by Sarah Thomie
“From the reports I’ve read, they have about three times as many warriors as we do.” So, if we made them come to us, there was a very good chance that our Clan would die. And if we brought every warrior with us, there would not be any left to protect the village.
Howling Wolf and First Son must have had the same thoughts I did, because First Son asked, “Do the lives of the many outweigh the life of one?”
“That is what we have to decide and choose,” The Elder said, voice hushed.
As Enforcers, Howling Wolf and I would be the first choices, but since I was his Second, he would go at the drop of a hat. It would not matter if it was a trap, as long as he protected the Clan with his life, that is all that mattered to him.
“When do we have to decide by?” Howling Wolf asked them.
“Letter says three days. Add in travel time, and we need to decide by morning.”
“We will all think about this and reconvene tonight?” First Son suggested.
We all agreed, and the Elder walked us out, letting us think on our own. I knew each of us would volunteer to go, giving up our lives for the Clan. I climbed onto Sparrow’s house, letting the height give me a better perspective. I would have to wait until no one noticed me gone. I fell asleep, planning on leaving after dusk.
“Snow?” Howling Wolf climbed onto the roof with me.
I opened my eyes and gazed at his dark ones.
He sat next to me and asked, “Have you thought about what we should do?”
I shook my head, signing that I still did not know what the right answer was. I then thought of an idea, though it would require help. I just had to hope I could convince Raven to help me. I asked Howling Wolf what time it was.
He looked at the sun. “You missed breakfast and lunch. Dinner is about to be served.”
I yawned and stretched. My stomach grumbled at the lack of food, and Howling Wolf laughed.
“Let us get you some dinner. We will need our strength to figure this out.” We climbed off the roof and went into the dining building.
I caught Raven’s eyes, and he nodded to me. I excused myself from the table with Howling Wolf, Sparrow, and First Son.
Raven met me in the kitchen area and asked, “What is going on, Snow?”
I explained that I was not sleeping well, and I wondered if I could borrow some of the sleeping poison to help me sleep.
“I do not know, Snow…”
I gave him my best smile, putting my hands on his shoulders. Then I pulled one hand away to tell him that it is for the best, and that if needed, he could just blame me for it. He handed me the little pouch he had in his inner pocket.
“Just a sprinkle should help you sleep tonight. Any more than that, and you will be out for a couple of days.”
I mimed just a sprinkle, so he felt better about letting me borrow it. I tucked it into my shirt and gave him a hug as a thank you. Then I went back to the table, and they were discussing the letter. I listened as they all tried to figure out what to do. After dinner, we left Sparrow and went back to the large building. Grandfather was about to make some tea, but I volunteered to do it for him, since I still did not have any ideas. He thanked me, leaving me in the kitchen. I slipped the sleeping poison in all the cups, including my own. After pouring the tea, I carried the cups to the males, leaving mine in the kitchen.
First Son and Howling Wolf were arguing over which one of them would go, since that was the only plan, they came up with. I went back to the kitchen and grabbed my own cup. When I came back into the main room, only Howling Wolf was fighting off the sleeping poison, the other three already asleep.
“Why, Snow?” he asked as he fell further into the chair.
I gave him a sad smile before signing to him that he is too important to lose.
I kissed his forehead as he fell asleep. I grabbed the map and the letter from the Elder. I left a note telling them that I was sorry for poisoning them, but this was the best idea I had to keep my friends and Clan safe. I thanked them for everything that they gave me, so giving my life to save them was worth it.
I took my Snow Cat cloak and headed toward the Star Clan, using the night vision of the Snow Cat spirit to guide my way.
Chapter 12
As soon as I crossed into the border to the Star Clan’s land, I held the letter in my hands, just in case I was stopped. I did not find anyone until I reached their village, as marked on the map. I was glad I decided to rest on the Moon Clan’s land before coming here. It was dawn and when I arrived in their village, the Snow Cat and I were fully rested.
A scout spotted me and yelled that there was an intruder.
I held up the letter for them to see, keeping my hands away from the daggers at my hips.
More warriors came out to attack me but stopped before they got too close. One of them grabbed the letter from my hand and read it. He motioned for them to escort me to the village Elder.
“What is the meaning of this?” their Elder demanded when he saw me.
“She is the answer to our challenge, Elder,” the warrior that held the letter told him.
“Does the Moon Clan think we are fools?!” he yelled.
I shook my head.
“Then why would they send a City Elf woman here?” He leaned in close to me.
I tried to answer with my hands, but the warriors thought I was getting too close to my weapons.
“Why do you not speak?”
I mimed that I could not.
“Goddess Above, they sent us a sacrifice instead of a fighter.”
I thumbed to myself and put my fists up to show that I was a fighter. “You? A fighter? Is the Moon Clan’s reputation just talk?” I bared my teeth. I pointed to the letter then to the Champion, who I pinned as their strongest. I motioned that I would beat him.
“We should send our warriors to destroy the Moon Clan if they claim that she is their best fighter.”
The Champion stared at me before he asked, “Are you claiming to be their strongest fighter?”
I nodded.
“If they sent you as a proxy, we will kill you and your Clan. If you are their strongest fighter and you lose, you will die, leaving your Clan alone. Do you agree to the terms?”
I smiled, putting my hand out to shake on it.
He shook it, turning to the Elder. “Something is strange about her. Why would they have a City Elf in the first place? And why is she wearing the pelt of a Snow Cat? If she killed it, then we are underestimating her.”
I just gave him an innocent smile and toyed with the ends of my braid.
“But if she was sent as a sacrifice, I doubt they would care if she died or not. Either way, it will warm me up for the morning.”
He was confident, and I could use that. They led me to an interior arena, where their Clan gathered. The Elder stepped in front of his Clan, while I removed the Snow Cat cloak and the long-sleeved black tunic, showing them the many scars that adorned my skin. I could hear the Champion suck in breath, seeing them. Maybe he would underestimate me more, so that I had a chance to win. Even if I died during the battle, it would buy my Clan’s freedom. I took off the long pants, leaving me in only the binding wrap and underwear, with my daggers at my hips. The Champion followed my lead, going down to his bottoms.
“This is the challenger?” I heard the crowd mumble, before someone shouted that this was unacceptable.
The Elder’s voice was clear to his people. “She has agreed that if she is killed too soon, that we would go after her Clan. If she believes and proves that she is a strong warrior, we will give her a warrior’s death and keep our oath.” He turned to face the warrior and me. “If the two of you are ready…”
I nodded to him, before turning to my opponent. Then I grabbed my daggers and stood in my defensive position.
The Champion grabbed his own two-handed axe, standing ready.
“Begin!” The Elder shouted.
I waited for him, as he raised his axe toward me, using both hands to grip it.
He rushed me, faster than I anticipated. He swung the axe downward, and I crossed my arms to catch under the blade. He pressed down hard, but I kicked him in the stomach, pushing him away from me. I ducked under the axe as it fell to the wayside.
He kept his grip on it with one hand, trying to catch his breath. Realization filled his eyes as he understood he underestimated me, so I needed to finish this quickly.
I rushed at him; daggers ready to slice into his flesh. He used the handle and the blade of the axe to block me, moving it up and down to push my arms out of the way. He pushed me back with the length of the axe handle. He came toward me, swinging low. I moved back, watching him switch his grip. I caught the axe on its upswing with the daggers crossing over the base of the blade at my side. He let go of the axe and punched me in the face. I jumped back just before he connected, but he still caught me in the cheek.
Blood ran from the side of my mouth. I wiped it away, letting the Snow Cat take over. Her vision tinted mine. I went after him, striking as fast as I could. He kept trying to block it, but my agility was too fast for him. He tried to swing the axe up to hit me in the chin with the blade, but I slammed one of the daggers between the blade and the hilt, the opening just big enough for my dagger. I tossed the other dagger to the ground and twisted the dagger trapped in the axe’s weak point. I did not care that I cut my hand. I ripped the axe from his grip and sent the axe flying away from us.
The clan members mumbled, proving that I was a fighter like they hoped for. He tackled me to the ground, trying to grab at the dagger to rip it away from me.
I pulled my knees to my chest, before kicking him in the ribs over me. I used that momentum to land on top of him, like I did Howling Wolf during one of the times we sparred. I moved to put my knees in his shoulders, ready to jam the dagger into his throat. He caught my hand with his crossed wrists, trying to grab onto hands without letting the dagger slip. I used my other hand to reinforce my strength, putting my weight into it. Someone in the crowd sobbed, and the Snow Cat retreated into her den, leaving me to choose whether I would kill him or not. His wrists slipped, the sweat from the fight making his skin slick. Another woman cried out as I jammed the dagger into the ground next to his throat.
His eyes were wide, as I ripped the dagger from the dirt and grabbed my other one.
I got off him, standing up. I sheathed my daggers, and no one moved.
“Mercy? You are giving him mercy?” the Elder asked in disbelief.
I looked to the Champion as he struggled to get up, his breathing ragged from when I slammed him into the ground. I nodded to the Elder and walked to the Champion, putting my hand near him, to help him stand if he chose. He chose to grab it and pull me back down, moving his body over mine. I grabbed the daggers, sliding them from their sheaths just before he reached for my throat. I slashed at his arms, his blood hitting my face. He let me go, sat back, and howled in pain.
I returned to my feet and wiped the blood from the daggers, putting one away. I shot a look at the Elder, telling him to call it my win. He refused, so I allowed the Snow Cat take back over as I walked over the injured man. I grabbed his hair, exposing his neck to the Clan, set the blade against his throat, and waited. He did not move, not wanting to test if I would kill him. Then I looked to the Clan and saw the woman who was weeping. My gaze shifted from her to the Elder, and then back to her. I removed the knife from his throat and slammed my knee in his temple instead, knocking him unconscious.
I stepped toward the Elder, waiting for him to decide if his Champion would live or die. I looked to the woman who was crying and motioned for her to go to the Champion, putting the second dagger away as a sign of good faith.
She ran from where the Clan was watching over to the Champion.
I took off the binding wrap, using one of the daggers to cut it in half, and handed it to her to stop his bleeding.
She looked to the wrap, to me, then to the Elder. “Father, stop this!” she pleaded as she took the wraps to stop the man from bleeding from the arm wounds.
The Elder stepped up to me, but I gave him no indication that I would back down. “You could have killed him, but you chose not to. Why?” he asked, his voice weak and close to silent.
I pointed to the woman, then mimed that I heard her crying.
“You did not kill him, because my daughter was crying for him?”
I nodded, the Snow Cat receding again, the fight over.
The Elder raised my hand over my head and said, “The challenger has won and graciously shown our Champion mercy.” He let my arm go. “I do not understand how you were able to defeat him or how you moved so quickly. You are truly a warrior, and I understand why the Moon Clan sent you.”
I grinned and dressed. I was not sure how to explain that they did not send me, but since he could not read my hand speaking, there was no point in trying.
The woman struggled to pick the Champion up, so I ran over to help her carry him. She nodded and said, “We will take him to the Healing House.”
I followed her lead, waiting for the Clan to decide what they were going to do. Since I gave their Champion mercy, if they had any honor, they would not attack me. I prayed to the Goddess Above that they had honor, as I carried the Champion to where the woman designated. She let go of him to open the door, and my strength started to fail. We hurried to get him into a bed before I fell to the side away from it.
An older woman came into the Healing House and looked at the Champion then me. I pointed to the warrior, so she would get him fixed up. The older woman told the younger one to get herbs and clean water. I watched and waited to make sure the Champion would be all right.
The younger woman knelt to me and handed me a cup of clear water. I sniffed it.
“You let him live. I am not going to repay that kindness with poison,” she growled before her face softened. “Thank you for not killing him.”
I lifted the cup to her, giving her a “you are welcome” salute, then sipped the water.
The Elder came in and talked to the older woman, “Grandmother.”
I jolted at her title. I guess that is what the Wood Elves called their healers.
“Will Ursus be all right?”
The old woman nodded. “He will need to sleep it off, but the wounds she gave him were shallow and had already started to clot when I got to him. She went for quick pain, not to actually harm him.” The old woman looked down to me. “You are a strange woman, City Elf.”
The younger woman helped me stand, then sit on the chair Grandmother told her to set me in. “Take this off.” She pulled the shirt off and looked at the scars. “How does someone so young have so many scars?” she asked, running her hands along my shoulders, feeling the rippled skin under her fingertips.
“Since you can’t speak, can you write?”
I nodded and made the gesture for writing, hoping she would have something.
The younger woman handed me a piece of chalk and a black piece of wood.
I wrote ‘slavery’ in the common language on it to answer the Grandmother’s question.
She put the shirt back on me. I looked to the Elder, waiting for him to ask his questions. “We will start simple. What is your name?”
‘Silent Snow.’
“Why do your eyes change colors?”
‘Snow Cat spirit in me.’
I could see the wheels in his head turning until he asked the question that he was ready to ask. “We were not expecting you to win, nor were we expecting mercy, so I’ve decided to give you a boon. What is it you want?”
I glanced at the ground, trying to figure out what would be the best for the Moon Clan. Then I wrote that I was not expecting to win, so I would like to request an alliance between Clans.
“You came here ready to die?” the young woman asked. She looked to the Elder, “This would be a boon for both Clans. If she is the strongest warrior, as an ally, she would come to our aid in our time of need.”
I hesitated before writing, ‘Not
the strongest. Second strongest. Just fastest.’
The Elder, the Grandmother, and the young woman paled. “If they had sent their strongest…” the Elder mumbled to himself.
I wrote on the board, ‘Not sent. Chose to come.’
“The Moon Clan is as the rumors stated then,” the Grandmother spoke.
I nodded to them, as the warrior woke up.
I wrote on the board, ‘Good morning, sunshine!’ as a cheeky way to remind him of my victory.
He jumped when he saw me, before he saw the Elder and Grandmother. He then saw the younger woman’s tears and calmed down. “What happened?”
“She bested you. And instead of killing you, she gave you mercy,” the young woman told him and grabbed his hands in hers. “Her name is Silent Snow, and because she won, she has asked for an alliance with our Clan.” She looked to the Elder and asked, “Are we going to give it to her?”
The Elder coughed and nodded. “As a boon for her and our Clan, we will accept her request.”
My stomach grumbled, reminding me that I had not eaten anything since dinner a day and a half ago. My face burned red as I stared at the ground.
“Well, let us get them some food, so they can regain their strength.” The Grandmother laughed. She looked to the warrior. “Think you will be able to walk?”
The Champion looked at me as I stood up. Not to be outdone, he tried to stand as well. He wobbled but held firm. As I took a step, he took one, too. By sheer force of wills, we both made it to the dining area of the village, before falling into the seats of the table. To make things easier, I kept a hold of the chalk and blackboard. I looked at the sky, the sun proclaiming it to be midday. The young woman went to get food for us, while the Champion and I just stared at each other. It was more of him glaring while I gave an innocent smile.
The young woman sat down as I wrote her a question about her name. “Oh, where are my manners? My name is Cristata, and this is Ursus.”
Ursus asked me questions after that, starting with how I was so fast.
I wrote about the Snow Cat spirit and how her speed made me faster in my own right.