Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Patience

Long before they invaded the Six Duchies, the Red Ship Raiders had wrought misery and misery upon their own people.They are of unknown origin, a heretic sect that has gained religious and political power by ruthless means.Patriarchs and chiefs who refused to join their faith often found their wives and children the victims of what we now call 'The Forge' in honor of the ill-fated town of Forge.While we think of the Outislanders as hard-hearted and cruel, their traditions place a high value on honor, with brutal punishments for those who violate kinship norms.Imagine the pain and suffering of an Out-Island father if his son was smelted.When his own son lied to him, stole from him, and raped the women in the family, he either had to hide his son's crimes, or he had to watch his son be skinned alive for committing these crimes. The pain of losing a child has to face the contempt of other families from then on.Therefore, the threat of smelting was very effective in deterring those who were willing to oppose the political forces of the Red Boat robbers.

By the time the Red Ship raiders wreaked havoc along our coast, they had suppressed most of the opposition in the Outer Islands.Those who openly opposed them either died or fled, while others grudgingly paid tribute and gritted their teeth at the abuses of those who controlled the sect.But there are plenty of people who are happy to join them, painting the hulls of the looting ships red, and never questioning what is wrong with their actions.Most of these converts probably come from smaller, less prominent families who never had the chance to become powerful before, but the man who controls the Red Boat Raiders doesn't care what your origins are, who your ancestors are, as long as you are loyal to him No two.

I didn't find out who she was until I saw the lady twice more.The second time I saw her was the next night, around the same time.Molly was busy making her jam, so Carrie and Dirk and I went to the pub to listen to music and hang out all night.I probably drank a little too much, but only an extra glass or two of ale at most.I didn't feel faint and didn't feel like throwing up, but I was walking carefully because I'd stumbled into a pothole in the dusty road. The kitchen yard was dusty and cobbled, with places for wagons to unload.Adjacent to this yard but separated from each other is a hedged area that is called the "Women's Garden", not because only women can come here, but because the people who take care of it and know it well are all women.It was a pleasant place, with a pond in the center, and many low beds of aromatic herbs, flowering plants, and creeping vine-bearing plants, and paths paved with green rock.I know I can't go straight to bed in this situation, if I go to sleep now, the bed will seem to be spinning and shaking, and within an hour I will be sick with vomiting.I had a very pleasant evening, and it would have been miserable if it ended in that way, so instead of going to my room, I went into the Ladies' Garden.

In one corner of the garden, between a sun-warmed wall and a small pond, 7 different types of thyme grow.It's dizzying to smell the whole scent on a hot day, but now that the night is getting darker, the combination of them makes my head feel a little better.I washed my face with water from the small pond, and leaned against the stone wall that was still warm in the night.The frogs croaked in response, and I looked down at the calm waters of the pond so that I wouldn't feel dizzy. There were footsteps, and then a woman's voice asked bitterly: "Are you drunk?" "Not drunk." I replied friendly, thinking it was Tili, the maid in charge of the orchard. "Not enough time, not enough money." I added jokingly.

"I suppose you learned that from Burrich! The man was a drunk and a womanizer, and he developed it in you too. He always made everyone around him as inferior as he was." The resentment in the woman's voice made me look up, and squinting in the fading light, I recognized her as the lady from the night before.Standing on a garden path in a modest shift dress, she appears at first glance to be just a young girl.She was slender and not as tall as I was, although I wasn't particularly tall at 14.But her face was that of a grown woman, and now her mouth was pursed into a accusing line, and her brown eyebrows were furrowed above her light brown eyes.She has dark, curly hair, and although she tries to tie it back, there are curls of it falling across her forehead and neck.

It's not that I feel compelled to defend Burrich, it's just that my situation has nothing to do with him.So I replied, meaning that he was in another city several miles away, and he really couldn't be held responsible for what I put into my mouth. Madam took two steps closer. "But he never made you up, did he? He never told you not to get drunk, did he?" There is a saying in the South that there are truths in wine.Looks like there must be some truth in the ale too, I said it that night. "Actually, ma'am, if he saw me now, he'd be very upset. First of all, he'd scold me for not getting up and talking to the lady." I staggered to my feet. "Then, he would give me a long and strict lecture, telling me how to behave as a person who has not inherited the title of prince, but has inherited the blood of a prince." I tried my best to bow, and I succeeded. Then he did another trick and straightened up. "Good night, then, fair lady of the garden. I wish you a good night, and I will remove my clumsy self from you."

I went to an archway in one wall and she called, "Wait a minute!" But my stomach made a silent grunt in protest, and I pretended I didn't hear her.She didn't catch up, but I was sure she must be looking at me, so I held my head high and walked steadily, and kept it until I was out of the kitchen yard.I went to the stables, spat on the compost, and ended up falling asleep in a clean, empty stable, because the stairs to Burrich's room felt so steep. But young people regain their energy surprisingly quickly, especially when they feel threatened.I got up early the next morning because I knew Burrich would be back in the afternoon.I took a shower in the stables and decided it was time to change the smock I had been wearing for 3 days, especially when I was stopped by the lady in the corridor outside my room. Doubly feel it's dirty.She looked me over from head to toe, and before I could speak, she spoke.

"Change your shirt," she told me, and then added: "These leggings make your legs look like bird's-legs, ask Master Ji Jingfeng to change them for you." "Morning, ma'am" I say.That wasn't an answer to her, but that was all I could say in my astonishment.I decided she was very weird, weirder than Mrs. Thyme, and the best thing I could do was to go along with her and accommodate her.I thought she was going to sideways and keep walking, but she just kept staring at me. "Can you play an instrument?" she demanded. I dumbly shook my head. "Then you can sing?" "No, ma'am."

She looked troubled and asked, "So maybe they taught you to recite epics and lore, about herbs and healing and sailing... that sort of thing?" Psalms of knowledge," I told her, almost telling the truth.These are what Burrich asked me to learn, and Chade taught me a series of poisons and antidotes, but he warned me that not many people know those knowledge poems, so I can't just recite them. "But you must be able to dance, right? Have you also learned to compose poetry?" I am completely confused by her. "Madame, I think you're mistaking me for someone else. Perhaps you're thinking of the king's nephew Majesty, who's only a year or two younger than me, and—" "I'm not mistaken. Answer my question!" She almost It was a squeaky question.

"No, ma'am, those lessons you're talking about are for ... high-born people. I didn't take those lessons." With each negative answer I gave, she seemed more distraught.Her mouth was drawn straighter, and her light brown eyes were cast with shadows. "This kind of thing is absolutely not allowed." She announced, then turned around, her skirt rustled, and hurriedly walked along the aisle.After a while I went into my room, changed my shirt, put on my longest pair of leggings, and got the lady out of my mind, concentrating on my work and classes for the day. "You're probably wondering what she's done for us," Chade went on unconsciously, and I heard the pent-up excitement in his voice. "Twice I've tried asking for you, and I've been turned down both times, but Patience babbled Shrewdly until he surrendered. It's the Skill, boy. You're going to be trained in the Skill. ""The Skill," I repeated, not knowing what I was talking about.It's all happening so fast I can't keep up.

"yes." I rummaged through my thoughts. "Burrich told me about the Skill once. A long time ago." I suddenly remembered the context of that conversation, after Big Nose had inadvertently leaked about us.He said the Skill was the exact opposite of the senses I shared with the animals, and it was through that sense perception that I found the people of Forge changed.Would training in the Skill take me out of that sensory perception?Would that be a liberation or a deprivation?I thought of the intimacy I had shared with the horses and dogs while Burrich was away, and I remembered Big Nose, a mixture of warmth and sadness.Neither before nor since has I been so close to another being.Will my new training in the Skill take away this ability from me? "What's the matter, boy?" Chade's voice was kind but concerned. "I don't know." I hesitated.But even in Chade's presence, I dare not reveal my fears, or rather, my blemishes. "I guess it's all right!" "You've heard too many old stories about Skill training." He guessed completely wrong. "Listen, boy, it can't be that bad! The Riders got through it, and so did Verity. And now that we're threatened by the Red Ship raiders, Shrewd has decided to go back to the way it was before. He wants to set up a group, maybe two, to complement what he and Verity can do with the Skill. Galen isn't too keen on it, but I think it's a good idea .But I am a bastard myself, and have never been allowed to train, so I don't know exactly how to use the Skill to defend the country." "Are you a bastard?" the words blurted out.All my tangled thoughts were suddenly shattered by this new revelation.Chade stared at me, as shocked by what I said as I was shocked by what he said. "Of course! I thought you had guessed it long ago. Boy, you have some big blind spots for such a sharp-eyed and sensitive child!" I looked at Chade as if this was the first time I was looking at him.In his forehead, the shape of his ears, the line of his lower lip, the resemblance did exist, perhaps concealed previously by his scars. "You are Shrewd's son." I guessed wildly, based only on his appearance.Before he even opened his mouth, I knew what I said was stupid. "Son?" Chade laughed grimly. "He'd growl if he heard you say that! But the truth would make him look even worse. Boy, he's my half-brother, but he was conceived in the marriage bed, and I was conceived in the marriage bed." I was conceived during a military operation near Shayuan." He added softly, "My mother was a soldier when she conceived me, but she went back to her hometown to give birth to me, and then married a potter. After my mother died, Her husband put me on a donkey and gave me a necklace she had worn when she was alive, and told me to take it to Buckkeep to bring it to the king. I was 10 years old. At that time, the road from Wool Farm to Buckkeep Long and difficult to walk." I can't think of what to say. "Let's not talk about that." Chade straightened up firmly. "Galen will teach you the Skill. Shrewd forced him to agree, and he finally relented, on the condition that no one else would interfere with each student while he was training. I wish it wasn't like that, But there's nothing I can do, be careful yourself. Do you know Galen?" "A little bit," I said. "Only what other people say about him." "What do you know yourself?" Chadeco asked me. I took a breath and thought. "He ate alone. I never saw him sitting at the same table with other people, whether it was with soldiers or in the dining room. I never saw him standing around and chatting, whether it was in the drill field, in the laundry field, Or any garden. I see him always on the way and always in a hurry. He gets along badly with animals, the dogs don't like him, he takes the horses too far, Blow their mouths and tempers. I guess he's about Burrich's age. He's well dressed, almost as fancy as Regal. I've heard people say he's the queen's man." "Why? ' asked Chade quickly. "Well, that was a long time ago. One night a soldier named Catch came to Burrich, a little drunk and a little bit wounded. He got into a fight with Galen, and Galen used Hit him in the face with a little whip or something. Burrich should have bandaged him because it was late and he wasn't supposed to be drinking that night, and it looked like he was going to be on guard duty soon Or something. Chinch told Burrich that he had overheard Galen saying that Regal had twice as much royal blood as Horse and Verity, and it was all because of stupid customs that kept him from the throne .Galen also said that Regal's mother was of nobler birth than Shrewd's first queen. Everyone knows this to be true, but the reason why he got into a fight with him is because Galen said that the Queen of Desire is better than Shrewd I have more royal blood, because both of her parents have the blood of the far-reaching family, but Shrewd only has the blood of the father, so the striker wanted to hit him, but Galen dodged to the side and hit him with something his face." I paused. "What else?" Chade encouraged me to continue. "So he likes Regal more than Verity, and even the king less. As for Regal, well, Regal accepts him, and treats Garen more kindly than he usually does to servants or soldiers. The few times I've seen the two of them together, Regal seems to be asking for his advice. The two of them look a little funny when they are together, Garen seems to be imitating Regal, dressing and walking Sometimes they look almost alike." "Really?" Chade leaned closer to me, waiting. "What else did you notice?" I searched my memory for more first-hand knowledge of Galen. "I think that's about it." "Did he talk to you?" "No." "I see." Chade seemed to be nodding to himself. "And what have you heard of him? What do you suspect?" He was trying to draw me to some conclusion, but I couldn't guess what it was. "He's an outlander, from Farrow. His family came to Buckkeep with King Shrewd's second queen. I've heard he's too afraid of water to go in a boat or swim. Burrich Respect him, but don't like him, he says Galen is a guy who is good at what he does and does what he does, but Burrich can't get along with someone who isn't kind to animals, even if that person is just out of ignorance The people in the kitchen don't like him, he always yells at the younger servants, saying that the girls' hair fell into his food, or the hands are dirty and don't wash well, and the boys are too rude, don't know How to serve the food correctly, so those cooks don't like him, because the apprentice can't do the job well when he is in a bad mood." Chade still looked at me expectantly, as if waiting to hear something very important.I racked my brain to remember what other gossip I had heard. "He wears a necklace with three jewels that the Queen of Desire gave him as a reward for some special service. Well, the Fool hates him. He told me once that when no one was around Galen would call him a freak and throw things at him." His tone was more than disbelief.He sat up straight on the chair suddenly, the wine in the glass spilled out on his knees, and he wiped it absently with his sleeve. "Sometimes." I admit cautiously. "Not very often, only when he wants to talk, he will suddenly come out and say something to me." "Some words? What kind of words?" It occurred to me that I hadn't told Chade the "Fatsford Fat" riddle, but it seemed too complicated to tell now. "Oh, just some queer stuff. He stopped me about two months ago and told me the next day was a bad day for hunting. But it was a fine day, and Burrich got that big buck that day, and you still Remember! That was the same day we came across a wolverine that bit two hounds badly." "I remember it almost hurt you too." Chade leaned forward, with a strange expression on his face. Satisfied look. I shrugged. "Burrich knocked it over with his horse, and then he gave me a good beating, and said that if the Wolverine hurt Soot, he'd beat me up like a fool. I didn't know it was going to come at me all of a sudden!" I hesitated a little. "Chade, I know the Fool is weird, but I like it when he comes to talk to me. All he talks is riddles, and he'll call me names, make fun of me, and make big swagger, tell me to do this and that, Like it's time for me to wash my hair, or I shouldn't be wearing yellow, etc., but..." "How?" Chade inquired, as if what I said was important. "I like him." I said incoherently. "He would taunt me, but his taunting felt well-intentioned. He made me feel, uh, important because he chose to come and talk to me." Chade leaned back in his chair and put his hand over the smile on his lips, but I couldn't understand what he was laughing at. "Trust your instincts," he told me succinctly. "Be heedful of any suggestion the Fool makes to you. Also, keep the fact that he's coming to talk to you a secret. Some people may not like it." "Who?" I pressed. "King Shrewd, perhaps. He bought the Fool after all." A dozen questions popped into my head, and Chade saw the look on my face and held up a hand to stop me. "Don't ask too much now. That's enough for you to know now. In fact, you know too much now. But I am surprised by what you said. It's not my style to tell people's secrets. If The Fool wants you to know more, and he can tell you himself. But I remember we were talking about Garen!" I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "Galen. Anyway, he's a nuisance to those who can't stand him, he dresses well, he eats alone. What more do I need to know, Chade? I've had strict teachers, I've had Disgusting teacher. I think I'll learn to deal with him." "You'd better learn," said Chade very earnestly. "Because he hates you. He hates you more than he loves your father. The depth of his affection for your father frightens me. No one deserves the blind devotion of others, not even a prince. That devotion came suddenly. As for you, he hated you so much more that it frightened me." There was something in Chade's tone that set me up with a chilly, nauseous feeling in my stomach, an uncomfortable feeling that made me almost gag. "How do you know?" I asked. "Because that's what Shrewd told Shrewdly when he instructed him to take you in as a student. 'Shouldn't that bastard figure out which onion he is? Shouldn't everything you give him be enough for him? Is it?' And he refused to teach you." "He refused?" "I told you. But Shrewd insisted. And he's king, and Galen must obey him now, no matter how much he was queen's man before, So Galen relented a bit and said he'd try to teach you. You'll see him every day, starting a month from now. Until then, you're in Patience's charge." "Where?" "In a tower It's a place called 'Queen's Gardens'. They'll let you in there." Cheddle paused, as if wanting to warn me, but didn't want to scare me. "Be careful," he said at last, "for I have no influence between the walls of that garden. I am blind there." It was a strange warning, and I listened carefully.