Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A few hours into the day’s journey, the driver pulled the cart to the side of the road to rest her horse. She took the opportunity to come to the back of the cart and share a midday meal with Roka and her master. She stood and the two of them sat, munching on dry traveling food.

“You seem to be an unhappy girl,” the driver said.

Roka was used to hearing such comments directed at her, but it was strange on this day when she couldn’t have been happier. It wasn’t her fault the pox marks above her eyes turned her face into a perpetual scowl.

“Not so,” she said. “It has been a good day.”

“Are you sure? You have the fallen stare. Did I do anything to offend you?”

“Not at all,” Roka said, though only an Ensign would miss her own insult. Of course, some of Roka’s people would be insulted by the driver’s mere presence in their lands, but there wasn’t much she could do about that except leave. Roka did not mind either form of insult, but unfortunately, the same was not true of her master.

“Did your mother not teach you it was rude to comment on the appearance of others?” he said.

The driver looked shocked. Roka suppressed a groan. Here was another thing she would be glad to be rid of. Her master did not know when it was prudent to keep his mouth shut.

“Please, ignore him,” Roka said. “He has a disease of the mouth. It forces him to speak things he doesn’t think.”

“Oh,” the driver said, skeptical but also entrenched in her biases. “I have not learned of this disease. That makes sense. I never know what you people will say.”

Roka nodded congenially and, in anticipation of what her master would say next, jabbed him in the side with two fingers. She did not want to lose their ride to the capital, and neither did she feel it was her mission to correct the behavior of one foreign trader. Her master might disagree, but he wouldn’t stop until every Ensign in the empire knew their place and hated him for it. Just because they would be parting company soon did not mean Roka would let him get away with dragging her into it.

The driver, noticing the tension bleeding off of Roka’s master, finished her lunch quickly and returned to the front of the cart. It showed remarkable understanding on her part. Most of the Ensigns Roka had met would have seen through the “disease of the mouth” excuse and insisted on an argument about uncouth savages and “the proper way to talk to someone.” Instead, the cart began to move, and Roka could again rest assured that it would take them all the way to Topto.

“You should have let me—” her master began.

“I know you would have rather walked,” Roka interrupted, “but I have been enjoying our afternoon ride.”

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“I–”

“Further,” Roka continued, raising a finger, “the only true insult I suffered as a result of that conversation was your insinuation that there might indeed be something wrong with my appearance for her to spot. Well? Do you have something to tell me?”

“What?” he stammered. “No. I didn’t– If I in any way insinuated–”

Roka smiled. Neayui, the innkeeper, wasn’t the only one who knew how to manipulate her master.

He stopped stammering. “I apologize. I should have been more careful in my speech. There is nothing wrong–”

“I know, I know,” Roka said. “You don’t have to say it.”

They were quiet for a little while. Roka chewed on a piece of dried beef. Suddenly, her master laughed.

“I’m tempted to declare you a full Sentinel right now. How do you do it? How do you stay so calm?”

Roka considered his question. Only one answer came to mind. She had spent six years watching him draw his sword at the slightest hint of injustice or insult and had decided she would never do the same. She would never tell him that, but it also wasn’t a complete answer.

“You said it yourself,” she said, “I’ve always been who I am. Nothing made me this way.”

Her master looked away from her and out to the countryside that flanked him. The sun was starting to lose its grip on the sky. The moon rose to take its place, still enveloped by bright blue but with a tinge of darkness. They would reach the capital before nightfall, but only just.

“There is something more,” Roka’s master said. “I had intended to wait to tell you this until we were in the presence of the emperor, but perhaps it is better you have longer to think on it.”

Roka no longer knew what was coming. He had already delivered her the one thing she had been training toward for six years. What did he have left to offer her as a Sentinel master?

“The emperor summoned me to the capital for the festival first and foremost because he is my friend, but there is another reason we are going. I received word that the Keeper of Walls has fallen ill. He has left the city to recover, but it is unlikely that he will return before the period of his retirement arrives. There is a gap in leadership to be filled, and the Keeper of Walls must always be a Sentinel.”

“You say that like you will be the one to fill the gap,” Roka said, “but you have already served as Keeper of Walls. Have the Emperor and the Sentinels really agreed to do away with the tradition of a single term?”

Her master’s eyes returned to meet hers. “I will not be filling the gap.”

Roka stared back for a few seconds, trying to understand what he was saying. His implication seemed simple enough, but she clearly didn’t catch his full meaning. It would be silly to even suggest what he seemed to be suggesting, so there had to be something more.

And yet, he still stared at her, as if waiting for acceptance.

“You can’t mean me?” she said.

“I do mean you.”

“I am in no way qualified to–”

“Every full Sentinel is qualified. When you are declared one, you will be far more qualified than I was when I took the position.”

“I don’t even–”

“It is not decided yet,” her master interrupted again. “You must meet the emperor’s qualifications as well. You will speak with him, spend time in the city, and learn more about what your duties will be. It is possible he will reject you, though I think it unlikely. Of course, you have a say in the matter. If you do not want the position, it will not be forced on you. However, I believe the empire would lose a great deal if you did not accept.”

“I want the position,” Roka said without thinking. The very idea scared her, but she knew it was true the moment it had crystalized in her mind. “I want it.”

Her master nodded. “Good. I am pleased.” He paused. “And do not worry. I will be there to guide you through the first few days.”

They were silent again. The piece of meat Roka had been chewing lay forgotten in her lap. Keeper of the Walls. It terrified her. It sent a thrill down her spine. She hadn’t known it was possible to be even more excited than she had already been.

Her master smirked. “It’s nice to know I can still surprise you.”