THE PETITION
C
hristine kissed her mother
on her cheek and ran out of the house with a few items to bring to a friend’s
house. Christine spent a lot more time with her friends in the farmlands since
Darius had left almost two months before. Anya, Stephanie, Karel, Thomas, and
she had become a common sight together around the farmlands. Karel was her
cousin, and the other three lived on nearby farms.
She jumped on Lightning and rode down the road. The sun
began to set. She shivered in the early autumn air and noticed how eerie the
shadows seemed as the sun slid behind the thinning trees. The weather was
colder than usual. She thought about Darius again and hoped that he was doing
well in the cooler weather up in the mountains.
She picked up the pace on her horse, still amazed at what
her Cremelino could do. At first her friends had been nervous around the
expensive horse, but its genuine beauty and gentle demeanor had helped them to
accept her.
The Cremelino was her connection to Darius. Her heart still
ached each time she thought about him. She knew that Darius wouldn’t forget her
and that he would be back when he was able. She just hoped it wouldn’t be too
long. The work on the farm for fall harvest and filling in for her dad helped
to distract her somewhat.
Soon she arrived at Stephanie’s farm, and she and Anya were
there waiting for Christine.
“What are we going to do tonight?” Stephanie wore a bored
expression. “Last time we just sat here and did nothing.”
The last time they had stayed over at Anya’s house had been
only a week after Darius left and Christine still had not gotten over him
leaving. Every mention of boys, or the city, or her horse, had brought tears to
her eyes. Heartbroken, she hadn’t wanted to feel better, because if she did she
thought it meant her feelings for Darius had gone away. She had cried herself
to sleep for weeks thinking about him. Even still, she kept his note in a
secret jar in her room and would sometimes look at it. The days between
reading, however, started to draw out longer. It had been a while since she had
pulled the note out. She still longed to hear his voice again and feel his
touch on her face, but the pain begun to dull as other things took its place.
“Let’s go find the boys,” said Anya, with a sparkle in her
green eyes that spoke of love or at least infatuation. Anya was the shortest of
the three, but of slender build. Her flirty smile seemed to tease all the boys
in the farmlands.
“Always wanting to be with the boys,” Christine said.
“What's wrong with that? I am eighteen now. I have to be
looking around,” answered back Anya. “We all should be married in the next
year.”
“Anya?” Stephanie seemed to warn her friend to stop talking
about boys.
“What?” Anya paused, then realized what she had said. She
turned to Christine. “Sorry, Christine. I know that you are waiting for Darius.
I’m sure he’ll be back soon, but . . .” She stopped as if to figure out what to
say next.
“What?” Christine asked.
“Don’t you think you should find someone in the farmlands to
marry?” continued Anya. “Darius would never be allowed to marry one of us.”
Christine tightened her jaw. “Darius can decide for himself
what he can do.”
Stephanie tried to change the subject. “The men are having a
secret meeting and Karel said some of the young men are going too.”
“Why did he tell you if it’s supposed to be so secret?”
asked Anya.
“Well . . . Uh . . . He just did. That's all.”
“What else have you and Karel been talking about?” inquired Christine.
“He
is
my cousin, you know.”
“And such a cute one, too,” giggled Stephanie. “You should
have introduced me earlier. I love his brown eyes and dark hair. He seems very
mysterious. I think we should go and find out what their meeting is all about.”
“You mean spy on them,” smiled Anya, as if they had already
agreed on it.
“I don't know.” Christine sounded hesitant. “We don't know
where the meeting is.”
“I know. Well, kind of,” announced Stephanie, as the other
two looked at her. “Karel kind of mentioned it.” They noticed her pink cheeks
before she turned around and giggled again.
They all laughed and after a little more discussion decided
to go. The gathering was taking place at a barn a few fields away, across one
of the small rivers in the area.
The moonless, yet cloudless night allowed the stars to shine
brightly enough to lead their way. Christine walked next to Lightning, who
seemed to have eyesight that was better than her human companions’. A few times
she led them away from falling into the small irrigation ditches that in recent
years had begun to spring up around the farmlands more and more. Many farmers
were not content anymore with relying on just the rain to water their crops.
They made their way around an old field. The cornfield had old
stalks of corn left from a farmer trying to grow a late batch at the end of
autumn. Christine felt jittery, as if waiting for something to jump out and
grab them, but they made it without any incident to the edge of the river.
They walked upriver a short ways until they found the double
log that most children knew about from the time they were five or six. At this
point the river cut into a deeper gorge. Some years ago, before corn grew in
the field, a large tree had grown by the river until it was struck by
lightning. It had fallen in a perfectly straight line over the river and had
become a natural crossing place for many years. Then a few years ago some of
the men had widened the crossing by adding another large tree.
The river below rumbled away in the darkness, rolling south,
towards the northern edge of the city, carrying water from the recent storms.
The girls crossed the make-shift bridge without looking back. Lightning seemed
as light as a feather as she moved across with perfect balance.
“I think that’s it.” Stephanie pointed towards a barn with a
faint glow around it. Lanterns must have been moving around inside.
“Let's go around the back. If they notice us out here they
might get mad,” said Anya.
“Who’s here anyway? I’m not sure if I like this or not,”
whispered Christine. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered in the
dark. Her Cremelino nuzzled up next to her as if reading her thoughts.
“You agreed to this, remember?” reminded Anya. “Now let’s
go. Maybe you'll meet someone new.”
“Is that all you ever think about, Anya? Boys?”
“Well . . . What's wrong with that? They are so cute.”
Christine tried to stifle a laugh behind her hand. Anya, as
fun as she was, obviously was not serious about life. She wouldn’t be surprised
if she were the first of them to be married.
They crept their way around a few large walnut trees,
towards the back of the old brown barn, being careful not to step on any of the
old walnut shells on the ground. The noise might give them away. There was a
pile of old wood leaning up against the back of the barn. They moved towards it
in silence. So far, no one had seen them, but they hadn't seen anyone
themselves either.
Leaning up against the old barn, they searched to find a
crack in the old bent and faded boards that they could peer through. After
quite a bit of maneuvering they found a place where, if they sat down, they
could see between two warped boards.
“We are wasting our time here,” said an angry voice from
inside the barn. “They don't care about us. And I don't care about them.”
Christine peered through the hole, trying to see who was
doing the talking. She thought she recognized the voice, but she couldn't place
it. A barrel with a small fire tried to give off some warmth in the barn.
“I am tired of their children picking on my children. The
next time I catch one of them outside of the city he won't forget where he is.”
“Now wait a minute,” said another voice. “I don't want you
doing anything foolish that will cause more trouble. We need to unite together.
All of the farmers. Then they will have to deal with us. They can't kill all of
us.”
The three girls continued listening as the talk went on. It
became apparent it was a serious meeting of farmers to try to agree on a way to
confront the persecutions by the city people.
“Let's move around to the side a little,” motioned Anya. “I
want to see if Thomas and Karel are here or not.”
With careful steps they moved towards a closed side door,
until they once again found a way to look inside the barn. Christine peered in,
looking for Thomas and Karel. As she scanned the room, she recognized others in
attendance. She then noticed her younger brother, Jain, and a sick feeling
began to fill her stomach.
“I say we fight them. They need our food. Maybe if we show
force they will listen,” continued yet another man.
Christine soon spotted Thomas and Karel. They sat towards
the back in a small corner, with eyes wide open. Even at eighteen they looked a
little young for such a meeting. Maybe it was because she had grown up with
them and always thought of them as kids like herself. She realized they were
men now, and would be married in the next few years and would start taking over
their family farms. That was the cycle out in the farmlands.
“Maybe others in one of the other cities will help,” said a
man from the back. “They don’t look at us like the nobles here in Anikari do.
They understand. I heard Belor is turning almost a full war against Anikari. I
think . . .”
He stopped and turned around as others looked towards the
side door. Christine had stepped on a loose board.
Anya and Stephanie gave irritated looks at her and put their
finger up to their mouths, but it was too late. The men had heard something and
a few of them moved towards the door. They turned to run, but Stephanie stumbled
on some rotten boards and fell down.
“Go ahead,” she pleaded. “Run away, I'll say it was only me
looking for my boyfriend.”
“It doesn't matter if they see us. They won't hurt us,”
encouraged Christine. “It’s not like we are forbidden to be here.”
“But they will be plenty angry,” added Anya as the door
swung open to show three silhouettes holding swords against the lantern light.
“Too late now,” mumbled Anya.
“What are you three doing?” asked one of the men in an angry
tone. By this time more of the men and boys had gathered around the door.
Thomas sighed, “Oh no.”
The man who had spoken first turned towards Thomas and
asked, “Do you know these girls?”
“Well . . . Yes.” He stumbled with embarrassment. He
furrowed his eyebrows in the direction of the girls, and his face heated up.
One of the other men came over to help Stephanie up. “Didn't
you move here a short while ago?”
“Yes, a few years ago,” answered Stephanie, trying to stand
up on the foot she had twisted when she fell.
“Maybe she is a spy.”
Mumbles in the crowd echoed agreement.
“She is not a spy,” retorted Karel.
“How do you know?” came another voice as others joined in.
Stephanie began to look nervous, and Anya moved over closer to Thomas.
Christine just looked back and forth at the crowd of farmers both young and
old. They looked like a poor lot. There was no direction or unity, but only a
place to vent their frustration. She hoped they would not vent it in a fight.
Karel started to head back towards the part of the crowd
that heckled Stephanie. There were other young boys Christine had seen a few
times from farther north of the farmlands.
“Karel, be careful,” she found herself saying, until she
noticed that her brother stood in the back of the crowd. He looked annoyed when
he saw her.
“Jain, what are you doing here?”
“What do you think? Someone has to do something, or don't
you remember how many times you and Emily have been teased or beaten up?”
Christine realized how large Jain had grown. Muscles bulged
in the side of his neck in anger. At almost three years younger than her, he
was already taller than she was.
Some of the older men just looked back and forth between
Christine and Jain, trying to figure out what was going on.
“You can't go fight them,” reasoned Christine. “They have an
army.”
Some of the men started murmuring about girls and children
not being where they were not wanted or needed.
“You need to try a peaceful way,” continued Christine as
Jain got closer.
“Like what? Lay ourselves down in front of their feet so
they can kick us? I don't think so. I’m tired of being pushed around.”
Some of the other boys agreed. Thomas and Karel just stood
off to one side, with Anya and Stephanie not knowing how they should react.
“This is enough childish talk,” said one of the men that
Christine knew. “If your father knew you were here he wouldn't be too happy.”
“And if he knew you had gathered here without him, he
wouldn't be happy either,” snapped back Christine without thinking.
“He is . . . uh . . . too sick to come this far,” the man
tried to say without stumbling on his words.
“You know if he were here he would want a peaceful outcome,
not fighting,” Christine continued as she watched a few heads drop in
acknowledgment. Her father was no small man of influence in the area. He had
spoken up many times for continued peace, and was one of the most successful
farmers. He wouldn't ask the city people for help with any matter, but he also
didn't want to fight them on anything either. He said they should just leave
the city people alone, sell their food, and let it pass.
“Go home, little girl,” a voice yelled from the crowd. “You
don't know what you are talking about. Go home to the kitchen, where you
belong.”
Christine became defensive and angry. “Who is saying that?
That's just what the city people say to me. You don't seem much better than
them right now.”