The Tinkerer's Daughter by Jamie Sedgwick

always best just to stay out of his way.
    He mumbled for a few more minutes about tension and carbon content, and then he went wandering towards the barn. I settled down on a rock next to the creek, lost in my own thoughts. Tinker’s problem had been solved. Mine couldn’t be solved. All I could do was wait and see what happened in the morning.
     

Chapter 14
     
     
     
    School turned out to be both everything I’d hoped, and everything I’d feared. Analyn, or Mrs. Trader as we called her in class, was a powerfully intelligent woman. Not only was she well-read, but she seemed to have memorized every book she’d ever touched. This knowledge came bubbling out of her so fast that at times, it seemed a waste of time to try and remember any of it. She had particular interest in some subjects, one of these being the war. We discussed this subject at the end of my first week. It was in the afternoon.
    “Class, I must apologize to some of you regarding this next subject. You in particular, Breeze. I know that your father was recently killed in combat, and you should know we’re all very proud of him.” All eyes turned to me, and I shriveled.
    I suppose it was Analyn’s way of trying to help break the ice. The fact that my father had sacrificed himself in the war effort was likely to earn me some respect from my peers. I don’t know if the ploy worked or not.
    “As you all know we have been at war with the Tal’mar for centuries. Can anyone tell me how this started? Yes, Jesha?”
    Jesha Miller was Mrs. Trader’s darling. She had bright blue eyes and perfect blonde hair, and she knew every subject so extensively that it was sickening. I was certain that Jesha would someday take Mrs. Trader’s place as the town’s teacher.
    “No one knows how it started. Some people say that there was an agreement between the humans and the Tal’mar, and that the Tal’mar betrayed that agreement. Others say that the Tal’mar were involved in a civil war, and humans sent supplies to one faction but not the other.”
    “Very good,” said Mrs. Trader. “In fact, these theories might both be true… or they could both be legends. You see, whatever the original dispute was, the animosity between our peoples has been passed down for centuries. At times the tensions die down, and it almost seems that we have peace. Then something happens, and it all starts up again.”
    “Like the battle of Brell Creek?” Robie said. He was the oldest child in the school by a full year, but usually acted the youngest. For some reason, several of the girls liked him, but I simply could not understand it. He was immature and boorish, and generally quite full of himself.
    Mrs. Trader frequently caught him breaking the rules, and when he wasn’t in trouble he was usually making jokes at her expense. It was beyond me why anyone would give him a second thought. Nonetheless, several of my female peers adored him.
    “Yes, Brell Creek is our most recent example. A Tal’mar hunting party went missing and their bodies were found upriver, near a human settlement there. The Tal’mar assumed these men had been killed by humans from the nearby town of Brell Creek, and they attacked leaving no one alive.”
    “How horrible,” said Terra Cooper. She was one of the nicer girls, a dark haired farmer’s daughter with big blue eyes. Of the five girls in my school, Terra was the only one who ever gave me a smile.
    “Indeed, especially for the families of those murdered. And now, we have had several skirmishes with the Tal’mar, and the situation is escalating rapidly. At any moment we could be engaged in full-out war once again.” Mrs. Trader glanced at the clock. “It’s time to go children. Have a wonderful weekend, and stay out of trouble! Breeze, would you please stay for a moment?”
    Robie couldn’t resist teasing me as he and the other students filed out of the room. He obviously assumed I was being held after class because I was in trouble. “What did