t8qul9vs' Journal

He would turn from her bright, feverish chatter...
He would turn from her bright, feverish chatter to Alais, neat and quiet and watchful, and something akin to sadness would touch his spirit amid the anticipatory bustle of the house
Alix seemed to understand, perhaps even better than he did himselfHis wife had taken to patting his shoulder at sporadic, unexpected moments, as if gentling a restive creatureThis spring the news from the wider world was unpredictable and of seemingly enormous consequenceBarbadian troops were beginning to clog the roads as they moved up to northern Ferraut, on the border of SenzioFrom the newly declared Kingdom of the Western Palm had come no clear response as yet to this provocationOr none that had reached AstibarRovigo hadn't heard a word from Alessan since well before the Ember Days, but he had been told a long time ago that this spring might mark the beginning of something new
And something was in the air, a sense of quickening and of change that fit itself to the mood of burgeoning spring and then went beyond it, into danger and the potential for violenceHe seemed to hear it and see it everywhere, in the tramp of armies on the march, in the lowered voices of men in taverns, looking up too quickly whenever anyone came through the door
One morning when he woke, Rovigo had an image that lingered in his mind, of the vuitton pink bag great floods of solidly packed river ice he had glimpsed many years ago far to the south on a long voyage down the coast of QuileiaAnd in his mind-picture, as he lay in bed, suspended between asleep and fully awake, he had seemed to see that ice breaking up and the river waters beginning to run again, carrying the floes crashing and grinding down to the sea
Over khav that same morning, standing in the kitchen, he had announced that he was going into town to see about equipping the Maid for her first run of the season down to Tregea, with goods, perhaps wine, perhaps Edinio's wine, to trade for a ship's hold's worth of early spring wool and Tregean goat's cheese
It was an impulsive decision, but not an inappropriate oneHe usually made a run south in the spring, if a little later in the season, mostly for trade, partly to learn what he could for AlessanHe had been doing it for years, for both reasons, ever since he'd met Alessan and Baerd, spending a long night in a southern tavern with them, and coming away with the knowledge of a shared passion of the soul and a cause that might be a lifetime in the unfolding
So this spring voyage was a part of his yearly routineWhat was not, what was truly impulsive, was his offer, between one sip of early morning khav and the next, to take Alais with him
His eldest, women's tank watch replica his pride, his clever oneHe thought her beautiful beyond wordsNo one had asked for her handAnd though he knew she was truly pleased for Selvena and not grieving at all for herself, this knowledge didn't stop him from feeling a difficult sorrow whenever he looked at her amid the already building excitement of Selvena's wedding preparations
So he asked her, a little too casually, if she wanted to come with him, and Alix glanced up quickly from her labors in the kitchen with a sharp, worried look in her dark eyes, and Alais said, even more quickly, with a fervor rare for her: "Oh, Triad, yes! I would love to come!"
It happened to be her dream
One of her oldest dreams, never requested, never even spoken aloudAlais could feel how high her tell-tale color had suddenly becomeShe watched her father and mother exchange a glanceThere were times when she envied them that communion of their eyesNo words were spoken, they didn't seem to need words much of the timeThen Alais saw her mother nod, and she turned in time to catch her father's slow smile in response to that, and she knew she was going to sea in the Maid for the first time in her life
She had wanted to do so for so long she couldn't even think back to a time when the desire hadn't been thereShe remembered being a small girl, light enough to be lifted authentic hermes up by her father while her mother carried Selvena, going down to the harbor in Astibar to see the new ship that was the key to their small fortune in the world
And she had loved it so muchThe three masts, they had seemed so tall to her then, aspiring toward the sky, the dark-haired figurehead of a maiden at the prow, the bright-blue coat of fresh paint along the railings, the creak of the ropes and the timberAnd the harbor itself: the smell of pitch and pine and fish and ale and cheese, wool and spice and leatherThe rumble of carts laden with goods going away to some far part of the known world, or coming in from distant places with names that were a kind of magic to her
A sailor in red and green walked by with a monkey on his shoulder and her father called a familiar greeting to himHer father seemed to be at home here, he knew these men, the wild, exotic places from which they came and wentShe heard shouts and sudden raucous laughter and voices raised in profane dispute over the weight of this or the cost of thatThen someone cried out that there were dolphins in the bay; that was when her father had lifted her up on his shoulders so she might see them
Selvena had begun to cry at all the fierce commotion, Alais remembered, and they had gone back to their cart shortly after and ridden away, past the 2.55 chanel watchful, looming presence of the Barbadians, big, fair-haired men on their big horses, guarding the harbor of AstibarShe had been too young to understand what they were about, but her father's abrupt silence and expressionless face, riding by them, had told her somethingLater, she learned a great deal more, growing up into the occupied reality of her world
Her love of the ships and the harbor had never gone awayWhenever she could she would go with Rovigo down to the waterIt was easier in winter, when they all moved to the town house in Astibar, but even in spring and summer and early fall she would find excuses, reasons and ways to accompany him into town and down to where the Maid was berthedShe gloried in the scene, and at night she dreamt her dreams of oceans opening before her and salt spray off the wavesWomen did not go to seaAnd dutiful, intelligent daughters never troubled their fathers by even asking to be allowed such a thingBut it seemed that, sometimes, on some mornings completely unforeseen, Eanna could look down from among her lights in the sky, and smile, and something miraculous might be freely offered that would never have been sought
It seemed she was a good sailor, adjusting easily to the swing and roll of the ship on the waves as the coastline of Astibar scrolled by on their chanel wallet purse righ