I blushed and lowered my head. The idea was not as repulsive as it would once have been, even though I had no intention of ending up as some kind of living peace pledge. Anyway, I had spent the last year of my life surrounded by men in an army camp and knew that a quick kiss hardly counted as a declaration of undying love. Or even a long kiss…
Irritated at the way my mind wandered off the point at the least provocation whenever Rhys was involved, I firmly dragged my attention back to the problem at hand: there had to be a way to get the Sikhandi out of this country without further bloodshed! Ironically enough, the war was not even particularly popular amongst the Sikhandi, at least not since easy victories had turned into a steady loss of men and resources. But of course Prince Bahram would never admit as much. I thought hard. When you cornered a dangerous animal, you had to leave it an escape. Perhaps we could do the same?
“I hate the Sikhandi,” Cerwen burst out suddenly. “Why did they ever have to come here?”
“Horses,” Lady Luned replied briefly. “I doubt they would have bothered else.”
I nodded agreement. That and aspirations to grandeur by Prince Maziar. What a bitter twist of fate that the threat of a Khotai invasion had spurred the Sikhandi on to seek better horses across the mountains, only to make Rhys supply their enemy directly. I shuddered at the memory of Chidukhul and his unsavoury band of followers. In my mind there was no doubt what use he would put their new horses to.
“The horses,” I murmured. My mind kept coming back to them, though Rhys had refused the idea of trading them to the Sikhandi out of hand. Not that I could blame him, for I found the idea of the Sikhandi mounted on proper horses – even if we only considered them culls – hardly thrilling. Prince Bahram might give his word not to use them against us, but that would not be good enough for Rhys. He needed more than mere words of assurance. No, somebody he could rely on had to enforce the deal… Suddenly the glimmer of an idea emerged.
I looked up. “Lady Luned, Cerwen, do you trust me?”
They nodded at once, and my heart went out to them. I would not fail them. “Good, I will need your help.”
Cerwen wiped her eyes. “But how?”
My mind in a whirl, I numbered my needs on the fingers of my hand. “First of all several white linen sheets, food for the journey and fodder for Hami.” I stared into space as the plan unfolded in my mind. “A bag of flour, of course. The dress…will just have to do.”
I focused on Lady Luned, who was regarding me in bemusement, and took her hands in mine again. “I might not be one of your peaceweavers, but I promise to do my best to get your grandson home in one piece.”
A slow smile lit up her face. “No peaceweaver?” she asked. “I think Rhys might also have something to say to that.”
The cogs in my mind that were turning busily, refining my plan, ground to an abrupt halt. “Why, did he say something?” The next moment I cursed myself for asking.
Lady Luned’s smile turned into a smirk. “Yes, he told me to mind my own business.”
TWENTY-FOUR
I spent the rest of the evening in frantic planning and even a quick trip up to the castle again to speak to Dillan. Luckily the master builder loved a challenge. Owl watched all this sudden activity with growing suspicion, but I had decided to tackle her at the last moment to give her less preparation in case she decided to hinder me.
Not that anything would stop me. Finally I had found a way to act! It might feel a lot like trying to cross a raging river with nothing but a raft cobbled together from bits of straw, but at least I was doing something. I much preferred tackling fate head on than waiting helplessly for news.
None of us caught much sleep that night. As the first hints of dawn showed through the window, I was up again, throwing the last bits of clothing into my bags. My lute and the books I left behind – an unspoken promise to myself – but on a whim I picked up the scroll Navid had delivered. Who knew if it might not come in useful.
Outside in the courtyard I found Dillan rigging up the promised new harness to carry all our supplies. Hami did not appear particularly pleased at the servants piling on bags of carrots and turnips, but I would not have the time to let him forage, so Hami had to carry his food. At my command he stopped grumbling, though he looked at me reproachfully, sensing that his life of leisure was over for the time being.
As usual Owl had followed me and now could no longer contain herself. “My lady, what are you planning?” she blurted out.
“I’m going to catch up with Rhys. He needs us.”
For a moment enthusiasm sparked in those slanted eyes, but she pursed her lips. “He gave orders for you to remain here.”
“Those are stupid orders,” I replied steadily. “I will not stand by and let Sikhandi and Aneiry kill each other.” As expected this statement did not impress her particularly, but I had not finished yet. “The only people who would profit from that are the Khotai.”
“The Khotai!”
“Yes. They will look on while we tear each other’s throat out and then move in for the kill.” I watched the impact of my words hit her, hoping that I had read her correctly. “Look, Owl,” I said and took a step closer. “Together we can stop this madness.” With a mental command I sent Duach round her back and had Hami shift silently closer. I wanted to persuade her, but if need be I would fight her. And not fairly either if I could help it!
Visibly undecided, she bit her lip. “How do I know if I can trust you?” she burst out all of a sudden.
I only just stopped myself from crowing with triumph at the implied agreement to my plan. “I swear I mean well by you,” I said. “This is what I propose: you come along and watch. And if I betray Rhys, you may shoot me.”
Oh yes, that was definitely the kind of offer Owl liked. Even so, she still hesitated. “The Eagle said to keep you safe at the Eyrie…”
“Well, you can either keep me safe or at the Eyrie, but not both,” I snapped.
She lifted her chin. “You think so? The Eagle gave me permission to lock you up in your room if necessary.”
“What?” How dare he! We regarded each other, poised on the brink of conflict.
That moment Lady Luned entered the courtyard, leaning on her stick and accompanied by Cerwen. “Are we ready yet?” she asked.
Owl’s eyes widened. “You have Grandmother’s approval?”
It was the first time I’d heard her refer to Lady Luned in that manner, but I nodded. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you say so? That changes everything!”
It did? I watched in bemusement when the Khotai woman knelt in front of the old lady. “Grandmother, you want us to do this?”
Lady Luned touched her face gently. “Temulun, dear child, it needs doing.”
Owl lowered her head. “I will help you.” She twisted round to look at me. “But remember your offer, my lady, I will hold you to it.”
I nodded weakly. “Of course.” Having Lady Luned at your back seemed to be the equivalent of wielding one of the famed Nine Swords of Heaven! Still, perhaps it was hardly surprising, for her tongue was just as sharp.
* * *
Things happened quickly after that. We finished fastening Hami’s load, next I told him to kneel down and mounted on his neck. With everybody’s combined efforts we heaved Lady Luned up before me, after which I gave the command to rise.
The old lady let out a gasp of sheer glee. “I’m riding an elephant!”
I made sure I gripped her firmly round the waist, as many anxious faces were lifted to us. “Do you like it?”
“Oh yes. Let’s go!”
Owl had disappeared to get her bow, but now she and Cerwen came trotting round the corner. Their horses shied nervously at the sight of Hami, but I quickly extended my senses to calm them.
In the end quite an impressive cavalcade, made up of most of Rhys’s servants, accompanied us to the gate. It was closed, but our arrival brought the commander of the guards running. We must have caught him without warn
ing, for he was pulling up his trousers as he came.
“Lady Luned?” he stuttered. “What are you doing!”
“Ah, Collen, you took your time,” she replied. “Have the gate opened.”
“But…but I have strict orders not to let Lady Arisha or her elephant outside.”
“Nonsense,” Lady Luned snapped. “Open the gate.” At my discrete prodding Hami sneaked out his trunk to lift the heavy bar that lay across the gate.
“Please, my lady,” Collen pleaded, “you mustn’t!” I felt sorry for the man, who’d probably been given this command because Rhys needed all the more experienced men in his army. He stood no chance against Lady Luned.
“Don’t tell me what to do, young man,” she sniffed haughtily, but I could feel a shake of laughter run through her. “This is my home and I can go for a morning stroll whenever I want to.” She was enjoying herself!
I ordered Hami to push his broad head against the gate and it creaked open. The archers up on the walls didn’t even lift their bows when we ambled through, but Collen ran after us, waving his arms. “Please stop!” He swore when he trod on some sharp stones with his bare feet.
A nudge made Hami pick up his pace, and we quickly left Collen behind. “Shouldn’t you get back to your post?” Lady Luned called over her shoulder.
I couldn’t hold back my mirth any longer, I started shaking with laughter. “You’re terrible,” I gasped. “I just hope I never run afoul of you!”
She chuckled. “Not if you treat Rhys properly.”
That sobered me. I was still annoyed with the man. “Hah! Do you know what he did? He gave Owl permission to lock me in my room. As if I were some kind of prisoner!”
“You are his prisoner,” she pointed out.
“No, I just escaped,” I snapped back.
It was her turn to break into laughter. “I believe you two suit each other perfectly.” But a moment later she sighed. “Arisha, you have to understand. After what happened at Glynhir, Rhys will do anything to keep his loved ones safe. He will put the fiercest guard on what’s most precious to him.”
I had not considered that before and deep inside I felt warmed that Rhys should care, even though I did not agree with his methods. “Yet I am not a jewel you can shut away in a box,” I replied. “He should trust me!”
“He’ll have to learn to do that,” she agreed. “But go easy on him.”
I wondered if interrupting a potential battle counted as going easy on Rhys’s nerves, but didn’t say anything. I hadn’t confided my entire plan to the old lady because I didn’t want to worry her. Instead I changed the subject. “Why did Owl call you Grandmother?” I asked.
She sighed. “Poor Temulun. Everybody calls her Owl now for her silent way of fighting, but when she first came here she was nothing but a confused, angry girl, struggling with the grief of losing her mother. I took her under my wing. It seemed the right thing to do.”
I could well imagine that. After all she had accepted me too, despite our peoples’ bloody history. “You’re a good person, Lady Luned,” I said impulsively.
“Nonsense.” She shook her head dismissively. “And stop calling me ‘Lady Luned’.”
“What should I call you?” I asked cautiously, not sure what she meant.
“Grandmother, of course,” she answered. “All my family do.”
I had a sudden lump in my throat. To have a family again, that was a rich gift indeed! “Thank you,” I murmured.
She just patted my hand, as if she needed no words to know how I felt.
Soon afterwards hoof beats approaching from behind announced the fact that Collen had got his wits together and was pursuing us. However, he had not reckoned with the unsettling effect elephants had on horses. He and his men could not bring their mounts near us without them shying, instead he had to resort to shouting pleas to turn back. Grandmother was in her element, pretending to be hard of hearing and misunderstanding him.
This continued until we reached a place I had marked from afar, where the road snaked between two wooded hillocks. I brought Hami to a halt and told him to kneel down.
Eagerly Collen leapt off his horse and hurried over to assist the old lady to dismount. “At last! You’ve come to your senses,” he said none too wisely.
I felt Grandmother stiffen, but she let me guide her to a convenient stone and sat down. “I think I need a rest now,” she remarked. “You may send for a cart to drive me home.”
Collen faltered. “A cart? But–”
Mercilessly she cut him off. “You don’t expect me climb up there again, do you, young man?” She waved a hand in Hami’s direction. “And remember to get a well sprung one, for I have no intention of being rattled about like a bag of turnips.”
“But…” Collen closed his mouth and with a sigh of resignation went off to arrange for one of his men to carry a message back to the Eyrie.
Grandmother snorted. “That one needs more seasoning.” She beckoned me closer. “Are you off now?”
I nodded. While she had been talking to Collen, I had surreptitiously laid a barrier across the road to keep their horses from following. With spring rising all around us, I had energy aplenty to pour into it.
She stroked my cheek with a frail hand. “My blessing goes with you, child.”
Impulsively I hugged her. “Thank you, Grandmother.” I grinned at her. “And don’t be too hard on poor Collen.”
The corners of her eyes crinkled. “Oh, he’s a good enough lad.”
I turned to Cerwen to say my good-byes, but she shook her head. “I’m coming with you.”
“What?” A dozen objections rose to my lips, but I paused. What had I said just now about Rhys learning to trust me?
“Please, Arisha,” Cerwen said. “I need to know that Taren is safe.”
How could I deny her? “All right,” I agreed. And after that it seemed churlish not to take Duach as well when he looked at me with his limpid brown eyes.
“You have to keep up though,” I reminded him, to which he wagged his tail in reply.
Owl rolled her eyes at this addition to our party, but motioned to Collen, who had finished with his errand. “We should go.”
I nodded. Hami had started to denude the bushes growing by the roadside, but now I had him boost me up on his back and gave the command to break into a run. Shouts arose behind us, but the last thing I heard before we turned around a corner was a querulous demand by Grandmother for a cushion. I laughed with exhilaration. We were free. My own personal Sword of Heaven indeed!
* * *
My barrier in combination with Grandmother must have worked, for we heard no pursuit. Owl soon ranged ahead to scout, while Cerwen and I settled into a routine of alternating walking with running that ate up the miles. I felt a bit guilty for pushing Hami so hard, but Rhys had three days’ head start on us that we needed to make up.
The road showed all the signs of an army having passed: hoof prints, trampled down grass and all the litter of such a large body of men. It almost seemed as if some gigantic monster had crawled by, flattening everything in its path. In the afternoon we passed the place of their first night’s camp, but did not pause. Soon afterwards Owl came trotting back.
“There is a side path we will take,” she announced and led us off the main road.
Hardly visible, the footpath snaked up the side of the hill, and at first I fretted at our slow pace, until I saw that it would cut off a large section of the road. Owl knew the land like the back of her hand, and that night we camped in a grove on the other side of the hills, having made much better progress than I had expected. It was a cold camp though because we didn’t want to attract any attention, and a silent one, as Owl was disinclined to talk and Cerwen and I plain exhausted. Duach, that glutton, ate half my bread and then disappeared into the bushes to go rabbit hunting.
The next day followed the same pattern, but on the third we had to take to little travelled side paths altogether because the main road was busy with army t
raffic. They couldn’t be far ahead now! My excitement mounted when I began to recognise certain landmarks. However, in the late afternoon Owl called a halt in a small clearing in the woods.
“We can go no farther while it is light,” she declared. “I will scout.” And with that she handed Cerwen the reins of her horse and disappeared into the underbrush.
While Cerwen unsaddled the horses and let them loose to roam the clearing, I freed Hami from all but the essential load. He got to gobble down the rest of his food, and I only kept my personal bag, the linens and the sack of flour. When we had finished we sank down in the grass exhausted. I ached all over from the long hours on Hami’s back.
Cerwen winced as her bum touched the hard ground. “I would kill for a hot bath,” she murmured.
Too tired to reply, I just nodded. My plan had sounded so easy when discussed that night with Grandmother: catch up with the army and talk to Rhys. I had not considered in the least how much hard travelling it would involve.
I sighed. “I probably look a mess.”
Cerwen grinned. “We both do.” She pulled at some grass. “I wonder if they’ll be pleased to see us?” She didn’t need to specify whom she meant.
I shrugged, but actually I doubted that Rhys would be thrilled. More likely he would try to send us back at once. I’d had plenty of time to consider Grandmother’s explanation of how he wanted to keep those safe that he cared for. He would hardly consider a battlefield an ideal place for us.
I wondered if the fighting had started already, but hopefully Owl would be able to tell me how things stood. Could she be trusted not to report to Rhys at once? Yet I had no choice, without her we would never have got so far so fast.
We spent the short remainder of the afternoon resting and taking turns with washing in a nearby stream. After all, it wouldn’t do to look like something dragged through the hedge and liberally coated in road dust when brokering a peace between two peoples. At least that was what I told myself.
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