JК
Faith of the Fallen :: Goodkind Terry
Страница: 56 из 617But he was fascinated by her.
Emperor Jagang, of course, did not send such invaluable men as Commander Kardeef out to pacify conquered lands. He had entrusted Kardeef with a much more important task: guarding his valuable property-Nicci.
Nicci turned her attention away from Kadar Kardeef and back to the people.
She settled her gaze on the man who had spoken before. "We cannot allow anyone to shirk their responsibility to others and to our new beginning."
"Please, Mistress. . We have nothing-"
"Disregard of our cause is treasonous."
He thought better of disagreeing with that pronouncement.
"You don't seem to understand that this man behind me wants you to see that the Imperial Order is resolute in their devotion to their cause-if you don't do your duty. I know you have heard the stories, but this man wants you to experience the grim reality. Imagining it is never quite the same.
Never quite as gruesome."
She stared at the man, waiting for his answer. He licked his weather-cracked lips, "We just need some more time…. Our crops are doing well. When the harvest comes in. . we could contribute our fair share toward the struggle for. . for. ."
"The new beginning."
"Yes, Mistress," he said, bobbing his head, "the new beginning." When his gaze returned to the dirt at his feet, she moved on down the line.
Her purpose was not really to collect, but to cow.
The time had come.
A girl gazing up at her snagged Nicci to a stop, distracting her from what she had intended. The girl's big, dark eyes sparkled with innocent wonder. Everything was new to her, and she was eager to see it all. In her dark eyes shone that rare, fragile, and most perishable of qualities: a guileless view of life that had yet to be touched by pain or loss or evil.
Nicci cupped the girl's chin, staring into the depths of those thirsting eyes.
One of Nicci's earliest memories was of her mother standing over her like this, holding her chin, looking down at her. Nicci's mother was gifted, too. She said that', the gift was a curse, and a test. It was a curse because it gave her abilities others didn't have, and it was a test to see if she would wrongly exert that superiority. Nicci's mother almost never used her gift. Servants handled the work; she spent most of her time nested among her clutch of friends, devoting herself to higher pursuits.
"Dear Creator, but Nicci's father is a monster," she would complain as she wrung her hands. Some of her friends would murmur their sympathy.
Emperor Jagang, of course, did not send such invaluable men as Commander Kardeef out to pacify conquered lands. He had entrusted Kardeef with a much more important task: guarding his valuable property-Nicci.
Nicci turned her attention away from Kadar Kardeef and back to the people.
She settled her gaze on the man who had spoken before. "We cannot allow anyone to shirk their responsibility to others and to our new beginning."
"Please, Mistress. . We have nothing-"
"Disregard of our cause is treasonous."
He thought better of disagreeing with that pronouncement.
"You don't seem to understand that this man behind me wants you to see that the Imperial Order is resolute in their devotion to their cause-if you don't do your duty. I know you have heard the stories, but this man wants you to experience the grim reality. Imagining it is never quite the same.
Never quite as gruesome."
She stared at the man, waiting for his answer. He licked his weather-cracked lips, "We just need some more time…. Our crops are doing well. When the harvest comes in. . we could contribute our fair share toward the struggle for. . for. ."
"The new beginning."
"Yes, Mistress," he said, bobbing his head, "the new beginning." When his gaze returned to the dirt at his feet, she moved on down the line.
Her purpose was not really to collect, but to cow.
The time had come.
A girl gazing up at her snagged Nicci to a stop, distracting her from what she had intended. The girl's big, dark eyes sparkled with innocent wonder. Everything was new to her, and she was eager to see it all. In her dark eyes shone that rare, fragile, and most perishable of qualities: a guileless view of life that had yet to be touched by pain or loss or evil.
Nicci cupped the girl's chin, staring into the depths of those thirsting eyes.
One of Nicci's earliest memories was of her mother standing over her like this, holding her chin, looking down at her. Nicci's mother was gifted, too. She said that', the gift was a curse, and a test. It was a curse because it gave her abilities others didn't have, and it was a test to see if she would wrongly exert that superiority. Nicci's mother almost never used her gift. Servants handled the work; she spent most of her time nested among her clutch of friends, devoting herself to higher pursuits.
"Dear Creator, but Nicci's father is a monster," she would complain as she wrung her hands. Some of her friends would murmur their sympathy.