Wandering Spark - Part 16

"Do not go anywhere," Nila said seriously. "Sit here. Kruchina, although she is mean won’t offend you. Sit here, and I'll go to figure something out." She awkwardly got off the hammock. She was wearing the same shirt and the same pants with gems. Varan thought briefly how uncomfortable it is to sleep wearing them.

"Where will you go?"

"Not an orphan, Glory to the Emperor," Nila said with a hard grin. "To whom I’m going is my business... And you don’t go outside the cave!"

And, casually having tidied her hair, she walked up the spiral staircase.

Varan fell asleep at dawn and dreamed of flying ships with wings. In a dream, he poked his face in hard white feathers, and when he woke up he found that a hammock net was imprinted on his cheek and that Zhurbina and Kruchina impatiently circling around the grotto. They wanted to have a breakfast.

He fed the serpanters and cleaned them for the first time, getting soaked. Then he took up the net for catching stool; as luck would have it, he was behind this dirty business when the returned Nile caught him.

She wore a skirt to the heels and a blouse with short sleeves, fashionable among Gorni. Smooth, high hairstyle made the rider on the snakes older, majestic, and stricter. Varan even became confused - to say to her "you"? Or use "your highness"?

"Listen closely," said Nila, sitting down on the edge of the stone ledge. "Those who were robbed have survived. And it's you, by the way, who saved them. They filed a complaint to the lord. The guard chief strengthened the guards and hung air patrols. Afterwards, the patrol took two suspects from the boat, they combed the whole island and prisoned fifty-six people. Fifteen today will be released. The others have already been hanged."

"What?!"

"The law of the season," Nila moved her hand across her face, as though she were cleaning the web. "If the lord does not stop the robbery - in the off-season everyone will remain hungry, and pods, and Gorni too. There are two particularly serious crimes: robbery and forgery of imperial money. Then there is fraud, it's not so bad... Why are you so pale? The good news is the guy who directed you, was taken and executed along with the others. You are not threatened, you can stay or you can leave..."

She turned away. Varan suddenly saw that she was ready to cry. She holds her emotions firmly and she is dead tired. And for some reason, she looks offended.

"Nila," he approached closer. "Thank you…"

"You can go. No one holds you back."

"Why are you sending me away? Or... I'm fired after yesterday?"

"No, you're not fired."

"Then why?"

She burst into tears. He stood beside her, wanting to embrace her - and not daring to do his. He was dirty and wet through and through. And she was clean and strict, despite the tears.

A real Gorni.

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Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15

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To be continued...

Thank you for reading!