Time to leave
Amee stands on the strange ship, watching people move to and fro. Everyone gives her not even a single glance, even as they bow to Dagna and speak respectfully. It’s like she’s invisible. She stands there looking at the shore, until she feels a tug on the a’dam. Turning around, she sees Dagna standing there, an incomprehensible look on her face. “They have work to do, preparing for the Return. We are going to go below, where I’ll show you your room, and go over everything else with you. Come.”
Amee turned and followed her, bare feet sure on the ship, adjusting automatically to the roll of the waves. Walking down below, she saw many things that were typical of any large sailing vessel. Bolted down cabinets, covered portholes to let light in, chairs that swiveled. She got a sharp sting across her ass when she peered down a hallway. “THAT is for the crewmen, and no place for a damane”, she was told as she rubbed herself. “Not that any sul’dam would ever take you there. But should any crewmember come to the kennels, they would be executed. To lie with a damane is….sei’moseiv. Any caught doing such an act would beg to have a quick execution.”
Amee wrinkles her nose. She’d never been attracted to men anyways, much preferring the company of the other girls from the village. Her parents had known, and they’d simply shrugged, following the Water Way. It wasn’t a big deal, and there were plenty of children from other families. “You didn’t need to do that, Dagna. That’s not an issue, nor will it ever be. I would never...willingly….lie with a man, so there’s not much to worry about. You don't need to be so rough about it.” She say Dagna furrow her brow, and then nod as understanding was reached.
“Ahhhh. You are...i believe they call them pillow friends here. Well, that is no matter. What damane do with other damane means nothing. Like dogs frollicing together, but of less value. Now come.” Feeling a tug on the leash around her throat, she turns and follows Dagna down another hallway. Moving deeper into the ship, Amee soon finds herself in a hallway that was lined with doors. Except none of them HAD a door, they were just frames. Passing a few of them, Amee looks inside. Not all of them were occupied, but some had a single occupant. One has a girl in it, clearly Seanchan by birth. She sits on her bed, a’dam sitting on a hook on the wall. She looks up as they pass, and she smiles as she sees Dagna. “Sul’dam”, she says, and bows her head. The room was put together, clean, because there was nothing in it. A bed, a bolted down chair, a small wash cup and basin, and that was it. And yet the girl sat it like it was the finest room she’d ever been in.
Dagna sees her looking, and smiles. “Everything a damane receives comes from her sul’dam. If her sul’dam wants her to be dressed in nothing but her shift, then that is what she wears. If her sul’dam wishes her to sleep in the stables with the horses, then that is where she sleeps. Remember that, Amee. What is given can be very quickly taken away.”
Amee glares balefully at her captor as they move farther down the hallway. The urge to hit her was strong, and she hears Dagna chuckle. “See? You learn how futile it would be. You’re already learning, Amee. Soon you won’t even have such thoughts.”
They pass more open rooms, and Amee saw some of her own people in there. Older women, girls, all ages were represented. Of the older women, all were Mothers, the wise women who could heal the sick and birth babies. They all sat there placidly, even as tears marred their cheeks. Followers of the Water Way, they hadn’t fought or raised a fuss. Merely adjusting to new circumstances. She shakes her head, trying to figure out a way to fight. Dagna leads her into an empty room, and then smiles at her.
“This is your room”, she tells Amee. “when you’re not above decks with me, or in the galley eating, you’ll be here. I’ll have to see about finding you proper clothing.” She takes the bracelet off, hanging it on the hook. It’s got an upward curve and lip, Amee can see, so that it won’t dislodge, even during a storm.
“Dagna, wait!!”, she calls after the sul’dam who is halfway out the door. “Ummmm, please, wait”, she amends, as Dagna turns around with a look on her face that tells amee she’s treading close. “What am I supposed to do when you’re not here? Or someone else? I...i can’t just sit here staring at the walls. I’ll go mad.”
Dagna stares at her, considering. Even animals had things to occupy their time when they weren’t in use. “Very well.”
Amee smiles, refusing to bow her head, even though inside she’s fuming at even this level of submission. “Can i have some books? Or...i don’t know what you Seanchan use...scrolls? I like to read, Father paid one of the Sea People to give me lessons.”
Dagna nods. “I can do that.” She leaves the room, smiling to herself. “This one”, she says to herself in her native language, “will be something special. I can feel it.” Making her way to the galley, she pours herself a cup of kaff, and cradles it warmth, inhaling both its heat and its aroma. Several other sul’dam walk in, all the women assigned to this ship. “Greetings, Dagna”, one of them, Herulin, says, her hand raised in greeting. She smiled and walked over to the others, holding her cup and joined with them. “How was your search?”
“Not terrible. There was a small number of marath’damane to be found. None of them fought or attempted to do anything to us to prevent their taking, which strikes me as odd. These lands don’t seem to understand the danger that marath’damane pose.”
“They follow this philosophy called the Water Way”, Dagna tells them. “My damane explained it to me in part. It’s primarily a philosophy of passivity, not fighting, accepting whatever comes and adapting to it. From what she didn’t say, I gather that the rest of this new land doesn’t understand their proper place and duties.”
“Well, that means that there will be more marath’damane to find”, one of the other say. Dagna, looks at her, remembers that she’d not found one, and wasn’t able to train or be complete as often as she wanted. THere were always more sul’dam than damane. Making a non-committal sound, and inclining her head, she takes her cup and rises. Leaving the group while holding her kaff, she walked back up to the deck, and watched the sailors make preparations to leave. She stands there, deep in thought as the supplies were loaded, torm and grolm were placed back into their respective cages and loaded, and all was made ready to leave. Eventually all was ready, and the captain looks at the high Lord for leave to continue, as is proper. The High Lord, for His part, doesn’t acknowledge the captain, merely looks up into the distance and nods once.
Sailors cast off the lines with shouts, and slowly the vessel began to move away from the shore. Dagna looked towards the front of the ship, looking with eagerness at the open sea. This was one of the best things she enjoyed, seeing new lands and the joy of moving forward.
Amee looked up as she felt the vessel begin to move, the feeling a part of her bones. A part of her soul. The longer they moved, and as the vessel began to change course, Amee begins to sing, tears rolling down her face. It was an old song sung on Trelling, but only sung when ships didn’t return, and all were lost. A song about a grieving woman, standing on the mountain, weeping for her family that were lost to the sea. Never to return, never to be seen again. And soon another voice joined hers from further down the hall. It was an older womans voice, scarred but deep, and it joins hers, and then another, a younger girl, and then another. And soon the passage sounds of the sad song and weeping, as the taken move farther away.
The sun began to slowly lower over the horizon, and Dagna watched it with a sense of happiness, since it was lovely. Truly lovely to be able to watch, as her own home deep in the mountains never had a view quite like this. She heard something, and turned with a frown. It sounded like singing, but a mournful, sad dirge that she didn’t understand but somehow made her heart ache. And it was coming from...she took a few steps, and then nodded. Coming from the damane kennels. “Silly damane”, she thinks to herself, even as she keeps listening. “They don’t realize just how dangerous they are, how this is for the good of all. This is for the best for them. One day they will see that.” But the song stays with her as she watches the sun set.