Saenuvax shook his head. “There be tracks headed south…possibly two hundred men on foot, plus a dozen horses.” He glanced briefly at Drest for confirmation, since the older man was a much better tracker. Drest just grunted and gave a slow nod. He turned on his mount and studied the meadow for a moment then swiveled about to face his Héafodmann once more.
“Look to be movin’ quickly to the south,” Drest finally managed, “out of Iceni lands. Left most of the weapons,” he added with some significance.
Cadeyrn frowned. Prasutagus, the King of the Iceni, had recently turned ally with the Rỏmảniscs against Caratacus and the Trinovantes, which might explain their hasty retreat from Iceni lands, but the Rỏmảniscs were not inclined to leave weapons behind. In fact there’d been a spot of trouble not too many years back when the high-minded Rỏmảniscs attempted to disarm the Iceni. It hadn’t gone well for either side…but eventually an agreement was reached.
“Take up positions south of the meadow,” Cadeyrn ordered the outriders, finally coming to a decision. Good blades could not simply be left behind to rust, “while we see what we can find.”
Drest and Saenuvax spun away and without comment headed toward the southern end of the meadow. Cadeyrn had complete confidence that the men would warn them if the Rỏmảniscs suddenly had a change of heart and returned. They would have to leave fast if that happened. There were only sixteen men in the party assigned to escort Boudicca to Thetford, where the King waited. If she pleased him, it was said she’d be Queen, but that was up to Prasutagus. To Cadeyrn, the girl, though comely, seemed large and hulking, almost to the point of manliness. His tastes tended toward smaller, more rounded women, but he knew plenty of other men who did not share his opinion. Perhaps she would please the King; it was obvious she had spirit.
“Fan out,” the Héafodmann finally barked. “Let’s do this quickly,” he added and led his men out into the meadow of death.
Boudicca dropped from her horse and rushed forward, excited by the prospects of learning all she could about the tragic encounter. She’d not gone very far before she was thankful that Prasutagus had made peace with the Rỏmảniscs. The first dead man she came across had his midsection sliced open. By the looks of it he died trying to hold himself together. Boudicca paled slightly at the gore, but she’d seen dead men before, and the gruesome scene did not deter her from prying the large, two handed axe from the dead man’s grip. The axe was very heavy and ill balanced; even so Boudicca raised the weapon about shoulder high and drove the head into the moist earth. She’d retrieve it later as they headed off the field. The dead man also had a poorly made bone knife which she used to cut the blood soaked leather bag off his belt. The purse was heavy, but after a disappointing inspection she discovered that it contained mostly small pebbles.
“Pah!” She grumbled softly then tossed the useless bag aside. She quickly moved on to the next man, who had a bent pilum sticking from his chest. His own broken spear lay near his feet. A quick search revealed that this man was also quite destitute, but he was holding a wicked looking knife that was very well crafted. She immediately stuck the knife in her belt, before glancing about for the next victim.
The area she was in was relatively clear, and her eyes fell on the only body remaining within a dozen paces. The body was small compared to the others, obviously a young man, or perhaps even a boy. He was sprawled face down near a small patch of violet wildflowers. Boudicca glanced about, suddenly self-conscious, but no one was paying the slightest attention to her. She moved over quickly, knelt and gently turned the body over.
It was in fact a boy. Boudicca guessed he was around her age, perhaps a little older, but he was shorter and stockier. His shoulders were already growing wide, but his feet were still on the smallish side and sported a set of boots that looked almost brand new. The boy’s eyes were closed and his face was serene, almost like he was sleeping. He’d taken a sword point through the neck, just where it met his right shoulder. There was some blood, but not much. Everything about him looked peaceful, contradicting the violence that had obviously visited him so recently. At first she thought he might be a squire or perhaps a servant boy, but she quickly dismissed the notion, his clothes were far too fine for a commoner.
Despite the obvious wealth of his dress, the young man did not have a coin purse on him, nor did he have anything of value in any of his three jacket pockets. Boudicca however, was only briefly disappointed by the lack of booty, because for some reason her eyes kept returning to the young Trinovantes’ face. He seemed very familiar somehow, but she couldn’t ever remember meeting a boy from the Trinovantes tribe.
The dead boy’s cheeks and chin were smooth like a young girl’s, and his nose was small and perfectly shaped, at least in Boudicca’s opinion, but what really captivated her attention was his eyes. Though closed, they were guarded by the longest, darkest eyelashes she’d ever seen. She studied them for a long time, entranced by the way they curved upward over the tops of his cheek bones. They were very full, very long and very beautiful.
Without thinking she reached out and took his hand in hers. It was already cold, the fingers growing stiff, but it was well-formed and fit snugly into her own. She held it for several long moments, looking down into the dead boy’s face and wondering about his past.
“Hssst!”
Boudicca jumped and glanced up to find Héafodmann Cadeyrn staring at her. He motioned for her to hurry. Boudicca nodded sheepishly and flushed, as if he’d caught her doing something wrong. The moment felt a bit like when her father and a group of his men came across her while she was relieving herself in the woods. She’d felt embarrassed and a bit dirty, though it was a natural enough thing to do. Still, it was private, and should be left that way.
Boudicca sighed, silently wishing she had a bit of private time with the dead boy, but it was not to be. She spent a quick moment watching the men around her hunt for weapons and what few coins the Trinovantes had on them, before her eyes were drawn back to the boy’s face. He was so familiar…so lovely. She wished she knew his name or even the name of his village, so she might be able to find out more about him. She sighed again, suddenly sad, and then scooted down to examine his boots more closely.
They were new…practically brand new, with only a few scuff marks. She held her feet up to his and was quickly satisfied that they would be a reasonably good fit. So with only one quick, guilty glance at the boy’s face, she began to work on his right boot. It was a little tight and did not want to slide off easily. She wrestled with it, gripping his leg intimately, as she slowly worked the boot off. After it reached a certain point however, it glided along the boy’s heel and came off easily.
The pale skin of the boy’s feet caught Boudicca’s attention for a brief moment. His skin looked soft, almost translucent. She resisted the urged to touch him, though his foot was astonishingly clean. She turned her attention back to the boot. The leather was soft and surprisingly supple, and she quickly stripped off her own, muddy boot.
The boy’s boot slipped over her own foot much easier than it had come off his, and it only took a moment for Boudicca to realize it was a perfect fit. She wiggled her toes happily, the new leather giving way just a little.
Boudicca grinned and hastily moved to the boy’s left foot. A few minutes later the boy was not only dead, but also barefoot. Boudicca hardly noticed as she slipped on the second boot and then quickly stood up. Her initial judgment was correct; the boots were a perfect fit. She walked a few paces to the north before turning and running south for a dozen feet, jumping over a small, watery ditch as she went. The boots performed admirably and Boudicca found she was oddly grateful that the young man had died. She smiled broadly as she turned back, but then stopped dead in her tracks as something glinted in the tall rushes of the ditch.
It was a short sword…or a long knife, as she picked it up she couldn’t really decide. The entire weapon from hilt to tip was just over two feet in length. It was finely made with a coar
se grip that kept the weapon from sliding in her palm. She swung the sword a few times and then spun it about. The balance was excellent…almost perfect. There was a shallow fuller running down the center of the blade on each side, reducing the weight and making it easy to swing back and forth very rapidly.
‘It must have belonged to the boy,’ Boudicca thought as she moved back to his side and gazed down at his peaceful face.
“Let me see that!” Belenus said loudly, almost a command, as he walked quickly to Boudicca’s side. She frowned and hesitated for just a moment, but then handed it to the big man. Belenus smiled and swung the short sword several times. It looked small in his hands, but Belenus obviously approved of the weapon.
“Great balance…good weight and see this,” he added showing the girl the hilt of the sword. “That’s shark skin, excellent, won’t slip even if yor hand is sweaty…” he suddenly paused with a wolfish grin on his face, “or bloody.” He finished.
“Thanks for this,” he quickly added and began to walk away, still holding the sword.
“Belenus! Tis me sword!” Boudicca demanded and followed quickly after him. Belenus ignored her and continued walking until Boudicca finally caught up and grabbed him by the shoulder.
Belenus spun and raised the sword threateningly.
“Tis me sword! I claim it!”
The warrior frowned and shook his head. “Ye gave it to me,” he answered, his face flushed with anger.
“Just to inspect,” Boudicca countered defiantly, staring him directly in the eye. “Return it!” She demanded and held out a hand. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Héafodmann Cadeyrn moving closer. The rules regarding the spoils of war were murky at best, but she was relatively confident that the captain would see it her way.
Belenus spun the sword again as if checking the balance, but it was clear to Boudicca that he was trying to intimidate her. She wasn’t having any of it and lashed out, trying to grab the big man’s wrist. Belenus laughed and pulled his arm back and out of her reach.
“Wot’s this?” Cadeyrn asked, striding up to the pair quickly. Boudicca was in his care during the trip to Thetford and he didn’t mean to anger the King by seeing her needlessly injured by the very men sent along to protect her.
“I found the sword and Belenus is taking it,” Boudicca spouted quickly. Belenus smiled again.
“She gave it to me,” he countered lightly, as if he didn’t have any worries about how the verdict would fall.
Boudicca felt anger boiling up from her stomach. “You asked to see it…but now I want it back,” she replied angrily and actually took another threatening step toward Belenus.
The warrior laughed. ‘The girl certainly was bold…and brave, if a little stupid,’ he thought, since at the moment he was holding a sword, while her hands were empty. He spun the sword again to emphasize the fact, but the act seemed lost on the girl.
Not so on Cadeyrn, who felt his own anger grow.
“Belenus…return it,” he ordered simply and when the man hesitated he dropped his own hand to the hilt of his long sword.
Belenus frowned momentarily but then shrugged and laughed, though no one believed the sound to be actual mirth. He played off his disappointment by kneeling before the girl. He bent one arm and laid the sword across it, hilt closest to Boudicca.
“Yor sword M’lady,” he added and when Boudicca sighed, his grin became genuine.
Boudicca couldn’t keep a smile from forming on her face. “I should kill ye with it,” she said softly as she grasped the hilt and pulled the sword away.
“Me life is in yor hands,” Belenus replied, spreading his arms wide.
Boudicca shook her head. “Yor impossible,” she admitted and now everyone in the vicinity laughed.
“Come, let’s get underway,” Héafodmann Cadeyrn called out and the men that were spread out across the meadow immediately began to move his way.
Belenus jumped to his feet and eyed Boudicca again, suddenly attracted to her where before there was little interest. She was a bit too tall, but her lines were elegant and though he would not consider her pretty, her face was pleasing in its own way, set aglow by the fire in her eyes.
“The axe there,” Boudicca started, and motioned to the weapon planted in the ground a short distance behind her. She was young, but she understood the man’s appraising stare and gave it back with equal measure, “ye can have it, tis too heavy for me.”
Belenus grunted and studied the weapon from his position. It seemed finely made; a large two-handed battle axe. Surprisingly he felt a wave of gratitude, for his search had uncovered nothing more than a poorly made knife and a couple of copper coins.
“M’lady,” he said with exaggerated reverence and quickly moved off to inspect his prize.
Boudicca laughed again.
“Come girl,” Cadeyrn said and began to move off toward his mount.
Boudicca nodded and followed, but as she came to the dead boy she dropped once more to her knees beside him.
She studied his face intently for several long moments, wanting to memorize every feature.
“The boots are wonderful,” she finally whispered, hating the idea of leaving him all alone in the meadow, “and I thank ye for the fine sword.”
“Boudicca!” Cadeyrn shouted, when he discovered she was lagging.
Boudicca motioned that she was coming and then quickly pressed her fingers to her lips. She kissed them with oddly strong feelings, and then pressed them to the boy’s cold, pale lips.
‘I’ll not forget,’ she promised silently and then jumped to her feet and bounded across the meadow with youthful exuberance. She caught up and passed Cadeyrn within moments, and was sitting on her horse as he approached.
He nodded to her, but she was staring off into the meadow and did not see. Suddenly a strange wave of affection swept over him, and for the first time on the trip he hoped that Prasutagus would take the girl for his queen. She was regal and brave and Cadeyrn believed she would represent the Iceni well.
Once mounted, the Héafodmann wasted little time and ordered his men to move out. They rode back to the small track that led to Thetford, with Cadeyrn and Boudicca in the lead.
Boudicca hardly noticed; her eyes never left the spot in the meadow where the dead boy rested among the tall grasses. She only faced forward when the entire meadow was lost behind the thickening forest of trees.
♀
They reached the outskirts of Thetford just before sundown. The shops and homes that sprouted outside the gates of the thriving market town were already boarded up for the night, but there were two taverns and a large inn with torches lit outside their doors, indicating that they were still open for business. Héafodmann Cadeyrn did not stop however, or even slow down, until they reached the front gates of the walled town. At the moment the gates were creaking slowly closed, pushed by a half dozen well-armed guards.
“Hold!’ Cadeyrn called out and spurred his mount forward. The guards at the gate snapped to attention, but quickly relaxed when they recognized the Captain. The large wooden gates immediately reversed their course and swung open enough to allow the travelers through, while a boy was sent to warn the Burgealdor, or town magistrate, of their arrival.
Cadeyrn and his men pushed through the outer edges of the town, and weaved their way through the narrow streets until they came to a large, open courtyard that surrounded the central hall. The Burgealdor was out and waiting for them.
“Ye’ve made good time,” Haerviu greeted loudly as they approached. He was big man,with broad shoulders and a full black beard, sprinkled with a hint of red and gray. He marched forward confidently and gave Cadeyrn a powerful hug once he dismounted.
Héafodmann Cadeyrn put up with the indignity as well as he was able, after all, Haerviu was a cousin…and a good friend. Once he released the smaller man, Haerviu scanned the nearby group and quickly spotted the girl.
“Ye be Boudicca?”
Boudicca frowned. “If na then th
e Héafodmann has traveled a far way for nothing,” she answered sternly, though deep inside she already knew she liked this large, smiling magistrate.
Haerviu laughed, but Cadeyrn frowned and quickly decided the coming encounter would not be fit for his men.
“Get the horses brushed and stalled,” he ordered loudly, though the men needed no encouragement. They were all hungry and tired, but they would see to their mounts first, for the animals were worth almost as much as a man.
As the men moved off toward the stables, Haerviu stepped closer and gave the girl the most thorough inspection she’d ever received from a man’s eyes. They traveled to every part of her body several times, and Boudicca felt her face flush wildly. When the Burgealdor finished his examination, his eyes finally came up to meet her own.
“Ye be tall,” he commented. “Yor age?”
Boudicca straightened her shoulders. “Fourteen…fifteen in a season’s time.”
Haerviu grunted. “Open yor mouth…let me see yor teeth.”
“Am I a horse now, to be inspected then bought and sold?” She demanded, feeling her face grow hotter still.
“Hush girl,” Cadeyrn commanded, but Boudicca barely heard him.
“Na, but ye may be the queen someday,” Haerviu replied, unmoved by her demeanor. He’d word of the girl’s temperament…and her bravery, but that was not all that made a queen. “But only if’n ye be fit. Now open up.”
Boudicca sighed and opened her mouth; after all she had nothing to hide. She had all her teeth and they were healthy enough, though a bit crooked along the bottom. Haerviu moved close enough now that Boudicca could smell his breath as he slowly checked her teeth. When he was satisfied he grabbed her shoulders, gripping them firmly.
“Good…no ailments?” he asked.
Boudicca shook her head.
“Have ye flowered?”
Boudicca’s face bloomed red, the flush noticeable to Cadeyrn despite the growing darkness.
“Haerviu! Have ye lost yor mind askin’ the future queen such a thing,” a woman bellowed from across the courtyard.
One Life Well and Truly Promised Page 18