Chapter 12: Answers (1)
A-Narah stayed in the back-guest courtyard until the guests had left. Here sojourn here hadn't been for very long, but it felt that way. The maids had come to deliver her items, but mother hadn't stopped by like she said she would. So, A-Narah was left by herself to brew over what was going on.
Usually at this time of day she would be in lessons with her sisters, but because she was told to act sick, she had stayed confined. Even the day after the guests had left, no one came.
Restricted and left to herself there was nothing for her to do but practice needlework. A-Narah was currently sitting on a bench picking at her tortured piece of embroidery. She glared down at the fabric and stabbed it with her needle and then violently pulled the thread before doing it all over again.
"Dear, what has that poor, um clump, ever done to you?" Her mother entered unannounced surprising A-Narah.
"Mother!" A-Narah jumped up and threw her embroidery to the side to hug her. "Mother, why haven't you come? It has been exhaustingly boring the past couple of days. Skipping lessons is no fun when you are not allowed to do anything."
Chuckling her mother rubbed A-Narha's long, loose hair back from her face. "Come sit. We have much to discuss."
"Mn!" A-Narah agreed and pulled her mother into the room settled back onto the bench together. All the while, missing the expression of heartbreak that crossed her mother's face.
Sitting on the bench A-Narah hugged her mother's arm and leaned on her. "Mother what happened?"
Sighing A-Narah's mother moved to hug her daughter and said, "Before the guests arrived your father received a missive. A tragedy had befallen your original fiancé and a new heir took his place. Your father had carefully chosen a husband for you. How could he let his little pearl leave home with a man he had not approved of?"
Quiet for a moment A-Narah thought over what her mother had said. So, it wasn't her sisters or their mothers that had schemed anything, but was in fact father who was the mastermind.
"I understand why father would not want me to marry that man, but mother doing it in such a way will ruin my reputation. The legal daughter picked over… I have become a joke."
"Oh, sweet girl, that will never happen. Your father did all of this to protect you."
"Then why have me confined!" A-Narah cried out and then began to speak rapidly, "Is Seena going to take my place? The marriage agreement is already singed why have you hidden me away?" The stuffy feeling that had been clogging her chests finally burst out of her.
Her position that she had always depended on in the household was being taken away from her, and for what for? For some connection to the Harfic family? Was father really that desperate? It was cruel. Father said that he did it for her, but did he really?
Hot tears streamed down her cheeks and her nose turned red. "Why mother?" she asked now in a soft voice.
Seeing her precious daughter in such a state, A-Narah's mother felt her own tears begin to fall. She brought A-Narah back into her arms and gently cradled her. "You my sweet girl, are the most precious part of my heart, so trust me. This is all for the best. So, don't cry little love."
For a while they both stayed silent and just let their emotions run its course before calming down.
"A-Narah, do you know why your name is so different from your brothers and sisters?" her mother suddenly spoke.
A-Narah didn't look up, but just wiped her tears away with her sleeve. "No."
"It is because I wanted you to have the most beautiful name. Your name is very special. It once belonged to your ancestor, an ancestor who is almost forgotten. Such names are no longer heard of in this continent."
"What do you mean mother? Who was she?"
"I don't know who she was, but long ago she lived in a place a very long ways south of Middle Kingdom."
Thinking for a bit A-Narah then asked, "Mother, you can't possibly mean… the Southern Islands?"
"I do. It was a very long time ago, a different time. But the first time I saw this name at the back of my maiden family's faded ancestral book I fell in love with it. Such a name would not have been appropriate for your brothers, but for a daughter it was perfect. When it came to naming you your father agreed to let me chose and at the time it seemed harmless."
So, her name came from those mysterious islands that people knew little about. Over the years many explorers and traders had voyaged to the Southern Islands in hope of discovery and riches, but no one had ever returned. No news came back of them. The only thing people knew was that once you stepped foot onto one of the islands, it was unlikely for you to leave again. So, the islands stayed shrouded in mystery.
"Why mention my name mother? What does it have to do with why I'm here?" A-Narah asked.
"Because it plays a role in what is happening now. A-Narah, your teachers have always praised you for being an excellent student. Tell me, what do you know of the four continents?"
With a skeptical look at her mother A-Narah began to recite, "The four continents are ruled by man. In the north there is a country of ice and snow. The people who inhabit it are known as the white devils. People who have seen them say that they have pure white skin and sun like hair. At first glance you might think that they were gods, but their blood thirst and savagery in war are reflected in their red eyes. So, to the people of Middle Kingdom call them the white devils. To the west stretches an endless desert. Said to be as large as a sea. Roaming tribes and bands of people migrate through it. Some tribes raid the towns and small kingdoms on the borders for food, but other tribes trade and are considered less barbaric. Then, to the south…is the Southern Islands. Little is known about them, and no one knows what the people there are like or if there are any."
Her mother nodded at A-Narah's textbook answer and added, "Some people know about the Southern Islands, but it is not general knowledge that is shared. I can't tell you much because most has been lost with time and I know little myself, but the ancient people of the Southern Islands were tree dwellers. The islands are covered in dense jungle. To walk on the ground means death, even for the best warriors. The safest place to be is in the trees."
Tree dwellers…it sounded freeing, A-Narah thought. Being able to run and move from limb to limb, would be almost like flying. Imagining the rough bark beneath her feet as she would run, climbing up and sliding down branches. Being able to laugh carelessly, it all sounded like a dream. A-Narah's heart thumped with excitement and her eyes began to glow. In another life, she wanted to go there.
As she imagined this her mother continued, "Now A-Narah, I'm going to tell you a tale." A-Narah's mother pulled her in closer and began to speak softly, "Long ago in the ancient past, Gods walked the earth. They were incredibly powerful beings with terrible might, they could level mountains with one strike and create art and music that could lure you into an inescapable dream, but they were not alone. There were other great, majestic creatures as well.
Born from the drops of a god's blood came humans, who desired to conquer all that their feet could touch. They were like a curse. The kingdom of man expanded and the creatures continuously retreated until they reached the corners of the world. The balance was upset, and a punishment was decided by the creator of all. Humans would lose the power of the god's blood that they were born from and become weak creatures. And he gods who lived amongst them had a choice. They could become like the powerless like humans and continue to walk on the earth, or they could return to the heavens and no longer interfere with this world. Then each god made a choice and the balance was slowly restored and everything that happened over that time became nothing but myths that now few people believe in."
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