The Serf and the Soldier

by Holly Law

  “Not as desperate as I would have thought, but not a happy circumstance. Have you been a serf your whole life?”

  “Yes, as has my father.”

  “I could have at very least freed you from that. I know how hard serfs work, Elara. I do not envy you.”

  “And I don't care what you think.”

  Corden sighed. “I suspect I deserve such a response.”

  Journey

  The following morning proved unpleasant. Elara was even sorer than she had been the night before. That was not what made the morning unpleasant, however. Corden and Lady Elisa did that all by themselves. Elara woke up to find a very grumpy Elisa and an overly considerate and yet stubborn Corden. Neither liked the concept of heading up to the road to see what remained of the soldiers.

  “I absolutely refuse to go there!” Lady Elisa protested vehemently. “I won't go and see dead soldiers. I just won't! It is pointless and disgusting!”

  “That is my father and brother up there!” Elara argued back at once.

  “She is right, Elara,” Corden told her gently. “There is nothing pleasant to be seen there. It would do the three of us far more good to head straight towards the town of Velshire. We could do with a night at a good inn and a meal. We could be there before midday.”

  “Go if you want,” Elara spat back angrily. “I'm going to find my father and brother.” Tears came to her eyes unbidden at that moment. Without waiting another second, she made her way towards the steep hill and started to slowly pick her way up.

  “Elara!” Corden called after her. Elara ignored him and continued up. The climbing was difficult with her back and leg injured, but it was still manageable. She just went slowly. It was only after a couple of minute of climbing that she heard sounds behind her. She glanced back and saw that Corden was slowly picking his way up the hill on horseback. Each choice was painfully careful due the steepness of the hill. It was not the sort of a hill a horse would ordinarily attempt. Unwilling to be left behind, Lady Elisa followed slowly on foot.

  When Elara finally reached the top of the hill, she froze at the sight before her. She hadn't known what to expect and, at last, understood why Corden had tried to convince her to not go. The scene before her was brutal and sickening. Bodies littered the ground and all of them were in horrible shape. The wounds were terrible and dark, dried blood stained the rock. Cries of pain were frozen on the soldiers faces. The wounds ranged from the simple direct stab through the heart to soldiers who had been brutally trampled by horses. Elara wept at the scene knowing her brother would be dead and horribly so. It was in that state that Corden found her when he came to the top of the hill.

  Corden sighed and hesitated only a moment before wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder. Elara was not thinking and buried her head into his shoulder and cried. It was only after long minutes of crying that she realized he was responsible personally for some of those deaths. She pushed him away then and wandered among the bodies looking for her father and brother.

  She found her father quickly enough. She had known where he had fallen. There was a look of startled pain on his pale face. She was thankful he had not been alive to feel the trampling he had suffered after his fall. His gruff face would never smile again. She would never again hear the rough laugh she so loved. She wept harder by his body, ignoring Corden wandering among the dead and Lady Elisa standing on the fringes looking pale.

  “This one is still alive,” Corden said, casually with distaste clear in his tone. “How sloppy. I will have to talk with my soldiers afterwards.” Elara would not have even looked up if she hadn't heard the hiss of sword sliding from its scabbard. She looked up sharply at the sound. Corden had drawn his dagger and looked ready to strike with it, to end the life of the soldier who had survived.

  Elara did not fully think. She launched herself at him. Corden was clearly surprised, but reacted before that surprise even showed on his face. Elara had barely touched him and she found herself thrown to the ground hard with the blade to her throat. Her heart was beating hard in her neck against that blade and her eyes burned with tears. But even as she gasped in surprise she knew Corden had not meant to hurt her and had reacted only on instinct.

  “Are you trying to get yourself killed, Elara?” Corden demanded. “I could have killed you! Never attack a soldier like that!” Corden let her go at once, clearly irritated by her response.

  “You were going to kill the soldier!”

  “I still am,” Corden said a bit coldly. “We do not leave our enemies alive behind us. Besides, he cannot free himself. He would die on his own anyway. If it bothers you, go elsewhere, but do not interfere with me.”

  “Don't you dare threaten my sister, Corscan,” the wounded soldier warned hoarsely. Elara gasped as she turned to look at the soldier for a first time. Trapped beneath the body of a dead horse, was her brother. His face was contorted in anger, pain, and weakness, but it was definitely her brother. He was almost entirely pinned under the horse. He couldn't have moved so much as an arm to get free.

  “Lairk!” Elara cried and knelt beside him in an instant. She hugged his shoulders tightly. “Oh, Lairk! I thought you were dead.”

  “I thought you were too,” Lairk said hoarsely, giving her a weak smile. “I saw you go over the cliff after the soldier grabbed you.” Lairk's eyes wandered to Corden then. “That him?”

  “Yes,” Elara told him simply.

  Lairk glared at Corden. “Stay away from my sister.”

  “This is your brother, Elara?” Corden asked her simply. He watched them with unreadable eyes.

  “Yes.” Elara glared at Corden. He had been about to kill her brother.

  Corden sighed and sheathed the dagger. “Then we had best get him out from under that horse and see the damage. I expect you won't leave without him.” Corden whistled and his horse trotted over to them.

  “You're going to help me?” Lairk asked, sounding very surprised.

  Corden looked at her brother for a moment. “I am helping your sister, not you,” Corden told him shortly. He took rope from his pack and attached it to the body of the dead horse. Corden did not seem happy with the work and truthfully, he seemed outright resentful, but he continued to work. His limp grew more pronounced with every step and Elara wondered how badly injured he truly was. She would have to check his leg afterward.

  It was with a look of extreme pain that Corden mounted his horse. He urged the horse on and slowly the dead horse was dragged off her brother. Her brother sat up slowly and seemed very shaky. He was still clearly in pain, but his legs worked. After a moment, he was standing, but needed Elara for support. One of his arms was twisted oddly and his free hand clutched his midsection.

  “I think we had best get your arm in a sling, brother, and fixed in the right position.”

  Lairk grunted. “That's going to hurt.”

  “No more than you are already,” Elara told him and then looked at Corden who was slumped in his saddle looking pained. “I think we had better take a look at your leg as well. I suspect it needs a splint, at the very least. Did you look at it at all last night?”

  Corden shook his head. “I was too busy wrapping up your injuries to take care of it.”

  “Why don't we go down the road a bit and take care of you two?” Elara suggested.

  The two silently agreed. Lairk leaned on her the whole way for support and his eyes looked grim as he took in the carnage that surrounded them. Lady Elisa eagerly joined their side as they left the battlefield. She looked pale and unhappy. She looked at Lairk for a moment. “I'll support him, Elara. You do not have the strength,” Lady Elisa said abruptly.

  Elara was surprised, but moved to let Lady Elisa support her brother. Corden even looked a bit confused. Her brother was simply too grateful for help to show surprise. They walked until the bloody patch of road was out of view. Then without asking permission, Elara raided Corden's supplies.

  “Those are my bags, Elara,” Corden told her firmly, moving th
e horse away from her.

  “Fine, you clearly have medical supplies. Open up your useful bags and get out what I need to help my brother and you.”

  “I don't care for your tone.”

  “Then wrap your own leg,” Elara snapped. Before Corden could reply she went in search of sticks to support her brother's arm. She returned a couple of minutes later to see Corden had dismounted. He was rummaging in his bags, but she no longer cared. She wouldn't take his supplies even if he offered them. She tore off her brother's sleeve and examined the arm. It was bruised and swollen, but the angle gave away the break long before those common signs. Her brother grimaced at the sight. “This will hurt,” she told him softly.

  “I know, I've broken my arm before,” Lairk said grimly. It took Elara a minute or so to work up the courage to try to straighten it. When she did Lairk bit back a scream. She saw Lady Elisa grimace. Elara tore off the hem of her dress even as she saw Corden offer her clean wrapped cloth. She wrapped her brother’s arm tightly in a splint and then made a sling for him out of the remains of his shirt arm.

  “I had fresh bandages, Elara,” Corden told her. “You didn't need to ruin your dress.”

  “Then use them on yourself,” Elara snapped. “You'll need them to wrap your leg.”

  “Lara,” her brother scolded her, much to her surprise. “He cannot do that himself. He saved my life. Help him.”

  “But…” Elara began surprised by her brother's criticism.

  “No buts, Lara. Help him.” Her brother’s tone was firm and not one she could argue with. She glared at him briefly, but obeyed him.

  Elara did not want to, but she looked at Corden who stood nearby. “Sit,” she told him shortly.

  “I still don't care for your tone,” he told her as he sat on the ground.

  “Yes, and I don't particularly like you, but I'm still helping you,” she told him just as shortly.

  Corden said nothing in response, but did not look happy. She was thankful that his pants were on the baggier side and she could push them up without problem. His leg was badly bruised and swollen. A slight lump indicated that it was broken and badly so. She gently probed the spot, but not too gently. She took the slightest amount of pleasure in seeing him wince. She set the bone, taking no care in being gentle and wrapped it up tightly between two sturdy sticks Lady Elisa had found. Corden screamed between clenched teeth in the process.

  “Your sister does not seem to be the most compassionate of people,” Corden noted after his leg was secure. “Nor could her touch be described as gentle.”

  Lairk cocked his head as he looked at Corden. “She's upset. She gets a bit brisk when she's upset. It's best to let her have her way when she gets like that—it hurts less.”

  “She gets like this often then?” Corden asked, looking at Elara warily.

  “No, I've only seen her like this a couple of times.”

  “Do you mind?” Elara snapped. “I'm standing right here.”

  “Then maybe you should go stand elsewhere,” her brother suggested teasingly. “The Corscan doesn't seem to be appreciating your rosy demeanor at the moment.”

  “Then perhaps the Corscan shouldn't be such a blood thirsty murderer.”

  “That was unkind,” Corden objected, “and uncalled for.” Angered flared in the Corscan’s eyes and his jaw was set tightly.

  “You were going to kill my brother!” Elara snapped at him, meeting glare for glare.

  “It is custom and one I am violating to help you. It does no favors to my honor. I am thankful no one else will know of it.”

  “Then maybe you should be less concerned about yourself and more concerned about others.”

  Corden was angry and that was immensely evident to Elara. “You are quick to pass judgment about my character and it does you no favors. It only goes to show how ignorant you are and how little experience you have dealing with others. It is no wonder you are unwed if this is how you behave. No man would want a wife with your temperament. I think you did me a favor by knocking us off that cliff.”

  Elara tried not to let it show but his words hurt. They were true and she knew that too well. She glared at him all the harder but did not respond. Instead, she stalked away from him and continued down the road on her own. Lady Elisa chased after her, which made her even angrier.

  “Why are you so hard on the Corscan?” Lady Elisa asked her softly. “He has only been kind to you.”

  “Kind to me?” Elara spat back softly. “Oh, yes, it was very kind of him to try to take me during the battle. It was very kind of him to try to kill my brother. I have seen him do nothing that is kind.”

  “He halted when he realized it was your brother. You could not have gotten your brother free without his aid. He saved your brother's life. As for trying to take you during battle, clearly he regrets that and isn't likely to repeat the gesture. Not that I could blame him given your behavior.”

  “And what does it matter to you?”

  “I am trying to give you advice, Elara,” Lady Elisa told her firmly. “You have poor luck with men and seem to make it worse for yourself. That Corscan is clearly high ranking and I suspect would have given you a comfortable life. That horse of his is one of the finest breed beasts I have seen. A common soldier would not have an animal like that. And you were so busy worrying about your father and brother you did not hear him say he had commanded those soldiers. He is high ranking, and it would do you much good to attract his attention and keep it—even if he is a Corscan.”

  “If he's so impressive then why don’t you turn on your infinite amount of charm and go after him? I don't want him.”

  Lady Elisa looked at her for a moment. “I've considered it, but then I thought I would give you a fair chance. I do owe you my life. If you hadn't knocked all three of us off the cliff I would have been dead. None of them tried to take me, you will notice. I suggest you be nicer to the Corscan.”

  “I don't want your advice.”

  Lady Elisa shrugged. “Do as you will. I was merely trying to be friendly.”

  “Be considerate of an injured man,” Lairk called from behind her. She glanced back and saw him walking carefully after them. His ribs clearly pained him. Corden rode behind him, still looking angry. Elara waited for her brother to catch up before continuing on. She noted as she waited that Corden pulled a large piece of paper from his bag and examined it. It was stuffed back into his bag before he had reached them.

  They did not get far that day and Elara was beyond exhausted and sore by the end of the day. Lady Elisa voluntarily checked her wounds and found that the bandages were soaked clear through with blood. Before Elara could stop her Lady Elisa went up to Corden and asked him in her sweetest tone if had any more bandages for Elara.

  Corden had been securing his mount to a tree and gave Elara only the briefest of glances before he rummaged in his saddle for bandages. He pulled out two rolls of pristine, white bandages. He walked over to her and knelt in front of her.

  “May I see?” Corden asked her simply. Elara silently let him check her wounds. He wrapped them up quickly and they felt even tighter than they had before. Elara did not look at him as he cared for the wounds. She wished she was home already and that he had would just go on his own way.

  “That bag of yours seems never ending,” Lady Elisa said with a friendly smile.

  Corden tightly tied the last bandage on Elara as he replied, “A pity it is not. I have no more bandages.”

  “Then I guess none of us should fall down another cliff,” Lairk said, clearly trying to lighten the situation.

  Corden went back to his horse. “That fully depends on whether Elara will try anything stupid or not,” Corden said coolly.

  Elara bit back a response. She very much wanted to yell at him, but knew he expected it. He would only make her feel worse if she responded. She would not give him that pleasure. Instead, she curled up on the ground near their small fire. The sooner she slept the sooner it would be morning and the sooner it w
as morning, the sooner they would be home.

  The thought of home brought a sad pang. Home would not be the same without her father and life would undoubtedly be harder. She would never see his bearded face again. Elara curled up tightly and hugged her knees. She rolled over to face away from the fire and wept.

  A minute later, she felt a reassuring hand on her back. She looked up expecting to see her brother and instead saw Corden. Elara buried her head in her knees and hoped he would leave her alone. Corden did not leave and instead said softly, “I'm sorry, Elara. I have spoken without thought. I underestimated, no I forgot, the pain you would be in because of your father. Forgive me, I misspoke.”

  “Leave me alone,” Elara told him softly, hoping he would obey. His hand left her back a moment later and she heard his footsteps go over to the other side of the fire. Minutes passed slowly and Elara cried silently.

  “Why did you attack us, Corden?” Elara heard Lady Elisa ask after several long minutes. “We were not a party of any importance.”

  “Your king has a tendency to react in foolish ways when the nobility of your country are attacked. It was an effort to pull his soldiers out of their present position and weaken him, nothing more. You were attacked simply because you were a noblewoman and suited our purpose.”

  “Why are you invading us anyway?” Lairk asked and Elara heard him stretch out.

  “Many reasons. I prefer a different topic.”

  Silence stretched out for more long minutes. “I have heard,” Lady Elisa began slowly “that the Corscan nobility spend time as serfs is that true?”

  “It is,” Corden replied after a moment and seemed to have no intention of answering further.

  “A curious custom. What purpose does it serve?”

  “It helps those who care for the serfs to better understand their needs and the difficulty of their labor.”

  “How long do they live as serfs?” Lairk asked curiously. “I've never heard of any nobleman doing that.”