Tarashana Rachel Neumeier (top 10 motivational books TXT) 📖

“Yes, I see. So, Garoyo, you sent most of your people ahead and you and a few others waited to see what kind of person followed?”

“It happened as you say. When we saw it was an avila, we came out to confront her. We saw she was one woman, alone. I was astonished. We saw she was afraid of us. I mean no insult to her when I say so. I say this so you will understand how it happened. She was afraid of us, but much more afraid of something else. She came directly to me and knelt, asking for mercy. She would not speak. We did not know then that she could not. I think she expected me to kill her, but she could see no better choice but to beg for mercy. I do not know any of this, but this is what I thought then.”

“So you bought her through the pass.”

“I wished to understand her, and I wished to know what had happened to her people. So we brought her through the pass. But in all the days since, she has not spoken. Half the warm season has passed, more than half, and still nothing has changed. She may be unable to speak; that is the thought of my father’s wife. To me, she seems to have decided she will not speak, but perhaps I am mistaken. She watches the pass. That is why we have set our camp here and stayed for all this time. We do not want to leave the pass unguarded.”

“Yes,” Aras said. “I see.” He was frowning. He asked my father, “I ask your opinion, lord.”

“She is certainly afraid,” my father answered. “When I have spoken to her, that is what I see in her. I see nothing else clearly. Avila are not a people I understand. This woman is frightened for some important reason, though I think she is also afraid of me.”

“Well ...” Aras considered him, his expression thoughtful. “You are the man who will eventually decide what should be done with a foreign person who is not one of your people and not precisely a guest of your people. And you are an intimidating man, Sinowa inGara. If I were in that woman’s place, I would probably be afraid of you. As I recall, I was.”

“You were never afraid of me,” my father said drily. “You are too arrogant to be afraid of anyone.”

Aras smiled. “I am not so arrogant as to contradict you while I sit in your own tent, lord, so let it be as you say. I would like to see this woman, but I think this is something best left for the morning. I would prefer the Sun be in the sky when I meet this person.”

“And perhaps the Moon, should she choose to linger,” my father said.

“Yes,” Aras agreed. “Tonight, I would like to speak to ...” he switched to darau. “To your mother, Ryo, if that’s not inappropriate, but should I say her name?”

“You may say her name, or you may instead say you would like to speak to my father’s wife,” I told him. “Either way, it is entirely appropriate that you should do so. Everyone would be surprised if you did not wish to speak to her.”

Aras nodded. He said to my father, “I would like to speak with your wife, lord. A woman, especially a singer, may have a different perception of this Tarashana woman.”

My father nodded. “My wife will invite you to eat with her tonight. She will be preparing food now. She will be pleased to speak with you. If you wish, my warleader will take you to my wife now. My younger son may remain here.”

So that was very clear. I shifted from sitting to kneeling. Everyone else stood up. Aras slanted a glance toward me, but said nothing. Garoyo said to me, “I understand you have acquired a new younger brother, Ryo. A young man who is now inGara, but who used to have a different name. I would not have expected any brother of mine to be generous to an inTasiyo. I will be interested to meet this young man.”

I bowed my head. “I hope very much that my eldest brother is not offended by my actions. I did not know the story behind that enmity, or perhaps I would have put an inTasiyo to death when the chance came to me, and taken his head to give to my father. But ...” I looked up again. “I mean no offense when I say that I am glad I did not know I should do that, Garoyo. It would have been a wrong thing to do. This young man has been badly taught. But he is learning better now.”

Garoyo looked at me thoughtfully. Then he nodded to our father and went out. Everyone went out, except my father, who raised his cup and sipped the sweet liqueur. I braced myself, waiting for him to say whatever he wished to say.

When he spoke, his tone was milder than I expected. “That will be why you chose to be generous, and then defended this young man even in the face of my anger. Because he has been badly taught, and you have begun to teach him better. Thus you have taken on a responsibility to him.”

I was far too surprised to answer.

My father set his cup down. “I am glad to know this. Now perhaps I understand why my son might make and hold to such an extraordinary decision. In what way has this young man been badly taught?”

“In every way, lord.” I thought about how to explain. “At first, I knew nothing of him except that he was a young man of an enemy tribe. A young man of little courage and less honor.”

My father raised his eyebrows.

“Yes,” I said. “I thought it