The Battle Lord's Lady

by Linda Mooney

  “No, thank you, sir. I can manage.”

  Nodding, he opened the door wider, and the servant woman walked in with quick, little steps. She tried not to stare too openly at the woman sitting on the edge of the Battle Lord’s bed, but she couldn’t ignore the slender body nor the beautiful features on the Mutah warrior with the dark blue hair.

  Laying the tray down on the writing table, she turned and looked at Yulen. “I have several pots of water warming downstairs, sir. Want me to bring them up as soon as they’re ready?”

  “Thanks, Berta. That’ll be fine.”

  She smiled, allowed herself one last cautious glance at Atty, and hurried out the door. Yulen closed it behind her.

  “The kitchen help’s going to get an earful this evening,” Atty wryly noted.

  “Not to mention what else tongues are wagging about tonight. First we encounter the Bloods, and you fight against them alongside us. Then they get to see my mother pretty much write you off as an unwanted disease.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “God, I’m tired. Atrilan, I need to leave you for a while. I need to take care of the dead and see that all the families have been notified.” He cast her a sad look. “My job is going to be that much harder. You understand, don’t you?”

  Atty lowered her head, nodding.

  “How can I get people to accept you when they already have two very good reasons to hate you? The fact that you’re Mutah is enough reason for most of them. But once they’re told you’re the person responsible for their son’s death...son, husband, father...”

  “I know what you’re saying, Yulen,” she interrupted him. When she lifted her face, he could see tears in her eyes. “Don’t you think I wish it could have been different? Don’t you think I wish circumstances could have...”

  She walked into his embrace and laid her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms protectively around her. They stood that way for another minute or two as he slowly rubbed her back, then Yulen stepped away from her to head for the door.

  “Go ahead and eat. I’ll eat when I return,” he told her. “Berta will be back in a bit with warm water for your bath.”

  Atty glanced around at the room containing only a bed, a table and chair, and a bureau. Yulen saw the confusion on her face and smiled. “The tub’s in the next room.”

  Her eyes widened. “You have your own bathroom?”

  “I have my own suite,” he laughed, enjoying her reactions. An instant later he became coldly serious. “Don’t leave here without me, Atty. Not until I feel it’s safe.”

  “Can I snoop?”

  “Snoop?”

  “Open doors. Go through drawers. Peer into places I’m not allowed. You know.”

  “Go ahead and snoop to your heart’s desire. Just don’t go outside these rooms.”

  He left her, and to Atty’s astonishment he didn’t lock the door behind him. He trusted her to obey his command, a command he had given in order to protect her.

  Of course, she made good on her promise to snoop. She was in an inner sanctum very few were privileged to enter. The first thing she had to investigate was the master bedroom and the huge bed that could easily rest four people, with its down-filled mattress, sheets, and two quilts. Atty lifted one of the three large pillows and buried her face in it. It smelled of soap and fresh air. After tonight, she smiled, it would smell of him.

  She grabbed a piece of meat off the tray and knelt in front of the bureau, beginning with the bottom drawer. She’d learned people never hid anything in the upper drawers.

  To her surprise there were several wooden boxes in the bottom compartment. She pulled one out, setting it on the floor, and opened the lid. What she found filled her with a warm sense of wonderment. It was a collection of oddities that only a young boy would feel valuable enough to keep, or a grown man would treasure for their memories: a green feather, a chunk of amethyst quartz, a length of leather string, a piece of paper folded twice. Atty opened it, holding it up to where there was enough light to read the note.

  Good luck on your trials today, Son.

  I’m proud of you. Dad

  These were memories from his childhood she had yet to learn about. Memories belonging to a man who had lost his father the same way she’d lost hers. Atty looked down to find herself clutching the note to her chest. She and Yulen had so much in common, and yet they had grown up worlds apart.

  She replaced the one box and was reaching for another when she heard footsteps coming upstairs. Quickly closing the drawer, she perched herself on the edge of the bed, in the shadows next to the pillows, expecting the servant with the pots of warm water.

  To her shock, a beautiful woman entered the room without so much as having the courtesy to knock first. Atty froze where she sat. There was only the one lantern lighting the room, and it hung from a hook on the wall by the door. If she remained perfectly still, chances were the woman wouldn’t spot her until she got right next to her.

  It was clear from the moment the woman came through the door she knew her way around the room. She paused at the tray, made a little noise of acceptance, took something from one of the dishes and popped it into her mouth before disappearing through one of the doors leading to another room. Atty glanced around. There were three other doors, besides the one that led to the main hall. She wondered where the beautiful woman had gone when there was a knock on the outside door. A second later the beautiful woman emerged from the side room to answer it.

  “Ah, Berta! Good. You brought warm water for a bath. I’m sure Yulen will be anxious to get rid of the filth from these past few weeks. Go ahead and fill the tub for us,” she instructed, stepping aside.

  Burdened with an armload of fresh towels, the servant woman paused just inside the doorway, and Atty could see her scanning the room, knowing the Battle Lord had left the Mutah girl inside. If there had been another light in the room, Atty was certain she would have been spotted, but at the moment she was just another shadow against the far wall. The servant went through the same door the woman had, followed by four more pairs of staff carrying enormous buckets of warm water that had been attached to beams and hoisted onto their shoulders. She could hear splashing sounds, which told her the tub was made of metal instead of wood. Presently the servants re-entered the room and departed out the front door. The strange woman closed and locked the door behind them.

  It wasn’t until the woman began to take her clothes off that Atty’s eyes grew larger with surprise. Without a doubt this was the mistress Yulen had thrown in her face. Well, she had asked him so she could be prepared when they returned. And from the woman’s actions, it was crystal clear what she had planned for him that evening. Plus she had no knowledge of Atty’s existence.

  The woman continued to strip down until she wore only a thin white shift that ended right below her pert buttocks. Atty wondered how far down in front her modesty extended. There was no way the shift was something she normally would wear underneath her dress. But Atty couldn’t deny the fact that the woman was breathtaking.

  And Normal.

  There was a rattle at the doorknob, followed by a quick knock.

  “Atty, open the door.”

  The woman tiptoed over to the door and unlocked it, opening it to a very surprised look on the Battle Lord’s face. Giving him a big smile, she reached up to him and pressed herself against his body.

  “Yulen, it’s so good to have you back home again!” she breathed huskily. She ran her hands over his chest, pausing to tweak his nipples beneath the fabric of his tunic.

  Atty watched as the Battle Lord brushed her hands away and stepped quickly inside the room, closing the door behind him. His eyes swept the room, looking for her, but the woman was effectively blocking him.

  “Come! I know you’re tired, so lie down and let me rub those knots out of your shoulders,” the woman purred, taking his one hand and trying to lead him over to the bed.

  “Tandra, what are you doing here?” Yulen asked her bluntly. The coldness of hi
s words chilled her warm welcome. The woman hesitated, and Atty wondered if she’d ever gotten that kind of response from him before.

  “What do you mean, what am I doing here?” She gave a half-hearted laugh. She finally noticed the long wound on the side of his face, and she reached up to gingerly touch it. “Oh, my sweet love, you’ve been injured!”

  “Tandra, put your clothes on and leave. Now.” He looked down at her. “Now.” His voice was soft, but there was the darkness of an underlying, unspoken threat in the clipped tones.

  The woman took a step back. As easily as she had slipped out of her clothes, she slipped out of her mood and gave him an equally cool once-over. “Are you tossing me out, Yulen?”

  A smile came over the Battle Lord’s face, but it held no warmth or humor. “Think of our arrangement as being permanently cancelled, Tandra. Now, are you going to do as I ordered, or do I need to get someone up here to help you?”

  From where Atty sat, she could see a hardness come over the woman’s face. It turned her beautiful features into a bitter mask. Atty could easily imagine how the woman would look twenty years later in life.

  “I thought the rumor about you bringing a Mutah woman back here was just a joke. I thought that, even if you did, it wouldn’t affect what we had,” she said angrily.

  “Tandra, I’m sorry if I’m hurting you, but you know there never was anything between us,” Yulen conceded.

  “Then the rumors are true? You and this...Mutah woman?”

  He gave a deep sigh. He didn’t want to pursue this issue any further, but he had no choice. “Tandra—”

  The sound of her slap was like a clap of thunder. Yulen flinched at the pain. Fortunately she’d struck the unwounded side of his face.

  Grabbing her things, she raced back into the bathroom. It was less than a minute later when she slammed open the door and hurried out, completely dressed, passing Yulen without another word before racing out the room. He closed the door behind her with a loud sigh. The room stilled.

  “Atty? Where are you?” he asked softly.

  She stood up next to the bed, and he caught the faint movement in the shadows. “I came back because I’d forgotten something,” he explained. “I’m sorry she had to intrude, but it’s a good thing I returned. Are you okay? Did she say anything to you? Or do anything?”

  “She never saw me.” Atty’s eyes darted toward the door. “She didn’t know I was here.” Biting her lip, she asked, although she already knew the answer. “She’s your mistress, isn’t she?”

  “Was, Atrilan. She was my mistress.” He watched for the expression on her face, waiting to see how she was feeling, what she was thinking. Atty wore her emotions on her face; her soul reflected in her eyes. She would never be able to hide anything from him.

  “And how long before you tell me to leave?” she whispered almost too softly for him to hear.

  “Maybe after fifty or sixty years,” he whispered just as softly. She remained back against the shadows on the other side of the room. “Atrilan, do you remember what I told my mother downstairs?”

  She didn’t answer, but he knew she was listening. Remembering.

  “These next few days are going to be sheer hell. I won’t deny it, nor will I try to hide it. My people are going to be calling for your blood. There may even be a few scuffles, but don’t worry. I’ll have you well guarded as long as you do as I say. Do you understand me so far?”

  She nodded silently.

  “I came back because I had to ask you one very important question. I need to know if what I’m getting ready to fight for is going to be worth it. I mean, I need to know from you if...” He placed his hands on his hips and bowed his head. “If... Atrilan, I can’t explain what I’m feeling for you, because I’ve never felt this intense kind of... Dammit, Atrilan. I love you. I love you so strongly I almost can’t breathe when I’m around you. And when I’m not around you, I’m one massive ache, needing to be with you again. What I’m trying to ask is for you to give me your heart, Atrilan. Pledge to me your heart as I’m pledging mine to you. Now.”

  “What happens if I do?” she asked him, cautious. Afraid. She knew she was about to make a commitment that would affect her for the rest of her life, and it terrified her. Yet, at the same time, her heart told her it was the right thing to do. The only thing she could do, because she had known from the moment he approached her in that tiny soap shop that their destinies were meant to be intertwined, just as she knew their bodies would eventually become.

  “I’m asking you to marry me, Atrilan. I want you to be my wife. You told me you love me. Can you accept me enough to consent? Can you accept me?”

  He watched her step out of the shadows like a forest spirit taking shape and form. In the lantern light, her hair was a blue flame framing her face. “What kind of life will I have here if I do?”

  He shook his head. “I can only promise that I’ll love you with my whole body every day that you’re with me. Or, as long as I can be with you, I don’t care where we share a life. Do you want me to take you back to Wallis?”

  Atty took several steps closer to him, until she was standing directly before him. Placing a hand on his gore-splattered chest, she could feel the rapid beating of his heart.

  “I don’t care where you go, or where you are, as long as I can be with you,” she admitted. “Just never leave me, Yul. Never tell me to leave you. That’s all I want. You don’t have to make me your wife it that would be too much for your people to accept. Besides, your mother would never allow it.”

  “My mother no longer has any control over me or my desires,” Yulen growled softly. He forced himself to keep his hands away from touching her until he was sure of her answer, even though his body trembled with anticipation.

  “Perhaps, but she would try.” Atty looked up into his eyes, pleading. “I’ll be your wife in every way but name, Yulen. I’m ready to give you my heart and my body, and I do it because I love you so much it hurts. But until I can freely walk out among your people, and until they can accept me without hate or fear, I can’t allow you to make that sacrifice of marrying me. Yes, I’ll pledge my heart to yours, my love. I accept your offer, as long as it’s on my terms.”

  “Then I accept your terms,” he murmured as he also accepted her soft kiss and the promise of her body leaning against his.

  He held her tightly, aware of her shivering. Whether it was from the chill in the room, or their embrace, he didn’t ask. Her hands clutched the back of his tunic, and he could sense her slowly relaxing. She was in a very hostile environment, and she was willing to remain here solely because of her love for him. Yulen kissed her fragrant hair in gratitude.

  He allowed himself another long moment in her arms before reluctantly breaking away. “It may be a long night, my love. Eat something and enjoy a hot soak in the tub. If I’m not back before morning, don’t be worried. Eventually I’ll return.”

  She gave him another kiss, this time on the scar on his cheek as she felt his hands slide away. And when he left, she knew no one else would be disturbing her for the rest of the evening.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Guilt

  Atty awoke at daybreak to find the other side of the bed hadn’t been slept in. Walking over to the big window overlooking the main courtyard, she saw several mounds of timber being built just outside the walls of the compound. Before the day was over there would be sixteen funeral pyres lit, and sixteen souls put to rest.

  Souls whose deaths she was responsible for.

  A rap at the door drew her away from the grisly sight. In the hallway Berta stood with another tray, this time her breakfast. As the servant woman replaced the tray from the night before with the new one, Atty couldn’t help but notice the way the woman remained wary, as if expecting to be attacked at any moment.

  “Thank you, Berta,” she thanked the woman softly as the servant prepared to leave.

  Berta paused, a surprised expression on her face. “You’re we—” she started t
o automatically reply, then caught herself.

  Atty kept her eyes down. It was clear the woman hadn’t expected to be thanked, especially from a Mutah, and the enemy. A long moment passed between them, when she heard the servant clear her throat. “Will you be needing anything else?”

  Atty looked up at her. The woman was doing her duty as ordered, most likely from Yulen, although it was clear the servant was torn between her revulsion for having to serve the blue-haired woman and her insatiable curiosity.

  “Can you tell me where the Battle Lord is?” Atty asked in what she hoped was a non-threatening voice. She knew she would have to be very careful about what she said and how she said it, and pray nothing she said would be taken the wrong way.

  “Out overseeing the funerals,” Berta replied curtly. “If you look out the window, you can see them for yourself.”

  “I have,” Atty nodded. “What I meant to ask was... Never mind. Thank you again for the tray.”

  The servant gave her a barely perceptible nod of her head. “The Battle Lord has requested a tray be sent to you again at midday,” she informed her, then quickly left. Atty closed the door behind her.

  Strangely, she found herself to be quite hungry. A quick examination of the tray revealed an array of foods that astonished her. Most of the grains and fruits were difficult, if not impossible, to come by in Wallis, and as such were considered delicacies to her people. The peaches in particular were something Atty had only heard about but had never tasted before. Biting into the velvet skin, she closed her eyes against the sweet juice running down her chin. She was so intent on the incredible flavor filling her mouth, she never heard the nearly silent snick of the door opening behind her. A second later she whirled around as a hand brushed back a wave of her hair that cascaded down her back. Hand met metal, and the lid that Atty had instinctively used as a shield as she’d turned around was knocked from her hand, sailing across the room and ricocheting off the upper corner of the bureau.

  Yulen gave her a weary smile. “At least it’s nice to know I’m not so dead on my feet that I can’t still defend myself. How are you doing this morning?”