before—the loose, calf-length divided skirt that Durdana women wore for riding. There were blue dragonflies on the skirt, too, and I had a straw hat and a duster to keep off rain and mud. I didn’t want anything on my feet, but Sertaj said I had to wear boots with a heel, to keep from being dragged if I fell off my horse, and Sulen lent me a spare pair that luckily fit well enough.
The first thing I learned was that horses were not boats. I'd imagined that guiding the animal would be much like steering a boat, and I'd overlooked the fact that the creatures had minds of their own. I was given the least skittish of the spare riding mounts, but the chestnut mare did not take to me, nor I to her. Despite the coaching I got from Dilara, the wretched creature insisted on barging off the road to nibble leaves, and I nearly fell off a dozen times in my efforts to dissuade her. So, about mid-morning, I was consigned to the back of a placid and unadventurous packhorse. My humiliation and chagrin left me almost speechless for a while, but Dilara and Sulen didn’t snicker as I'd feared they would; instead, they rode alongside me and told me I just needed more practice.
Rain came and went as we trotted along, but my duster and hat kept me marvelously dry and warm. Dilara, Sulen, and I formed our own little group, while the Despotana and Tossi rode some yards ahead; around us the soldiers formed an armored, moving wall. About midday we reached Gladewater, and as I gazed around the place, I realized that it was nearly as poor as Riversong. If I’d had to make my living there, I would have starved.
But now I was on my way to High Lake, and Dilara said we would reach the town by nightfall. I could hardly wait to see it, although Sulen sniffed and said that High Lake was a run-down place and not nearly as big as the city of Chiran, where the Despotana’s school was. That turned our talk to the school, and soon I was getting very uneasy—how could anyone be expected to learn so much? But Dilara and Sulen seemed to manage tolerably well, as far as I could tell, and I decided I’d probably do no worse.
The forest thinned as we traveled, and the road became a little broader, with occasional remains of pavement jutting through the turf. After a while I asked hopefully, “What happens after you learn all you’re supposed to learn? Does the Despotana find you a rich man so you can get married?”
“I’m not sure,” Dilara said. ‘Tossi is the oldest of us, and she’s not getting married. I don’t think so, anyway. She told me that Mother Midnight says we shouldn’t bother about— Oh!” Sulen had twisted around in her saddle and was making shush-shush gestures, but she was grinning. Dilara giggled, and I said, “What’s the matter? Who’s Mother Mid—”
I shut up as I realized she meant the Despotana. Then, lowering my voice, I asked, “Why did you call her that?” “We all do,” Dilara told me. “But we don’t say it if she can hear. Usually we call her Mother, or if we’re speaking with her, we call her ma’am. Her Midnight name—it’s kind of a joke. It’s because of the story.”
“What story?”
“It’s in The Book of the Pearl Garden Mistress, Don’t you know it?”
“No.” I'd never even seen a book, but I was determined not to admit it. “I can’t read, remember?”
“Then I’ll tell it to you tonight before we go to sleep. All right?”
“All right.”
“You’ll learn to read just fine, too. I’ll help you.”
I felt better for her promise. I was already coming to like Dilara a great deal, with her pert grin and her nimbleness and her quick, nervous gestures. And I sensed that she liked me as well. For the first time in my life, I seemed to be making a real friend.
We rode on through the rain-washed day, with only a brief rest in the late aftemoon. Well before then I was saddle sore and too tired to talk much. Dilara’s and Sulen’s chatter also diminished, and eventually they
The first thing I learned was that horses were not boats. I'd imagined that guiding the animal would be much like steering a boat, and I'd overlooked the fact that the creatures had minds of their own. I was given the least skittish of the spare riding mounts, but the chestnut mare did not take to me, nor I to her. Despite the coaching I got from Dilara, the wretched creature insisted on barging off the road to nibble leaves, and I nearly fell off a dozen times in my efforts to dissuade her. So, about mid-morning, I was consigned to the back of a placid and unadventurous packhorse. My humiliation and chagrin left me almost speechless for a while, but Dilara and Sulen didn’t snicker as I'd feared they would; instead, they rode alongside me and told me I just needed more practice.
Rain came and went as we trotted along, but my duster and hat kept me marvelously dry and warm. Dilara, Sulen, and I formed our own little group, while the Despotana and Tossi rode some yards ahead; around us the soldiers formed an armored, moving wall. About midday we reached Gladewater, and as I gazed around the place, I realized that it was nearly as poor as Riversong. If I’d had to make my living there, I would have starved.
But now I was on my way to High Lake, and Dilara said we would reach the town by nightfall. I could hardly wait to see it, although Sulen sniffed and said that High Lake was a run-down place and not nearly as big as the city of Chiran, where the Despotana’s school was. That turned our talk to the school, and soon I was getting very uneasy—how could anyone be expected to learn so much? But Dilara and Sulen seemed to manage tolerably well, as far as I could tell, and I decided I’d probably do no worse.
The forest thinned as we traveled, and the road became a little broader, with occasional remains of pavement jutting through the turf. After a while I asked hopefully, “What happens after you learn all you’re supposed to learn? Does the Despotana find you a rich man so you can get married?”
“I’m not sure,” Dilara said. ‘Tossi is the oldest of us, and she’s not getting married. I don’t think so, anyway. She told me that Mother Midnight says we shouldn’t bother about— Oh!” Sulen had twisted around in her saddle and was making shush-shush gestures, but she was grinning. Dilara giggled, and I said, “What’s the matter? Who’s Mother Mid—”
I shut up as I realized she meant the Despotana. Then, lowering my voice, I asked, “Why did you call her that?” “We all do,” Dilara told me. “But we don’t say it if she can hear. Usually we call her Mother, or if we’re speaking with her, we call her ma’am. Her Midnight name—it’s kind of a joke. It’s because of the story.”
“What story?”
“It’s in The Book of the Pearl Garden Mistress, Don’t you know it?”
“No.” I'd never even seen a book, but I was determined not to admit it. “I can’t read, remember?”
“Then I’ll tell it to you tonight before we go to sleep. All right?”
“All right.”
“You’ll learn to read just fine, too. I’ll help you.”
I felt better for her promise. I was already coming to like Dilara a great deal, with her pert grin and her nimbleness and her quick, nervous gestures. And I sensed that she liked me as well. For the first time in my life, I seemed to be making a real friend.
We rode on through the rain-washed day, with only a brief rest in the late aftemoon. Well before then I was saddle sore and too tired to talk much. Dilara’s and Sulen’s chatter also diminished, and eventually they
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