*Shift, part II -- Betrothal

The man was unbearable. Allatea’s nose wrinkled in distaste even at the thought of him. As the son of the king’s chief advisor, Beyannev was one of the most sought after men in Aequo. He knew it, and it showed in his swagger, his carefully oiled hair, his unequivocal arrogance. He probably spent more time grooming than most women in the city. Despite finding him insufferable, Allatea would have married him. For the good of the kingdom, she would have coupled herself to a man who was not only incredibly vain, but was also rather stupid.

But that was before. Before she met Tiernahk. Before she knew the truth about the Vahrlet. Allatea had been taught all her life that the Vahrlet were monsters, or animals at best. They would contaminate anyone with whom they came in contact. For this reason no Vahrlet were allowed on the palace grounds; even the king was not immune from their pollution. Wealthier citizens owned hundreds of them, always managed by lower-born Doyenne. The Vahrlet were not allowed to talk, make eye-contact, eat around, or in any way intimate that they were anything other than the lowest of the low, trained beasts.

When Allatea had stumbled across Tiernahk in the woods as a child, she had not known what he was. She didn’t know not to speak to him to avoid contamination. They became friends. It was only later that she realised what he was. As she grew older, Allatea realised that she loved him. Despite being a slave and being beaten frequently, Tiernahk was more alive than anyone she knew. He had a peculiar sense of humour, a droll way of speaking that had her constantly laughing. When they were older they discussed more serious subjects. He would tell her what it was like to be a slave while knowing he was really a king, the incredible frustration he felt at being unable to protect his people. He also knew more about the history of Aequo then anyone. Allatea had been taught history, but what Tiernahk told her was very different. The Doyenne had not always ruled. In fact, Tiernahk was a direct descendent of the last Vahrlet king. Allatea could sense he wasn’t telling her everything. He was still putting together the pieces of ancient records. He was close to figuring it out, but not sure enough to vocalise it yet. Whatever it was, it was important. She caught him now and then looking intently at a blade of grass, or at a branch, or even at her, but his thoughts were far away as he puzzled it out.

Allatea treasured every moment they spent together. They were rare, as she had many duties and lessons, and Tiernahk couldn’t disappear without being severely punished. He didn’t tell her that, but she knew; sometimes he couldn’t meet her because he was injured or too weak to leave his bed. Despite the risk, she met him as often as possible; she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.

So when the king announced her betrothal to Beyannev, Allatea had to come up with a plan. Run away? Start a scandalous rumour about him? Have him killed? Telling her father the true reason wouldn’t work, as Allatea could hardly own to loving a slave.

Day after day passed as Allatea wracked her brain for an idea, an excuse, a reason. She thought about starting a rumour that Beyannev was sterile- that would put an end to the match in a hurry- but in the end she couldn’t do it. As much as she disliked Beyannev, Allatea couldn’t do something so low. She would have to find another way.

Allatea snuck over the garden wall and ran through the woods. Maybe Tiernahk would have an idea. She hid behind a tree and watched the house, waiting for Tiernahk to come out. This was how they met. They had no trusted messenger, no arranged meeting times- both were too dangerous. So whenever she was sure of a couple hours alone, Allatea would steal away to meet him. In the trees nearby she would wait until he came out on an errand. They would walk out into the woods where no one went but themselves, and talk and plan and just enjoy being together.

The sun slowly lowered in the sky, and there was still no sign of him. Allatea would have to do this on her own. She didn’t know what had happened to Tiernahk, but she couldn’t wait for him. The guards would discover she was not in her garden, and that would lead to all sorts of misery. Her father would no longer trust her; she would never be alone, she would never see Tiernahk again. Allatea raced back to the castle and scrambled over the garden wall in time to hear the guards announce the king.

The king looked at his daughter, dishevelled and breathing hard. “What have you been doing, Daughter?”

“I...I was in the tree.” Climbing trees would get her in trouble, but it was better than treason.

“When are you going to start acting like a princess? Like a woman! You will be married soon, and I expect you to act appropriately.”

“I won’t marry him Father!”

The king’s eyebrows lowered dangerously. Allatea winced. She had not meant to defy him openly like that. This could be her only chance to reason with him, talk him out of this betrothal. She closed her eyes briefly, gathering her wits.

“Father, Beyannev is a spoiled peacock. He won’t make a good consort. He’ll seduce the maidservants and distract me from what’s important.”

“He has good blood. He’ll sire strong children. You can handle the rest.”

“There are plenty of men with good blood. Please, let me choose a man who will contribute, someone with whom I could be happy.”

“You, choose your own husband! You will do as you are told.”

“Is that the kind of queen you want me to be, Father, an obedient one? You taught me to think and act for myself. Beyannev is not the right man.”

“Beyannev may not be the brightest of men, but he doesn’t need to be. His only job is to father children and look good for the public.” The king smirked. “He does that already.”

“Please Father. At least consider it. An unhappy queen is not a good one.” Allatea hoped her arguments were persuasive enough. She would not marry Beyannev.

“Daughter, why is this suddenly so important to you? You’ve known for years that you will marry him.”

“I’ve grown up Father. Being a good queen is more important to me than anything. I used to think that I could do that on my own, but now I see that who I have around me influences what kind of decisions I make. Isn’t that why I’ve never met a Vahrlet?”

The king’s smile was wry. “You’re comparing Beyannev to the Vahrlet?”

Allatea knew she had won. If the king could joke about it, she was safe. Safe from marrying a man she didn’t love. For now. She wouldn’t be able to stay single forever, and she would never be able to marry Tiernahk. Some day she would have to marry and produce heirs. For the good of Aequo she would have to find a Doyenne man who shared her beliefs and marry him. Some day. Not now.

No, why delay it? Allatea knew she had to end her friendship with Tiernahk right away. Putting it off would only make it worse. She would meet him one more time to explain things, to say goodbye. One more golden afternoon before a life of duty. It would be hard.

The future queen took a deep breath. It would break her heart, but this was her road, and she would take it.

Sweets and Spiders

Warning: the following entry is not intended for diabetics or arachnophobics.

Sweets

Have you ever had baklava? It is a delicious, gooey, very sweet dessert of nuts and cinnamon sugar rolled in layers of phyllo pastry and drenched in a honey mixture. Mmm!

I had always thought baklava was a greek dessert, since every time I've had it, it was made by an old greek woman with a recipe that had been in the family for generations. But I was wrong. It's actually Turkish in origin, spread during they heyday of the Ottoman Empire, and is traditionally served during Ramadan.

My mistake in it's origin, however, does not take away my immense enjoyment while eating it. If you have a couple hours to kill, try making it, or if not, buy some! Even those on the strictest diet deserve a little treat now and then, and why not satisfy that craving with a cultural experience?

Spiders

Now that we have the yummy part of my post over with, let's get into the nasty. As I came out into my living room this morning, I saw that my cats were very interested in something on the wall. I came closer...then shrank back. It was a spider! Now, don't mistake my for an arachnophobic. I am not afraid of your common house spider, and whenever I come across one I take it outside. But this one was different. It was huge! It was mottled grey and brown! Not counting it's legs, this spider was probably at least 13mm across. My usual policy regarding spiders went out the window. I was not going anywhere near this one, let alone taking it outside where it could lay eggs and then my whole house would be invaded! No, this spider deserved a different fate: the vacuum. It took several seconds for that spider to finally succumb to the pressure of the vacuum and get sucked in, then I left it running for another few seconds to ensure it went all the way down. The last thing I wanted was for that nasty spider to come crawling out of my vacuum and catch me unawares! Even now, hours later, I'm still slightly disgusted.

Unfortunately, in my haste to get rid of it, I didn't take a picture of the monstrosity for you. This is the closest I could find. Just imagine it crawling up your arm, or peeking at you from the sheets!

Where's Freud when you need him?

I'm standing on a balcony overlooking the courtyard. A few doors down there's a woman outside also. She's angry. At me. Swearing, she hurls a bottle in my direction. I duck, and it shatters behind me. Small pieces of glass sting my exposed skin. The woman jumps the railing and heads for my balcony. I run inside, try to secure the door. It won't latch! I try again, no luck. The woman is stronger than I am, and forces her way through the door. As she advances toward me I see she carries a long knife in each hand. She attacks. I duck and weave, but I'm no match for her. I get several deep gashes. An onlooker takes one of her knives and hands it to me, so I can fight back. I manage to cut her a couple times. I knock her down, and go in for the kill. Try as I might, I can only hit her shoulder, as if there's a force-field guarding the rest of her. I look, and realise neither of us is injured. No cuts, no blood. I gingerly try my knife on the tip of one finger, then rasp it hard across my arm. The knife is made of soft rubber. Hmm. "Weird" I say, and drop the knife.

Season's Greetings

Autumn is my favourite season. I know, I say every season is my favourite at the time, but I do have reasons to back it up. I love it when the air gets cool in the evening, and is fresh and crisp in the morning. I love the many colours of fall: red, orange, brown (not a yucky dead brown, but the brown of certain leaves before they fall). I love how my little house is no longer 3000 degrees inside. In Edmonton we sometimes get unseasonably cold weather, so all the leaves turn brilliant colours, but then it heats up again, so we get the wonderfully warm weather of summer with the beauty of autumn.

In autumn, also, the sunsets/rises are fantastic! Before moving here, I never knew the sky could be so many different colours. On the sun side, it's rosy, yellow, pink, and a little blue, and in the other direction it's the deepest black studded with bright stars. In the middle, the black fades to a deep blue, then a lighter blue, then a little dusky rose and yellow come in, and so on. Don't trust my description, this is something you have to see for yourself. It's breathtaking. If you've never been to the prairies before, I suggest you make the trip, just the sunsets and rises alone are worth it!

Un-honeymoon?

In the absence of any interesting events recently, I've decided to delve into the past in order to keep my sister satisfied.

I've heard many different stories about family vacations. Some hate them, some love them, but usually there's some of both. In my experience, they're mostly good, with only a spat here or poor weather there to mar the perfection. I love my family a lot, so vacations are always great. Since Rob and I were married, however, the dynamic changed. Suddenly we had to split our time between our two families. Who got summer vacation? Christmas? Thanksgiving? It created a bit of tension.

So last summer we skipped it all. Rob and I went to Mexico. It was an absolutely perfect vacation. The weather was hot, the water clear, our day trips wonderful adventures. The food was fantastic, so we ate a lot. It was even better than our honeymoon. We never had a single discordant thought, and enjoyed everything together. Our vacation was relaxing, exciting, filling, and romantic.

Our first day trip took us into the desert. We stopped to swim at a cenote- a deep cave filled with crystal clear water and lots of fish. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Plants on the surface sent down long trailers to reach the water, and shafts of sunlight highlighted the colours. It was amazing, and the cool water felt great after the 45 degree C. weather.

In the afternoon we visited the ruins of Chichen Itza. So much history in one spot. I had always pictured just the main pyramid, but there are hundreds of other buildings and smaller pyramids, each with their own story.

One day we went to a small town nearby to shop. The vendors were very pushy! "Come in, free air-conditioning!" "Just come in and look!" "Pretty jewelry for a pretty lady!" We spent way too much.

On our last day trip we explored an underground river system. We were issued wetsuits and helmets with a light on top. This trip is not recommended for claustrophobics! The tunnels were narrow, but would open up into vast caverns where we could see stalagmites and such of all different colours. I guess the people that run this tour are a little short on money, because the way in is a dirt, much-rutted road which we traverse in the back of an actual WWII truck (no shocks) with branches whipping our faces the whole way! It was kind of fun in a very jolting, slightly nauseous kind of way.

In the mornings we went to the beach before it got too hot, and enjoyed the white sand and clear water. I'm not a sun-bather, but it was so peaceful down by the water.

I think the evenings were my favourite. After the sun went down a breeze sprang up, cooling the air and filling it with the faint perfume of flowers. It was very calm and quiet, except for the chirping of crickets and distant laughter. Overhead the stars shone so bright!

Rob and I dream of going back some day.