The Gathandrian Trilogy 01 - The Gifting

wouldn’t come to mind. She would have to ask the lad.
    She coughed, and Talus looked up at her, his mouth full of bread and his brown eyes blinking in the sunlight.
    “Look,” she said, kneeling down next to the stool, so she was on a level with him, though in truth he was taller. “I’d like you to do what you want today, whatever that might be. Would you like to go to classes, or would you like to stay here with me?”
    “With you,” he said. Or rather mumbled through bread. Annyeke only just caught the words.
    “All right,” she said. “You can stay with me for a few days, but then I’ll have to take you back to schooling so I can talk to your tutors. We need to arrange what will happen.”
    “Can’t I stay with you for longer than that?” he asked her. “Please?”
    She blinked. She didn’t know. What did one do with children? She had no experience to call on.
    Gods and stars, she thought, she must listen to herself and stop being so selfish. This was what a single life did for you. Perhaps it was time she took responsibility for someone after all. She’d just taken over Johan’s role, however temporarily, and now Talus was staring at her, waiting for an answer. How hard could being a mother be? Plenty of other women managed it.
    “All right,” she said. “I don’t see why not, if your tutors agree. When we go, we’ll ask them.”
    Talus’ face broke into an unexpected smile. “Thank you, Mistress Hallsfoot.”
    “Ah now, none of that nonsense. If you’re going to live here for a while, you call me Annyeke. Is that clear?”
    He nodded. “Yes, Annyeke.”
    “Good. In that case, if you’ve finished your breakfast, we’ll tidy up and then I need to get to work. If you’re not going to classes, then I suggest you come with me. Does that suit you?”
    Again he nodded. It didn’t take long to tidy Annyeke’s home. She liked things simple: a cooking area, a privy, a bedroom and a public room where she entertained guests. All in shades of green or yellow—her favourite colours and the ones she believed suited her. Until she found a partner, she had no need of anything larger. Not that she was looking seriously for anyone of course. No, she had more sense of her own independence than that. She didn’t have many possessions either, simply the necessary cooking utensils, a set of good stools that had been a present from her father, and her collection of Gathandrian legends. Not just those of the city of course, but all the outlying ones as well, not to mention the tales of their neighbours. She particularly loved the Lammas legends, with their focus on the stars and their elegant power. The scribes who’d written those must have been very gifted indeed.
    When the housework was finished, she and Talus set out for the short walk to where the Sub-Council of Meditation planned to meet today: in the ruins of the market place. As she walked, Annyeke pondered on what might happen next. She prepared herself to deal with whatever difficulties or tragedies came under her jurisdiction, just as Johan had always done. And would do, she thought fiercely, when he returned. Until then, it would be up to her to ensure that the Gathandrians who asked for her help in building up their mind-powers to keep the enemy at bay received as much support as they required. There were less than fifty mind-workers in the Sub-Council now; she would ensure they were deployed in the best way possible. She would do that for as long as fight remained in her, and as long as one Gathandrian was left alive in the city.
    After all, Gathandria had existed for hundreds of generations as a beacon of hope and safety, as a place of refuge for the lands around it. Just because the elders had been foolish enough to drop their guard and allow the enemy to escape, it did not mean this crisis would last forever.
    Still, she wished that a woman had been in charge of the enemy’s imprisonment. He was certain not to have escaped then. And, when he was recaptured, she hoped that the elders would learn their lesson well.
    At her side, Talus gave her hand a squeeze and she glanced down at him. He was frowning.
    “Why is everything so different now?” he said. “Why does the enemy hate us so much?”
    “I don’t know,” Annyeke sighed. “It’s a mystery.”
    It certainly was. One she was determined to solve. The opportunity the elders had given her might allow her to do just that. The other mystery was what in the gods’ names