The Threshold Child (14 page)

Deasa spoke with a smirk in her voice. “Well, he is certainly not
the most
influential
Governor in a hundred years.”

Gainor’s mouth tightened, and she seemed to be biting her tongue
against angry words. Adesina had a feeling that only Deasa could get away with
saying such things to her. Gainor sniffed derisively and raised her chin a bit
higher.

“Actually, he has done quite a lot for the High City. He keeps his
mind on our city, where it should be. The other two Governors are up to their
necks in foreign intrigue. Mama says the direction our government has taken is
a perfect scandal.”

Adesina shot her companion a sideways glance. “Foreign intrigue?”

“Oh, yes.”

She tried to appear only superficially interested. “What do you
mean?”

Gainor was more than happy to be urged to talk about something on
which she considered herself to be an authority. “The High City is supposedly
neutral, but all of us have taken sides in the silent war. The only reason we
stay neutral is because we are so evenly divided. Each of the other Governors has
taken sides against each other, and they are both trying to get Father to side
with them. Mama says that he should just sit back and wait to see which side
has a better chance of winning.”

“Gainor,” Deasa began in a warning tone, but Gainor overrode her,
acting as if she hadn’t spoken.

Her tone was dripping with enjoyment as she lowered her voice for
dramatic effect. “Mama says that the politics of the High City are thick with
all sorts of corruption.”

“Gainor!” Deasa’s voice was sharp with reproach. “You should not
speak of gossip as if it were truth.”

She looked pleased at the reaction she had caused. “I am only being
honest.”

Deasa glared at her friend. “Hardly.”

Gainor’s whisper to Adesina was loud enough to be heard by the
entire group. “Deasa is just angry because the merchants play a large part in
the city’s politics.”

A flush colored Deasa’s dusky complexion, but she said nothing.
Gainor, reveling in her victory, moved on to lighter topics.

Adesina barely listened to the new flow of conversation as she
processed the information she had just received. Perhaps this was part of the
reason she was here in the High City—to sway the citizens in favor of the
south. She wondered how important the High City really was in the scheme of
things. It was obvious that the citizens thought themselves very important
indeed, but how much truth was in this belief?

They passed through several residential areas, dotted occasionally
by orderly little parks. The farther they walked, the more children they saw
leaving their houses and hurrying along the streets. Everyone they passed
stared at Adesina with undisguised curiosity, and a few brave souls called out
a greeting to her companions.

Gainor chattered nonstop until they arrived at the school. It was
a large white building that was surrounded by a picket fence. It was four
stories high with many windows, and the yard was barely big enough for the
children to run around. Adesina looked at the school in doubt of its adequacy.
Where would they do their physical training?

A matronly woman was standing just outside the doorway ringing a
large bell. All of the children ran from the yard and into the school. Fia
waved goodbye to Adesina and ran to join her classmates. Gainor grabbed
Adesina’s hand and tugged, urging her to walk faster.

“Quickly! We cannot be late!”

The woman with the bell eyed Adesina suspiciously, but said
nothing as they passed. They climbed three flights of stairs and walked down a
long hall to their classroom. Adesina watched Ravi weave through the crowd
while miraculously avoiding physical contact with anyone.

The classroom they entered was filled with desks, most of which
were occupied with students their age. At the head of the room stood a man that
looked very similar to Hass. Gainor nudged Adesina forward and then moved to
sit at her desk.

The man spotted her and gave her a warm smile. “Ah, you must be
the girl my brother is hosting. I am Master Nabil, and I will be your teacher
this year.” He pointed to a nice-looking young man standing next to him. “This
is my apprentice, Colis, and you must not be afraid to ask either him or myself
any questions you may have. Entering a school halfway through the year is a
hard thing, and I do not wish for you to feel overwhelmed. Now, what is your
name, young lady?”

All of this was said as if to a half-wit. Adesina couldn’t decide
if her intelligence was being insulted merely because she was an Outsider, or
if that was just how Master Nabil treated students.

She gave him a forced smile. “Adrie.”

He then turned to the class, all of which were seated by now.
“Quiet now, students. This is Adrie. She has come to stay with Master Hass and
his family. Please make her feel welcome.”

Master Nabil spoke to the others in the same way that he had
spoken to her, but Adesina found that this did not make her feel any better.
She just hoped that the subjects studied would be interesting.

The only desk open was next to the window, a fact for which
Adesina was grateful. Seated next to her was a boy with chestnut hair and brown
eyes framed in long dark lashes. He glanced around the room with a triumphant
expression on his face, as if he had planned to be placed next to the Outsider.
Glimpses of disappointment reflected in the faces of the less fortunate
students. They would have to think of different ways to become known to this
novelty.

As Adesina sat down, the boy flashed her an overconfident grin.
“Hello, I am Norshel. I believe that you already know my brother, Nordin. He
was guarding the gate the day you entered the High City.”

Adesina gave him an acknowledging half-smile, but chose not to speak.
Master Nabil had already begun class in his infuriatingly patronizing tone. As
Adesina turned her mind to the instruction being given, she felt a wave of
dismay. These were lessons she had learned when she was seven years old.

The hours passed like an eternity.

Adesina contributed very little, not wanting to give away the
degree of her former education. Master Nabil, thinking he was being kind, asked
very little of her. Norshel kept whispering little hints, trying to be helpful.
Colis also fixed a watchful eye on her, making sure that she did not fall
behind. Adesina met all of this unwanted attention with a level gaze. Perhaps
it would be necessary to show them how little she needed their help.

Ravi merely sat by her side, gazing around the room or out the
window. Occasionally a look of amusement would drift across his face, but he
said nothing. When the noon bell rang, all the students rose and hurried out
the door to enjoy what time they could outside. Adesina gathered her lunch pail
with a quiet sigh and followed them.

Gainor, Deasa and Rina were waiting for her at the door of their
classroom. They walked down the stairs and out of the building to a small
shaded area of the schoolyard. There they sat down to eat their lunch.

“Well?” Gainor gushed, “What do you think? Do you not think that
our teacher’s apprentice is absolutely divine? Did you see him looking at me?”

Adesina found her thoughts drifting towards Kendan. Yes, there had
been a number of handsome young men in the High City, but they all seemed to
pale when compared to her former Shar. They lacked the spark and intensity that
radiated from Kendan’s dark eyes.

Deasa smiled patiently at Gainor’s comment, but refused to be
drawn in to that line of speculation. “How did you find your lessons?”

This brought Adesina’s thoughts quickly back to the present. She
hesitated over her answer long enough that Deasa went on.

“No one would think less of you if it took you a while to get
caught up.”

She debated whether she should risk being exposed by showing her
advanced education. Still, she figured being advanced a single year would not
be suspicious. Then, even if she was still ahead of her classmates, she would
not be patronized by Master Nabil.

She shook her head. “No, that is not the problem. The problem is
that these are lessons I already know.”

This was met with some surprise. Adesina’s friends looked
uncertain how to respond. They had never seen this happen before.

Adesina gently nudged the conversation. “Do you think they would
consider advancing me to another year?”

Such an idea was obviously new to them. Deasa pursed her lips.
“Hmmmm…perhaps. I do not think it would be viewed as appropriate for a young
woman, though.”

Gainor looked mildly horrified. “Then you would not be in our
class! We would practically never see each other. How can I show you the ways
of the High City if we are not in the same class?”

Adesina had the feeling that Gainor’s own social standing would
suffer by not being intimate friends with the new Outsider. She did not voice
this conjecture, but she guessed that Gainor viewed it as a more pressing issue
than the one named.

Deasa, still looking doubtful, slowly shook her head. “I would not
ask, if I were you. The school director might think that you consider yourself
above your classmates. He would not treat you kindly.”

They were interrupted by a teasing, masculine voice. “What?
Strangers in our school?”

Adesina looked up recognized the guard called Nordin. He held a
lunch pail loosely in one hand and his bow in the other. He was on the opposite
side of the fence that surrounded the school, leaning against it casually.

Rina spoke up in Adesina’s defense. “She is not a stranger. Master
Hass and his family are hosting her. She is from the Northern Tribes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Adesina couldn’t figure out why everybody felt the need to specify
that she was from the Northern Tribes. Every time she was introduced it was
brought up, almost as if it was meant to reassure whomever she was meeting.

Gainor, who had been trying to appear demure, could keep quiet no
longer. “How are you, Nordin?”

He shrugged in an exaggerated, offhand manner. “Fine. Just
protecting the city from intruders.”

Nordin smiled at Adesina, but her returning look was bordering
cold. She was beginning to really dislike the presumptuous and impertinent way
she was being treated by the majority of the males she had encountered. They
acted as if she were both inferior and in need of their favor. Adesina was
fighting the desire to return their condescending smiles while giving an
impressive display of her Shimat skill.

Gainor gave a coy little sigh. “You are so brave to risk your life
to protect us.”

Deasa turned to Adesina and rolled her eyes, and Rina giggled
softly. Nordin, not noticing these reactions, puffed out his chest a little and
grinned. “Well, I am not risking my life right now. My little brother forgot
his lunch and my mother asked me to deliver it to him.” He held up the pail.

As if summoned, Norshel appeared and jogged up to his brother.
They spoke in low voices for a few minutes, occasionally casting glances at
Adesina and her companions. Gainor made a show of smoothing her skirt and
placing her hands on her lap.

Deasa made an impatient noise and began gathering her things.
“Shall we take a stroll around the school yard?”

Gainor was obviously against this plan, but had no choice but to
follow her friends when they all got to their feet. As they walked, Adesina
watched the games of the children. Their play seemed rather strange to her
eyes. All games played by the Shi children had some sort of training
application. The games played by these High City children didn’t seem to have
any sort of purpose. They laughed and yelled and ran around, but there was no
structure.

Her attention was diverted when a young man bumped into her as he
ran past. She kept her balance easily, but he stopped to steady her anyway.

“I am so sorry!”

Adesina turned to face him and saw his eyes widen in surprise. His
age was hard to guess, due to his rather boyish features, but Adesina estimated
he was perhaps a year older than she. He had curly brown hair and a striking
smile. His nose was a bit long, but there was something rather pleasing in his
countenance. Adesina felt a bit uneasy looking into his expressive brown eyes.

“No harm done,” she said dismissively.

He nodded, still staring in wonder. After a moment he realized
that he was still holding on to her and quickly dropped his hands. He made an
attempt to hitch his smile back up and jogged off.

The bell rang for them to return to class and Adesina hastened her
step to keep up with the other girls.

“Who was that?”

Gainor, whose eyes were still directed towards the fence, gave her
an exasperated look. “Nordin, of course!”

“No. The boy who bumped into me.”

Gainor shrugged. “I was not paying attention.”

Deasa sighed at her friend’s absentmindedness. “His name is
Aleron. He is an apprentice to his mother, Mistress Breena. She is one of our
most prominent healers.”