The Tales of Tarya, Books 1-3

Chapter 5 - The Warrior Queen-3

‘But what did they do?’ Mina demanded.

Nine faces turned to her.

‘Well?’ she asked again.

‘We need to tell her,’ Dario said.

Uberto shook his head. ‘No. There are practices that must be observed. She will take the oath, and enter Tarya properly, once we reach Irsha. She has agreed to this.’

‘Uberto,’ Dario spoke again. ‘This isn’t just an isolated incident. The hatred against us is growing. Perhaps there’s a reason. Perhaps we take more than the little we need. Without realising …’

‘Dario, your oath!’ Mama Tina said.

‘There is no debate.’ Uberto’s eyes, in the darkness, seemed to glow a deep red. ‘We know what we do. We know the limits of what we do. Others do not understand, and so prejudice grows.’

Ciro spoke again. ‘I will ask again. What faces us in Miria? If these players have been there before us, it may be dangerous.’

‘We have plenty of coin, but we could do with a few items of fresh food,’ Mama Tina added.

‘We will take the forest and avoid Miria. We will head directly to Irsha without a stop,’ Uberto said.

All the players protested, except Ciro.

‘The forest will be less dangerous to us than the village,’ he said.

Dario grinned. ‘A few villagers? Mina could take them all!’

‘You should have seen them run, Mina,’ Jal said with a grin. ‘You must have looked like a Muse, riding them down.’

His light tone broke the solemn mood. The players all surrounded Mina, congratulating her. Uberto and Mama Tina stood apart, speaking with apparent urgency. Then Uberto returned.

‘Bed now! We start at dawn tomorrow. We must reach Irsha by nightfall. And we will travel through the forest. Despite our brave lady Mina, the village is a risk I will not take.’

With a few last words, the players scattered to the wagons.

Uberto took Mina’s hand before she left. ‘You bring us much excitement, sweetling, like a lightning rod. In Irsha though, we do not want attention. Soon, you will understand everything, caro.’

He squeezed her hand and left. Mina heard a soft sound and realised Lisette still sat on the ground, head hidden against her knees, arms wrapped around her legs. Mina sat down next to her.

‘Lisette? Lisette! It’s time for bed.’

The other girl moaned.

‘Lisette? What’s wrong?’

Lisette looked up. Her eyes were dark with grief. A smear of black paste darkened her cheek where she’d been hit during the attack.

‘They hurt a child!’ she moaned. ‘A child. An innocent little girl …’

‘It was a boy, Lisette.’

Mina put an arm around her shoulders, and Lisette leaned in to her. They sat that way a long time. Lisette rocked a little, but she cried no tears. In the black night, the perfect silver of the stars shone like a promise.

~

The next day they travelled without rest through scenery that became drier and yellower as the day wore on. Despite her injury, Lisette seemed eager to take the driver’s seat again. Mina sat beside her, but grew impatient with the slow pace of the wagons, and wondered how she had ever found this travel exciting. She kept returning to the thought that Uberto would finally reveal some truths about how playing worked once they reached Irsha.

After the sun had reached its peak, the forest began, slowing their movements further. At first it wasn’t difficult to pick their way through the sparse trees, but further in the forest became dense and dark. Isabella sat in the cabin sewing and singing pointed songs about foreign maids, angry that Lisette had again taken the reins. Mina and Lisette spoke barely a word for most of the morning, but this time their silence seemed more comfortable than the previous day. Mina took over the reins after a while, and once they reached the forest Lisette guided her in how to find a clear path and keep Petruchio from stepping in a hole. A few times Mina misjudged the size of the wagon and heard scraping sounds, which made her heart lurch.

‘I think you learn how to use a paint brush this evening,’ Lisette said, and there was almost laughter in her voice.

‘I hear Dario can teach me that particular skill,’ Mina said.

Lisette laughed, a small, tentative chuckle. ‘Be sure that is all you ask he teach you. He will offer more. I see the way he looks at you.’

‘What?’ Mina was startled.

‘You think you keep it a secret? You have much to learn about secrets, Mina.’

Lisette looked up into the warm blue of the sky, filtered through the trees. When she spoke again the teasing tone in her voice was gone.

‘I don’t hate you, Mina.’

Mina nodded. ‘I know. You were afraid I’d take your place. Even if I was asked to, I wouldn’t.’

‘You always say your mind, isn’t it?’

‘I try to.’

‘You can’t trust everyone, Mina. Sometimes people you think are good, they are not good.’

‘Saying what I think doesn’t mean I trust people.’

‘It gives them a way to hurt you. They know in your head. You do not know in theirs.’

They fell into silence again as Mina concentrated on finding a path through the trees. It was becoming harder and harder. Finally, she cried out in frustration.

‘This is impossible. We have to go back to the road.’

‘Uberto knows this way,’ Lisette said. ‘Trust him.’

Not long afterwards the trees thinned, and they reached a wide, clear road. Mina’s body had adjusted to the continual jolting of the wagon. The sounds of the journey were part of her now; the clopping of the horses, the slight creak of the wheels, the players’ whistles. These were background sounds, not loud enough to focus on, but constant.

As dusk fell, the first faint glimmer of lights in the distance sparked Mina’s curiosity.

‘Is Irsha bigger than Clusone?’ she asked her silent companion.

Lisette nodded. ‘I have not been there. Most troupes do not this way come. The forest, it is not so good.’

As they neared the town, busy noises broke through the quiet of night. The bright lights of Irsha did nothing to diminish the brilliance of the stars. At first Mina thought the buildings were aflame, but as they rode into the town she saw braziers hanging from poles, flaring gold and scarlet. Unlike the square, white-washed houses of Andon and Clusone, with their large windows and flat roofs, the many, many buildings of Irsha were of wooden beams packed between with rocks. They had small windows and peaked roofs thatched with slender branches tied together.

A crowd emerged as the wagons rode through the town. Mina’s knuckles whitened and she realised she was clutching the reins. Beside her, Lisette huddled into her shawl, equally unsure of the reception they might receive. Then a shout went up, and Mina was about to flick the reins for another run when she realised the shout was followed by cheers. She slowed Petruchio’s pace as people came up to the wagon with smiles on their faces.

A young woman offered Mina the Blessing of the Creator, surrounding Mina’s hand with her own and whispering something inaudible. On the other side of the wagon, Lisette also faced a sea of offered hands. There was a buzzing energy in the crowd, faces excited and happy, as though it were a festival. Yet twice Mina caught a glimpse of a face that was pale even in the warm glow of the braziers, purple shadowed eyes creating living skeletons who showed no interest in the troupe’s arrival.

Uberto’s wagon stopped. He leaned down to a woman who spoke with him eagerly. Isabella peered out the wagon door and scanned the crowd. She wore one of the silken costume dresses and her face was made up to highlight her beautiful features, though she had applied heavy powder to hide the bruise from her misadventure in Clusone. It was still an ugly blue underneath the powder, but starting to fade to yellow at the edges. Isabella tugged at her hair, loosening a long strand from the elaborate hairdo she’d constructed to further camouflage her temporary disfigurement. Lisette and Mina glanced at each other and raised their eyebrows.

‘I could do with some new jewellery. I’ll see you later, at the tavern,’ Isabella said, and swung down from the wagon. Mina watched her walk up to a group of elegantly attired young men, perhaps the sons of merchants, and offer her hand to be kissed.

‘She works quickly,’ Mina said. Lisette nodded.

Uberto whistled and beckoned for them to follow him. Mina gave Petruchio a flick, and the wagons moved on. Uberto soon led them through a stone archway into a courtyard big enough for the four wagons.

‘Not a circle,’ he called out to Mina. ‘Park next to mine so there is room.’

It took some manoeuvring, but eventually the wagons were parked, and the courtyard no longer looked so big. All the players hurried through a large, arched wooden door into a dark hallway with a stairway on their left, and then into the noisy, warm main room of a tavern. It seemed the whole town was there. Candles burned in sconces around the walls but the two great fireplaces sat empty on this hot evening.

‘It’s good for business to put us up,’ Roberto whispered to Mina as he took her elbow and led her to a vacant table. Like everything else in the tavern, the table was large, and of a heavy wood.

Mina found herself squeezed in between Roberto and Aldo on a bench. Dario sat opposite and gave her a wink that made her smile.

‘A jewel of a flower amidst weeds,’ he said.

All the players squeezed together at the table, except Mama Tina, who had disappeared. A young girl served up steaming mugs of mead. She spoke not a word, but blushed when she caught Roberto watching her.

‘Some entertainment at last,’ he said after she’d left the table.

‘Be careful, Roberto,’ Jal said. ‘She may be the daughter of our host. You wouldn’t want to ruin things for us.’

Roberto laughed. ‘I’ve already had …’ he glanced at Mina, and coughed, ‘met … the daughter of our host, and that is not she. For one thing, she’s far too timid. The girl I remember, sweet Alina, was a vixen, wild and …’

His voice trailed off as Mama Tina and two other women approached the table, with steaming platters of roast meat. One was heavily pregnant and carried a basket of bread; the other had heaped servings of sliced meat and golden baked vegetables.

‘Ah, here is your vixen now,’ Ciro said, with a twisted smile. ‘I’m sure she will be eager to renew acquaintances.’

The pregnant woman waited while the platters were placed on the table, then stepped forward and dropped the basket in the centre. She looked at Roberto and gave him a brief nod, then turned her attention to the other players. Seeing Dario, she smiled, a coquettish half-grin. Mina felt her cheeks burn and looked down.

‘On behalf of my father, welcome to Irsha. We wish you good feasting. If you need anything, just ask.’

She turned and left with a slow, wobbling gait. Roberto watched her go, regret staining his face, then picked up his mug and took a hefty swig.

‘Lucky it’s been more than nine months since we were last here, eh?’ Jal teased.

Roberto choked and spat liquid across the table, causing the others to laugh at him.

‘There are always other possibilities,’ he retorted.

His hand squeezed Mina’s knee. She half stood up, with a little gasp, then sat down as all the players looked at her.

‘Petruchio …’ she stuttered.

‘Don’t worry, Alina will send someone to take care of that,’ Uberto said.

Dario looked at Roberto and raised his eyebrow. When Roberto grinned back, Dario gave the slightest shake of his head. Ciro caught this interchange. The left corner of his mouth twisted up in what could have been a smile, or a sneer. Mina ignored them all.