6.8

Jewel was trying to focus.

But although she now possessed two heads, two sets of ears, and in some ways attention enough for all of them, it was still difficult.

Her bodies were far enough apart that the knowing between them was not consistent.

Rising and falling in swells of memory. Memory that she clearly was present for.

It was incredibly awkward but the god botherer who looked after the temple and saw to the heavenly needs of Valasect was insistent.

Children (especially the very young) could bring the wrong sort of attention when treating with certain divinities and even here under the open sun warmed sky it was not a sure thing that one might not be present during the congregation.

So ‘Gem’ was kept well back along with the other curious village children while Jewel and the god botherer stood under the ceremonial tree which Valasect used for most of their congregations and divine rituals outside of winter.

However, one of the young boys (she had to audibly sniff him to confirm) sidled up closer to her and whispered.

“That's your ma?”

She was trying to focus but each of her selves had entirely different things they needed to do.

And by all technicalities he was not wrong.

Jewel huffed and nodded to the child who was none-the-less taller than her by a good head.

“My gran says she’s a wyrm, monster and beast. But my ma and pa say she’s good and she’s nice whenever she’s watching us over the hungry summer, she gives us good white bread! Later in the summer she takes us to the boar festival all the way in Rochford!”

He was trying to be quiet, but his excitement over the simple round she shared when she was doing her kinder guarding overtook him. Not being much more in control of herself, a smile was soon splitting ‘Gem’s’ face as well.

However there was the problem of how to respond.

Jewel was not sure what she was supposed to do, words were still incredibly difficult. Even if she could make a few of the proper word shaped sounds.

She was far too slow to get one right for a proper conversation.

So Jewel just nodded and made a gesture almost but not quite like the flight cant for acknowledgement.

She still needed to practice with these hands..

“Ah yeah, I spoke to Bethica a bit. She said you were good and smart but someone taught you how to speak wrong. That was a mean joke they did.”

Jewel could not even begin to explain, but she could agree. She had apparently learned to speak wrong. Unless you were a dragon!

So nodding and then another clumsy gesture and a heavy sigh, bits of tears were already welling up in her eyes.

“Ah! Don’t cry! You know it was wrong now so you can just learn the right way ya? I see ya around the town sometimes with your pa-”

Jewel choked and squawked with a heavy shake, her face was suddenly far too hot, her ears perked high and burning with the rush of blood.

“The lord squire that’s always with you isn't your pa?”

Jewel could not keep it in, she chokes into a giggling laugh that requires her to smother her mouth to avoid interrupting the very important ceremony her larger self is attending.

One of the adults who were there to keep the children away from where the invoked gods might take interest silenced all of them with a sharp look and a raised finger to their lips.

Which ended all conversation long enough for Jewel to actually get control of herself.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The peasant boy squatted down low and whispered quite a bit too loudly for Jewel’s hearing right next to her ear.

“If the lord-mf?”

Jewel couldn't handle the suggestion again, she reached out and gently pinched his lips closed with her hand.

She tried to quietly say the word ‘lord’. But Could not get even half the sounds right.

However she shook her head rapidly as soon as she said it.

“The lor-mhey!”

This time the peasant leaned out of reach of her pinching fingers but she fixed him with one of the looks she had practiced as her larger self.

The one that Mother used to silence courtiers without saying a word.

It actually seemed to work on the peasant boy.

“Is... is he not a lord either?”

Jewel nodded and smiled.

She made a series of gestures that, if you were half blind might have looked like the sign for ‘horse’ and ‘camp’ and ‘levies’.

Trying to make the easiest version of the old riddle game she played on the march to explain that Smithson was a stableboy.

Then Jewel realized this boy didn't know what any of that meant.

His confused expression made her sigh again.

Well she’d taught her and Father’s version to Gryphon riders once.

She could do it again.

A quick wave with her little fingers and then Jewel pointed to one of the draft horses.

He looked over and furrowed her brow.

“What? What about the field?”

Jewel huffed and shook her head and tugged at his tunic. It was not quite the infant smock she wore but it was still clothing for a child that was at the start of growing, when he was taller it would probably be one of the shirts she saw the youths in the village wear.

“Hmm? What is it?”

He leaned down low and Jewel with as much grace as her only somewhat coordinated arms could manage grabbed him round the neck, pressed the side of her head to his cheek then with both their eyes mostly lined up she used the practice having two different pairs of eyes gave her and pointed directly at the horse that was out to pasture between labors.

“Eh hey... wha... oh, you were pointing at the horse... but why?”

Jewel noticed that her actions with the peasant boy had drawn the attention of pretty much all of the other children. Which again made her face burn with rushing blood but she mastered herself and mostly forced down the tears that wanted to well up with sheer determination.

She let go of the peasant boy now that he had the right idea and pointed at the horse again.

Then made the gesture for a horse in flight cant as carefully as she could.

He and the other children stared in confusion, one of them giggled.

But then a girl that was only perhaps a few winters ahead of Jewel’s smaller body gasped loud enough to draw the ire and shushing of the adults.

“She’s talking with her hands!”

Which suddenly got everyone’s attention focused on Jewel (or where her finger pointed) and not on the mostly boring and familiar events of a god invocation performed in the day.

Jewel paused for a moment, she had everyone’s attention on her.

She had taught over a dozen Gryphon Riders her and Father’s expanded flight cant and helped Alexander practice the more standard forms before he set off to the eyrie.

Her arms were too clumsy to manage things quickly enough for real conversation.

But she would need to go slower if she was teaching anyway.

Jewel’s path forward suddenly was clear.

Her throat might be shaped wrong for how she knew how to speak.

But if anything her arms, hands and shoulders were shaped better for this.

And she needed to find a way to win over her subjects.

None of these children were afraid of Jewel when she was so small.

Most of them were older than her.

All of them were bigger than her.

To them ‘Gem’ was safe!

Jewel did not point when she made the gesture this time.

And they all ‘whispered’ their answer with shrill excitement.

“Horse!”

She didn't even try to stop her smile.