The Anialwch Connection
Chapter 22
When Kafil received news that a Libertad ship had arrived at the docks, he didn’t understand why his messenger was so excited that he made a special trip as fast as he could. The man explained.
“We have ships from Libertad arriving occasionally with trade goods, but this ship was carrying only passengers. Kenyon and Donte are in Nyumbani.”
Kafil was only mildly surprised. When Halisi told Kenyon the militias could not come into Nyumbani, he wondered what Donte would do. Halisi was treating Donte as if he was still the prince of Bergen. Donte was now the ruler of Bergen. Halisi would have hesitated at the idea of crossing Pieter, but she didn’t consider Donte a problem. He tried to tell her that Donte was more powerful than Pieter ever was, but she didn’t believe him. Donte had not backed down from Farasi and he wasn’t likely to back down from Halisi. His presence in Nyumbani was proof of that fact.
Halisi had lost direction. She had promised to exchange vows with him when things settled down in Nyumbani, but for her, it was never the right time. There always seemed to be some problem. He didn’t understand why she hadn’t sent a militia to get the raiders yet. When she discovered that militias from other colonies were training in Anialwch for that purpose, they became her enemy. She had told Kenyon that she had no intention of allowing any foreign militias in Nyumbani territory for any reason. To Kafil, it was clear that Kenyon was delivering a warning for her to back down but she simply wouldn’t reason with him. In fact, she wouldn’t reason with anyone. When Kenyon left, she thought she had won the dispute. Even after Adriaan talking to her, she still thought she had complete control of Nyumbani.
Kafil knocked on Halisi’s chamber door. “It’s Kafil. I have an important message.”
He heard movement in the room and Halisi opened the door. “What is it?”
“A ship from Libertad has arrived at the dock.”
“So?”
“Kenyon and Donte are on it.”
She stiffened. “Send them back. They have not asked for permission to enter Nyumbani.”
“Halisi, I think…”
“Send them back,” she said again, her voice crisp. She shut the door.
He ground his teeth. She was treating him as though he was a messenger. He turned and walked back to the square. Donte and Kenyon had arrived on two equines. Halisi would be livid that they had been so hospitable to Donte.
Kafil joined Donte and Kenyon. He looked up at Donte and felt intimidated for the first time. It was the first time he had seen Donte in uniform and he looked impressive. It reminded Kafil of Adriaan’s visit and how he had chastised Halisi. He’d a thousand times rather deal with Donte than Adriaan. No doubt Donte was in Nyumbani under the direction of and/or with the approval of Adriaan. Donte looked determined as he dismounted and extended a hand to Kafil.
Kafil shook Donte’s hand. “It is good to see that you have recovered, Donte.”
“Thank you. I came to speak with Halisi.”
Kafil gave Donte a level look. Halisi’s response wasn’t going to change Donte’s mind or he wouldn’t be here now, but he had his orders. “Halisi ordered me to send you both back to the ship.”
Donte met Kafil’s gaze. “I’m not going back to the ship until I speak to Halisi.”
There was steel in his gaze that made Kafil want to cringe. He lifted his chin. “I have been given my orders.”
Donte looked past him at the building. “Where is she?”
Donte was going to see her if he had to walk over a dozen people to do it. If Kafil had not been so convinced that Halisi was doing the wrong thing for herself and her colony, he could have stopped Donte. Instead, he hesitated. “Donte, I cannot let you go to her.”
Donte’s gaze fixed on Kafil. “I don’t want to make trouble for you or anyone, and I don’t want to hurt anyone, but understand me. I have the authority to do so.” He pulled a paper from the inside pocket of his uniform and handed it to Kafil.
Kafil read the message. It was from Adriaan and it gave Donte permission to council with Halisi. If she refused, he was given the authority to remove her from power.
Kafil grimaced and handed the message back to Donte. “I think Adriaan is overstepping his authority.”
Donte tucked the message back into his pocket. “I’m not concerned about that. All I want is the authority to talk to her. I have it.”
Kafil nodded and surrendered. Whether Adriaan was overstepping his authority or not was a moot point. He had the firepower to enforce it. Donte was trying to relieve Kafil of the responsibility he didn’t want. He had done so effectively.
Kafil led Donte and Kenyon to Halisi’s door and knocked again. Halisi yanked the door open. “I told you to take them back to the ship.”
Kenyon stepped in front of Donte and pushed the door open. “Donte has permission to either speak to you or remove you from power. Which will it be?”
She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “He can’t do that.”
Kenyon gave her a wry smile. “Which will it be?”
She turned away from him and walked across the room. “Send him in. I’ll talk to him, but I won’t look at him.”
Kenyon stepped aside to let Donte enter. He turned to Kafil. “Let’s leave them alone.”
Kafil walked away with Kenyon. It occurred to him for the first time that Halisi was afraid of Donte. Why?
Donte didn’t like the method he had used to speak to Halisi, but it was better than an air strike. He had been certain that if he could talk to her, he could make her understand. Now he wasn’t so sure. She might not be able to keep him from talking to her, but she could refuse to answer as easily as she refused to look at him.
“Halisi, why have you refused to talk to me? Is it because of Chiku? I apologize for leaving. It was my fault, but this has nothing to do with us. If we don’t do something about the raiders, Nyumbani will be in the same situation it was when Farasi was controlling them. The longer we go without removing them, the closer we get to the day they will strike again.”
He waited, but Halisi said nothing.
“Don’t be this way, Halisi. We are two leaders. We need to discuss this.”
“What are we going to discuss?” Her voice was bitter. “Are we going to talk about what you are going to do no matter what I say?”
Her rebellious tone was somewhat better than total silence, but it had a long way to go before it was the voice of reason. Fortunately, he had spent the last year trying to negotiate with a teenager. Surely, that had given him the skills to deal with an adult leader – a queen. She had never been like this before. Her back was stiff, her arms folded below her breasts. She had lost weight, but her slender frame was still shapely. Halisi was one of the prettiest women he had ever seen.
“We used to be able to talk about anything.”
“We used to do a lot of things you can’t expect now.”
So that was it. She still resented their relationship. It hadn't been his idea and it hadn't been pleasant for either of them. “What do you want me to say, Halisi? Do you want me to apologize for Heri and Chiku?”
“No. I don’t want you to say anything. I want you to go away and leave us alone.”
“This isn’t like you, Halisi.”
“It’s like me now.”
“Why? Why have you changed?”
“Everything has changed.”
He silently ransacked his mind for some way to reach her. Halisi had always been concerned about the people of Nyumbani. In fact, she had always helped anyone in need, which brought him to another idea.
“Why didn’t you come see me in the hospital? Did you want me to die?”
She whirled; her eyes wide. “No. I…” She stopped, her gaze taking in his uniform. “You look different. I expected you to…” She turned her back on him again. “I didn’t want to see you again.”
“Why; because of Heri?”
She didn’t answer.
“If you’re afraid I will try to take him away, I won’t.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
He crossed the room and put a hand on her shoulder. “Halisi…”
She brushed his hand off her shoulder. “Don’t touch me.”
He sighed. “At least that hasn’t changed.”
She turned and slapped him across the face. “How dare you come in here and treat me as if you could pick up where you left off years ago?”
He looked down at her. It was actually a relief to have her react in a way that might be considered normal. She probably had good reason to be upset with him. He had reminded her of the very thing she despised about their relationship – his control.
“I apologize – for now and for the past.”
She blinked and tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. “How did you do it?”
He frowned. “Do what?”
“Go back and start a normal life – take a mate and have more children. How did you forget the past so easily?”
He wasn’t sure if she was upset that he could forget her so easily or if she was simply having trouble letting go of the past. For a moment he wished Rianne were there to clear things up. He only wished it for a moment. This was something Rianne didn’t want to see and he didn’t anticipate. At least Halisi was talking – even revealing the problem. It wasn’t something either of them wanted to resurrect, but it was something they would have to resolve for the good of all the colonies. In her own way, she was appealing to him for help. The fact that it had nothing to do with his reason for being there and it was as unpleasant for him as it was for her was irrelevant. They had to get past this.
“I didn’t forget the past, Halisi. There are some things you never get over. I never got over Liana and I never got over you and our children. I had a choice. Learn to live with it or let it destroy me.”
Tears continued to run down her cheeks as she cried silently. “You thought I didn’t have a heart, but I did. I knew you were going to leave and I didn’t want to love you. I didn’t want you to love me.”
At the time he'd had no idea that she was struggling with conflicting emotions. “I didn’t think you were heartless, Halisi. I thought you were strong and brave.”
“People asked me how I could live with you and have your children without loving you. They thought I was cold. They called me the ice princess. Did you know that?”
He knew. Farasi had initiated that inaccurate term for her. That was one thing he was never going to tell her, though. “I’m sorry, Halisi.”
She wiped tears from under her eyes with trembling fingers. “I loved you, Donte. I wouldn’t even admit it to myself, but when you took a mate, I cried. I knew you weren’t coming back, but that made it final. I knew I meant nothing to you.” She buried her face in her hands and began to sob.
He had never seen Halisi cry, much less sob. She had born her shame and fear in silence, all alone. She didn’t resist when he pulled her into his arms. There she leaned against his chest and sobbed. He felt ashamed that he had not been there for her all those years, and felt obligated to do so now. And yet, it wasn’t all duty that made him caress her back. He wanted to comfort her but he didn’t know what to say. Maybe there was nothing he could say at this point. There was nothing he could honestly tell her at this point that would make her feel better. There were some things a person simply couldn’t fix, no matter how badly they wanted to. He didn’t know what to do or say, so he simply held her and stroked her back while she cried.
Finally, she drew back and pulled a kerchief from her dress pocket. After drying her eyes and blowing her nose she finally spoke in a hollow voice. “I think I needed that; unpleasant as it was for both of us.” She wiped her eyes again. “I thought as long as I didn’t see you, I could convince myself I never loved you.” She finally looked up at him. “I think it actually helps to see you now. I had this image in my mind of what you used to be like.” She shook her head. “You’re different now – more mature and confident.”
Apparently, that wasn’t a good thing in her eyes. Maybe she liked younger men. That would explain her attraction to Kafil – or was that a façade as well?
“I thought you loved Kafil.”
She nodded and sighed. “I did…do…I don’t know. We were going to exchange vows, but…I don’t know.”
It wasn’t like Halisi to be so indecisive. But then, obviously he had never really known her. He wanted to push this scene aside and get to the reason he came. There was nothing he could do to help her. If he had known how she felt, he wouldn’t have come. On second thought, yes, he would have, but he would have handled it differently. He would have asked Rianne what to do. That wasn’t handling it. That was passing it off to someone else. He took a deep breath and let it out.
“I never knew how you felt about me. It seems that you were a master at hiding your feelings. You were right, though. It wouldn’t have changed the final outcome. It would have made things more complicated than they already were – for both of us.”
“Yes. I understand that you had to go back. She looked at his uniform. You had a destiny.
That was something he could talk about comfortably. “Part of my destiny was here. Everything that happens to us makes us more competent. Every event is an opportunity to learn and grow. If we refuse to accept it, we reject the lesson as well. You and I cannot do anything about what happened to us. We can only accept what happened and make the most of it.” He looked into her eyes. “There were a lot of good memories, and I cherish them.”
She looked down. “Yes, there were good times. If I continue trying to block them out, I’m not the only one who will be destroyed.” She wiped her eyes again. “Wait here a minute.”
She left the room and when she returned, a boy followed her into the room. She brought him before Donte and put her hands on Heri’s shoulders. “This is your baba, Heri.”
Heri was tall for his age - slim and good looking. His eyes were a deep blue or brown – it was difficult to know for sure - and his skin was a golden brown.
Donte knelt so that their eyes were on the level. “Hello Heri. You probably don’t remember me.”
Heri stared at his uniform. “Are you a king?”
Donte smiled. “No. I’m the ruler of Bergen.”
Heri frowned. “What is a Bergen?”
“It’s a colony like Nyumbani – far away, across the sea.”
Heri looked into Donte’s eyes. “I want to go there some day.”
Donte looked up at Halisi. “Maybe that will happen. Our colonies are getting to know each other.”
Heri touched the badges on Donte’s uniform. He studied Donte’s eyes and hair; touching it and obviously enjoying the softness. He slid his fingers down to Donte’s smooth cheek and chin, probably marveling at the absence of a beard.
“We will be friends?”
Donte smiled and nodded. He held his hand out to Heri, palm up. Heri looked confused, so Donte used his other hand to direct Heri’s arm over his. He gripped Heri’s arm and Heri gripped his. Donte gave his arm a squeeze. “I’m glad to meet you, Monomi.”
Halisi caught her breath and put her hand to her mouth. It was a word that Donte would not say to Halisi’s father. It was a term of deep respect – one Mascot to another of high rank.
Donte stood and looked at Halisi. “We need to discuss the raiders now.”
Halisi took Heri’s hand. “Kafil will discuss it with you. He takes care of defense.” She looked at Donte, her gaze suddenly shy. “You have my permission to enter Nyumbani with your militia, under the terms that Kafil provides.”
Donte carefully released a long breath. She didn’t need to know that they were planning on entering without her permission. “I wish you happiness, Halisi. Only you can make that happen.”
She nodded and looked down without speaking.
A little hand slipped into Donte’s and he looked down to find Heri smiling up at him.
Donte squeezed has hand and smiled. Together, the three of them walked outside to meet Kenyon & Kafil.
Kenyon and Kafil were talking when Donte, Halisi and Heri came out of the building. Both men looked at each other and smiled as they approached.
Halisi looked up at Donte. “Do you want to visit her grave?”
He nodded. “I’d like that.”
“I’ll take you,” Heri said as he tugged on Donte’s hand.
Donte left Kafil, Kenyon and Halisi to finalize the details of the invasion. It was time to let go and trust others to do those things. They needed his help, but not in the same way they had in the past.
Heri led Donte to a small headstone near a tree. “This is my sister, Chiku. She died when I was little. I remember her, but not very well.”
Donte kneeled and put his hand on the stone. He closed his eyes and said a prayer for her and her mother. When he opened his eyes, he found Heri watching him.
“Do you remember her?” Heri asked.
Donte smiled. “I’ll never forget her, or you.”
Heri hugged him. Donte stood. “I have a ship waiting for me at the dock.”
“Will you come back?”
“Maybe some day, when your mother is feeling better. Right now, she needs you and Kafil. Be kind to her.”
“Is she ill?”
“I suppose, in a way. Sometimes we get sad and it takes a while to get happy again. Sometimes we need a lot of help from those who love us.”
“Were you ever sad?”
Donte smiled down at him and stroked his hair. “Yes, but you and Chiku made me happy. Children have a special ability to do that.”
Heri studied his face for a little while. “I will help her be happy.”
Soft Science Fiction
