by Sharon Green
"Well, good morning," Indris said with a smile, turning from what she was doing at the sound of the door opening. "The food's almost ready, so your timing couldn't be better. Pull up a chair at the table, and the food and I will be with you in a minute."
"I appreciate your offer, but food isn't the reason I stopped in here," I said, moving farther into the room. "Since I'll be leaving soon, I came to thank you for everything you've done and to say good-bye. As soon as I get home I’ll have this dress sent back to you, so you'll have it for the next vagabond in need, if for nothing else."
''Vagabond," she said with a snort, her smile having disappeared as she studied my face. ''If you're a vagabond, I'll be welcoming them from now on instead of chasing them away with a broom. You and Kylin earned everything you've been given, I think we all know that. At least have a cup of tasil with me, if you aren’t hungry enough for a meal. By then Kylin and my father ought to be back."
"Back from buying horses?" I asked, the only errand I could think of that they would be away on. ''They'd better hurry, we've already wasted too much time as it is."
''You seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere in particular," Indris remarked, watching her hands as she poured two cups of tasil rather than looking at me. ''And you did say you were going home. Is there anything special about to happen that you're in a hurry to get to?''
She turned then with the metal cups in her hands, the look in her dark eyes far from neutral. She was asking me a question she thought she would get a happy answer to, one that would let us both get back to smiling, but smiling, like food, was something I had no interest in.
"I suppose you could say I'm in a hurry to talk to my father," I answered, walking over to take one of the cups from her. ''Aside from that, I can't find much to look forward to in my life.''
''Sofaltis, you're so young you should have everything to look forward to,'' she protested, the hand I'd freed for her coming to my arm. ''Kylin was so happy when he came down earlier, he was all but singing! I was hoping that meant you two had worked things out together, settled whatever problem had stood between you. You're still not looking forward to the marriage as much as he is?"
''I’d always thought men were supposed to be the reluctant ones," I told the anxiety in her dark eyes, then turned away to sip at the tasil. "All the old stories and songs talk about how hard a woman has to work to catch one, but that isn't true, is it? Most men want and need marriage very badly - even when they shouldn’t."
I knew the silence behind me was a puzzled and confused one, but I also knew I'd already said more than I should have. The tasil was strong and warming, bringing a small measure of vigor rather than trying to fill a void that wasn’t there, and I was glad Indris had insisted on it. I intended to ride hard when I left here, even if someone else wasn't in the mood for it....
"Here's the wood you wanted,'' a voice suddenly came from the kitchen's outer door, opened only an instant before. "And Veslin would like to know if you have a minute or two. He needs your help out in the stable with something.''
"Thank you for remembering, Kylin,'' Indris told him warmly as I turned again, to see the man dumping a double armload of kindling into the bin to the left of the hearth. ''And of course I have time to help my father. You took care of everything you had to?''
''Everything and then some,'' the man agreed with a smile, brushing at his shirt as he sent a glance in my direction. "The boy your father recommended has the fastest horse in the village, so he should reach Gensea by noon. He'll deliver my message, then wait to guide the escort back here. I've asked them to bring horses for the girl and myself, but even if they move fast, as I'm sure they will, they probably won't get here much before dark. It looks like you'll be having guests at least until then.''
"Very welcome guests,'' Indris said firmly as she took a final sip of her tasil before putting the cup down near the hearth. ''And if they have to stay the night as well, it will please me even more. I'll just see what my father wants, and then we'll eat.''
She sent another smile that included me as well, then went through the door Kylin had used, pulling it shut behind her. The sunlight that had been streaming in through the door was abruptly cut off, but the resulting dimness wasn't too deep for me to see the lingering smile on the face of the man who stood not far from me. He was looking directly at me now, and when I didn't return his smile, it began to fade.
''Don't tell me," he said with a sigh, folding his arms across his chest. "Now that we've got our bed problems solved, you've found something else to complain about. Would you like to tell me what it is, or do I have to guess?"
"Guessing at things takes intelligence, which means you're not equipped for the job,'' I came back immediately despite the heavy flush I could feel in my cheeks. He, my enemy, actually seemed to believe he had a basis for complaint, which was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. "What did you mean telling Indris we'd be staying here, maybe even until tomorrow? I want to leave now, and that's what I intend to do.”
''Tisah, it would be foolish not to wait for the escort Traixe will send,'' he said, the sudden look of understanding in his light eyes bringing with it a flood of fresh patience. ''The men who kidnapped you are probably already back at the castle, waiting for us to show up so they can try again. I’m not going to bet your freedom that I'm good enough to keep you out of their hands, not when it's totally unnecessary. When the escort gets here we'll ride back with them, and that way we'll make it without any more problems. In the meanwhile we can spend some more time visiting with Indris and Veslin.''
"I've spent enough time visiting with Indris and Veslin,'' I said through my teeth, my left hand curling to a fist at my side. It was supposed to be Traixe’s men that we'd be waiting for, but it had quickly come to me I had only his word for that. The ones showing up might just as easily be those very kidnappers he was so worried about, and I was expected to simply sit here and wait for the surprise? "I'm not afraid of those kidnappers even if you are, which means I'm leaving now. You play it safe by waiting for the escort; I don't need them."
"You intend to go on foot?" he asked as he watched me move to the hearth to put my cup down, his voice mild and tinged with faintly amused curiosity. ''Since I'm still the only one with a filled purse, you won't be able to buy a horse or food or anything else. If you still insist on being stubborn and try leaving on foot I won't have any trouble catching up with you, and then you'll have the added embarrassment of being carried back here. I think you'd better forget about showing me how fearless you are, and spend some time remembering last night. With a whole day of waiting ahead of us, visiting is only one of the things we can do. We can also practice some more for our wedding night, just to be sure we get it right, you understand."
He sent me a wink and a wide grin then turned to the hearth, chuckling as he bent to see what the pots and pans being kept warm near the fire contained. Indris had been right about how happy he was, but his happiness had nothing other than my utter shame as its reason for being. He had taken the helpless female and had made her even more helpless, and now he expected to pass the time until his friends got here by enjoying himself in bed on top of her again. The rage rose up so high I nearly choked on it, furious not only with myself now but also with him. So he was the only one with a filled purse, was he, and if I tried to walk away he would simply come after me and carry me back? It looked like it was time he learned nothing was that simply done to a Blade, not even to one who had lately forgotten the truism herself.
I stood so close to the wood bin all I had to do was reach out, letting my fingers close around a thick length of branch that had been cut to hearth size. As a cudgel it felt just right which means I didn't hesitate an instant, not about to let his speed ruin things for me again. I took one step forward and swung with all the strength of my body and the anger filling it, catching him across the back of the head just as he was beginning to straighten out of the crouch. The heavy “thwack" of the blow nearly drowned out the
small grunt he gave, and then he crumpled to the floor and lay there unmoving.
"That’s my thanks for part of what I remember about last night,'' I muttered to his unhearing body, tossing the length of wood back into the bin before bending to him. His scalp was bleeding where the blow had caught him, but his steady breathing showed his skull was as thick as talking to him would lead you to believe it would be. For a brief moment I'd wondered if he would be dead, and when I'd seen he wasn't I hadn't known whether to be pleased or sorry. Looking down at him from my knees I knew I ought to take the dagger from his belt and see to it that my family had one less enemy in the world, but I couldn't do it while he was unconscious. If he had been standing and facing me I knew I wouldn't have had any trouble, but killing the helpless would have brought me down to the level of him and his friends. Or at least his friends. Damn him.
I blew a low breath of vexation out between my teeth, then quickly moved him to his back. Indris and Veslin could walk in at any minute, and there I knelt, wasting time with an inner debate over whether or not my enemy was honorable. As my hands went to his purse I told myself firmly that it didn't matter whether he was or not, and I'd finally picked up enough of a sense of hurry that the inner arguments didn't argue. Inside his purse was a good amount of gold and silver and a few coppers, more than enough to have gotten us everything we'd needed from an inn, but he had refused to go in the direction of the inn. My suspicions flared again, higher than ever, helping me to make up my mind on exactly what I wanted to do.
When I was all through I got to my feet and left the kitchen by the door leading to the house's front door, leaving behind me a man who no longer had more than coppers in his purse, or a belt holding a dagger. The dagger sheath was strapped to my right leg with the belt, under the skirt of the dress where it wouldn't be seen, and the gold and silver coins were scattered around in the various pockets sewn all over the inside of the dress. I'd wondered about those pockets when I'd first put the dress on, but that was because I usually wore a pouch with my leathers. As a rule only men wore pouches, the theory being, I suppose, that you can show off only what you have the strength and the skill to protect. Women didn't usually have that strength and skill, but even the vulnerable sometimes have to carry coins.
I didn't breathe easily again until I was not only out of the house and down the porch steps, but also through the gate and moving briskly away up the dirt street. I'd spent an agonizing moment or two trying to tell myself I really ought to take Kylin's sword as well as his dagger even if that did leave him weaponless, but then I realized his sword would be no more than a weapon of desperation for me, to be used if there was absolutely no other choice. The blade was longer and heavier than what my movements were trained to, obviously made to his specifications and size, but there were also other things to be considered. In Blade leathers I could wear a sword without causing comment or attracting notice, but in a dress it would hardly be the same - and I might conceivably find myself pushed into having to use a weapon that was wrong for me. And that bright silver hilt; if I passed any of my former companion’s cronies, they’d know that hilt at once - and undoubtedly also immediately recognize the Blade wearing it, instead of dismissing her as just another female in a dress.
No, I had to leave the sword behind, but I wasn't happy about my ridiculous feeling of satisfaction over doing it. Especially when I thought about the possibility of Veslin coming after me. He'd made his position more than clear when he'd acknowledged Kylin’s betrothal rights to the extent of giving us only a single room to sleep in, making no effort to find out if that was what I wanted. I'd never before noticed how damned universal that attitude was, that Kylin had all the rights and I had none, and it would have been difficult enough facing Veslin with a weapon. If he came after me to bring me back to the man I supposedly belonged to …
I shifted the single gold coin I'd kept out from right hand to left hand, grimly determined to be out of the village before anything like that could happen. I was not going to be given back to that man as though even I agreed he had his rights, not as long as I was still breathing!
Anger helped to move me faster along the dirt streets, but at that time of morning, when everyone was already working at what they did, it took a little while to find someone to question. It was an old man carving wood under a tree who finally told me where I might find someone with a decent horse for sale, and that took me to the other side of the village. That man, busy repairing his well pump, did indeed have a horse, and to my surprise he stopped what he was doing long enough to show it to me. The placid brown gelding was quite a distance from being a war horse, but he seemed to be sound enough and was still too young to be called a nag. I was hardly likely to find better, so I turned to the man with a nod.
"If you'll throw in a saddle and bridle, I'll take him,'' I said, squinting against the rising glare of the sun. "And don't expect to lose on the gear, I'll pay for that as well."
''I got the gear, so it's yourn,'' the man agreed with an amiable nod, chewing on a piece of straw as he studied me. ''Didn't think you'd talk about payin', though. Most who helped out folk from a village wouldn't. They'd figure what they wanted wus already paid fer."
"Well, I don't happen to see it that way,'' I said, struggling to keep control of the hurry inside me in the face of the man's easygoing manner. Trying to rush him too much would probably be an insult, and I didn't want him changing his mind about selling the horse. "Would you mind if we got him saddled now? I do have something of a long ride ahead of me, and I'd like to be off the road before dark.''
"Cain’t blame a woman none fer that,'' he answered with a still-pleasant nod, taking the horse's halter rope to lead it back into the stable. "Even a woman like you."
I followed after, wondering exactly what he'd meant by his comment; once we'd gotten inside and he'd begun to saddle the horse, I found out almost immediately.
''Yep, a man would expect a woman like you t' have th' sense t' be off the road by dark," he said, looking at nothing more than the horse he was saddling. "Had the sense t' show folks what t' do with rubbish we didn’t have the stomach to face up to on our own. Fixed it so we could kick that rubbish right out, givin' it a passle o' bruises first t' tell it not t' come back. Yep, a man don't hafta worry 'bout a woman with sense."
He tucked in the end of the girth strap, lowered the stirrup leather then reached for a bridle, and I still couldn't think of anything to say. The man had complimented me in the oddest way I'd ever encountered, and I had no doubt he was sincere. What I didn’t know was how to respond to that compliment, but it turned out a response didn’t seem to be expected. Once the bridle was on he unstrapped the halter, and then the man was handing me the reins of my new mount.
"He's all yourn now, jest like you wanted 'im," I was told, a faint smile on the sun-darkened, leathery face and in the mild brown eyes. "I’ll ask Grail t' keep you safe, just in case your Evon's busy doin' somethin' else. You ever come back here, me and mine'll look on it as a kindness if'n you stop by t' see us."
He nodded in a friendly way, turned to give the horse one last pat, then strode out of the stable as though on his way to get back to something important. I hadn't expected to waste time haggling over the price he wanted for the horse, but not only hadn't he mentioned a price, he was now walking away as though everything were already taken care of! I stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on, then gave up on trying and simply followed after him.
''Wait, wait just a minute!" I called, urging my new mount along with me. The man stopped in the middle of the yard, squinting at the sun after the dimness of the stable, and waited politely for me to reach him. Once I did I said, "Haven’t you forgotten something? This horse hasn’t been paid for."
"Far as I c’n see, it sure as hell has," he returned in a drawl, pulling the brim of his hat down farther over his eyes. "One o’ the womenfolk you an’ your friend kept from gettin’ hurt yesterday was mine, an’ I been tryin’ t’ fi
gure out how t’say my thanks fer it. Now they’re said, an’ it waren’t hard a tall. You have a good, safe ride now, y’hear?"
His shaded eyes looked directly at me, telling me his mind was made up and nothing was about to change it, certainly not anything I could say. It bothered me that he was giving up the price of a horse simply because of his strict sense of honor, and then I thought of something that could change all that.
"Since you’re sure you’ve already been paid, all I can say is thank you," I told him, adding a warm smile to the words. "I wonder, though, if you would be willing to do me one more very big favor?"
"If’n I c’n," he answered with a nod, not a flinch out of him as he committed himself to giving up even more in gratitude. "Ain’t no way t’really put paid t’what you done fer us."
"Well, if you can do this last thing for me, I’ll certainly consider us even," I said, reaching my hand out to him. When his own hand extended in response, I put the gold coin in it. "I’d like you to hold that for me, keeping it safe, until I come back for it. I don’t know when that will be, but I need it to be kept by someone I can trust."
"You sure you wanna do this?" he asked, his eyes on the coin, his easy calm finally the least bit ruffled. Most men in his position would live their lives out without having seen that much money even at the end of it, not to mention all at once in a single coin. By then I had already moved to my horse and was starting to mount, and when he saw that he came over to help me up. Once I was settled in the saddle, I smiled at him again.