Sitting on the top of a small wooden fence, I watched Montclair as he spoke to the representatives of the Lord of Bordu. They were standing in front of the red roofed building, speaking to one another… about the weather, and other things.
The small group of men looked… a little too relaxed, considering the fancy clothes they wore. Four men were dressed in what looked to be robes of some kind, and were far cleaner than anything here on the farm should be.
At first I had thought they were the Lords themselves, but I had been talking to Pelka right as they arrived. She told me that they always sent the representatives first, a few hours before the Lord actually showed up.
I had a lot of questions about them, but I had no one to direct them to. Pelka would have been perfect but…
She had run off, leaving me alone, once Montclair greeted the group. She had left to let her parents know they were here.
It was… odd to me, that this was happening. The Lord of the nearby town was coming to negotiate the next few years' worth of wheat. I understood why they would need to renegotiate every so often, since the market and the needs of the city would change over time… but…
Why did it seem so unnatural to me? Was it because in my perspective, it was odd to work so closely with humans? Or was it because I believed an individual shouldn't rely so heavily on another?
After all how did this happen? How did they convince an entire human town to rely entirely upon them for their wheat? That was most of their food. Obviously the humans didn't know it was our kind that owned and ran these farms… but…
Something shimmered off in the distance; I focused on the glimmer and knew it was most likely the Lord of Bordu. He was riding a carriage, and something metal had reflected in the sun.
A part of me wanted to meet this supposed lord. What was a human lord like? Were they wise? Powerful? Strong beyond reason? I've met village elders, and a few nobles while working at the Sleepy Artist, but never someone who ruled over entire towns.
Though maybe they would look as normal as anyone else. Just like how Vim was.
Montclair and the visitors finally noticed their Lord approaching, and the conversation shifted. They went from talking about the wild cats to the Lord's recent moods.
My ears strained under my hat, trying to hear as much of the conversation I could. One of the men sighed and complained about their Lord's sudden penchant for some foreign fruit. They were troubled not just because of how expensive the fruit was, but how small they were. The Lord wanted dozens at a time.
Montclair laughed a little, and bowed his head as if in thanks for the information. He then went and told them about his own masters, Trixalla and Mork, and how they had wanted similar over the years.
Smiling a little at the group of men, and their sudden solidarity and happy smiles, I wondered if Montclair bowed like that to everyone.
Him bowing to these humans, although odd, wasn't strange. We were trying our best to be as genial as possible. It made sense. Plus they were the Lords of this land…
I could somewhat also understand his bowing to those he called masters. And even Vim, to a degree.
But he bowed to me too. And Porka. And even Lomi.
Something told me it wasn't a squirrel thing. But maybe it was?
Montclair and the four men then entered the house. I was a little surprised by it, since I had thought they'd wait for their lord… but he was approaching slowly. His cart was moving oddly slow. As if whatever horse was pulling it was taking its time. The cart had barely made it much farther down the hill than it had been a few minutes ago.
At that speed it could be an hour or two before the Lord was here.
Hm… maybe I should head to Lomi's house then. I doubted Vim and the others wanted me anywhere near the Lord and his people…
A sudden knock on the fence I sat on startled me. I jumped upward off the fence and spun.
Sitting down on the fence, not too far from where I had been sitting, was Vim. He was shifting a little, probably because the spot he sat upon had been a little lumpy. The man didn't even glance at me as he got comfortable.
"Vim…" I groaned, upset at him.
How had he snuck up behind me? A few feet from the fence, on the other side, were fields of wheat. There was no way he had gone through all that and not made a single sound. It was impossible. Even if he had approached at an angle, alongside the fence… there were plenty of rocks and bushes. Stuff that would, should have, made his approach obvious.
"Renn?" he asked back, as if I he wasn't sure what my problem was.
"You startled me," I said.
"I saw."
"You're not acting like you saw," I grumbled, and glanced around… Half expecting Lomi or some other child to be nearby, smirking and giggling at me. There wasn't. It was just Vim.
Which meant I had no choice but to glare at him, instead of smile and laugh it off.
Vim didn't even blink at my glare, he simply sat there… staring at me with that placid expression of his. As if he was…
"Are you bored?" I asked him.
"Not yet," he said.
Did he mean I could make him bored, or…
"Are you here to tell me not to go near the Lord? I know better than that," I said to him.
Vim's eyes narrowed, but not into a glare. I'd almost think he was squinting, to see the Lord I was talking about if not for the fact that I knew he didn't need to do such a thing… and that he was still staring right at me.
"You can meet him. He's not a Lord. He's the head of the merchants of Bordu. He runs the baker guild. He's a noble, but nothing too extravagant," Vim said.
"Huh…? Oh…" I glanced to the approaching cart. It hadn't gotten much closer yet. Why did it seem like it was taking so long?
"Rather I came to ask you a small favor," Vim then said, changing the topic.
"A… favor?" I asked. Although it was… worrisome to be asked such a thing from Vim, it was also exciting. Did that mean he wasn't as angry at me as I thought?
He nodded, and glanced at the fence he sat on. Or rather, at the spot I had been sitting.
Did he want me to sit back down? To sit with him as we spoke?
Wearily I went back to the fence. I easily stepped up onto it, to sit back down. Although I sat a little farther from where I had been sitting.
"I took Pelka on a hunt yesterday."
"I know," I said. She had told me all about it.
"She wants to spend some time in Bordu. Alone. To see how it feels," Vim said.
I nodded. She had told me that too.
Vim pointed at the Lord who was approaching. "I'm going to ask him to employ her at one their bakeries. I'll work it into the deal. A place for lodging for her, in return for employment and a tiny little discount of the wheat," he explained.
"A… discount?" I asked.
He frowned, as if upset I'd even ask. "Yes."
"You're giving them a discount, so she can work for them?" I asked.
"Ah. You find it ridiculous because the values aren't equal," he said, suddenly smiling.
I shifted a little, and wished my tail wasn't stuck beneath my pants. It wanted to twitch and sway. "Well… yes, I think," I said.
"It's true. If one only took into account her labor. But once you factor in a place to sleep, and food and drink… well… Plus it's fine. The merchant will see it as a great offer. He gets a small discount. The family gets help, and he gets potential good will amongst his clients. It's how relationships like these work," Vim said.
"Alright…" I nodded, even though I didn't fully agree with it. Surely a bunch of wheat, for a whole city, was worth more than a single young girl's labor? Or a small room? She was tiny!
Though if she was anything like Lomi she probably could eat far more than normal…
"Plus do you really think our kind actually care about wealth? Have Trixalla show you the basement sometime before we leave," he said.
"The basement?" I didn't know there was one.
"I'd like you to tell her about your time living with humans. You said you lived with them for awhile right?" Vim asked, ignoring my earlier question.
"I did. I have," I said quickly.
"They deal with humans all the time. Workers. Merchants. But she's never lived amongst them. Just give her… some guidance. Think of things that you'd wish you could tell your younger self, before you ventured out on your own," he said.
"Oh. Yes. I can do that," I said quickly. I could definitely do that. I had lots to say about that.
I had honestly expected… wait. Maybe that meant he didn't trust me to do anything else, or rather anything more important.
If that was the reason… that was a little upsetting.
"Hm," he nodded, taking my acceptance in stride.
"Can't you do that for her, though?" I asked.
"I have. But it coming from another, a woman especially, might make her a little more receptive. Surely you understand?" he asked.
"Ah… yeah, I can see that," I said.
"Thanks."
He hopped off the fence, and I heard the odd sound of something heavy landing on solid earth. How come he sounded as if he weighed thrice more than he looked sometimes?
"Is that it?" I asked him, worried he was going to just… walk away now.
"Did you want to do more?" he asked.
"I… I don't know. Maybe," I said honestly.
"Hm…" Vim studied me for a moment, and then he tilted his head… and suddenly I felt out of place. My tail and ears went a little still as I watched him study me. Actually study me… as if I was suddenly someone he's never seen before.
"What?" I asked after a few minutes passed. What was wrong?
"Wondering what to do with you," he said.
"Oh…" I didn't know what to say to that. How depressing, that I was still being judged for death.
"You chose this path. Hold your head high," he then said.
Glancing up, since I had indeed lowered my eyes to look down at the ground… I found Vim nodding as he walked away from me. Towards the red-roofed house, and the approaching Lord.
I chose this path…?
He meant my actions, didn't he? He meant what I had done at the Sleepy Artist. The conflict I had created.
Watching him go, I realized he had probably in his own way just praised me.
Did that mean… he agreed with what I had done? Or said?
"He is a predator," I whispered, and wondered if that meant he too had the same beliefs. That one didn't abandon others just because we might be in danger later.
Though… maybe that wasn't true. My family proved that not all predators thought like that, after all.
Somewhat startled at the thought, I tried to imagine what it would have been like for my family to have known of the Non-Human Society.
Would they have joined it?
They had hated humans. And although my parents, and grandmother, had been something of friends with another of our kind… They had also fought and killed a few others who had dared to enter their forest.
Odds were… Vim would have slain them. Deemed unsuitable for the Society.
Hopefully I'd not suffer a similar fate…
Vim reached the red roofed building, and calmly strode inside. Seemed he didn't care about waiting for the Lord either.
Glancing around, I noticed the sound of children's voices in the distance. They were probably hidden by the tall fence that surrounded the large grass yard behind the several story building that Lomi called home.
Hopping off the fence, I wondered if Vim would let me listen into his conversation with the Lord. I wanted to know… what this supposed negotiating entailed. Was it hard? Were there difficult conversations, or was it something simpler?
Did he treat humans like the treated us? Was he rude to them? Abrupt?
Walking towards the red roofed building, I decided to enter from the back. Near the bathrooms. Hopefully Trixalla would be there, and I'd be able to ask her for permission to sit in one of the many rooms… so I could listen in.
Vim had said it was okay, after all. Kind of. I should have latched onto that statement the moment he made it. Foolish of me.
Heading into the building, I heard the sound of Montclair and other men speaking with one another. The human visitors.
Using my nose, I quickly found Trixalla. The older woman didn't stink, but she wore a strange garb that smelled of flowers. The clothes she wore were made out of unique plants I'd never smelled before.
She was in the kitchen, preparing drinks and what looked to be light snacks.
"Montclair didn't prepare them for you?" I asked as I entered the kitchen.
"He'll grumble to find me helping, but it gives me something to do," Trixalla said.
I went to stand next to her, and hesitated. Did that mean she didn't want help?
"Would you clean those?" she asked lightly, pointing to cups that sat near a bucket of water.
Happy to be given permission, I went to it.
"Can I listen into Vim's conversation? With the Lord?" I asked.
"Did he say you couldn't?" she asked.
"No… but he didn't say I could either," I said as I dunked a cup into the water. It was warm, which told me she or Montclair had just warmed it.
"Just stick around. You can hear Montclair right now, yes?" she asked.
I nodded. He was talking to another man about a new building being built in Bordu. Some kind of underground room for storing ice.
"Then feel free. If you do go meet them, just make sure to not be noticed," Trixalla said lightly. With words that were spoken lowly, yet calmly. I knew better than to take her offhanded gentleness for granted. That warning had been genuine and serious.
If they saw my ears or tail, not only would Vim have to kill them… he'd kill me right after.
Maybe even before.
Pausing in the cleaning of the next cup, I wondered if Vim had ever… killed one of our own. Not that I doubted he had, but if he had done so for that very reason.
Had he ever been in a position where he had to kill one of us, because we had been exposed?
Somehow I could see the scene play out in my head. Groups of humans, and one of us being exposed… and Vim, being alone and having to play the part, acting as a human should.
Something told me it not only could happen, but has.
Would I be able to do the same?
Could I kill one of our kind, to save others? Not because they deserved that death, or earned it, but out of simple necessity?
Vim could.
"That's a sad face," Trixalla said.
Looking up from my task, I found the old snake staring at me. I took a small breath, and was glad to find I wasn't crying. "Just thought of something sad," I said.
"You're too young to have such thoughts. Here, try this," she held out something small. It looked kind of like a cookie but…
Taking it from her, I was surprised to find it soft. Fluffy. I had to hold it in my palm, since it started to crumble when between fingers.
"What is it?" I asked.
"A heavy cookie," she said.
Heavy…? It wasn't heavy at all…
Biting into it, I was shocked to find it so soft that it almost melted while I chewed.
Quickly devouring the thing, I sighed at how quickly the tasty little thing disappeared.
"Heavy because after you eat it, you realize how precious it were," Trixalla said with a chuckle.
I nodded as I looked around for more. Was there more? "It was tasty," I said.
"They are. I'll let you have more once you're done, and after you take those plates to Montclair and Vim," she said, pointing to a nearby table. My eyes darted to it. It was near the door to the hallway, which was why I hadn't noticed it earlier.
Half a dozen plates, all full and packed with similar styled treats as the one she had just given me littered the table. The sight made my mouth water.
"Sure," I happily agreed, and went to hurry and finish cleaning the cups.
Who cared about the negotiations now? After tasting something so yummy…
Clean plates. Deliver food and drinks to Vim and those humans… what simple tasks, in return for such joy!
Maybe if I'm lucky I'll learn how to make these delicacies before Vim makes us leave!
Maybe I should come back here and make this my home…
Finishing up the last cup, I went to the table and grabbed a few of the plates. They were oddly heavy. The metal they were made out of was cool to the touch, and… surely that wasn't gold?
"I'll be back," I told Trixalla as I hurried to deliver the plates.
The faster I did, the faster she'd let me have more.
Licking my lips, I found myself longing for the taste of that wonderful treat… and…
Glancing at the many different types on the plates I carried, I groaned as I realized there were possibly dozens of different types before me.
How was I going to get to try them all?
Maybe I should weasel my way into the negotiations after all…
"Well at least we're not pagans," a man said as I neared the room they were all in.
"Right! A squire is now an orphan. Not even ten years old! All because of some pagans in the woods," Another man clicked his tongue in disgust.
Carefully approaching the door, I found it almost closed. Worried I'd look strange being able to open it, with several plates per arm, I was somewhat surprised to find it open on its own.
Vim glared at me, and I smiled at him.
The four humans glanced at me, and I heard Montclair make an odd… wheezing sound, as he saw me too.
"Snacks," I said, entering the room. Vim didn't move out of the way for me, so I simply squeezed between him and the door frame.
Ignoring his look, and the calm stares of the four human men, I went to putting the plates onto the single table in the room.
It was a huge circular table, with nearly a dozen chairs around it. All four humans were sitting at it, and so was Montclair.
"Oh my, look at those," one of the oldest looking humans said as I laid the plates down.
"I'll be back with the rest, and the drinks," I said quickly, remembering similar things being said at the restaurants and taverns in Ruvindale.
"Ah, let me assist you!" Montclair quickly stood from the seat, to follow me out.
Vim said nothing as he watched me and Montclair leave. The squirrel didn't even glance at Vim as he passed, but I couldn't help but notice his look.
Stepping out of the room, I sighed as I went to follow Montclair.
Heavy cookie indeed…
Hopefully I'd live long enough to eat another…