Tahanami’s heart pounded with the rain. The warm air steamed with eerie fog, but her chills ran bone deep. She clutched a loaf of bread against her chest. One wrong turn and she was stuck in an alley of this tattered ruin of a town. A man three times her size, sporting hair as deep as crimson blocked her only way to freedom. Tahanami took a step back and her holey sandal squished in the mud. “What do you want from me?”
“Color me impressed.” The large man crossed his burly arms. His crooked smirk was missing a front tooth. “You really handled yourself against the king’s men.”
She grit her teeth and flashed a quick glance at the armored men at the big man’s feet. “It’s not like I had a choice. You couldn’t just let me steal this bread and be on my way? Why did you call me out if you were just going to beat up all the guards anyway?”
He barked with laughter so deep and rich it made Tahanami flinch. She never heard that kind of noise come from a man before. “Are you mocking me?”
The man’s green eyes were as bright as beacon in the rain. “You’ve got talent, girl. Wove around these guards like a slippery weasel. You’re adept at using your surroundings to your advantage. I enjoyed the way you spooked that chicken coop. Couple these guards ate feathers. Those birds were so riled up.”
Tahanami wiped her plastered black hair out of her face. She took another look around the alley. The building to her left had a cracked board in its side. Maybe the wall was rotted enough she could burst through? It felt like a better option than risking the intentions of this man. “If that’s all you want to say then step aside and let me leave in peace.”
The man’s toothless grin softened to a solid smile. “Not yet, little weasel. I think you’d be a use to me.” When Tahanami shrank back, the man opened his hands. “Look at these men. Protectors of the realm. Upholders of the law. Yet, they serve a man who has betrayed this kingdom.”
Disbelief stole Tahanami’s breath. “Stop it. What you’re saying is blasphemy. We’ll both be killed if they hear you.”
The man stomped his foot on the chest of one of the guards. Tahanami flinched. “I will not be afraid to speak the truth,” he shouted. “When was your last meal before that soggy loaf of bread, girl? Where is your family? Where do you call home?”
“Shut up.” Tahanami shook her head like a thrashing horse. “I don’t hear you. You’re not saying anything.” Tears welled in her eyes. She clung to her bread like it was a child’s stuffed toy. “Your words will only lead to blood.”
The man stepped closer, but Tahanami backed away. “Then blood must be spilled.” His face fell as serious as a grave. “I am one of the igniters of rebellion, little weasel. This kingdom deserves better. From the look on your face, you know it to be true. My words are not the first that you’ve heard.”
She glared at him. “My parents spoke against the king and they were cut down before my eyes.”
Anger knitted in the man’s brow. “Then you must avenge them.”
A hole in her heart Tahanami tried to keep covered dared to crack open. “I will not share their fate,” she shouted. “I just want to live my life.”
“You call this a life?” Tahanami almost dropped her bread from the man’s thunderous shout. He pressed his boot further into the guard’s chest. “Stealing for scraps of food. Never knowing if you’ll see tomorrow. Cowering from men who should be protecting you.” The armor of the guard bent under the man’s furious stomp. “You have been wronged, girl. The king has failed you. He’s failed our entire kingdom. My comrades and I will put our lives on the line for a brighter dawn for this land. Yet, we cannot do it alone. You, little weasel, have skills that could aid us toward our goal. Let us join together and force our voices to be heard.”
Tahanami stared at the ground. She trembled. “It won’t work. Those who stand against the king get killed. “I saw a woman aid a man she didn’t know was a rebel and they killed her. Your rebellion is killing innocent people who want nothing to do with it.”
The man hung his head. “I greave for that kind woman, but it only shows how oppressed we truly are. If we do not fight, nothing will change. Children will still go hungry. Innocents will still die. If we fight and succeed, then we heal this land.”
Tahanami scoffed. “And what if you don’t? What if your rebellion fails? All of you will be put to death and those of us who are left will suffer further. We’re alive. It’s not worth the risk changing that.”
She felt hollow under the man’s haunted stare. The rain was deafening in his continued silence. Tahanami cradled her bread. Fear that her words would evoke the man’s wrath brought further tears to her cheeks. She survived so long all on her own. She didn’t want to die here.
She gasped when the man stepped back and moved to the side of the alley.
He crossed his arms and would not look at her. “I will not force anyone to join the cause. Words cannot stroke a rebellion if it is not there. Go, little weasel, but heed my words. Should embers ignite your soul, find me where the moon cries.”
Tahanami hesitated. She wasn’t sure what he meant by where the moon cries, but her heart itched to get past this man. She took a step and when he didn’t move, she took another. She sprinted past him and over the fallen guards. She turned her heels to head out of town with sobs on her lips. I’m not ready to die. Her warm tears felt like shame. Their rebellion won’t work.
nikki diekemper 