The train is cruising along its tracks, now cutting through the Missacon plains, Teum is watching the all too familiar landscape scroll by his dinning car window. Sharing a table with the children and their nanny, he hopes to avoid conversation as the steady rumble and clacks lol him into a half-asleep state.
“Have you considered coffee?”
Teum blinks his eyes to see who was asking.
Ms. Jones repeats, “Have you considered coffee? You look drowsy. I don’t want the protector of my children to be sleeping on the job.”
“No, I’ve not tried coffee. I shouldn’t need it, I slept plenty. It’s something about doing nothing and being too comfortable. My brain keeps relaxing, I was enjoying the feeling.”
Ms. Jones forces a half smile and nods to the two sleeping children slumped on her side of the booth, “You’re not alone.
“Until the beverage service arrives, we should converse. I don’t talk nearly enough with adults in my profession.”
Dubious of the efficacy of conversation to keep him awake he meekly complies, “Sure, what would you like to talk about.”
“Let’s start with you. Why do you want to be a Defender?”
“Whoa, couldn’t we start with something easy?”
Edith Jones isn’t happy with that response, “Ok… How about you tell me why you ran away from home at a young age?”
Teum is now completely awake, “How did you… who told…?”
“Relax, nobody told me anything. That was an educated guess based on the statistic that 97% of all powerful defenders are in fact runaways.”
“What makes you think I’m a powerful defender? I hope you’re not basing that on my ‘Hunter’ persona I use in pro dueling.”
“Not at all, I had no idea you two played in that silly league. I was making an assumption that anyone accompanying Luscin would have to be of a similar power and skill level.”
Teum slowed down and thought his reply through, “Nobody is in her skill level. You can ask Defender Remon if you ever see her.”
“We both know that will never happen. Speaking of Elora Remon, Luscin’s jacket belt is clean.”
“Good, do you have it on you. I can return it to her when she awakes.”
“No need, I tucked it in her satchel this morning.”
“Oh, thanks,” this line of talk reawakened a question that Teum wrestled with last night. Having the source of the question present, this seems a good time to seek the answer.
“How did you know to grab our bags out of our cabin and how did you do it before we left?”
“I’m a nanny. It’s my job to plan ahead for every contingency and failing that, I have to be in two places at once. It’s all part of my job.”
Not at all satisfied with that answer, Teum holds his tongue as the beverage service is wheeled towards their booth.
Sipping the scolding hot coffee, and feeling the caffeine buzz, Teum’s heart leaps when he sees Luscin enter the dining car.
Luscin glides down the aisle and stops at Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen’s booth and joins them after a brief exchange of words.
Teum turns his attention back to Edith and the snoozing children.
She says, “It can’t be that bad?”
“What, what can’t be that bad?”
Edith answers, “Your wife, silly. It must have been her. Something certainly caught your eye. You looked like you were about to jump across the train car in joy. Then just as suddenly, you looked like you were kicked in the face, before returning your attention to yours truly,” gesturing to herself.
She continues, “I remember when Horatio looked that way at Lila. It’s sad to see these things come and go. They lasted almost five years before that light started to dim. How long have you and Luscin been together?”
Teum has to think about it before answering, “Nine years, I guess. But I love her more now than ever. Every day she gets more beautiful, and smarter, and stronger.” Teum starts to look distant, not from sleepiness, but from happiness.
Ms. Jones thought she had a full grasp of language, both official and modern slang, but that word he just used was new to her.
“You say you love her? What is that, some slang for like?”
“It’s so much more. Be careful who you say it too. It’s a word of power or that’s what Luscin thinks.”
Edith is intrigued by this line of thought, “What in the world of the Free’er, is a word of power?”
“If I agree to tell you do you promise not to laugh?”
“I can promise; I don’t laugh at anything.”
Teum pauses, not sure how much he should share with this near stranger, “This is the only one that we know of. There may be more… this one was shared with me by a… stranger that appeared to me twice when I was about to face a difficult challenge. Each time he told me something that I would need to know to be successful. Looking back, it’s like he knew the future and wanted to prepare me for it.”
Teum stops to see if Edith is taking him seriously. She has the same dour look as usual so he continues, “He whispered in my ear the word, ‘love.’ Then he told me, ‘Your feelings for her are called, love’.
“It meant nothing to me at that moment, I was very distracted by everything happening around me and the coming confrontation. He came to me again and told me, ‘I wasn’t alone.’ That phrase feels just as important to me, but I think it’s something important for me to know later. I don’t know, it all sounds crazy, even to me.”
Edith wants to believe this story but it does sound a bit incredulous, “That tells me where you heard the word, but not why you think it’s a word of power.”
“That’s more complicated. Some of my belief is from knowing a person who was born without a knowledge inheritance.”
“Wait, what? Knowledge inheritance?”
“Oh, I forget not everyone gets the same education that I received at Mammatus. We all take for granted that we know languages and math and how to do things without having to be taught. That is called our knowledge inheritance by academics. Most people just accept that it’s there and don’t give it a name.”
“The name does make sense; we have that knowledge from birth. What did you mean by someone without it?”
“I met a kid who was born a runt.”
“My condolences, how long did he live?”
“I don’t know, I’ve not seen him in four years, he should be sixteen by now.”
“He lived! That’s remarkable. I thought you were going to tell me he died after three months.”
Teum laughs at that remark, “Not this runt, I don’t know if anything can kill him. He’s amazing too in a lot of ways.
“What’s important though, is that he knows nothing until he hears, reads, or sees it himself. For him everything is new knowledge. It was he that pointed out that we mostly only know what we inherit at birth and don’t have a lot of curiosity to explore things we don’t know.
“Did you know that the name of the predator we call ravtor is not from our inheritance? We only know that name because we pass it down from generation to generation?”
“No, I did not realize that.”
“Most people don’t. It took someone like Malo, he’s the runt, to notice that. The word, love is another word that we don’t know from birth.”
“But why do you call it a word of power and why would it be unkown?”
“What’s your favorite food, the one thing that if you were starving and were told you’d die after you ate next. What food would you chose to eat before you die?”
“Apples.”
“Really? You like them that much?”
“Yes, do you have a problem with that?”
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“No, no, I just expected something more exotic. So, it’s safe to say you like apples. You like apples a lot, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve seen the way you look at those two sleeping lumps next to you. Do you like them more or less than apples?”
“I like them a thousand times more than apples.”
“Would you give your life for theirs?”
Edith reflects for a moment before answering, “yes, they have so much life ahead of them. While I’d like to be a part of that life, for me their lives without mine is greater than my life alone without them.”
“That’s love. You love those children. If you want to know why it’s a word of power. Wait until you’re alone with them and they’re asleep like now and tell them you love them. You’ll know instantly what I mean.”
Edith looks at her two sleeping charges and her face softens until a tear streaks her cheek.
Teum only then realizes you don’t have to say the words out loud. It only needs to be private without judgement or self-aggrandizement.
A welcome interruption of the breakfast cart breaks the awkwardness for Teum and the moment of catharsis reflection for Edith.
They each receive a plate of avi eggs and toast. Teum asks for a coffee refill. The children each receive butter and syrup laden johnny cakes and a mix of chopped fruit.
Luscin stays with the Nguyen’s until she receives her plate then she switches tables to join her husband.
“Sorry, that took so long. I had to brief Lila on the dangers we’re facing. She took it better than I expected, I owed her an apology. I expected her to retreat into a state of denial. She’s prepared to cooperate fully.”
Ms. Jones leans in, “Do you think the children are in danger too?”
“Of course, all of you are potential hostages. What I can’t figure out though is why they need a weak headmaster. Why not have one of the corrupt defenders take the position?”
“I can answer that. The job of a study headmaster is tedious on the best of days and a chaotic night terror on the worst days. Having somebody they can coerce to do their bidding is better than sitting in the office themselves. And the three defenders Teum named are some of the laziest people I’ve ever met.”
Luscin, satisfied with that answer changes the subject, “I’m glad to see the children don’t appear too traumatized by yesterday’s event.”
“I have you two to thank for that… well not just you. Your little show with the jacket and ears was well received. They’d be gripping their Fighter-Fox dollies right now if they’d remembered to pack them.”
Luscin smiles at that, “I can’t believe those are selling. When my agent suggested I merchandise myself I laughed in her face.”
Teum adds, “Radara-san, has a shrewd business sense. She told me not to bother, until my character has a redemption arc and I get to be a good guy.”
Edith frowns more than usual at that remark, “Is it all scripted, are the fights even real?”
Teum answers, “The story lines that you read in the broadsheets and the stuff we yell at the crowd and each other during the fights can be scripted, not always though. Once the bell rings we get to decide how hard we want to fight. It’s a strange business. We’re told that the upper league is legit fighting no scripts. People get killed in those matches, that’s real enough for me.”
Luscin wants to lighten the mood and asks, “What were you two discussing before I interrupted?”
Teum sarcastically snips, “Nothing much, we were discussing love and ravtors and the riddle of our knowledge inheritance.”
Luscin giggles at his tone, “Oh I that all? Did you get around to the problem with inu’s?”
“Not yet, I was working my way there when you interrupted.”
“Please continue, my dear.”
Ms. Jones is once again dubious but at the same time intrigued.
“Malo showed me another hole, or maybe a partial hole in our languages. We mostly speak Trade, which is a heavy mix of English and other languages sprinkled in where needed. When Malo learned there were whole exclusive languages that completely overlap one another word for word he started quizzing people on alternate words for common items. It was an annoying hobby that he thankfully outgrew.
“It was he that pointed out that not only is the label inu, unique to Japanese but so are some other words that may be related. For instance, all of our teeth are named based on Latin root words except one. Our kenshi, the one tooth we have in common with an inu has a Japanese name. Odd, isn’t it?”
Ms. Jones nods in agreement.
“Luscin and I were talking about this one day and we had this wild idea that words like ravtor or love may have once been common knowledge but were intentionally left out of our knowledge inheritance, maybe removed on purpose. This will sound weird until you think about it. What if all traces of inu were to be removed but someone missed the Japanese references?”
Ms. Jones affably nods, “Yes, that would be weird. What purpose could be served by erasing knowledge of inu from all of humanities knowledge?”
Teum looks Ethen Jones dead in the eyes and offers, “Ms. Jones can you think of another animal more capable to inspire love than an inu?”
Leo and Luna finish their Johnny cakes at that moment and look up and notice Luscin or in their eyes, Fighter-Fox has joined them.
Luna whines, “I want my foxy-girl dolly.”
Leo adds, “Me too.”
Ms. Jones coolly responds, “Neither of you packed them, maybe we should go back to our cabin and see if we can find something else to play with.”
Luscin watches Ms. Jones ready the children for the short walk, amazed at how many steps are involved. Cleaning faces and hands, checking if shoes are tied, fixing hair. Counting the knives, forks, and spoons to make sure they’re all accounted; must be a story behind that step. Lastly, she retrieves her oversized designer handbag from under the table before addressing Teum.
“Thank you Teum for the stimulating conversation on language. It was precisely what I needed.”
Ms. Jones and Luscin exchange courteous nods as the nanny leads her little entourage forward to their car.
Luscin finishes eating and heads back to her cabin to be close to the nanny and kids, while mumbling, “It’d be nice if they stayed together once in a while.”
Ms. Jones has latched her cabin door open as requested, Luscin does the same. She can now look directly from her cabin into theirs to see that all are safe.
Their tiny voices and that of the nanny barely carry over the incessant rumble and clickety clack of the rushing train.
“My dolly, you found my foxy-girl dolly!”
“And mine too!”
“I knew you’d miss them, so I packed them special in my bag…”
The rest of whatever she said was drowned out by the delighted squeals from the two children.
The train made four short stops in small towns before they were due to reach Thuma. Nerves are coming undone as they near the end of the first leg of their journey.
Horatio knows Master Ta Raha and Master Finner will not let this go. They’ll reach Thuma in a few hours, his two young bodyguards expect another attack on the train. He thinks otherwise, of the two remaining threats, Master Finner is likely to be next and he’s known as the trickster. He isn’t as strong as Master Ta Raha, few are. His intellect and subtlety are his best weapons.
Oblivious to the danger, the children are playing a board game on the floor with Ms. Jones, while their parents watch from their seat on the children’s shared bed. Luscin and Teum sit across the hall on full alert.
Nobody can help but jump or flinch when the train whistle sounds to signal their approach to Thuma. An announcement crackles out of the loudspeaker, “Next stop Thuma. We’re sorry to inform you that there will be a delay in our departure. More details will be available upon reaching the station.”
Luscin gives Teum a concerned look and Horatio and Lila exchange silent worried glances at the news.
The train pulls into the Thuma station without event. It’s not long before the train conductor passes through their car and informs them there is an indeterminate delay. There was a disruption of service on the rail-line passing through the Rocky Waste Mountain Range delaying the entire West-East Transcontinental Railway Company’s schedule. They are to wait in the station until a new departure time is assigned.
The Nguyen’s join Teum and Luscin across the hall, keeping an eye on their children.
Lila asks the obvious question that’s on all their minds, “Do you think this delay is their doing?”
Luscin answers, “We can’t rule that out. If it’s not, they’ll be sure to capitalize on the opportunity. That’s what I’d do.”
Teum asks, “How? What does this delay give them?”
“Not much, but there’s always opportunity in confusion. You just need to be smart enough to figure out how to exploit it first.”
Horatio speaks, “That’s what I’m afraid of. Master Damien Finner is by no small margin the smartest person I’ve ever met. When Master Ta Raha comes, it will be with direct force. We won’t know Damien is here until he strikes.”
The group falls quiet at that statement until a series of loud metallic clacks and bangs, followed by the sound of the engine coming to life breaks the silence.
Luscin explains, “I believe they disconnected the engine and the baggage car that needs refurbished. That was scheduled. Our engine or another should hook back up in a bit.”
Lila nods, now remembering the conversation surrounding their missing trunks a few days prior.
Horatio stands up, “I think I’d like to step off the train and see about purchasing some food. I’m getting tired of all this fancy dining and would like to try something from the Thuma street vendors.”
Teum, “That’s not a good idea. We should all stay here, it’s the safest play.”
“I have to agree with my husband. Besides I’m from Thuma and can tell you, you aren’t missing much. We’re best known for our fish markets and we’ve had fish twice already on the train.”
A commotion outside draws everyone’s attention. People are rushing away from the platform, being herded by the station employees.
Crackling to life the loudspeaker announces, “All passengers and railway personnel must exit the train and station immediately. There was a chemical spill in the station, it is not safe to stay on the train or in the station. I repeat, All passengers and railway personnel…”
Ms. Jones has her bag now bulging with supplies on her shoulder and a kid holding each hand, “This feels like the work of Master Finner, if Mr. Nguyen’s assessment is accurate. Shouldn’t we be moving?”
Teum catches a hint of chlorine in the air, “I smell chlorine, I think the spill is real. We need to go.”
They join the crowd exiting the train through the second-class dining car. Following instructions and keeping in the center of the crowd they find themselves away from the station platform. The spill must have happened near the food vendors as station personnel are roping off that area.
Teum declares, “We should stay here, surrounded with cover.”
Luscin agrees and glances back to check on the nanny and kids. She doesn’t see them.
“Where’s Ms. Jones?”
Lila spins around and stands on her toes to see over the crowd, “I don’t see her!”
Teum makes a quick plan, “You three stay in the center of the crowd, maybe they stopped to tie a shoe and will catch-up. I’m going to walk around the crowd’s edge and look for them. I’ll be right back.”
Teum circles the crowd looking for signs of Ms. Jones in both the crowd and the surrounding area. After his second time around, he gives up and rejoins Luscin in hopes of finding the family reunited.
Teum dejected at not finding them reunited admits, “This is all my fault, I should have been walking behind them.”
Lila, distraught, “Yes, you should have been. I should have been, Horatio should have been. This is exactly what Luscin warned us about, opportunity in confusion.”
Luscin says the only consoling thing she can think of, “We know the children are not the target, Horatio is the one they’re after. We’ll need to wait for them to contact us and arrange an exchange.
“Master Finner may be smart, but he’s already made one tactical mistake.”
Horation looking for a glimmer of hope asks, “What is that?”
“He took the children and Ms. Jones.”
The all-clear signal is given to reboard the train. Not knowing what else to do they return to their train car.
The conductor informs them that they’ve been given permission to leave the station as soon as the train is coupled to the returning engine.