Thawed Fortunes (16 page)

"So now we're letting any atheist become a
Guadel so long as they can wield a sword?"

Va'ma shot Ja'dir a nasty look. "Last I
checked it wasn't a lack of religious skills that was getting our
people killed when they run into a group of bag'ligs."

Before Ja'dir could turn on his nominal ally
and say something truly vicious, Per'ce calmly interrupted.
"Although I have tremendous respect for Va'del, and I'm as aware as
anyone how shorthanded we are right now, I have to admit to worry
over his low test scores. Especially in the area of comparative
religions and negotiations. He apparently knows less about the
Goddess than students who haven't even been through any of our
classes yet. Not only that, he shows a decided tendency to favor
force and direct action over discussion and compromise."

Before On'li could shoot to her feet and
point out that Va'del hadn't even had the comparative religions
class yet, Per'ce continued. "I think we're all aware of the
worries that various members of this group have had regarding the
boy's nature, and his amply demonstrated capability for violence.
The real question is if, by allowing this to go through, would we
be giving him power before he's had the chance to gain the maturity
required to wield it responsibly?"

On'li sat back in the silence and pondered
Per'ce's point, while Ja'dir launched into a damning analysis of
the various mistakes, real or imagined, that Va'del had made since
coming to the attention of the Council. It was obvious that
Ja'dir's contingent, with the possible exception of Va'ma, would
vote with him as they always did. Ja'dir wasn't important, but
Per'ce was. He had tremendous influence over the swing voters and
he'd hit on an incredibly powerful argument.

Who among us hasn't worried that we've been
handed too much power and that we'll misuse it?

The debate raged back and forth for nearly a
cycle before Va'ma stood and presented a plan that would neatly
solve all of their concerns, with only three people's happiness as
the price of success. In the end, both On'li and Javin voted
against it, but it didn't make any difference.

##

Va'del looked up at Mar'li in confusion, too
shocked for anger to have taken root inside him yet. "I don't
understand. The Council isn't supposed to involve itself in
marriage decisions to this extent."

Mar'li shifted uncomfortably in the chair she
was sitting in. "I'm sorry, Va'del, On'li and Javin both voted
against the motion. They don't even know that I'm here yet, but I
thought you deserved the unvarnished truth."

"So they were going to lie to me?"

The Guadel shook her head vigorously. "No,
but they might not have gone into some of the details I just did.
They mean well, but they have to weigh what they want, and
sometimes even what the rest of us want, against what they see as
being in the best interests of the bloodline. I on the other hand
am just Mar'li. Not a Councilor, not the head of a bloodline, just
me."

"Nothing's really changed. They still want me
to do their dirty work and they won't even give me the option of
being able to marry Jain. Instead I'm supposed to marry a
stranger."

"That isn't true. They'll let you marry Jain,
they just want someone older to serve as your first wife. They're
scared. We've always been careful to try and conceal the capacity
for violence that most of the Stephens men possess. When Cindi let
slip how terrified she was of linking with you again, it really
rattled them. They want to make sure that there are controls in
place to ensure that you don't abuse your gifts."

Va'del felt anger start to grow inside him.
"That's exactly what all of this is about. Control. They want to
make sure that they have control over me. They won't let me marry
Jain because then they couldn't tell me what to do anymore. They'll
keep dangling it in front of me as a reward if I do what they want,
but they'll never quite give it to me, and even if they do, she'll
be my second wife, and have to defer to the first wife in nearly
everything."

Mar'li pulled her feet up onto the chair,
seeming to shrink as if to make herself a smaller target for
Va'del's anger. Suddenly he realized how much it was costing her to
be in the same room with him. Mar'li was so shy that even coming to
his room was a sacrifice. Being forced to listen while he yelled at
her was much more than she should have to endure.

"I'm sorry, Mar'li. You don't deserve
that."

The timid Guadel shrugged as if to say it
didn't matter, but her manner was so full of relief that it was
obvious her attempted nonchalance was a lie.

"Does Jain know?"

Mar'li shook her head. "I can't imagine that
she does."

##

It took Va'del several minutes to walk to the
dormitories where the Daughters slept, but his mind was so full of
anger at what the Council expected from him that he arrived before
he realized that he didn't have any idea how to find Jain.

A part of Va'del kept telling him that he
shouldn't make waves, that he should go back to his room and wait
until a more appropriate time to talk to Jain, but the rest of him
was worried she'd hear about the proposed marriage before he had a
chance to talk to her. Somehow he knew that would be disastrous.
Mostly though he just really didn't care whether or not he got in
trouble. He was tired of being pushed around.

The teenager took a deep breath and walked
around the corner that separated the hall from the common room.
Surprisingly there was someone still awake. The thirteen-year-old
girl jumped a little in surprise at the sight of a young man bold
enough to go the one place most likely to get him in trouble
regardless of who he was.

"Who the--oh, Va'del. Do you have any idea
the problems you could cause by coming here?"

"How did you know who I am?"

The girl dropped her eyes, and for a second
Va'del thought she was blushing. "Your skin color. Nobody else has
such exotic skin. Everyone talks about you. Your rescuing Jain, and
then her nearly burning herself out to stop Be'ter from killing
you. It's so romantic."

Despite the leftover anger from talking to
Mar'li, Va'del found he liked the girl. Most of the Daughters his
age would have screamed for an instructor rather than calmly asking
if he knew what was going to happen if he got caught.

"In answer to your question, I have a pretty
good idea they'd do all kinds of things I'd rather not have happen
to me if they find me, but I really need to talk to Jain. Which
room is hers?"

"Oh, Powers! You aren't even in the right
wing, let alone the right common room."

"You mean there's more than one?"

The girl looked for a second like she was
wondering if he was drunk or otherwise incapacitated, then shrugged
and nodded. "There are like four or five times as many Daughters as
there are candidates. Only the girls a year or two from graduation
are allowed to spend any time around the candidates, so you
couldn't have known how many of us there are."

"Can you tell me how to find Jain?"

"I could, but that's a silly idea. I don't
think anyone here would turn you in, but Mali is in Jain's year
class and she's sure to get you in trouble if she finds out. No,
you wait here, and I'll go get her. They don't like us to run
around at night, but even if they catch me they'll just make me
clean some old storage room. My chores back home were way worse
than that."

Va'del bemusedly let the girl guide him into
her room and push him down into a chair.

"Stay there, I'll get her."

Just before the girl turned to walk away, she
darted forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I think you're
incredibly brave, and I'm glad you're a candidate now so you can
marry Jain."

A few minutes later the girl reappeared with
Jain in tow.

Va'del could tell Jain was worried by his
presence, but she calmly turned to the girl.

"Thanks, Ann'i. We'll leave now so that you
don't get in trouble."

"More like because you don't want me to hear
what you're going to talk about, but that's okay. I understand; my
sister used to be the same way before they took me away from
home."

Va'del nodded his thanks, and then he and
Jain crept through the dim corridors. The Daughter pointed to a
sliver of darkness as they walked passed, and used gestures to
communicate the fact that there was someone there who was supposed
to be watching for Daughters sneaking out, or boys sneaking in.

A short time later, the pair found an empty
storage room and Jain created a ball of light above them so that
they could see each other. "What's wrong?"

Now that he was faced with actually telling
Jain what had happened, Va'del found that the words wouldn't
come.

Sensing his distress, Jain reached out and
wrapped her arms around Va'del. "Whatever it is, we'll get through
it together."

Va'del shook his head. "What if we can't get
through it, what if there isn't a solution?"

Jain was silent for several minutes, and when
Va'del finally looked up and met her eyes, he saw tears making
their slow way down her face.

"There hasn't ever been anything you couldn't
tell me before."

"I'm trying, but the words won't come
out."

Jain pulled back away from Va'del and wiped
ineffectually at the tears. "You're scaring me. Just tell me what's
wrong."

"They want to make me a sub-Guadel, but
they'll only do it if they can pick my first wife."

Jain turned to run away, but Va'del caught
her, gently restraining her before she could leave.

"This isn't what I want. Mar'li says they're
scared that you won't be strong enough to make sure I don't give
into all the violence I'm capable of. She says I can refuse the
marriage, but the same fear will probably show back up in a couple
of years when I finish up the more traditional route and they have
to decide whether or not to let me take my final vows."

Jain shook her head like she didn't want to
hear, but her mind was obviously processing the implications of
what Va'del was telling her. "So if you refuse this, they may not
let you become a Guadel. After all, if what you've done already
isn't enough to convince them you can be trusted, nothing will
suffice."

Va'del's throat had constricted too tightly
for him to speak, so he simply nodded.

"Who do they want you to marry?"

"Someone named Vi'en."

"Why did you come here? Just to tell me it
was going to happen?"

Va'del shook his head. "No, to ask you what I
should do. We could run away if you're still willing. I don't want
to do anything to hurt you, that's more important than whether or
not I become a Guadel."

Jain looked up at him through tear-filled
eyes, seeming to stare straight into the very depths of his heart.
Va'del returned her gaze, and hoped she couldn't see deep enough to
know what it would cost him to leave.

"No, we can't run away. You don't have it in
you to flee from a challenge while there's still a chance you might
overcome it. If we run away it would eat at you, and eventually it
would come between us."

Va'del found new tears welling up in his eyes
as he acknowledged to himself that Jain was right. Even after
everything they'd done to him, after all the reasons they'd given
him not to want to be a Guadel, he still wanted to prove, to
himself if no one else, that he could do it. If anything the hunger
was worse now than it'd been before. Ultimately that was why he was
here talking to Jain rather than just refusing their 'solution'
outright. He'd still leave with her if she wanted, he loved her too
much to do otherwise, but he'd always wish there'd been some way to
be true to her while still becoming a Guadel.

Jain squeezed Va'del's hand, her dark blue
eyes still shiny with tears. "Marry her, I don't like it, but marry
her anyway. It may not make a difference, they may still refuse to
let you take your final vows. It doesn't matter though because as
small as the chance is, it's still the only way we'll get to be
together."

Va'del followed the directions that On'li had
given him, and far sooner than he would have wished found himself
standing before Vi'en's rooms.

The Guadel invited him to enter in response
to his light clap, and he soon found himself sitting in a chair
facing the woman he was going to marry.

Vi'en was a short, slender woman whose hair
was surprisingly dark still for someone who'd seen so many
years.

"So you're the one Va'ma expects me to marry,
and that before I'm even properly out of the white of mourning.
Powers, you all get younger every year."

More than a little taken aback by Vi'en's
brusque manner, Va'del revised his original plan and decided to get
straight to the question. "I've been told that the first wife has
the right to refuse permission to her husband regarding marriage to
any additional wives."

Hard, black eyes looked at Va'del
appraisingly. "Somebody's been bringing you up to speed on all
kinds of things, haven't they? Fair enough, it's all stuff you
would have learned sooner or later. Yes, once we're married I'll be
able to refuse you the right to marry anyone I don't think proper,
and I fully intend to exercise it, young man. Everyone keeps going
on and on about your incredible potential, but it seems to me you
really need someone who'll keep you from making all the stupid
mistakes that result in most Guadel pairings being useless for the
first decade or so."

Va'del suppressed the anger Vi'en's tone
brought surging up in him, and continued. "I've come to ask for
your promise that after we're married you'll allow me to pick my
next wife, preferably as soon as possible. That is the only way
I'll agree to go forward with this."