Episode 168: Danija For Sale (Telek)

“Welcome home,” his mom said, her voice tight with some kind of stress.

Telek couldn’t imagine what the problem could be; they had a good life, and he had happy news, and their family was close. What could be wrong?

He hugged her back, tightly, reassuring, and while he did he noticed the other woman in the room. Short, caramel-skinned, haughty, dressed in nicer clothes than most people he knew wore.

“The issue is her dowry,” the other woman said.

His dad didn’t roll his eyes, but Telek could tell he wanted to. “A dowry isn’t necessary; we can provide whatever they’ll need starting out.”

Yes, like an entire kingdom, a supportive family, a palace full of staff to help with kids…

“Some kingdoms are in ruin. A dowry is a sign of faith in your kingdom, to us.” That woman was pushy. Telek tried to hide his amusement. In their family, plainspoken and honest worked better than pushy. It was why Aliks had trouble making progress: Why would anyone choose deceit when honesty was so much easier and his parents were so generous?

Then he realized, with a start, that his parents called him to this room. Talking about dowries. “I’m getting married?” he asked.

“This woman claims you have a bond to her daughter,” his mom explained, in her soft voice.

He looked at the demanding woman again. The caramel skin, he guessed maybe. Her everything was cold, where Danija was warm, so it hadn’t occurred to him.

“Danija?” he clarified. “I do.”

This time his dad did roll his eyes. “Busy week?”

Oh, good, he was going to get a lecture about Rylena.

It wasn’t like he’d meant for this girl to want him. And Rylena hadn’t even seemed upset. If anything, she’d been relieved. It would have hurt, if he didn’t have the bond to Danija.

“Danija is eager to come here,” the pushy woman said. She stepped closer to his dad, which made the guard by the door rest his palm on the hilt of his sword. “If we could hurry this along please.”

If Danija were here, he could talk to her and find out what would appease her mom. His parents weren’t going to do any appeasing, it sounded like. “Where is she?” he asked.

“She is safe, just planning the wedding,” the mom said. She waved her arm, like Danija’s activities didn’t matter.

He touched the thumb-side of his fist to the center of his chest, where he felt the tightness over Danija’s stress. Somewhere, she was not happy.

The mom smiled. “She’s looking at fabric options for her gown.”

His parents shifted their weight and made eye contact over his head. They were going to say no.

He braced himself. He could still find Danija, work something else out. Anything. He would offer whatever it took, short of selling himself or his kids or selling out his kingdom. Or other people. Or hurting animals.

He didn’t have a lot of options. He’d have to see what they wanted.

“We don’t pay for marriages in this kingdom,” his mom told her mom.

“Besides,” Telek added, “we’re mutually bonded.”

How was anyone going to split them up? Most people didn’t know about tea, and most people didn’t have the access to Aadya that his family did.

“For now,” the woman threatened. “Are you certain you do not want her?”

He looked at his parents, practically begging them with his eyes. What was a little bit of money, in exchange for someone’s freedom? In exchange for Danija’s freedom, his future wife and their future daughter-in-law?

He didn’t like the system her mom wanted, but who cared if giving her money set Danija free to be herself? She wouldn’t even be obligated to marry him, she would just be free of her parents.

His dad sighed. “We’ll discuss this and let you know within the next few moments.”

He walked out onto the portico, expecting Telek and his mom to follow.

Telek ran his hands through his hair and followed.

Outside, his dad closed the door into the room and stood, the breeze dancing in his hair.

“She doesn’t even know her daughter’s name,” his mom lamented.

His dad gave him an annoyed look, like this was his fault for bringing Danija into their world. He hadn’t met Danija yet, and he was stressed about the situation with Aliks and the pixies, but he would change his mind and calm down.

“Arrest, and then rescue the girl?” his dad suggested.

That was better. He hadn’t realized that they’d have a plan, but of course they did. Danija would be safe. He nodded his head.

“What happened with Rylena?” his dad asked.

Yes, it looked whimsical. He wasn’t about to explain to his dad that kissing Rylena was really excellent and fun and did all the right things for him, and he really liked her a lot, but kissing Danija was like firecrackers going off all over his body.

Add that to the list of conversations he never wanted to have.

“I apologized to her,” Telek said, instead of explaining.

“We’ll rescue Danija,” his mom promised softly.

His dad looked out at the palace garden, which was mostly low pines trimmed and cut to be artistic, and redwood mulch from the mountains.

“You can’t date casually in political situations, Tel,” his dad chided.

“I won’t again?” he offered. Because he was going to marry Danija and they were never going to part. Ever.

His dad rolled his eyes again. “We’ll see how Rylena is.”

His dad called a guard over and asked him to arrest Danija’s mom, and they all stood on the portico and waited the few minutes it took. There was yelling – Telek couldn’t hear words, but he could hear the anger.

He wanted to find Danija. It was a horrible itch inside him, to see her and know she was safe.

“When did you meet Danija?” his mom asked, like she could read his mind. “Do you think she’s a good fit for the kingdom?”

For the kingdom? Telek hadn’t really thought about that. He was nowhere near first in line.

“This morning. And I asked Aadya, because she has luck magic, and she said Danija was the better choice. And I love her.”

“You love her already?” his mom asked, skeptical.

He was prone to diving into things one hundred percent, no holding back. He liked being alive, and experiencing life. Why should this be any different?

The flush crept into his cheeks anyway. “The bond,” he tried to joke. “Makes idiots of the best of us…”

His dad scowled at him.

“Oh, come on, Girik,” his mom laughed. “The mother is a small situation.”

His dad finally broke a smile. “It sounds like she’ll need protection. No more Dells, for now,” he warned Telek. “We get her, we bring her here, we keep her safe.”

The world was a perfect and beautiful place, with parents who wanted what he wanted. He nodded.

“And until we find her,” his mom added, “your bond should be broken to keep you safe.”

Ouch. That, he guessed would be painful. But it would be temporary too. He nodded again.

Soon, Danija would be here, free, and, he hoped, happy.

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