“This sounds similar to the burned watula fields around Campanil,” frowned StarWind, “except it is every Omungan city. Even if we use our hoardings, we cannot possibly supply enough food to all of the Omungans.”
“I know,” agreed Lyra. “I have already spoken with Emperor Marak about this. He has agreed to send us what he can. We will just have to do the best that we can.”
“It is still hard to think of him as Emperor of Khadora,” StarWind shook her head. “He is an amazing man. I think we can learn a lot from him. If he can bring peace to that group of treacherous lords, he has much to teach us.”
“He will find us eager to learn,” nodded Lyra.
“How do we start delivering food to the Omungans?” asked StarWind.
“MeadowTune has already arranged for the first deliveries,” declared the Star of Sakova. “We are going to concentrate on Alamar first. They appear to be the hardest hit and have been suffering the longest. A caravan of three wagons should be leaving for Alamar this evening.”
“We are not going to be waiting for the peace treaty then?” inquired StarWind.
“Not for the food,” Lyra shook her head. “People are starving, StarWind. The people of Omunga have never been our enemies. I feel an obligation to help them even if we never sign a peace treaty.”
“I agree,” conceded StarWind. “I have spent much time in the Omungan cities. The people have never been our enemies.”
“I understand that Mistake and MistyTrail have met?” questioned Lyra.
“They have,” smiled StarWind. “Mistake was like a child getting free candy. I guess she has waited all of her life for this moment.”
“And MistyTrail?” asked Lyra.
“She didn’t know what to think at first,” StarWind revealed. “I guess she has been with us so long that she has grown accustomed to not having a real family. She is much like an adopted child I guess. She had been quite happy until she found out that she is adopted.”
“Do you think this poses a problem for us?” asked Lyra.
“Not really,” replied StarWind. “I do think it poses a challenge for MistyTrail. She has grown closer to Mistake as we traveled here, but it is still a great adjustment for her. It is hard to believe that you have a family that you have written off as dead long ago.”
“Do you think she will leave the Sakova?” asked Lyra.
“I am not sure,” admitted StarWind. “I have tried to put myself in her position, but I cannot. I do know that I trust MistyTrail explicitly. While she may decide to leave us, she will never betray us. I know that in my heart. HawkShadow agrees.”
“So you have discussed the possibility,” nodded Lyra. “That pleases me. Is Mistake trustworthy?”
“That depends on who you are,” chuckled StarWind. “She is fiercely loyal to those she considers her friends, but I feel that she would pick the pocket of a priest if she felt a need to.”
“You said she was willing to risk her life to save Marak when he was imprisoned?” probed Lyra.
“She was,” nodded StarWind. “She does not lack courage. As I said, she will face death for her friends.”
“If she feels this way about Emperor Marak,” smiled Lyra, “then I have no worries about her here in StarCity. Let her go wherever she wishes.”
“She will not leave MistyTrail’s side,” grinned StarWind. “I don’t think we need to worry about her getting into trouble.”
* * *
“This is the Garden of Hope,” MistyTrail said as she continued to show Mistake around StarCity. “I come here often when I need a little picking up of my spirit.”
“Then it is good that we are here now,” frowned Mistake as she plopped down on one of the stone benches. “What is the matter, MistyTrail? Am I a disappointment as a sister?”
“What do you mean?” asked the small Sakovan.
“You lost your smile an hour ago,” scowled Mistake. “You act like you are performing some dire chore by showing me around the city. What did I do wrong?”
MistyTrail sighed and sat beside Mistake. “You have done nothing wrong,” stated MistyTrail. “I am just having a hard time believing that I have a sister. It’s not your fault.”
“Well, I am glad to hear that,” pouted Mistake. “I just don’t understand you. I have searched my whole life to find you, and you could care less that I am here. Everyone says how much alike we are, but I see us as different as night and day.”
“You misunderstand me,” MistyTrail said as she toyed with her lower lip. “You are excited less by me being your sister than by the fact that you have accomplished a long-sought goal. The point is, this reunion has always been your goal, not mine. I gave up any thought of having a family years ago. The Sakovans are my family now.”
“And what is that supposed to mean to me?” scowled Mistake. “I am not a Sakovan. I am not even a Khadoran or a Fakaran. I don’t belong anywhere.”
“That’s not true,” frowned MistyTrail. “You have been welcomed into the Sakova. Do you have any idea what a privilege that is? Not just anyone can come to StarCity. The Sakovans have accepted you with open arms. You can have a home here. You can have anything you want. The Sakovans are a generous people.”
“And why would I want to live here?” snapped Mistake. “I don’t need charity to live. I am welcomed in Khadora and Fakara. I can go wherever I want to.”
“Mistake,” pleaded MistyTrail, “you are overreacting. I just need time to understand what having a sister means to me. You cannot imagine what a shock this is for me. I have long believed that my family was dead. That was a hard burden for a young girl to learn to accept, but I did it. Now you show up, and I learn that I do have a family after all. You cannot just turn these emotions on and off at will. I am still struggling with the question of how this happened. Should I have been searching for you all of this time? Do we have any more family that we don’t know about? Can’t you understand the confusion that I am going through?”
“No, I can’t,” scowled Mistake as she leaped to her feet. “I have wasted my life looking for you, and all you can think of is what went wrong. If we do have any more family, I will leave the task of finding them to you. I have done more than my fair share.”
Tears welled up in MistyTrail’s eyes as Mistake fled from the garden. Within minutes she was crying up a storm. She felt a nudge as someone sat on the bench next to her. She wiped her eyes and looked over to see StarWind sitting alongside her.
“What happened?” StarWind asked softly.
“I don’t know,” MistyTrail sobbed. “Mistake wants me to feel about her as she does about me, but I cannot. I still can’t believe that I have a sister. For too many years I have pushed such thoughts out of my mind. I don’t know how to react to her, StarWind. How am I supposed to feel about a sister that I have never known?”
“I am not the right person to ask that question of,” shrugged StarWind as she reached out and put her arm around MistyTrail. “Perhaps it is how I felt about MoonFlow? She was the closest thing to a sister that I have ever experienced.”
“But you loved her,” frowned MistyTrail. “Everyone knows how close you two were. Is that how I am supposed to feel about Mistake?”
“You do not determine how to feel about a person in the same manner as you decide what to wear in the morning,” StarWind replied. “What you feel for any person is dictated by your heart. Don’t you like Mistake?”
“I like her a lot,” sobbed MistyTrail, “but that does not seem to be enough for her. I guess that I do not measure up to what she expected to find. She said some nasty things before she ran out of here. I think she hates me now.”
“She needs time to adjust, too,” soothed StarWind. “Have you ever wanted something so badly that you could not wait to get it?”
MistyTrail sat silently for a few moments before nodding. “I remember wanting to go on patrol by myself,” sniffed MistyTrail. “HawkShadow kept saying that I was not ready and wouldn’t let me go alone. I hated him for it.”