First of all, I’d like to apologise. Savrien has been temporarily put on hold because I’ve got a lot of writing projects on the go and it was getting hard juggling all of them. So…sorry about that.
To make up for it, here’s something I wrote earlier! Hope you enjoy it.
That was a soldier.
Sonja froze, staring ahead of her. Soldiers never came to the Wildlands; they were too remote and there was nothing of value around here. What was this one doing here?
It was hard to hear what he was saying, but a child’s nervous, trembling voice answered. Abandoning the path, Sonja walked towards the tall figure, her boots swishing in the dew-soaked grass.
She stepped around a genea tree to see Gunter and Hareld with their backs against the trunk. The soldier held the reins of a large grey horse, which stamped and snickered impatiently.
The twins’ faces were so pale.
Sonja moved towards them. “Is everything all right?” she asked, carefully placing herself just a little way in front of the twins.
The soldier smiled. He knew exactly what she was doing. “I was asking these young men what they are doing so far from Kenauste, and this one,” he said, pointing at Hareld, “said they live in Wildkeep.”
Hareld nodded rapidly.
“I was unaware Wildkeep even existed. But then, I don’t suppose many would, if it’s built in a place like this.”
The soldier bowed his head once. “Her Majesty thanks you for your assistance.” Then he mounted the horse and rode away through the trees.
Sonja exhaled quietly in relief before turning to the twins. “Are you both all right?”
Hareld and Gunter nodded.
“Did he say what he wanted?”
“It’s just like he said,” Gunter mumbled. “He asked why we weren’t in Kenauste, and then he asked where Wildkeep was.”
Sonja looked in the direction the soldier had gone. “Do your parents know you’re out here?”
The twins glanced at each other.
“You should go. He might come back.”
Hareld and Gunter raced towards the path, scattering stones as they went. Sonja followed close after them. She checked they were heading back towards the village before hurrying in the opposite direction. Alvert might not wait for her if she was late.
The memory of the soldier’s cold eyes lingered in her mind as she ran. Queen Perchta had never sent soldiers to this area before. Why would she do so now?
The cart hadn’t left yet. Alvert saw Sonja and nodded as she ran up; he held out a hand and she dropped a single copper inside before clambering up and sitting on one of the ridges along the inside of the cart.
Alvert slapped the reins and the donkeys started walking along the side of the forest.
Sonja waited a little while before asking: “Have you seen any soldiers at Valterne?”
“No. Why?”
“There was one in the forest just now.”
Alvert glanced back at her. “What did he want?”
“I don’t know.” Sonja clenched her hands together and looked back into the trees, just to make sure there was nobody there.
She remembered the day the soldiers, led by General Aleksei himself, had ridden into Kenauste, and the way her mother’s hands had tightened on her shoulders when the General issued the proclamation that the land of Eraune was now under the rule of Queen Perchta.
“What does that mean? Why is she the queen?”
“Because…because all the royal family must be dead.”
Nobody had told them how the Queen had conquered Eraune, but soldiers had not been a welcome sight for a long time.
The town of Kenauste, on the other hand, was a welcome sight. Sonja watched it gradually approach, the creamy-brown buildings with their wooden structures growing larger and larger until they dwarfed the cart. Lady Adessa’s home, Ivy House, was clearly visible from a distance, as it was the largest building in town, apart from the chapel.
The cart wove its way through the widest streets, pausing sometimes to allow people to walk in front on their way to the market square, which was close to Ivy House. The stalls had already been placed in neat rows, each one with a different coloured awning depending on the wares for sale. A woman was carefully arranging bolts of cloth on a stall with purple awning.
Carefully, the cartsman halted the donkeys next to an empty stall. Sonja hopped down lightly, thanked him and hurried down the nearby avenue towards her place of employment. The stately home was once known by another name, but the green vines clinging to the walls of the house had caused the residents of Kenauste to affectionately call it Ivy House.
Nobody, not even the owners of the house, had called it anything else since.
Most of the servants at Ivy House lived there permanently, but since Sonja now lived in Wildkeep she was forced to go to the gates at the front of the house in order to access the servants’ entrance at the side.
The smartly-dressed guard in front of the gates recognised her and nodded before opening the gate. Sonja thanked him and slipped through; it creaked shut behind her. She walked over to the left side of the house and opened the dark red door.
Hanna, the housekeeper, was in the small hallway. “Morning, Sonja,” she said, tugging at the skirt of her dress. Since she was a high-ranking servant, she was able to do her work in a dress without fear of tripping. Other female servants - and most Eraunian working women - wore trousers, and slightly longer shirts, tunics and jackets than the men did.
“Good morning,” Sonja replied respectfully.
“I have a favour to ask before you attend on Lady Adessa. As you’re aware, Birgit retired two days ago and we’ve been searching for a replacement. Yesterday, Birgit sent us someone. Could you give her a tour of the house while I find her some clothes? She’s about your age, so I thought she might be more at ease with you than anyone else.”
Sonja nodded. “I will.”
“There’s something else you need to know.” Hanna paused. “She’s from Kavaan.”
“What? Is she a trader?”
“No. She says she helped some traders with their wares when they wanted to get into Eraune, but after that she didn’t want to return to her own country.”
Sonja’s heart twisted. “Why would she want to live here?”
Eraune had been cut off from the surrounding countries after the Black Wall was built, and the only people allowed to pass through the gates were traders with their goods. Anyone else was shot on sight.
“I don’t think she does. From the way she said it, it doesn’t sound as if she has anything to go back to. Will you show her around, Sonja?”
“Yes,” Sonja said decisively. It was going to make her late, but Lady Adessa would understand.
“Good.” The two women walked to the living quarters. Most of the servants moved out of Hanna’s way, but nodded and smiled at Sonja.
Hanna stopped beside one of the bedrooms. The door was open, revealing a figure staring out of the single window. “Here she is. Sonja, this is Rael Alira.”
To be continued…