An old war that will not ends haunts Lightening's life. Since the end of the first world, rashamen have predicted the birth of a savior. Lightening has no interest in the prophecy, but the prophecy doesn't care. He is being forced to choose between...
How quickly time went. Woden's day was upon them and Shawna insisted on presenting Magpie at the execution. She fussed over Magpie before they entered. Her words were all praise. Glenada would have found some flaw that Magpie had missed. Not Shawna. Magpie was her lioness. She had Warrior take her by her right arm. The two entered before Lightening and Magpie. Lightening took her by the right arm and they followed suit. Shawna went to the edge of the loge, her hands held high until the people quieted.
"We have a new citizen. Many of you already know her. She is to be treated with the highest regard and esteem."
She allowed room for Magpie to step forward. Lightening had to nudge her.
"Her courage and honor have earned her a permanent place on this balcony beside me and the Son. I want Thundonia peopled with women as brave as she."
The people screamed and threw their hands in the air.
"Mistress Magpie."
Shawna stepped back and let the people yell and squeal Magpie's name. Glenada stood at the front of the crowd. She was crying. Lorid, too, was crying. Magpie tried to stop her chin from quivering. Lightening's arms were folded across his chest and one foot was positioned forward. Magpie clenched her teeth. She hated being unable to see his face. She couldn't read his eyes like this.
Magpie nodded her head to the people and backed away from the front. Warrior jumped the two stories to the floor of the Playground and the guilty was pulled forward, armed with a dagger.
Magpie sat sandwiched between the Son of Thunder (he was the Son of Thunder that day) and Shawna. The Son of Thunder sat with his legs crossed and his arms folded. He appeared a statue in his stillness. He never even glanced Magpie's direction.
She was glad when the fight was over. Magpie ran down the hall to the stairs as soon as they were free to exit. Lightening had become too familiar, so genial. This creature he pretended to be tore at her.
The Son of Thunder caught Magpie by the arm. "What's wrong? Will you not stay for dinner?"
She couldn't bring herself to answer him. She was so ashamed that she couldn't even lift her gaze to his.
"Shawna will be very disappointed," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "So will my mother"
"Then stay." His tone was the soft one that she'd grown used to. Her breathing eased. His fingers were firm, but his grasp loosened. Magpie followed him to the dining hall.
* * * * *
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Above, a couple of pics I drew of Camilia. I like the pencil sketch better. I feel like it has more expression, though Camilia has a mild personality and rarely expresses an opinion.
Rhysya peered out the slats of the covered window. It wasn't cold yet, but the leaves had changed to orange and yellow. She thought Valley would bring her peace. She wanted the happiness she'd known before the Acidonian War. Eternity was unbearable. She called her a slut, a whore, called her child a bastard. The fact that Rhysya continued to assert her power as purest only made Eternity more venomous. Rhysya feared once Rashana was born that she wouldn't be able to care for her daughter and run Valley.
"Camilia, I don't want to have this baby," she said, her stomach bigger than the child would be.
Camilia flushed. Her daughter lay in the cradle, the pair a few feet away. Yuanshi had Jonah with him outside. "Rhysya, this baby will be in your arms any moment. You cannot change that now."
"I thought I would have a husband to help me."
"Rhysya, you left him."
Rhysya saw emotion on Camilia's features so rarely that she drew away from her anger. She had wondered that Camilia or Yuanshi hadn't run to Thundonia and told Lightening that she had lost her mind. He must intervene.
Rhysya rubbed her stomach. She had false labor so frequently, she was getting used to the contractions. She was more sallow than usual. Her hair was oily and she was sore.
"Lightening has a whole other life that I'm not a part of."
Camilia slumped in her chair. Her home was dark, the shutters latched as her daughter napped. She scratched her neck just above her collar bone. "Lightening is clandestine out of necessity, not by nature. Question him."
Rhysya couldn't stand to picture that woman who had been escorted into the sickroom. Shawna gleamed as she had offered this woman her seat. That woman must have been twice as tall as Rhysya. And her hair, the stuff was unmastered. It made her think of the manes of wild horses when they run, how it flowed around her. Her skin was clear and smooth. Her cheeks had a natural warmth and her eyes were lively and vivid. That she spoke to Rhysya as if they were intimates—Rhysya could not endure the insult. She didn't care if citizens were all equal in Thundonia. In Valley, that woman was a peasant. And Shawna let that woman near her while Lightening was so ill. She pushed it all away.
Rhysya clawed at her hair, tears springing to her eyes. "I miss him."
"Then go to him."
Rhysya sniffled, pushed her wrist across her red nose. "You are the only one who encourages me."
"Rhysya, you are not powerless. You do as you please when it suits you. Act like the woman you are."
She didn't want to hear that word. She silenced the murmurs. She wanted only Lightening to fill her mind.
"You love him. Go to him."
Rhysya pulled herself toward the door, stomach first. If she leaned back slightly and supported her stomach with her hand, her burden was easier to contend with. "Yes. I don't know why I have been unsure."
