Remnants Of The Sun Page 15

  “Just tell them you have come over to help with the clear up of the festival, and you are wanting to speak to me to get my permission to do it,” she said.

  “And the bed cover?”

  “Just say it’s to make sure the wheelbarrow is protected, or for small debris, or something.”

  Sigrun gave a ‘this isn’t going to work’ glance at Sonja. “Well, you can’t say our relationship isn’t interesting.”

  Sonja felt every tip, turn, and judder of the wheelbarrow in her body as it wheeled across the grass. It was warm under the cover, and the air was stale. She felt claustrophobic, and she had a strong desire to constantly peek her head out so she could get some fresh air and light. She fought the instinct, breathing in and out to calm herself.

  Sonja started to hear the faint sound of people from afar. Even though she couldn’t see anything, she thought the barrow had passed across the encampment threshold. With only a few pushes to go she would be at her wagon.

  The wheelbarrow suddenly stopped, and she had to hold on to not fall out. She wanted to ask what had happened but realized she couldn’t. She inwardly sighed, hating that she was reduced to sneaking into her own encampment in a wheelbarrow. If someone wrote the history of her Keepership would they mention this tale? There would definitely be bursts of laughter for whoever heard it.

  “Jarl Sigrun, what are you doing in here with a wheelbarrow,” a male voice said. It sounded like Sigmund.

  “I’ve come to help you clear up,” Sigrun said in her cheery voice.

  Even though it was embarrassing, Sonja still felt warmth in her heart at the fact that Sigrun was going out of her way to help her. A lot of people could have just said it was her mess to sort out, but not Sigrun. She understood how important it was to Sonja to do this and so made sure to do everything she could to make it happen. It made Sonja appreciate and love Sigrun that much more.

  “I don’t know,” Sigmund said. “Usually Acolytes get given that job.”

  “Tch, getting kids to do all your hard work, what kind of faith is this?” Sigrun said.

  “Still, I can’t really say whether you can or can’t.”

  Sonja felt that Sigmund was being a bit too rules focused and hesitant, but in this case she thanked him as it allowed Sigrun to come to the subject of the Keeper.

  “Well then I will just have to ask the person who can,” Sigrun said. “I’ll wheel this to the Keeper.”

  “You sure you don’t want me to keep hold of the wheelbarrow for you?” Sigmund asked.

  “Oh definitely not.”

  The wheelbarrow raised again, and it shuddered off into the faith encampment. Sonja breathed out in relief. This wasn’t going so badly.

  And then she heard a shout from Britta. “What are you doing here, Jarl, with a wheelbarrow?”

  They picked up speed. Sigrun shouted back, “No time to chat, I got an important talk with the Keeper.”

  Sonja could hear the wheel rolling across the grass, and the sound of boots running towards them. Sigrun muttered under her breath, “Am I going to make it, am I going to make it, am I going to…”

  The wheelbarrow turned sharply, and Sonja nearly fell out. She put her hand up to save herself, and felt wood.

  “I’ll distract her,” Sigrun whispered. “Get out, and run around the wagon.”

  Sonja did as she was told. She carefully peeled the cover off herself. She emerged at the west side of the Keeper’s wagon. Sigrun and Britta stood around the corner.

  “I know you are trying to hide the Keeper in that wheelbarrow,” Britta said.

  “You really have an active imagination,” Sigrun replied.

  Sonja ran around the Keeper’s wagon. She walked to the front, where the pews and the podium were. She glanced around the area, deserted. She breathed out, feeling like she had been lucky, opened the door of the wagon, and ran in.

  The voices of Sigrun and Britta drew nearer to the door. Sonja smoothed her hair and the flame robe, breathed in, and opened it.

  “What a pleasant surprise to see you Jarl Sigrun, what brings you here,” she said, hoping that she was talking in her best Keeper voice.

  Britta glanced between her and Sigrun. “Come on, you can’t expect me to believe this can you?”

  “I don’t know what you believe, Britta,” she said, smiling sweetly. Now she truly wanted to drag Britta by her curly hair and throw her out of the encampment for what had happened today.

  “Yes, I’m just here to help clean up the mess of the festival,” Sigrun added.

  Sonja nodded her head. “I thank you for the gesture, but that won’t be necessary.”

  Britta gave them one last hard stare. “I know what happened and I’m going to tell everyone.”

  She walked off, shouting to anyone that was close about how the Keeper was full of shadow. Sonja watched her go, shaking her head and breathing a sigh of relief.

  “Well, that was quite fun,” Sigrun said, looking up at Sonja and grinning. “Let me know when you want to sneak into a place with a wheelbarrow again.”

  “I think next time you should have a go,” Sonja said, laughing at the absurdity of it all. She bent down and whispered, “I thank you anyway for doing that. You truly saved me.”

  Sigrun nodded to her. “Anytime, my Keeper.”

  Sigrun took hold of the wheelbarrow, and wheeled it away, giving Sonja a wave. Sonja watched her go, feeling warmth within her heart but also a little sadness. She had really wanted to spend that morning in bed with Sigrun, snuggling up to her and not caring about the faith or the wagon train. But Britta had ruined all of that.

  She gripped her hands, feeling all the frustration and embarrassment of that morning in one go. She was sick and tired of having to hide herself, and she was sick and tired of Britta making her life difficult. Both of them had to be dealt with.

  THERE IS TRUE SATISFACTION WITH GETTING YOUR LAW PASSED INTO STATUTE, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WORK IT TOOK TO DO SO

  ‘Lawyered Up’ by Sel Sitai

  Sigrun couldn’t help smirk in amusement about what had happened with Sonja. The sequence of events: having to wheelbarrow her across the faith’s encampment, running away from Britta, and pretending that she didn’t know what Britta was talking about, seemed absurd in the warm sun. She understood the seriousness of what would happen if Sonja was caught being with her, but she couldn't help but see the comedy in how they went about hiding it. All morning she kept flashing back to the misadventure, and laughed.

  For most of the walk through the wagon train she was alone, apart from the occasional horse trotting across the street. Because of the festival last night, the wagon train was slow to wake up. Many bosses treated this as a day of rest, and many workers used it to their full advantage.

  As she got nearer to Bonde Square, men and women started to step out of their wagons. They brought out a chair and table, a pack of cards or kings game board, while their friends or neighbors that joined them brought a small bottle of gin, whiskey, or rum. Soon, the wagon train was full of casual chatter, laughter, and casual competition. Sigrun smiled to see the train like this, so much so that she whistled a tune while striding past.

  She didn’t know why she found herself coming to Bonde Square so often, why it was the farmers she talked to the most, but strangely it felt the most natural. Maybe it was because the farmers were the true heart of the place. Sure, it was the Mission that decided on the destination most of the time, but it was the farmers that they relied on to survive. Sure, the Hoademakers put clothes on their bodies, and the Mattsons cooked the food, but if the worst came to the worst they could live without those families for a spell or find replacements. But they would never find a replacement for the farmers. They had honed their skills in planting, tending, and harvesting crops within a moving caravan. It felt like they should be the most well treated.

  Manang blazed down a glorious reddish light onto Bonde Square. Many of the carts that had contained crops had been moved to the side, a
nd the vast grassy expanse was now filled with various tables, chairs, and barrels full of beer. The wind had a cold spring freshness, meaning the farmers sitting or standing wore thicker tunics, or sometimes wrapped blankets around their shoulders as makeshift cloaks.

  Sigrun did not wear a cloak anymore, nor her fancy tunic. She wore her muddy tunic and trousers, and wore it with pride. When she strode in, many of the groups waved to her or smiled as she passed. She smiled back, feeling like she was herself again. She would have to thank Joan profusely for her advice. Being herself was the best political move she had made as Jarl.

  But she wasn’t here to see Joan or Gregor, though that might come later. No, she was here to explain her new law to the people of the wagon train.

  She glanced at the men and women who sat at tables or stood near beer barrels. Would they accept sacrificing their fun every week? All she could do was hope so, if not then she would have to find some other way to stop Hannes. And the other ways could be fraught with a lot more danger.

  The farmers shouted to her that last night had been a good festival, that they were surprised the faith put on such a good party, and that they appreciated her for being such a good dancer or person to talk to. She couldn’t help but smile at the last part. She would have to remember to tell Sonja the farmers thought the party had been a great success. Sonja would definitely feel joy about her plan succeeding.

  Sigrun stopped at each group of farmers to chat a little, but eventually she told them that she had something to say and that they should all gather around in a circle. Eventually the message spread around, and the farmers all bunched up in the square.

  A group of important Baldurs with Sven as the leader, got curious about this and walked up to her. Sven had his usual smile on his face, but there was a hint of worry and sadness within his eyes. There definitely seemed to be something serious going on with the Baldurs.

  “What’s this all about?” Sven asked.

  “You and your farmers are going to be the first to hear my announcement of a new law. I’ve come here personally to explain the merits of it and get the people’s approval.”

  “Ah, my mother told me about this,” Sven said, scratching his chin. “Is now a good time to announce it though. Most people here just want to chill and rest, they don’t want to think about politics.”

  “Now is a perfect time, most people are happy about the festival last night so my explanation will have the most impact,” she said, giving him a smile.

  Sven examined her, seeming to wonder whether he should allow this to happen. Sigrun felt a little annoyed at that, wasn’t she Jarl, didn’t that mean she could do things how she wanted to do them?

  But she resisted the urge to tell Sven this. If the rumors about Gregor’s ill health were to be believed it wouldn’t be too long before she would have to deal with Sven. It was good to keep any potential political relationship as happy as possible, just so it wasn’t too difficult to get what you wanted from them. It was a shame she couldn’t have a similar relationship with the Mattsons.

  “It’ll only take a few moments of people’s time, and then you can all go back to your chilling,” she said.

  Sven nodded. He and his important brothers and cousins stepped back into the crowd. Many farmers had watched the exchange with curiosity, but there were a few here and there that were fidgeted and looked bored. She would have to talk quicker now.

  “Men and women that farm the fields, I first have to thank you for all the work you did for the harvest. This wagon train literally wouldn’t survive without you, and I feel we don’t appreciate you enough for it. It shouldn’t be those Hoademakers with the fancy tunics and cloaks, it should be all of you wearing them for the work you do. But then again those tunics might get a bit muddy with all that digging in the dirt.”

  There were a lot of proud looks and nods as she spoke, and the last line got a good laugh. She smiled, feeling in her element. She had never spoken to a whole crowd of people before, never tried to explain herself and why she was doing a certain action. As a cattle rancher she had mostly been on her own, doing her own thing, and never really interacting with others for that long. And yet here she was, standing in the middle of a circle of people staring at her, and she felt confident. In fact, she felt more than confident, she felt like she could be the best damn Jarl this wagon train had ever seen. All she would have to do was get on with the work and bring the people along.

  “Last night the faithful held a party in your honor. We ate the fruits of your labor, drank to your sweat and toil, and had a few crazy dances along the way. But it was more than a celebration, we came together last night as a wagon train. Two sides that had been divided drove on the road to eventually heal wounds. That is important, and I have to thank the Mission of Sol for being brave enough to step forwards to try to heal those wounds.”

  There was a cheer for that, and many raised a glass to the faith and drank their beer. Sigrun would have to let Sonja know about that.

  “It’s events like those which make me positive about the wagon train’s future. If we could have more parties that allowed us to come together, then our little bit of the world would be happy and carefree. The only issues we would have to care about would be raiders, or merchants selling goods for way too much money.”

  Another smattering of laughter. Her heart was racing now, this was her moment, this was where she would tell them her law.

  “But the parties like the festival we had last night are not the only parties we have. There are many weekly parties, ones involving feasting, drinking, and more carnal activities. These aren’t parties that are about people coming together, not really, these are events about forgetting your work and your troubles, drowning out your world with excessive drinking and food. Food I might add you worked all season to nurture, to grow, and to harvest.

  “And yet I’ve seen what happens to that food, it gets piled up on tables, eaten a little, and then chucked away. Do you really want all that hard labor to be wasted like that?”

  “I feel your work deserves better, I think you deserve better. We should stop these weekly parties, stop the waste of food. We should have parties that are meaningful to the wagon train, that bring people together, and that project a happy and carefree future. And that is why I am bringing a law that will do just that. There will only be a set amount of parties in the year, which will have food and drink, but that will be controlled. We need to make sure we can survive the future, we need to make sure your hard work doesn’t go to waste.”

  She breathed in, feeling a little exhausted saying so much. The crowd was silent, staring at her, probably processing what she had just said. Sigrun glanced at the faces around the circle, and couldn't tell what their reaction was going to be. Were they going to accept this, completely reject it, or would it be mixed? She just wanted someone to woop or throw a cup at her.

  But eventually someone did say something. Daniel, the young man in the group of farmers she hung about with, stepped forwards. “Those parties are our way of letting our hair down. Yes they aren’t noble, but that’s not what they are for. You can't get rid of one of the outlets we use to get away from our hard jobs.”

  There were a few nods and shouts of agreement to that. It didn’t surprise Sigrun, she was expecting the argument.

  She put up her hands. “I totally get that. You deserve to have relief from all your hard work. That’s why, along with this party plan, I am also bringing in a law that will give you a day off work. At the moment you get breaks and half an afternoon, but you deserve more than that.”

  Sven narrowed his eyes at that. Yeah, she was going against the Baldur’s wishes somewhat but she felt she had to. And the appreciative nods and cheers from people in the crowd let her know that it had been a worthwhile gamble. Even though Sven would grumble and mutter how it was a bad idea, they wouldn’t actively go against it. Like they hadn’t actively gone against the weekly parties, even though they knew how damaging they were. At least her propos
al wasn’t as damaging.

  She looked at the crowd. “I appreciate that this is a big change that I’m proposing, that I’m taking away something that a lot of you have enjoyed. I truly believe I am doing something right, that I am benefiting the wagon train, and more importantly I’m benefiting you and your work. But I also know that you will all see problems that I don’t see. It will be a few days before the council votes on this law, so I want anyone that has a problem or wants something tweaked to come to me and say what that is. I am open to listening to you, and changing things based on your ideas, because that’s what it’s all about at the end of the day: making you happy.”

  She nodded to the crowd. There were whoops and cheers as she walked through the throng. Many hands clapped her on the back or shouted their appreciation. She couldn’t help but grin, and thank them back. Her attitude had gone down well, and she was feeling that sense of greatness again. She could be the greatest Jarl of them all.

  Sigrun knew that it wasn’t over, that she would probably have many that would come to her with problems and suggestions for changes. There was also the vote itself. Even though she had fulfilled her end of the bargain to Gregor, that didn’t guarantee her success. Maybe Gregor, or even Sven, would change their minds, hating the idea of a day off. Maybe Sonja wouldn't be able to convince her side to vote for the law.

  But at least she made a step in the right direction, and at the moment everyone took it positively.

  SEE THIS DAGGER, SEE HOW MANY ENEMIES I HAVE STABBED WITH THEE

  Act 2, Scene 3 of ‘Safiye II’

  Sonja strode around the faith’s encampment, waking up the Priests, Priestesses, and Acolytes. She gave them a cheery smile when they rubbed their eyes, and told them that they needed to clear the field up. Many groaned at this, but she told them it was necessary and that she would help them.