Chapter 19
Stranger Amongst Family
"Your only meal for the day," growled a Tanja. "Ration it if you're smart."
He threw three big steaks on the ground. I guessed they were from the Ferar Trees.
The Ferar Trees were our old friends. Ferar Trees can talk like any other creature. They are huge trees, and their branches are alive. The branches are called Chilidean, which look like beg wooden birds. They have long beaks, like flamingos, and always have some kind of food in their mouths. Depending upon the color of the leaves of the tree, which are really feathers, the Chilidean will carry different kinds of food. The red trees have meat, orange trees have oragnes, yellow trees have lemons, etc... We'd saved them from near extinction in the GEW. We had worked at raising the trees and after a few years had quite a few Ferar Trees scattered about Marana.
I ate one of the steaks, feeling gratitude toward the Ferar Trees. The Tanjas were outside the room, apparently involved in some complicated matter that was taking a lot of time. I was still tied to the pillar, but an hour earlier one of the Tanjas had moved the tie from my arms to my neck. It was quite a bit easier to sit down without being tied straight to the pillar. They had tied my hands around the pillar for the night. The pillar was too wide for me to reach around and untie my neck, even if my hands had been free.
"Hey girl, over here!" called a sneaky Razor.
I looked around and finally spotted him just inside the door at the other end of the room.
"Razor!" I hissed.
"Shhhh! We've gotta stay quiet," he called across the room as quietly as he could.
I leaned up against the pillar and got to my feet. Razor hurried across the room, hugging the wall, and being very cautious.
"You okay?" he asked me.
"I'm doing pretty good, so far," I replied.
"Don't talk, just listen."
I nodded my head and waited.
"There's a lot going on," he began. "Brayan hasn't lost hope that you'll come back, but he's really impatient. I told him you were the creatures' slave, and that they wanted to sell you to him. They're working out a deal and getting things straightened out right now. I think the things are telling Brayan something other than what I told him. I couldn't let him know who you were, so I told him you were a slave. You know, it's hard to tell what he would do if he found out who you really were. He loves you so much, he might even sacrifice the whole kingdom for your sake. I couldn't do it, Miss. I just couldn't."
I nodded slowly and replied,"It's okay. I understand. But now what?"
"Well, we'll have to see what Brayan works out. I don't know what those things want with you. I ‘ve heard them say you're a wonderful fighter. Which, I don't know where they got that. Do you?"
I smiled and said,"Long story."
"Anyway, they've been talking aobut you the entire time. They, what did you call them, say they're from Clondeen."
"They're called Tanjas. I have a couple of friends, but they're back in Clondeen. There is one that can travel here, though. He's my friend, and hopefully he'll catch on that I'm back home. Until then, what am I supposed to do?"
"As far as I can tell, you're going to be used around here. The ‘Tanjas', as you call them, are planning on staying for a while too. They've offered to train you for a price. Watch out. I haven't heard a lot of their plans, because I've been so busy translating. I was up all last night translating, and everything went in one ear and out the other. I'm sorry for not paying attention, but I Was just too tired," he said, yawning.
I nodded and told him to scram. He didn't need to get caught talking to me in here. He agreed and hurried away, but not without one longing look at me. I knew it hurt him to see me tied up. I felt lonely as soon as he'd left. The Tanjas mainly spoke in their native tongue. I guessed it was because they didn't want me understanding what they were saying.
"Argh!"
The grunt came from outside the door. I waited. After a moment, the door swung open.
"Dagger! Byte!" I cried in Code.
They lifted their heads and gave me a surprised look. Each had a Tanja behind them, kicking them toward my pillar. They tied Byte and Dagger to the same pillar I was attached to. They had their hands tied behind their backs and their necks tied to the pillar. I had a short leash that let me roam a couple feet. They had been tied right against the pillar by their necks.
"Dara! Are you okay?" they asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine for now. What happened, you guys?"
"They found us," gasped Dagger. "We were weak after the fight and hid out for a day. Then they sent out search parties..."
"And we were eventually found," finished Byte.
"I'm glad to see you guys! What happened with that whole fight yesterday?" I asked.
"I'm sure our friend told you. We saw him take you away. I'm kind of glad you came to our rescue and kind of not. You saved our lives, but in the process you were captured. That's just what they wanted," answered Byte.
"But why? Why do they want us?" I asked them.
"Well, the crystals," said Dagger,"are very special now. Because of how we cut them and dug them up and everything, they're priceless. They wanted to sell the crystals. Typical Tanjas. So they got rid of the source of the crystals. They swore all the workers to secrecy. Now, even the workers have to pay to get a crystal to jump words. They still need someone to jump them, but it's safe to jump with a crystal. That's what's going on."
I nodded and looked around the room. It was pretty clean. I was getting bored...and fast. I wanted to see my husband so bad, but I didn't dare. No, not after what Razor had told me.
I filled Byte and Dagger in on my whole situation. I told them who my husband was, and that they shouldn't tell him who I was. So they agreed. I could tell they knew how I felt. They both gave me sympathetic looks when I told them and gravely nodded their heads. Razor entered the room.
"Watch out guys! He, who are these two?" growled Razor.
"Friends. What should we watch out for?" I asked quickly.
"Oh, friends. Umm." He cleared his throat. "They're selling you to your husband, Saaa..." he began.
I gave him a look that stopped him dead in his tracks. I mouth ‘Wolfette' to him. He changed ‘Saaaa' to ‘I mean Wolfette'.
"And you're going to be his guard Tanja, I suppose. I'm not sure what he'll do with these two though," said Razor.
Dagger and Byte looked at each other, then back at me.
"I'll get you in with me," I told them.
They looked doubtful but nodded anyway. Razor untied my leash and took me out of the room, reminding me the whole way to the throne room that I was not to even hint that I knew Brayan. I nodded solemnly and got ready to play my part. We entered the room.
"There she is, Sire," barked a Tanja.
Razor quickly translated it to the King. Brayan nodded and examined me as I walked toward him. I was on two feet, since my hands were tied. I stumbled a little, to make it look like I wasn't used to being on only two legs. Razor brought me up beside Brayan. I growled when he reached a hand out. Brayan yanked his hand back and whipped his head around to glare at the Tanjas.
"Sire, they do not yet know you," said one of them.
Razor translated it, and Brayan gave me a doubtful look. I stepped back, trying to act a little nervous. Even though I was completely at home in the palace and with my husband, I had to play my part.
"Sir Brayan, the Tanjas have made an offer to train her. Would you like me to ask them to do so?" suggested Razor.
Brayan put a hand to his chin and looked me over, then nodded. Razor told the Tanjas that the King wanted me trained. They clapped their hands together and rushed out of the room. Brayan hurried out of the room toward his quarters. Razor explained to me that they would make deals over dinner, which would be happening shortly. I nodded and looked around. It was quite big in the room as a Tanja. I was a bit smaller than a human, but it seemed enormous. I had been away for some time. Razor yanked my leash and started walking back toward the Tanjas' room.
A week later, I was sitting on the floor beside Dagger and Byte. They were finishing up teaching me their language. They called it Tandeen. ‘Tan' for Tanja and ‘deen' for Clondeen. I learn dit quickly and had learned to speak it fluently in only a week. Byte and Dagger were impressed with my progress. I was glad they'd taught me. Through the teaching, we'd all gotten to know each other better. It was great. Even though we had Tanjas coming and going now and then, it was alright. Dagger and Byte were especially helpful to remind me not to reveal yself to any other inhabitants of the kingdom. We had a great time.
I was walking down the halls of the palace with Razor, who was showing me every closet and room. He was reminding me of my home. I heard footsteps behind me.
"Wait, Sir Razor!"
I wanted to whip my head around, but I turned an ear back instead to hear my daughter's voice. I was surprised to hear her, for I had thought she was in Tryn Myaad. At least, that's the last place I'd seen her. Then I remembered that I'd seen her in the throne room the day before. I was quite confused but very glad she was alright.
"Yes, Miss Topaz?" said Razor, turning around.
I was able to gaze at my daughter now. Oh, how beautiful she was! But I couldn't let her know who I was either. I locked up all my emotions and played the part of a stupid dog.
"Who is that?" asked Topaz, only feet away form me.
She had been out of the loop lately, getting acquainted with the towns folk and the people of the palace. With her understanding of Unicorns and Dragons, she was now included in the palace in a way she'd never felt she would be. She had always felt left out, but now she felt totally new and got lots of attention.
She came to an abrupt stop and studied me. I growled and got a smack on the head from Razor.
"Mind your manners, dog," said Razor.
He said it in English so my daughter could understand. I could easily understand English also. I just wouldn't speak it until it was revealed who I truly was.
"Where did it come from?" she asked.
"From another dimension, Princess. Your father bought her," answered Razor.
"Bought her? Who was selling her?"
"Some other species," said Razor.
"Can I take her for a walk?" asked Topaz.
"Well, she is a bit dangerous. I don't know..." began Razor.
When he saw the disappointment on Topaz's face, he changed his mind.
"Wellll she does need some exercise, so I guess it would be all right," said Razor.
Topaz ran up and gave Razor a hug. Then she told him to fetch her a leash and color while she ran to get changed. Razor agreed and hurried me away to the Tanjas' room.
"She's not fully trained!" argued a Tanja.
"The Princess wants to walk her! That's final!" concluded Razor.
The Tanjas had put up quite a fuss when they heard that the King's daughter wanted to walk me. Finally, they conceded and walked away in a huff. I was brought to the throne room.
"Thank you, Razor," called Topaz as she approached us.
Razor had a green collar and leash in his hands. The collar had metal circles embedded in it with holes in the middle of every circle. It was quite an interesting piece. The leash was a fine green material, and Topaz liked them.
"I'll see you later, Razor," said Topaz as she finally reached us.
Snapping the collar around my neck and attaching the leash to it, she gave a little tug and we started out toward the door.
"Isn't it beautiful out?" asked Topaz as we walked out of the courtyards and toward the countryside.
I was on all fours, fully enjoying the sun. I loved being untied from the pillar and able to stretch my legs. After a few minutes, I heard sounds I hadn't heard for quite some time. It was the sound of people and creatures bustling about. The sound of living, breathing humans and Unicorns living in harmony. We were approaching the village.
People soon bumped into us as we walked past shops and houses. Some stopped to stare, others were too busy to notice me. Topaz was very polite to them all. Just the way I'd trained her to be. She stopped to address certain people. Everyone payed her respect. Some mentioned me only because they wanted to get on her good side. I noticed this but welcomed any attention. Topaz walked on. I stayed two steps behind her. She stopped at a nearby booth and looked at pendants. I sat down and watched the people walk by. They were quite interesting to watch. Every person was different. Topaz had gotten herself a pendant and was now leaving the shop. I hurried to catch up with her and to give the leash a little slack.
"Oh my, I forgot to name you. I wonder if Dad would be okay with me naming you," she said casually to herself.
I tried to trot by her side, lifting my head up so I could hear anything she said.
"Well, there are a lot of things I could name you. Maybe I could name you something having to do with Dragon or Unicorn languages. I don't actually have any ideas yet, but I'll think of something before long. You just wait."
We continued walking. We were almost to the end of the village. She was thinking hard, I could tell by the look in her eyes.
"What about ‘Teke...'?" she mumbled.
I lifted my head, perked my ears up, and waited for her to mention the name again. She didn't. Instead, she finished walking the five minutes to the edge of the village in silence. I was disappointed. I wanted to know what she had said.
We walked out of the village and toward some woods. When we reached the woods, Topaz took a left and headed toward a stream. I lapped up some water from the stream and continued following her. She led me to a beautiful meadow. The brown grass from winter was turning green with spring. I smiled and rolled around, glad I could be out on such a beautiful day.
"Alright, dog, or whatever you are. I've got a name. The perfect name for you," she said.
I sat up and perked my ears. She took a deep breath and smiled.
"What do you think of TekeLiyen?" she suggested.
"It's beautiful!" I barked in Code.
Topaz was startled for a moment, but then she backed back,"Glad."
I was happy she had understood me. I could tell she had thought I didn't understand people or any articular language. Apparently, Razor had kept his promise to teach Topaz the Grrrrr Code when she knew of Unicorns and Dragons. I guessed she had just started, for she didn't know the words ‘I' or ‘Am' yet. I guessed she understood ‘Beautiful', though.
She smiled even wider and lay on the ground, looking up at the clouds. She pointed out shapes in the clouds, speaking in English. She didn't think I could understand but liked talking anyway. Then, since she didn't think I knew English, she told me all about the troubles she'd been having .I got the whole story of her wonderful relationship with me and how wonderful she thought I was. I was thrilled! What a wonderful moment for a mom to know how her daughter really feels! I smiled and pretended I didn't understand a word she was saying. Finally, she got up form the grass and brushed herself off. She said it would take us a while to get home and that I needed to get some rest.
On the way home, she rambled incessantly, but I enjoyed every minute of it. She told me lots of things, including that Dagger and Byte, who she referred to as ‘the dogs', had taught her quite a bit of Tandeen while I'd been in training. So that's how she knew what ‘TekeLiyen' meant. She talked all the way back to the palace.
We entered the palace gates an hour later, an Razor took me back to the Tanjas' room. I was tied to the pillar, and I used the time to rest. My friends didn't ask about my outing. I guess they knew it had been special. I thought about the wonderful name my daughter had given me. I knew what TekeLiyen meant. It was in the Tandeen language. Teke means Majestic, and Liyen means Canine. The Tanjas often put words together without a space when making a name. This is why Liyen is capitalized after Teke, because Liyen is a separate word.
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