Pawn (The Pawn Series Book 1) Read online

  Juleena did many of the things I did, although it was clear the horse wasn't as agile as mine. Nearly all the motions were bigger than mine had been.

  She came to a stop, our horses facing each other. She smiled. "You better," she said.

  "Thank you," I replied in Framaran.

  "Or maybe you not better." Then she set her horse into motion, moving into a trot, but then something changed. I could hear it in the sound of the horse's feet upon the ground and in the motion Juleena made in the saddle. I'd never seen a horse trot like that.

  Finally she came to a stop in front of me again. "How did you do that?" I asked.

  She grinned. "Arrlottan horse no pace?"

  "That was called a pace?" And she nodded.

  "Something else Arrlottan horse not do."

  "What's that?" I asked.

  "Fight," she said simply. And with that, her mount reared, it reared high, its forelegs lashing out severely. I imagined if I'd gotten kicked with one of those feet, it would knock my head right from my body.

  The horse struck with its feet once, twice, four times total before it came down on four feet. Then it spun around far faster than I would have expected, and this time it lashed out with both rear feet.

  Then Juleena began to trot around. Periodically the horse would spin and lash out, maybe with its front feet while rearing, maybe with back feet. The entire time, Juleena appeared to be in supreme control.

  And then someone threw an apple in front of her horse. In a smooth move, far too quick for my eyes to follow, Juleena drew her sword and skewered the apple. The fruit stuck to the sword with just the sword tip showing.

  The horse never flinched.

  Juleena gave a yell then spun the sword, dislodging the apple straight into the air. When it came down, the horse spun in a circle, and Juleena's sword slashed across the apple, splitting it into two.

  She finished with the horse facing the rest of us. It reared, lashing out, and then it hopped. It hopped! Hop, hop, lash with the feet. Hop, lash, and then it thundered to the ground and stood in one place, snorting and breathing heavily.

  Juleena grinned. "Arrlotta horse do that?"

  I stared for a moment. "No."

  * * * *

  It was twenty minutes later. Juleena and I rode side-by-side. I hadn't said a word. I was feeling quite put in my place.

  I thought I was a good horsewoman. All Arrlottan are good horse people. But Juleena showed me things I had never even envisioned before.

  But then Juleena said, "You owe song. Teach now." I looked over at her. She was watching me. She must have read something in my expression, as she asked, "What bad?"

  I looked away.

  "Yallameenara answer," she said firmly. "What bad?"

  "Arrlotta means Horse People," I said.

  "Yes."

  "What you did..." I looked at her, and this time I knew anguish filled my face. "You are the horse people. We are nothing."

  "Oh. No. Yallameenara." She paused. "Sorry. Not have words. Not all do that." She looked around. "Of here, me. Three others only. You better others."

  "I don't understand."

  "You have question?"

  "Yes." Although I didn't know what to ask.

  She smiled. "Owe twenty words before answer."

  "Ten and nine," I said.

  She laughed. "Pay ten and nine words, then answer."

  "Let me owe you. Please."

  "Already owe song. Now want owe ten and nine words?"

  "Yes."

  She looked me up and down. "Then must pay ten words extra. Owe twenty and nine words."

  "Five," I countered immediately, but I said it in Framaran.

  She smiled. "Owe twenty and four?" And I nodded. "What question?"

  "You're a woman."

  "Is that question?"

  "No." I looked around. Our group was about half men. "Only three of these men ride like you."

  "I not say that. Two women. One man. You ride better than others. What question?"

  I looked back and forth. "But you're only a woman."

  She sighed. "Told you. In Framara, no only a woman. Is man. Is woman. Same."

  "But why you?" I asked. "Why do you ride better than everyone else?"

  "Not everyone else," she said. "Better than most. But that question?"

  "Yes. That's my question."

  "I more teach," she said.

  "That's not an answer!" I complained. "If I owe you twenty and four more words, I deserve a real answer."

  "I special," she said.

  I put a hand on my hip. Apparently, that was a universal gesture. She laughed.

  "I..." and then she used a Framaran word I didn't know.

  "What does that mean?"

  She grinned. "Twenty word more."

  "No! Teach me that word."

  "With you, every question three questions."

  "If you would answer properly, I wouldn't have to keep asking."

  "I teach word," she said. Then she helped me learn to pronounce the word, repeating it until she was satisfied. "Good," she said finally. "Now owe twenty and three more words."

  "I don't owe you any unless you tell me what that word means."

  She laughed again, and I realized she enjoyed teasing me. "Okay," she agreed. "But then you learn song. Word means eldest daughter of my mother."

  I eyed her for a moment then looked around. I looked back. "Three of you are eldest daughters?"

  It was her turn to look around. "Maybe. Not sure." But she was still grinning, and I was sure she was still teasing me.

  "Well," I said. "That explains it. Eldest daughter." I'm sure she didn't hear the sarcasm. I leaned forward in the saddle, and my mount promptly broke into a trot, pulling ahead of Juleena. Juleena responded immediately, and I didn't keep my lead.

  We had been riding in the middle of our group, although the other Arrlottan horses were being herded along behind the main group. But we quickly moved forward through the group, splitting apart to go around some, riding in and out for a few seconds. Once we were clear of the group, I asked my horse for a faster trot. Juleena matched it, and we continued to ride along, side-by-side, leaving the others behind us.

  And so we traveled for a mile or two before Juleena said, "This far enough, Yallameenara. Too far from others."

  Horses have limits. A horse can walk for a long time. A horse can trot for a long time, too, if the load isn't two heavy. And I hadn't asked for a run. But I wasn't sure why the others hadn't tried to keep up. I would learn why later that day, but I'll not skip ahead.

  I slowed my horse to a walk, but Juleena stepped hers in front and blocked the path. We both came to a stop.

  "Ask," she said.

  "Ask what."

  "You know what you want to ask."

  "That word means more than eldest daughter."

  "It means eldest daughter of my mother."

  I cocked my head. She was grinning at me.

  "Why aren't you telling me the rest?"

  "I want see you smart. Ask right question."

  "Fine. Not eldest daughter. Eldest daughter of your mother." She nodded. "Fine. Who is your mother? She's someone important, isn't she?"

  "I only woman Framara called this," Juleena said.

  "Who is your mother?"

  "Mother Framara queen," Juleena said. "I queen next. That what word mean."

  "Your mother is a clan chief?"

  Juleena laughed. "Yes. My mother is clan chief."

  "Oh. Is that all?"

  "Yes," she said. "That all."

  * * * *

  Juleena taught me the song she wanted me to learn. She began by humming it until I could hum along with her. Then, while I hummed, she sang the words. Then she taught me the words. I didn't know what they meant, and it was hard to learn. She didn't offer to teach me.

  At least it wasn't a long song, and the words themselves were simple. Still, it took all of the morning and a part of the afternoon before I could sing it throug
h -- three times, no less -- without any mistakes. Juleena clapped her hands and expressed her pleasure.

  "Is child song," she said. "Mama sing song to baby."

  "You taught me a song for babies, but you want me to sing it to everyone tonight?"

  "Yes. They happy. See you learn. Remember mamas. Is good. Time now more words."

  "No," I said. "This time, my head hurts. Sing another song to me."

  "Is fair," she said. "My head hurts. Your head hurts." She leaned over and jostled my arm playfully. "We trade. Trade head hurts. Trade songs. I sing song. You sing song."

  "I don't know any other Framaran songs."

  "Sign Arrlotta songs," she said.

  "All right. But I just sang. Your turn."

  And so it was.

  As she'd decided, we traded songs back and forth. She had a good, clear voice, and she sang easily. After each song, she would tell me what the song was about. Then it would be my turn. I didn't think I sang as well as she did, but Juleena seemed pleased.

  Ever since our jaunt this morning, we'd been riding in front of the main group, perhaps not that far, but far enough we could talk -- and sing -- without an audience. We'd been singing back and forth for a half hour when there was a large shout from behind us. Juleena stopped singing and immediately spun her horse. I wasn't as quick to respond, and so she called me to stop.

  I turned to see the main group had stopped, and several of them dismounted. Juleena looked over her shoulder at me. "Yallameenara return to wagons. Trust you."

  "Yes, Juleena."

  And with a nod, she was off, riding hard for the main group. I stared after her.

  She'd left me here alone. Absolutely no one was watching me. She reached the group and leapt from the saddle, never sparing me an extra glance.

  I looked around. There was a rise perhaps seventy-five yards away. I could ride up and over the rise and be out of sight. Even if someone noticed me, I'd have a significant lead, and the way the land rolled, if they didn't know how to follow my tracks, I could lose them.

  I looked back at the camp. I turned to look at the rise.

  "You promised, Yallameenara," I said. I leaned forward in the saddle, and soon my horse was trotting towards the main group.

  * * * *

  I dismounted near Juleena's horse, dropping the reins to the grass. Zana might wander for a bite to eat, but she'd stay close. I stepped beside Juleena, who was kneeling down beside one of the wagons, looking underneath. She and several of the others were talking rapidly. But there was room beside her, so I knelt down, too. I tried to see what they were all looking at, but when I got too close, Juleena turned to me.

  "No!" She said, almost screaming and pushing me back.

  I cowered. I wasn't sure what I had done wrong, but I was sure she was going to beat me for it. So I lay face down in the grass and waited for it.

  Everyone grew still.

  "Yallameenara?"

  "Sorry," I said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

  Juleena moved closer, and I shrank away from her. But she put a tender hand on my back and knelt down beside me. "Yallameenara. I not angry. Come." She tugged, and slowly I straightened. She took my hand and pulled me towards the wagon, stopping me a short distance away. "No close. Bad."

  "I don't understand."

  She pointed to the wheel -- which I didn't even have a name for -- and said a word in Framaran. "Bad. Broke." Then she took one hand, made a fist, and said, "Yallameenara." She took her second hand, holding it like a knife edge beside the first, and said, "Wagon." Then she slammed the second hand flat on top of the first.

  I stared at her hands. "I'm sorry," I said.

  She reached over and ruffled my hair with a smile. "Is okay."

  I looked at the wagon. It was leaning a little in our direction, but I couldn't see the real problem. "What part is broken?"

  "No words," she said. She held her hands up a short distance apart. "Wheel." She waved one hand. "Wheel." She waved other. Then she ran a finger back and forth between one hand and where she'd held the other hand. "Here. Broke here."

  I nodded and crouched down, trying to see, although I wasn't sure what I was looking at. "Thank you for explaining," I said. I used the Framaran phrase for the first part.

  She replied in Framaran then said, "Now owe forty and four words?"

  "What?"

  "I answered questions." She grinned at me.

  "That's not fair!"

  "Forty and four," she declared before turning away.

  * * * *

  They spent a half hour deciding what to do. I sat and watched, not understanding the conversation. Then I saw people step to the back of the wagon and begin to unload it, distributing the contents into the other wagons. I got up and helped.

  Once that was done, I watched as they began to disassemble the wagon. I couldn't help with that part, so I stepped up to Juleena. "They'll fix it?"

  "No. Too hard. Take what good. Leave rest." She looked up at the sun. "Ride another two hours."

  "Why did it break?"

  "Ground hard," she said. "Me wagon." Then she began walking, and every few steps, she dropped down, saying, "Thump" as she caught herself from falling to the ground. Then instead of "thump", she said, "crack". Then finally, "Crack!" and fell onto her butt.

  I laughed. She looked up at me and grinned.

  "I answer question. Owe sixty and four words."

  "What? No. Juleena, that's not fair."

  "I answer two questions. They fix? How break? Eighty and four."

  "No!"

  She didn't say anything. Instead she climbed to her feet then stepped up to me and put her arm around my shoulders. "Best start."

  "Later," I said, shrugging out from under her shoulder. I stomped away to the edge of our makeshift camp and plopped down in the tall grass, sulking.

  * * * *

  Juleena found me there perhaps twenty minutes later. I was still sulking, and I didn't look at her when she sat down next to me.

  We sat quietly for a minute or two until she said, "You friend."

  I glanced over at her but then looked away.

  "Daughter of queen not have friends," she continued.

  "I'm just a girl," I said.

  "Not just a girl."

  "Only ten and four summers," I said.

  "Ah. Still. You friend. I friend."

  I looked over at her. She was watching me carefully. "Not know word. Say things. Make you angry. But fun."

  "You think it's fun to make me angry?"

  She puzzled through that. "My words fun. Sorry. Not know Arrlotta word."

  "You were teasing me?"

  "Two more questions. One hundred and twenty and four words."

  "It is not!" I exclaimed. "You didn't answer the second one."

  "Did." She grinned.

  I stared at her. "I suppose you did. How many words do I really owe you?"

  "One hundred and forty and four." She answered in Framaran. But then she bumped her shoulder into mine. "Answer wagon questions. Count as one. Okay?"

  I thought about it. "Okay."

  "Owe forty and four."

  "No. I learned wagon and wheel. Forty and two."

  "Yes. Forty and two. Now teach word." She said a word and helped me learn it. "It means... how did you say? My fun words that make you angry."

  "Tease."

  * * * *

  She taught me words until I asked to stop. "Is hard," she said. "Understand. Owe ten and seven words."

  That night after dinner, as we gathered around the fire, Juleena spoke for a minute. I heard my name. Then she turned to me, smiling. "You sing song now."

  Everyone was watching me. I hadn't thought about that part. For a girl of the Arrlotta, it was a bad thing to hold so much attention. I looked around nervously.

  "Do I have to?"

  "You promise."

  "But-" I looked around. "They're all looking at me."

  "Of course. Want hear song. Stand up." She stepped to me and
pulled me to my feet. Then she whispered in my ear. "Is good. You pretty sing."

  "Will you sing with me?"

  "You sing," she said. Then she sat down.

  I looked down at her. I looked at everyone staring at me. And then I said, "I promised." I closed my eyes and began to sing.

  At first, I sang softly, and many of them couldn't hear me. I finished the first verse, and Juleena nudged me with her foot. "Sing all hear."

  And so I sang with more force, but still perhaps a little soft.

  When I was done, I opened my eyes and looked around. Everyone was quiet. Some had their eyes closed. Two of the women had their arms around each other, and they were leaning together.

  And then one of the men stood up and walked to me. He wiped a tear away, but then he surprised me by hugging me tightly. He said something, but I didn't understand. But Juleena stood up and translated his words.

  "He say thank you."

  "I caught that part."

  "He say remember his mama." Then she stepped closer and spoke softly. "Bangor mama die."

  "Oh," I said. I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm sorry."

  The man -- Bangor -- squeezed me once more before releasing me, but I received a kiss on my cheek as he stepped away.

  Then Juleena took my hands in hers. "Want you sing more song."

  "I don't know any others."

  "Sing Arrlotta songs," she said. "One now. One later. For me."

  I looked around the circle. "Hunting song?"

  "Hunting song?"

  "Yes. You help. All help."

  "Not know hunting song."

  "You clap," I said. "I teach. You sit." And so she sat. I looked at her. "You say my words, okay?"

  "Okay."

  I looked around again. "This is a hunting song," I said clearly.

  "What is hunting?" Juleena asked. "Not know word."

  "Um. Finding gazelle."

  "Gazelle?"

  "It's an animal. We hunt it for food. Well, the men hunt it." I put my hands on my head, pointing a finger on each hand like a gazelle's horns and jumped around a few times. Everyone laughed.

  "Oh," Juleena said. She said a word in Framaran then made me repeat it several times. Everyone nodded. They knew what a gazelle was, and now I knew another word.

  "As I was saying. This is a hunting song." Juleena translated. "There are two parts for you to learn." Pause. "First, I teach the boys' part." I waited until the men were all paying attention, then I clapped out a simple rhythm. I got them all to clap with me.