Flux

Miner wondered if these people had any idea of the chore he and Ennek were undertaking. Were they happy under Akilina’s rule? They appeared healthy enough and as prosperous as anyone he’d seen in this land. But they were so solemn. Perhaps their solemnity was only a reaction to the presence of strangers, and they would become animated again once Miner and Ennek had gone. But then something else occurred to him: since their arrival in this village the previous day, he hadn’t seen a single child. No babies carried in slings on their mothers’ backs as the mothers worked, no toddlers running about with dirty faces and runny noses, no lanky youngsters eyeing them with curiosity. Only adults, and most of them older than Ennek. Miner began to remark on it, then shot a look at the Bhujanga only a few yards away and closed his mouth.
    They were retracing their steps, which meant they had to make the strenuous climb over the hills on empty stomachs. But after they made it over, they paused again at the pool. Ennek’s makeshift spear was still there and this time it took him no time at all to capture and kill two striped fish. He cleaned them as Miner lit a fire, and again they burnt their fingers as they ate. A quick wash-up, then they moved on.
    It was strange, but their mood this day was a bit more lighthearted. Not because either of them was at all certain things would turn out well, but because they had reached a decision and at least they wouldn’t have to face Akilina again for a time. So they chatted as they went, both telling stories from their childhoods. Ennek talked about a hunting trip he’d made with his Uncle Sopher, one of his first tastes of freedom from the Keep, and about how he used to bedevil his tutor with his stubborn unwillingness to learn his lessons properly. “Larkin used to call me Thick Ennek,” he said.
    “But you’re not thick at all!” Miner protested.
    Ennek shrugged. “I was slow. Larkin picked everything up in the blink of an eye, but not me. Bavella would have to repeat herself endlessly. Even Aelia said it was fortunate I didn’t have to be clever.”
    “You are clever, though. I expect your mind was elsewhere during lessons. In the middle of the bay, most likely.”
    Ennek smiled. “Well, you’re not far from the truth there.”
    “I know. And you were so patient when you taught me to read! I never thought I could learn that.”
    Ennek actually blushed a bit under the praise.
    Miner talked about playing with his brothers and sisters when they were small. They would pretend they were soldiers fighting great battles until, inevitably, one of them would bonk another a bit too hard with a wooden sword, or someone would get angry and start wrestling a sibling in earnest, and they would end up in front of their parents, either scolded or comforted, depending on their role.
    “Once when I was seven or eight, my mother sent me to the market on an errand, all by myself for the very first time. I was so proud! She gave me a coin and I was meant to buy some milk. But I’d never had a coin before and I was admiring it as I walked, just holding it in my palm and looking at it, making it catch the light and glimmer. And then I tripped. Wasn’t watching where I was going. I dropped the coin and it rolled away—of course I was on top of a hill—and I ran after it, but I lost it in some heavy brush. I spent hours searching those bushes, getting all scratched up, but I couldn’t find it. I stayed away from home for hours.”
    “Were you scared your parents would beat you?”
    “I don’t know. They never had before, at least not more than a single swat now and then, and only when I’d deserved it. I just knew they’d be…disappointed, I expect. But it started to get dark. I seriously considered running away from home, but couldn’t decide where to go. I had some aunts and uncles, but I knew they’d tell my parents where I was. So finally I screwed up my courage and trudged home.” He smiled, remembering how doomed he had felt. Almost as doomed as when he’d been dragged in chains to his trial, twenty years later.
    “What happened?” Ennek asked gently.
    “My parents were so relieved to see me! They’d been worried to death over me. I tried to tell them about the coin and I just burst into tears and my mother held me. And the very next day my father gave me another coin and I fetched the milk without mishap.”
    “You always were a responsible sort, weren’t