Jainar looked fixedly at Vaxili and replied firmly, ‘Indeed we are. We should remember that they have already rendered exceptional services. That is why your majesty wishes to congratulate them.’ He said it so firmly that Vaxili raised his eyebrows before he lowered his gaze and began to drum his fingers on the table. The silence was broken only by the tic-tic-tic of Vaxili's fingers drumming on the table-top. Then, suddenly, Vaxili shot a question at Sharma: ‘Are you absolutely sure that you would not be distracted if you were posted to Koraina?’
‘I’m certain, your majesty.’
‘Ah! No temptations posed by the fairer sex, for instance?’
Sharma hardly paused before he answered, ‘Not such as would interfere with my duties, your majesty.’
Vaxili pursed his lips. ‘Hmm! I believe that you are acquainted with my daughter, Mecolo.’
‘Yes, your majesty, I know Lady Mecolo.’
‘You know her well?’
‘I am acquainted with her, your majesty. You will remember, on the expedition to the Great River …’
Vaxili silenced Sharma with an abrupt gesture. His eyes narrowed and his face went hard. He said tight-lipped, ‘Deputy Commander Sharma, I know all about you and my daughter. I do not approve of your relationship with her.’ There was silence around the table. Then, still tight-lipped, Vaxili said, ‘I hope that I have made myself clear.’
'Your majesty --'
Vaxili silenced Sharma again. His eyes were as hard as his voice when he said, 'I will repeat myself. I said that I do not approve of your relationship with her. You understand?'
Sharma dropped his eyes and swallowed. ‘Yes, your majesty.’
‘You understand?’
‘I understand, your majesty.’
‘Good. We should be concentrating on fighting the Dornites without having to deal with distractions at home. You agree?’
‘Yes, your majesty.’
Vaxili snapped his fingers. ‘Good! We understand each other. That’s settled.’ He got to his feet, flexed his shoulders, and then leaned forward with both hands planted on the table. ‘General Jainar, you said that there was something else to discuss with these young men?'
Jainar said in a relieved tone, 'They have a proposal for a plan of battle against the Dornites. I think that it is worth hearing.’
For the next half--hour, we presented the idea for a battle formation that we discussed just before the attack on Asjolorm. Vaxili and Jainar questioned us closely and appeared to be more than interested in our ideas. As the discussion ran towards a conclusion, Vaxili asked, ‘Has your service on the frontier produced any other ideas?’
Sharma said, ‘There is one thing, your majesty.’
‘Yes?’
‘Your majesty, we shouldn’t only meet the Dornites on the battle field.’
‘No? How, then?’
‘Your majesty, I mean that we should take the fight to them wherever and whenever we can.’
‘Do you mean more attacks on their cities, as with Asjolorm?’
‘That is a possibility, your majesty. But we were thinking of other things.’
‘Such as?’
Sharma replied, ‘Your majesty, my comrade Jina has a suggestion.’
‘Well, let’s hear it.’
Sharma looked at me, inviting me to speak. I would rather have left right then, without any more talk but I swallowed my feelings and said, ‘We should be more mobile so that we can harass the Dornites. We need to keep them off balance. They should never know where the next attack is coming from.’ Vaxili raised an enquiring eyebrow at me and I continued, ‘Your majesty, you have been importing horses from Kitilat. We could use more of them.’
Jainar sat forward, looking interested, and asked, ‘Are you proposing that we should raise a cavalry regiment?'
Sharma said, 'Your honour, we were thinking more of a light mounted force that could harass the Dornite's supply lines or attack them in the rear. If we use the force well, it would destabilise the Dornites. We could divert their attention and divide their forces.’
Vaxili rubbed his chin and said, 'Keirineian forces have never fought on horseback.’
Jainar replied, 'Your majesty, the Dornites have changed their tactics. Perhaps it's time that we did the same.'
Vaxili rubbed his chin and asked, ‘What do you think, General Jainar?’
‘The idea has merit, your majesty. We should consider it.’
Still looking thoughtful but not fully convinced, Vaxili said, 'Well, there's no harm in considering an idea, even if it might not be practical.' He waved a hand and said, 'Thank you. We will consider your suggestions.' He turned his head to look at the wall with the drapes and Jainar moved us towards the door. As we were leaving the room, Vaxili called out sharply, ‘Deputy Commander Sharma!’
‘Your majesty?’
‘Remember what I said. I would not want to hear any more about you and my daughter.’
‘Yes, your majesty.’
Vaxili turned his head away again, we saluted, and Jainar ushered us out of the room.
Outside the building, we took a few deep breaths and exhaled hard and long as the tension ebbed. We didn't speak for a while. Then, after a few minutes, Sharma exhaled again and said, ‘What a bastard!'
I replied, 'Did you hear that -- wouldn't we rather serve Lower Keirine? Damn him! Does he think we're spies or infiltrators, or what?'
Sharma said somberly, 'If that's what he really thinks, then it's bad news for Keirine.'
We walked for a while in silence, each busy with his own thoughts. Then Sharma asked, 'Was Vaxili interested in our ideas? I don't know how to read him.'
'Maybe he just didn't want to commit himself or maybe he really wasn't much interested -- I don't know.'
Sharma snorted dismissively. 'I’ll tell you something that I saw at first hand -- Vaxili doesn't have a head for military matters. I thought so earlier but now I know it. It's a good thing that Jainar was there. He understands what we’re talking about, whereas Vaxili ...' Sharma swore and shrugged eloquently.
Just before we reached the camp, I asked the question that was uppermost in my mind: 'What are you going to do about Mecolo?'
Sharma said, ‘We will have to be more careful.’
‘Careful? Just be more careful? By Zabrazal, more than just careful, I would say. If I were you, I'd lie low. In fact, I'd lie so low that they'd think that you'd gone underground like a mole.’
Sharma pursed his lips and his face took on the stubborn, I-won’t-be-diverted look that I knew so well. I sighed inwardly. The flecks in his eyes gleamed as he said, ‘Don't worry about me. I can handle the situation.’
‘Is that what you think?’
‘For sure – I can handle it. Quit worrying.’ Sharma clapped my shoulder reassuringly and said cheerfully, ‘Hey, let’s go and get some food in the canteen. I’m hungry. I bet you are, too.’
CHAPTER TWELVE: I WANT HER
Three months later, Sharma and I were out riding at a site about two hours' march north of Koraina. Sharma reined in his horse and patted its neck, saying to it, 'Stand still while I get off. All right?' He dismounted cautiously, groaned, and said, ‘Damn it, shepherds weren’t made to ride horses.’ He rubbed his backside, flexed his shoulders, and grimaced.
I dismounted as well, slung the reins over a shoulder, and walked next to Sharma. I couldn’t help grinning at his stiff-legged gait while I said, ‘Shepherds weren’t made to ride, eh? That’s also what the Dornites think.’
Sharma grinned ruefully. ‘All part of the plan to catch them by surprise, not so?’ He groaned and leaned forward, flexing his back.
‘You said it, my friend.’ I wanted to rub my backside as well but I didn’t, because even more than soothing my aches, I wanted to go one up on Sharma. But, by Zabrazal, I had to admit that it was difficult to keep a straight face and a straight back. The ache in my muscles was so deep-seated – no pun intended – that it felt as if it had established itself as a permanent fixture.
&
nbsp; Sharma stretched, flexed his shoulders and asked, 'What were we talking about?'
'You mean, before you nearly fell off your horse?' Sharma grinned at me ruefully and nodded. I said, 'We were talking about Vaxili.'
Sharma replied, ‘And I said that Vaxili isn’t a military leader -- he never was and he never will be.’
‘To which I replied that maybe he needs more time. He’s still learning, like the rest of us.’
Sharma said forcefully, ‘He sacrificed the army at Gandonda. Is that the price we have to pay while he learns?’
‘Sacrifice? That’s a strong word.’
‘Huh! What else can you call it? Vaxili exposed us to a superior force in a place where we didn’t have a chance to defend ourselves.’ Sharma stretched, groaned, and then said, 'What's worse is that Vaxili is a tribalist. You heard him. He might be King of Keirine in name but he's not King of Keirine in his head and his heart.' Sharma snorted and said flatly, 'Vaxili is a typical Orifinrian. That's what he is -- a typical Orifinrian. They think they're better than the rest of us and they think that they can call the shots for the rest of Keirine.'
‘Calm down, man! The fact is that he’s also the king. We have to live with it.’
Sharma said flatly, 'Vaxili isn't what Keirine needs. He's a tribalistic weakling. By now that's clear as daylight.’
'What is the alternative?'
Sharma replied forcefully, 'We need someone like Jainar. He's a soldier through and through.' He hitched his horse's reins around a branch and sat down gingerly. Then he said, ‘The problem is that we think that kings and military leaders always have to be one and the same. You remember Aggam's history lessons?' Sharma mimicked Aggam's high-pitched nasal tones: 'And then there arose another great leader in Keirine.' He snorted. 'And what sort of great leader arose? It was always another military leader, swift of foot and strong of arm – if Keirine was that lucky -- but with the political experience of a grasshopper. Not so?' Sharma winced, rubbed his thighs, and said, ‘I ask you -- who says that kings have to be military leaders? Who says that military leaders have to be kings? Look at the Dornites: they have the good sense to separate political rule from military command.’
As often happened when I had an exchange of views with Sharma, I found myself saying, ‘I guess you’re right.’
‘It’s as clear as daylight! Vaxili should handle political affairs – administration, taxation, law and order, that sort of thing – if he's up to it, which in fact I doubt. Anyway, whatever he does, he should leave the army to someone who can handle it – someone like Jainar. He thinks like a soldier. He understands strategy. The men have confidence in him. Everyone knows he's the one who really runs the army. Vaxili should just acknowledge it openly and leave military matters to Jainar’
I responded, ‘Someone ought to tell Vaxili that. I reckon he’d be pleased to hear it.’
Sharma grunted. 'You tell him, my friend. I'd rather stay far away from him.'
We were sitting out in the countryside resting our mounts because someone, probably Jainar, had taken our advice and established a light mounted unit. It was flattering to see our ideas being taken seriously. However, we had mixed feelings about the fact that that we had been included in the first batch of recruits. We certainly hadn't had much fun since we joined the unit. In fact, we’d been working harder than ever. Before the horses arrived, we moved equipment, cleared bush and grass and leveled the site. We dug a protective ditch, pitched tents, and constructed latrines and a kitchen block. Then we built the stables, which were solid structures of brick and wood with individual stalls. It galled us to see that the horses were better accommodated than we were in our tents where we had just about no protection from the heat and the cold and had to endure gusting winds and dust whipping into the tent between the flaps and under the sides.
When the horses arrived at the camp, Zaliek was with them. He dismounted, gave us a broad, knowing grin, and said, ‘Well, well, Sharma and Jina! What are you doing here, of all places?’
‘Someone drafted us, commander.’
‘Now I wonder who could have done that?’ Zaliek looked us up and down appraisingly and asked, ‘Have you collected any good Dornite heads lately?’
Sharma answered, ‘Not since you assisted us at Gandonda, commander.’
Zaliek gave Sharma a keen glance. He growled, ‘I hear that you’ve been quite busy since then, eh?’
‘Just keeping out of mischief, commander.’
Zaliek looked around with an amused air, gestured at the camp, and remarked, ‘Back to basic training, eh?’
‘It looks like it, commander.’
Zaliek patted his horse’s neck affectionately and asked, ‘You didn’t know that I could ride, did you?’
‘No, commander, we didn’t.’
‘There are lots of things you don’t know about me. Well, I’ll tell you another thing you don’t know about me. I learned to ride almost before I learned to walk.’
‘Where was that, commander?’
Zaliek started to rub down his horse. Over his shoulder, he growled, ‘Never mind that. Like I’ve told you a few times already, I get paid to make soldiers out of you, not to tell you my life story.’ He flicked an eyelid in what could have been a wink before he straightened and barked, ‘What are you looking at? Get busy rubbing down those horses.' Catching the looks on our faces, he asked, 'You know how to rub down a horse, don’t you?’
‘No, commander, we don't.’
‘Damnation! This is supposed to be a mounted unit! Are they scraping the bottom of the barrel, or what?’ Zaliek jerked a thumb at the men who arrived with him and said, ‘Ask them how to do it. They’ll show you. Well, what are you waiting for? Don't just stand there with your mouths open, looking at me like I'm a stark naked whore that just descended out of a passing cloud.’ He looked at us suspiciously and asked, 'Do you know anything at all about horses -- anything at all? Hey?'
'No, commander. Nothing at all!'
‘Then you’d better learn fast or I'll kick your backsides quicker and harder than a rock falls down a cliff. Well, move your arses! Get going!’
Zaliek taught us how to care for a horse, how to ride it, and how to fight while mounted. He taught us maneuvers, tactics, and strategies. He also showed us how to look after a horse better than we would look after our own mothers. It turned out that Zaliek knew what he was doing and, as was the case during basic training, he did everything better than we did. Mind you, that wasn’t surprising, considering that most of us had never been within touching distance of a horse before we were assigned to the unit.
Now, three weeks after Zaliek's arrival, here we were, exercising our horses and still feeling the effects on our long-suffering muscles. I lay next to Sharma on the ground, stretching my legs and wriggling my shoulders. Sharma asked, ‘Do you think being with a mounted unit is a good deal?’
I replied, ‘It’s all right. It’s interesting. What's more, it's better than walking.’
Sharma grunted as if he was unconvinced. He flicked a pebble with his thumb, watched it arch and drop into the grass, and asked, ‘Do you like horses?’
‘I don’t know yet. Give me another week or two and I’ll be able to tell you.’ I stretched again, shifted my position, and said, 'I don't even know whether horses like me.'
Sharma groaned. ‘I can’t say that I’ve conceived any affection for them.’ He stood up gingerly, rubbed his backside, and said half humorously and half resentfully, ‘Feed them, saddle them, bridle them, sponge them, rub them down, cover them with a blanket, talk to them as if they’re your best friends – damn it, man, we’re going to spend more time caring for the creatures than we spend looking after ourselves.’
I replied with a straight face, ‘Well, it’s your own doing.’
‘I didn’t ask them to assign us to the unit, did I?’ Sharma stretched, groaned again, looked at me ruefully, and complained, ‘Convenient, eh?’
‘Convenient for whom?’
‘Co
nvenient for Vaxili, that’s who.’
‘Well, what did you expect? Did you think he would give you a position at headquarters to show his appreciation of your affectionate concern for his daughter?’’ Sharma grunted despondently. I asked, ‘Are you still seeing her?’ Sharma grunted again. I said, ‘For an intelligent man, you’re a damn fool, Sharma!’
Sharma’s eyes flashed and he retorted, ‘That’s my business!’
‘All right, have it your way, damn it! If you don’t want to talk about it – well, then, don’t!'
Sharma sat up and rested his chin on his knees. He said slowly, ‘I like her.’
‘That’s not the point.’
‘I want her.’
‘That’s not the point, either.’
‘No? What is the point?’
‘The point is, if you go on seeing her, you’ll have her old man’s boot coming down on your neck. And, as I don’t need to remind you, her old man is the king. When he brings his boot down, you’ll feel it. In fact, it's likely that you are already are -- but just a gentle nudge, this time.’
Sharma didn’t say anything for a while. He just hugged his knees and looked out over the plain. Then he said with feeling, ‘Jina, I’m telling you, I don't want to lose her.’
‘Do you like her enough to risk what Vaxili will do to stop you?’ Sharma didn’t reply. He just tugged at an ear. However, by the set of his jaw I could see what he was thinking carefully. I said, ‘Come back to the real world, Sharma. She’s not the only fish in the sea. You can trawl your net and catch just about as many fish as you like any day of the week.’
Sharma said, ‘I won’t find another one like Mecolo.’
‘Oh, that’s for sure. You won’t find another one whose old man could do you serious if not fatal harm. If you go fishing elsewhere, all that you’ll find is a lot of girls with parents who'll think how nice it is that their beloved daughter is seeing such a well-known, up-and-coming young man like you.’
‘I told you, man! I don’t want to give her up.’
‘Of course you don’t! You like the challenge, don’t you? You like the risk. Well, let me remind you that this time you’re not engaged in a surprise attack on the Dornites or dealing with a bunch of Usserdite bandits. This time you’re completely exposed, out in the open, where every move you make can be seen. You remember Gandonda? You remember what you said, about how Vaxili exposed us to superior force without sufficient protection? Well, I can tell you that where Mecolo is concerned you’re in an even worse position than we were at Gandonda. At least there you had armour and weapons. Here, you have no protection. Nothing!’
The Blood-stained Belt Page 15