Caesaria

XX

Carter often wondered how he had been chosen as Chief. At the time, he had been thought the best by his father. But that high opinion didn't last. When he married the outlander, Amelia, that had all changed. Half the tribe left, following his first wife, Anna, even further north.

Anna. They had never liked each other. Their wedding night was spent in two separate chambers on opposite sides of the pavilion. She was too rigid. He, too obsessed with bending over backwards to please. She, too stony. He, too open. She hated outlanders. But he had seen a bit more of the world to know they weren't all bad.

Weakling boy, she had said of their son. He will never be Georgian, with you as a father. Carter had always lied to his son, saying that she had sent her love to him the day she left them. Not... not that.

When he found himself in a spare moment, he'd often question Anna's final words to him. Was he raising Jackson to be the Chief he hoped he would be? The chief that would change things, that would be wise and worldlier than his predecessors? Carter knew Outlanders were the worst thing he could let in the Georgian world, but they couldn't live completely isolated. The men south of the Great Lake had sticks that shot fire. Pull a trigger in one spot, and kill a man in another. Terrible weapons. And all the Georgian's had were blades and arrows. If they were to survive, they would have to adapt. They would have to be open to new technology, to allies.

In his time as Chief, Carter knew he could only stretch so far. No, he didn't like Outlanders venturing into his lands. He also didn't like Outlanders being found in a compromising fashion with his daughter. But he knew he needed to be just and honourable. He wanted some kind of solid proof, any kind. So long as he had a way of supporting his decision, whether he chose to execute or spare. Whether people liked it or not.

But this was his daughter. He needed to protect his daughter, rather than practice the rule of law. To owe a life debt was an honourable bond, one hailed throughout Georgian history; but this man was not Georgian. He did not deserve the honour, yet fate had gifted it to him. For Lucy to be bound to anyone like this was eternal. A life for a life. An intertwined fate. It was an intimate bond. One he was familiar with.

Perhaps this was why he sought to save his daughter from it. He knew the bonds of honour. They were not forgiving. They did not let go. To save his daughter from that prison, the prison he found himself in, day in, day out... he knew Amelia was manipulating. He wasn't stupid.

But this was worth it, he thought. For her freedom, Carter would do anything.