* * *
“How long have you known?” I ask Granny as we sit around her table in her hut the next morning.
“Since you came home. I knew you were not ready to be back, but you came home anyway.”
“Thank you for not saying anything.”
“It was not my place to tell.”
“Sarali knew about it, too.”
“She is always been perceptive.”
“Why is she not the Wise Woman then?”
“You were the obvious choice, were you not?”
“Can we talk of something else?”
“Anything.”
“I spoke with Tarok yesterday.”
“How did he take the news?”
“How do you know I told him?”
“A grandmother just knows, child, go on.”
“He did not take it well and he asked me to be his intended.”
“But you said ‘no’, did you not?”
“What was I supposed to say? ‘Sure, I will bind myself to you and oh, by the way, I will be dead before we have our first child.’ That would not make sense.”
“Akari, I am going to tell you something you should know,” Granny begins. “Your name was drawn while the Matrons were choosing a beneficial bond-mate for Tarok. Every time a stone was taken from the pile, yours remained. It came down to just your stone and that of Namira’s (but I think her name was placed in there after the initial drawing). Up until this point no one had any animosity toward you. You were just a remarkable child born into our unremarkable village. Aeria did everything in her power to cast doubt onto your name. The imagination of that woman has always been a bit extreme and that day it ran wild. Mekara of Deep Forest and Sera of Fertile Earth were not swayed, and of course, I knew she was downright lying. She managed to convince the others, unfortunately. They never had minds of their own. Poor Pema of Rising Sun only wanted the best for her House and was caught in the middle.
“You must understand that these women were superstitious and went with the young woman who most fit their expectation of a Chief’s bond-mate. From that day onward, Namira got away with being mean to you. We all tried to protect you but we could not always be there for you. Even so, you have handled yourself beautifully, my dear. You never said a mean word about her cruel behavior and never bent to her ill will. There-”
“Wait, I thought the bond-mate was chosen during his first Hunt?”
“The decision takes place when the young man reaches his tenth summer. The decision of the Great Hunt is based on what kind of alliance can be made between the two Houses. As I was saying, there is still room for decisions to be made concerning Tarok’s bond-mate. He can still choose whom he wishes to spend the rest of his life with. Most Chiefs just go with what the Matrons say.”
“He cannot become Chief without a child.”
“Oh yes he can. He has been bred and raised to be the next Chief of Kurtu’lak. I will make sure he will lead our tribe if I have any say in the matter.”
“But who will be Chief after?”
“Merick and Tala will have a son to carry on the Rising Sun House. A female child has not been born into that House for as long as I can remember and even longer than that.”
“If he bound himself to me he would be alone for the rest of his days. I do not want to put him through that.”
“Or the two of you would experience a great happiness only a bonded couple can share. You can be together instead of apart.” She continued speaking but I got lost in what she was saying – too stuck on what she said first.
“What did you just say?”
“I said you should not give up on-”
“No, before that. Something about being happy.”
“Oh, you and Tarok can have great happiness together. I see the potential. No great love ever goes smoothly. A love like the one I can already see blossoming happens only once in a lifetime.”
Great happiness. Where had I heard those words?
Nura shifts at my feet.
Chapter Nineteen