If the scrolls have taught me anything, it is that history is not a straight road. It is a tangled forest, and to understand it, you must be willing to walk in circles, to double back, and to see the same clearing from a dozen different angles.
We followed the threads of the war outward, to the conquering Princess in her castle. Now, we turn our steps back towards the heart of the mystery, the place where it all began for Leon and Eulalia. We are going back to the Cy Woods. But this account is from a different time, a different struggle. It is the story of a girl named Halia.
Halia
"There, corns!"
I shushed my little cousin immediately, my heart leaping into my throat. "Keep it down, Karan."
"They are on the south side of the field, Halia," she said, her voice still too loud for the tense quiet of the woods. "They can't possibly hear that far out."
"Yes, they can't," I whispered back, my eyes scanning the tree line. "But we can't be too careful. We can't get caught, okay?"
A new, sharp voice cut through the air behind us. "No, you can't get caught. Or my father will throw you out."
I turned to see my other cousins, Elena and Cleo, stepping out from behind a large oak. Elena wore a smirk that made my stomach clench. I looked away, swallowing a hard lump of fear. "I was just trying to…" I began, but my voice faltered.
Cleo stepped forward, her arms crossed. "Trying to what?"
I quickly shifted my gaze forward; I had no answer that would satisfy them.
"We have a change of plans," Elena announced, her eyes glinting with a cruel idea. She looked at Cleo, who nodded.
"Karan," Cleo said, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Give the knife to Halia. She will be the one to harvest today."
"But…" Karan started, her kind face creased with worry.
"Karan," Cleo snapped. "Give it to her."
Reluctantly, Karan pressed the cold, smooth handle of the harvesting knife into my palm. Her eyes met mine for a fleeting second, filled with an apology.
She placed her hand on her Vasilian birthmark on her cheek and turned away.
"Lead the way, Lady Know-It-All," Elena said, shoving me gently toward the edge of the cornfield.
We slipped between the first rows of stalks, the dry leaves whispering secrets against our clothes. I reached for a stalk, my hand trembling.
"That one's a little rotten, don't you think so, Cleo?" Elena said, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
Cleo pretended to consider it. "Hmmm, guess so."
I moved to another, my heart pounding.
"That isn't ripe either," Cleo declared. She pointed a slender finger deep into the maize, where the stalks grew thick and the light was dim. "Maybe you can find better stalks in there."
Karan finally spoke up. "Cleo, that isn't necessary."
"Hush," Cleo silenced her.
"Don't get all soft, Karan," Elena chided.
"I'm not being soft," Karan insisted, her voice low. "I just said it's not necessary. These are perfectly fine."
Cleo turned her cold gaze back to me. "What are you looking at?"
I dropped my eyes, the heat of shame on my cheeks.
"Well, come on," Elena said. "Cleo said you can find better stalks in there."
With a heavy breath from Karan at my back, I obeyed. I walked deeper into the corn, the world closing in around me. The air grew still and hot. I grabbed a stalk, sawed through its base with the knife, and did the same to another, my movements frantic. I just needed to fill my basket and get out.
Then, a rough hand clamped down on my arm.
"I got you, you corn thief!" a man's voice growled.
I screamed, pure terror giving me strength. I struggled, I twisted. I looked back to call my cousins for help, but my struggle worked, and I broke free from his grasp. I hit the ground but didn't stay there. I scrambled up and ran back the way I'd come, the stalks whipping at my face. "Run!" I screamed to my cousins. "Run!"
I saw them turn as one and sprint south, disappearing through the green wall. I followed, my lungs burning. "He will catch us!" Karan cried, her voice tight with panic.
We ran as fast as we could.
But when I dared a look back, I saw that the man wasn't chasing us. He was just standing there, watching us flee.
"Something is not right," I panted, slowing down.
I looked back again and he was gone. I stopped thinking. He had me. It was then it hit me.
"No, wait, stop! Where—" before I could finish, a scream cut me off. Karan's scream.
"No, Karan!" I turned and ran towards the voice. I ran as fast as I could, calling out Karan's name.
I came to the end of the cornfield from where we entered, bursting out of the stalks not to freedom, but into a semicircle of grim-faced men and women. I saw my cousins in the hands of men with pitchforks, their faces devoid of joy.
The man from the field stepped out and grabbed me again, his grip final.
"Got you now," he said.
They threw us all into a wooden cage. Elena was immediately at the bars. "Get us out of here!"
Cleo stood tall, her pride still intact. "Wait till our father gets here. You will all be sorry. Stupid peasants!"
But Karan was piecing it together, her voice a horrified whisper. "They knew we were coming. The stalks on the south are more matured. There is no way they could have…"
"Keep it together, baby," Elena snapped, then shot a venomous look at me. "For all I know, it's Halia's fault. Not yours. Father did warn her of what would happen if we got cau…"
"It's not her fault!" Karan insisted. "She tried to be careful."
"Don't even think about defending her," Cleo warned.
I bent my head, no longer able to hold back the tears. They fell onto the trampled grass at my feet. I wiped them away with my sleeve and looked up just in time to see my uncle and a broad-shouldered man holding a bow and arrow walking towards the cage. It was Bear, the man who made sure everything in Cy ran smoothly.
My uncle walked with his shoulders thrown back, a pathetic attempt to seem younger and stronger. He was nothing like Bear, who moved with a natural, easy strength. They said Bear was only twenty-six, but he carried the authority of a man well past his years.
"Father!" Elena cried out.
She glanced at Karan's devastated face and hissed, "Do nothing stupid, Karan. For our sake, okay? Play along, will you?"
My uncle Darius picked up a stick from the ground as he approached the cage, his eyes fixed on me. My cousins laughed—all except Karan. He was coming for me.
Suddenly, Bear stopped him and took the stick from his hand.
"Just calm down," Bear said, his voice low and steady. "We are reasonable men, Darius."
"Reasonable?" Darius spat. "You let my daughters go this instant, Bear! You know perfectly well that my daughters are good girls. They would not do something like that unless they were forced to." He turned and pointed a long, accusing finger directly at me through the slats of the cage. "I can swear to you that girl forced them."
Bear breathed out heavily and looked at my three cousins. His presence was intimidating. "Did she force you, girls?"
In unison, they nodded their heads. Karan looked to the floor after she did.
Bear breathed in, a long, weary sound. "Okay." He unlatched the cage door. "You're free to go."
The three girls scrambled out and flocked to their father, who gathered them in a protective hug.
"Let's go home, kids," my uncle said, already turning away.
Bear called after him. "What about this one? Isn't she yours?"
My uncle didn't even look back. "No."
And he walked away, taking his children with him. Karan turned back just once, her eyes meeting mine, full of a sorrow too deep for words. "I'm sorry," she mouthed, before turning away forever.
I was alone.
Bear looked at me, and I saw him note the fresh tears tracking through the dirt on my face. I quickly wiped them away, refusing to let him see me break.
He knelt down and stretched a hand through the bars of the cage. "I would bet my life that he put you up to this. He's crazy. Even his daughters are crazy. Guess it runs in the family." His voice wasn't unkind. "Well, come on. Let me show you something."
I looked at his offered hand, my breath catching in my chest. It was not the hand of a jailer, but an invitation. Slowly, hesitantly, I took it. His grip was warm and strong as he helped me out.
He led me not away from the field, but back towards it, to where a hundred people were at work, men harvesting and women seated in groups, their hands a blur as they stripped kernels from cobs.
"How old are you?" Bear asked.
"Thirteen."
"Don't you think it's too early to be labeled a thief?"
I froze and quickly let go of his hand, suddenly self-conscious.
"You ever heard of the drought?" he asked.
"Yes. It happens every year. Some people call it the curse of Cy. The price the woods pay to protect us."
"And you believe that?"
"Yeah. It's like a tradition."
He chuckled. "Tradition? Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people. Ever heard of the dry season?"
Despite everything, a small smile touched my lips.
"It's a necessary move to keep us sane," he continued. "We're a wild people, always looking for something to do, a war to fight. In the dry season, we'd just eat ourselves. This… this work… it keeps us together."
I took a while to consider this. "I'm sorry," I finally said, looking at him.
He looked at me and smiled. It was a good smile, the kind that reached his eyes and made the lines around them crinkle, warming his whole face.
"So, was that your father?" Bear asked.
"No. My uncle. He's been looking for a way to get rid of me. Guess he finally found a way."
I looked up and noticed the other workers had stopped. They were all staring at me.
"Why are they all staring at me?" I whispered, the fear returning.
"They want me to take you to the Archigós."
My blood ran cold. "No! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to steal. I just wanted to please my uncle. Please, don't report me to the Archigós."
Bear just smiled. "Look over there." He pointed to the group of women. "What are those women doing?"
"They are drying the corn, so we can store them."
"It's their job to dry the corn, and it's the men's job to harvest. We are all trying to survive together. We look after our own."
"I didn't know," I whispered, the truth of the community before me shaming my desperate, solitary act.
"Let's make a deal," Bear said. "I won't report you on one condition."
"What is it?"
"You join the women over there and dry the corn."
A wave of relief so powerful it made me dizzy washed over me. "Sure!" I said, and without another word, I ran to join the women, eager to earn my place.
I bowed to greet them, and one woman took my hand and gestured for me to sit on a tree stump and help with the corn.
As I sat down, another man, Julian, walked up to Bear, his expression puzzled.
"I don't get you," Julian said, keeping his voice low. "You were the one who devised the plan to catch her. Now you let her work here? I understand letting the other three go, but this? I don't."
Bear watched me for a moment as I tentatively picked up a corn cob, mimicking the women around me.
"She is a good girl, Julian," he said simply.
Julian shook his head in disbelief. "Oh, Bear. I think you should be a monk, or whatever those nomads call themselves."
Bear just laughed and walked away, leaving me... Trusting me.