I did tell you early on that many Noble Houses sent their boys and girls here to scout for a possible match,Auwei reminded me.
Oh, that.
“Silverveil is the place where young Nobles go to Bond, in more ways than one.” Hearth seemed very shocked that I didn’t know this. “Since people are coming from all over the nation, and any of them could be a Noble within a matter of months, everyone is on the prowl for new faces and who they might want to make matches with. The boys are told to look for girls that are bright and beautiful and driven, and the girls are told to look for boys who are… well, pretty much the same.” She cleared her throat a little. “They’re even told to dally a bit if they wish, but not to make any true commitments. The point is to pick out who they want to make alliances with later. You… you threw that whole process completely into chaos.”
I smiled. Something about that appealed to me. I had never known the Noble Houses were so… cutthroat and cunning, sending their youth out to make alliances for them. It seemed creepy to me. I was glad I’d messed up those plans.
“Suffice to say, if you become a Noble, you may receive several offers for marriage,” Hearth said.
“Oh!” That shocked me.
What happens if someone from one Noble House marries someone from another Noble House? I asked Auwei.Have you ever done that?
Most marriages are within a Noble House. But when two Houses come together like that the couple gets to decide which House they would like to be a part of. They cannot remain in both.
Oh.
It is a way for some people to advance up into a… more prestigious Noble House. Though I’ll tell you now, more prestigious, does not necessarily mean… better or kinder or more generous, or anything of that sort.
Yeah, that made sense.
I sighed. “I don’t want any of that. I’m not here for a husband, I’m here to Bond and, yes, I want to become a Noble, but… I…” Well, I didn’t know if I’d want to “marry-up” or not. I guess it would depend on which Noble House I ended up in… and which man proposed.
I sighed again, running a hand through my hair, shaking my head.
“I need some more fresh air,” I said and turned, walking once more. With my long legs and swift stride, the others had to hurry to catch up. Once they did, I slowed a little to accommodate them.
“What do you two want to be?” Pebble asked, his voice so soft, I barely heard it. It took me a moment to register the question, but by then, Hearth, who had been closer to him, was answering. “I… I really want to create a safe place. I want people to have a warm place to rest, and caring people around them, like I had growing up.”
I nodded to that. Her bear avatar made a bit more sense now. She’d do whatever it took to protect those in need, like a mother bear did for her young.
“That would be nice,” Pebble said. “What about you, Birch?”
Oh, this question again. I felt like I needed an answer now, more than any other time I’d been asked. Hearth’s answer had been so clear and concise. I could almost picture it. Shouldn’t I want something that clearly?
I took a moment to ponder my avatar: a spider. If Hearth’s bear was indicative of her desires, then perhaps a spider was indicative of mine. But what did a spider want? To spin webs and scare people? No… so then what? People talked about “a web of lies” so did I want to deceive people? No. There were other sayings about being caught in a web…
Caught…
Oh, I felt that. Did you think of something? Auwei asked.
Maybe… it feels sort of right…?
I tried to sound confident as I said, “I want to catch people, bad people, doing bad things. I want to bring them to justice.” Something about that resonated deeply within me.
“People like me?” Pebble whispered.
“What?” Had he done something wrong? Oh… he’d mentioned being a thief. “No, not like that. You were stealing to survive, that’s different. I’m talking about people who are really hurting others. Like Oak and those two who attacked you that night. I can’t abide that.”
Auwei had said, that night, that she’d figured out more about me. But it wasn’t until now that it sank in for me. I had run in to face those three without a second thought. I really did want to punish those who threatened or harmed others.
Even as a child I’d stood up to bullies and reported things that weren’t right to my parents. I’d gotten my share of black eyes for my trouble, but they’d been worth it. I’d done what I’d known was right in the moment.
“Besides,” I said to reassure Pebble. “I don’t think a Lumani would Choose someone who was truly bad.”
Ah… well…Auwei’s hesitancy surprised me.
What?
