Lora of Two Worlds

The city of Lohenheim was split in two by the Lorn River. The royal city took up the whole northwest corner. East of the royal city, twenty-nine wards, tight-packed, housed the common folk. South of the river stood the mansions of the great and the bustling South Market and West Market.

The grandees of Lohenheim, the old nobility, were a pale shadow of Augustburg’s set. Lohenheim had become a dumping ground for officials who’d been demoted or quietly shelved.

But a secondary capital was still a capital. Who would willingly give up a hundred years of accumulated grandeur?

The Odenheim mansion sat in Goodspring Quarter, across the river from the palace, next to Lohenheim’s busiest avenue, the Royal Avenue. Not far from the West Quay where they’d just disembarked.

In the old days, when the Empress had held court here, Goodspring Quarter had been the most fashionable address in the city, the quarter the royal family fought to live in.

In the carriage going home, Carl asked where her maid Anne was. Lora said:

”All the maids and stewards still have to go to the sheriff’s hall. Anne went with them.”

”She’s one of ours. Why not just tell Felix to send her back first?”

Lora, both hands cupping her own cheeks, elbows on her knees, bouncing with the unsprung carriage, tilted her head and grinned: ”Let her go to the hall and see what’s new, she can tell us all about it when she gets back. Why pull rank?”

”Pull rank? We’ve always done it that way, you help me, I help you. You call that pulling rank?”

Carl couldn’t fathom where his little sister had got this notion. He lifted the carriage curtain and pointed at the road:

”The middle of the Royal Avenue, only royal kin used to be allowed to walk it. Now carriages of officials baron’s standing and above can use it. You call that pulling rank or not?”

”Of course it’s! Carl, tell me honestly. What other perks does our house have in Lohenheim?”

The two of them chattereded and laughed all the way home. Only Brendan sat in the carriage, scowling. Lora thought he was worried about her and tried to comfort him:

”Brendan, don’t worry. I’m fine. They’ll find the culprit sooner or later.”

Brendan, arms folded, the back of his head resting against the carriage frame, letting the frame bump him with every jolt, sighed with the air of a man who had nothing left to live for:

”You two are fine. My problem is the big one.”

He didn’t explain. He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

Bored, Lora lifted a corner of the curtain and peered out at the shops and the people on the Royal Avenue.

The avenue was lined with two rows of tall locust trees, their crowns a lush green. In the spring sun, the branches grew wanton and free, it made a person want to throw back his head and howl at the sky.

In this age, it was the second month, by the old calendar, and warmer than the modern world. The sky was bluer. The air smelled of Lora sniffed, and said, with real admiration:

”What wonderful sesame bread!”

Carl crowded to the window. He laughed: ”Isn’t that the shop I always buy your flatbread from? This amnesia is funny, it’s turned you into a dumb kid who doesn’t know anything!”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

He knocked on the carriage wall, told the driver to stop, and hopped out toward the bakery.

”Master, three flatbreads. One with extra sesame.”

His voice carried. Lora rested her chin on the window frame and watched his tall, lean figure, the perfect profile thrown up by his high-bridged nose, and that made her think of someone else. Through her sleeve, she felt the medallion in her pocket:

Pity she’d closed her eyes then. She hadn’t seen his face. How was she supposed to give it back?

”Hey, what are you mooning about! Stop resting your chin there, the carriage might jolt and you’ll crack your teeth.” Carl came back with the flatbreads, handing one to each of them.

Brendan pushed his away. He frowned: ”I can’t eat. If you really want to be good to me, when we get home, tell Father and Mother that today it was Lora who dragged me to that banquet.”

”Why lie? Simon Salt invited you. You brought us.”

Carl bit into his bread. Lora took Brendan’s sesame bread for herself.

Brendan snorted and muttered:

”Forget, my older brother told us twice to stay away from the Salts. Lora, I only went because I heard he said the girls from your convent school would be there, and I agreed to take you. This time you have to help your Brendan. You can’t leave me to hang.”

”Why stay away from the Salts?”

Lora, a thousand years from home, was genuinely hungry. The flatbread was delicious, especially the extra-seeded one.

Brendan looked at her oddly, then let it go: ”This amnesia of yours is something, you’ve forgotten what you ought to remember, and you’ve picked up what you shouldn’t know. Wait till we get home, you’re not going to tell me you don’t recognize Father and Mother?”

”I only recognize you two right now.” Lora chewed, looking pitiful.

”Then I’ll tell you. The Salts are the biggest salt merchants in Lohenheim. Their family has been royal-trade merchants for generations, filthy rich. They’re always paying for people to buy offices. Father can’t stand the way they do business and doesn’t want us to have anything to do with them.”

Brendan sat up, leaned forward, put his face close to Lora’s, and said seriously: ”So you’ll do it? You said you wanted to go because your convent school classmates would be there, that’s why I and Carl came along. Right?”

”Then am I going to get scolded?” Lora licked the sesame from the corner of her mouth, blinking.

”You’re the only one in the whole house who never gets scolded. I’ll tell you this, you could take the Odenheim mansion apart brick by brick and no one would say a word to you.” Brendan clapped her head with exaggerated affection, satisfied.

Carl started to say something, Brendan shot him a glare, and Carl swallowed it.

The carriage didn’t pull up to the grand front gate. It went straight into the front courtyard through the side gate. Lora stepped down, and gaped:

Our house is huge! Is this a prince’s mansion?

A row of servants stood under the colonnade. Maids and old nurses hurried to the carriage and ushered her in. A neatly dressed governess smiled:

”To see the young lady walk down from the carriage herself, I’m relieved. Word came that the young lady had fallen into the water, Grandmother and Mother were frightened half to death. The Count came back from the camp. They’re all in the great hall waiting for you.”

A big fuss from a big household?

Lora’s heart pounded. She looked back at Carl. He understood, quickened his pace to her side, and asked the governess:

”Margaret, is Father back? Are the elder brothers back too?”

”Yes, the eldest, the second, and the third are all back.”

Carl stuck his tongue out at Lora, half a step ahead, and strode into the great hall: ”Grandmother, Father, Mother, we’re back!”

Lora looked up. A beautiful woman of middle years was hurrying toward her. She took Lora’s hands, looked her up and down, once, twice, three times, then gathered her into her arms and gently touched her cheek:

”My child, are you hurt anywhere? They say... you can’t recognize people?”

In the modern world, from as far back as Lora could remember, she had rarely seen her parents. As a child, she’d only known that they were always away in the field.

The house had been full of medals and certificates, national awards for their archaeological discoveries.

Now, looking at this kind mother, in whose embrace was such safety, whose eyes brimmed with unguarded concern, Lora’s tears came unbidden. She would gladly lie for this sweetness:

”Mother, I might forget the whole world. I’ll never forget my father and mother!”

Through her tears she saw her father, his rigid spine just beginning to loosen.

Her mother led her to her grandmother. Grandmother took her hand and murmured, smiling:

”What does it matter if you remember or not? You’re so young, there can’t be that much worth remembering. You’re safe, that’s the river saint watching over you. That’s the Odenheim forefathers ”

Suddenly, her father, sitting across the side table, slammed his hand down:

”Disobedient son! On your knees!”