Fool’s Fate. Робин Хобб

was only when my muscles relaxed that I realized how tense I had been. Thick sank into a deeper sleep and some of the frown eased from his face. The wind in his Skill-song took on a less ominous note. The calm that emanated from Web had touched us both, but my awareness of that came slowly. His warm serenity pooled around me, diluting my anxiety and weariness. If this was the Wit, he was using it in a way I’d never experienced before. This was as simple and natural as the warmth of breath. I found myself smiling up at him and he returned the smile, his teeth flashing white through his beard.

      ‘It’s a fine day for prayer. But then, most days are.’

      ‘That’s what you were doing? Praying?’ At his nod, I asked, ‘For what do you petition the gods?’

      He raised his brows. ‘Petition?’

      ‘Isn’t that what prayer is? Begging the gods to give you what you want?’

      He laughed, his voice deep as a booming wind, but kinder. ‘I suppose that is how some men pray. Not I. Not any more.’

      ‘What do you mean?’

      ‘Oh, I think that children pray so, to find a lost doll or that father will bring home a good haul of fish, or that no one will discover a forgotten chore. Children think they know what is best for themselves, and do not fear to ask the divine for it. But I have been a man for many years, and I should be shamed if I did not know better by now.’

      I eased my back into a more comfortable position against the railing. I suppose if you are used to the swaying of a ship, it might be restful. My muscles constantly fought against it, and I was beginning to ache in every limb. ‘So. How does a man pray, then?’

      He looked on me with amusement, then levered himself down to sit beside me. ‘Don’t you know? How do you pray, then?’

      ‘I don’t.’ And then, I re-thought, and laughed aloud. ‘Unless I’m terrified. Then I suppose I pray as a child does. “Get me out of this, and I’ll never be so stupid again. Just let me live”.’

      He laughed with me. ‘Well, it looks as if, so far, your prayers have been granted. And have you kept your promise to the divine?’

      I shook my head, smiling ruefully. ‘I’m afraid not. I just find a new direction to be foolish in.’

      ‘Exactly. So do we all. Hence, I’ve learned I am not wise enough to ask the divine for anything.’

      ‘So. How do you pray then, if you are not asking for something?’

      ‘Ah. Well, prayer for me is more listening than asking. And, after all these years, I find I have but one prayer left. It has taken me a lifetime to find my prayer, and I think it is the same one that all men find, if they but ponder on it long enough.’

      ‘And that is?’

      ‘Think about it,’ he bade me with a smile. He stood slowly and gazed out over the water. Behind us, the sails of the following ships were puffed out like the throats of courting pigeons. They were, in their way, a lovely sight. ‘I’ve always loved the sea. I was on boats since before I could speak. It saddens me that your friend’s experience of it must be so uncomfortable. Please tell him that it will pass.’

      ‘I’ve tried. I don’t think he can believe me.’

      ‘A pity. Well, best of luck to you then. Perhaps when he wakes, he’ll feel better.’

      He began to walk away, but I remembered abruptly that I had other business with him. I came to my feet and called after him. ‘Web? Did Swift come aboard with you? The boy we spoke of before?’

      He halted and turned to my question. ‘Yes. Why do you ask?’

      I beckoned him closer and he came. ‘You recall that he is the boy that I asked you to talk with, the one who is Witted?’

      ‘Of course. That was why I was so pleased when he came to me and offered to be my “page” if I would take him on and teach him. As if I even knew what a page is supposed to do!’ He laughed at such nonsense, and then sobered at my serious face. ‘What is it?’

      ‘I had sent him home. I discovered that he did not have his parents’ permission to be at Buckkeep at all. They think that he has run away, and are greatly grieved by his disappearance.’

      Web stood still and silent, digesting this news, his face showing no expression. Then he shook his head regretfully. ‘It must be a terrible thing for someone you love to vanish, and leave you always wondering what became of him.’

      An image of Patience sprang into my mind; I wondered if he had intended that his words prick me. Perhaps not, but the possible criticism made me irritable all the same. ‘I told Swift to go home. He owes his parents his labour until he either reaches his majority or is released by them.’

      ‘So some say,’ Web said, in a tone that indicated he might disagree. ‘But there are ways parents can betray a child, and then I think the youngster owes them nothing. I think that children who are mistreated are wise to leave as swiftly as they can.’

      ‘Mistreated? I knew Swift’s father for many years. Yes, he will give a lad a cuff or a sharp word, if the boy has earned it. But if Swift claims he was beaten or neglected at home, then I fear that he lies. That is not Burrich’s way.’ My heart sank that the boy could have spoken so of his father.

      Web shook his head slowly. He glanced at Thick to assure himself that the man was still sleeping and spoke softly. ‘There are other types of neglect and deprivation. To deny what unfolds inside someone, to forbid the magic that comes unbidden, to impose ignorance in a way that invites danger, to say to a child, “You must not be what you are.” That is wrong.’ His voice was gentle but the condemnation was without compassion.

      ‘He raises his son as he was raised,’ I replied stiffly. It felt odd to defend him, for I had so often railed against Burrich for what he had done to me.

      ‘And he learned nothing. Not from having to deal with his own ignorance, not from what it did to the first lad he treated so. I try to pity him, but when I consider all that could have been, had you been properly educated from the time you were small …’

      ‘He did well by me!’ I snapped. ‘He took me to his side when no one else would have me, and I’ll not hear ill spoken of him.’

      Web took a step back from me. A shadow passed over his face. ‘Murder in your eyes,’ he muttered.

      The words were like being doused with cold water. But before I could ask what he meant by them, he nodded to me gravely. ‘Perhaps we shall speak again of this. Later.’ And he turned and paced away from me. I recognized his walk. It was not flight. It was how Burrich would withdraw from an animal that had learned viciousness from bad treatment and had to be slowly re-trained. It shamed me.

      Slowly I sat down beside Thick again. I leaned back against the railing and closed my eyes. Perhaps I could doze a bit while he slept. But it seemed I had no sooner closed my eyes than his nightmare threatened me. Closing my eyes was like venturing downstairs into the noisy, smoky common room of a cheap inn. Thick’s nauseous music swirled up into my mind, while his fears amplified the roll of the ship into a terrifying series of plunges and leaps without a pattern. I opened my eyes. Enduring sleeplessness was better than being swallowed by that bad dream.

      Riddle brought me a pan of salty stew and a mug of watery beer while Thick still dozed. He’d brought his own rations as well, probably to enjoy eating on deck rather than in the cramped hold below. When I started to waken Thick to share the food, Riddle stopped me. ‘Let the poor moron sleep. If he’s fortunate enough to be able to, he’s the envy of every guardsman below.’

      ‘And why is that?’

      He lifted one shoulder in a hapless shrug. ‘I can’t say. Perhaps it’s just the close quarters. But tempers are tight, and no one’s sleeping well. Half of them are avoiding food for fear it won’t stay down, and some of them are seasoned travellers. If you do manage to doze off, someone shouting out in a dream