three #2
“May I help you?” A dowdy human woman approached the gate, taking in the sight of six julah amassing around her employer’s estate. There’s no way she’s part of the family. Mira knew this look well. Except on Yahzen, even the staff were family members.
Joiya showcased her most amiable smile. “Good afternoon,” she replied in Basic, the same language that the human woman spoke. “Is this the Gardiah Estate?”
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“Why, yes… is someone expecting you… all?”
The woman craned her head as well as she could with the gate still between them. No, there were no carriages, automobiles, toptiks, or the Void knew what else. Just six people milling about the public roadway as if they had traveled there entirely by foot. (They had.)
“No, unfortunately not. You see, we are from the High Temple of Yahzen. Julah, all of us. We’re on a pilgrimage and currently trekking across Arrah. I believe the Gardiahs are one of the most well-known families on this planet,
and I would consider it an honor to have an audience and perhaps beseech sanctuary from the Lord of the house. By the way…”
She paused for effect. “I’m Joiya Dunsman, Keeper of the Void. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss.”
Mira had to hold in a laugh as the servant cocked her head.
She had probably understood only half of those words and didn’t recognize Joiya.
And my mother has a perfect accent. Mira had grown up hearing her mother speak Julah as often as Basic.
Joiya might have been the one who taught her Basic, long before Mira was tutored at home and eventually sent off to the Academy, where she was expected to be bilingual.
And while Basic was a rudimentary language compared to Julah, well…
Mira wasn’t excited by her baby tongue. It also used a phonetic alphabet and had archaic gender markings.
At least Basic had the dignity to ditch the latter.
“Please wait here,” the servant said as she backed away. If nothing else, she knew she was in the presence of julah, and that could make her day worse if any of them decided to try something sorcerically funny. “I will get the Lady of the house.”
She trotted off to the main building. Mira approached her mother behind the gate.
“If you let the guard take your tattoo off,” she teased Joiya, “you could teleport right in there and scare them all half to death.”
Joiya snorted, her head not moving. “How did I raise such a silly girl?”
“To be fair, the nannies helped.”
This whole time, Hannu had been quiet. Of course, she was always quiet, since whatever penance she served on this pilgrimage had fucked her right up, unlike Mira, who would do it again.
And spend another decade in prison, if I must.
Hannu was the type of demure thing who kept her head hung, mousy brown hair concealing her from the horrors of the tangible world.
Yet she stood so far back from the group, seemingly disappearing into the bushes that hung over the iron fence and dangled over the roadway.
If she goes back any farther, she’ll be trapped in the drainage ditch.
Mira stared at her travel companion as if she had never truly seen her before—despite the past year being nothing but the six of them tromping across the Federation, sharing meals and sleeping mats as if they had grown up together. Hardly.
“Are you okay?” Mira asked, joining Hannu by the side of the road. The others watched after them. “Don’t think we have anything to worry about here. It’s nobility. If anything, they’ll be insufferable.” She didn’t know if she meant the group or Joiya’s appearance, specifically.
“Did…” Hannu cleared her throat, forced to lift her chin so Mira could hear her. “Did they say this was the Gardiah Estate?”
Mira cocked her head. “Yes? Horse girl, are you?”
The most action equines got on Yahzen were from aficionados and anyone who fancied a horse-drawn carriage.
The most popular way for untalenteds to get around.
There were julah born without the Void-given gift of sorcery, and horses allowed them some refinement when perusing the cities or larger family estates.
“See? Still learning something about you every day.”
“It’s not that…”
A commotion erupted in the front courtyard beyond the gates.
Mira returned to her mother’s side, where she witnessed more than one woman bursting from the manor’s main entrance.
It didn’t take growing up a julah to recognize which one was the Lady of the estate—only such a woman, regardless of how grand her garments, dashed about with confident purpose.
“Great Void…” Black hair piled atop a fair head stopped a few yards away from the gate, where bold, blue eyes took in the party before them.
“This isn’t just any julah!” she snapped at the maid who had greeted them.
“This is…” Unable to find her words, she barked for the maid to return to the house.
One of the only things Mira understood was, “Where the hell is Sulim?”
The Lady opened the gates with a remote. She approached, hand on her heart and an eager pep in her step.
“I can hardly believe my eyes.” When it was apparent she was a few inches taller than Joiya, the Lady curtsied so low that she almost fell on her ass.
That would be a sight. While this Lady wore a simple earth brown dress that fell to her ankles and enhanced nothing, she probably didn’t want actual earth crumbling in her hem. “Lady Joiya! Is it really you?”
“Yes!” That was the thing about Mira’s mother—she could act like she had known somebody for centuries with one simple smile. “Are you Lady Gardiah, by chance?”
The woman was so tickled to be acknowledged that she struggled to get back up.
“Yes, Lady Joiya. I am Jacelah Gardiah, wife of Lord Vern. Please! Do come in!”
Lady Jacelah glanced at the entourage gathered behind Joiya—Hannu was the only one desperately trying not to make eye contact.
“Are all these people with you? From… the Temple?”
“Allow me to introduce my daughter, Young Lady Mira Dunsman.” That was Mira’s cue to bow her head. She had chopped off the length she had grown over her prison sentence, letting her shoulder-length hair graze her tunic. “Daughter of High Priest Nerilis Dunsman.”
Jacelah was pale when she returned the nod. Just hit them with that, Mother, thank you.
Because, yes, Mira wasn’t just the daughter of Joiya, Keeper of the Void, and the beloved priestess who was heard in living rooms and boudoirs across the Federation. She was the daughter of the High Priest, the king of the Temple, and the most powerful man in the universe.
This is a shit show, Mother.
Lady Jacelah fanned herself as she looked right into Mira’s eyes. No, she didn’t look much like her father or his extended family, but she didn’t doubt that she struck Jacelah right in the Oh my Void, I am in the presence of julah royalty.
“We are joined by our cousin, Kema Lerenan,” Joiya continued, introducing the rest of the party. “And dear Priestess Hannu Adelah, who, in a way, is also a cousin of ours.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Lady Jacelah said with another curtsy hobbled by her housedress.
“And these fine gentlemen are from the Yahzenian Defense Force. They are our security as we make our journey across the Federation. You see, my daughter and I are intentionally suppressing our sorcery so we may be closer to the Void. This means traveling by foot and automobile from site to site.
We are en route to the Kinship Memorial. We don’t suppose…”
“Please!” Lady Jacelah tripped backward but managed to stay on two feet as more people came out of the house.
“Do come in! Of course, we will offer sanctuary to Temple pilgrims if they request it! Let alone from…”
She stopped, not wanting to say, “Let alone Lady Joiya and her daughter.”
Even this woman must have known what bad form that was.
“Well! Please! Do not hesitate. We have plenty of room for six additional people at the moment.”
Joiya gestured for everyone to follow her into the courtyard, where they were greeted by a gathering of younger women in simple clothes and a couple of middle-aged men who must have done handiwork around the main property.
Lady Jacelah was clearly the woman in charge—the only one, probably—until they reached the front steps, where another young lady in a silvery shift dress appeared.
Black hair that matched Jacelah’s fluttered against her shoulders.
“What’s going on?” the young woman asked.
“Graella! Where have you been? Where’s Sulim? Your brother?”
“They’re…” She looked over Lady Jacelah’s shoulder and caught sight of Joiya and Mira standing at the front of their ragtag group of julah women. “Oh, my goodness.”
“We have unexpected but very important guests. Go on! Find them!”
Mira nudged her mother. “I think she might be a fan of yours.”
“With any luck, my heart,” Joiya quipped back, “she’ll become a big fan of yours, too.”
Mira couldn’t think of anything more troublesome right now.