Keep Them Dry 2

More from Malice, Ferran, and Ella

The weight of the clay jug in Ella’s arms was getting heavier by the second. The village was roughly a mile away, but today it felt like at least ten. The sun was high in the sky already and it seemed to pound its heat into Ella like a shining golden mace. She wiped the sweat from under her eyes and paused a moment to inspect it on her fingers. It made them shine a little and she thought her fingers resembled the soft brown cookies Rosie would make, glazing them with clear sugar once they had been pulled from the oven. She licked her fingers then, enjoying the salty taste of the water that she and the sun had made together. A vision came then, striking Ella like painless lightning zapping her forehead. She saw an enormous amount of water falling from a high cliff. It crashed down to the ground, which wasn’t sand, but simply more water. The image took her breath away and was gone seemingly as soon as it had started. She took three deep breaths and tugged her hair behind her shoulders.

She started walking again, quickly, wanting to speak with the delic as soon as she could. She could see the town square now, the large temple casting a shadow over the few small stores and buildings. She broke into a run, trotting through the center of town straight to the water temple. Luckily, most people got their water rations early in the morning, so there was no line to wait in or small talk to make. She hurried up the large steps and opened the door gently. She remembered the first time she had come here; she had banged it open quickly and hard and left a crumbling hole in the sand stone wall behind the door. The delic had chuckled and stroked Ella’s hair.

“Seems to me you’ve got a fire in that belly of yours, child. And stars in your eyes as well,” the woman had laughed softly as she spoke. Her gentle green eyes lit up like a child’s. “You should come visit me some time, dear heart, if you would like.”

Ella had been taken with the woman right away. She smelled of sandalwood and her hair was as pale as the moon behind clouds. Ella had wished to touch it then. After many visits, the delic had let Ella play with her hair, using beautifully decorated combs to create intricate hair styles. They had bonded during those times and now, anytime Ella smelled the sweet mustiness of sandalwood, she thought of friendship.

Ella made her way down the long temple hall that led from the common room to the delic’s quarters. She knocked softly on the door and Ana opened it, her bright smile shining kindly.

“Ella, dear, I’m so glad you came today. I was just thinking about you,” the delic’s smile stayed just as bright as she welcomed Ella in to her quarters.

Ella returned her smile and hugged her strongly, inhaling the sweet smell of her. The face she had created for her mother entered her thoughts briefly. She could always feel the presence of her mother when she was with Ana. She took it as a sign that she was exactly where she should be.

“Ana, I have more questions for you. I have been having more and more of those visions I told you about before. I’m kinda frightened by their frequency, and I don’t know what they mean.” Ella looked down at her feet, wishing she could understand what was coming from her own head instead of having to trust her confusion to someone else. Still, if there was anyone she could trust, it was Ana. She recounted the incident on the desert path to Ana, who quietly listened, head tilted to one side. When Ella was done speaking, she realized that she was still standing in the middle of the room, breathing heavily from speaking so quickly. Ana was sitting pensively on a large velvet pillow under the window. Ella lowered herself on to another pillow across from Ana. She felt the warmth of sun seeping in through the window and focused on it, trying to slow her breathing.

Ana sat quietly for several minutes and then said, “Ella, I think all these visions are pointing to your connection with water. I think they are signs that you are to be the next delic. What would you think of that, dear heart?”

Ella’s mouth gaped open. She had always dreamed of having that honor, but she hadn’t expected Ana to mention it so soon, or without Ella having had to bring it up first.

“Ana, that would be the most wonderful thing I could ever imagine. And I do think my visions are related to my relationship with water. I have noticed more and more that I search for water everywhere. I see it in life and death and all things. It’s more than a resource to me. It’s personification of a life force, of a higher power. Even yesterday, I was thinking of all the small ways water reveals a person’s soul.” Ella paused and reddened slightly, wondering if perhaps she shouldn’t be more reserved and not let her excitement about becoming a delic be so obvious.

“Tell me what you meant by that, Ella. Tell me how water reveals a person’s soul,” Ana requested, almost solemnly.

Ella took a moment to gather her thoughts. The first time she had the theory, she realized its abstractness. She wanted to be sure that she could explain her thoughts to Ana without sounding naïve, or worse yet, crazy.

“I see it everywhere, Ana. Like my perspiration today. My soul reflected its tenacity, its desire to achieve and be challenged with the sweat on my brow and cheeks. When a person cries, their soul reveals sorrow, anger, or even joy. When the old men and women spit on the ground, it’s a sign of frustration or disdain. Or when my mouth “waters” at the scent of Rosie’s sweet cakes, my soul reflects hunger and desire, the need to be satisfied. And not to be forgotten, blood.” Ella smiled with pride. The words had come naturally and Ella was pleased.

A look of fear passed over Ana’s face, and although it left quickly, it lingered long enough for Ella to notice.

 

“What about blood, Ella?” Ana asked seriously.

“I just meant it’s the most powerful of water’s interpretation of one’s soul. Blood shows sacrifice, power, pain, a need to survive, and life. It is life! Isn’t that wonderful, Ana? We have sharp red water running through our bodies, always. It gives us life. I think it’s beautiful.” Ella responded quickly to Ana, not wanting to be misunderstood, although she wasn’t sure how she had been. “Are you afraid of something, Ana? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, my child. You did not. Your thoughts are indeed beautiful, and you are delightfully in tune with our sacred element. It’s just that, well, you’re not the only one who has been having visions lately. And I have seen some other things as well, things that reinforce that my visions are not merely whimsical daydreams. Our blood keeps us alive, yes, but it also keeps other things alive too.” Ana’s voice dropped on the last words, but to Ella, the words, so ominous and frightening, seemed to echo loudly in the room.

“What do you mean, Ana? What visions? What other things?” Ella tried not to sound panicked, but her beloved Ana had never shown fear before. Not once.

“I’ve been having dreams of blood. Blood being taken from our neighbors and loved ones. Even from me. And in the mornings, when I go to bless the sacred well I’ve seen strange things. At first, it was just footprints, two pairs, both about the same size. And then, long brown boards were being laid across the sand. This morning when I went, though, the boards had taken on the shape of a box. An extremely large box, big enough for three huts to fit inside,” Ana’s eyes were large and bewildered, as if she didn’t believe what her own words.

“Have you told the Council of Elders about it? If it’s so close to our well, our only source of water, they must know something. Surely they know something,” Ella said, hopefully.

“I have told them. The Eldest went with me one morning and said the boards were something called “wood”. She said wood comes from large, green plants that require too much water to live in our barren land. She supposed they must have come from very far away, but no one knows where or how they got here. Tonight, after the water ceremony, I’ve been asked to take a watch and see if I can find out anything more. You mustn’t tell anyone, Ella, the Elders have ordered silence so as not to cause a panic. But I want to let you know, in case.” Ana finished her words slowly and deliberately. Ella found herself wondering if the green plants that made the wood were as beautiful as Ana’s green eyes, and concluded that there could be no green like that which she was staring into at this moment.

“In case of what, DelicAna?” This time Ella could not keep the panic from her voice. She hoped against hope that Ana wasn’t speaking of what Ella thought she was. The little voice behind her eyes was stubborn, though, and she knew exactly what Ana meant.

“I’ve spoken to Rosie, dear heart, and she has conceded to let you come and live with me. We will start your training now, the sooner the better. We were going to surprise you tonight at the ceremony, but I think its best you know now. And I think it’s best if you get your things today and begin your time in the temple immediately after the ceremony tonight. You will be announced, tonight, child. You will be called the DelicElla before you retire to bed, this very night. Aren’t you pleased, Ella?” Ana had ignored Ella’s question, and successfully. Ella’s heart leapt and her face beamed. She would be a delic; she had been chosen at last.

Tears came up from her heart and she let them roll down her face, unashamed.

“Ana, my soul is showing. It’s showing as joy…pure joy.”

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It was hours before nightfall and Farren breathed easier because of it. He sat at the small table, drinking hot tea. It was his fifth cup, and the waiter had given him a funny look on the last refill. Farren had been too lost in thought to notice, however, and he would sit and drink the hot tea until dusk, when he would have to return to Malice. It was the first day he had been able to visit the small village, the first day he hadn’t been overcome by exhaustion from building the wretched house for his master. He looked at his hands, calloused and pale, covered in angry blisters. He didn’t mind the work, though, grateful for any activity that took his mind off of Mae and thoughts of an unfortunate future for himself. For a long time after coming into servitude, he had relished the quiet of night and avoided any kind of sun. Its brightness reminded him too much of Mae’s shine, the way she lit up and brightened the dark shadows of sadness that had engulfed him before he met her. His eyes winced, drawing a sharp breath and willing the tears to stay in his depths. He couldn’t afford to be vulnerable, even in solitude.

He was surprised to find the warmth of the sweet tea actually cooled him down, even with the raging sun pulsing heat into his every pore. Farren looked out over the sand stone wall and watched the villagers. Some walked hurriedly, pulling messy haired children behind them. Others moseyed slowly, going in and out of shops, speaking to each other in quiet chatters. Farren had discovered in his travels with Malice that people everywhere were pretty much the same. They loved the same, they cried the same; hell, they even bled the same. Farren slammed the empty teacup on the table, tired of the endless thinking. He realized suddenly that the tea had run through him quickly, although five cups of anything would do that to anyone. He left some money on the table, which was about half his weekly allowance from Malice. He was grateful that Malice gave him anything at all, but he realized it wasn’t out of the goodness of Malice’s heart. Malice had no heart.

“I’ve got to keep you healthy and well fed. And you don’t eat what I do, do you, boy?” Malice had guffawed the first time he had given Farren money.

Farren jumped up and rushed out of the small café, wondering if he would make it home before he burst. He considered going back into the restaurant and using their facility, but he felt an unease that was caused by something other than his full bladder, although what was causing it, he did not know. Better to get home and away from all the people. Better not to become familiar with anyone he might see later, wriggling in Malice’s grasp and then dying in his pasty arms. The unease tided over into nausea then. How much longer would Farren have to live in this hell? How many more people would he watch die? And how many more guilty swallows would run down his throat, knowing that he could have at least tried to stop Malice, but also knowing he would never succeed. He slipped down a side alley, running adjacent to the largest building in the town and threw up, stomach knotted, tea spraying the sand, tainted with guilt and sorrow. His head blackened then, and his knees became liquid, causing the man to fall over into the sand. There he stayed, blissfully lost to his aching reality.

Strong hands caressed his face and hair. Farren’s eyes opened to a face that seemed hauntingly familiar, but that he had never seen before. Her face had been painted by the sun, and her eyes were the yellow sand. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, expecting to feel gritty sand beneath his palms, but instead feeling soft linen brushing his hands. He was in a bed, in a room, cool and graying in the setting sun. The realization that the sun was setting caused him to jump all the way up, sending sharp pain through his head and arms.

“Sir, wait, you’ve had quite a fall. You should rest some.” The girl’s sandy eyes pleaded with him to lie back down.

“Child, you’re kind to help me, but I must go, before it gets dark. My mast…my friend will be expecting me.” Farren said quickly. He started towards what he believed to be the door and then paused, turning to face the girl again. She couldn’t be more than sixteen, her youth obvious on her smooth, shining skin. She was lovely, undoubtedly, by any standards. “How do I leave her, um, what is your name, young lady?” Farren asked.

“My name is Ella. But soon I will be called DelicElla. I really do think you should stay for awhile. You don’t look well, sir.” Ella said politely. “If your friend is waiting, we can send a messenger to let him know you are ill. You aren’t from here, are you?” Ella said, carefully. She didn’t want to pry, but it was rare to see someone you didn’t know in Charstey.

“No need for that, Ella, but thank you all the same. My name is Farren. It’s an honor to be in the presence of a delic, even a soon to be delic. A water priestess, yes? You must be a special girl then. You’re correct that I’m not from here, but I’d imagine it be easy to spot an outsider in such a small place. Your kindness won’t be soon forgotten, Ella. Thank you again.” He turned back around to leave.

“Farren, sir, the door to leave is the other way. Then you just go down the long hallway until you reach the common room. You’ll see the large door out of the temple directly across the room once you get there. Will you know how to get where you’re going from there?” Ella asked, cautiously.

“I hope so, Ella. I hope so,” the man responded.

And then he was gone.

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