Sirin narrowed her eyes. They weredefinitelynot from the Citadel, and the way they were treating her was reprehensible.
“I appreciate the aid,” she bit out, “but I don’t know it is any of your business. Who are you to demand my purpose? I’m a scientist, and my purpose is purely academic, and that is enough for you to know.”
The unnamed woman looked pointedly at the man, stood and dusted her hands on her legs, and jerked her head, indicating he should follow. Before leaving, she turned back to Sirin, biting out “Yeh might want to wise up before we get back.”
The man gave Sirin an apologetic smile and ducked through the low door of the cave to follow.
Odd,Sirin thought.He acts so familiarly.Surely would have remembered those kind blue eyes?
After they’d left, Arndis secured her splint and fished around in a pack the man had set on the floor; it appeared to be Sirin’s own. She pulled Sirin’s thick socks and boots out of the bag and crossed to put them back on Sirin’s feet with a wry smile.
“An’ I’m afraid Berne took your footwear,” she said, refusing to meet Sirin’s eyes. “He was worried yeh would try to leave and hurt yourself if yeh woke before we arrived. Yeh do strike me as just the stubborn sort who would try to go haring off on your own, even while injured.” Arndis smiled, trying to put Sirin at ease.
“He guessed right. I don’t like waiting,” Sirin replied absently, as she was more interested in her pack. “Can you get me the jar out of the side pocket? I have some lunula in there. I’ll heal significantly faster if I can get some in my system. You wouldn’t need to worry about any of this,” Sirin said, indicating her splinted arm.
Arndis moved as if reaching for her pack but then grimaced. “Ach , I am sorry. I don’t—I don’t, I mean...”6
“You don’t… what?” Sirin frowned, Arndis was acting extremely odd, and she’d had about enough of whatever the hell they were playing at. “You don’t want to give memy ownbelongings?”
Arndis sighed and opened and closed her mouth several times before speaking. “Well, once they come back, we’ll know the plan moving forward.”
“Theplan?“ Sirin sputtered, affronted. These people spoke as if she was a child, incapable of making her own choices. Or some sort of criminal. “Theplanis for me to take some lunula, heal up, and continue on my mission. Look, Iamgrateful to you for coming to my aid, but I am here for a reason and Ireallyshould get going. You three havenosay in what my next steps are. I don’t have time for this! I have barely even started my journey, and every day brings us closer to winter.”
Arndis dropped her shoulders, darting her eyes to the opening of the cave. “An’ I think it might be safe to let yeh know, I think yeh may have lost several weeks’ time. Berne has been tracking yeh for a week now and yeh were at least a week’s walk out from the nearest outpost when he began.”
“Weeks?” That couldn’t be possible. Sirin would rememberweeksof travel. Wouldn’t she? “It couldn’t have been weeks. I swear I just left, I…”
She looked down at her clothes, which were definitely dirtier than she would expect if she had left only yesterday, and at her new boots which were extremely scuffed.
“But I just…” She blinked and gave her head a shake, wincing as it made her headache worse. “Oh, well…I suppose it could have been longer,” she said after a deep breath, trying to understand. She could swear she’d only left last night, though as she thought of her clothes, and boots, and held her hand in front of her face, the cold unyielding truth revealed itself. Her hands shook with horror when she rubbed them against her pantaloons, hoping to rid them of their clamminess. Not only had she likely lost time, but she had no idea what had transpired in the meantime. These people, she might really not know them. It seemed that Arndis was trying to be kind to her, she knew, but the entire situation was unconscionable.
“In that case, all the more reason for me to take some lunula to heal. Once I do, any memories I have lost will come back. Could you at least hand me my notebook, maybe seeing my notes will help me remember?”
Arndis’s lips pressed flat, she slowly shook her head and placed a hand gently over Sirin’s pack. The action shot fear into Sirin’s veins, a slow creeping iciness that trickled through her, with each pulse of her heart. Blinking rapidly—Sirin realized that she truly had no idea who these people were. And that they might not have her best interests, or any of her interests at heart. “You aren’t here to help me, are you?”
“We might be, it’s not up to me to decide. As I said, we’ll know when they return. For now, try to rest. I, for one, don’t want yeh to hurt yourself any further. Please, try to relax. I am sure they will be back soon. Berne seems fond of yeh. He’ll be trying to sway her to leniency.”
“Leniency? I haven’t done anything wrong,” Sirin protested. These people were ridiculous, Sirin could feel her chest tightening as she recoiled.
“Ach, aye? Are yeh sure? Yeh can’t remember the last several weeks, but you’re so sure you’ve done nothing,” Arndis sighed heavily as Sirin gaped. She held up her hand. “Hush, as I said, Berne’ll argue on your behalf, and perhaps it will be a non-issue. I know it might seem like you’ve done nothing wrong, but we take certain things very seriously up here.”
Sirin breathed deeply, trying to temper her anger. She strained to hear what was being said outdoors, but they were speaking rapid fire in their language again.. Tears prickled behind her eyes as she tried to remember exactly when she left the Citadel. In spite of what Arndis had told her, Sirin’s brain insisted she’d only left yesterday. Shewasher mind. If she was losing weeks now, how badly was it damaged? Sheneededlunula. Who knew if the damage was reversible at this point? Hell, she couldn’t even consult any of the memory-loss case studies she must have stored in her mind7. She squeezed her eyes shut, searching for some modicum of calm.
The conversation outside seemed to escalate until the soft-spoken woman cut Berne off with a bark. Moments later, they re-entered the small cave. The woman carried herself with purpose, crossing swiftly to sit near Sirin. Berne followed, face red and movements stiff. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
“Well?” Sirin bit out.
“Well,” the soft-spoken woman replied, “I am Gunna, a councilor of our village. We have certain laws, which you’ve broken. As such, you’ll return with us to our village. Once I confer with the rest of our ruling body, who are currently reviewing the evidence against yeh, we will decide what to do with yeh. Berne has convinced me to at least speak with the others and listen to their opinions. Yeh don’t seem to have malicious intent, but we cannot allow such breaches to occur.”
“Evidence? What evidence? And malicious intent? Are you having a laugh? This must be a joke! Youknowmy intent, I told you, I am ascholaron a research expedition. I assure you, whatever laws I may have broken, I never would have done so had I known of them.“ Across the room, Berne chuckled and shook his head. “Look, I really appreciate you all helping me, but I am on a very time-sensitive mission. I’ll take some lunula and be on my way. If you wouldtell mewhat laws I have broken, I will gladly stop doing so. This isabsurd. You want to put me on trial when you haven’t even told me the offense? What are the charges?”
“Yeh trespassed,” Gunna stated, as if it should be obvious.
“Pfft. Ha!” Sirin chortled. “Alright, look ma’am. I am sorry I wandered into yourunmarkedterritory, but my mission is more important than some arbitrary lines on a map. It is important to the entire continent, perhaps the world. Here, when I can get to a bank, I assure you I can pay whatever fees or fines you may levy.”
“I am sorry, that isn’t a possibility. Berne, if yeh would,” she waved the man over and walked out of the cavern. Arndis released a sigh, quickly packed her instruments, and softly apologized before leaving as well.
When Berne crossed to her, Sirin was overwhelmed by the scent she’d smelled earlier. Somehow he smelled of man and bear all at once, perhaps his furs were bear? He slung a wide loop of cloth over his shoulder before kneeling next to her.
