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Authors: A.E. Marling
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lose control. I had to stay calm and stay silent about what I had seen. If any breath of it reached the people then they might panic. A terrified citizenry could attract Feasters and cause even more problems.
My thoughts were spinning away from me. Increasingly, I dreaded the thought of more not-children—of unchildren—within Morimound mothers, inside my people, ensconced in their daughters.
Only twelve years had since passed since an old friend, Harend Chandur, had told me of the birth of his daughter. During my residence in the Academy, I had exchanged several letters with him, one of his first detailing pride in his newborn son, another of his daughter five years later. The news had pained me more than I would ever admit.
I decided to visit Harend Chandur today, to reassure myself that his daughter had quickened and could not be pregnant with anything untoward. Maybe she was not even pregnant. She would be only twelve.
As I heaved myself up from the couch, Spellsword Deepmand cleared his throat. “Would you wish to view Sunchase Hall, Elder Enchantress?”
“I am in no mood for frivolities.”
“You look glassy,” Maid Janny said. “You’ll feel better with a meal in you.”
“I will take my breakfast at the estate of Harend Chandur.”
“My apologies, Elder Enchantress,” Deepmand said. “It is past noon, and I was unaware you had received their invitation.”
“I will receive one, once I arrive.”
Janny obtained directions to the Chandur estate, and we departed from my manor grounds. When the carriage passed through the gates leading down from the High Wall, I rapped my cane on the roof.
“Maid Janny, your diminutive mind has misremembered the directions. Harend Chandur lives in the Island District.”
“And he couldn’t have moved, in the who -knows-how-many years since you’ve last been here?”
“He would not have, downhill of the High Wall. His family is one of the most established in Morimound.”
“Then I’ll ask the gate guard over there, as his figure looks rather well established.” She winked at me. “Wouldn’t you say?”
Averting my eyes, I resolved to sit and doze while Janny’s incompetence sent me to the wrong address. I was relieved to find that the unnerving presence from my dream was now gone, although I avoided looking into my mirrors.
We arrived at a house with three stories but in all other ways deficient of a manor. Janny shuffled to the door and back.
“Faliti Chandur said they’d be delighted and honored and whatnot for you to dine with them this evening.”
My mind labored over the concept of Faliti being the wife of Harend Chandur, who both temporarily lived here, outside the Island District. I assumed their manor was undergoing repairs.
Faliti I remembered all too well from my youth. Leering over me with her aggressive and mannish chin, she had said, “Resha, you don’t deserve to be a mother. You’d smother your children by falling asleep on them.” She had stolen Harend, the only man who had tolerated my falling asleep between dances and, once, in mid-conversation.
“Maid Janny, did you neglect to tell Faliti Chandur that it is not now evening?”
“Must’ve slipped my mind.”
“You may take my hand as I exit the carriage.”
“Mind that I don’t take both hands. The honor would be too great for my weak heart.”
The door of the house opened when I approached, and Faliti glared down at me. The sight of her broad shoulders and square chin sparked fear through me, even after all these years, and I missed a step.
Faliti closed her open mouth, and I realized that she had not glared so much as gaped in shock. The sight of my gowns morphed her face through several different expressions, and although I could not distinguish them now, I planned to savor them later.
“I am not prepared to receive you, Resha—uh.” Faliti balked as if surprised she had called me by my childhood name and knowing she had blundered.
“Faliti Chandur, you
My thoughts were spinning away from me. Increasingly, I dreaded the thought of more not-children—of unchildren—within Morimound mothers, inside my people, ensconced in their daughters.
Only twelve years had since passed since an old friend, Harend Chandur, had told me of the birth of his daughter. During my residence in the Academy, I had exchanged several letters with him, one of his first detailing pride in his newborn son, another of his daughter five years later. The news had pained me more than I would ever admit.
I decided to visit Harend Chandur today, to reassure myself that his daughter had quickened and could not be pregnant with anything untoward. Maybe she was not even pregnant. She would be only twelve.
As I heaved myself up from the couch, Spellsword Deepmand cleared his throat. “Would you wish to view Sunchase Hall, Elder Enchantress?”
“I am in no mood for frivolities.”
“You look glassy,” Maid Janny said. “You’ll feel better with a meal in you.”
“I will take my breakfast at the estate of Harend Chandur.”
“My apologies, Elder Enchantress,” Deepmand said. “It is past noon, and I was unaware you had received their invitation.”
“I will receive one, once I arrive.”
Janny obtained directions to the Chandur estate, and we departed from my manor grounds. When the carriage passed through the gates leading down from the High Wall, I rapped my cane on the roof.
“Maid Janny, your diminutive mind has misremembered the directions. Harend Chandur lives in the Island District.”
“And he couldn’t have moved, in the who -knows-how-many years since you’ve last been here?”
“He would not have, downhill of the High Wall. His family is one of the most established in Morimound.”
“Then I’ll ask the gate guard over there, as his figure looks rather well established.” She winked at me. “Wouldn’t you say?”
Averting my eyes, I resolved to sit and doze while Janny’s incompetence sent me to the wrong address. I was relieved to find that the unnerving presence from my dream was now gone, although I avoided looking into my mirrors.
We arrived at a house with three stories but in all other ways deficient of a manor. Janny shuffled to the door and back.
“Faliti Chandur said they’d be delighted and honored and whatnot for you to dine with them this evening.”
My mind labored over the concept of Faliti being the wife of Harend Chandur, who both temporarily lived here, outside the Island District. I assumed their manor was undergoing repairs.
Faliti I remembered all too well from my youth. Leering over me with her aggressive and mannish chin, she had said, “Resha, you don’t deserve to be a mother. You’d smother your children by falling asleep on them.” She had stolen Harend, the only man who had tolerated my falling asleep between dances and, once, in mid-conversation.
“Maid Janny, did you neglect to tell Faliti Chandur that it is not now evening?”
“Must’ve slipped my mind.”
“You may take my hand as I exit the carriage.”
“Mind that I don’t take both hands. The honor would be too great for my weak heart.”
The door of the house opened when I approached, and Faliti glared down at me. The sight of her broad shoulders and square chin sparked fear through me, even after all these years, and I missed a step.
Faliti closed her open mouth, and I realized that she had not glared so much as gaped in shock. The sight of my gowns morphed her face through several different expressions, and although I could not distinguish them now, I planned to savor them later.
“I am not prepared to receive you, Resha—uh.” Faliti balked as if surprised she had called me by my childhood name and knowing she had blundered.
“Faliti Chandur, you
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