Future Dreams (24 page)

Kartlin retrieved her staff. “Now pretend I’m about to attack someone.” She swung her staff at Tigh.

Tigh knew what she had to do but her thoughts and her actions were not controlled by logic. She was controlled by whatever happened to her during her cleansing. Her blue leathers, once again, took on another layer of dust as she found the ground much closer to her body than she preferred.

“What’s the matter with you?” Everyone turned shocked eyes to Tas who was pointing her sword at Tigh. “How do you expect the queen and the Council to approve of you if you don’t have the backbone to defend yourself, much less Jame?”

The words stung Tigh, and she whipped her staff so fast that Tas found herself sitting swordless on the ground.

“All right.” Kartlin drew out the words. “I don’t think you have any problems putting off attackers. We just need to work on motivation.”

Tigh sighed and put a hand out to Tas, who stared at it before warily taking it.

“Sorry about that,” Tigh said.

“That’s all right.” A confused looking Tas picked up and sheathed her sword. “Nice move.”

“All right.” Kartlin studied the group of advanced students. “Who wants to work with Tigh?”

Much to Tigh’s surprise, all of the young fighters stepped forward. She anticipated a long day in front of her.

“I’VE NEVER SEEN so many bruises and scrapes on one person in my life.” Jame helped Tigh pull off her shirt and eased her into the low tub filled with steaming water.

Tigh let the warm water finish stinging and start soothing her battered body. “But I learned to fight back.”

“It wasn’t easy was it?” Jame took a cloth and ran it over Tigh’s tight muscles.

“Not at first but I was getting it all worked out toward the end of the day.” Tigh closed her eyes at Jame’s tender touch. “I really think I can do it.”

“I’m glad you dumped Tas on the ground.” Jame added a salve to her cloth.

“What?” Tigh twisted around.

“Emorans respect skill with weapons more than skill with words,” Jame said. “Tas will spread the word among the warriors that you’re a formidable fighter. It doesn’t matter how many times you were dumped yourself, Tas felt the sting of your skill in her hands. That’s all that counts.”

“Do you really think it’ll help?” Tigh asked.

Jame scooted around to face Tigh. “How can they not help but accept you? You embody the Emoran spirit.”

Tigh grinned at the idea that she could contribute to Jame’s appeal for an Emoran joining.

Chapter 18

Argis stared at the Ynit delegation as they trudged across the square dappled by the late evening sun. Nothing about them suggested any kind of immediate action had to be taken. More baffling, Jame wasn’t with them. She followed the trio as they entered the palace.

Sark turned at the sound of Argis’s footfalls behind them. “We need to make our report to the queen.”

“This concerns me as much as it does her,” Argis said as she caught up to them.

“Not anymore,” Sark said.

“What do you mean?” Argis sputtered with indignation.

“You forgot to tell us Jame had broken off her relations with you,” Sark said.

“She was under the influence of that woman,” Argis said. “Where is she?”

Sark sighed. “Perhaps you should come with us.”

Panic swept through Argis. “Is she all right? Has she been hurt?” She turned to Tas.

“She’s fine, Argis,” Tas said. “Just come with us and listen to our report.”

Frustrated, Argis followed after the travel weary delegation.

JYAC AND HER consort, Ronalyn, sat in the private royal dining chamber. The smooth-walled room had a circle of leather and cloth cushions with a low-lying wooden bar arcing in front of them. The entrance to the chamber was cleared of both cushions and bar, allowing food to be delivered from the middle of the room to anywhere on the bar. A fire crackled in a small fireplace behind Jyac, warming the natural cool cavern air.

Ronalyn, a gentle dark-haired woman with soft brown eyes, filled Jyac’s plate.

“Eat.” Ronalyn captured Jyak’s attention. “Watching the door won’t make them arrive any faster.”

Jyac gave Ronalyn a fond look and gazed down at her plate. “Jame’s not with them.” She picked up a fork and pushed the stew around. “I should have made the effort to listen to what she was trying to tell me.”

“You had no way of knowing any of this would happen,” Ronalyn said. “I wish I could have been here.”

“Me too. But your sister’s needs had to be attended to,” Jyac said. “I kept thinking of Jame as a bright-eyed child, too idealistic for her own good. I didn’t know how to handle that mature young woman, struggling to find her own path to a long and happy life. Why couldn’t I just accept the fact she had fallen out of love with Argis? Why couldn’t I just accept that she wants to practice being an arbiter? She has a right to her dreams. Maybe if I’d been more reasonable, she’d have never gotten mixed up with that Guard.”

“On the other side of the blade, maybe she’s really in love.” Ronalyn laid a hand on Jyac’s arm. “Are we prepared to accept that possibility?”

“I must be convinced with my own eyes.” Jyac straightened at the noises in the corridor and tried to relax. “They’re here.”

Poag, Sark, and Tas filled the doorway and Jyac beckoned them in with a wave.

“Argis wants to join us,” Sark said.

Jyac knew it was better to have Argis where she could see her, no matter the news from Ynit. “Come in, Argis.”

The newcomers settled onto the cushions around the table. Ronalyn pushed welcomed mugs of spiced wine and dishes of food in their direction.

“Here is a letter from Jame.” Sark pulled a thick packet from her belt pouch and handed it to Jyac.

“No one has ever accused Jame of being short on words.” Jyac weighed the document in her hand. “Why don’t you give me your side first and then I’ll read what Jame has to say.”

The three exchanged glances.

“We’ll first tell you what we witnessed,” Sark said. “Then we’ll give you our personal impressions, if you desire to hear them.”

“Good strategy.” Jyac nodded and then spent the next three sandmarks being introduced to the mature, brilliant young woman her niece had become. She realized she had no choice but to give Jame a chance to prove her desire to pursue her chosen profession and to defend her choice of life companion.

DANERAN AND JADIK bounced out of the door of their former residence almost running into a startled Jame.

“We have our assignments.” Daneran pulled Jame into an impromptu dance. A laughing Jame allowed herself to be passed to Jadik for a turn before the three friends stood grinning at each other.

“So what are you going to be doing?” Jame asked, ready to explode from curiosity.

Jadik grinned. “I put in for a position in Ewit and it turns out that old Poark is retiring so I’m bound for Ewit.”

“That’s wonderful, Jadic. I know you really wanted to practice in your home,” Jame said.

“I’m going to Aregan,” Daneran said.

“On the northern coast.” Jame nodded, remembering seeing the town on a map.

“It’s two sandmarks from my mother’s farm,” Daneran said. “So you could say, I’m pleased with the assignment.”

“Congratulations to both of you for getting what you asked for.” Jame tried to keep a touch of apprehension out of her voice. Getting a desired assignment was more luck than design. “I’m on my way to find out where I’ll be going.”

“Good luck,” Jadik said. “At least you don’t have anything to worry about. I heard more places put in a request for you than for any of us ordinary souls.”

“What?” Jame was stunned.

Daneran laughed. “Come on, Jame. Not only are you the top of our class, you successfully defended Tigh the Terrible before a military and a civil Tribunal. Any place would want you.”

Jame sighed. “Any place but my own country.”

“I think those Emorans who visited were pretty impressed by you and by Tigh,” Daneran said.

“You’re right,” Jame said with a reassuring smile. “I’m just waiting to hear from my aunt. I hate waiting.”

“Don’t we all,” Jadik said. “So what are you still doing out here?”

Jame laughed and entered the place that had been her home for two years. She was surprised at the lack of nostalgia she felt. Her heart had truly moved on.

 Jame rapped on Ingel’s opened door.

“Jame. Come in.” Ingel looked up from her work and waved a beckoning hand. She sorted through a stack of parchment and pulled out an official-looking document. “I hear Tigh’s training is going well.”

Jame settled into the visitors chair. “She’s doing wonderfully. It took a while for her to learn how to defend herself, but now she’s a sight to behold. All the other warriors want to spar with her just to study her technique.”

Ingel smiled. “You have no idea how pleased everyone is that she’s been able to make the adjustment. You’re going to make a formidable team.”

“I don’t know about the formidable part, but I know we make a good team,” Jame said.

Ingel studied the document. “You know we got an overwhelming number of requests for you.”

“Daneran just told me that.”

“When you first came here we envisioned the opportunity of having a permanent arbiter in Emoria,” Ingel said. “Your country has never allowed us to place anyone there.”

“If it wasn’t for the need of an arbiter when I was young, I’d have never known about them.” In her mind, Jame saw an enthusiastic little girl following the poor arbiter everywhere, asking enough questions to try the patience of an acolyte of Laur.

“And we have benefited from that chance encounter,” Ingel said. “If you ever decide to settle in Emoria before you become queen, we’ll gladly reassign you. For now, you want to be an arbiter-at-large and we have honored that request. But it’s my duty to tell you that many of the places that put in a request for you have offered a considerable wage for your services.”

Jame shrugged. “I have no use for money. Whatever Tigh and I make between us will be more than sufficient.”

Ingel nodded. “The only at-large assignment we have available at the moment is for the Southern Districts.”

“The whole Southern Districts?” Jame asked, astonished.

“Yes.” Ingel’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “We always need an arbiter with the ability to cover a wide range of jurisdictions. Lots of disputes happen between people in different towns and territories that can’t be legally handled by the local arbiters.”

“So we wait in Ynit for these cases?” Jame asked.

“Most arbiters can’t afford to do that,” Ingel said. “You travel around like the other arbiters-at-large and will only be called in if you’re needed to settle a special cross-jurisdiction dispute.”

“Sounds like what I had in mind,” Jame said.

“Good. Here’s your assignment document.” Ingel passed the parchment to Jame. “You have to sign it in my presence.”

Jame put her name to the document and Ingel signed it, rolled it up, and put it in a small leather pouch.

“We’re holding the peace warrior-at-large for the Southern Districts assignment for Tigh,” Ingel said. “Your duty will begin as soon as she has completed her training.”

Jame took the pouch holding her future. “This is so wonderful. I could have never dreamed any of this but it’s still a dream come true. I guess sometimes we don’t know what we want until we’re face to face with it.”

Ingel smiled. “I’m glad it’s worked out for both of you.”

“Thank you for giving me the chance to defend her,” Jame said.

“I consider it the best decision I’ve ever made,” Ingel said.

GINDOR STARED AT Jyac as if she had sprouted another arm. That would have been preferable to what she was hearing from her normally rational queen. She lifted her eyes to the high ceiling of the Council chamber, beseeching Laur for the patience to convince Jyac she was making a tragic mistake.

She leveled her coldest stare at Jyac. “I can’t believe you’re willing to consider Jame’s joining with that woman.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time an Emoran princess has been joined with an outsider,” Jyac said. “The delegation to Ynit saw nothing to suggest they’re not sincere in their feelings for each other.”

“We’re talking about Tigh the Terrible here,” Gindor said. “A master of intimidation and manipulation.”

“You heard the reports from Sark, Poag, and Tas,” Jyac said. “All of that has been cleansed from her. For Laur’s sake, Gindor, she pledged her sword to Jame in front of the Military Tribunal. She has to know the people of Emoria are honor bound to hunt her down and kill her if she goes against that pledge.”

Gindor stopped her rage to let that thought penetrate. She tapped the table with an impatient fingertip and wove a new plan through her mind. “I’m disturbed by the fact that Jame is sharing a home with this woman. If they were in Emoria, they’d have to be joined at sword point. Fortunately for us, we cannot extend our laws to outside our borders. This means all we have to do is deny Jame’s petition to be joined with this woman. That will force her to rethink these foolish romantic ideas she’s having.”

“And what if she doesn’t? What if she’s truly in love with this warrior?” Jyac asked.

“I think it’s an infatuation at the most,” Gindor said. “A reaction to her changing feelings for Argis. I predict a heartbroken Jame will be back in Emoria before the year is out.”

“None can predict if a relationship will last,” Jyac said. “The question is, are we being fair to Jame by not accepting her conviction that she’s found her life companion?”

“On the other side of the arrowhead, what would happen if we allowed them to be joined and Tigh takes advantage of her standing in Emoran society? Are we willing to risk letting a woman with her leadership skills into our royal family?” Gindor asked. “We’re not just considering a joining between an Emoran and an outsider. We’re considering a joining between our princess and a brilliant military strategist who was as well known for her ruthlessness as for her leadership ability. A person who has tasted that kind of power isn’t going to be satisfied being just a peace warrior to an arbiter.”