On the Path of the Giants

Chapter 15: Johan

        Johan was standing in the doorway, smirking. He is coming to live with us. She had grown attached to Joshua in the last days, and she was glad he had at least expressed a desire to stay.

        “Johan we need you right now.” The familiar voice of Lise was coming from behind her. A girl of barely twenty, Lise had just come back from her youth tour in the East, and had been made official page for the council, a place highly coveted by the young girls of Gats. Her visit to Johan at such a time, especially when she was treating such an important issue with Mary, could not bear any good news. Johan looked at Mary and Joshua.

        “I’ll take care of him” Mary said, in a Gats that felt awkward to her ears. Johan nodded, and left them together, following Lise towards the city centre.

        People were whispering behind her on her way to the council meeting. She could only catch a word here and there. “Sharp. Invasion. Trusted. Kill.” The more she walked, the more worried she got, up to the point where she was almost running to get to the meeting.

        She finally arrived at the table where the other nine councilwomen were sitting. Everyone was already seated, except for her. Once she took her place, Lise, spear in hand, positioned herself in front of the doorway, guarding it with her life.

        “Johan, we need to discuss him” said Denise, one of the most outspoken of the council women. Johan remembered that it was her who presided the council when she had been elected, a couple of years ago. But now the wind had changed, and it was Johan who was the Voice of Gats.

        “Johan, we cannot keep him here.” Some of the women moaned a wordless agreement, but – to Johan’s delight – more stayed silent.

        “Joshua has expressed a desire to stay with us” said Johan. “I see no reason not to let him.”

        “The boy speaks Sharp, he cannot be trusted.” Johan was irritated by Denise’s comment. None of the other women had been to the West except for military reasons. They do not know how life is for them.

        “People used to speak Sharp in Gats, as you will remember, Denise” answered Johan.

        “I do, but I also remember the war it brought. The people outside want the boy dead. If he stays, something bad will happen.” Johan became angry, but she knew Denise was right.

        “Can't we keep him locked up in the kennels like yesterday?” asked Catherine, the last woman of the council to be sworn in.

        “We can’t do that. Keeping him locked up will only take up valuable space and resources” said Francine, the hound master. Jeanette, the food supervisor, agreed.

        “We can’t just send him back to his village” said Johan.

        “That’s true” said Sarah, the military general. “He knows our defences. If we let him loose he will only come back with the Sharp army at his back. You should have taken more precautions Johan.”

        “The boy is not a Sharp! Have you seen him?” The whole council fell silent at Johan’s words and authority on the matter. “You have never seen a Sharp in your life. I have. They are nothing like him.”

        “What do you propose?” asked Denise, in a tone that left Johan to wonder whether she was defying her or genuinely asking the question.

        “We could send him to Moural” said Johan, remembering her daughter who was there, trusting that she could take care of Joshua and make sure no harm came to him.

        Sarah looked nervously at Denise, and Johan felt the general unease her comment had caused.

        “We cannot send him to Moural” said Denise, who had to close her eyes, as if the name of the city caused her pain. “We have to deal with this amongst ourselves.” Johan was bewildered by Denise’s comment. Everyone at the table fell silent, and all seemed in pain.

        “Why?” asked Johan, nervously, wondering what the council could have been discussing while she was away. “Moural is a nice place for Joshua.”

        “We cannot send him to Moural” repeated Denise. “Moural is out of reach.”

        “What do you mean, out of reach? My daughter is there. Many of our daughters are touring it.” Johan feared what was to come.

        “Moural has been attacked” said Sarah. “The road is blocked; we have lost contact with the capital.”