Interlude IP 15
Island People is a young adult fantasy book centring on a young prince. The book starts with his kidnapping and follows his adventures as he not only escapes from his kidnapper but gains critical allies and friends.
The entire book is scheduled on Substack, and there are several sequels. This is a book I wrote years ago, so it is in a bit of a rough form. Critiques and comments are more than welcome, they are requested.
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Hadassah and her Cousin, Eunice, were sitting in Hadassah’s room. Hadassah was braiding Eunice’s hair and brooding. Eunice was talking.
“It is totally unfair the way we girls are just bartered off,” she was saying.
“Well, it’s not like the boys have any more choice,” Hadassah protested mildly.
“Oh, boys, they don’t care who they marry,” retorted Eunice, annoyed that Hadassah had interrupted her rant, “They are just interested in hunting and politics and such.”
Hadassah wasn’t quite convinced that boys wouldn’t care at all who they married, but her own doubts and fears were strong enough to keep her silent this time.
“Now, in my betrothal,” Eunice went on, “They didn’t take my feelings into account at all. I never even hinted that I was interested in Warden. And he comes from such a poor family.”
“I thought you were excited about your betrothal!” countered Hadassah as she mused on Warden. A nice young man, if a bit dull, his parents’ farm was smaller than Eunice’s parents’, but what could Eunice expect? She was the sixth Daughter in her family. And Eunice--well--Eunice was hard to place.
“Oh, I was, of course. I just can’t wait to get out of my parent’s house! To have my own house, my own garden, my own”--she blushed slightly--“children.”
“Even with a Husband, you didn’t pick?”
“Oh, I’ll control him. If he starts acting in ways I don’t like, I’ll,” she blushed again, “I’ll give him the cold shoulder until he straightens up.”
They both mused about this. It was not the first time that Hadassah had heard of this ‘method’ of controlling husbands. She wondered if her mother had used it. It didn’t sound right, somehow. It sounded cold.
“At least you will be marrying someone rich… and reasonably good-looking,” Eunice remarked. Hadassah was startled back into reality.
“He’s the Son of our greatest enemy!”
“So? That’s your job, to tame him. If you do your job, he’ll soon be listening to your Father as much as his!”
Hadassah thought that sounded like a tall task. She had only much younger Brothers and so had very little experience with older boys, but her experience with her Father didn’t lead her to believe that boys (men, anyway) were that easy to manipulate.
--
Later, Hadassah had an opportunity to speak with her Aunt on the same subject. She had always respected her Aunt. She had raised six wonderful girls… well, five wonderful girls, and Hadassah supposed that Eunice would turn out ok in the end; and four marvellous boys. Most of these were much older than Hadassah so she hadn’t gotten to know them well. Indeed, some of her grandchildren were almost Hadassah’s age.
“Aunt Eliezra?”
“Yes, Dear?”
“Have you heard about the negotiations Father is making for my betrothal?”
“Yes, dear. Pretty much everyone knows about them.”
Hadassah sighed. That was another worry: everyone knowing about everything about her. Sometimes she wished her Daddy wasn’t a powerful Duke but was just a common Farmer.
“Why, Dear? Are you worried about it?”
“Were you betrothed, Aunt?”
“Why, of course, dear. Do you think we just bedded like common ploughboys?”
Hadassah sighed, “It seems so unfair, that I don’t have any say in the whole thing.”
Her Aunt looked at her in surprise, “But Dear, you told me yourself that you were ready for marriage!” It was the tradition when a Farmer girl achieved a ‘certain maturity’ that she would go to her mother (or, in the absence of her mother, a trusted female relative) and would tell her that she was ‘ready for marriage.’ Only at this point, which the girl could delay for some months if she were at all hesitant, would the Father begin betrothal (or, in the case of a poorer Farmer family, the ‘bedding’) arrangements. Hadassah had gone to her Aunt several months ago and announced her readiness for marriage.
“Oh, not that, but who!”
Her Aunt shook her head sadly. Every generation seemed to go through the same struggles. They always thought their parents were ignorant. Had she looked out and seen how the ‘do it yourself’ beddings tended to turn out? Those who ‘fell in love’ were just as easily convinced that they could fall ‘out of love’. Half the girls got dumped with a passel of kids while the males went elsewhere. “Your Father has a lot of pressure on him concerning your marriage,” she said at last.
“Why? Why does it matter to anyone else who I marry?” asked Hadassah. She knew the answer but wanted to hear it anyway.
“Our nation is having a difficult time right now,” her Aunt replied. “We Humans need more land, and the old boundaries don’t permit us to expand. The Horsemen range huge tracts of land and don’t produce anything on it. Many of us believe that we must broach the boundaries and plant that land. We are having more and more people become mere Plowmen who are capable of being great or minor Lords.”
“But we are not running out of food?”
“No, our land produces wonderfully. We have plenty to eat and to sell. But we are so… confined.”
Hadassah was silent for a while and then launched gently into her next subject. “But what… I mean, how…”
Her Aunt waited, then said gently, “How what, dear?”
“How do I… how can I… marry… one of our greatest enemies? Go to live… with him?”
“And he with you,” her Aunt replied. “I’ve met him, and he is a very nice boy. He can’t help his Father’s politics any more than you can help yours. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
Indeed, she thought she would do better than just fine. Hadassah was a very strong girl with a serious sense of duty. Besides this, she had a very strong sense of family.
“But what am I supposed to ‘do fine’?” Hadassah asked.
Her Aunt sat up, put down her knitting and looked at her niece. As Hadassah was a Farmer lass, she knew the birds and bees were no great mystery for her. Indeed Hadassah and she had attended several births together, births among Farmer families being something of a social occasion. So her question must mean something else. “What do you mean, Hadassah?” she queried.
“What is Father expecting me to do, as the Wife of ‘Seth’? How can I help our family there?”
“But, dear, you’ll have your own family then. That will be your job.”
“Then why does Daddy want me to go there?!”
Dimly sensing her meaning, Hadassah’s Aunt replied, “I can’t tell you what your Father wants; he has to do that. But what most of the nation wants in your marriage is peace. By marrying the two of you, your children will be from both families. That will help tie both groups together.”
“What you need to do is be a good Wife. Then, you will provide a bridge between the two groups. ”
“Our family will be able to visit with you and your husband and children. The two of you will become the Kingdom’s hosts, the glue that holds us together. And you, personally, will be the heart of that home.”
Hadassah stared at her Aunt. This was a far cry from what her Cousin had told her. They seemed almost the opposite. Now, what was she to do?
--
In the end, she decided to confront her Father directly. It wasn’t easy, as he seemed to be always busy with meetings. But in the end, she found him alone in his office.
“Father, may I speak with you?”
Duke LaCrosse looked up from the papers he was reading. He realised, belatedly, that he hadn’t spent much time with his Daughter recently. Instead, he had been caught up in the dual lives he was living. He pushed away the papers. “Certainly. Come in and shut the door.
As she did, Hadassah wondered how to phrase her question, “Father, I understand that you are working on my betrothal, but I have a question.” She paused, and the Duke waited.
“When I am married, or even while I am betrothed, what am I supposed to do? I mean, how am I supposed to be helping our family?”
The Duke stared at her. This was an unexpected question. How was he to answer this? The answer seemed both obvious and impossible to explain. He thought for a moment and then replied, “Well, Sweetheart, your marriage itself and your betrothal is what will aid the family, as long as you are a good Wife…”
Hadassah interrupted, “That’s just it! What is a good Wife? What goodness of mine helps the family?”
The Duke sat back. What a poor job he must have done to have his Daughter have to ask this question! Of course, it had been much harder for him to deal with her since his Wife died. He felt extremely handicapped since he lost her, and not just with his Daughter. Really, he was a fool for not having remarried. Ironically, it had been Hadassah herself who had prevented him; he worried how she would take a 'new Mother'. But the girl had needed a Mother (and he needed a Wife), and he just hadn't seen it, until now.
“You know what is written, my Daughter,” he said, falling back onto the tried and true formula since he was at a loss how to respond personally, “A good Wife is one whose Husband can trust in her. One who manages her household well, who is blessed with fruitfulness, and raises children who serve He Who Is.”
As he watched his Daughter digest this, he wondered again if he was doing the right thing. It might seem odd to question whether treason was 'the right thing' to do, but it had seemed like it at the time. Certainly, he thought, something needed to be done. Ever since that last battle, where the rebels, such as they were, were finally defeated, Duke LaCrosse had known that things just could not continue as they were. He had been wounded in that last battle, wounded so seriously that he hadn't made it to the final oath-taking ceremony, the one that had ended the last war. Lying in bed nursing his wounds he had had plenty of time to think. People could say 'until The Day' all they liked, but unless the Old Boundaries were changed, there was going to be continual trouble. Too many Sons of Lords and Landowners were having to move down to Farmer or Plowboy. This caused incredible tension, both for them and for their Fathers, Uncles, etc.
And it made their betrothals awkward. A Lord was reluctant to betroth his Daughter to a Son with no prospects… yet betrothals must happen, and there were not enough others around. Thus, the competition was sometimes intense. His disquiet had increased since he had received the news about Huri. Why was he killed? One of the King’s men, operating as an assassin? It seemed very unlike this king, though he was strong-willed enough, he supposed. But not underhanded enough, he didn't think. Assassination was not a normal trait among Humans.
His Daughter finally responded, “Is that--is that really what you want, Father?” He looked up, startled.
How could she doubt it? Did she think he would betroth her to be a traitor to her own Husband, however much he opposed the politics of the Father? “With all my heart, my Daughter,” he said.
She came quietly over, kissed him, and went off, presumably to bed.
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