Now done looking after Lares, whose cuts were many but shallow, Jules shook his head and wiped the blood from his eyes. "I did something rather daft."
Yarrow raised her eyebrows when he didn't continue, and then Lares spoke. "He told your sister to go feck herself."
Jules had never actually seen someone's eyes bug out before that moment, but that was exactly what Yarrow's were doing. "You did what? Sweet Aradia, man -- you've got some serious eggs in you, you know that?"
"That or no brain," he said, knowing she was thinking the same thing.
"Well, shite, Jules. I was going to travel alone but it looks like you'll have to tag along now. Can't leave you here to die." She grinned, clapped him on the shoulder, and headed off down the hallway, where he saw a few bags and a cloak on the floor.
Seeing no alternative, he moved to follow her, but Lares stepped in front of him.
"I have my orders, Jules," his friend said softly.
"Don't make me hurt you, Lares," Jules said, pain lancing his heart as salt stung his eyes.
Lares smiled, an expression filled with sorrow instead of joy. "You'll have to. I'll keep her safe for you."
"Thank you," Jules said, voice barely able to go above a whisper. He kissed Lares once on the lips, and then knocked the man out with a well-placed punch.
"What was that about?" Yarrow asked when Jules jog-trotted up to her.
"It was that or come with us, and he won't leave Anala."
Yarrow nodded and grabbed the rest of her stuff, swinging her bags onto her shoulder and holding her cloak over her arm. Things situated, she headed off towards the barracks.
"Come on. Let's get your stuff and leave."
~
There was a general chaos in the barracks, but it subsided when Yarrow stepped in and was replaced with calls of "Bellica! Bellica, what's going on? Are the rumours true?"
Yarrow held her hands up for silence while Jules ran to his rack and began to pack his few belongings.
"Quiet. I know you have a lot of questions, and I'm going to try to answer them, but time is short for me. Yes, I have been exiled. I am not your bellica, or anyone's bellica, anymore. Your new bellica is Anala; you will obey her as well as you have me in the past. Understood? Good!"
She gave them no chance to answer. "You will also have a new CMO, though I do not know who, and so far as I know Aro will be your major. Caelum is now the Royal Consort." There was a pause there; Jules didn't have to look at Yarrow to know its purpose was to give her a chance to keep back the tears. "Jules and I are leaving tonight; so I wish you all the best of luck. It's been my very great pleasure and honour to be your bellica."
She stepped to the door, and Jules hastened to finish grabbing his things, tying his bedroll up with some difficulty. A young Captain stepped forward then and asked Yarrow to stop, giving Jules some more time.
"Yes, Coalette?" Yarrow said, looking over at Jules impatiently. He gave the "almost" signal.
"Is it true, Ma'am? About the terrabane?"
Silence fell. A hundred-plus ears were trained on Yarrow's answer; a hundred-plus lungs held in a long breath.
Yarrow clasped her hands behind her back and faced them all squarely. "There was terrabane on my sword, yes. I did not put it there, but I am as guilty as who did. My sword was my responsibility, and there is no excuse for my lapse in judgment. I hope you can forgive me that," she said into the ensuing shock.
Jules tied up the last of his things then, including a small set of cooking-pots for the road, and swung his pack on his back. Yarrow tried to say farewell then, but another question caught her.
"Do you know who did put the terrabane on it, then?"
Her jaw twitched before she spoke. "No, I do not. That is all. Jules. Let's go."
They reached the door when a hand grabbed his arm. It was Chris, a friend of his from the medic-aux corps. "Wait. Why are you going, Jules?"
He shrugged. "Because I refuse to serve Empress Treecat, and I said about as much and where she could shove it to her face. Goodbye, friends. Stay safe."
Then he and Yarrow were heading for the stables, and towards their dubious freedom.
Ghia
Ghia paced at the doorway to the stables in frustration. She'd gone to Yarrow's room, the barracks, and places in between and had missed Yarrow everywhere. Now she waited here, because she knew Yarrow hadn't left yet. Pyrrhus was still in his stall and Yarrow wouldn't leave without her warhorse.
She heard footsteps then, which must be Yarrow's. She ran to meet the bellica. Ex-bellica.
And collided with Jules. Just the person she didn't want to see.
She mumbled some sort of apology and looked around him to see Yarrow.
"Cuz. You aren't really going, are you?" She grabbed Yarrow's arm, but Yarrow shrugged her off and moved to Pyrrhus' stall.
"Got no choice. Death warrant's out for me and I can't challenge anymore. I'm through." She flung a blanket and saddle onto Pyrrhus and began to tie on her bags. Jules moved into the stables, grabbed Suki, and started to do the same.
"You can't just leave us to her!" Ghia said, not caring that she was shouting.
Yarrow looked up sharply. "What would you have me do, Ghia? Outnumbered already, with no legal means of taking the throne I can't hope to win! Everyone will die." She punctuated each word with a tightening of her horse's saddle.
"Everyone could die anyway!"
"Could. Not will. And it is a certainty if I try now and others throw their lots in with me. No, Ghia. It's over." She finished tying her bags to her saddle, and grabbed Pyrrhus' reins to lead him out of the stable.
Ghia felt any lightness and air she'd ever had go out of her, as if she were deflating into a little puddle on the floor. Her head hung forward and she couldn't bear to take another look the cousin she'd never see again. "Where will you go?" she asked, and didn't recognise the spectre that was her voice.
"Atton. Jules knows some people who will hide us for a while. If that doesn't pan out we'll head into the Blood Mountains. Lots of caves in the mountains. Beyond the borders. We'll be safe there."
Ghia thought she nodded then, and saw Yarrow's feet and her horses' walk past her, out of the stables. Jules and Suki followed, but stopped right in front of her. When he didn't move she looked up again and saw him staring at her. "What?" she asked wearily, too tired and defeated to be upset with him anymore.
He grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her close and before she knew it was happening he was kissing her deeply, like she was the only thing tangible in his world. Her arms moved up of their own volition to wrap around his neck, and she twined her fingers in his un-combed hair as her body folded against his, fitting perfectly, as if she were falling into a well-worn piece of furniture. His arms had slid down to her back as he held her as close as he could, crushing her to him in desperation, and soon Ghia began to feel light-headed from the sheer force and passion of the kiss.
Just when she was sure she was going to faint, he broke off the kiss. She kept falling forward, but their lips didn't meet again.
He looked at her as if he were trying to memorise her face, and she realised that was in fact what he was doing. "Ghia, I love you more than you could possibly know. I'm sorry I was such a prize idiot for so long, and I wish I hadn't been, so I could spend every day of the rest of my life showing you exactly how I feel for you."
Her mouth opened in shock as she stared at him, hardly able to believe what she was hearing. Desperately she groped for words, for anything to say, and then he kissed her again -- brief and sweet, where the first kiss had been long and commanding. "Goodbye, love," he said, and then she was standing in the fall-out of his release, swaying and trying to find some balance in a wildly twisting world.
Jules led Suki after Yarrow and Pyrrhus and, once they reached the road, mounted. Then he and the bellica were riding off, towards the North Gate, before Ghia had a chance to pull her thoughts together to say anything.
A full minute passed befo
re her losses hit her; then she ran after them, down the road, down towards the Gate. She ran faster than she ever had in her life but they were still just tiny figures by the time she could see them.
"No," she wheezed out, still running, and then tripped on a loose stone. She went flying and landed face-first on the cobbles, where she lay for a moment, her body ringing in pain. Finally able to look up, she saw Jules and Yarrow were now just specks on the road to Atton, horses at full gallop as they made all haste to become ghosts.
"Dammit," she said, tears in her eyes. "You're my prize idiot, Jules."
Jules
It didn't hit him until they were far away from Atherton, riding down the long road that would take them from all familiarity into a new, dangerous territory that would most likely kill them.
Then, like suddenly running into a wall, the realisation that everything was over and he'd never again see the woman he couldn't live without, in all likelihood, slammed into him and he nearly fell off his galloping horse.
He looked to his left. Yarrow, galloping beside him, had tears streaming down her face. He wondered if they were from the air that rawly scraped past them, drying out the most moist of skins, or if she was only now letting the emotion out, dropping the bellica mask she'd worn back in Atherton.
She turned to look at him then, and he saw the truth that had just hit him mirrored in her own face.
"Dammit," he muttered, and faced forward again.
So much for the hope that this was all just a dream.
~
An hour after they'd kicked their pace down to save the horses, the sun setting in the west and casting long shadows out to their right, he heard a yell behind them. Jules twisted in his saddle at the sound, and saw a figure on horseback in the distance, advancing steadily.
"Shite," he said, and turned back. "Yarrow, we have company." He kneed Suki in the sides and urged her into a canter, not wanting to gallop quite yet if he could help it.
Yarrow was beside him in an instant and they were both cantering away, hoping it would be enough to outrun the newcomer. He glanced behind again and saw the rider hadn't gained, but hadn't fallen back either. He breathed a small sigh and silently lent strength to his horse, praying she had the stamina to keep them safe.
A few minutes passed and there was another shout, louder this time, though Jules couldn't make out what was said. He glanced back again and saw the figure was much closer. "What the..." he muttered to himself, wondering how on earth the rider could have caught up that fast. "Yarrow, we need to go faster," he said, and they both kicked their horses into a gallop, though they knew that it was only a matter of time. They'd galloped out of Atherton, and Suki and Pyrrhus were tired.
Still, they pressed on, hoping to elude the rider. Why the Empress would only send one after them was beyond him, but --
"Jules!"
JULES!
He heard the cry on the air and in his head simultaneously. Without checking behind him he pulled on the reins hard. Suki came to a sharp stop from her gallop and reared back on her hind legs, landing hard. He pulled again and she turned slowly, but refused to go any further when she stood sideways on the road, a wall of horseflesh preventing passage. "Suki!" he scolded, wanting to ride to meet the woman he could see clearly now, a petite figure with red hair bouncing as she galloped up on her dark brown mare. Suki regarded him out of one eye, glaring, snorted, and looked away.
It wasn't necessary to meet Ghia halfway in another second. She rode up next to him then, and before he could ask why Amora didn't look tired after her extended gallop Ghia had leapt from her horse and was on his, kissing him ferociously.
Suki danced in irritation at having a human she disliked mount her so unceremoniously, but Jules ignored his horse in favour of his love. He wrapped his arms around Ghia's waist and, grabbing her hips, pulled her up so she could sit on his thighs instead of backwards on the saddle. She responded by wrapping her legs around his waist and intensifying the kiss, and Jules -- getting lost in the sensation overload of Ghia's well-formed backside under his hands, her firm lips pressed against his, the delicate smell of her mingled with horsesweat and his own, considerably less-delicate scent, and her shy tongue hesitantly dancing with his more aggressive one as they kissed -- felt himself getting hard.
A throat cleared to his right and they broke off the kiss. He'd forgotten Yarrow was there. Actually forgotten everything except the fact that Ghia was in his arms.
"Far be it from me to break up a happy reunion between lovers, but as mentor to my young cousin here I feel obligated to inform you that sex on horseback is not nearly as fun as it sounds." Suki interjected with an angry neigh then, and stamped both front feet hard enough to shake Jules in the saddle, pressing Ghia more firmly against him. He suppressed a groan. Yarrow looked at Suki's reaction to her statement with mirth on her face. "And I think it may piss off your horse," she added dryly.
Jules snorted and made a mental note to tell off Suki later. Ghia had turned the colour of her hair, but she didn't remove her arms from around his neck or her legs from his waist. Fine by me, he thought, keeping his hands on her rump. "Yarrow," he said, something suddenly occurring to him, "did you say 'cousin' just now?"
A look of "oh, crap," passed between the two women, and Ghia looked at him guiltily. "I um. I sort of found out who my real parents are," she said sheepishly.
"And you didn't tell me?" he said with a mock-stern glare.
"Only Yarrow and Anala know. And Magea Rosa," she said. "It was a need-to-know basis."
"Fair enough," he said, giving her a quick kiss and adjusting his position on the saddle.
"Ow!" Ghia exclaimed, and moved her left leg away from his right one. "What is that? It's hard and digging into my thigh."
Yarrow burst into hysterical laughter then and had to ride off a ways when she caught Jules' death glare. When she was far enough away for them to talk and hear each other, Jules looked at Ghia, his turn to be sheepish. "It's not that, is it?"
Ghia cocked her head and gave him such a sardonic look that she only could have picked it up from Yarrow. "No. That I didn't mind. It feels like a wooden box, and I think it's in your pocket."
Realisation dawned on Jules and he felt like a prize idiot. Again. "That," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the small wooden jewelry box. Ghia replaced her leg where it had been and he smiled a bit at her eagerness.
And suddenly froze up, looking at the little box.
"Jules. What is it? I want to know."
"It's...it's for you," he said, and it was all he was able to. He gave her the box. "Open it."
Confusion reigning her features, she took the box from him and looked inside. Ghia fell quite still then, staring at the box's contents in disbelief. "Jules," she said finally, "this is a commitment ring."
"Yeah. It is. I've been carrying it around for a while. Waiting for the right moment. Guess I'm an idiot no matter what I do --" he was cut off as she kissed him again, the ring already on her finger.
"Yes, you are, but that's fine because I like you that way," she said against his lips, and kissed him again. Jules pulled her close, a smile tugging at his mouth.
After a long embrace, he pulled back a bit to ask a question that was still pressing on his mind. "So. Who are your parents?"
"Oh. That," she said, and her arms slid down until her hands rested on his chest. "I was hoping you'd forgotten about that."
"No, and I'm rather curious what family I'm marrying into."
Ghia had a look on her face like she'd just bit into a lemon while killing a cat. "How does Exsil Vis sound to you?" she asked, her voice too bright.
There was a pause before he could answer, he was so shocked. "Are you serious?"
"As Muerta. My mother was Charity Exsil Vis; my father was Terence Lihin. I'm to be Lady of Atton. Or I was, when Yarrow was planning on being Queen again," she said, her words coming out in a rush.
"Wow. That I did not see coming," he said, then
shrugged and went to kiss her again, but she pulled back.
"You don't care?"
"Why would I? It doesn't change who you are, and you are whom I love." She let him kiss her then, and he savoured it, because he knew this was one of the last. "Now. You have to go back to Atherton."
"What? After that -- albeit clumsy -- proposal? I'm coming with you, Jules -- it's why I'm here in the first place." She glared at him, and he did not look forward to this argument.
"No, you're not. They're trying to kill me, and they'll be trying to kill Yarrow after tomorrow. It's too dangerous to travel with us."
"And it's not dangerous for me to go back to Atherton?"
He sighed. "It is, but not so much if you throw your lot in with me."
"As if I wouldn't! You're my fiancé!" She was shouting at him, anger making her cheeks pink. She was very fetching like that, but in the interest of his life he kept himself from saying so or smiling.
"And it's best if they don't know that, Ghia. You need to go back to Atherton and...just forget about me. It's safest that way."
Her face crumpled as tears ran down her face, and her fist connected with his chest, though the impact wasn't enough to really hurt him. "Damn you, Jules. What was the point of proposing if you're just going to leave me forever?"
He opened his mouth to respond, but didn't have an answer. Instead he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, wishing they were anywhere but Athering. "I'm sorry. It was selfish of me to do so," he whispered into her hair, starting to cry himself. "But if anything happened to you because of me, Ghia, I --"
"I know," came her muffled voice from his chest, where her face rested. "I feel the same."
He sighed. It was a pained sound. "I don't want to let you go. Ever."
She pulled back from him then and wiped her eyes, sniffling. "But you have to. And you can't come back." She was staring off down the road, back towards Atherton and a life he knew she didn't want to return to.
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