Sea Dweller (Birthstone Series) (3 page)

Dad sighed and shook his
head. From the corner of my eye, I saw my mother glance over at us before
plunging her hands back into the bush, feigning all-encompassing interest in
foraging.

“Aylen, every island native
can use a spear, an arrow, or a dart. Sure they’re used for hunting, but it’s
useful to have some understanding of weaponry. I’m not very adept with island
tools, but I can use a sword. And I can certainly train my daughter to use one too
if it ever comes in handy. You know this, so stop complaining.”

“I’m tired of being lied to.”

“I’m tired of you not
trusting me.” Dad forced the smaller weapon in my hands. Before I could express
my displeasure with another sarcastic remark, he’d already begun swinging his
phony blade in my direction.

Instinctively, I caught it
with my own, blocking his blow. I knew he would have never hurt me if I hadn’t
been fast enough, but it had been a long while since I’d made a sloppy mistake.
My father had trained me well.

I returned the hit and he
blocked me just as easily. The battle was on.

“Watch your feet, Aylen,” he
said, as I almost tripped over a large root protruding from the ground.

Shaking it off, I came at him
with a couple of fancy twists and jabs I’d wanted to try. He parried them off,
but with difficulty. I smiled to myself.

“You know,” he said, after
I’d showed off a little more, “your mother and I have been talking.” He ducked
as I swung at him, but the wind left in the wake of my sword ruffled his dark
hair.

“Dad, you don’t have to give
me the whole speech again. I know what you’re going to say.” He swiped at me
and I moved too slowly. I blocked most of the blow, but my fingers absorbed the
rest of it. “Ouch,” I muttered.

“Sorry,” Dad said, but I knew
he wasn’t too sincere when he began to move toward my left side, forcing me to
think more carefully about my moves.

“You think you know what I’m
going to say?” he asked, furrowing his brow in concentration as I weakly fought
back his sword.

“I’ve heard it for as long as
I can remember.”

“Well, in that case, I
won’t
give you permission to attend the festival. Since you think you know me so
well, I’d hate to prove you wrong.”

“What?” Caught by surprise,
the sword fell from my hands and landed with a thud at my feet. Prepared for my
reaction, Dad dropped his sword to his side and rested on it, digging its point
into the ground.

“You really shouldn’t let
yourself get distracted so easily.” His ocean blue eyes sparkled and he swept
away a lock of hair that had fallen low over his forehead. At thirty six years
old, my dad was still one of the most fun loving and playful men I’d ever met.
It was easy to see why I related to him better than my mother. He always
managed to make me forget my problems and then re-address them when the time
was right. In that moment, looking at the mock arrogance in his expression was
almost like looking at a reflection of myself and it gave me comfort. I was
still his girl and I always would be.

“You really shouldn’t talk
about family issues while using weapons,” I teased back. “It makes things too
personal and then what started as a practice sword fight could turn into a real
one.”

“Are you threatening your old
Dad?” He laughed.

“Hey, you started it. My
fingers will never be the same.”

“Like your elbow last time?”

“Yeah, something like that.”
I picked up my sword and dusted off some of the dirt. “So, back to the subject
. . .” my voice trailed off and I looked up slightly, trying not to appear too
eager.

“What were we talking about
again?”

“Dad!”

“Oh, right!” He grinned,
glancing over at my mom who had moved on to the next bush. “Mom and I talked it
over. We don’t like the idea of you going to the festival and we still don’t
agree with most Vairdan beliefs, but if you really want to go, this year we’re
going to let you make that choice yourself.”

 I opened my mouth to babble
my thanks but he held up his hand to silence me. “We would still prefer you
avoided it. But we realize you have no other home or traditions to compare
Vairda’s with. It’s unfair of us to keep you from the customs of the only home
you’ve ever known.” He paused, his face turning sober. “If you choose to
attend, you’ll have a set curfew. We trust your intelligence enough to know
that you won’t believe every outrageous story told in the village square. If
you have questions about what you hear or see, you should come to us so we can
address them.”

I nodded, dumbfounded. My
parents had never entertained the idea of attending the festival and tonight, I
was being offered the chance to go. Alone. It was almost too much to swallow.

“But, why?” I choked out.

Dad grimaced slightly, an
unusual expression for him. “Last night, you told your mother you aren’t a
child. To us, you still are. However, in the land we came from, children only a
year older than you are made warriors.” It was the most he’d ever said about
his homeland and I offered him my full attention. “I too was a young warrior
once.” Dad’s eyes darted to my mother and I saw her back stiffen as his words
penetrated her hearing. My skin prickled.

“Will you tell me more about
our homeland? Please?”

He blinked, an easy smile
whitewashing his features. “It’s not really important right now, Aylen. Sending
you off to this festival is already a bit much for us. Your mom and I need to
take this slowly.” Dad held out his arm and I jumped into it, accepting his
hug.

“I understand,” I said, but
really, I didn’t. I only wished I could.

I almost didn’t hear Mom
approach us carrying a large bowl of berries, her fingers stained a brilliant
pink. When I looked at her I was surprised to see the rims of her eyes were
nearly as red as the berries, whether from lack of sleep or crying, I wasn’t
sure.

“Do you have a festival
costume?” she asked, propping the bowl on her hip. I cringed at the
helplessness in her tone.

“Do I need one?” I reached
into the bowl and she moved her arm so I could choose the plumpest berries.

“From what I understand, they
use costumes. I’m not sure if that still applies, though. I’ve only gone once
and you were just a baby.” Mom sighed at some memory.

I thought for a moment before
asking, “Can I go to the river today? With all the women bathing for the
festival, maybe I can find someone to help me.”

  Mom offered me a soft
smile. “You’re sure you want to go, then?”

I met her eyes, steadily. “I
need to go.”

 “I understand,” she warily
submitted. “Go find someone to help you. But try and be quick. We’ve got chores
today.”

“I won’t be long.” I passed
my practice weapon to my father and ran into the hut. Emerging seconds later, I
carried another change of clothing and a bar of homemade soap.

“We mean it. Be quick!” Dad
called out with a mouthful of berries as I breezed by. I waved behind me, not
missing the comforting way my father’s arm draped around my mother’s frame as I
left.

I slowed my pace once I
reached the thick of the forest, steadily following the path my family had worn
to the river.

A tiny thrill danced in my
chest and I felt more excitement than I had in years. I craved freedom and
answers. The opportunity to attend the festival was the closest I’d ever come
to achieving such a goal.

I hiked higher into the
island hills, knowing the elevation would rise before I reached the dip in the
terrain where the river pooled and nestled. I picked a few berries and a stray
piece of fruit as I walked, realizing I hadn’t had much breakfast. I was
famished.

When I reached the river a
little later, it was nearly bursting with women from several surrounding
villages. I hoped, with so much conversation going on around me, I could gather
costume ideas or find someone who had a spare.

I throttled back the
self-consciousness blossoming in my chest while I trotted to the river bank.
All around me, Vairdan girls carelessly stripped down and plunged into the cool
water, splashing and laughing. Golden heads bobbed in the river while swirls of
flaxen hair shimmered in a potion of liquid and sunlight. I tried to be as
inconspicuous as possible while I undressed and then quickly eased my freckled
skin into the water. Women’s chatter slid around my ears as I dunked my head
under the surface. Clearly, anticipation for the festival was the dominant
topic of conversation. I didn’t want people thinking I cared so I stayed under
for as long as possible.

It wasn’t until I began
washing myself that I spotted Faema and several of her friends through a
cluster of blond heads. My sense of curiosity won out so I casually floated
closer, wincing as I remembered how glaring my hair color was in comparison to
the rest of the Vairdans. Luckily, Faema and her friends’ backs were turned
toward me and they were too deep in conversation to notice me drifting their
way. Just to play it safe, I maneuvered myself behind a sizeable woman absorbed
with scrubbing her young daughter’s back.

The last words of Faema’s
sentence reached my ears.

 “ . . . foolish if she
thinks she has a chance.”

“I heard his parents are
disgusted with the time he spends with her,” one of the other girls stated.

“He pities her. He can’t like
her much. The way her parents think they’re too good for us. And she’s a joke
when she tries to do simple island chores. Incapable of doing anything right,”
Faema said.

“He doesn’t pity her,” a
different voice piped up. I peered around the woman to see who had spoken. It
was Haji, one of the few girls who hadn’t been unkind to me, if a little
indifferent.

“Of course he does! What else
would it be?” Faema spat.

“They like each other.” Haji
shrugged, boredom registering on her features. She shifted her gaze and I
ducked before her eyes could flit in my direction. “He talks about her all the
time. If it was just pity, he wouldn’t do that.”

“I doubt it,” Faema said, her
words dripping with disgust. “She’s spotted and small. When she isn’t blistered
and red, she’s paler than the moon. What’s there to like?”

“I think she’s pretty. I
wouldn’t be surprised if Sai did too.” Haji’s voice carried over the water,
reaching my ears almost as if they had sought me out. I sent the girl thoughts
of gratitude. I’d always known I was odd looking by island standards, but
Haji’s words warmed me to my toes.

“Do you think she’ll come to
the festival?” another girl asked.

“I hope not but I’m preparing
myself in case she does. I doubt she’ll stay away while Sai is escorting me. If
she does make a showing, I’ll give her a night she won’t forget.” Several of
Faema’s friends giggled and just like that, I was back to feeling unsure of
myself. I didn’t doubt her pledge.

From their group came a loud
splash followed by the sound of dispersed voices. Cautiously, I peered around
the woman and saw that Faema and her friends had moved away. Most were
underwater while the rest had their backs toward me with the exception of one
girl. Only a few paces away, Haji stared at me, her expression unreadable.
Slowly, I dipped my head underwater. Beneath the surface, I turned toward the
shore, too shaken to think about costumes any longer.

I didn’t bother to dry
myself. Instead, I wrapped my dress around my body, tying it at the shoulder.
Once I’d packed my belongings, I retreated into the forest and picked my way
through the trees. I chewed my bottom lip as I walked. I wondered if Haji would
mention my presence to Faema. If she did, would it give Faema even more reason
to keep an eye out for me at the festival? At this point, I wanted to be unrecognizable
if I still decided to attend. So far that didn’t seem a likely scenario. 
Cursing silently, I had to admit it was never likely in the first place. Not
when Chief Frin’s poor, motherless, only child despised me so deeply.

“I deserve it,” I muttered to
myself, “I never should have let her distract me. I should have known her
conversation would be nothing I’d want to hear.”

I continued on, my thoughts
racing with my adrenaline until I heard footsteps a short distance behind me. I
pretended to ignore them, sure it was only a few other villagers coming back
from the river. When someone called my name, I whipped around, positive Faema
had followed me for a confrontation. Instead, I was surprised to see Haji
hurrying to catch up.

“Sorry you heard that back
there,” she said when she reached my side, a little breathless from the run.

“Eavesdroppers never hear
anything good about themselves.” I shrugged and turned to keep going. Haji
matched my pace. “I’d be fooling myself if I thought Faema would ever say
anything nice about me.”

“I’ve never seen you at the
river right before the festival. Are you going this year?”

“Are you asking for Faema or
yourself?” I watched her warily from the corners of my eyes.

“Myself. I thought maybe you
would try to come since Sai is escorting her.”