Two
The Guardian’s Keep
“Tough day?” her mother signed as Zehra came in the door that afternoon.
Zehra had come home hoping to swim in the depths of their pool, following it out to the river and back until she'd released the tension in her overworked muscles. Her mother had caught her coming in the door, so she answered, dropping her pack on the floor and slumping down in the nearest chair.
“Horrible, my teachers hate me.”
Her mother nodded but didn’t seem surprised as she took the chair across from her.
“You know, each of your brothers said the same thing after their first days. Tell me about your teachers.”
Zehra recounted her day with her mom telling her about her first teacher of the morning and meeting Marina. When she got to the part about the battleground, her mother grew eve
