Cornerstone (15 page)

“
They're afraid,” Khane observed.

“
Afraid of what? Me?” Emariya was incredulous.

“
They don't know you. Most people who come on horseback out here are raiders from Thalmas, or travelers looking for food. They ain't got much t’ be sharing, especially seeing as the bands of raiders just take what they want. Their best bet is t’ hide, and hope you'll pass.”

Rink was angry on behalf of his mistress. “Filthy heathens. If they'd open their eyes they'd see she ain't no raider.”

Emariya smiled at the boy. She was becoming quite fond of him.

“
I wish they didn't have to be afraid,” Jessa spoke quietly. “Still, such rudeness. I never!”

“
Me, too. But the best thing we can do is get to Thalmas as soon as we can. Then we can hopefully put a stop to the raiding, and the Uplands will be safer.” Emariya was confident there could be a simple solution so these people need not fear so much.

Khane laughed and shook his head.

“
What? Once we get to Thalmas they will have food, with the promise of more in the spring. They won't need to raid and pillage for it any longer.” Emariya wasn't as n aïve as Jessa, she understood people doing what they must to protect and feed their families. The people from both sides of the border were essentially after the same thing. She was determined that she would bring them peace by providing food to Thalmas.

Khane laughed again. “Milady, they dun just pillage for need. They pillage 'cause they can. Ain't no ‘mount of food you bring gonna change that, either. Are you going t’ go from house t’ house, delivering food t’ all the people o’ Thalmas?”

“
Well, no,” Emariya said. Of course she wasn't going to go to every door, but the prince would surely distribute it.

“
All right then,” Khane said. “Seems t’ me the only ones will be better off will be those at Castle Ahlen.”

Emariya opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it again, realizing that he might be right. She didn't like the idea that people would still be starving. While the main reason for her agreeing to this marriage was to procure troops for the fjord and to rescue her father, she also wanted to offer safety to her people. All her people, including those in the Uplands. She was going to have to convince the people of Thalmas to stop attacking. If she didn't find a way, then the estates near the Uplands wouldn't be able to risk sending troops to the fjord to help her brother and the people left back at Warren's Rest.

The more she thought about it, the more she could see that winning over both the people of Eltar and the people of Thalmas that frequented the Uplands was going to be key if she were going to get help for the fjord. But judging by the reactions they had seen so far as they passed, it wasn't going to be a battle easily won. Emariya was used to being warmly received wherever she went, but she tried not to let the people of the Uplands offend her with their hostility. After all, they really didn't know her any more than she knew them.

The sun was starting to dip low in the sky when they came upon one of the smallest cottages Emariya had ever seen. She was preoccupied, thinking about stopping soon to make camp. She barely heard the child call out. “Please, Milady. If you could…hey wait, stop!” Suddenly, in front of her, Khane was vaulting off of his horse. Landing squarely on the ground, he snatched up the small boy, cursing. “Why, you little mongrel! Throwin' rocks at our horses. I oughta thrash you a good one, teach you—”

“
Khane, enough!” she commanded in a voice that said she expected to be obeyed.

Khane looked up in surprise. The child made good use of the opportunity to escape. He scampered toward the door of his cottage, rubbing at his neck as he went.

“
What were you thinking, assaulting a child like that?” Emariya tried to keep her voice low, but she was having a hard time containing her anger.

“
He threw a rock at my horse,” Khane explained.

She'd just been contemplating trying to improve conditions in the Uplands, and now her escort was assaulting their children. She sighed. “Khane, these people aren't…they obviously have a mistrust of strangers, and we won't—”

“
Riya! Quick,” Jessa interrupted.

Emariya hadn't noticed Jessa slip from her horse and go toward the door of the cottage after the child. But now she was standing in the doorway, gesturing frantically. Dismounting, Emariya handed her reins to Rink. With a final glance of reproach toward Khane, she headed inside.

Dismay washed over her as she took in the situation inside the cottage. The room was sparse, but clean. On the far side of the room, a tiny bed held a huddled form. The stench of rot coming from the bed was nearly overpowering. The child who had thrown the rock was now clinging to the skirts of a middle-aged woman. She was short, with fine brown hair loosely pinned back. The fact that it hadn't lost its color implied that the heavy wrinkles lining her face were a mark of the hard life she had led, rather than age.

“
Hush now, it'll be all right,” Emariya consoled the child peeking tearfully at her from behind the safety of his mother.

“
Milady,” the woman tipped her head. “He didn't mean no harm. I heard the horses coming, so I asked him to flag you down. I was hoping, well…Milady I don't know what to do! My husband…” She stopped, gesturing toward the huddled form on the bed.

Emariya went over to the bed to get a closer look. As she neared the bed, she could feel the heat radiating from the man lying there. Dread settled heavily in her stomach, born from the memory of the last injured man she’d found lying on a bed. Eshan’s death still haunted her dreams. “What happened?”

“
My Jimm, he takes our wheat and sells it.” Emariya thought it probable that they were unauthorized traders, and that her husband likely made frequent trips across the border to Thalmas to sell. She didn't see a need to voice her suspicions; she could see that these people were struggling to survive. She didn't begrudge them doing what they needed to do.

“
Go on,” Emariya encouraged the woman. She could plainly see that the woman was afraid of admitting any wrongdoing. After Valencia's death, Oren and the Council had passed strict sanctions on trade. “Madam, if I'm to help your husband, it’s important that I know the truth,” she added kindly.

“
A man from Thalmas came, Milady. We let him stay the night, feelin' bad for him being out on the plains so long. Others done the same kindness to my husband before, you see. We had wheat he wanted, but he didn't want to give us a fair price. My husband wouldn't sell it to him. So he took it. Jimm, fool headed man that he is, tried to stop him and the man run him through with a knife. We thought we were lucky as he only got his arm, but then Jimm started to take sick. He's only been getting worse, Milady.” Her brow furrowed as she spoke.

“
How long has your husband been ill?” Emariya could see that Jimm was deep under the fever. She'd never felt such heat radiate from a human body before. She turned to Jessa, who was hovering near the door. “Jessa, bring the herbs in, and some dried jerky, as well.”

“
He's not awoken for two days, Milady. Afore that, I guess he got the wound going on two weeks ago now. Do you think you can do something for him?”

“
I hope so,” Emariya smiled, trying to put the woman at ease. Truthfully, she thought that Jimm might be beyond her help. She didn't want to think about what that would mean for the woman, and for the child who was still hiding behind his mother's skirts.

“
Boil some water,” Emariya instructed. Then, gesturing to the little boy, she said, “Do you think you could help me take care of your Da? Your Mum's counting on you, and I could really use your help.”

The little boy gave a solemn nod. “Yes, Milady! I can be a big help!”

“
All right, then. Let’s see what we have here.” As she shifted his father’s arm, the little boy wrinkled his nose at the rancid smell wafting from it. She had the little boy hold his father’s arm up while she unwrapped the dirty bandage. Seeing the green pus underneath, she gasped, trying not to gag as the rotten smell intensified. Using the boiled water, she made a tea that she had the man's wife slowly spoon into his mouth while she gently cleaned away the pus to expose the wound beneath. Then she showed the child how to clean the bandages in the hot water before wrapping the steamy strips of cloth around the herbs Jessa had brought her. They rebound his arm as best they could.

When she handed the boy the dried jerky, his eyes grew wide. Cautiously he took a bite and then grinned. As they worked, Emariya tried to better understand what had caused them to need to risk trading directly with Thalmas.

“
What about the Council's distributors? Do they not come collect trade and leave supplies, as well?” Emariya asked. After Oren had sanctioned the existing trade routes, they had designed internal trade routes to make sure that supplies still got through where needed, and to ensure that those who made their livelihood on trade weren't impoverished.

“
We ain't seen no one from Council or nothin'. I don't know of any official traders. We swap stuff with the other nearby homesteads, but that's it.”

“
What about the men the Council sent to help curb the skirmishes we heard were breaking out? Why didn't you tell them that none of the traders were coming through here?”

“
Milady, I mean no disrespect, but we haven't seen no men from the estates. And a welcome sight they'd be, but its prolly been at least two years since we've seen anyone official come through here. Most that pass this way are just passin' through, or up to no good. We don't fall under any estate that would speak for us from their seat on the Council. ”

Emariya was confused; she knew for sure that she'd heard her brother say that the Council was reinforcing the Uplands. She thought back to what she'd seen so far. She realized what the woman was saying was true. The Uplands hadn't looked like a land that had been reinforced; they looked like a land that had been forgotten.

She looked up as Rink came through the doorway. “Lady Warren, Khane sent me to ask if we'd be departing soon or making camp here for the night?”

“
We'll be on our way before long, Rink. Make sure the horses are ready,” Emariya responded. The boy nodded and went to do as he'd been bidden.

The woman gasped, “Lady Emariya Warren? Oh Milady, I had no idea. Oh what fortune—Jimm's sure to get better now. Thank you, Milady.”

“
I'm afraid I don't understand.” Emariya was puzzled at the woman's strange reaction.

“
Why, child, you have the touch, do you not?”

“
What ever do you mean?” Emariya was wondering if maybe the woman's senses were addled, living out here so far away from everyone else.

“
Do you not know of the Stones, Milady?” The woman looked at her skeptically.

Emariya shook her head.

“
Well then, it’s not for me to say,” the woman said, shaking her head as she peered at Emariya with fresh eyes, as if looking at something she’d never seen before.

Impulsively, Emariya asked, “You seem to know me, Madam; would you possibly know why someone would have shot at my companions and I as we rode towards here?”

Without hesitation, the woman nodded. “Milady, there are some in the Uplands who feel that the Council—with your own family at the head of it—has abandoned us. I didn't recognize you at first, but with that hair, many will know you at once. Like as not, someone simply wanted to take out some of their anger toward the Council on you. I fear they won't be the last ones to bring you trouble. Forgive me—I forgot to ask what brings you this way? You are far from Warren's Rest.”

“
My hand has been offered to Prince Torian of Thalmas. I am on my way to wed.”

“
But you can't!” The woman's eyes were wide. “You'll doom us all!”

Emariya was shocked at the vehemence of the woman's words.

“
Doom you all? Why, I'm doing it to protect you—all of you!” Emariya was surprised by the force of her anger. The nerve of this ungrateful woman! Did people really think she wanted to go far away from her home to marry someone she'd never met? Couldn't they see the sacrifice she was making?

“
Besides, I don't have much choice in the matter, Madam. It's the best course for both our lands, and the deal has already been agreed to. It's as good as done. But I really must be on my way. Now, as for your husband, you must keep his wound clean and keep feeding him broth, even if he’s not awake. It’s your best hope to chase off his fever.” Not wanting to waste any more of the daylight on the ungrateful woman, she turned on her heel and strode out the door.

The woman clasped her hands to her chest and whispered very quietly, “The Three have mercy on us all.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Daughter of Stone

Garith brushed the sweat off his forehead. He would be lucky if he didn't get sick; the winter was definitely here. The ground was covered in snow, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. He'd been moving slowly through the trees for what felt like a lifetime, but in reality had only been a few days. The brush was so thick here that there wasn't even a hint of a trail. Every step felt like a battle against nature. A battle he was losing, no less. Thorns had scratched his legs, and the welts stung in the biting cold air. He was starving. But he couldn't give up. Somehow, he had to find Emariya. He knew his chances of catching up to her were even less now that he was on foot. The second morning after he left the fjord, he had awoken to find that his horse had been stolen in the night.