“Thesoterthinks red caps are bad for your health,” Dania translated, much more quickly than I could have.
“Perhaps he is right, but I expect they will be good forhishealth.”The woman laughed.“I brought him bread and berries.Can you ask why he did not eat them?Does he not like bread or berries?”
When Rowan heard my choppy translation, his brow twitched.“She seemed… I don’t know… like she was planning something.I was skeptical.I thought maybe she was a trick from my captor.”
“She says shewasplanning.She planned for you to have a nice evening.”
The more I watched Rowan, the more certain I was that his discomfort came not from the woman herself, but from how beautiful she was… I expect he thought her something of a temptress.Temptresses were discussed often by the orderlies who taught people about prescription.
“Does he have a name?”the woman asked.
I was about to tell her something standoffish, but Dania spoke first.“He is Rowan; it is in our language a type of tree… in Norsern you call this typerejan.”
“Ah!Rejan!Ro-wan!It is nice to know your name.I am Fara.I am yourskael.”
Fell laughed.“Bold as the winter sea?—”
“I still do not understand this,” I said.“Skael.”
Not a single person had given me the same explanation of it.Dania had said herskaelwas Hald and Layf—so I’d thought it was something to do with love.But Jorn had saidskaelwas everything that happened, especially the bad things.Arik had saidskaelwas what lazy people blamed their misery on.Fell had said it was his place beside me…
Fara blinked as she stared at me.“It is everything the gods have chosen for you—or everything you have chosen for yourself before life, depending on what you believe about that.It is the parts of your life that are set, the things you are good at without trying, the habits your parents have buried in the soil of your mind, all that you cannot change, no matter what you try… You understand me now, I see.I will stop talking.”And then she laughed wildly for longer than felt sane.“This evening is all ourskaels.Shall we break Rowan free and run through the city?This man here—” she pointed at Fell “—Can have another drink.I will have my nettle.You—” she pointed at me.“You, I can make something special for… your heart is growing strong, but it is like there are healers on it, sucking the strength?—”
“Healers?”I said.
“Leeches,” Dania said.“It is the same word for both here.”
My stomach formed a knot.
Fara nodded.“They both suck things out, no?This tea I am thinking of, it will feel like mead but lighter because you feel swollen and heavy… and you—” She smiled at Dania.“I will give a bubbling drink for deeper soil.”
“I like this idea,” Fell said.“Fara is in charge for the evening.Quick, someone distract Faller so we can take Rowan with us.”
“We must ask,” I said.“I would not want Rowan suffering some kind of trouble because of us.”
Dania was already up and knocking on the door.
“No!Let us not ask,” Fara said, patting the grass angrily.“I do not accept that weneedask.I do not believe insotern.”
“Ah!We are true friends then,” Fell said, lifting his mead to knock drinks with her, but of course, she had no drink.She did lift a little bottle that was tied around her neck though, and pressed it to his mead skin.
Still, Dania asked, and Faller rubbed his face—looking exhausted.He sighed.“Do whatever you like.But please, can everyone have the same number of limbs at the end of the night that they have right now?”
“Ah!”Fara shouted over my shoulder to Faller.“Having a slave is tiring you, is it?”
Faller sighed again.“Fara… for all that is sacred, he is not a slave, but yes, I am fucking tired.”
“You knowsoternshipwas developed by King Einar?After the slaves burnt down four cities, and he wanted to end slavery to save his skin, but the slaveholders would not hear of it?It is a way to have slaves without having them…”
“Ah,” Fell grinned his awful grin.“You are lighting my heart on fire, Fara.”And when I glared at him for this, he shrugged.“What?She speaks the truth.She is Fara Truth-speaker!”
And so began a strange evening.First, Fara took us to a place where an Islish man baked pies just like from back home, and I did enjoy the pie but I pretended I didn’t, becauseshehad brought us there.She then took us through the back door to someone’s home to collect herbs so she could make a separate drink for each of us, revealing that she knew I wasvaneurigk, and that Dania was attempting to become so.And if Fell’s comment about her setting his heart on fire wasn’t enough to make me despise her, Fara knowing a secret Dania hadn’t yet told me, would have done it.
“Is she going to be with us all evening?”I said, sipping the tea she made that was perfectly sweet, only adding to my irritation.
“You are jealous.”Fell smirked.“I have not yet seen this part of you.It is… most enjoyable.”
“I am not jealous,” I said.“I was only hoping for a simple evening…”
