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The Genn had helped expand the university compound, where teachers were both Humans and Genn. Their library was becoming famous for its size and the texts it had. Talwar went to see it with Nightsun and was impressed by the number of leather-bound books, parchments and scrolls. Not even the monastery of Zindagi in Agharek had so many.
There were rows and rows of bookshelves in between the long and narrow windows with pointed arches. Often there was room for a table and benches on both sides, so one could sit and read without carrying a mighty tome all the way to the entrance where there was a row of desks close to the windows for the dozen copyists – both Human and Genn – busy with their craft.
The floor was covered with wood, so the smell of it permeated the big room along with the odor of dust, parchment and candle wax. Some oil lamps hung from the high arched ceiling but were currently off, since enough light came in from the windows of stained glass.
Talwar made a mental note to come back and check what they had. He was sure he could discover many interesting things by reading some of those books. Khanda would surely come with him next time, since she liked reading too.
Many artisans learned to make jewels from the Genn. Some healers went to study with the Genn – although their magic was mostly inborn but they also knew all the natural remedies available. And Human noble families liked to intermarry with Genn, thinking their magical blood brought prestige to the House.
That was why Princess Nadira had married Nightsun. Their daughter, Chandra Sunshine, was almost two, blonde and with pointed ears. She looked full-blood Genn, but had a Human mother. Talwar watched Khanda cuddle the little girl and felt tenderness for her. Maybe it was time they started a family. As soon as Nightsun told them what they could live on.
Princess Nadira had dark blond hair and blue eyes. Her bronze skin was covered with golden jewels and silken clothes of a slightly different shape than the south. They didn't wear the sari in Godwalkar, but married women had a veil to cover their hair.
Princess Nadira was a little on the plump side as if she couldn't get rid of the baby fat after her daughter's birth and she gladly passed a couple of her "maiden" dresses to Khanda who could finally wear female outfits again.
When Khanda came out of the screen behind which she'd been changing, Talwar gasped in awe. Nadira's bodice wrapped Khanda's frame, making it look like an hourglass with a thin waist and lovely hips. The wide skirt underneath still swayed, decorated with little mirrors and small bells that made it chime. She was barefoot and Talwar could imagine dance bells on her ankles – she'd take everybody's breath away like she was doing with him.
"You're so beautiful!" Princess Nadira gushed, rising from her stool to adjust Khanda's veil. "You move like a dancer, much like Madhuri! It was so frustrating to watch her fall from grace because she refused to die on her husband's funeral pyre!"
"What does she live on, now?" Talwar asked.
"They call her a courtesan, but she's mostly a dancer. The best dancer of the city. Only the Genn are better than her but sometimes even they bow out when she dances. That's how she seduced Naveen, by the way. She danced for him and he was smitten!" Nadira chuckled, then was serious again. She stared at Khanda. "You're a dancer too, aren't you?"
"Yes." Khanda nodded. "I'll happily learn the local dance steps."
"Do you do the belly dance?" Princess Nadira asked, excited. "I hear in Agharek they're so good at it!"
Khanda smiled. "Belly dance is not for noble women," she answered. "I come from a noble family. I wasn't taught the dance of the courtesans."
"Aw, pity." Princess Nadira was disappointed. Little Chandra came over to claim her mother and the princess excused herself to listen to the child's request.
Nightsun joined them at that point with his sister. "We have spoken with Madhuri," he said. "I think we should all move to the Genn suburb. There's a small palace where we can all fit without hampering each other..."
***
The Genn suburb was near the royal palace with straight paved streets and two-story houses with slanted roofs – another new sight for Talwar, used to the terraced palaces of the south. There was also a lot of green space in the form of parks and gardens, especially in front of the bigger and sturdier buildings that were usually used as public spaces for libraries, schools and hospitals, but also for expanded families who wanted to be together as was the Human fashion.
The place Nightsun had found was close to a slum, where apparently Madhuri had had to move after being kicked out from both her husband's home and her family's palace. It had a main door that led to an inner courtyard with an oak at its center and apartments all around the courtyard on two floors.
Madhuri and her children – fourteen-year-old Lalima, twelve-year-old Deepika and King Naveen's illegitimate ten-year-old son Karan – took one of the biggest apartments, that had three rooms one inside the other.
Nightsun, Princess Nadira and little Chandra had a similar one. Both apartments were on the ground floor. Khanda and Talwar had a smaller one on the upper floor, only two rooms, but it was enough for them.
There was a fireplace in each room, for the coming winters, and a common bath chamber with naturally warm water downstairs. A small balcony faced the back of the palace's park and had an outhouse for their needs. And there was a well right next to the oak in the main courtyard.
Madhuri gave dance lessons in the courtyard and Khanda attended every day. The beautiful widow was close to thirty, but still moved like a teenager. Her daughter Deepika tried to mimic her, but was still quite clumsy. Talwar would be the house protector, since he was the only fighter trained to use weapons. But it didn't look like he'd have to use them much.
Most meals were in common, since there was a big room near the entrance that was used both to cook and to eat. The market with fresh produce wasn't far and Khanda often went with other women.
There were three Human families and four Genn couples with children who lived in harmony in the building and happily made room for the newcomers. The Humans were artisans with shops nearby and they were delighted to have Princess Nadira with them. There was even a midwife with her husband and a daughter who was Karan's age.
"This used to be a monastery," Nightsun explained to Talwar. "But there isn't much religious feeling these days and most temples and religious retreats are dying off. I'm sure that even the monastery of Zindagi is less crowded now than it was a century or two ago..."
Talwar couldn't deny that. The old gods were dying as much as the old kingdoms. He looked forward to seeing what Godwalkar would become, especially if the Genn took the reins of the city.
***
Khanda was happy. She might have lost her family and childhood friends, but she finally had a place to call home with the man she loved. And she didn't have to kill for a living.
She got along very well with the women of the condominium, especially Nadira and Madhuri, but also the midwife, Suneeri. Her little girl, Ramya, was always around Karan and Chandra. Princess Nadira seemed to consider Khanda a sister and told her how her brother's death had made her lose Nightsun's second baby.
"Goldenstar healed me after my miscarriage," Khanda said. "I'm sure she helped you too."
"Yes, but I still feel empty." Nadira sighed. "I hope I'll have another one soon."
"I'm sure you will." Khanda smiled. "You're still young!"
Chandra was currently the youngest child in the small community and everybody spoiled her. Madhuri's eldest daughter, Lalima, seemed fascinated both by Talwar and Khanda, who had noticed the two boys who visited her from the slums. So one day as they both took water from the courtyard well to take to the kitchen, Khanda asked the teen girl about her friends.
"Rohit and Aditya are my best friends," Lalima answered proudly. "They are very impressed with Talwar's presence! And that name..."
Khanda smiled, putting her water jar on her hip. "We kept those names because we were fighting our families and traditions, but they're not our birth names," she said, heading slowly towards the kitchen door.
"I thought that much!" Lalima brightened, quickly filled her own jar and followed her, balancing the jar on her head, where she had a small round pillow to protect her skull. "That strange bracelet... it looks like just a string, but it's a weapon, right?"
Khanda stopped to look at the girl. "Yes, it's a noose. And no, I'm not teaching you my trade."
"Oh." Lalima's face fell. She was disappointed, but not for long. "So, you're an assassin?" she whispered as they put the jars in the kitchen. "That's so cool!"
"Lalima, I left Agharek because I didn't want to kill for a living," Khanda warned playfully. "So stop asking, all right?"
Lalima nodded, but Khanda knew she wasn't giving up just yet.
She could teach the girl self-defense, though. And Talwar could train her friends. When they settled and the teens grew up. She might have started training during childhood, but she didn't think anyone should start that early.
"I'll wait until she's sixteen or seventeen," she told Talwar that night. "And then we could open a school."
"An assassins' school?" Talwar smiled. "Unless we see they badly need it, no, we're not teaching anyone to kill, dilbar."
"Zindagi forbids!" She chuckled. "I love you, Talwar," she whispered before kissing him.
***
And then one night, as winter marched on, Talwar curled up under the blankets with Khanda. His lips sought hers and his hands explored under her nightgown, caressing her belly.
"Did you notice?" she asked, as soon as he allowed her to breathe.
"What?" he asked, puzzled.
She put her hand on his and led it to her belly.
"Not so flat anymore, is it?"
He opened his mouth then closed it.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked.
She giggled. "I think by spring I might need Suneeri's help," she answered.
The midwife. So she was pregnant. He knew Khanda had miscarried once during their journey, but hopefully this time she was safe and relaxed enough to have the baby. And then they could live happily ever after.
"You'll have to ask Princess Nadira for new clothes," he teased.
She gently slapped him. "Don't say that, Talwar," she chided. "Nadira told me she lost a baby when her brother was killed."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of that," he apologized.
Khanda smiled. "Hopefully she can try again soon. We'll call Goldenstar and Suneeri when the time comes, to make sure everything goes well, for both of us!"
"I love our new extended family. But most of all I love you, Khanda," he said before kissing her.
He'd atone for his father's death by raising a child. One life for another, that was the way of Zindagi, bless her. He'd be forgiven as long as he became a father.
***