The Days of the Golden Moons (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 5) by J. Naomi Ay

brother laughed.  He wiped his hands on his apron
and came to stand by the fence.  The horse kicked up his heels and bolted out
into the pasture, grateful for having been released.
    “What
will you do now?” my brother asked me, his eyes upon the horse and the Blue
Mountains in the distance.
    “I
have been ordered by Madame to accompany HIM to Rozari,” I replied to which my
son looked upon my face with a puzzled expression.
    My
brother smiled and nodded.  “It is good,” he said.  “And how is my daughter?”
    “As
crazy as HIM,” I responded.  “And the horse.”
    “My
father?” my son gasped.  “And you know the MaKani?  You’ve spoken to her?”
    “Indeed,
I have for how else could she have commanded me?”
    “Did
she come back with you?” my brother asked.
    “She
went on to meet with the rulers of the Alliance and the planet Rozari.  From
there, she would go to Earth to visit with her mother.”
    My
brother grasped a blade of straw and placed it between his teeth.  He rolled his
eyes as if in thought.  “Her mother?  Her place is not with her mother but with
her husband.”  He chewed upon the straw and then spat it out.
    “You
are welcome to tell her this,” I said.  “Perhaps you will find yourself commanded
to Rozari along with me.”
    “Ay
yah,” my brother snorted while my son stared at us with wide eyes and open
mouth.  “Better you than me, brother.”  Sorkan clapped me about the back.  “And
better you now deal with that shrew of a wife which is yours.”  He pointed at
the woman trouncing across the meadow heading straight toward us.
    Ah,
my Garinka.  Not quite the beauty she was thirty years ago, but then neither was
I. 
    “There
you are,” she announced, and all of three of us were uncertain as to whom she spoke. 
“And when is my roof going to be patched?  How many more days must I deal with
the constant drip drip drip of water falling into my bedroom?  Here, it has not
even rained for more than a month and what am I to do when the autumn comes,
and the rain will be every day?  Surely, my roof will fall in because you are
too lazy to spend a few moments repairing it?  Who shall I move in with then,
hmm?”  She looked squarely at me as if she was not entirely certain who I was. 
Then her eyebrows rose.  “Well now, you can fix it can't you?  And when you are
finished with that, the door to Rekah's old bedroom is squeaky and needs oil. 
The stove pipe in the kitchen has gone rusty, and there is too much smoke when
I turn it on so perhaps it has a hole.”
    “I
need to go to Rozari with the MaKennah in three weeks,” I interrupted.
    “Then
you have three weeks to fix everything,” she replied.  “Always the MaKennah. 
Your whole life has been dedicated to his son,” she pointed accusingly at my
brother, “When your own son is left to produce eighteen children and seeks yet
more women to satisfy him.  Had you been home he would understand what a
marriage is and just because he is another one of you de Kudisha princes
doesn't mean all women of Karupatani are his to enjoy.  It is about time your
brother dealt with his son and you with your own and your many, many grandsons who
no doubt will grow up to be just like the lot of you.  At least Lookah was
raised right, thanks be to me of course.”
    “I
will return as soon as I am able.”  I tried to get a word in while she took a
breath.
    “You
had better,” she said, taking my arm and pulling me toward the village.  “And
where is that little Rozarian woman?  Why does she not deal with him?  Why must
you accompany him to Rozari when she is from there?”
    “She's
not Rozarian, Mother,” my son called after us.  “She's Human from Earth.”
    “Still,
why does she not tend to him?  She is certainly capable of tending to
everything else.  She could even patch my roof I believe.  Have you met her,
Tuman?  What did you think?”
    “I…”
    My
wife continued sharing her thoughts, and