Kadian

The Great Garden

The sun had not quite set when Mohassen made it back to the village, but was well on its way.  He greeted some passerbyers, answered typical questions (What’s it like working with The Savior? How’s everything going? Is she ready?), then looked for Kadian.  He froze when he saw her at The Log, laughing with Zuri and a few other girls.  She looked tense, but seemed to be enjoying herself.  The sight was pleasing and unsettling all at once.  He was happy to see her talking to girls her age, but found it odd to witness.  It was almost surreal to see her relaxing and chatting, as opposed to being covered in sweat and tears.  He suddenly felt the slightest pang of guilt for abandoning her.  

Mohassen was debating on whether or not to interrupt Kadian, when he felt a heavy hand lanf on his shoulder.  Mohassen whipped around to see his father.  

“What am I, a stranger?  Say hello boy!”

“I-I-Hello, Mighty Chief.”

“That’s better.”  He slapped Mohassen on the back.  “We should talk, haven’t spoken in a while. Follow me back to my place.”  

Mohassen slowly followed his father and looked around for an escape.  His eyes caught Zee’s, who had originally been looking towards The Log, and she gave him a sympathetic, but stern, look.  “As much as I want to step in, that’s something you two need to work out,” she would always tell him.  Mohassen wondered if she knew that his father hit him.  It would be comforting if she didn’t, but knowing Zee, she probably did.  He always wondered why she thought it was his job to get his father to stop laying his hands on him.  

“Sit down son,” Chief Mohoso ordered as he took as seat in his favorite woven chair.  

“I am alright father, thank you.”  Mohassen stood with his hands behind his back.

The Chief raised an eyebrow. “I will stand too.”

Mohassen swallowed.  He had spoken to his father briefly whenever he came across him outdoors, but he had not been inside his home ever since the night he struck him over Kadian.  There was no telling what would go wrong this time, and the chief standing so near didn’t make matters better.  

“So!” Chief Mohoso boomed.  “Tell me about the girl’s progress.”

That was all?  That was what they usually talked about.  Mohassen let his shoulders drop a bit.  “Great, things are progressing quickly.”

“Oh really?” the chief seemed pleased.

“Really.  She learns incredibly fast, it is amazing.”

“That is amazing, what luck!” the chief smiled, looked up, and thanked the spirits, much to Mohassen’s annoyance.  The spirits weren’t the ones who trained her.

“Yes, training has been going well.”  Mohassen thought this was the safest way to imply that Kadian’s progress was all because of him, but the chief didn’t seem to notice.

“What weapon have you got the girl using?”

Mohassen fell silent.  The chief frowned.  

“Surely you have this amazing, fast learner training with a weapon by now, do you not?” The chief stepped a little closer.

“You see...I was going to get her one, very soon!  Probably tomorrow.”  This was lie.  Mohassen hadn’t planned on getting Kadian a weapon any time soon.  It was true- she was fighting well, but they both surprised each other everyday.  He had intended to wait until the day where nothing seemed new to either of them to introduce a weapon.  

“Soon?  How the hell is that soon?”  he spoke quieter than usual- the people were still out and about.  “If I were training her, she would’ve had a weapon long ago.  Once, I trained a man-”