by TR Rook
Liv saw an opportunity to get to know more about this exotic companion of hers and she instantly took it. “Do you see your family often?”
Amala’s hand tightened on the hilt again and she bent her head to look at it. “No, I do not.”
“Because you travel so much?” Liv could not stop herself from pursuing the subject.
“No, because they do not approve of me,” Amala replied tersely.
Liv frowned at that. “How can they not approve of you? They are your family.” She might not like her family but she still loved. Some of them, anyway.
“Because I did something I should not have done,” Amala told her, voice cold. “So I was banished from my tribe, never to return again. All I had were the clothes I wore and this sword.”
Liv eyed the sword again. It had to be a very expensive, very valuable sword. “They let you leave with it?” she asked incredulously.
Amala raised her head, meeting Liv’s gaze right on. “Once a sword has been passed on, it can’t be taken back,” she replied stonily. “This sword’s been mine for so long it’s become a part of me. Taking it from me would be worse than death—and it’s something that is never done in my tribe.” She turned slightly, putting her sword away. She was obviously done with the conversation.
Liv’s mind was running wild. Tribe... that likely meant Amala was not from Lore. Could she be from either the Dragon or the Jotun Territories? Or maybe from across the ocean? But then again, some did refer to themselves as tribes in Lore as well. Shifters, for example, could refer to themselves as a tribe. At least, that was what she had been taught, by Bas.
Bas... Liv wondered what he was doing now. She knew he was alive, though he was not close enough for her to feel his heart beat any longer. She guessed such a distance could weaken the perks of the bond. She did not mind particularly, except it was strange... she had always felt Bas’ heartbeat and it was weird that she now did not. She had never heard of not being able to hear it, even from such a distance, but then she had never had any interest in researching it.
She missed Bas, she did. At the same time it was good being away from him. Being bonded to someone like Bas who was so unlike herself... it was not easy. She knew Bas resented it sometimes, when they were at their worst.
Liv sometimes wished she could share such a close bond with someone that she had more in common with. Someone she liked, someone who would be more than a friend...
Her eyes slid to Amala, taking in the fit body that looked so good in those tight clothes, the hundreds of tiny, black braids falling down her back, those brilliant silver eyes not like any Liv had ever seen.
“We’re leaving tomorrow,” Amala announced, startling Liv. She averted her gaze, focusing on getting her spare clothes folded and back into her saddlebags.
“We are not staying here anymore? What if there is an attack?”
“There hasn’t been one up to now. We can’t stay here any longer.” Amala turned back to face her, but Liv kept her head bowed. “We’ll travel through the woods, looking for worms. If they won’t come to us, we go to them.”
Liv could hardly argue. Amala was the experienced one here—Liv was just tagging along. If Amala said they would leave, that is what they would do.
“What did you make of those two men we met earlier, those who killed the troll?”
Liv had been thinking about one in particular—the one with the black eyes. He had made the tree roots do what they had done. She was certain of it. He had shot the arrow that pierced the troll’s skin.
“I don’t know.” Amala rode a little ahead of Liv, eyes perusing the woods on each side of the small road they travelled on. “They were an odd pair. The first one showed power like I’ve never seen before, being able to kill a troll with just an arrow. The other makes more sense, at least. I believe he was a shifter. A wolf shifter, going by those eyes of his.”
“I noticed his eyes. I have never seen a real wolf before, and certainly not a wolf’s eyes.”
Amala cast a look back at her. “You are a sheltered young lady, aren’t you?”
“Well, yes,” Liv agreed. “I have never been far outside the capital before.”
“So this is your big adventure?”
“It is an adventure, all right, and it is quite big.”
“What do you plan to do when the adventure is over?” Amala questioned. “When you grow tired of it, or just feel done with it all?”
Yes, Liv, what do you plan to do then? “I do not know,” she admitted. “All I know is that I cannot go home and go back to the life I had. I cannot marry just for the sake of marriage and spend the rest of my life producing babies.”
Amala snorted in amusement at that. “Isn’t that what we women are supposed to be for?”
“You have made another life for yourself,” Liv pointed out. “You seem to be liking it just fine.”
“That’s true.” Amala turned serious again. “Not every woman is cut out for marriage and bairns. Especially not if you don’t find the opposite sex attractive. That counts for men as well.”
Liv stared at Amala’s back. Had she just admitted to not liking men, but women? Or had it just been in general, because as she had said, there were many that did not find their opposite gender attractive. It was completely normal, but as nobles... If you wanted your line to move on, a woman had to bear the child of a man.
Liv was not worried about continuing the line. She had sisters and brothers for that. All she wanted was to be happy—and she knew she could not be happy with a man. At least she had never found any of them attractive before. Not even Bas, and Bas was a very striking man.
Amala was a striking woman, with her sharp, brilliant eyes and long, braided hair. Not to speak of her skill with the sword and her fine body showing perfectly in tight clothes.
Shaking her head, Liv shoved those thoughts away and focused her attention on her surroundings. The sound of running water reached her ears and Liv urged her horse a bit faster, knowing that the mare was as thirsty as she was.
The road came to a bend and when she rounded it, she saw a bridge. Underneath it ran a river, only a few feet wide and it looked shallow enough to wade across with water that was so bright and clear she could see the bottom.
Both she and her horse were eager as they passed Amala, trotting down the slope to get to the river. Liv jumped down off the mare’s back and let the horse lower her head to drink.
At her side, Amala appeared with her own horse. “Do you want to take a break?”
“Can we?” Liv looked at her hopefully. They had been riding all day through the stifling forest and all she wanted was to lay down in the shade and relax for a bit.
“We’re not in a hurry.” Amala smiled slightly. “We’re just looking for lindworms. Maybe one will come to us while we rest.” She let her horse stay at the water’s edge and went back to the slope to lie down.
Liv followed her lead, lying down on the grass with a sigh. “We should sleep here tonight,” she muttered, staring up at the treetops. They swayed gently in the wind, the leaves rustling, almost covering the perfectly blue sky overhead. “This is nice.”
Amala did not reply, and Liv found herself dozing off. The grass against her back, the light breeze playing with her hair and over her face, dulling the heat of the summer day, the sound of the river, of the horses when they moved, the sound of Amala’s breathing next to her... it all lulled her into a peaceful doze.
Tremors brought her back awake, and she blinked in confusion. Was she trembling? But no. It did not come from her, it came from the ground.
“Liv, get up,” Amala spoke carefully from beside her.
Liv shook her head, trying to get rid of the sleepiness. The ground still moved beneath her and Liv looked up at Amala in confusion. Amala’s head turned first to one side, then the other, eyes going back and forth.
“You need to run, Liv,” Amala told her, voice low.
“What is it?” Liv pushed herself up on her knees.
“A troll!” It came as a shout as the huge beast appeared upriver.
The horses jerked up at her scream and noticed the troll immediately. Liv’s mare instantly bolted into the river. Amala’s horse stood back for a moment, then took off after the mare.
“The horses!” Liv shouted. She got her feet beneath her and started running down to the river where they had crossed.
“No, Liv, not the river!”
Amala came after her and grabbed her hand, roughly turning her around and shoving her towards the grassy slope she had just been sleeping on. Liv tripped in her skirts and fell, landing hard on the grass. She crawled her way up, breath erratic from fear. When she got to the top, she got a hold of the woodwork of the bridge and hauled herself to her feet. When she dared a look down, Amala was coming up the slope behind her. The ugly brute of a troll came running down the river, the water splashing around its hairy feet. This one was more brown in colour than grey, as the other had been, and even more hairy.
“Run across the bridge!” Amala yelled at her. “Now, Liv!”
Run across it? Liv stared at the troll rapidly approaching. It would hit the bridge right on, and it was not making any sign of slowing down.
“Now, Liv!” Amala yelled again. “Come on, you’ll make it! I’m right behind you!”
Liv stopped thinking and just ran, her boots thudding against the wood of the bridge. She could hear the heavy breathing of the troll now. She knew it was closing in, but she did not realize just how close it was until she heard a scream and the cracking of wood behind her.
Liv fell to the path on the other side, and quickly turned around to see what was happening. The troll had indeed crashed into the bridge, breaking it completely, and Amala... she had fallen into the shallow river beneath. She was obviously hurt, as evidenced by how she struggled to get to her feet.
Liv turned her head, watching in fright as the troll turned around. It started forward again, sniffing the air loudly as the small, black eyes searched the ground. It spotted Amala.
No! Liv scrambled up, eyes wide as she saw that Amala still could not get to her feet. The water was coloured red around her, and it seemed to Liv from where she stood that Amala was favouring her left leg.
The troll let out a roar, terrifying Liv like nothing else. It is the blood, she thought, panicked. It can smell her blood—and it does not like it! Or it likes it too much... Either way it was approaching Amala, who was in no condition to defend herself.
Liv’s mind raced. She had to help Amala, but what could she do? Amala was the strong one, the one she had been counting on since they had met.
What was it Amala had said, about killing a troll? The only way for a troll to die... was from direct sunlight!
Liv did not think, she reacted. She yelled the incantation for the only spell she could think of, holding her hand out towards the troll. When the last word of the incantation left her lips, her palm lit up and rays of bright light went in every direction.
The troll did not even have time to notice what was happening before it promptly turned into stone. Liv fisted her hand, effectively breaking the spell. A few moments went by in complete silence before the stones shattered, falling into the shallow river, water splashing.
“Amala!” Liv ran down the slope, all but falling flat on her face. Amala was still lying in the river, struggling to get up.
Liv waded out, not caring that she had soaked her boots and skirt. She grabbed a hold of Amala’s arm, hauling her up to her feet. “Are you hurt?” Liv had to ask, though it was obvious she was.
“My thigh.” Amala held one hand over her left thigh, and now Liv could see blood pouring out from beneath her fingers. She draped Amala’s other arm over Liv’s shoulders, giving her support. “A piece of splintered wood cut me up. Pretty deep too. It hurts like a—“ She groaned in pain as she tried to take a few steps.
“Let’s get you on land,” Liv stressed, worried. “We do not want you to bleed out in the water. If you lean on me, can you make it?”
Amala nodded. “I can take pain, Liv. I am not a useless damsel.”
Liv smiled slightly at that. “I know you are not. Now come on, I need to check on that wound.”
They got to dry land all right, though Amala’s jaw was clenched tight, her expression stony. Amala lay down gently on the ground, her hand still pressed against her wound.
“I need to cut up my breeches.”
Liv crouched down beside her and, with some difficulty, ripped her breeches up around her wound. It was a deep gash on Amala’s thigh, obviously created by something sharp like a piece of wood from the ruined bridge as Amala had said.
“You need to figure out if you know any spell that can hurt or kill a lindworm,” Amala told her suddenly, her startlingly silver eyes meeting Liv’s. “Fresh blood attracts them and if there’s anyone nearby now we’re in trouble. I can’t stand on my foot right now, so I can’t wield my sword.”
Liv heard the warning loud and clear. Swallowing heavily, she looked down, back at Amala’s wound. “I know basic offensive spells, but the bigger ones... like the one I used on the troll, are written in my book. Which is in my saddlebag, which is who knows where by now. It was pure luck that I managed to kill it.” Liv sighed. “I am not actually a witch... I have not graduated. I left before graduation. And if you want to be a proper witch you cannot quit after graduation either, you have to choose a specific field to go into...”
“And have you? Chosen a field?”
“I... I don’t know.” Liv shook her head.
“You were about to graduate before you left,” Amala pointed out. “You must’ve had some idea what field you wanted to get into.”
Liv stared hard at her hands. She had been through a number of fields in her head. The field of teaching, of showing young ones how to master their powers. The field of study, of figuring out new ways to use magic. What had really drawn her the most was the field of healing. Liv had always been good at healing, much more so than offensive spells. She did not want to cause anyone harm, though of course she would do it if it was a life or death situation, like it had been with the troll. Amala’s life...
Liv closed her eyes. She had been able to heal Jorek once when they were little, when he had gone and fallen down the big oak tree in the garden. He had been bleeding profusely and Liv had managed to not only stop the blood, but heal the tear in his upper arm as well. There had not even been a scar. Of course, they had kept that a secret, because Jorek was not allowed up in the tree to begin with.
“Could you bind the wound?” Amala’s voice broke into her thoughts. “There’s nothing else for it. It’ll hurt for a while, but it’ll start healing. We’ll just have to move slower.”
“No!” Liv exclaimed, startled. She could not, and would not, let Amala walk around hurt, not when there was a tiny possibility that Liv could help. “Lay still. Do not talk. I’m trying to concentrate.” She put her hands over Amala’s wound, holding them there gently. The blood was starting to slow. It would begin clotting soon. Liv closed her eyes again, bringing up those long-ago memories of healing her brother, of that time her horse stepped wrong in the woods outside the city...
She felt the power surge through her, going down her arms to settle in the palm of her hands.
“Liv,” Amala groaned then, not in pain this time but in wonder, causing Liv to open her eyes. Her head was tilted up and she saw the treetops swaying gently against the clear, blue sky. She could not say how she knew that the wound was healed, but she did know, and she took her hands away. Blood still coated them, and Amala’s trousers, but where the wound should have been there were only smooth skin.
Amala propped herself up on her elbows, staring first from Liv, down to her thigh and back to Liv again. “What did you just do?”
“I healed you,” Liv replied faintly.
“Is that a common skill for witches?” Amala was frowning.
Liv licked her lips, and slowly shook her head. “I have h
ealing abilities. I have not used them since I was a child and have never told anyone. I think... I think maybe it is what I want to do. Heal people, that is. You do so well with being the strong warrior protecting everyone from lindworms.” Liv met Amala’s stare. “I want to be there, by your side, but instead of doing the killing of the monsters, I want to heal those that have been hurt. I...” She swallowed heavily. “I think this is what I want to do. No, I know it is. Healing you now, it felt good, and not just because you are you, but because for once I mattered. I did not freeze up in fear. I actually did something good. And it makes me feel good.” A sudden calm settled over her as she said it, and she knew it was true. Being a healer, that was her calling. That was her destiny.
Amala continued to stare at her for long moments, then she sat up further and bent towards Liv... and Amala kissed her. Liv gasped, startled, but when it clicked in her brain that Amala actually was kissing her, she was quick to kiss back. Liv grasped Amala’s shoulders, holding onto her tightly. Amala was now perfectly fine, but for the first time, Liv realised just how scared she had been for this woman that she barely knew. She knew Amala enough to know that she wanted to keep on kissing her, for Amala to continue kissing Liv. Right now, that was all that mattered.
A creaking sound broke them apart. How long they had been kissing, Liv could not say. It felt like they had been kissing for hours and yet for no time at all.
“I got blood on you,” Liv said then, dazed, as she saw that Amala’s shirt was smeared with the blood that had coated Liv’s hands. “I’m sorry.”
“Liv...” Amala’s eyes were locked on something behind her. Liv slowly turned around, dreading what she would see. There was no lindworm, no new troll. What she saw was the splintered wood of the bridge suddenly shooting up from where it had fallen and growing back together. Before she had a chance to blink, the bridge was rebuilt, looking exactly as it had before the troll had crashed into it. Except now it had been repaired.
The two strange men from their first meeting with a troll were crossing it. Both Liv and Amala got to their feet as the two men descended the slope. Liv stared hard at the strangest of the two, the one with the black eyes. Only they were not completely black now. They were the eyes of a normal human being.