by J W Murison
Grey eagle looked very uncomfortable by his surroundings Gareth smiled, ‘it takes a while but you get used to it.’
‘Is my discomfort so obvious,’ Grey Eagle asked.
‘I remember seeing the same expression on my face to begin with Grey Eagle. Like you my people are of the earth. The work was hard and life short.’
‘I have been hearing about your Highlands, it would seem my people have it a lot easier. I would like to see the place of your birth.’
Gareth shook his head, ‘you would not survive. It’s far too high for your people to survive there, even as an eagle. I know you don’t like these places and I have to agree with you. I don’t like them much myself but the responsibility for these people now rests squarely on my shoulders and I cannot walk away.’
Grey eagle nodded, ‘from foe to king, yet I have hear little but good about you and your reign here. The people seem to believe you were delivered to them from God.’
Gareth laughed, ‘I am not a great one for religion myself, there seems to be so many gods, who are you to believe, even you eagles have different ideas of what God is.’
Grey Eagle smiled, ‘so I am learning.’
‘You seem to get on very well with my father in law.’
‘He and his children seem to have done what those who came before were not able to do. Accept that there are others of his own race that are different and there are other Kings bar him.’
‘Do you accept it?’
‘Yes of course.’
‘Yet you seem uneasy and it isn’t just the buildings.’
‘I worry for him, I like him and we are fast becoming friends. He still wishes to meet those who have came before. I believe his naivety will lead to disaster. I feel if Telamuck is given an opportunity he will kill him and try and claim his throne.’
‘You must also be worried about your own people.’
‘How so?’
‘If this Telamuck kills him and takes his crown, then your enemy will have increased greatly over night, or if he befriends him then your enemy has still increased. I cannot see it being in your best interest for those two to get together.’
Grey Eagle nodded, ‘you are right, but if Telamuck kills him then you will become his enemy and I will have nothing to worry about will I.’
‘Unless Telamuck grows the feathers of friendship and tries to forge an alliance with me.’
‘You won’t do that; you would take revenge for your father in law. Then you would align yourself with us.’
‘It is a little more complicated than that; I am not willing to crush the race I spent so many lives freeing or enslave them again. Many of my own people now work for the Eagle King.’
‘Would they fight for Telamuck if he became King?’
‘I have no idea, my people take their loyalties seriously, they may give their loyalty to Telamuck in the same way many here gave their loyalty to me when I became King.’
‘Then in the words of The Great Beast, we are well and truly fucked no matter what happens.’
Gareth shook his head, ‘I consider you a friend and will not take up arms against you.’
‘If your father-in-law aligns himself with Telamuck we may well find ourselves fighting your people anyway Gareth. Unless we form some kind of alliance I fear my people may well be doomed. Maybe not in the immediate future but soon enough.’
‘Why an alliance with me?’
‘Need you ask?’
‘I feel I must.’
‘Because your own people will not fight against you Gareth, I have been told that.’
‘My people would fight their own shadow if they felt the cause was just.’
‘Maybe but not you, or war master Graun, not if you stood side by side, that is how I see it.’
‘So it is an alliance you propose.’
‘It is if one can be agreed to, however we have no wealth to give and little of value.’
‘You have giant forests.’
‘The forest is like a parent to us, it provides us with what we need to live, without it we are nothing.’
Gareth nodded, ‘I understand that. You know you may be wrong about all of this and nothing will happen.’
‘I am right; I feel it in my bones.’
‘Do you really think an alliance with me will stop anyone from bothering you and your people?’
‘I think so yes, I partook of this journey to find out just that and it is the one thing that I am sure of. If we are aligned with you then no one will dare bother us. The question is the price.’
Gareth shrugged, ‘if it gives you peace of mind Grey Eagle I will make an alliance of friendship with you and your people, no price.’
‘No, that is not how it works Gareth, there must be a price, something that binds your people to mine.’
Gareth shook his head, ‘you live in a place of great beauty Grey Eagle, but that is all you have and it has no value to me.’
Amber laid her fork in her plate, ‘he has me,’ her voice though gentle carried clearly to Gareth who seemed to freeze with his jaw open for a second.
He shook his head to clear it, ‘I ah, ah thought you considered breeding with humans beneath you.’ He shook his head again, ‘you cannot offer yourself like this Amber.’ He looked to Grey Eagle who didn't seem quite as surprised as he was.
‘But I want to offer myself,’ Amber spoke in the awkward silence that had sprung up between the two men. ‘I do not consider you beneath me Gareth but myself beneath you.’
Gareth was aware of the double meaning as was her father who choked on a glass of water and cleared his throat. ‘My daughter is right Gareth; we do not consider you or your people beneath us. We consider you a separate race of humans like the Grey Eagle from the Golden Eagles.’
‘That may be so but you have never mixed your blood with them either.’
‘That may be so but mainly because they saw us in the same light as you may see some lowly animal that scurries amongst the dirt. We would tie our people by blood to you.’ Gareth was in shock and he pressed home his advantage. ‘My daughter told me how you protected her on the voyage; how you let her share your own cabin yet gave her privacy. How you never once tried to take advantage of her or made any improper suggestion. I would have given no man the strength of character to be able to behave themselves in such a manner. Yet here you are before me. I wish for this thing to happen, as does my daughter as do my people. We believe the time has come for one of us to step forward and join with the world of men. I know this may not be the best time to broach this with you however I feel I am running out of time Gareth.’
‘I feel you may be in too much of a hurry Grey Eagle.’
‘I don’t think so Gareth, by binding ourselves to you by blood we also bind ourselves to the true King of the Golden Ones by blood. Whatever injury done to him would also be done to us.’
‘Aye and as you are already at war with them then nothing in your land will change.’ Gareth pinched his nose as though it would squeeze away his impending headache and his eyes took on a faraway look.
Grey Eagle smiled, ‘I see a man who longs for the high pastures of his homeland and a simpler life.’
It made Gareth smile, ‘am I so easy to read?’
Grey eagle shook his head, ‘no, normally your expression is far more guarded. I am a king by birth right Gareth, I have a talent for reading men but it has been bred into my family line over thousands of years. How long have your family made weapons of metal?’
‘It can’t be far off that, but before my people were tricked into slavery by my predecessor there were no records kept, so I don’t really know.’
‘You were low born to a sword master and yet you have read me like your great book from the moment we met. I wonder how I would feel if I was ripped from my kingship and made to cleave great weapons from hot metal. I doubt if I would like it much, yet our worlds and yours are not very far apart unlike the golden ones, so I feel as a man of the earth we are closer together in s
pirit.’
‘Have you ever ploughed muck into a field or sown seeds into the ground?’
‘Such things are not beyond me Gareth. I admit my people do most of it but as a child I worked in the fields with them. I have grown many things.’
‘Then maybe our worlds aren’t that far apart after all. They are certainly a world away from the likes of this place.’
‘That is true, these walls also make you uncomfortable.’
‘Aye but I'm stuck with it.’
‘True and also the duties of Kingship.’
‘Which brings us back full circle to the subject of Amber.’
‘Everything upon this world of ours is a circle Gareth. From life to death and rebirth, it is all a circle. Even the making of your swords is a circle. You get the metal from the Earth and if left long enough without attention it will return to the Earth.’
‘That is true.’
Amber was looking very uncomfortable and Gareth knew she was waiting for an answer. He put his forks down, ‘I will have to think upon this matter.’
Grey Eagle nodded his approval, ‘as a man should.’
Amber put her fork down, ‘I wish you to know that I wish this for my own self, not just for my people.’
Gareth felt the tension rise within him and he stood, ‘I will bear that in mind Amber.’
He went to his forge but it was in use by the palace sword smith, he was a competent man but could not rival Gareth at the job. Gareth talked for a few minutes but was aware of the man’s discomfort. Everywhere he went he found eyes upon him, watching him warily. The strained smiles of the court officials. Every servant in the place hovering at the sight of him in case he needed anything. Suddenly it became too much. He went to the stables and a horse was quickly saddled. Before any of his guard could respond or mount their own horses he took off. He went out of the city gates and galloped for a mile before turning up a small stream. He followed it for another mile then swung up into a farm yard. He sensed the approach of Eagles and steered the mount into a barn and hid there for half an hour.
‘Ave you stole that horse or sumit.’
Gareth had been aware of the old woman’s presence for a while. She held a pitchfork in her hand. He spared her a glance, ‘that won’t do you any good.’
‘You going to kill me?’
‘No.’
‘Rob me?’
‘No.’
‘Wot not even ravage me?’ Gareth stared at her and the old woman began to cackle and put the pitchfork against the barn wall. ‘God your no fun are you. Ere your one of them bloody highlanders that killed all our men aren’t you?’
Gareth was felling irritated by her presence, ‘aye why?’
He was a bit short with her but she didn't seem to care, ‘you bastard killed four of my sons.’ Gareth studied the old woman more closely and realised she wasn’t as old as he first thought, maybe a few years older than him.
‘You must have them when you were quite young.’
‘Fourteen summers I was when the first was born. Fourteen the youngest when he was taken to fight.’
‘They are all dead?’
‘Aye all of them, curse that bastard king of ours.’
Gareth cracked a smile and turned back to watching, ‘you must really hate him?’
‘I do that, but then what’s the point really he’s dead now good riddance.’
Gareth's smile slipped, ‘I thought you were talking about the new one.’
She shook her head, ‘never met him, he never done me any harm.’
‘Aye but wasn’t it his men that killed your boys.’
She slumped, ‘I don’t rightly know. I heard one got beat to death during training and another hung for stealing a piece of fruit. Don’t know about the other two, if they fought or died. No one from around here made it back to say. The new king’s men might have killed them, maybe, at least they had the chance to die like men. More than their father had.’
‘What happened to him?’
‘The king’s men beat him half to death when they took our youngest, he tried to stop them. He was never right after that, died within the year.’
‘You've been alone ever since.’
‘No I had the girls but they’re wed now. They helped me keep the farm going and pay the tax’s.’
‘So how do you pay your tax’s now?’
She laughed, ‘the new king ain’t asked for any tax’s God bless him. If it weren’t for that I would have had to sell the place a long time ago. He killed most of the tax collectors I hear. Them and those priests, best thing that as ever appened to us that one is. I got a little money now, gonna have to hire on a man next year if I can find one.’
Gareth took a good look round and realised how dilapidated the place looked, ‘you have a lot of lose boards.’
‘I got a hammer to if you’re going to be hiding in here all day.’
‘You got nails.’
‘I got metal to make them and a brazier.’
‘Show me the way.’
So she did, ‘for the next three days Gareth grafted putting the place to rights and May fed him and gave him a cot to lie on.’
‘Did you kill someone?’ She asked on the fourth morning as Gareth scooped a good spoonful of porridge down his throat.
He shook his head, ‘not for a few weeks.’
‘Steal something.’
‘No.’
‘Then what are you running away from?’
‘Everything and nothing. I just wanted a few days to clear my head is all.’
She shook her head, ‘if this is how you clear your head I would love to see you with a real problem on your hands.’
He paused the spoon halfway to his mouth, ‘you have no idea.’
‘No I don’t suppose I do, cos you won’t talk about it.’
‘You don’t care May.’
‘No I don’t suppose I do, I just hope you ain’t going to go away.’
A bitter smile twisted his face, ‘I will have to go soon.’
‘I knew it,’ she smiled, ‘will you ever come back?’
‘Maybe, I don’t know.’
‘You still ain’t told me your name.’
‘Cant, not yet.’
She picked up the empty plates, ‘Bloody mystery man. Well it ain’t going to get you into my knickers my lad so think again.’
Gareth's laughter filled the small kitchen and he realised it had been a while since he had laughed so hard.
‘Don’t just sit there then, there's a wood pile to get stuck into.’
He took time to put a new edge on the old axe. He was still at it at dinnertime when the ground began to shake and a large cloud of dust appeared on the horizon.
May suddenly appeared at his side, ‘it looks like whatever you’re running from has found you.’
Gareth buried the axe in the stump he had been cutting logs on, there was concern in her voice and he smiled, ‘don’t worry May. This won’t hurt.’
She raised an eyebrow, ‘not me it won’t.’
He laughed. It wasn’t long before they could make out riders. The riders saw them and swung towards them. In the lead was Scout. He drew reign, looked down at Gareth and smiled. He took in the newly painted wood and the new fence.
‘You didn't go very far.’
‘Wasn’t running away Scout, just needed a few days to clear my head.’
The rest of the guard thundered up, Scout merely shook his head and turned his horse away. ‘Is she in the stable?’
‘Aye.’
‘I’ll go saddle her for you.’
Aswari jumped of his horse and fell to one knee, ‘are you all right Sire.’
Gareth could sense the tension in his voice, ‘I'm fine Aswari, I was coming home in a couple of days anyway.’
‘Everyone had been concerned Sire you never said anything, no one knew where you were.’
‘That was the whole point of it Aswari.’
Aswari was both pleased and angry, Gareth he
lped him to his feet, ‘forgive me my friend but I just needed a few days to clear my head. So much has been happening lately.’
Aswari beamed at being called friend and his anger vanished. Gareth turned to find a very pale May on her knees. ‘Aswari I want you to meet a very good friend of mine, her name is May. I have found this farm to be a heaven of peace. I seem to remember you complaining that when your men were off they just got drunk and up to mischief, aye and they complained there was nothing else to do.’
‘It is a problem Sire.’
‘No longer, when your boys are off they can come here and May can put them to work. Would you cook for them May?’
A slow tear was running down her face, ‘I would Sire, of course.’
‘Then its settled, Aswari, make sure it’s two at a time and they bring enough rations with them to last. I would suggest one of those small horse like things that eat everything and a small cart for the farm as well, and throw in a few extra bodies during spring planting and the harvest. I wouldn’t want to deprive any of our lads so a couple of good milk cows and a bull to keep them producing. A sow and a boar and half a dozen goats should help keep them fed.’
Aswari was loving it, ‘I will make sure it happens Sire.’
‘Oh mistress May here hasn’t paid any tax’s since I took over, it would seem we killed most of the tax collectors. I want to remedy that, I would suggest a half dozen bags of rolled oats a year, would that seem fair to you mistress May?’
Tears flowed freely down her face, ‘with the extra help Sire, I think I could manage that.’
‘I would plant an extra field of it to if I was you May, there is a lot of highland men in the city who would murder a man for a small bag of oats of the quality you have. You should make a tidy sum if you took them to market.’
‘A half dozen bags won’t go very far Sire, maybe I could sell the extra to the palace, I hear you have a lot of highland men working for you.’
Gareth grinned, ‘those half dozen bags are for me, the rest of them can buy their own. Let us know through the royal guard when you are coming into town, I will pass the news on. You might not even have to take them to market.’
Scout appeared with his horse and he mounted, ‘thank you for your kindness May, it will not be forgotten.’ He turned and rode away leaving May crying like a baby in the dust cloud left behind.