Alphande'

“You seem different.” said Curly as he dropped the book he was reading and stared up at me.

“You would too if you got stabbed in the knee and had the shock of your life that Noräin is married to a prince of Sebán. I have not had the best month, so I think I am entitled to looking a bit different.” I said sitting beside him. There was still a certain wariness in his eyes as he seemed to be searching for something and not quite finding it. His features then relaxed and he smiled.

“I knew that you liked Noräin more than you let on. It is too bad…”

“Yes it is too bad. Can we not talk about that?” I said cutting him off. “How was Rá Leat. I suppose there were many things to be seen.”

“I didn’t see much of the Ré Al as I was left alone with servants most of the time at the palace. The only time I did go outside was for the wedding. But I suspect you don’t want to hear about that, suffice to say it was the grandest thing I have ever attended. There were fire blowers, glass eaters and people who worked magic, which I still don’t believe in. It was all a trick, I just need to find out how they did it.” he said with a look of consternation crossing his face. “The king was generous with his gifts to the guests, but he made back at least three times that amount from the tributes of gold and diamonds from the attendees. Noräin’s and Bastian’s wedding fattened Rammon’s treasury not that it was in any way lacking from what I saw.”

“You have no idea how much that is true.” I mumbled to myself. He looked at me questioningly and I shook my head. “So there was no part of the journey you liked?”

“I didn’t say that.” His face brightened. “It was interesting being at sea. I was sick for the first two days, but after that it was wonderful. There is nothing like being surrounded by nothing but water. The feeling is indescribable. The sailors were teaching me how to tie knots and how to read the directions from the sun and stars. I didn’t learn that well enough, but I can probably make a decent knot, that not even you could loosen. I bet if I tied your hair to the pole you wouldn’t be able to move for days.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” I said shifting away from him.

“You bet I would.” He said grabbing hold of one of my locks and I smacked his hand away. He then held on to it again pulling at my scalp.

“Curly, quit it!” I said as I shoved him off roughly. He lost his balance and landed over the other side of the tent, tearing out a lock of hair as he fell. I heard him let out a quiet moan and he was not moving.

I rushed over to his side and lifted his head. “Curly, Curly are you alright?” I asked. My hand was streaming with blood where he hit his head. He opened his eyes slightly and held up the lock he had pulled out.

“I knew that something was different. You’re not Evander.” He whispered as he looked at the knotted lock and the smooth golden strands of my real hair that fell across my face. I had wound it around the hair cut from Evander’s to hold it in place. It would have not slipped and no one would have noticed except under the sheerest of stress, that removed it.

“No I am not and you are not Ivaner.” I said as I slipped my hand from behind his head and dropped it on the pin once more, driving it deeper in his skull. His eyes blinked quickly several times and he took a sharp intake of air and then he was still.

I slipped my hand from behind his back. I had not meant to kill him, he was still a child. For only a second I panicked and I dealt with it the only way I knew how. I lifted the rug from the floor and wiped my blooded hand in the dust and the covered it. I wound the loose strands of hair that fell across my face into a loose twist and pushed it through the leather tong that held the rest of it in place. I removed the silver-gold lock that Curly had clutched in his hand and pushed it into my pocket.

I then scooped up his body and ran outside the tent. “Help, I need a healer!” I said as I burst outside of his tent. “I need a healer!” I shouted again and Andreas came out of his tent, followed by Sonis and Astred.

“Evander, what is it? What happened?” asked Andreas.

“I need a healer. Curly we were wrestling and he fell and I think, he landed too hard…there was a pin…he started bleeding…” I said gasping between each word.

“Inside,” he said ushering me into his tent and he cleared away for me to put Curly down. “Sonis, call Tet.” He said.

“She is not here. She has left since the battle. You know that she is odd and disappears at times.”

“Isn’t there anyone else that can help?” I said frantically. I said as I tore my shirt and started to wind it around his head like a bandage. “Priest?” I said looking up at Astred.

“I am a priest of the living and not of the dead.” He said peeking over at him. “The boy is in the land of Avandor now.”

“What do you mean he is dead? He cannot be dead! He is breathing, his eyes are open! Curly is not dead!” I said as I patted his cheeks with my hand. “You are not dead.”

“Evander,” said Andreas pulling my shoulder and pulling me away from the body. I pushed him away and clambered back to Curly’s side. His arms snaked around my shoulder and belly. “He is gone.” He whispered in my ear.

“He can’t be gone.” I stuttered. “We— I meant him no harm—we were wrestling—we always wrestle—he fell—I killed…” the words were stuck at my throat.

“It was an accident.” said Andreas as he wrapped his arms around my torso and pinned my arms to my side.

“But he is my brother and now he is gone. He is gone.” I whimpered and tears weld up in my eyes but I blinked them away fiercely.

The tent opened and in walked Bastian. “Good everyone is here. I had sent word to your tent for us to gather, but it is not it seemed. The group that went to the mines has returned and they brought something with them that you all should see.”

“We will be there shortly.” said Andreas as he unlocked his arms from around me. “Evander you stay here.” He said getting up.

“It is best that he comes along as well. Him and the boy sleeping there. They lived in Au valley I was told and they are the experts on these types of people.”

“Curly is unable to come. He is…”

“Resting.” Offered the priest as I had become short of words.

Bastian seemed to be taking in the mood of the room and finally his eyes rested on the blood on my clothes.

“What happened?” he asked.

“There was an accident and the boy did not make it. Could you send word to Noräin to come and take care of this with her maids? She was quite fond of him and I am sure she would rather be here than in the crowd.” said Andreas. Bastian nodded once and left the tent to his credit with no other word. “Evander.” He said offering me a hand. I took it and he pulled me up. “You should probably change and wash up. There will be a crowd and the blood…”

I looked down at myself and the front of my shirt was darkened with blood, soaking through some places where it clung to my skin. “Right.” I said.

“There is water in that basin and clean clothes in my chest. I will be outside waiting with the others.” He said as he exited.

I inhaled deeply, breathing in a sigh of relief that my story was swallowed so easily. I gingerly hopped over the body of the boy and moved over to where the basin was. I stripped off the blood-soaked shirt and dropped it on the floor. I grabbed a nearby towel and dipped it into the water then used it to wipe the blood from my arms and chest. I also wiped the dust that had gathered on my face away. I rung out the rag and repeated the process twice until I was as clean as I could get. I moved to the chest that Andreas had indicated to lifting the cover to find shirts and robes of cotton and fine silk. I longed to slip a silken robe on but I decided that it would be too out of character. I instead chose a plain cotton shirt that I buttoned up to my collarbone. It was not silk, but it was much preferable to what I was wearing before. I closed the chest and then took up the bloody shirt from the ground, putting it into the basin of water.

I looked myself over once in the mirror perched nearby. Almost like myself, I smiled briefly, fixing the shirt. I dropped the smile and adopted a more sombre looking affect. The play had to go on.

Going through the tent I met up on Noräin. Her veil was thrown back and for the very first time I saw her face. It was tear streaked but unimaginably beautiful. I could see why it was she was desired by my brother and Rammon could have not chosen better for his son. “Tell me that it is not true.” She said as she took my hand.

“I regret that it is my lady.” I answered and I saw a new set of tears bubble down her face and she let go of my hand and pushed passed me to enter the tent followed by three of her handmaids.

As I hurried away from the tent, I heard the keening of all four women coming from inside. I held my head down as Andreas led me away.

Bravo! I thought to myself. Bravo!