The Rugged Edge

Chapter 23: The Child in the Street

Tielan was in ruins
And Rokenville was grey.
Vilia, a shadowed place,
was tearing, and it frayed.
I wished to put the pieces
back where they belonged;
I may have made a start on
this journey so prolonged.

. . . . .

We came upon Tielan at a quarter past noon. It was just as Geraint had said.

It was like it had a dark cloud over it, even though the sky was clear. The effect was odd, and in no way pleasant. The houses were in ruin. They had been deserted for thirteen years now. Wood lay rotting on the wet soil and stone lay crumbled on the streets. What clearly used to be a large village center or marketplace was lost in crumbled earth. Shoots of dark green grew from the deserted soil. It was so lonely.

If possible, it was more quiet than Runa. But there had been grumbling voices there. Here, there was nothing but the patter of our party's horses' hooves on the broken brick.

I blinked tears away. Here there seemed to be a place I couldn't fix. It seemed to have tried to mend itself, pushing green above the torn town, but it only made it look wilder.

Geraint was watching me. "I'm sorry," he said. "It really is terrible."

I nodded. "I only ever wanted to be queen to put everything right," I said. "But here.... here I can't. Even if I get that far. Even if I am ever queen. There's nothing left to mend."

"No," said Geraint. "But you can always make something to mend."

I looked up. "Not to mend. I want to make it right, from the beginning."

Geraint smiled. In that lost village, broken to bits, it was the only thing that seemed to spread light.

. . .

We rode on, past little farms that popped up amidst the grey... yet they were just as grey. If only I could clear the grey away. There was nothing but shadow. I wished I could perk it up and make it silver; that would be enough. But I wanted it green. Not green like the Black Forest, black as it got its name, but a magnificent green as I could only imagine.

What green would Vereniva bring? I wondered.

Another two hours were spent on Saffron. Riding away from Tielan, I felt like I could leave it behind forever. But I wouldn't. If ever I was queen, I would make something, something right, from the very beginning.

At about two o'clock we arrived at Rokenville. Though it was no better than Runa, the utter greyness seemed shined up a tad in comparison to Tielan.

The people looked as miserable as in Runa, as angry at Collum. But here they also had eyes for me. They whispered to each other as we passed. No one had ever seen me before, I realized. Who could I be?

"Maybe a maid," I heard someone whisper very close.

"No," muttered another. "She's the princess. Look at what she's wearing. And she looks just like her mother. The question is whether she takes sides with Collum."

"Hard to know," said yet another. "She doesn't seem very pleased, does she?"

"No. But is she displeased with Collum," said the second, "or with us?"

We stopped at the inn at the edge of the village. Arlie led the horses to shelter in the inn shed, and Collum led us into the inn.

"A dinner," he commanded the innkeeper. "Fit for royalty. This year I have come with my step daughter."