He ignored her, ripping at the front of her robes. Matilyn stopped struggling and instead tried to focus. She dropped her free arm and fumbled around, trying to find the hidden pocket within her robe.
She remembered the day she was presented with her robes. Almost six months had passed since Father Ashbury had placed it in her arms.
Eight years. That's how long she'd trained to be a Priest, and she was still at the lowest tier of enlightenment. It would take several more years before she'd be able to further advance her rank. The Priests served multiple roles within the kingdom: they took confessions, investigated crimes, passed judgement, and broke up fights. Matilyn had never regretted her calling nor decision.
Even though they spoke on behalf of the Gods, prayer alone wouldn't keep them safe from harm.
When she found the pocket, she allowed a small smile to form. The soldier crushed her against him, pressing his lips roughly to hers. Matilyn ignored this, working to untie the strings on the pocket. The soldier hadn't shaved and the scruff burned her cheeks.
But Priests were never without protection. That's what she'd learned from Father Ashbury.
When she untied the strings, she put a trembling hand into the pocket and felt the small switchblade inside. She muttered a prayer to the Gods for help.
"What was that?" the soldier asked, pushing her away for a moment, "You're praying? Prayers won't help you now, girl--"
In that moment, Matilyn flipped open the switchblade and without hesitation drove it into the soft spot just above his knee. She hoped he wasn't wearing leg guards, and was satisfied when he let out a howl of pain. With a kick to the wound, she pushed him to the ground, hard, and then took off running. She felt sure he was following her, despite knowing the injury would make it unlikely for him to even walk.
She ran for what felt like hours, winded the entire time, adrenaline flowing through her veins as she pushed herself just a little harder with each step.
"Matilyn!"
At the sound of her name, Matilyn ran even faster.
"Mattie! Hey Mattie, stop! It's me!"
The voice froze her in her tracks and she came to a stop, wheeling around to see her best friend and fellow Priest, Eldrin.
Neither of them spoke for a moment. Eldrin yanked Matilyn into a tight embrace, and held her there for a few seconds as her adrenaline faded and reality set back in.
"The soldiers--" she said, her voice wavering, "--the soldiers are killing everyone, Eldrin."
"I know," Eldrin said calmly. "I was out there. Matilyn, are you alright?"
I'm alright, she thought. Father Ashbury's death came rushing back with a flood of emotion. It wasn't the right time to grieve, though. She swallowed and pushed Eldrin back, "He's dead. Father Ashbury's dead."
Eldrin's naturally pale face went a little whiter at the news.
"Eldrin, we have to get to the caravan. Chris told me it was going to be attacked."
"You're too late," Eldrin said.
"No," Matilyn said, "no, no, I came as fast as I could--"
"--You couldn't have done anything anyway," Eldrin said. "Those men are experienced soldiers."
"You were there... If they took out the caravan how are you alive?"
Eldrin shook his head, "They didn't destroy the entire caravan," he explained. "Maybe half. The others were injured though. Janice stayed with them. And Penny."
Matilyn nodded, "That is good to hear. I have a feeling we're going to need all the Priests we can get."
Eldrin nodded.
She started to turn back towards Valishna, but Eldrin grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?"
"There are still people there. They need our help."
"Matilyn, everyone who's getting out, they've already gotten out," Eldrin said. "There's nothing more to be done for those that are in the city."
From a distance, it looked tranquil. The friendly glow of dancing fire lit the streets, the smoke rising peacefully into the night sky. She thought she could see Betty Serse handing out fresh cookies and hot tea to some nice men in front of her house. The Chapel stood tall in the center of town, its open doors welcoming all.
"But Eldrin," Matilyn said, "How can we just go? How can we abandon our home?"
"It's easy," Eldrin said, his tone somber. He took her shoulders and turned her away from the view, "We walk away."
TWO
The Stars Above Govern our Conditions
JANICE JOINED SEAN WHERE HE WAS SITTING, away from the rest of the small caravanned party. "Are you hungry?"
Sean shook his head.
"Are you sure?" Janice asked, "It's just, they're going to be rationing the food. It was my father's idea. So if you don't eat now, you won't be able to eat again till tomorrow morning. And you should eat, you know. People shouldn't travel on empty stomachs. If you don't want to get something, I can get it for you."
"No," Sean said, "I'm fine, really."
Janice nodded and they both sat in silence for a minute.
"I'm scared," Janice said.
Sean looked over at her, "What?"
"I'm scared," Janice repeated, "I don't know why I'm telling you that, but dear gods, I've never been so afraid in my life. I've never told anyone that either. Can you imagine?" She gave a low, unamused laugh.
"I remember you now," Sean said. He gave her a long look, "You're one of the Priests. You always participate in the weekly petty debates on criminal sentencing, don't you? I should have realized right away. You almost always win."
Janice blushed, "I don't always win."
"Just usually," Sean said, "You won the case about the grandfather and the farm that was supposed to revert back on his death because of some previously made deal. You helped that kid keep his home."
"How do you even know that?" Janice asked, "You're not a Priest, are you? At least not from my District. I would have remembered you if you were. You didn't train with me."
Sean shook his head, "I'm not," he assured her. "I just liked to sit in on the debates sometimes. It made me feel like I'm part of something bigger."
"I understand that feeling," Janice said.
"Your father, he's the one who got the wagon out, right?" Sean asked.
Janice nodded, "And my mother, she saved those children. And my little brother managed to get a whole crate of food while everyone was running. That's my family. They're a bunch of doers. That's what my father always says. Akins, the doing family."
She gave a bitter laugh.
"They think I did more than I did," she admitted, "they think that while I was in the city, I was healing and helping people. But I wasn't. I was too scared. I went into that house to hide. I saw soldiers and I just panicked. I didn't help anyone. Then the fire happened..."
Sean nodded.
"I didn't help either," he told her. "My uncle, he trapped a bunch of soldiers in his bakery. My sister helped him. But I just ran. They sacrificed themselves to help save people, and I just ran. You're not alone."
Janice blinked, "Your sister and--I'm so sorry, Sean. That's terrible. Do you have other family? They might have made it to Westwood with the other caravan or maybe to Teirford."
Sean shook his head. He glanced away, trying not to acknowledge the gnawing in the pit of his stomach. His sister had raised him since he was a young child, and his uncle was the only other family he knew or cared about. Without them, he felt like he was drifting at sea.
He couldn't say any of that though. Saying it made it real.
Instead, he looked around. Penny sat amongst a group of Priests, not far from them, "Why aren't you there, with them?" he asked.
Janice followed his gaze, "I don't really fit in with them," she admitted.
"You trained with them though," Sean said.
"That doesn't mean that we got along," Janice said in a small voice, "I was always kind of the outcast."
"Why?" Sean asked, "You're brilliant."
She smiled at that, touching the tips of her hair. They hadn't scorched in the
fire, not even a little, "That was the problem," she said, "I was always getting the top marks in everything. It upset the others. They thought I was a teachers' pet or an overachiever or a perfectionist. The truth is, I just liked learning. Books are alright, you know? They're silent, and they're always ready when you come back for them. They never have anything to say other than what's between their pages."
Sean studied her for a long moment. Finally, he leaned in. "Janice," he said. "Would you like to know a secret?"
"What's that?" Janice asked.
Sean offered a light smile, and reached out to take her hand once again, "I'm scared too."
"I'm hungry," Eldrin complained.
Matilyn glanced over at him, "Quit complaining," she said.
"I can't," Eldrin said, "No, literally, I can't. Mattie. I'm starving to death. How do you expect me to stop complaining when I'm starving to death? It's not possible. It's literally just not."
Matilyn rolled her eyes at him. "If you hadn't gotten us lost," she said, "we'd be with the caravan by now and we'd have some food."
Her stomach growled, and Eldrin smirked. "Fine," she said, "I'm hungry too. I could kill for a bite to eat."
"Could you literally kill for a bite?" Eldrin asked, "I could, uh, make you a spear, and you could go hunt us down some bear. I bet there are bears."
"There aren't bears," Matilyn said, rolling her eyes again. She glanced around the woods. They'd been lost for a little over a day, unable to find the caravan with Penny and the others in it. "At least, I hope there aren't bears. I haven't seen any bears. Or bear tracks."
"Do you even know what bear tracks look like?" Eldrin asked.
"Yes!" Matilyn said. Then she hesitated, "Like... giant dog paws. Right? I mean, it seems right." She made a shape with her fingers and shrugged, "Okay, no. Still, I don't think there are bears. I mean, we would have seen one by now. You're bait--not exactly quiet."
"I'm quiet," Eldrin retorted. "You're the loud one. Always stomping around, yelling about being lost."
"I wasn't yelling," Matilyn said. "And you were the one who got us lost."
"We're not lost," Eldrin said, "I know where we are. Sort of. If we go that way..." he pointed west, "we'll find the river. Once we find the river, we'll follow it up and when it branches east, and we follow it 'till it comes to the bridge. Then we take the bridge to the main road. See?"
"No," Matilyn said, "face it, we're lost."
Eldrin scowled at her. "We're not lost. We're just hungry. Come on, let's find that river."
Matilyn nodded, hurrying to keep up with Eldrin as he headed towards the west. "You know," she said, "people are going to think we're dead. Penny's going to think we're dead. Your parents, my parents. Your sisters. They're all going to think we died in Valishna. That's going to suck for them."
"Are you kidding?" Eldrin said, "Yeah right. You're giving me too little credit. They'd know that I'd get out, and drag you with me. I'm far too awesome for anyone to believe me dead."
"Uh huh," Matilyn said, "just like you're far too awesome for us to be lost, right?"
"Right," Eldrin said.
They walked in silence for a little while, both reserving their breath for the trek. Matilyn marveled at the forest as she went, unable to help herself. She'd grown up in Valishna, and had never really travelled outside of it. She'd gone to Teirford once before but it had been by road, and on horseback. Everything had gone by quickly.
Having gone nearly a day without food or water had taken a toll on both of them. Despite their camaraderie, Matilyn knew that Eldrin must feel as bad as she did. There was a thick pounding in her head, her mouth was dry, and her legs burnt. Eldrin had healed the fracture in her jaw but it had still bruised, and the swelling had yet to go completely down.
Despite her teasing, Matilyn wasn't surprised when they finally found the river. Eldrin had always had a much better sense of direction than her.
Both of them rushed up to it, dipping their hands into the running water and greedily drinking. After several long moments of drinking the cold, refreshing water, Matilyn let out a long sigh, "That's better."
"See," Eldrin said, "See, I told you."
Matilyn smiled, acknowledging him.
Eldrin stretched, "Now that we've been properly watered, we need food. I'm gonna work on that spear."
Matilyn rolled her eyes again. "It's almost dark. Maybe tomorrow we can find some berries or something. Don't they grow close to streams?"
"Yeah," Eldrin said, "I think so. Do you want the first sleep?"
"No," Matilyn said, "I'll take first watch. Go sleep for a few hours and I'll wake you up after."
"You sure?" Eldrin asked.
"I took the first sleep last night," Matilyn said. "Go on, get some sleep. Don't worry, I'll wake you up if I see a bear."
Eldrin rolled his eyes this time before looking around for a nice place to make camp. Since they had no supplies, there wasn't any really any camp to make, though. He pulled his robe off, making a wad with it, and shoved it under his head. He stretched his arms a few times and closed his eyes.
Matilyn glanced at the river, thoughtfully. She tiptoed away from where Eldrin was, searching for a sharp rock. She found a jagged one near the riverbank and picked it up, feeling the edge. After satisfying herself that it would work, she went over to the trees and pulled down a green, new branch and began to work at cutting it.
She let out a frustrated sigh when the rock barely made an indent on the wet wood.
"Do you want to use my knife?" Eldrin asked.
Matilyn let out a startled cry, whipping around.
Eldrin held his hands up defensively, "Calm down."
"You scared me," Matilyn accused.
"I can tell," Eldrin said, "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" Matilyn said, "You're supposed to be sleeping."
"I couldn't sleep," Eldrin said, waiting for Matilyn to answer his question.
Matilyn gestured at the tree, embarrassed, "I was going to try and weave the branches together to make a net. I thought, maybe if we could catch some fish..."
Eldrin let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Alright," he said. "Let's do this. Do you have any hair pins?"
"Hair pins?" Matilyn asked.
"You know, those little clips for your hair," Eldrin said, sarcastically.
Matilyn shook her head, "No, no hair pins."
"Damn," he said, "If you had, this would've been easier. Alright, that's fine. Let's see what I have in my pockets then." He wandered back over to where his robe was masquerading as a pillow and picked it back up. He dug into the pockets, pulling out his own knife, a few silver coins, and a couple scraps of paper held together with a clip.
"This'll work," he said, picking up the paper clip, "Watch and learn, city girl."
"Like you're not," Matilyn said with a roll of her eyes. But she sat down with him nonetheless, watching curiously as he bent the paper clip into a hook shape. He took his knife out, shaving the end into a sharper point. Then he carefully unthreaded both of the laces of his boots, and tied them together. He ran the sharp end of the makeshift hook into the end, and pulled a tight knot.
Next, he went to find a long piece limb. He selected a dry one and used his hands to easily snap it. He tied the other end of the laces to it, and waved it in front of Matilyn, "See? Fishing pole."
"Show off," Matilyn said.
Eldrin smirked, going over to the river. He dug his fingers down into the ground, searching. Eventually, he found a worm. He threaded the hook into the bug and stood, dipping the fishing pole into the water.
"Now we wait," he said.
"Now we wait," Matilyn agreed with a sigh.
Matilyn cupped her hands under her chin, watching Eldrin.
"Are you sure you don't want to sleep?" Eldrin asked, as he leaned against his makeshift pole. "You look like you could use it."
"No," Matilyn said, "I can't. Not yet. Eldrin, every time I close my eyes, I think about it. I see i
t. Valishna. All of those children. All of the people. Gods, I should have done more."
Eldrin glanced back at her, "You did what you could," he said, "if you'd stayed longer Mattie, you'd have been killed. I'm glad I found you when I did. If you died, I don't know what I would've done."
Matilyn gave him a half-smile, "you'd have gone on," she said.
"No," Eldrin said, "I don't know that I could've, not that easily. Really, Mattie, how long have we known each other? Since we were little kids anyway. I really can't imagine what life would be like if you weren't in it."
"Well, good thing I made it out then, huh?" Matilyn said. She ran a hand back through her hair and sighed. "But the others... I just keep imagining it over and over. I can't get it out of my head."
Eldrin nodded, "I can't either," he confided. "I keep thinking about Lucy. Her poor face... I hope we can help her more."
"We will," Matilyn said.
Eldrin nodded.
"Penny made it though," Matilyn said, "Thank the Gods. I was so worried."
"She wanted to come with me," Eldrin told her, "But then the caravan was attacked and there were so many injured. She didn't feel right going back and leaving them with one less Priest."
Matilyn nodded. She started to say something else but Eldrin's pole gave a sudden tug. She leaped to her feet. "Quick, pull it back, Eldrin!"
"No, no," Eldrin said, "We have to be careful now. The lace'll break if the fish is big. Get ready, you're going to need to cup it."
"What?" Matilyn asked.
"You're going to have to grab the fish," Eldrin said impatiently. "If I tug, it'll get tug back and it'll break and get loose and we'll lose our hook. Roll up your pants."
Matilyn slipped her robe off and knelt down, rolling up her pant legs to her knees. She stepped into the river, letting out a low whistle at the temperature, "Gods, it's cold."
"Find the line," Eldrin directed.
Matilyn hesitated and then followed the line with her finger.
"Don't pull," Eldrin cautioned.
"I get it," Matilyn snapped.
Eldrin shrugged. The pole gave another tug and Matilyn gave a startled gasp.
The Warriors of Valishna (Cartharia Book 1) Page 2