From the Hall

 

Holding the playpen, Drindl turned toward the wide entrance they had entered from the ship. Then he paused and turned back to them. “This way,” he motioned. They followed an aisle between many cowering People toward another narrower entrance. As Alithea moved alongside Bebe, she noticed that they were all People, the one tribe before the civil war. She was surprised to see the Cawthingi guards treat Cawthingi prisoners as harshly as those of the other tribes. How had Drindl won favor with them?

Glancing at Fallon walking just ahead of her and Bebe, she noticed that he had bits of wadded up cloth stuck in his ears. She guessed it was the only relief from the cacophony of languages around them. She elbowed Bebe and pointed to Fallon’s ear, then pointed to her own ear.

Bebe didn’t understand at first, then leaned toward Alithea. “They were all the same language once. Can’t you hear?”

“Even the Fae?”

“No, not them. They are not People.”

Alithea couldn’t hear it. “Does it hurt you to listen to it?”

Bebe shook her head. “The familiarity of the sounds eases my ache somehow. I don’t see any other Jades, but knowing that we are not alone, that all of our People are here makes it less lonely.”

The two women assumed a silent and meek demeanor as the group came to the entrance in the far corner of the large hall. After a pause, the guards let them through to a series of porticos surrounding a garden. The din of voices from the great hall was muted here and Alithea could see a blue hazy sky above them.

Drindl set the playpen down and gestured for the others to sit on the grass. As he searched the area, Alithea realized that he was in warrior mode, calculating a solution to a problem. Whatever alliances Drindl had made in this place, he had to negotiate them carefully.

“I can’t take you all with me. The Fae,” he stopped as though that were explanation enough. He turned to Fallon. “I only speak a few words of Cawthingi, enough to get by. Can you understand them?”

Fallon nodded. “I don’t want to give away my ability.”

Drindl agreed. “Yes, I agree. Keep the dagger hidden. Can we stumble through an exchange with a few Cawthingi so that it is not obvious? Gestures? Maybe you could give me a word to use, something we might have heard?”

Alpen leaned forward and grasped Drindl’s wrist. “You have learned well.”

“Thank you, teacher.” Drindl turned back toward Fallon. “I thought we could tell them that we need fruit for a burial ritual. It is part of our custom. We show them the dead babes.” He turned to Alithea and Bebe. “I’m sorry. This is the only way I could think of.”

“You will bring the babes back?” Bebe asked.

Drindl assured them all that he would. Alithea understood now his demeanor inside the great hall. Drindl had learned to speak and act confidently even when he wasn’t.

Drindl pointed past the fountain in the middle of the garden. “It’s only a short way. Oh, and don’t drink from the fountain. Don’t even use the fountain. They think that our touch fouls the water.”

“They?” Alithea asked. “The Cawthingi guards? The Fae?”

“No, the creatures who run this place.” Drindl swept his arm wide. “All of this.”