Thomas Jefferson.
Well, that was an awkward departure. She was not right but she was not entirely wrong either. The atmosphere for dinner was left broken as we looked at one another in the silence she had left behind her.
“I’m assuming you received the missing stats,” stated Grandfather.
“Yes, I have the attribute Durability now,” I answered them verbally. We were past the point of me writing my answers down for them now that I was more mobile again. It was still a habit of mine to respond as little as possible even though they knew I was perfectly capable of more. A habit to keep things hidden was hard to break.
“You have been staying awake a little longer.” Added Father in realisation. I had not been falling asleep on our fishing trips out to the reef nor falling asleep on the way back. Or at least I had been napping and playing in my mental fortress but through desire rather than necessity. The problem with so many skills was the time it took to keep levelling them.
Aleera though realised something else. “Are you saying that I have been carrying you around for the last month and I didn’t need to?” demanded Aleera.
"Um . . . I have little legs.” I wheedled. “I wouldn’t be able to keep up.” Why walk when you can be carried? I admit to being a little lazy and hugs always felt nice.
“Which can move twice as fast as mine. I’m not carrying you around everywhere if you don’t need it!” she frowned. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice.” She muttered cross with herself. “What exactly does it do? Can I bounce you off the floor without worrying you will break?" Ah, sibling rivalry at its finest.
“I seem to be durable in more ways than one.” I honestly answered.
“In what ways?” Aleera asked me although the adults were clearly interested in the answer.
“I can stay awake longer as it seems to have balanced out my dexterity drawing too much stamina,” I answered confirming Father’s earlier statement.
“And? She raised an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, I do seem a little more durable not that we need to test that.” I hastened to add lest she got ideas on how to test that. Although that was probably too late with Grandfather sitting here at the table.
“That’s all very well but what are we going to do about Lady Acacia?” Mother asked the table.
“Kill her,” Grandfather said in a deadpan voice.
“That is not an option.” Mother frowned displeased at Grandfather.
“I know, I know.” He repeated. “I was only joking.” He raised his hands in acquiescence. “More’s the pity.” He muttered under his breath.
“Do we have to tell her?” I asked.
“She’s not an idiot, Kai. She is going to work it out sooner rather than later.” Aleera responded. “You can’t go sailing every day till your five.”
“I could.” I rolled my eyes. Sailing with Dad was fun. We made a profit. No one asked us to do anything for hours at a time and the reef was a veritable treasure trove of new species and wonders.
“Don’t be silly.” Mother shot me down before Father could voice his support for the idea.
“You can’t kill her and neither can you avoid her for the next 3 years either. She is going to want a part in tutoring you seeing as you will be representing both us and her.” She outlined the impossibility of the two options we have come up with so far.
“We could always just tell her the truth.” Suggested Father. “I mean we were surprised at first sure. But once we knew how to help we managed to get you back on your feet soon enough.”
“Sure Kaius, let us risk the well-being of our family, your son on the integrity of a complete stranger.” Sardonically suggested.
“She is hardly a stranger now been here quite a while and she has done well by Aleera.” Father shrugged. “Actions speak louder than words. She has been very supportive and made great suggestions in building this family up. Suggestions that you failed to make despite hailing from the continent yourself.”
“I have been watching her the entire time she could hardly do anything to harm her while I have been present.” Grandfather.
“True but how would this be any different?” He asked.
“Because she could say anything to anyone Kaius. Aleera is a fine and talented young woman, but Kai represents something else entirely.” He added exasperated.
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“Don’t you think you are being a little paranoid, old man?” He disagreed. “Besides Aleera is right she is going to notice something sooner or later. Kai simply doesn’t age quick enough for her not to. He might seem large for his supposed age now. But give it a year when he hasn’t got much bigger what is she going to say then?”
“It is a bridge we are going to have to cross sooner or later.” Mother moderated.
“Then later is better than sooner,” Grandfather argued back. “Or not at all.”
“Later is not better than sooner when the secrecy is damaging the relationship right now.” Kaius defended his position. “I understand the whole keep it secret keep it safe stick but it’s not helping us now.”
“Could we bind her somehow with an oath?” I asked. Thinking about how Grandfather had been blood bound to both protect our family and make it strong.
“She is not going to allow us to bind her Kai.” Grandfather said understanding my insinuation, “And I’m not sure that I could force the matter. I would not like to test her strength and speed to come up short.”
“Binding aside,” Mother pursed her lips at her father. “I doubt she will want to become an Adal Silver tutor of the Silver sea house, Kai.” Mother smiled at my suggestion. “She is already Lady Acacia.” Yes, but of what house? I wondered. We had never actually inquired as to her heritage or house.
“No, but she might accept a Clause of Confidentiality.” Aleera looked thoughtful.
“What’s a Clause of Confidentiality?” I asked Aleera.
“It’s something that Grandpa Smit is teaching me about.” She replied. “Merchants use them to protect their prices from the slip of a tongue.”
“Protect their profits more like,” Grandfather added unimpressed.
“They last for a short time just a year. But we could get Grandpa Smit to make us one for Lady Acacia. She could promise to keep our secrets for the year and then each year we ask her to sign another clause of confidentiality. That way at least we will know if or when she decides to tell someone else.” She added expanding on her idea.
“It’s not ideal.” Grandfather sounded resigned to the further expansion of the circle of individuals who knew about me. “But it could work for now, if you are all going to insist on this idiocy.” The benefit to relieving him of his orders was that he was free to let us make what he perceived as mistakes. Time would tell if it was a perceived mistake or an actual one.
“So, it is decided we are informing her about Kai under a confidentiality clause.” Mother summarised the discussion.
“The question is Kai; how much do you want to show her what you can do?” At least my mother had asked my opinion on how much I felt comfortable sharing.
Truth be told I didn’t feel comfortable sharing much, but I could see the stupidity in trying to keep it hidden from her forever especially when it was so obviously going to fail sooner or later.
. . .
We met the next day, in the morning in the hall. Aleera and Grandfather had visited Grandpa Smit last night to claim a Clause of Confidentiality contract for this morning’s events.
“We did not lie to you.” Aleera started the conversation, “But, we do know where the missing stats went. However, before we tell you where they went, we would like you to sign this clause of confidentiality stating that you will keep the secrets of house Silver Sea.” It had been decided that Aleera should start the conversation seeing as she had the best relationship with the tutor.
Lady Acacia smiled at Aleera, “You do realise that confidentiality is part and parcel of being a tutor for noble houses. They all have secrets they don’t wish others to hear. Anything that I hear or work out within your walls is sacrosanct and I will not reveal it until my dying day.” She explained some sort of tutor code.
1. Child comes first their stats stay secret
2. Family and their wishes come second
3. Foundations of the house stay hidden
It sounded like she attempted to give children some element of choice over their family’s interests at least in theory whether that worked in practice was another question.
“It is all very well for you to say something like that, but we all know that everyone has their price. What is yours?” Sceptical Grandfather to the rescue.
“Well, I won’t carry it to my grave under threat of torture but in my 50 years of tutoring a dozen different families in the capital of Ponente I have yet to reveal another house’s secrets to another.” She said with pride.
50 years! How old was she? I mean if she started tutoring at 20 or 25 and that would put her age between 70 and 80 which she did not look like at all. She barely looked like she was thirty.
“After all, we all have our own secrets,” she said pulling back her hair which naturally fell over her ears. Her ears which were as they were revealed just a little bit pointed. How did I not notice she was an elf?
“As you can see I have less to worry about human politics seeing as they don’t quite apply to me as stringently.” She nodded in acknowledgement of Grandfather’s point that everyone has their price.
“You’re an ELF!” Aleera was astounded. I was glad that someone was going to verbalise my amazement for me as we had yet to get her to sign the clause of confidentiality and while her speech was lovely, we would feel happier with a piece of paper in hand stating it was so.
“I don’t normally advertise my ancestry, Aleera. If you can keep my heritage hidden, I am sure that I can do the same with yours.” She gracefully offered something in exchange.
Was being an elf not fashionable in the Compass Kingdoms? I had so many questions. Did they live in trees? Could they talk to animals? What about singing trees? The only knowledge we had of them was second-hand through Grandfather. While he was indeed knowledgeable compared to the average islander, first-hand information would be so much better.
But let’s not let ourselves get distracted, code of conduct or not I would feel safer with a clause of confidentiality in place. I nudged Aleera making sure she didn’t forget.
“While I appreciate your honesty we would feel more secure with at least a clause of confidentiality in place.” She stuck to the script and passed the contract over to Lady Acacia along with a pen to sign it.
After quickly reading through the clause of confidentiality which was as simple as it was brief. Anything pertaining to House Silversea was to be kept confidential whether heard, seen or extrapolated from her time here. She happily signed it. It would only last for a year but a year was better than none and hopefully, we would be able to renew it in a year before resorting to Grandfather’s option if that did not work out.
“Well, now that that is sorted where or rather who is your hidden sibling?” she asked Aleera cordially.
“Actually, that would be me,” I answered enjoying the look of shock on her face.