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"I know" Kira sighed again In the past there had been sicknesses that spread from one cott to the next, withwould take place, followed by a rebuilding that beca wet mud over the fitted wooden sides of new structures,it into s would remain in the air even as the new cotts rose

But today there was no festivity There were only the usual sounds Katrina's death had changed nothing in the lives of the people She had been there Now she was gone Their lives continued

With the boy still beside her, Kira paused at the well and filled her container ater Everywhere she heard arguing The cadence of bickering was a constant sound in the village: the harsh re of women envious of one another and irritable with the tykes hined and whimpered at their feet and were frequently kicked out of the way

She cupped her hand over her eyes and squinted against the afternoon sun to find the gap where her own cott had been She took a deep breath It would be a long walk to gather saplings and a hard chore to dig the mud by the riverbank The corner ti "I have to start building," she told Matt, who still held a bundle of twigs in his scratched, dirty arms "Do you want to help? It could be fun if there were two of us

"I can't pay you, but I'll tell you some new stories," she added

The boy shook his head "I be whipped iffen I don't finish the fire twiggies" He turned away After a hesitation, he turned back to Kira and said in a low voice, "I heared the to turn you out, now youryou in the Field for the beasts They talk about having draggers take you"

Kira felt her stohten with fear But she tried to keep her voice calm She needed information frohtened "Who's 'they'?" she asked in an annoyed, superior tone

"The at the well I be picking up wood chippies fro But they want your space They here your cott was They aim to build a pen there, to keep the tykes and the fowls enclosed so they don't be having to chase them all the ti, almost unbelievable, the casualness of the cruelty In order to pen their disobedient toddlers and chickens, the woe to be devoured by the beasts that waited in the woods to forage the Field

"Whose was the strongest voice against ht He shifted the twigs in his hands, and Kira could see that he was reluctant to get involved in her problems and fearful of his own fate But he had always been her friend Finally, looking around first to be certain he wouldn't be overheard, he told her the name of the person hom Kira would have to do battle

"Vandara," he whispered

It came as no surprise Nonetheless, Kira's heart sank

2

First, Kira decided, it o back to the site of the cott where she had lived with herher there at ould deter the wo on her stick, she e Here and there, people acknowledged her presence with a curt nod; but they were busy, all of them at their daily work, and pleasantries were not part of their custom

She saw her arden beside the cott where he had lived with Solora and the tykes Weeds had gone untended while his wife had neared her tiiven birth, and died Then more days had passed, more weeds had flourished, while he sat in the Field with his dead wife and infant The poles that held beans entwined had toppled, and he was angrily setting theirl nae While Kira looked on, thehiht

She walked past theround with each step, planning to nod if they acknowledged her But the s in the dirt only whi some pebbles, in the way of toddlers, and had found herself with a lanced at Kira butfrom his father's slap The man, her mother's only brother, didn't look up frohed At least he had help Unless she could enlist her small friend, Matt, and some of his ardening -- herself, assurowled, and she realized how hungry she was Rounding the path past a row of small cotts, she approached her own location and came upon the black heap of ashes that had been her hos But she was pleased to see that the little garden remained Her etables were ripening in the sun For now, at least, she would have some food

Or would she? As she watched, a wolanced at Kira, and then brazenly began to pull carrots froether

"Stop it! Those areher defor contemptuously, the woman sauntered away, her hands filled with dirt-encrusted carrots

Kira hurried to the reround, pulled up soan to eat Without a hunter as part of their family, she and her mother had not eaten meat except for the occasional small creature that they could catch within the boundaries of the village They could not go to the woods to hunt, the way men did Fish from the river were plentiful and easy to catch, and they felt no need of anything etables were essential She was fortunate, she realized, that the garden had not been entirely stripped during her four days in the Field

Her hunger satisfied, she sat down to rest her leg She looked around On the edge of her space, near the ashes, a pile of saplings stripped of their branches was arranged, as if so to help her rebuild

But Kira knew better She rose and tentatively picked up one of the slender, pliable saplings froed i where Kira realized she had been waiting and watching Kira didn't knohere the woht be Her cott was none of those nearby But she was very e People whispered about her She was known, and respected Or feared