by Marcus Lee
The woman curtseyed very low, showing a full cleavage. ‘Would our guest do me the honour of a dance?’ she asked.
Taran smiled politely but shook his head. ‘No. I’m sorry, but my wife and I have yet to share our first dance.’
The woman frowned. ‘You probably don’t appreciate that I am Yana, granddaughter of your host Laska, and it is rude to the point of an insult to refuse a lord’s blood kin a simple dance. So, I suggest you entertain me at least for a little while, or you might find yourself cast out earlier than you would appreciate!’
Her eyes were full of fire as she said this, and Taran knew it wasn’t an idle threat. So with an apologetic look at Maya, he stood. Yana grabbed his hand and within moments pulled him around the fire with the other people in a slow close dance.
Her perfume was heady, her smile bright, and she was obviously used to getting her way, yet Taran could only wish his first dance was with Maya, who he occasionally glimpsed through the fire looking very sad on the other side.
‘You do realise,’ said Yana, ‘that you should be doing your very best to impress me. You might find I could persuade my grandfather to seek to have you spared, but only if you please me enough.’ She moved her body closer, arms firmly around his neck, as her mouth sought his.
Taran pulled back. ‘No,’ he said, and started to turn away.
‘Now, now, you can’t blame a girl for trying now can you,’ Yana pouted, and she was all sweetness as she pulled him around in a whirl of colour. ‘You seem different from the others,’ she continued.
Taran wondered for a moment if Yana had somehow recognised his gift, but as he started to read her mind, he noticed from the corner of his eye Brandon staring at him in interest, and now just like Maya he couldn’t call upon it. Taran stared his hatred, but the Ranger just raised his goblet and sipped cautiously from the wine, a mocking smile on his face, then turned back to Maya and Rakan once more.
Yana saw Taran’s look and laughed. ‘He is ever so handsome,’ she said. ‘Yet, there is something special about you.’ Her hands moved over his shoulders. ‘So wide, so strong, a woman could easily lose herself in your arms and know happiness.’
Taran started to pull away again, but Yana held on. ‘Listen first to my proposal. I had hoped to enjoy you for a full night, but I can see now that will never happen. You are a rare one, and I’m more than just a little envious. So, one kiss, just one kiss from those full lips of yours, and I will grant you a small favour. Nothing dangerous. I can’t help you escape, I can’t give you weapons, and I certainly can’t kill those Rangers for you, but perhaps I can ease your passing. I could arrange for a little sleep weed to find its way to your cabin. Take that, and you might be too drowsy tomorrow to even feel the executioner’s blade. No fear, no panic, just one breath here, the next gone. What do you think?’
Taran thought for a moment, then leaned forward to whisper in Yana’s ear. She looked thoughtful for a moment before her broad smile returned, and she nodded.
Her hands went to the back of Taran’s neck again, and this time he didn’t pull away.
-----
Maya sat next to Rakan feeling despondent.
Not only was the sentence of death hanging over their heads but Rakan seemed on a mission to get blind drunk. He drank goblet after goblet of wine as if he had hollow legs, and now Taran had been pulled away by this woman, who Maya had to admit was breathtaking by anyone’s standards.
She understood why Taran had said yes, but it still hurt a lot. Despite their situation, she’d wanted to dance with Taran and had been waiting for him to ask her. The music was slow, then just when she felt he would, this Yana had come up and pulled him away in a swirl of bright colours and lots of exposed flesh.
In her heart, she knew Taran liked her a lot, but slow dances such as these on midsummer’s night were supposed to be for those you felt an attraction to, or even more. You just didn’t dance slowly with someone unless something was there. Fast dances were different, but slow ones, no. Without a doubt, it seemed that this Yana was very interested in Taran, and it would be hard for Taran not to see the numerous qualities of this brazen woman either.
Thankfully, they had moved to the other side of the fire where they were almost out of sight, for she didn’t want Taran to see the pain in her eyes.
After what seemed an eternity, Taran reappeared looking very sheepish and sat down beside her.
‘I’m sorry, truly I am,’ he said softly.
Maya found herself angry with Taran, and yet she didn’t want to feel this way on their last night together. So why had he kissed Yana? What possible reason could there be beyond the obvious?
‘Was it worth it?’ Maya demanded. ‘The dance, the kiss?’
Taran shook his head. ‘Likely not. She offered to try and have my life spared if I lay with her, but I refused.’
‘But you kissed her anyway,’ hissed Maya, feeling like her heart would burst. ‘The dance was bad enough, but why the kiss if you refused? Do you know of the hurt you’ve caused me?’
‘The kiss was because I asked her to add a little sleep weed into Brandon’s cup, and that was her price,’ Taran explained. ‘It seems Laska and her have no love for them, but they have no choice but to do the Witch-King’s bidding. I had hoped it might cloud that damned power of Brandon’s because now every time I try and use mine, all I can see are his eyes as well. So no, it was not worth it, and I regret having done it. I would take it back if I could.’
‘You do realise I’ve been waiting to dance with you,’ Maya said, slightly mollified, but her head and voice were downcast. Taran’s hand gently lifted her chin, and she looked into his blue eyes, and saw the sorrow and genuine regret there over having hurt her, and knew his pain matched hers in some way.
‘I so wanted to dance with you too,’ Taran said sincerely, and he took Maya’s hand in his, and bowed a little from the waist. ‘If my lady wife, as Rakan earlier declared us, would care to honour me with this dance, then my happiness would know no limits.’
‘Lady wife? Aren't we a little too presumptuous?’ Maya smiled a little. ‘I feel I need to get to know you better before I’m ready to take that step!’
With some reluctance because of the hurt inside, Maya allowed Taran to hold her in his arms. They moved together to the rhythm of the music, and Maya laughed nervously, for this was her first-ever dance with a man having been kept from every village gathering since she was a child. Despite looking down, Maya found herself treading on Taran’s feet, however much she tried to avoid them.
‘I’m terrible,’ she muttered, and tried to pull away in embarrassment, but Taran firmly refused to let her go.
‘Look into my eyes,’ insisted Taran. ‘Let me lead you.’
Maya felt his arms and body guide her, as she stared into his eyes, and then laughed in relief as they smoothly circled the fire twice more, before coming back to where they’d started.
As they sat, Maya frowned and rubbed her head. ‘For a moment there, those damned eyes of Brandon’s almost faded away!’ she said, and they looked across the fire to see the Ranger looking back at them. Yana was serving him and the other Rangers drinks, but as ever they only sipped lightly, taking their duty too seriously to indulge.
Taran glanced at Rakan and shook his head as he saw him finish another goblet.
‘Would you walk with me?’ asked Taran. ‘Somehow, if this is our last night, I don’t want to have to share it with so many people.’
Maya’s hand slipped into his, and they stood up. ‘I do believe we have a cabin of our own,’ she said. ‘Do you think we could stay up all night and talk, just the two of us, make the most of this time. I want to know more about you before ... well, before it’s too late.’
Taran noted two of the Rangers and Laska’s guard start to follow them as they slowly walked away from the fire. Yet he was pleased to notice Brandon stifle a yawn even as those cold blue eyes burned into his. Taran cursed as he turned away, for their image stayed with
him.
The walk to the cabin lasted only a short while, but Maya leaned into Taran as they walked, and his arm wrapped her waist. On any normal night, it would have been the perfect stroll.
As they entered, Taran turned to close the door and saw their four escorts station themselves a little distant to overlook the lodgings.
Someone, likely one of Laska’s retinue had lit several candles, and the inside was infused with a homely glow. A small fire burned in the hearth, two chairs in front of it, with a clay pitcher of water and two goblets placed on a table.
Taran went to sit, but Maya shook her head, reaching out her hand.
‘I’m tired. Can we lay down?’ she asked, and led Taran to the bed in the corner of the room which had a thick fur was draped across it.
Taran lay down on his back, and Maya crawled up right next to him, her arm draping over his chest and her head nestled into the crook of his neck. Taran wrapped his arms around her, and she held him tightly by return.
‘I can’t get his damned eyes out of my mind,’ Maya complained. ‘They’ve faded a little, but still, all I can see is them. When we danced they almost went away, but now they’re back. I want our last night to be just you and I. Help me, help me get him out of my head!’
Taran was desperate for an answer; he had to do something. ‘Look at me, I have an idea,’ he whispered, and slowly moved his face closer as Maya’s dark eyes stared back into his. Taran gently brushed his lips against hers, then kissed her softly, his mouth lingering.
Maya moaned and closed her eyes. After a while she opened them again. ‘That helped, but now you’ve stopped, his eyes are back.’ Her lips found Taran’s and their kiss lasted longer, much longer.
‘Better again,’ she gasped, ‘but not enough!’ and quickly, she grabbed Taran’s shirt, then pulled it over his head. They hesitated for several heartbeats, searching for something in the other's eyes, then Taran tugged at Maya’s shirt, and within moments they were beneath the fur, warm bodies pressed against each other.
‘If this is to be my last night, I want to feel alive like never before. I want you now!’ Maya demanded.
Taran paused for a moment, and then Maya was underneath him, and the time for words was over.
Later, much later, Taran held Maya in his arms. She breathed softly and snuffled as she drifted off to sleep. Her legs entangled with his and Taran’s heart was so full of happiness that he could hardly believe it.
The sound of the revelry was soft in the background, and the hypnotic beat of the drums combined with Maya’s warm body made his eyes close even as he fought to keep them open. He needed to tell her something, but she seemed so peaceful, and however much Taran wanted to, he wouldn’t wake her; wake her to the reality that death would soon find them.
So instead, he closed his eyes and surrendered to exhaustion, but as he did so, he thought the words he wanted to say.
‘I love you, my princess,’ and as he did so, he fell asleep.
A few moments passed, and Maya sleepily opened her eyes, a smile upon her lips as she kissed Taran’s bare chest.
‘I love you too, my prince,’ she said, and sleep found her again.
-----
Laska was not well known for being at his best in the mornings.
He was known to be a fair man, but if you got on the wrong side of him in the early hours, then you might find yourself digging and filling the latrine pits all week.
Thus, when the banging on his door woke him, despite the fact it was still only just brightening outside, he knew something had to be wrong, very wrong, for one of his guards to so awaken him.
He sat bolt upright in bed, pushing a young woman to one side as he did so. He was far too old to fulfil her physically, but he enjoyed the company nonetheless. Sighing, he rose and opened the door, one hand behind his back, dagger ready just in case.
A guard stood there looking petrified.
‘What is it man?’ asked Laska, with a growl.
The guard managed to find his voice. ‘I can’t explain it, my lord. You need to see it for yourself, please come.’
The guard’s tone and demeanour conveyed the urgency, so Laska quickly threw on his clothes from the night before, and was out the door before his side of the bed cooled. He walked down the long hallway, across creaking floorboards, designed so that anyone approaching his rooms would give themselves away, then walked down the circular steps to the hall below. It was full of detritus from the last night’s festivities, and several of his men still slept where they had fallen asleep, goblets in hand.
‘Attend your lord!’ he called.
The men roused themselves from sleep and were soon swaying unsteadily at Laska’s side as he strode out of the hall, following the young guard who guided them to the east of the settlement where it abutted the mountains.
Laska’s heart sank with every step, for now he knew where the trouble lay.
Had those damned Rangers slaughtered the fugitives in their sleep? It was unlikely they’d escaped in the night from under the noses of the guards. Laska, too impatient to wait any longer, grabbed the soldier leading him. ‘Just tell me, man, what is it?’ he demanded.
‘Here, my lord, just a few steps further,’ was the response, and then they turned a corner.
‘By the gods above,’ cried Laska, eyes open wide.
The guards that followed, alarmed at his distress, pushed forward swords unsheathed. As they surrounded him, first one, then another exclaimed in disbelief.
Laska stood there, mind racing, eyes flicking back and forth. This was going to be a day bathed in blood, of that there was no doubt.
‘Fetch the bowmen and men-at-arms!’ he ordered the man standing next to him. ‘Fetch them now, and fetch them all.’
-----
Chapter XVIII
Taran had awoken early to find Maya still in his arms, and her warm body pressed close.
For a moment, with his eyes closed and still feeling sleepy, he felt nothing but overwhelming joy, and the desire that this moment would last forever. The memories of the night before, of giving themselves so willingly to one another, whirred around in his mind. Now, for the first time in his life, Taran realised what love was all about.
He felt something tickle his nose, but as he didn’t want to wake Maya, he just wriggled it, but still the tickly persisted. So he opened his eyes slowly, hoping that it would still be dark and that dawn was some way off, to see the most beautiful butterfly sat on his nose looking back at him. Then he saw the room beyond the butterfly, and he couldn’t believe his eyes.
It was as if he’d woken up in paradise. The simple wooden cabin with its bare walls, sparse furniture and packed earthen floor was now anything but. The cabin walls were now covered in vines, and these had blossomed, so that as Taran looked up, there was a canopy of green leaves and white flowers over the bed amongst which other butterflies flew.
The earthen floor was now covered by a bed of grass so long and lush that it reached up to the side of the bed itself, and Taran reached out an arm to run his hands through it, before carefully shooing the butterfly from his nose.
Even the wooden posts of the bed had grown once again having rooted themselves and turned into saplings. They spread slender branches above, covered in pink flowers to mix with the white.
Maya’s gift had not only returned, but it had returned far stronger than before.
‘Oh, my princess,’ he thought, ‘never have I been in love before until now.’
Maya opened her eyes and smiled sleepily into Taran’s face. ‘I have never been in love before either,’ she said, ‘and I want to hear you say it for the rest of our lives.’
Taran sat up quickly.
‘Hey,’ said Maya, ‘that’s not quite the response I expected. What’s wrong?’
She sat up too then, her eyes opening wide. ‘My gift, it’s back!’ Maya laughed and turned to Taran, throwing her arms around his neck before kissing him softly on the mouth. ‘There is truly magic be
tween us for you brought my gift back.’
‘And you mine as well,’ said Taran, ‘but much more than before.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Maya.
‘Kiss me,’ thought Taran.
Maya smiled, and was about to do as Taran bade when her hand went to her mouth. ‘You didn’t say anything. You didn’t speak the words, yet I heard them!’ and her eyes opened wide as she said this.
Taran held Maya’s face gently between his hands and looked into her eyes. ‘Even though this is our last day, I will fight for who I love. I can’t let them take what we have away from us without trying. We have to fight.’
Maya’s eyes shone. ‘We fight,’ she said.
‘We will have to kill,’ Taran cautioned.
Maya nodded. ‘We will have to kill,’ she said, repeating the words back to him, and looked him firmly in the eye as she did so.
‘Now we need to get Rakan before the sun rises much more. We need to fight together to be at our strongest,’ Taran said, and at that moment, the latch to the door lifted, and the door swung open.
Maya pulled the fur blanket up over her as Taran leapt out of bed.
Rakan walked in and pushed the door closed behind him before turning to look at Taran.
‘I’m not sure I want to go to my grave, with that, the last image on my mind,’ said Rakan with a roll of his eyes. ‘Quickly get some clothes on!’ and as he said this, he turned his back to them both, hands moving over the grass and blossom, looking at the butterflies, and shook his head in wonder.
‘This could change everything. If Laska now sees what you’re capable of, he might try and stand against the Rangers. He can see the land is dying, and after that, his people will follow, but this,’ and Rakan gestured around the room. ‘No one can deny Maya’s power to heal the land and her value now.’
‘Could his men win?’ Taran asked, as he and Maya finished getting dressed and they moved to stand before Rakan.
Rakan grimaced. ‘On their own, I doubt it. But if we somehow manage to coordinate, fight together, we might have a chance. But how can we convince him and agree on a plan, when there are two Rangers outside looking as unhappy as I’ve ever seen them? I doubt they will let us have an audience.’