The road between her family’s home and The Leaning Pillar wasn’t long, but Kiri felt every step of it, weighed down by her belongings crammed into the pack on her back. Without a care, or bearing any extra weight, Mala flounced alongside her. Sometime in the past few days she had started carrying a fan around with her everywhere she went. Kiri had no idea why. Mala always had some new obsession or affectation she was playing, but a fan seemed to not have much to offer for entertainment. Mala never fanned herself with it either, but she did seem to be posing with it. Every few minutes she would assume a new position, first holding it demurely covering the lower half of her face, then folded between her two hands, then, open again, pointed down from a hand resting on her hip. Although Mala never missed a beat in the conversation, Kiri felt certain she was giving a good portion of her attention to crafting these fan poses.

“All right, I give up.” Kiri spoke up when they had nearly reached the inn. “What is the point of the fan?”

Mala grinned. “Watch the boys.” They were about to pass two boys, about sixteen years of age, who were walking away from the inn.

Kiri tried to watch the boys without being obvious about it. Mala switched poses again. This time she did fan herself, tipping her head back a little and really seeming to enjoy the breeze on her face.

Both boys watched her, and they didn’t seem embarrassed to be caught doing it, or maybe Mala had made them forget themselves entirely. One even tripped and stumbled a little into the other. After they were a few steps behind them, both Kiri and Mala burst out laughing.

“That is so mean!” Kiri said. “Why do you do that?”

Mala shrugged. “It’s boring around here. What am I supposed to do for fun?”

Kiri thought of how she had spent the afternoon. Lightning and fire and the excitement of her new power. Could she blame Mala for wanting something new in her life too?

Mala folded her fan away and stopped. “We’re here.”

Kiri had been to The Leaning Pillar before. The men her age seemed to spend half their free time up here, and the women sometimes came along. Really, come to think of it, if Mathilda wanted Kiri to find a husband, this was the perfect place to do it. The building had somehow lost all of its formerly cozy familiarity now that she was looking at it now as her new home. Suddenly she worried that the innkeeper would be angry that she was coming so many days after originally planned.

Kiri turned to Mala, hesitating with one foot on the step before the door. Mala had been the one to explain to the innkeeper about Kiri’s delay and why. But was Mala reliable enough to trust? “Are you sure Halden is expecting me today?”

“I already told you,” Mala tutted and nudged Kiri forward. “It’s all arranged. Now get in there. I need to be home before dinner or Garon will eat it all.”

Gritting her teeth, Kiri stepped through the door.

~

“Another, miss!”

Kiri snatched the tankard out of the orange-haired man’s hand and added it to her teetering stack. In the last few weeks she had learned to balance dishes in ever-larger numbers, though she couldn’t match the other barmaid Karey’s steady towers. Kiri always had to watch her stack closely, moving this way and that to keep it from toppling. Karey held hers off to the side, as unconcerned that it might fall as an architect would be about his most recently erected building. With one quick glance at Karey as she went, still searching for some special trick of construction, Kiri made her slightly wobbly way into the kitchen.

“Three more turkey legs at the oak table,” she told Halden as she carefully unloaded into the washbasin.

Halden nodded. “They’re, uh...” he pointed at the oven.

“Still cooking?” Kiri had found she didn’t usually have the patience to let Halden complete his sentences. He didn’t seem to mind, or at least if he did he didn’t show it. When the dining room was busy, she cared less about manners than getting things done.

There was no speeding Halden up, however. He would get to the point on his own time. Kiri had learned that the first day she had come to the inn. When she found him by the bar he’d left the patrons to Karey to tend to and led Kiri back to the kitchen. He then took up a deliberate position on the other side of the big butcher's block and looked at her with an extremely serious expression on his face.

“This is the kitchen,” he had said, and then proceeded to explain, slowly, the basics of running the kitchen and ferrying food to the tables. All this while Kiri was still carrying her bag, and trying to seem polite and interested. Then he had finally stopped and looked Kiri in the eye before quickly dropping his gaze again. “So that’s what your job is. That’s, well, that’s all it is.” And he led Kiri out to dining room and handed her off to Karey. The barmaid of course immediately noticed that Kiri had a bag to drop off before she could start training on her job. On the way up stairs to their room Kiri had gotten the courage up to ask Karey what Halden’s last comment was about.

Karey’d let loose a barking laugh. “He means it’s not your job to be entertaining the customers. Halden’s afraid people will think he’s running a whorehouse, so we can’t even have a man upstairs at all. Some whorehouse, there’s only two birds, and one’s too old for the pot!”

Shaking her head just a little at the memory, Kiri gathered up the tankards Halden had refilled for her. Her hands were still in gloves, so it was extra tricky to spread the tankards between her fingers. She would be able to pick up Karey’s barmaid skills quicker if she didn’t have to wear gloves all the time for fear her hand would be noticed.

It still kept a low level glow all the time, but Kiri had managed to spend enough time training that it never did anything she didn’t want it to anymore. Karey was amazed at her ability to quickly light the fire every night, and with so little kindling.

As she swept back out into the dining room, Karey noted some familiar faces. Mala and Garon were sitting at the lover’s table. Each table in the inn had a name; this one was called lover’s because it was small and off in a dark corner. Mala was grinning and waving madly. Kiri felt her face relaxing into a smile in answer. Garon looked uncomfortable enough that Kiri was tempted to make him feel a little more so. She dropped off the tankards and made her way over to her friends. She noted that Mala had given up the fan, but was wearing all black--not really widow’s weeds, but close.

Kiri put one hand on her hip and struck a pose of disapproval. “So who’s this I find at the lover’s table?”

Garon shoved back away from the table as if he’d been bitten by something under it. “I-it’s just..why....” He sighed, then said, in a flat voice, “funny.”

“Oh, stop it,” Mala said. “She’s just trying to get to you. I’ll have a bowl of soup, barmaid. He will as well. Mead for me, and...what would you like Garon?”

Garon scooted back in toward the table, muttering. “Ale, I guess.”

“I’m getting along, well, thanks,” Kiri said to Mala, rolling her eyes at her.

“You shouldn’t be so familiar with your customers. That’s bad manners, barmaid,” Mala said.

“Not as bad as you wearing mourning.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Mourning?” Mala made her eyes too-innocent round. “I just like black.”

Kiri chuckled and turned away. “I’ll be back with your mead.”

“Hey!” Garon called after her. “Don’t forget my ale!”

As the night wore on the dinner crowd went home and the after-dinner crowd slowed their drinking and started into their singing. Seeing no drinks to fill for the first time in hours, Kiri pulled up a chair to the lover’s table. She was glad that the Garon and Mala had chosen this table because the quiet corner meant they could hear each other despite the very enthusiastic singing of The Leaning Pillar’s patrons. There were three particularly loud and off-key out-of-towners living it up tonight.

~

“How was the ale?” Kiri asked Garon, when she finally got a free minute to talk.

He was staring into his empty cup and had already refused a refill. “Good.” But when he raised his head to look at her, his mouth was drawn down in a deep frown.

“Halden’s best.” Kiri said, her own mouth twitching into a mocking frown.

“Ok, enough of that,” Mala said, though she glanced at Garon’s insulted recoil with glittering eyes. She gave a little shake of her golden hair and leaned across the table toward Kiri, placing her chin on her palms. “How’ve you been?”

Kiri laughed. “Me?” She shook her head, too, and tried to really answer Mala’s question. “It’s nice here. They’re nice. Karey and Halden. It’s a good job.”

“Respectable?” Mala asked, a smile playing on her lips as her eyes darted to Garon. His frown deepened.

“Respectable.” Kiri confirmed, smiling back. But the smile quickly faded as she shook her head again. “I’ve been...I’m...fine. How have you been?”

Mala tossed her hair. “We’re bored as mud,” she said. “So. You know, it just isn’t the same without you. Garon tries, but he just isn’t as fascinating a person as you.” She paused, pursing her lips pensively. “Actually, he doesn’t try.”

Garon huffed, and for the first time he loosened out of his frown and leaned in.

“Oh, do you have something to add to the conversation?” Mala asked.

“Don’t listen to Mala,” Garon gestured widely with open hands.. “A lot has happened.”

“Nothing interesting.” Mala disagreed.

“Father’s shipment was attacked!”

“All right, that was interesting,” Mala said. “But I wasn’t going to mention that.”

“Why not?” Kiri cut in.

“Well, you know...” Mala waved a hand. “Bandits. I thought, you know, sensitive topic.”

“Oh.” Kiri’s shoulders tightened but she wasn’t going to let a surge of fear hold her back. “What happened?”

“Well, I’ve told you already,” Mala said. “Bandits.”

Kiri turned to Garon since Mala wasn’t going to be helpful.

“It was the shipment to the capital,” Garon seemed nearly as animated as his sister as he explained with wide eyes. “But they were attacked here in Westfall Valley, where the road comes near the mountains. They fought bravely. Three broken swords were found with the bodies.”

“That part is strange,” Mala allowed. “More interesting than the rest. One broken sword might happen, but three!”

“Maybe they were cheap metal,” Kiri said.

“I wouldn’t put it past Father,” Mala said. “But most hired guards have their own.”

“Their enemy must have been mighty,” Garon said, and a faraway look came into his eyes.

Mala laughed at him, and Kiri watched him pull back into himself, his mouth turning back down. Kiri wondered if it had been a little hard on Garon to have his sister as his main source of company since she left. She didn’t remember him frowning this much in the past. It would be good for him to find some other company, but it would be rude to tell him.

“Doesn’t he give you any time off?” Garon interrupted Kiri’s thoughts.

“What? Who? Halden?”

“Yes,” Garon said. “Don’t you have any free time? You haven’t visited the village at all.”

Kiri thought this was a little unfair. They had only come up here three times themselves, after all.

“Well, I mean,” Kiri said. “You know I’m not really welcome back home, with Mathilda there. And all my other sisters have gone back to their homes.”

“I meant visit us!” As if ashamed the words had escaped his lips he immediately clamped them shut and leaned back in his chair with crossed arms, frown firmly back on his face.

Kiri was taken aback, and now she did feel a little guilty. Every spare moment had been spent practicing her power, which meant she had ignored her friends. “I’ll come to your house for the Equinox Festival, if your family doesn’t mind,” she offered. “That’s only five days from now.”

“Kiri!” Karey snipped as she bustled past the table. “Enough idling, there’s dry cups in the house!”

“Sorry!” Kiri said and jumped to her feet. “I have to go. See you at Equinox.”

“See you then!” Mala said brightly, nudging her brother until he waved too, a little flick of his hand from within his still-crossed arms.

~

The singing went on for a very long time. Garon and Mala had long since gone home. Kiri’s feet were sore and her arms tired from lugging full tankards late into the night. Finally Halden announced to the out-of-towners that the dining room was closed.

“Now, I’m not saying go to bed,” Halden said. “But, well, we’re going. So if you want to be noisy, well, not here.”

They went happily enough, leaning on each other and still singing, out into the night.

“They’ll get into trouble out in the street like that,” Karey said.

“If they’re out of my inn, I don’t have to bother about that,” Halden said. “They’re grown men.”

The three of them closed up the dining room in record speed and headed upstairs. Karey didn’t bother changing or anything, just fell into bed and right off to sleep. Kiri stood by the window, staring at the moon as she slowly changed for bed. She was down to her shift and was braiding her hair when she heard voices in the street below.

“Please, I don’t want any trouble.” The first was a frightened voice, tense and thready. A woman’s voice.

“Don’t call it trouble,” this second voice was gruff, male. Though it was rougher than the last time she’d heard it, Kiri thought she recognized it.

“It’s only trouble if you make it trouble,” another voice said. Kiri definitely recognized this voice. She carefully leaned out the window just enough to see to the narrow street below. Sure enough, there were the three out-of-towners. They had backed one of the local girls against the wall of the shop that neighbored The Leaning Pillar. Their backs were to Kiri, but if the girl looked up, she could easily see her. Kiri quickly moved back into the shadows of her room. She didn’t want the girl to yell at her for help and draw attention to her. This was the moment of truth for her, and her hand in its glove. It would work better if they didn’t see her coming, wouldn’t it? Thinking she would not want to be recognized, Kiri put on the mask she had worn at the party just a few weeks ago, back when things were normal. Then she quickly stripped off her glove and started for her door.

But…was there time to go around? Kiri ran back to the window. No, no time, they already had their hands on the girl. Kiri clenched her fist and opened it, sending a quick streak of light at the ground a little away from the group, in the opposite direction from her window. Then, in one of the most reckless moves of her life, Kiri swung her legs out of her window, dangled for a moment by her hands, and dropped to the ground.

She flinched as a rough stone bashed into her side, ripping her dress and sending a sharp pain through her. There was no time to worry about that. Kiri quickly swiveled toward the men and raised her now-clenched fist.

The three men were stunned to be faced with a masked young woman, dressed in torn white shift and apparently shaking her fist at them. They were so surprised they forgot their previous victim, who, being much more gifted in the area of self-preservation than Kiri, took advantage of their distraction to start slinking away along the wall.

“Go,” Kiri said, in a voice more clear and confident then she felt. “And I won’t hurt you.”

“Ha, ha,” one of the men nudged another. “Look, a volunteer!”

Kiri’s hand was very hot now. She had been distracted, and clenched her fist too tightly. She was sure if she hit the men with this, it would kill them. So she sent a white arc of lightning at the ground right at their feet instead.

It was even more impressive than she’d expected. The lightning dug into the ground and blasted bits of stone back at the men. It was very noisy, too. Kiri followed the first blast with three quick, small sparks, one for each of them, accomplished with just a flick of her fingers. It gave them the motivation she was hoping for, and they fled, stumbling in their haste and drunkenness. Less than a minute since she had first spoken, Kiri was standing alone in the alley.

“Great.” Kiri hands on her hips and tilted her face up at her window. “How do I get back up there?”