as we can for your answer. My name is Beric, by the way, Beric of Emphor. The least you can do is take a name back to your mother.’
‘Mine is Halemedra. It was nice meeting you, and I hope with all hopes I can join you tomorrow. Wish me luck!’ I could barely keep still and raced all the way back home utterly elated with the offer. My heart was full of promise and adventure. I would explain everything to Mother, surely she would have the mercy to let me go a little earlier than planned. She had to, there was not a bitter bone in her body. For a moment, I wished I had come away with a better look at Beric, for Mother would no doubt be asking questions as to the trustworthiness of his face alone, but I would have a better idea in the clear of day. Until then, she must wait.
The house came into view as I almost slipped on the cobblestone of the last corner, and candles still burned within. Mother was still awake. That seemed strange. She rarely stayed up late into the night. It was all the better for me, however, for I needn’t wait till morning to tell her of my offer.
I burst through the door a little too vivaciously, for the bolt slammed into the wall and juddered to a silence only punctuated by my apologetic giggles. At the dining table I was surprised to see not one cup of hot tea but two. Mother sat there soberly with a man opposite her; they had been in deep discussion it appeared. I knew the man, his name was Amanyl, and he was a dear friend of ours known for many years.
Interesting short story - I'm keen to know what happens next!!