Ciara's Song # with Lyn McConchie by Andre Norton

Author:Andre Norton [Norton, Andre]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, General
ISBN: 9780759541825
Publisher: Paw Prints
Published: 2001-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

BOOK TWO

If the Dream Is Worth the Price

1O

The quiet years ended when Aisling was almost eleven. Those years had not always been easy, but war had remained more in the North than in the poorer, less populated South. Aisha had gone to the main Keep of her clan near Kars city. There she had mixed with those who believed themselves born to rule. Her sons had learned to ape the manners, the beliefs, and far more dangerously—the burning ambition of those in the upper city. Aisha's clan had been powerful under Pagar. Now they talked constantly of those times and plotted that they should return once more. Among the other young men Aisha's sons listened to the talk.

The older, named Kirion for his father, was the more ferocious in that. His visits to Aiskeep had slowly made two things clear to him. The first was that he did not wish to molder his life away settling dirt-grubber disputes while living too many days' ride from Kars and civilization, luxury, pretty women, and all that made life interesting. The second was a bitter anger that the choice was unlikely to be his to make.

Trovagh had watched the boy for those years. He had seen the impatience, the belief that Kirion was more important than any farmer or servant. And he had seen that his people would never be happy with Kirion ruling Aiskeep.

The younger boy, Keelan, was a better choice, yet Trovagh doubted him, too. He was the more intelligent. It might just be that the younger lad had learned to conceal his beliefs better, learned to hide the contempt Kirion felt openly. Neither Trovagh nor Ciara liked the attitude of the brothers to their much younger sister.

"Kirion patronizes her," Ciara said.

"A natural attitude for a much older brother, beloved. But I dislike far more his belief that she is inferior because she is a girl."

Ciara smiled. "Of course he has to believe that. The child rides better, knows Aiskeep and its people better, and is secure here. Kirion resents it all. That mother of his seems to have filled his head with all sorts of ideas about his importance. He comes here and finds a child almost half his age being listened to over him."

"Of course she is listened to," Trovagh snapped impatiently. "She knows Aiskeep. If we went to Kars, we would doubtless listen to Kirion."

"Quite. However, Kirion doesn't see it that way; watch the boy, Tro. I'm not happy about his way of treating Aisling. One day he'll push things too far."

Trovagh agreed with that but what was he to do about it? The problem was partly that of age and little in common. Kirion was now twenty, while Aisling had just celebrated her eleventh name day. Keelan at seventeen was kinder to his young sister. Kirion made it clear he regarded her as an inferior nuisance. In fact, the lad's attitude to women in general bothered Trovagh.

It was true Aiskeep was far from Kars, but Kirion didn't make allowances for Geavon or for Trader Talron.

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