“May I come out now?” I asked when I felt that he was aware of my presence. When he didn’t answer I added a small,” Please?”
“Have you thought upon the reasons for your punishment?” he asked, moving his eyes to me. When I grimaced and nodded he smiled. “Dress yourself then and join me. Our meal will soon be brought.”
I went back and dressed in record time, then came out from behind the drapery just as one of the women brought in two bowls of stew. She hid her amusement well enough, but I felt myself blushing anyway. The way I’d yelled the night before, the entire camp must have known about my beating.
When the woman was gone, Tammad gestured me over to him. “You have done very well so far,” he said with warmth as he handed me a bowl. “There was a mistake in your estimation of one man, yet was I able to turn it to my advantage. When the discussions begin with the new sun, you must read the others again and weigh the manner in which they receive my words. I shall broach the most important subject last.”
I nodded again and sat carefully, then studied him. “What exactly is it that you want for your people?” I asked after a minute. “I know you have some specific purpose in mind, and I’m curious about it.”
“My purpose is clear,” He shrugged, eating some of his stew. “I would have my people survive and prosper. Is this so different from the wants of others?”
“No.” I answered, “but you yourself are different from others. I think you want to be denday of dendayy.”
“How may a man hide from one who sees as deeply as you?” He laughed. “Such is indeed my intent, yet the time is not right for the thing. All things come in their proper time.”
“So I’ve heard.” I murmured. “At least no one can say you have no ambition. What would you do as denday of dendayy?”
“I would see that my people survived and prospered,” he answered neutrally. “Do you now eat quickly so that you may see the competitions between cities. They began earlier, and much honor shall be won by the city which triumphs most. I shall have no need of you here.”
“Then you’re not going,” I said, knowing it as a fact. “You have something more important to do, and it doesn’t concern me.” I looked down at my bowl then added, “I’ll leave as soon as I’m through.”
“Do not feel ahresta!” he said sharply, reaching over to take my face in his hand. “I would have you beside me always, yet there are matters I must see to alone. It would not be fitting to have wendaa present.”
“Wenda!” I snapped, pulling back away from his hand. “When you come right down to it, I’m still nothing but wenda! Handle your matters alone and be damned!”
I got to my feet and stalked out, trying to bury my hurt beneath layers of fury. The question of wenda had nothing to do with why he wanted me out of the way and I knew it. He was going to discuss things he didn’t want me knowing about, that’s why I’d been offered time off to see the fair. He didn’t trust me enough to let me in on his secrets, and that really hurt.
I’d left my bowl of stew almost uneaten, but I wasn’t hungry at all. I wandered around from camp area to camp area, stopping occasionally to watch the goings-on. There were wrestling matches, knife throwing matches, swordfights, riding contests, and archery contests. The l’lendaa enjoyed them all, either participating or watching, their women in the crowds along with them.
I saw one pavilion that had been opened completely and every man in it had a woman in tow. Other, unaccompanied men ringed the pavilion and examined the women with interest. As I watched, one man entered the pavilion and approached another who was holding a woman’s arm. They spoke briefly, dinga was exchanged, and the man who had been alone left with the woman. I noticed that she was one-banded, and realized that she had just become the belonging of the man who had paid for her. She hadn’t felt terribly upset by the exchange, in fact she was rather excited, and I couldn’t help shaking my head. Was I the only one who was disturbed by such things? Did the women really prefer such a life, or were they just used to it? I didn’t know, and probably never would.
The contests went on for the rest of the afternoon, but at sundown the crowds began breaking up. I continued to wander, reluctant to go back to the pavilion. I hadn’t paid attention to where I was going, but paying attention wasn’t necessary. I could find my way back by following the patterns of our people, so I just wandered wherever the whim took me.
The campfires were beginning to show more sharply against the darkening sky. I moved behind a line of camtahh, still full of my own thoughts, and a group of figures moved out of the shadows to surround me. I looked up in surprise to see Rommar directly in my path, six other l’lendaa completing the circle around me.
“Aldana, wenda,” Rommar said with an expressionless face, staring down at me. “You wander far from the camtah of Tammad.”
“I mistook my direction.” I answered, matching his evenness of tone. “I should return at once, for the hour is late.”
I tried to step around him, but he moved just enough to block me again. His emotions were calm, but I could feel a sort of excitement in the minds of the others. It didn’t take much ability to suspect that I had trouble.
“Tammad shall not seek for you as yet,” Rommar informed me.” He speaks with his followers of matters of great import. The number of his followers has increased beyond my expectations, and this disturbs me. There is little I may do to alter the situation, yet must it be altered. Perhaps Tammad will be good enough to act for me.”
I didn’t even see the slap coming, but my head rang with it, my cheek turning to burning needles. I cried out at the pain, trying to protect myself, but the second slap touched my other cheek with fire, and he wasn’t even exerting himself. The circle closed in tight, someone stuffed a cloth in my mouth, and it didn’t take very long, but I had to use pain control even before Rommar’s fist reached my stomach. I lay curled up on the ground, nauseously dizzy and bleeding from one corner of my mouth, and there was still no anger in him. He had hurt me unemotionally and for a purpose, but I had nothing to do with that purpose.
The men were satisfied with what had been done, and I lay still for a few minutes after they were gone, then got rid of the gag and got painfully to my feet. My imad was ripped, my caldin was dirty, and I was expected to do something. I had a fairly good idea about what that something was, but I had no intentions of doing it. I got my bearings with a bit of difficulty then started back to my own area.
Even with pain control, it was harder going than I’d expected it to be. My stomach kept wanting to cramp up, and that made walking difficult. I kept to the shadows as much as possible, breathing heavily from the exertion, but about halfway there Loddar found me. He saw me before I was aware of him, and he hurried over.
“Terril, what has happened?” he demanded, lifting my face gently to see the bruises more clearly. A screaming anger filled him, and he lifted me from the ground. “Tammad was wise to feel concern over your absence,” he growled. “There will be blood spilled over this!”
He hurried back to the pavilion, moving carefully so as not to hurt me further. There weren’t many people about, for which I was grateful, and not having to walk let me work at restoring myself a little. By the time we got there, I was prepared to do what had to be done.
Tammad looked up as we entered, his annoyance disappearing immediately as he jumped to his feet. A deep ache filled him as he took me from Loddar, and he briefly and gently held me to him before setting me down on the cushions.
“How badly are you hurt?” he asked in a choked voice, his finger carefully daubing at the blood on my mouth. “I shall have his life for this, I swear it!”
“He wishes you to make the attempt.” I got out, not able to soothe his ache. I needed everything I had to keep from groaning and showing what a really good job Rommar had done.