GUARDIANS
OF THE
LIGHT
By Leslie MacPherson
BOOK ONE
THE NEBRIL RIVERLAND CHRONICLES
Copyright 2014 Leslie MacPherson
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For my Grandmother,
who always believed in me
I wish we'd had more time....
Table of Contents
Map of the Nebril Riverlands
Part One – Carper’s Village
Part Two – The Journey Begins
About the Author
Connect with Leslie MacPherson
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PART ONE
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CARPER'S VILLAGE
Chapter 1
"Emerin," my mother's lively voice floated through the door, setting my teeth on edge. "Emerin, come out of there. It's almost time to go."
I took a deep breath and mustered up enough strength to make my voice sound pleasant. "I'll just be a minute, Mama. I'm still putting on my dress."
"Well, we don't have much time. Do you want me to help you?" Her happiness was grating on my last nerve.
"No, no," I stammered, "I can do it myself. I'll be out soon; I promise."
I didn't want her to see that I was already wearing my dress, my hair was done and I was completely ready. There was nothing left to do now but leave, and since I was embarking on the worst day of my life, I felt the need for some procrastination. I gazed out my tiny window, and, as I often did, lost myself in the impending sunrise.
The air was still that morning and the grey sky hung heavy over the tops of the mountains. I watched the first rays of light creep up over the craggy peaks, playfully bend around the hills and cheerfully reflect off the dew that covered the valley. As the sunlight reached our small village at the foot of the mountains, it glinted off the roofs of the shabby houses which were arranged in rows that weaved their way in and out of the trees. Near the barns, the farm animals stirred restlessly, turning their heads to face the first light of the new day. Otherwise all was quiet amongst the cluster of buildings that nestled in our valley. Only the soft yellow glow from each window indicated that there was any life inside.
Suddenly the loud peal of the church bell broke through the silence just as the sun's rays had broken through the grey dawn. I watched intensely as doors now began to open and people straggled through them into the ever increasing sunlight. The villagers greeted their neighbours enthusiastically and chatted amongst themselves before stepping onto the winding pathways that led to the church. They were dressed impeccably in well ironed clothes reserved for special occasions, and covered themselves in thick wool shawls and fur wraps to defend against the morning chill. Families walked together through the brisk air, marching next to the fences and through the trees, the children playing games along the way. The trails led past more houses, including my own, and I watched as my friends and neighbours marched by, radiating a joy that I wished I could feel.
"Emerin," my mother crooned softly as she opened the door. "Come on. We really have to go now, or we'll be late and how would that look?"
I sighed heavily, and peeled my hand from the window sill that it had been clutching. I turned toward the door and climbed down from my bed carefully so as not to wrinkle my good dress. I looked at my mother standing in the doorway and tried to manage a sheepish smile. She looked me over with meticulous care, taking in every inch of my hair and outfit to make sure that I looked acceptable.
"There now, see, look how beautiful you are," she gushed as she adjusted the comb which brushed back long strands of my hair. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it will be alright. The elders do know best and they can best decide what will make you happy."
"I guess so." I almost choked on the words. With the weight of heavy doom pressing down upon my shoulders, I pushed myself to move forward and follow my mother out of the bedroom. My legs barely felt light enough to lift, but somehow I managed to drag myself through the living area and out the front door into the crisp air. My mother came up behind me and wrapped a thick wool shawl around my shoulders.
"You’ll need this for the walk over; it's quite a chilly morning."
I agreed. This was the summer that had never really arrived, even though it was more than half over. Usually, by this time of year, the heat was heavy as soon as the first sun's rays were upon us. But now it seemed like every day was just a little colder than the last and no one could understand why it was happening. The elders assured us that weather was just strange from time to time, and there was no need to worry about anything but the bad crop year we were sure to have. However, I felt there was more to it than that, for reasons I could not understand.
As we reached the pathway, I saw my father engaged in small talk with the other village farmers. He was chatting in his loud, easygoing manner, but broke off in mid-sentence when he saw me approach.
"Emerin, darlin'! Well, don't you look gorgeous!" His glance flew to my mother. "Would you look at our beautiful girl; I'd say the apple don't fall far from the tree now do it?” He shot her a broad smile and a wink. My mother smiled and blushed. Sometimes they were so embarrassing. He was right though, about me looking like my mother. I had the same small frame, same blue eyes, same chestnut hair falling in waves down my back, even the same tendency to blush.
"Well come along now," my father drawled as he lit a cigarette. "We sure don't wanna be late, especially today of all days!"
He turned and walked down the path, expecting us to follow without question. And we did, me reluctantly, my mother enthusiastically. She draped an arm around my shoulder and gently, but firmly, steered me in the direction of the crowd. Not only could I feel my heart pounding, but now I began to hear it thumping in my ears as well.
We joined the sea of villagers who trod the well-worn path, their trudging footsteps echoing in my ears along with my heartbeat. Each time we passed a fork where our pathway met another, more people joined us and the sound magnified in volume, loudly marching me to my tragic destiny. As each new wave of villagers joined us, their attentions would immediately turn to me.
"Oh Emerin, you look beautiful....congratulations honey!"
"My goodness, so grown up now. We were praying for you last night, sweetheart."
"This must be so exciting for you! I remember my special day, just like it was yesterday."
Their voices buzzed in my ears from both sides like annoying insects that I wished I could just swat away. I tried to smile, however, and receive the comments with grace, though inside I wanted to yell at them to leave me alone. Didn't any of them realize how hard this was? As if reading my mind, my father turned to face me with a smile.
"Now Emerin, honey, I know that you haven't exactly been looking forward to this, but you know that it will all turn out for the best. After all," he shot my mother another glance. "Just lookit how lucky I got."
My mother grinned as she looked at him. "I'm the lucky one," she cooed.
Sheesh. Were they trying to make me feel worse? But I forced a smile, bigger than I ever thought I could manage that morning and lifted my head from the dirt path where I'd been staring.
"I know," I said. "You're right. It will be fine." I hoped that sounded convincing enough, and then maybe they'd all leave me alone.
/> A group of children skipped around me and chased each other down the pathway. I gazed at them with envy, knowing they were free to do as they pleased for at least a few more years. But like everyone in the village, their time would come eventually. I looked beyond their bouncing heads at the golden stalks of wheat and fields of corn in the distance. My gaze then travelled further, to the craggy mountains which often beckoned me to walk toward them and cross over to the other side. I tried to keep my mind calm by thinking about what strange and exciting things might be waiting over there.
Our mob rounded the last bend in the path which led through tall clusters of sholberry bushes that were beginning to bear fruit. The next few weeks we would be busy picking sholberries, canning sholberries, and baking sholberry pies, as we did every year. Only this year I would have added responsibilities, as well. I stared past the bushes and toward the clearing on the other side as the church came into view. There were already so many people there. I could tell when I was close enough for them to recognize me as, one by one, their faces began to light up.
I had known what to expect, as I'd seen the way the other girls had been treated over the years; however, it still didn't prepare me for the overwhelming feeling of being descended upon by a rush of excited women. As we approached the church, they ran out to meet me, chattering enthusiastically, admiring my dress, touching my hair. I wanted to burrow into the ground right where I stood on the dusty path.
"Oh Emerin, you look beautiful! I love your hair....some young man is going to get very lucky today!"
"Your dress is amazing. Did you make it yourself?"
"Wow. I can't believe you're seventeen already; seems like just yesterday that you were crawling around on the church steps..."
My mother and father beamed with pride and greeted all of my well-wishers with warmth and happiness. It was just as much their day as it was mine, I guess. But I couldn't shake that nagging feeling in the recesses of my mind that they were happy to be getting rid of me. I had never tried to be a difficult child, but nevertheless, over the years I'd caused my parents quite a lot of grief and embarrassment.
Mrs. Grell, the Reverend's wife had been talking to my mother and was the last to approach me. "Emerin, how are you feeling, love? I know you must be nervous, but it's exciting too right? I remember the day that I found out I'd be marrying Reverend Grell....well, it was about the most exciting day of my life, it was! I remember it was in the springtime, but oddly enough it was warmer than it is today. Brrrr...I do not know what's going on with this weather, do you? Anyway, my mama had helped me make the most beautiful fluffy violet dress, with white lace trim and I felt like a princess from a fairy tale, I did....."
Mrs. Grell loved to talk, and though I tried to be polite and listen, my mind started to wander. It was all I could do to keep eye contact and nod in the right places. I spotted my best friend Jalya on the other side of the church steps, and wanted nothing more than to go and talk to her instead. Jalya saw me too and smiled sympathetically. If anyone understood how horrible this whole thing was, it was Jalya.
"....and though it took us awhile to get to know each other, we've been ever so happy," Mrs. Grell droned on and on. "And sometimes we......oh my goodness, Emerin, people are starting go inside. We'd better go find our seats!"
Though I was reluctant to enter the church, I was relieved to be getting away from Mrs. Grell; no one wanted to be on the receiving end of her chatter. I wondered if Reverend Grell was as happy with their match as she claimed he was. Feeling a little lighter now that there was no longer anyone hovering over me, I bounced over to Jalya. She was standing next to her father, who was chatting up some of the ladies.
"All I'm sayin' is I don't think the elders always get it right," he said, as the ladies exchanged uncomfortable glances. Even though it was first thing in the morning, I could tell he had already had a few drinks. "I'm hopin' they make a better match for that little girl than they did for me..."
"Papa!" Jalya snapped.
"Oh, now darlin', I know you don't like to hear it, but you know I'm right..."
Jalya was no longer listening. She turned from her father with a scowl on her face and saw me coming. Her face softened as she left them and greeted me with a big hug.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she studied my facial expression. "Nope, didn't think you would be. When I saw you talking to Grell, I thought I'd never seen you look so sad." She looked around deviously, then put her arm around me and began steering me to the side of the church. "Come on, I've got something to tell you."
"What...now? Jalya we have to go inside."
"Oh, it will take forever for everyone to get inside. They won't miss us for a few minutes."
"Right. No one will miss me. I'm all anyone's noticing this morning."
"It will just take a second. Come on...what I'm about to tell you...no one else can hear."
Jalya sounded so intense, and I couldn't control my curiosity, so I decided being a few seconds later wouldn't hurt. One last glance over my shoulder revealed my parents laughing cheerfully with a couple of furniture builders from the other side of the village. They didn't seem to be in a hurry to go inside, so why should I be? I nodded toward Jalya and we quickly ducked around the side of the church where we were alone with rows of tombstones. I cringed and tried to look past them and fixate on the cows grazing in the fields beyond. I never liked the village graveyard.
"Ugh, it's creepy here. So what is it? What's so important?"
"Okay, I heard something that might make you feel better about your matching day."
"Hmmm, I doubt it, but go ahead."
"I heard the elders say that they were matching you with Lenal Hendleman!" Jalya's voice rose into a squeak when she said the name.
"Lenal!" Lenal Hendleman had always been the best looking boy at our school, and he at least seemed like a nice guy. I felt a little better for an instant, then I remembered who I was talking to. Jalya always thought she knew more than she did. "Jalya, where did you hear this?"
"Well, I was visiting Mama last night, and when I walked by the church, I heard voices, so of course I stopped…"
"Wait, wait, so you were eavesdropping? Oh Jalya, you didn't get caught did you?"
Her honey blonde curls swung from side to side as she shook her head. "You don't see any bruises or black eyes, do you? Of course I didn't get caught; I never get caught...you know me."
"Yes, exactly," I took a quick peek around the side of the building to see if my parents were still there. They appeared to be done talking and were looking around anxiously, presumably for me. Everyone else was filing into the church and soon there would be no one left outside. "Jalya, everyone's going in now. We have to go; my parents are looking for me."
"Okay, okay, let’s go. I just had to tell you." We nonchalantly wandered back to the front of the church, like we had been there all along.
"I know, but you shouldn't be sneaking around like that. You'll get in trouble, not just with your father, but with the church too. They might send you to live with your mother."
"That might not be so bad. She's doing pretty well."
"Don't say that."
"But Emerin..."
"Shhh," I said as we came within sight of my parents. My mother looked angry and tense and my father just shook his head. As they turned and went into the church, I knew what they were thinking.
"Haha, I think they thought you wandered off again," Jalya chortled, as if reading my mind. "They must be relieved now!"
"Probably," I agreed. "Relieved and angry with you for leading me astray." We climbed the church steps and I felt my stomach tighten into knots once more. As we walked through the huge, carved doors, all eyes immediately flew in my direction and stayed there...watching...judging. I fought the urge to turn and run.
"Don't worry," Jalya said, and looked across the room to where Lenal Hendleman stood, talking to some other boys we had known in school. He really was han
dsome, with his piercing blue eyes and muscular arms earned from years of work in the fields. "Wouldn't be so bad would it?"
"Are you sure you heard right?"
"Pretty sure; well, almost sure. Come on Emerin, he's gorgeous, you're gorgeous, you're about the same age and you're both from farming families. It would be perfect. He was eligible last year too, but they would never have matched him with Kaird Lemmitt. She's definitely not pretty enough..."
"Jalya! Don't be mean; Kaird's nice."
"Nice maybe, but not in his league. I'll bet they were saving him for you."
"Yeah, either that or they wanted to marry her off to Pindar, because he's older," I reasoned. "Look, I guess Lenal would be the best choice out of all of them, but I'm not going to get too excited until I know for sure."
I watched the antics of the eligible men in the group, punching each other and laughing like a bunch of fools. My glance fell on chubby Bainie, whose breakfast was still clinging to the corners of his mouth. Bainie had been old enough to marry for years, but had yet to be chosen for anyone. God forbid it was him! Suddenly hopeful that Jalya's hearing was as good as she thought it was, I turned back to my friend.
"So, um, did you hear anything else?"