Where the Wind Takes Us
Part 3 - The Wind's Direction
Chapter 4 - What Lies Hidden
Eona’s recovery was swift. By early evening, she was able to sit up and eat raku stew by herself. The Sadan Taram moved around her like chicks around a mother hen. They brought her tea, blankets, food--anything she asked for, though she didn’t ask for much. She was too tired.
As darkness fell, Eona and the other Sadan Taram gathered around a large fire set against the chill of the season. The seasoned firewood gave off a sweet scent in the gloom.
“I’m exhausted,” Eona said.
“Me, too,” Sansa said. “It’s just about time to go to bed.”
A bell rang at the door. Kii, Rumina, Kumu and a few servants carrying trays of dinner entered the large room. Rumina dismissed the servants, then approached Eona with Kumu at her side. Yurima was seated next to Eona and rose to her feet as Rumina came closer. Rumina took over Yurima’s seat. Kii brought over a chair for Kumu to sit in.
“How are you feeling?” Rumina asked Eona.
“Much better,” Eona said. “Please don’t concern yourself. I’m fine.”
Rumina smiled. “I’m glad. But are you certain you’re well enough to travel? We must depart for the Valley of the Forest King no later than the day after tomorrow.”
Eona’s face clouded over. She was thinking. Her duties as the leader of the Sadan Taram required her to travel for the ceremony, but she was still recovering from the day’s attack and from poison. She seemed uncertain about her own capabilities for the immediate future.
“We might have to delay the ceremony this year,” Eona said. “I’m sorry. But I should be up and around in a few days.”
“Don’t apologize,” Rumina said. “Even if we miss the timing this year, there’s always next year.”
Kumu glanced over at his sister. “Are you planning on attending the ceremony in the Valley of the Forest King next year, too?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Rumina asked with a little frown. “If I’m not here because of my marriage, you’ll go in my place.”
Kumu gritted his teeth. “And what if I’m not here next year, either?”
Kii looked between the two siblings, alarmed. “Is there a reason why you won’t be here next year?” she asked, a little too loud. She bowed, then apologized for interrupting.
Rumina shook her head. “We came here to talk to you all about that. Apologies are unnecessary.” Rumina told the Sadan Taram about her upcoming marriage into the Magua clan and that she and her brother feared that her uncle would force the dissolution of their family.
“I want to use my marriage into the Magua clan to make things better here,” Rumina said. “If my brother stays behind and becomes the new leader of the Aru clan, then our line can continue.”
“Why can’t you do that?” Kii asked.
“It’s part of the terms of my marriage agreement,” Rumina said. “When I marry into the Magua clan, the Aru clan will be absorbed into it. There doesn’t seem to be any way around that.” She shook her head. “My uncle is powerful, and he claims that this clause is for the good of Rota and all the clans. If I opposed him, I would have no support.”
Rumina frowned. “And we don’t have the means to oppose him here, either. The maharan forests in the province that once helped our economy have been gutted by last year’s trade deals. We have no resources or money to go on the defensive. Our father’s work will come to nothing, it seems.”
Kumu stood up from his chair, incensed. “We can’t just give up! The other Rotan lords must have poisoned our uncle’s thoughts against our clan. We have to protect the pride and legacy of the Tahsa people--that’s the only thing that’s important!”
Rumina shook her head sadly. “We have no proof of a conspiracy, and even if we did, I think we’d only be delaying the inevitable.”
“We have plenty of proof!” Kumu fumed. “Our mother was one of them, and she started working against us from the start! Now our uncle and the others are finishing what she started--”
“Kumu!” Rumina interrupted him angrily.
“Kumu… is right,” Yurima said quietly. All eyes in the room turned to her.
“What do you mean?” Rumina asked. “He can’t possibly be right.”
Yurima wrung her hands in her lap. Her eyes wouldn’t fix on anyone. She settled for looking at the fire. “Lady Oria never harmed anyone on purpose,” Yurima said. “There was no one kinder than her. But she suffered for her kindness. She suffered because of the harsh times we live in. They changed her. Made her do something she never would have otherwise.”
Yurima’s knuckles went white as she clenched her fists in her lap. “I’ve heard the same rumors as Agachi about Lady Oria. People say that she went to the Valley of the Forest King and cursed the Aru clan.”
Kumu nodded sharply.
“The rumors against your mother have turned you against her. That would cause her great pain, if she were living. But I can’t blame you for thinking ill of her when no one ever told you the truth.” Her lips trembled. She looked like she was about to cry.
“Kumu, the rumors you’ve heard are true,” Yurima said.
Rumina appeared shocked.
“Or rather,” Yurima continued, “they are half-true. Lord Agachi has interpreted the rumors according to his own thinking. Those of us who were there all those long years ago didn’t all see the same thing. And what we did see…” She paused. “It is difficult to explain.”
“Are you accusing Agachi of twisting the truth?” Kumu asked.
“Not exactly,” Yurima said. “All of the people who entered the Valley of the Forest King were drugged to sleep. They drank cups of sacred wine that were laced with the drug. And Lady Oria was behind that.” Yurima looked at her hands. She didn’t want to remember what happened next.
“Lady Oria wanted to sneak into Larago’s grave while it was still open to the world. That’s why she did it,” Yurima said. She struggled with her words, opening and closing her mouth. “She needed to reach the grave without being seen by Lord Shisal or any of their servants and retainers.”
“Why did she do that?” Kumu asked. “What was she trying to hide from our father and our clan?”
Yurima flinched at his tone and looked down. “She didn’t want them to see Larago’s remains.”
Kii gasped. “You know what happened in the Valley of the Forest King all those years ago?”
“Some,” Yurima said. “Don’t you know as well? You’re Sadan Taram; some of your must have been there that day as well.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t awake for most of it, and Sari never told us anything.”
Balsa nodded. “It was her choice not to say anything.”
“All she told me was that there was no more curse on the province and that Larago’s body had been laid to rest once more,” Sansa said.
“Yeah,” Balsa said. “There were a lot more Sadan Taram back then than there are now. I think she was trying to be careful about who she told so that the secret wouldn’t slip.”
“Who are you?” Rumina asked.
Balsa stood up straight, then bowed from the waist. “I’m Balsa, the Sadan Taram’s hired guard. My father was also in the Valley of the Forest King that day.”
“So you guarded Sari?”
“Yes,” Balsa said. “At the time, Sari’s life was being targeted.”
“Targeted? By whom?”
“By assassins sent by the Magua clan,” Balsa said.
“You know, then,” Yurima said. Her expression was guarded. “You know what Lady Oria did that day, when even the people closest to Sari don’t know.”
Balsa shrugged. “You learn a lot about an employer as a guard. I know more than my own fair share of secrets. And I keep them because running your mouth off is a good way to get yourself killed.”
“Have you truly kept silent for so long?” Yurima asked. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. She hugged herself, seeking comfort. “How could you bear it? How could anyone bear it?”
Yurima’s tears spilled down her cheeks onto the floor.
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