Vessia
The young man came to the beehive-shaped house, just as he said. But he and the old man argued loudly.
"She loves me!" shouted the young man.
"She doesn't understand love," said the old man. "And you don't understand her."
"I know where she came from," said the young man. "She's not your daughter!"
The couple bowed their heads. They looked afraid. "Then who do you think she is?"
"She is an Imorvae exile from the Rainbow Labyrinth. She must have been hurt. She lost her mind. You found her. You took her in. You could not have your own child, so you raised this beautiful lost one as your daughter."
The couple raised their eyebrows. They looked cautious, but less afraid.
Vessia knew he was wrong. His words did not match the whole Pattern. He only saw a few small pieces. But still, they did not correct him.
"I wear your tribe's gold, but I am not truly one of you," said the young man. "I too am an exile from the Rainbow Labyrinth. The Bone Whistler killed my parents. They were Imorvae like me. I fled here and became a healer for the War Chief in Yellow Bear tribehold. I saved his life in battle. He gave me gold and a place of honor.
"But I wish to marry someone from my own tribe."
"I'm sorry," said the old man. "You cannot."
The young man frowned. "I could heal her."
"She is not broken," said the old man. "She does not need to be healed. She is what she is."
"Vessia, Vessia, please," begged the young man. "Let me love you."
"What does that mean?" she asked out loud.
Tears ran down his face. He left without another word.
For a long time after, Vessia thought about her names.
Daughter.Vessia.Corn Maiden.
But when she looked inside herself, she felt nothing solid. Just mist. Just fog.
I am missing myself, she thought. I am a husk, hungry for my core.
"Who am I?" she asked the old couple one day. "Who are you? Where did I come from? Why am I here? I am not like other daughters. Am I an exile, like the young man said?"
"Danumoro the Herb Dancer? That healer?" asked the old woman. "Vessia, were we wrong? Do you love him?"
She shrugged. They looked sad. Why? She still didn't understand.
"He was wrong and right," said the old woman. "You are not an exile. But you are not our blood daughter either. You are… unique."
"Once we helped the White Lady," said the old man. "She wanted to repay us. We said we needed nothing. Only a child, which she could not give.
"She said we would have a daughter. Then she gave us this."
He pulled a jar from the roof beams. Inside it was a strange corncob doll.
"The next day, we found you."
Vessia held the doll. It had no face. It was blank—like her.
"A bargain has two sides," she said. "What did the Lady ask of you?"
"Only that we protect you," said the old woman. "And—"
"We have protected you," said the old man quickly. He shook his head at the old woman.
She put her hand on his knee.
"And," said the old woman, finishing her thought, "that we let you go when you were ready. Are you ready, Vessia?"
"Yes," said Vessia.
She did not know what she would do next. She did not know where to go.
But she did know—she had to find the missing pieces of the Pattern.
Tears fell down the old woman's cheeks.
"You see?" she said. "You really are our daughter. Only children can make their parents happy by leaving… and break their hearts at the same time."
*
Dindi
The bright light faded away.
Dindi stared up. Tree branches swayed against a deep blue sky.
She rolled away, gasping for breath.
The corncob doll had fallen into the grass beside her. Miskymew poked it with her tiny spear. Puddlepaws hissed at it and backed away. His fur stood on end. His tail puffed up.
You did this, Dindi thought at the doll.
The doll had no face. It gave her no answer.
Laughter broke her daze.
Kemla and some other girls pointed at her and giggled.
Jensi and Hadi were at her side. They looked worried.
"Dindi, what happened?" Jensi asked.
Dindi saw their confusion. Kemla even looked mocking.
None of them had seen the light. None had seen the Vision.
The doll had magic. Like the fae, only Dindi could see it.
She knew better than to speak of the fae. She had learned not to speak of such things.
So she pressed her lips together. She said nothing about the Vision.
"It's been a hard journey," said Abiono. He looked at her with some sympathy. "But soon we will meet with our allies. Until then, we must save our food and water."
He looked at them all.
"Remember, as we travel to the place of Initiation," said Abiono, "we do not only speak for our clan. We do not only speak for our clan-klatch. We speak for our whole tribe.
"And here, we are the outtribesfolk.
"Walk with honor."