Chapter 11
764 Words
11
JAK SADDLED HIS TUSKIN and brushed off the dust of the beast before leading him out of the stables. His pack was slung over his shoulder. Ebere was right behind him, leading his own tuskin.
“Ready?” Ebere asked.
They both noticed Xeku standing on the path.
“I need a minute,” Jak said.
Xeku stood in front of his mount, stroking his nose.
“Your mother is unwell,” Xeku said. It wasn’t a question, and he didn’t expect an answer.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Rasha will be on her own with the spy while I’m away.”
“She’ll be looked after. No harm will come to her.”
“She’s not ready to accept it yet, but I’m in love with her.”
“Then you must tell her the truth.”
Jak shook his head. “I can’t tell her now, not like this. It will keep until I return.”
Xeku nodded, but not in agreement.
“You believe she’ll be less likely to run you through with her swords the longer you keep your secret?”
“No, it’s just that it won’t make that much of a difference.”
“I thought the same once about your mother. It didn’t go well.”
Jak remained silent at first, looking down at his pack. “I’m not you,” he said, his voice even.
“I never married because my heart always belonged to your mother. It still does. Don’t let this one lie divide you for a lifetime. You deserve to be happy together.”
Jak rolled his shoulders as if he were shaking off the guilt he felt.
“I have to go.”
“Of course.” Xeku stepped back, allowing him to lead his tuskin away.
Xeku said something to him in Winakan.
Jak stopped, and without looking back, nodded.
Ebere was already on his mount, waiting.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just something Xeku said.”
“What?”
Jak didn’t answer. Instead, he urged his tuskin forward. As they passed the palace, he looked back and saw Rasha standing there, with Ladi at her side. She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Her hair whipped around her face in the wind as she watched him leave. She didn’t smile or blow him a kiss. She raised a fist to her heart and bowed her head slightly in his direction. He did the same. It was the closest thing to a declaration of her feelings that she’d allow. It warmed his soul as they put the wind to their backs and traveled southeast to the Wilds.
Jak couldn’t imagine anyone more different from Lu than Ebere. The guy could go hours without speaking. Jak didn’t love being alone with his thoughts, but he liked even less holding up all the conversation. He rode without speaking, letting his thoughts wander.
“Do you wish that Rasha had come with us?” Ebere asked over their campfire that evening.
“I do. I’d rather have her with me than not in almost any circumstance.”
Ebere nodded.
“She’s needed at the palace or I would have asked her to come.”
Ebere agreed with his silence.
“I’ve been wondering though, when are you going to tell Ladi that you can’t stand being away from her?” Jak asked.
“What?” Ebere turned greener, if that was possible.
“A heart in love beats to the same rhythm as a heart in love,” Jak quoted the proverb.
Ebere didn’t reply. They were lying down for the night before when he said, “Were you in love with the girl you married?”
Jak had been ready for sleep to take him, but Ebere’s question was such a surprise, he sat up and stared at him.
Ebere’s voice didn’t change as he continued, “I found out, and so could Ladi. She’s young, but she’s smart and motivated. She wouldn’t hesitate to tell Rasha.”
The two girls fought like two slithering stolkens in a basket, but Ladi would never keep a secret like this from Rasha.
“I know.” Jak lay back down with his hands behind his head.
“You never answered my question.”
“There was once a young boy who thought the prettiest girl in the world lived on the nearest ranch. She was older and knew so much of the world he thought he would be a fool not to marry the beautiful and smart girl. His feelings burned like a fire that couldn’t be quelled. Their parents warned them of the trap of first loves. They decided, to the grave with their parents for not seeing how perfect they were for each other. So they married in secret.”
Jak stopped speaking, and Ebere sat up to see if he’d fallen asleep in the middle of the story.
“Then what happened?”
“The young boy learned of the world outside his own backyard, and before long the burning fire he’d once felt for the girl died out.”
“Is it the same with Rasha? The burning I mean.” Ebere asked, leaning on one elbow.
“No, with Rash, it’s like the molten core of our planet. Ever present and constant.”
“How do you think she’ll take it?”
He meant Jak’s wife.
“I’m not sure. But she’ll hear it from me, when the time comes.”
“Why? Do you think she’s likely to take it better coming from you?”
“No.”
- Writer
