Chapter 2: Chapter 2
“I know you do, Young Master. I saw you hiding outside your father’s study when you should have been with Uliana going over your arithmetic lesson.”
The boy at least had the grace to blush and look away from Yashiv’s gaze. He wasa good child. Yashiv’s fondness for him grew every day. It helped dampen the resentment that welled inside him when he saw his fellow soldiers working with swords and fists. He reminded himself that he was blessed to even be taken in by the Eanraig Clan. The goddess Gala—who watched over orphans—had cast her protective charms on Yashiv, allowing him to survive for two whole days alone in the desert. It was Master Alim who had discovered Yashiv among the dead bodies of his parents. They left no clue of who they were and why they had traveled so far into the desert.
I owe Master so much. He asked me to look after his son. I need to take this responsibility seriously.
Yashiv sighed. “Maybe it’ll be okay if I go to the kitchen and grab you an apple.”
The boy grimaced. “How about ataif instead?”
“I’m not sure the cinnamon supplies have been replenished, Young Master.”
Cassian’s blue eyes looked up at him hopefully. “Can you check? Please?”
With a nod, Yashif patted Cassian’s head. “I’ll check. Don’t you sneak off, though.”
“I won’t; I promise.”
Yashiv locked eyes with the lad, making sure he saw the seriousness Yashiv implied. Once he was certain it sank in, he left the room and headed down the hallway. As he walked to the corridor’s intersection, he nodded to four guards standing at the entrance to Master Alim’s study.
The building, the only one made of brick within the camp, was a sprawling structure. The back rooms housed Master’s bedroom, and Cassian’s, the location being more secure and easily protected by a single, narrow hallway. Two guards could hold the hallway from attackers. The front rooms contained the kitchens, a large meeting hall for formal events, food pantries, even an indoor tub for bathing, as well as one for laundry.
Master and his family lived in comparative luxury to the others of the clan. None begrudged their finery, either. All members, from the most seasoned soldier to the lowest stable hand, would give anything and everything for Master Alim. He had earned their love and respect a hundred times over. His peace treaty with the Acenath Clan and the Jendayi Clan had held for the past twenty years, and his keen sense for trade had increased the clan’s export numbers drastically. They prospered much more than others in this harsh desert.
In the kitchen, Yashiv flagged down one of the many cooks. Some were elderly women, some young apprentices. Most were women, but a few young men dashed among the ovens. The Eanraig Clan was one that let the children find the right fit for apprenticeship, instead of forcing them into tasks they weren’t eager to perform. That was why Cassian had been allowed to frolic among his mother’s weaving workshop for so long. Even Master Alim had encouraged Cassian to develop his weaving skills
“Yes, Yashiv?” asked Nenet, a middle-aged woman with sun-bleached strands mixed with her dark hair, all pulled back with a colorful scarf. “How may I serve you?”
“Young Master was wondering if you had any ataif. I told him you might be out of supplies.”
Nenet smiled up at him in a motherly fashion. As an adopted child, many of the women of the clan had kept an eye on him as he grew. Nenet’s hut had been one of the homes he’d stayed in before moving into the soldiers’ tents at age ten. “It just so happens we made a batch this morning. Why don’t you take a few? You need to keep eating or else you’ll waste away.”
“Not likely, Nenet,” he muttered. “I haven’t trained properly in a long time. I’m afraid I’ll grow fat.”
She laughed and placed a hand on his arm. “I don’t think you need to worry about that. Give me a moment to get a plate prepared.”
She busied herself with getting snacks. When he accepted the plate, it contained a dozen sweets. Maybe Yashiv should worry about Young Master getting fat if the workers constantly pampered him like this. Yashiv decided to take the child out to the training yard. He’d benefit from learning basic sword skills, and Yashiv could make sure his own body stayed well-toned and ready.
Who’s going to attack a child? It was an unnecessary worry. Even their worst enemy wouldn’t spill the blood of the innocent.
Yashiv headed back to Cassian’s room, laden with enough food for a meeting of the elders. And those old men ate like wild dogs—biting and snapping at one another for the last date.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone