Soul Song ~ Book One

Chapter Five

The walk through town was both a delight and a diversion that helped get Dania's mind off what she had witnessed in Lyla's father's shop. They passed so many things that held her attention. Many of the other vendors greeted Lyla as though she were family, while others seemed to slink back. Whenever the second would happen, Lyla would lower her eyes and walk past without giving them more than a simple hello. Dania wondered why they wouldn't treat her as the others would. As they settled in at a table in a nearby tavern, Dania's curiosity welled up until she couldn't hold herself in.

"Why do some people treat you like..." She didn't quite know how to finish. What did they treat her like?

"Like they are afraid of me?" Lyla finished for her.

Dania thought for a moment. "Yes, it does seem a little like fear."

"Well, Dania dear, not everyone is so welcoming as you are. Some people are afraid of Elders."

Dania glanced at the three Elders seated at another table. They didn't speak much and tended to not look around frequently either. It was almost as though they spoke without speaking.

"They are a little scary."

Lyla chuckled, "Yes, I suppose they can seem to be. They are harmless." Her eyes darkened as she said this. "Well, mostly harmless." Dania watched her thoughts as they drifted to something that she wasn't part of. Before it completely took her over, Dania interrupted.

"But why do people treat you different? You aren't an Elder."

Lyla shook her head. "No, I'm not, but I married one and bore his child. That makes me guilty by association."

"Why did you marry him? Weren't you afraid?"

The small, sad smile that played on Lyla's lips coupled with her eyes dulling tugged at Dania's heart. "You don't have to answer, if you don't want to," she whispered.

The smile broadened and eyes sharpened again. "No, absolutely not. Dania, you are as my daughter to me. I know I'm not your mother, but I love you the same. I want us to be close as mother and daughter would be. I would not keep secrets from my daughter. Having met my father, I would suppose you could imagine him doing...less than savory things."

"Has he always been this way? Even when your mother was there?"

Lyla nodded softly. "Yes, my mother was not able to temper the anger out of him. She only did her best to protect me. She died giving birth to Michael. I'm much older than he, so I naturally became his mother and protected him from our father. When I was older, he was approached by an Elder. He was looking to procure a wife for Klellen. My father is a proud man. He has the best silk worms, the best fabrics, the best spices... And the best daughter that even an Elder couldn't resist. It seemed like a fairy tale that an Elder, who would never covenant to anyone other than a Healer, could want me, his daughter, above all Healers."

"Was he nicer then? Did he bring you flowers or take walks with you?" A mental image, very different from the man she currently knew was forming in Dania's mind. The blush that appeared on Lyla's face only reinforced the thought. He must have been different to cause that kind of reaction. Pins and needles pricked at Dania as she waited for Lyla to answer.

"Well, no. I know I told you I met Klellen shortly before we married, but I didn't actually meet Klellen until we were in front of the Elder who would marry us."

Dumbfounded, Dania sat back, feeling as though cold water had been splashed on her. "You didn't...meet? How did you know if you would like him? How can you covenant to a man you don't know?" She shook her head, incapable of understanding.