“It doesn’t work”

“Neither do you, but you’re still here,” Saakhi tipped her face up to the sun and looked back down at the compass. It wasn’t supposed to be showing them the opposite direction no matter what they tried, was it? Maybe something was off with the weirdly shaped black screw in the center. 

Nami didn’t throw the wet slippers she was carrying and Saakhi was going to consider that an improvement. It was like training a baboon, maybe, kids. Use tricks and they play it back. Use words and they can’t win. 

“We’re fine, Nami,” Imay said amicably from his seat atop Raina, balancing Nami in front of him as he squinted into the distance, “By my calculation we should reach Ujwi soon and we can rest there. Saakhi!”

“Hmm?”

“Do you remember that merchant with the broken ceramic statue?”

“Hmm”

“Does he still owe you the favour?”

“Now he does,” Saakhi put the compass away and leaned forward, hugging her horse lazily as she rested her head against Sahas, “What am I asking for?”

 “How about a meal and a room to stay?” Imay suggested politely before correcting, “Make it two rooms. We’ve got a young lady with us.”

Saakhi shot him a thumbs-up without looking and then turned the thumb down when she heard the kid’s pleased hum. This time Nami didn’t throw the slippers only because Imay caught them before they could be thrown. 

They hadn’t intended on taking the teen along when they had gone to eat lunch two days ago, but then Imay had got talking with her and Saakhi had been dragged into her bleeding heart brother’s idea. For all that they had been taught to protect themselves first, Saakhi had always known that Imay would slip a good deed into his daily schedule to help digest his food better. The fact that Nami was an orphan like them and had been kicked out of her uncle’s house had only added fuel to the unnecessary fire. 

Imay had been the same age as Nami when Saakhi had first lied to him that they would be living on their own because they were grown-ups like Ma and Pa had been. He had liked the idea, him with his fascination of playing homemaker while keeping track of mostly empty vessels in the kitchen or charming the grocer into giving them an extra bag of rice. The lie had broken too soon but Imay had never blamed her for not being enough. He had just accepted that they would have to create their own version of ‘enough’. 

Knight and navigator. Trouble and troublemaker. Sister and brother. They were enough. 

Of course, at times like now when he decided to play mother to clearly smart rugrats, Saakhi had no interest in helping him with his redefined definition of ‘enough’. She was happy playing the obviously saner voice that kept Nami grounded and Imay from raising a duckling. 

Just as Imay said, they reached Ujwi before sunset where Saakhi let her brother deal with the horses and the asleep kid before leaving to go find them a room. 

Two rooms, she corrected mentally with a tired sigh. 

They hadn’t visited the town before but they had met one of the main-square merchants while on a mission at Odho. He hadn’t been among the kindest of men she had met but Saakhi didn’t only save the good ones, and the greedier ones had deeper pockets to dig into anyway. They had gotten a measly amount as thanks but he had promised a favour and it could come in use today. 

Thankfully, a favour has proof that a word doesn’t, she thought as she reached into the pocket of her waistcoat to pull out the tied up bunch of parchment. 

“Let’s see,” she riffled through the pages as she walked, “Torni, Kohala, Andi - ah, Ujwi, got it. The esteemed Batu Jagira, signed and promised. Good.”

“Watch where you’re going,” a hawker yelled as his cart almost bumped into her and Saakhi looked up with a quick perusal of his wares. 

“You too,” she held out the parchment in hand and pointed at the name, “Where do I find Batu Jagira?”

“How rude! First you don’t apologize and then you demand favours!”

“It’s not a favour, it’s a question,” Saakhi looked around and spotted another stall of vendors nearby, “I can ask anybody else who knows. Your bangles are going to fall.”

“What -,” the hawker looked down and hastened to catch the box of bangles that were dangerously tipping over, “How -!”

“Nice save,” she commented with a nod as she moved around him to keep looking. 

“He’ll be at the first floor of the last building on the street to your right!”

Saakhi turned as she walked and raised her hand in thanks before taking the direction as told. 

The road was reasonably lit, owners taking care to burn lamps and lanterns at the entrances, and Saakhi strolled up to the described building with a relaxed step to her feet. Batu Jagira was a man with enough cloth to spare going by his wardrobe and enough food to waste going by the dog that ate a full-course meal when Saakhi entered his place. His sweat increased as much as the oily smile on his face when he read the reminder and Saakhi had experience with a good bargain but it was easier when she didn’t have to think about teenage girls as a factor. 

She was going to get Imay to stop one day. She really was. 

Walking back from the overtly dejected man’s place, Saakhi considered telling her brother that they could keep moving further. They could rest in a clearing, make a bonfire, hope to not be covered in bug bites in the morning. It would be a learning experience for the kid, wouldn’t it? 

When she finally reached their decided meeting spot, Saakhi caught sight of a stranger talking to Imay, his back to her. There was no mark of importance on him but his back was ramrod straight, like he had spent half his life training his spine to reject a slouch. He was tall, she observed as she made her way closer, taller than her certainly but not so much that she couldn’t make him keel over. His built was no bigger than Imay and by the expression on her brother’s face, he wasn’t imposing or intruding more than Imay could handle. 

Knowing Imay, that expression could rather mean that her brother would be the one imposing if he could. 

“She’s here,” Imay said suddenly and smiled as he waved her over closer, subtly nodding when she hoped that her eyes could ask if he was alright. The stranger moved to the side and turned around halfway, showing someone older than her but with a genial smile that Saakhi had seen on young maidens. 

“You found another one?” she asked casually as she looked to see Nami still sleeping on the horse’s back. 

“This brother offered to help us out tonight,” Imay explained with a smile directed at the stranger, “He has a room that we could use.”

Brother? Saakhi wanted to ask but Imay pointedly ignored her look and she let it slide, turning her attention to the man. 

“I saw the child sleeping and the young man was waiting out here,” the man spoke politely, with a strange sense of respect to him that Saakhi didn’t get from most adults who saw both her and her brother. Well, even if they were polite at sight, they seemed to lose it when she spoke. 

“And you wanted to offer us a room for no reason?” she asked, knowing that her tone was dripping in judgement. 

“My nephew left earlier than expected and I have a room to spare,” the man said before seeming to remember something, “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Val Gunshi. I’m new here too so I’m afraid I can’t help out more than this.”

“I don’t think you’re required to help at all,” Saakhi pointed out, wanting one more confirmation before she could take advantage of the offer. She didn’t care really, she was capable of beating this man if there came a need for it and they really could do with a room. 

Still, the question would nag her if she didn’t let it out. 

“My husband says that sometimes,” Val quipped, a fond chuckle slipping at the mention of his husband and Saakhi understood why Imay had said ‘brother’, “I haven’t found a reasonable response yet, unfortunately. If it makes you more comfortable, you can take both the rooms. I’m used to sleeping outside and the clearing nearby isn’t so bad.”

“We can find a room on our own too, you know?” she commented and could feel Imay’s look even without seeing. He could deal with the impatience. 

“Madam, I don’t doubt that,” Val smiled as he looked at the sheathed sword on her waist and then looked over at the bow slung over Sahas before meeting her gaze again, “In case you want this one though, it’s available.”

Saakhi didn’t understand why this man was being such a fool but she wasn’t averse to fools when they helped her way. 

“Alright then,” Saakhi leaned over to pick the sleeping Nami into her arms, “Imay, get the things. Gunshi, lead the way.”

They did get the room and nobody asked them to pay for it. Saakhi considered checking the other room in the middle of the night as Imay slept on, but then decided against it. If something were to happen, she was at an advantage here. 

When morning came, Val Gunshi did nothing but wish them well and bid farewell. 

“Gunshi!” Saakhi called out when she saw the man pack his bags onto the saddle, “Where exactly are you from?”

“Swatan,” he answered and hefted himself onto his horse, “You might not have been there.”

Saakhi thought about it and turned to look at Imay who frowned but didn’t look perturbed. So, not a bad place in particular. 

They were travelling aimlessly anyway and the compass was stubborn about not showing them the right direction to anywhere. Plus she had no job to complete right now. And this man seemed way too generous for his own good. 

“What if we want to?” she asked, ignoring Nami’s confused mumble at her side, “What do you have there?”

Val considered that question for a minute before answering, the calm not breaking at all. 

“Homes”

That - okay, then.