Kiran

"Tell me about Silver," I asked the next morning as Mari and I stood at a sink washing dishes.

What about her? Ferri was curled as usual around Mari's neck.

"Anything. Everything. Whatever you know."

Ferri swished her tail. Hmm. There's really not much. She's a grand lady, a bit snooty really, not that I or Mari have ever spoken to her. That's my point, though. She doesn't condescend to speak to servants unless she's issuing orders. She doesn't speak to anyone much. She keeps to herself mostly. The only person she really likes is her brother Darrin. She has two brothers: Kellor is the older one; I think he's twenty-one, and his Matchmate is a lioness named Elira. I stay away from her. She thinks rodents are a nuisance. Then there's Darrin, and he's seventeen. His Matchmate is a squirrel named Eerie. I like them both; Darrin's funny and nice to everybody. Their father is the lord of the manor. He has Silver doing a bunch of stupid lessons on dancing and handwriting, to be a proper lady. Can't say I know anything more.

"Thanks, Ferri. "

I washed another bowl. "And her-- mother? Don't humans usually have one of those?"

Always. But she died five years ago. She didn't Match, and became too weak.

"Oh."

Some unMatched humans could survive, but others slowly withered away and died without a bond to a magical creature. That had been the reason Llyadorans and humans had begun bonding centuries ago.
I wondered what it was like to have a mother and father. Did Silver miss her mother?

I washed an item, held it up to Mari. "Spoon?" I asked.

"Spoon," she confirmed. I washed another dish.

"Plate," she told me. So we went, her naming items and me repeating after her. I wanted to learn Attaliesian as soon as possible.

The morning flew by.
Burnemarr escorted me to have lunch with Silver again. She was waiting for me.

"Hello," I sounded out in her language.

She grinned. "Hello, Kiran."

I sat at the table.

"Tell me about your day," I said in Llyadoran, but she understood my meaning. Again she spoke to me with words and thoughts while we ate. She told me of her lessons in mathematics and history, sewing and music.

"I was practicing on the lyre today."

"I would like to hear you play sometime," I said.

"I have a day off every week. My last day off was the day I met you, so I will have another day off in five days. We can spend the whole day together then. I'll play for you then."

A whole day together. How I wished I could spend every day with Silver.

"That will be wonderful."

I put down my spoon and stand. We have finished eating. She hurriedly does the same. I am around the table and right behind her by the time she is standing. Burnemarr watches me warily.

I comb my hands through her hair, which is loose today. The ebony locks cascade over her shoulders and down her back. She leans into me and looks over her shoulder at my face. We look at each other for a moment, unsmiling. I rest my forehead on the soft top of her head. She smells like flowers. We stand there, relaxed, listening to each other's breathing.

"I wish I had more time with you, my cherished," I say in Llyadoran.

"I'll look in on you tonight," she promises. We step away from each other.

"Time to go, Kiran," Burnemarr says.

I follow him out. We walk together a little ways in silence.

"So how are you liking it here, Kiran?" Burnemarr asks. I was getting better at Attaliesian; I was able to piece together what he said.

"It is rummana," I searched for the word, " different. I am still learning. Silver is wonderful, though."

Wonderful did not express her; I did not know enough words of their language to do her justice. Even Llyadoran could not completely capture her, although it was a little better. She was naheira'ain-- the closest translation was beautiful, although it meant something like it speaks to my soul, and/or it pierces me. She was takkan zhavesha, breathtaking. She was abbanu, the light of my world. She was Lagunda, the other half of me.

"Can you understand my Match?" Burnemarr gestured towards Gurr, who was trying to pretend that he was not following us.

"Of course," I said.

Burnemarr lit up. "You can? Is that how you learned my name?"

"Yes. He warned me to behave for you, or he would hurt me."

Burnemarr smiled. "Really? I'm not always sure that he likes me."

Sometimes I don't, Gurr grumbled, but I could tell he did not mean it.

"He likes you. He is just being a cat. They are always a bit aloof," I assured Burnemarr.

You make me sound positively ordinary! Not all cats are aloof. Some are even cuddly. That will never be me, Gurr said indignantly.

Is there anything you would like me to convey to Burnemarr? I asked him silently.

If he's not smart enough to understand me, he doesn't need to know, Gurr replied haughtily.

As you wish. I could not imagine not wanting to talk to my Match.

______________________________

We arrived at the kitchens. Mari greeted me.

"Hello, Kiran. I am going to show you how to clean some of the other rooms. Come this way."

We followed along.

Mari taught me how to dust and sweep. We cleaned halls and drawing rooms, parlor and sitting rooms, the dining room. The manor was huge. It took hundreds of servants to keep the place running. We talked as we worked. I stumbled over the human tongue, and Mari kept correcting me.

"Shandeler," I sounded out.

"Chandelier," she said again. I repeated the word until I got it right.

"Chandelier. I am glad we do not have these in Llyador. They are large dust collectors." I smiled at Mari. We were dusting the chandeliers, Ferri using her tail.

"They are hard to clean, but you should see them when they're lit. They look magical." Then she realized what she had said and glanced over at me, blushing. "I mean--" I interrupted her awkwardness over the fact that I was magical.

"What are they for?"

She looked back at the chandelier.

"They-- oh, they--" She tripped out an explanation as we finished dusting.

"Now for the windows," she said. The work took us the rest of the evening.
I was tired by the time I went to my room, but I pushed myself to do some stretches and exercises. I had no freedom here to walk and run and hunt and fight as I had on Llyador. That was one of the things I missed the most. I longed for the freedom of Llyador, for the wind in my face and the trees overhead. I missed Ruune and Ele. I wondered what they thought had become of me. I wondered what they were doing.

I felt Silver's presence at my window. I looked up, a smile already on my face. I would not go back to Llyador, I realized. Not if it meant leaving Silver.

I stood and went over to the window. She was an irresistible magnet to me. Her hands landed on the glass, framing her face. My own hands curled around the bars.

"Good night, Kiran," she said through the glass.

"Shuushoo, mai honnay," I replied.

Her hands slid slowly down the glass and dropped to her sides. She smiled sadly and turned away. My gaze followed her until she was out of sight.

_______________________________

Burnemarr collected me before the sun was up the next morning. He led me outside. I took a deep breath of the cool morning air. This was the first I had been outside since my first day in Attaliesia. I looked around curiously.

There was a gravel-lined road that led past the manor to stables and pastures for horses. There were orchards of trees on both sides of the road. One side had nut trees; I saw acajou, kola, betel, ravensara, sapucacia, pili, and other nut trees I could not name. The other side had olive, damson, marasca, abaca, ajowan, bayberry, tall durion, green-gage, and others. I gazed in awe.
Burnemarr tugged me along.

"This estate is held by the Lord of House Theris, Lady Silver's father," he instructed. "He grows many orchards and gardens, and grain for the mill that is powered by the stream that runs behind the manor. But most of the estate is for sheep. The estate has a hundred acres of sheep pasturage. The sheep are used for wool, milk, and meat. Today you are to help milk the sheep."

I nodded. We walked in silence as the sky lightened in increments. Burnemarr stumbled often in the dim light; I had night vision and had no trouble. I saw sheep pastures in the distance.

Finally we arrived at the milking barn. One large door was wide open; we walked in. Inside, it was darker than outside. I blinked, and my eyes adjusted. There were rows of sheep on stands being milked. There were pails on hooks on the wall, and tall milk urns with strainers over them. Servants led sheep in and out the back door, which led to the sheep pasture.

"We lost several of our milkers, which is why we needed you, so we don't have anyone to waste on training you. Figure it out!" a harried worker said as he thrust a pail at me. "Start with Flossie." He pointed to a sheep baaing softly from a milking stand.

I walked stiltedly toward her. I glanced at the other milkers and sat behind Flossie, trying to copy their positions. I cautiously slid the pail under Flossie. She did not kick, which I took to be a good sign. I eyed her udder askance, but tentatively grasped her teats in my hands. I gulped and began to squeeze. She jumped a little, startled, then settled down to eating the grain in front of her.

"Biannan 𐐔k," I whispered to her, and patted her side with one hand. I tried squeezing again-- slower this time, from the top down. It worked! A thin stream of milk came out. I tried it with the other teat. Soon I was getting a good rhythm going.

My wrists began to hurt. She had a lot of milk! I kept going until the milk slowed down.

"You'll want to massage the udder," the girl milking next to me said. I looked at her blankly. Massage? She demonstrated.

"It relaxes them so more milk comes down."

I tried it, then milked again. I was able to get more milk to come out. I massaged and milked until no more milk came.

"What now?" I asked.

"You strain the milk. Come, I'll show you," she said. She led me over to the milk urns. She poured her pail of milk over the strainer into the milk. I copied.

"Another sheep will be brought for you to milk soon."

I watched the other stands with interest as I waited. The sheep were brought in, their udders washed, they were milked, then they were led out and another one brought in. Another sheep was led to my stand. I settled in and put my pail under her. I began to milk.

This sheep was not as calm as Flossie. She danced from foot to foot as I tried to milk. I remembered what the other milker had said. Relax them. I began to sing softly in Llyadoran.

"Hush now, hush now, don't be afraid
Here is the place where peace is made
Between the soft night and the warm joy of light
In this quiet place, all is right

"Hush now, hush now, don't you cry
The morning begins with a happy sigh
A brand-new day and bright start for you
Lots of time to play and lots of things to do

"Hush now, hush now, wait a moment more
Notice all the little thing you never did before
The glow of the rising dawn; the shimmer of dew on the lawn
The whisper of the wind that calls you on

"Hush now, hush now, my little babe
There is no reason to be afraid
Hush now, hush now, don't you cry
I'll let you go, by and by"

The melody was repetitive and easy to milk to, soothing. The sheep stood still and allowed me to milk as I sang. I finished milking her, strained the milk, and began milking the next sheep. I milked one after another, some easy, some that would only relax if I sang. I worked for two hours. By the time I finished, my hands ached and my voice was exhausted. I breathed a long sigh.

"That was amazing! You were able to relax some of our most troublesome milkers. Come back tomorrow," the worker who had handed me my pail earlier said, part awe and part order. I nodded. I went over to one of the huge sinks and began washing my milk pail, as I saw the other milkers doing.

"How are you doing?" Burnemarr asked, coming up to me. He had been helping dish out grain for each sheep led to a stand, having decided that watching me was not too hard a task.

"Tired. It was harder than I thought. But rewarding."

"Glad you liked it." Burnemarr gave me a wry smile. "Hopefully you're not too tired, because you're cleaning pastures next."

I nodded resignedly. "Show me where to start."

______________________________

I had to bathe before meeting Silver for lunch. I had spent the rest of the morning scooping up sheep manure and carting it to the compost heap. I was tired but clean and happy when I entered Silver's room. I had spent the morning outside and learned a lot of new things. I felt a sense of accomplishment.

"How was your day?" Silver asked over lunch. I reached for her hand, showing her pictures while I spoke in stilted Attaliesian. I told her how it was my first time outside on her family's estate. I told her about the long dark walk to the milking barn.

"You can see in the dark? Amazing!" she exclaimed.

I told her about Flossie and learning to milk.

"There's so many things you've never done or seen. You tell me something new every day. My days must sound boring to you; I'm always doing lessons. My tutors are flooding me with information. Now that I've come of age, I'll be expected to run the household. Lady Theris. That should be my mother," she said softly.

"What was your mother's name?" I asked just as softly, holding tight to her hand.

"Ilsapetta. She wasn't of any of the noble houses, but my father married her anyway. He loved her. He was devastated when she died. He buried himself in the estate. He tries to forget Darrin and me. The only one he can't ignore is Kellor, because he's the heir. Father has to teach him how to run the estate since he'll be Lord Theris one day. And if he ever marries I won't have to run the household; his wife will be Lady Theris. The responsibility makes Kellor very serious. He doesn't have much time for me and Darrin either."

"L'ksannaneîle," I said. It was the Llyadoran version of sorry, meaning I grieve with you.

"At least I have you now," Silver said.

"You do," I agreed. I lifted her hand and pressed a kiss into it.

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I have 15 chapters already written and I'll get them up as soon as I can, but sadly punctuation isn't transferring when I put my story in, so excuse the bad punctuation. 😛