Chronicles of Tesselle

Author's Note: I'm sorry about the wait. I've been rather busy lately. Oh well. Here's the next part! Enjoy!

Part 4

Not long after they resumed their expedition, Nen found himself dragged away from Shikishi by “Sahnzay” or whatever his name was. The man pulled him over to the merc—who didn’t look happy to see them—who the blue-eyed man introduced as Konara. Nen thought it was an interesting name, though not nearly as much as “Sinshay’s.”

As Nen fidgeted uncomfortably between the two near-strangers, one of whom was trying to get the other to talk, Shikishi smiled and decided he too would get to know one of his fellow travelers.

Soon, the shrouded figure with green-gold eyes found it had a companion.

The abovementioned eyes narrowed at the cloaked person beside him. The look in the eyes was not one of distaste, nor of disinterest. It was more of a curious look, asking what the blind man was doing.

Shikishi merely turned a smiling face toward the figure—somehow he knew the shadows of the hood did not conceal him from the figure’s gaze.

“Hello,” he said simply.

There was a pause, as if the person was considering the proper response. The reply was merely a returned “Hello.”

The voice was soft yet steel-edged. But it was not the voice of a man, nor the voice of a woman. It was the voice of a boy, a boy who didn’t sound any older than Nen appeared. /How very interesting…/

And then a silence fell between them. It was not an awkward silence—both members were quite content with not speaking.

“You know, don’t you?”

Shikishi tilted his head to the side at the quiet question. “Know what?”

There was a pause. Then, “You may be blind but you see far more than other people do.”

“Really?”

The other didn’t answer his question and silence once more settled upon them.

Shikishi did indeed “know” the other’s secret, which he hid away behind the many layers of cloth. As he had no sight to mislead him as to the other’s nature, he knew only what he could sense of the other—the cloaked one’s true identity.

But…

“Why is someone such as yourself traveling with these kinds of people?”

The other’s gaze turned to him once more. “Why? Why not?” The eyes narrowed slightly. “Should you really be the one to wonder at my presence?”

Shikishi’s smile broadened. “Indeed, you have a good point.” He nodded to himself. “Well, I suppose you must have a name that I could call you. It’s rather odd simply referring to you as ‘that person.’ Being blind limits me a bit.”

The other didn’t answer right away. Finally, he simply said, “You may call me ‘Dune.’”

“It fits you well. You probably already know my name, ne?”

“Yes.”

They lapsed into silence again. But Shikishi felt quite content in dwelling on his own thoughts. /Dune, huh? It truly does suit him…/


Nen tried not to groan as Sanshay—whatever, tried to get conversation from the merc—Konara. /His name’s a lot easier to pronounce that Zenshee’s…/

“What do you like to do in your spare time?”

“Kill annoying pests like you.”

“Hmm, that would be bad.”

“Good. So go away.”

“No, I don’t think I will. And you’re not being very polite.”

“Okay…Please go away?” The merc’s voice had a desperate edge to it.

“Just because you said the magic word, it doesn’t mean I’m actually going to go.”

Nen sympathized with the merc as Konara groaned in frustration.

“If you don’t go, I’ll kill you. Obviously, this Bear isn’t the type of person to meddle in his client’s affairs. Nobody would care.”

“Actually, given the reactions to the deaths of those three brutish men…” meaning the slavers “…I think that that family over there might get a little upset if you killed me. I don’t think the parents really want their kids to see all this violence.”

Nen looked at the blue-eyed man—boy really, he didn’t seem that old. His voice at the end had a very…sad ring to it.

“Tsenxie…”

If he hadn’t been so concerned about the fact that his companion’s constantly cheery voice had become somber, he would have leapt for joy at finally getting the odd name. The truth was, he didn’t realize he had said it out loud…

…until Tsenxie pounced on him. “Hey, you got it! Not bad, not bad. I didn’t think you’d get it so soon.”

All worry forgotten, Nen glared at him. “What are you trying to say? I’m not stupid!”

Tsenxie merely patted his head. “I never meant to imply that you were. I just didn’t think you cared enough to even try.”

Nen blinked. The truth was…he didn’t think he cared either. /Why would I care about a guy I just met?/

Why, indeed?

“I haven’t forgotten about you,” Tsenxie said as he turned to the black-haired man who was trying to edge away as sneakily as possible.

Konara’s shoulders slumped in defeat as Tsenxie once more began battering him with questions.

“You know I can kill you, right?” Despite the words, the merc’s manner was far from threatening. It was as though it was his last stand against an opponent he knew he couldn’t beat.

And Tsenxie could tell it was so. Almost gleefully, the blue-eyed boy renewed his assault. “Yeah, right. Anyway, so what’s your reason for leaving Pendelia? Due to the high crime rate these days, merc’s are in fairly high demand—at least among the rich, as the common folk can barely pay their taxes much less for a mercenary.”

Konara finally gave in. “Because I’ve received an offer for a job more important than fighting mere citizen-turned-thieves. And that job happens require my presence in Faniue.”

“What’s the job?”

Apparently, on this one topic at least, Konara wasn’t going to give in. “None of your business.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I’m traveling with you, so if you’re mission is anti-Pendel…” the merc’s eyes narrowed dangerously “…then that puts my life in danger. Therefore, I think I have a right to know the nature of your job.” The brilliant blue eyes seemed to pierce into the taller man. Nen had a feeling that despite his happy-go-lucky personality, Tsenxie missed very little. “And I’m thinking that I’ve made a very correct assumption, yes?” Though his tone was light, the intensity in his eyes revealed that Tsenxie was very serious.

The tenseness of the merc’s body made Nen very afraid that Konara was going to follow through with his previous threat and kill Tsenxie. “So, you think I threaten your safety? Well, let me ask you this: Of the remaining members of this party, how many of them do you think are running from Pendel authorities?”

As if he couldn’t sense the precarious situation he was in, Tsenxie continued walking casually, completely at ease. “Is that a rhetorical question or a realistic one?”

“Just answer it.”

Tsenxie tutted. “Very demanding, aren’t we?”

The merc’s silence was his answer. Cat green eyes tracked Tsenxie’s every movement.

Tsenxie let out a sigh. “You’re no fun. Fine, my answer is: Out of the fourteen people remaining, not including Bear but including myself and you, eleven of the people are on the run from Pendel.”

Nen’s own eyes widened along with Konara’s. He hadn’t expected such a direct answer. Tsenxie hadn’t said “approximately eleven people” or “it seems eleven people” or “I believe eleven people.” No, he had been very exact. “Eleven people” had issues with the Pendels. It was as though he could tell who was on the run and who wasn’t.

“How do you know that?”

“What makes you say that particular number?”

Konara and Nen briefly glanced at the other, having both spoken at the same time. Then they turned their attention to Tsenxie expectantly.

“Because it’s true.” Then he paused. “Though I suppose the children might not be counted as their parents are the ones who couldn’t pay their debts. They must suffer for their parents’ actions.” Again, Nen noticed a tinge of pain and sadness in the other’s voice. Then Tsenxie continued. “But they’ll still be punished for what was not their fault, so they are really running from Pendel as well.”

Konara waved his hand. “Okay, but what I want to know is: How do you know that the remaining three—whoever they are, though I can probably assume you’re one of them—are not running from the Pendels?”

Tsenxie nodded. “You’re correct in thinking that I’m not running from the Pendels. As for the two others, Vaha and the cloaked one are also not on the run.” He held up a hand when Konara tried to intervene. “Vaha was enslaved, true. While his slavers were fleeing Pendel because they were slavers and had a slave, Vaha, himself, has done nothing against the Pendels. So they aren’t after him in particular.” He paused. “Though given his background, if they knew of his existence, he probably would be hunted down as well.” Nen frowned in confusion but Konara nodded in understanding. “And while I’m not at liberty to tell you about the other one, I will say that he definitely has done nothing against Pendel.”

“You know him?” Nen asked.

“Not exactly. I’ve not yet spoken to him.” It was a very vague answer.

“Then how do you…?”

The blue-eyed boy shook his head, oddly serious. “I can’t say. But your friend, Shikishi, might be able to.”

Nen looked over to where his blind friend was walking alongside the person in question.

Konara, however, now turned his attention to Nen. “You’ve not objected to the fact that this one…” he motioned to Tsenxie who he ignored when the blue-eyed man muttered his name “…has implied that you and your friend are on the run from the Pendels.”

There was an implied question in his statement. Nen wrung his hands and bit his lip. He hadn’t thought to protest Tsenxie’s omission of him and Shikishi as people who weren’t running from the Pendels. And it was a bit too late now.

“Well, about that…really, I’m the one on the run. Shikishi’s just helping me.”

“Which makes him a criminal too in the king’s eyes.”

Nen blinked at Konara. “Uh, right…”

“Why are you running?”

Nen’s resolve hardened and he glared at the merc. “You haven’t said the job you have that has made you an enemy of Pendelia. I don’t have to answer that.”

Tsenxie snorted in amusement as the two glared at each other, neither one was willing to back down. He smiled to himself. /This is going to be an interesting trip./


When the group finally stopped for the day, Shikishi did not immediately go with Nen to sit down and eat. Instead he picked up some food, a blanket, and some of his clothes and went over to where Vaha was trying to get a fire started.

“Hello.”

The ex-slave looked up at him suspiciously. “Yes?”

Shikishi held out the items in his hands. “Here, you should have these.”

Vaha stared at the objects, as if they were alien things. “Why are you giving them to me? I don’t need them. The slavers…” he spat the word “…had all the supplies one would require for a journey like this. As they no longer have any need for them, I have taken them into possession. So why give me more that you probably need more than I do?”

Shikishi tilted his head in the direction of the bags containing the slavers’ supplies. “Firstly, I doubt that slavers carried much edible food with them. So that they could travel fast, I’d presume that they would hunt as they went and brought little food with them.” Vaha’s downcast eyes said that this was true. “And what they did bring was probably tasteless and likely contained minimal nutritional value as that food would be given to you.” Again, Vaha’s motions indicated that the blind man was correct. “So, that’s why I brought you food.

“As for the blanket and clothes…” Shikishi’s face turned to Vaha. “Given that you have not put on any of their clothing, I don’t think you wish to be covered in their clothes or by their blankets which, undoubtedly, reek of them. Hence the clothes and blanket. If you do not want them, that’s fine…but I believe I may be insulted if you return my gift.” His smile was gentle, yet persistent. “So I won’t be taking them back. Do what you will with them.”

With that he walked away.

Because he was blind, he didn’t need eyes to know that the ex-slave was watching him leave. Neither did he miss the fact that Vaha quickly replaced his dirty loincloth with Shikishi’s clothes. Even after he had reached Nen, he knew that at that moment, the ex-slave was savoring the stew and bread Shikishi had given him. He also knew that fuelling the flames of the fire Vaha had started were the blankets, food, and clothes of the slavers.

His smile was very satisfied.

When he sat down next to Nen, he noticed that his younger friend was unusually fidgety. /Hmm…I wonder…/

“So, do you have a name?” he spoke out to the empty air. Given that Nen was doing his best not to look anywhere but at his food, Shikishi couldn’t tell where the person he was speaking to was.

There was a pause. ‘I do.’

Shikishi nodded agreeable though since the words entered his mind, not his ears, he still had no clue as to where the speaker was. “Will you tell me it?”

Another pause, then, ‘Wraith.’

“I take it that’s not your actual name.”

‘Perhaps.’

Shikishi nodded again. “I see…well, not really.” His smile broadened and somehow, he knew that the other was smiling too.

Nen however was glowering at his stew.

Shikishi turned to his friend. “You’d best eat up. We’ll be entering into hill country tomorrow.”

Nen shot an angry glance at the blond stranger before doing as Shikishi said. /Why did I have to invite him to eat with us? Why?/

Sometimes, he really hated himself.


Author's Note: I hope you all liked it! In the next chapter, things will get more interesting. :D
Oh, and by the way, I want to thank Nenesama and jhobain for their reviews. You guys are awesome--my first two reviews...ever! Thank-you so much! :D
As for everybody else who is reading the story, please, please, please review. I won't know what people think of it unless they tell me.
It would also be great if people could tell me if I've made any mistakes (because I'm just oblivious like that :P).
Anyway, thank-you all for reading it (my first story!).
TTFN