Deviation Actions
Literature Text
The morning after that fateful hunt I hid myself in shame, slipping into and out of sleep in the dark of my windowless bedchamber. Through pieces of my parents' conversations I could hear in my waking moments I was able to discern that my father had drawn the ire of the elders because of me, and I knew it was likely past noon when I heard the outer door open. The muffled voices of my father and uncle greeted my mother, and so I made silent strides to the adjoining door.
The first words I could hear were my Uncle's, jesting with my father. "I am glad you were lighter when I earned the name Kinbearer, Alex, else I'm sure we both would have died." There was a grunt, and a thud that was likely my father falling into his chair. “You know, brother, I’m not entirely sure why you needed me to come with you, if you were going to do all of the talking.”
My father replied in a tone I knew indicated his words carried more meaning than they were given. “Alden, I needed you there to soften Elder Swordbreaker. You did save the life of his elder son in the Black Raid.”
I could hear the sound of the chair Alden was pulling out for himself. Based on the smell of my mother's bread, I assumed he was hoping the conversation would last long enough to earn him an invitation to stay and eat. “He isn’t overly grateful for that, you know? To be honest I think he’d rather I had let his son die a captain than survive the battle maimed.”
“I know." I could hear the pride in my father's voice. "I was counting on you to keep him from thinking rationally, and to make him compare in his heart my rescue to that of Swiftfoot.”
“That’s pretty heartless, brother. You might be about ready to become an Elder.” Both brother’s laughed at the joke, a sound which must have drawn my mother from her oven. “Bond-sister, how is my Lexi?”
My mother replied in a curt tone, that only those who knew her well would hear the humor in. “She’s sleeping. At least, she was before a pair of captains who forget they aren’t rowdy boys in eachothers’ presence arrived. I’ll wake her soon to eat; you should stay, maybe take home some tomatoes for your wife.”
“I would be honored to stay." My uncle sounded as proud of his success as my father was of whatever plot he had hatched against the Elders. "Your Lexi sure gave us a scare last night, I’ll be glad to see if I can get a smile out of her.”
There was silence for a moment, and then my mother's voice took a tone of deference reserved for when she addressed my father or her own in the presence of others. “We never finished our discussion before; do you mind if we include your brother?”
My father took so deep a breath that I could hear him exhale. “I considered what you said, Helga. You felt I should find a way to punish Alexis for missing the curfew, but not for hunting, which I have long encouraged in her. I believe I have, and Alden is incidentally aware of it. Alexis will take Elric hunting with with her, and teach him to track prey and use a bow. It appeases the Elders’ demands she not leave unaccompanied, allows her to hunt, and ultimately may put her social standing in jeopardy.”
I bit my lip in disappointment. I knew some punishment was coming, but being treated as a child so close to my coming of age was hard to accept, and I had yet to grapple with my prejudices against Elric in the light of his actions the night before.
I was drawn to the moment by my uncle's confusion. “Her social standing brother?”
It was my mother who provided him an answer. “Yes, Alden. Because your brother is the eldest captain, Alexis could have her choice of husband. She therefore scorns all suitors as being beneath her, most recently Swiftfoot’s boy.”
Alden laughed quietly. “So for a punishment you intend to knock her off her beam and show her some humility? I’m glad I had boys; this all sounds much harder than sending her out after a switch.” The room was quiet for a moment, and then my uncle spoke again, doubt in his voice. “Brother, I find it hard to believe that you removed a man from the Wall, merely to embarrass your daughter. Any other captain may have, myself included, but you worry too much about the Fall for such frivolities. What designs do you have for the Deserter’s son?”
The room fell silent, and I could hear my father struggling as a chair scraped against the stone tiles of the floor. His voice was quiet when he spoke, yet terrible. It was not the voice of a brother, or of my papa, but the voice Captain Ironshield, filled with wrath. “Brother, we do not use that name at this table, so if you feel inclined speak it again, I advise you to leave. We both know why Stoutheart Gateholder left, and we both know why the Thirteenth Raid was Black.”
Alden's voice became apologetic, and I could easily imagine the posture of supplication he was taking before the head of their father's house. “Of course, brother. Please, sit. I meant no offense. I merely wondered what your plan was for the boy. You must have something in mind, if you’re having Alexis teach him to hunt.”
My mother rejoined the conversation, likely as much to distract my father from his brother. “He does have a point, Captain Ironshield. You rarely hatch a scheme that only solves one problem.”
There was a long silence as my father slowly returned to his chair, and when he spoke it was in a whisper I could just barely hear. “What I am to say cannot leave this table. Elric is going to go West in search of his kin, and try to convince them to return here.”
None had ever gone over the mountains and returned. All knew that only Elric's grandfather, the Foriegner, had ever crossed from West of the mountains to come to the Wall, and my uncle's voice betrayed the absurdity of the plan. “Is he going alone?”
“He may have to. I haven’t found companions for him as of yet.” My father's voice was resigned, and showed an indifference akin to if he was discussing chopping wood. "I would go with him, but that will be impossible due to this leg."
There was a sudden bang, a chair hitting the ground, and my mother's voice cut through the house filled with both anger and despair. “Are you planning to send Alexis with him over the mountains?”
“By the Wall, I would not send my daughter away like that." My father's voice was soothing, and carried a note of sadness. "I merely need her to teach Elric her skills, so he’ll have a fighting chance.”
Slowly I opened the door and stepped forward from my bedchamber, only realizing when under my family's surprised gaze that I was still dressed in the deer-blood stained, mud covered hunting garb from the night before, and that a stick that had embedded itself in my hair was scratching at my neck. Trying to hide the sudden embarrassment I stood as straight as I could and tried to address my father in a decisive, yet subservient tone. "Papa, I am here to accept the punishment you have chosen for me, that I might make atonement to you for my actions yesterday."
My father looked as though he had not slept, and his pain was drawn plainly on his face. For several moments he pulled on his beard while contemplating me. Surely he had meant to talk to me before I learned of his plan. "Did you knowingly break the curfew?"
We hadn't spoken since being pulled over the Wall, I had told my mother it was an accident, but now was the time to be responsible. "I was grossly irresponsible with regards to the time. I did not know, but I should have."
All was silent for several minutes as I tried to meet the wrath in my father's eyes. I was surprised when Alden broke the silence, rising from his chair. "Alexis, do you realize the scope of your failure?" His voice carried no anger, but instead a great sadness. "The Wall has only four captains until your father is healed. Our greatest warrior, and he cannot walk. Once the Elders are done with him, he may lose his place as chief among the five captains. If that happens, the house of my father, Stalwart, will lose honor, and your cousins may one day lose any chance of becoming captains themselves. Among the elders, your mother's father, Firebrand, will lose influence. It might even cost your father the chance to one day be named among the five elders. I have to wonder, daughter of Ironshield, have you considered the cost to your family?" He paused a moment, and walked over to me, wrapping me tightly in his arms, so that I was pressed against the iron plates riveted to the chest of his jacket. "More than all that, 'Lexi, you and your father should have died. Only the foolhardy actions of the one now called Fireeyes spared your lives. Remember, as you make your atonement, that you are fortunate to have that chance." Alden released me begrudgingly, and then crossed the room to the door. "I am sorry, Helga, my good bond-sister, but I have stayed too long, and cannot join your meal, as much as I would like to. Goodnight to you all, and may you fare well in the coming days."
