Heirs of Hyarch

Chapter 128: Years of Tears

Nela wasn't all that happy about them being stared at. Sure, it wasn't her that was turning everyone's eyes in their direction, but these people surely had better things to do then gape at the bird girl following along behind her and Hamond. She'd have thought more of them would've been celebrating the Sluice's defeat.

A few paces ahead of them was Jylania, doing her best attempt to pretend she wasn't part of their group. Nela knew that walk quite well, as she'd gone along with her mother through the markets in a similar manner. Head held high, back straight, not turning and looking at anyone - just marching forward and keeping a careful distance from them. Little acts of rebellion like that were normally harmless, but Nela had to wonder if Sedat might need every bit of support they could give her, Jylania included.

Sedat's decision to go see Takhat along with Hamond had been made right before they left this morning. It figured that a good night's sleep would lead Sedat to changing her mind. Being a healer meant having seen it all too many times before. People who didn't want the help one day came back the next to ask or even beg for it.

That same experience told Nela not to rule out this ending poorly though. If Takhat decided to be rude...well, Nela would have plenty to say to that. Captain or not, Nela could handle...hold that thought. Given Jisry's attempted betrayal, maybe a softer touch would be better.

Sedat yelped out of nowhere. Nela turned to see a little girl had come out into the street and was pulling on one of Sedat's wings.

"Could...could you let go?" Sedat pleaded.

"You have big wings," the little girl said, giving one last tug that pulled off a couple of feathers. Satisfied with her prize, the girl toddled back over to a woman, who fearfully scooped the child up.

Don't laugh, Nela told herself as she caught Sedat's injured expression. All the people warily sizing the bird girl up, and that was what offended her? Some shit just couldn't be explained, no matter how hard any of them tried.

The rest of their walk over went uneventfully, and Nela once again found herself in front of the former tavern. It wasn't quite the last time she would be here, although it did feel that way. Edeline and Hamond may have won their battles, but they weren't done here just yet. Takhat still needed tending to, and Ronny had wanted to go gather information from the remaining captive knights.

Nela ran a hand through her hair. She'd let it hang loose, although she was now doubting if that had been the right idea for today. She'd been wanting today to be relaxing after everything, but still she remained a bit on edge. She'd just have to see how the day went.

"What in the...why am I even surprised?" Merytuya had stopped by, it would seem, and her reaction to Sedat was about what Nela would've expected. "You're all a bunch of crazy fools for walking around with...that."

"Nice to meet you too." It was hard to tell if Sedat was being sarcastic or not. "Name's Sedat."

"Uh...right. Merytuya." The struggle visible on the Remuati woman's face was amusing regardless of Sedat's intent. "Are you...safe?"

"Hope so," Sedat answered, "They'll stop me if I'm not."

Time to block off that path of conversation. "We need to go speak to Takhat, so could you move out of the way? Please?"

"Hold a moment. That alderman sent me to give something to one of you." Merytuya pulled a note out and offered it.

"Where'd you get this?" Hamond asked.

"Someone broke into the supplies last night. Took some food, and left this instead. I think I know who did it."

Nela took the note and read it. It was a single line, cleanly written, and it had her seething. She could mentally hear it in the voice of the one who wrote it, even if the Witch of Wrath was no longer here in Lasfont.

"Tell the princess I will be waiting for her in Melyn."

Edeline had been right about one thing - it was exactly what the Witch of Wrath had expected them to do. Even if it was for different reasons...shit, when they told Edeline she'd probably want them to change their mind.

Maybe she should just go ahead and tie up her hair in a horsetail.

"Of course." Hamond had come and read the note from over her shoulder. "We should've expected at much."

"I don't understand the whole princess thing," Merytuya said, "I guess it's making fun of that companion of yours being a noblewoman and all that, but...it sounds more like a term an old woman would call a babe or such. Unless...are they secretly family?"

"Not a chance," Nela replied. Good thing Edeline wasn't here. She'd probably be more insulted by that over being revealed as a Pelagoin.

"I won't hold you up any longer then." Merytuya stepped to the side. "If I don't see you again...wherever you go, keep yourself all safe if you can."

"Like that's going to be easy." Still, that's why Nela was there. They really wouldn't get far without a healer, and the more skilled, the better.

Going into the back revealed another problem. Or rather, more of the same problem Sedat had already faced. The relatively narrow hallway forced her to pull her wings closer, dragging them along the floor. It looked every bit as unpleasant as the blend of rustling and scraping sounded. There was no doubt to Nela that there were few buildings in Hyarch made for wings like that.

After a bit of maneuvering, they were able to all get into Takhat's room. Nela had half expected to find Senby there, but he hadn't made his way over this morning. Just as well, as it would be far more tight with an additional person.

Takhat looked miserable, and it definitely couldn't be merely her lingering wounds. "Did you not sleep well?" It was the first and most obvious question to ask.

"No," Takhat said.

Nela paused a moment to wait for an explanation, but none came. Not that it was hard for her to figure out. "Kept up thinking about what you tried to do yesterday?"

"Many things." The response was grumpy. "I see you brought her too."

"It was her choice to come," Hamond said, with a little more bite to his words than Nela would've expected. So he was starting to get attached to Sedat as his apprentice then.

"She said herself she's not my daughter," Takhat answered, "Or did she change her mind?"

"Mediating a dispute like this is not why I came to Lasfont, you know," Hamond told the captain, "But you should realize by now there is one detail that will answer everything. So if you had a daughter then tell me the name of that girl's father."

Why hadn't she thought of asking that? Neither Ronny or her had even touched on the matter of who the man was, a truth that annoyed Nela endlessly. She'd been so furious over Jylania getting threatened, yes, and with Ronny trying to protect the girl...indeed, it was easy to see how they missed that. It didn't make it any less frustrating.

"Fine." Takhat glanced up, past all of them. "His name was Zepka."

"And is that the name of your father?" Hamond turned to Sedat.

"No. My father's name was Nehery." Sedat stared down, face cold.

Hold on. Had they all gotten it wrong? This whole thing made no sense to Nela, unless one of the two here was lying. But then, which of them was it?

Takhat spoke again. "I'm not surprised. You wouldn't know, and it took me a few months of asking around after my daughter was taken to figure out the man I'd shared my bed...he'd given me a false name the whole time."

Well, Nela thought, that certainly explained it.

"I don't blame him. He didn't want me to know he was an ashabti. Almost certainly for both our sakes, even though that failed. Still, it took them well over a year to trace where he'd been. When they found me...when they found us..."

Both Takhat and Sedat were on the verge of crying now, and in that moment Nela saw the resemblance the two shared. Both had tried to bury their sorrow and suffering - one behind hardened determination, the other behind bright cheer. Take away both masks, and you had a mother and daughter who had endured far too much.

Despite that, Nela found her gaze drawn to Hamond. He had promised Sedat the opportunity to learn how to fly, but they all knew they couldn't stay here that long. It made the choice that much harder...and that much more painful.

Shit, why couldn't it have been this way with Nela and her mother?

"I searched for so long," Takhat continued, "Joined the town watch so I would have their ears and eyes to maybe help, but nothing came of it. And all the while...Lord Lasfont...he could've known. He should've known."

"Might not have," Sedat said. While well intentioned, Nela knew that effort to comfort the woman - and defend Lord Lasfont in the process - was a mistake.

Hamond clearly felt the same. "He wouldn't have wanted to know," he told the two of them. "Many of the people keeping ashabti around were traders with coin, right? The trade wagons rolled through the gates of Lasfont, and the gate tax would've kept flowing into his hands. He wouldn't risk upsetting that, for you or for anyone else."

"The high and proud don't care for regular folk like us," Nela added, "At least not until we grab weapons and point them their way." It may have been less stark than Kelshir, but it was still the same shit underneath it all.

"And then they deceive us until we point our weapons at our families," Takhat concluded, "Heavens...I can't even begin to ask forgiveness. I couldn't save you from myself, let alone save you from the men who bound you to work for them. And obviously I have nothing against the spell that twisted you into what you are now. At least...I got to meet the people who can." Takhat's gaze immediately went to Hamond.

"How did you know?" Sedat asked.

"Know about what?" Takhat looked a bit lost.

"That he offered to teach me spells to let me fly."

"Of course he did." A bitter laugh followed. "Perhaps I was never meant to be a mother. Nothing but a series of terrible mistakes led to this...but that's all done. I don't know what I do next, or even if I'm fit to remain a captain of the remaining men."

"Better there's one who learns from their mistakes than one who never had a chance to make them," Nela said.

"That may be so," Takhat said, voice thick with suppressed sorrow. "I don't know where I will go from here. But you...you have a path forward with people the like of which the world needs more of. Go with them. And when you return...you will show me how you can soar."

Then the tears came, all at once, pouring down Sedat's face. All the healing magic in the world couldn't do a thing about this. Only time and care would, and that shit now rested in their hands, Hamond's most of all.