Eden Forest (Part one of the Saskia Trilogy) (22 page)

brands us.”

My first thought was my mother would kill me. Then I smile.

I wasn’t talking to her anyway. “Do I get to pick?”

Musa studies me for a moment. “No, but if you could, what

would it be?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it before,” I answer

honestly.

Musa rises, the smell of incense following him as he crosses

the small room. The smell washes across my face, making me a

little lightheaded. He sits back down with a large bowl half filled

with water. “Water is a powerful affinity to behold by anyone

and it can show us who we really are.” Musa dips his finger in the

centre and small circular waves push towards the edge.

“You can see yourself in a mirror. It is no different than

water,” I say. I spent plenty of time looking at my reflection as I

sat by the river at home.

“A mirror shows you as you are seen, yet water can alter and

change us.”

I just nod, clueless about what he’s trying to say. His smile

tells me he knows I haven’t a clue. He takes his finger out. “Take

a look.” I bend over reluctantly and am not shocked when I see

my own face stare back at me. “Really look,” Musa says.

I study myself, my curly hair woven with flowers, grey eyes,

long eyelashes, pink lips, a round chin—the same way I always

look. The smell of the incense still lingers around my nose and

I have the urge to sneeze but can’t. My reflection grows smaller

and I can see my body. I’m wrapped in a white gown, a smile

spread on my face as I pick flowers. I look so happy. I bring the

flower to my nose and inhale a sharp breath. The smell of roses

fills the air. I bend down to examine the flowers more closely

and a small pair of white wings emerge from my back.

I knock the bowl over, the image gone, and look at Musa.

“What are you burning?”

“Beeswax. What did you see?” Beeswax, that was the smell

I couldn’t place. I was hoping he’d say something stronger so I

could explain the image away.

“I had wings. Did I see the future?”

Musa retrieves a cloth and dabs up the water. “No, you only

see yourself.” He meets my eye then. “Your true self. So we now

know what your marking will be.”

I raise both eyebrows. “We do?”

“Yes, wings. They will be done during the celebration, which

you are going to be late for if you don’t hurry.”

I rise on shaky legs and look down at Musa’s scarred chest.

“Are all the men dead that hurt you?”

Musa looks surprised “Yes, they are.”

That makes me feel better. “Good.” I leave through the large

meeting room. All the maps are gone. I hadn’t heard anyone

come in.

Ndee is waiting for me just outside. “Food is ready,” she says

the moment she sees me.

“Good, I’m starving.”

She leads me back to the heart of the settlement where a

bonfire is ablaze, lighting the night sky. Drums are the choice

of music and the beating is almost hypnotic. Tribe members

have gathered around the fire, eating and chatting, while some

dance around the flames. Several children stare and giggle as

Ndee and I pass by. I don’t mind all the smiling faces. It eases

my heavy heart a bit.

Everyone greets me with “princess” and bows as I pass

through. It’s overwhelming. I feel like royalty. Then my

conscience slips in. You’re no princess. But I banish the thoughts

and try and enjoy this night.

My breath catches when I see Alana. “Wow,” I say.

She blushes. “Really?”

I grab her hand. “Really.” They have pinned all her hair

including her fringe up off her face, letting everyone see it.

“You are just like a princess now,” Alana says in a warm

voice.

Ndee ushers us on through the crowd as children weave in

and out with excitement. Laughter fills the air and then I can’t

hear anything as my eyes fall upon Tristan, who is looking at

me from across the fire. His brown hair is loose, falling to his

shoulders. He wears no top, just plain black trousers. His bare

chest is muscular and the sight of it sends emotions through me

that I wasn’t aware I felt for him. A look of shock passes over

his face and then it’s gone. Does my face portray my feelings?

He looks away and then the noise comes rushing back, along

with Alana’s voice.

“Sarajane, are you all right?”

I look at her, feeling embarrassed. “Yeah, sorry.”

“You looked far away.” She tries to hide a growing grin.

I give her a dirty look and close in on the bonfire where food

is being handed out. I fill a plate of meat mixed with herbs and

salad and sit down beside the bonfire.

Alana joins me and nudges my shoulder. “I shouldn’t tease”

I nudge her back. “No, I was caught red-handed.”

Her face becomes serious. “You really like him.” It feels

weird talking like this with Alana, but it feels really good at the

same time.

“Yes and no. I like him, but I spend most of the time hating

him.” I shake my head. “Oh, I don’t know. But what about you

and Kiar?” I give Alana a grin.

Her face brightens at his name and then she looks sad. “I

can’t do anything about it. It is not my choice.”

“Whose choice is it? Kiar's?”

She laughs bitterly. “That would be simple, but no, the king

and queen choose who we will be matched with.”

This sounds so stupid. “How would they know who you

love?”

Alana gives me a don’t be silly look. “They choose who they

think would work well together and some people find love in

it.”

My heart breaks for Alana and Kiar. This sounds barbaric.

“So the king and queen match everyone in Saskia, including

here?”

“No. Saskia is broken up into four sections and the king

and queen control two. Aquaterra and Hummus are ruled by

different people with different rules.”

My heart lifts slightly. “Then move to one of them with

Kiar.”

Alana shakes her head. “Oh, Sarajane, it is not that simple.

You have to swear allegiance to your new ruler. We would never

see Saskia again. We can’t cross each other’s lands. Too many

wars started by one settlement crossing into the other. And

anyway, even if I agreed, Kiar is loyal to Saskia and the king.”

Alana becomes silent, running her finger around her plate. Her

words about Kiar make me think Alana isn’t from Saskia.

“Are you loyal to Saskia?”

Fear runs across her face and she looks over her shoulder and

then back to me. “Of course I am.”

But I can see she isn’t. I leave it alone. Neve and Kiar make

their way over to us and I smile at them both. “Fun party?” I

say to Neve.

“I lit the bonfire.”

Kiar sits down beside Alana. “Neve, the whole place would

be on fire if they let you near it,” Kiar jokes.

Before they can start bantering, I jump up and grab Neve’s

hand, surprising him. “Dance with me?” Before he can answer,

I drag him off, leaving Kiar and Alana behind.

“I never noticed how much you wanted me before,” Neve

says playfully.

“You wish, Neve.”

He twirls me around repeatedly until I’m almost sick. When

he stops, I have to lean on him; everything is spinning too fast.

“Feeling okay, princess?”

I look up at his moving, grinning face. “Shut up, Neve, and

just stay still.”

He laughs loudly. “I’m not moving.”

Everything starts to settle and I can see Tristan making his

way towards Neve and me and he doesn’t look happy. “Neve,”

he barks, causing Neve to let me go and stand straight.

“Yes, sir.”

“You are on duty. This is not a resting period.”

“Sorry, sir,” Neve says and walks away.

“What is your problem? He was only dancing,” I say to

Tristan, my temper rising.

He comes up to me, making me take a step back. He doesn’t

come closer. “They are here for your safety and your father

would be angry if anything happened to you.”

“What about you, would you care?” I ask, not quite sure

where the courage came from. It knocks Tristan off for a

moment. He takes a step closer and this time I don’t move.

My legs are like jelly and I figure if I move, they’ll give way

so I stand on locked legs. “Yes, I would care.” My heart is

pounding at his words. All I can do is stare at him as he stares

back at me. His eyes flicker to the left and back to me and his

face becomes hard again.

“Your father would demote me if you died.” He gives a

quick bowing gesture. “Be careful, princess.” And he walks

away. I stand there fuming and then to make it worse,

my mother appears beside me. Tristan must have seen her

approach.

“Sarajane, I’m sorry. You can’t keep avoiding me.” Her eyes

are filled with sadness.

“Mum, you took that man’s side over me.” She goes to defend

him. “He hit me,” I remind her before she says something that

will do more damage.

“That man is your father and your king, Sarajane.”

I stamp my feet with frustration, knowing this is a pointless

conversation. “John is my father, and he is not my king.” I storm

off before she can say anything else. I find Alana where I left

her, looking into the flames. I plop down beside her. She throws

me a sideward glance. I shake my head to let her know I don’t

want to talk about it. So she returns to looking at the flames.

A group of children are watching us. A few of the older ones

are egging on a young girl of maybe eight or nine to come over

to us. She makes her way over, glancing back over her shoulder

at her encouraging friends. “Hello, princess,” she says shyly

with her hands behind her back, swaying slightly. I push my

anger down and look at the little girl; her eyes are huge and

brown. She is adorable.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Mei.”

“Mei, that’s a beautiful name.” I pat a space beside me.. “How

old are you, Mei?”

Her little face looks up into mine. “Eight years old now,” she

says very maturely.

Alana is listening to us. “Mei, this is Alana, my personal

guard.”

Mei’s face squishes up. “A girl can’t fight.”

Alana raises an eyebrow. “Really, and who told you that?”

Mei looks at her hands shyly. “My granddad said when I was

fighting with my cousin that girls don’t fight.”

I suppress a laugh. “Well, Alana here is a great warrior.” Her

eyes light up as she looks at Alana.

“Your granddad has never seen me fight,” Alana says proudly.

“Maybe you could show me. My cousin always fights with

me.” Her little face looks angry. I can’t stand to see a child

bullied.

“Did you tell your granddad about your cousin?” I ask gently,

seeing as Mei is really upset and at eight years of age, this is a

big deal.

“No, he is always busy.”

“What about your mum or dad or have you any older