by K T Findlay
He shot back up to tree top height where he was able to see a gang of 5 slavers running grimly down the forest path, axes held loosely in their hands. The girls were cantering away, and Wulfstan estimated that they would have about a half mile lead by the time this new lot reached the bodies of their friends. He took note of their heading and shot off as fast as he could back to Tamworth.
Just a minute later he was pouring the story into Thomas’s ear.
Thomas jumped to his feet. ‘Ladies! Kelsey!’ he called. ‘Grab your swords, bows and arrows. We’re going on a ride!’ and ran off towards the stables, calling out to get the horses ready as soon as possible.
He himself put the bridle on his jet black horse. He’d decided to call him Obsidian after the volcanic glass, because of the sheen on the animal’s coat, and the hard muscles underneath it. He was a beautiful specimen, powerful, yet docile in the boy’s hands. Thomas stroked the side of Obsidian’s nose, gently but firmly, and murmured affectionately into his ear.
Rowena glanced over at him, and called out ‘What are we doing?’
Thomas grinned. ‘Practising! We have to be ready for anything that Grimketil might throw at us, so we’re going to pretend that we’re after a group of raiders.’
Deena and Deana looked at each other. Deena shook her head slowly and whispered to her sister ‘Boys!’
Wulfstan, hovering nearby laughed to himself. ‘Girl, are you in for a surprise!’
Fifteen minutes later Thomas and his troop were cantering easily down the road, the spare horses in tow. They slowed to a trot as they went past the first two slaver columns, then back up to the canter until they hit the third. Thomas would have preferred a gallop, but a canter is easy for a new rider to stay with, and a gallop is not. He couldn’t afford any of the girls to fall off now.
Rowena and Berthilda sat easily, moving as one with their mounts. Deena and Deana were clinging on tight with their legs, working hard to stay on board. Riding between these two pairs, the newly named Melody was having the most trouble, anxiety etched on her face, and her left hand gripping her horse’s mane tightly.
Wulfstan dropped a word to Thomas who turned his head back to look at her. ‘Try to relax Melody!’ he called. ‘Embers is a good horse, and she’ll take care of you if you let her!’
Melody was too tense to reply, but she did try to relax her grip on the horse’s mane a little. Embers ran easily and effortlessly behind Blade, Rowena’s pure white horse. Melody had called the horse Embers because of the reddish undertones amongst its brown coat, and the warmth of its nature. Right now though, she felt that perhaps Raging Inferno might have been a better name, as the tree branches on the side of the road seemed to lunge out to try and sweep her off her saddle.
With Wulfstan scouting ahead, they hit the third group at speed.
‘Stay tight in behind me girls!’ cried Thomas, and following Wulfstan’s directions he flicked left through the startled slavers onto the forest path. They slowed to a trot now and then, to manage the tree branches encroaching along the path, but Wulfstan’s scouting skills were really sharp these days, and he enabled Thomas to maintain a high pace.
Ten minutes later they burst out of the forest into a grassy meadow that was surrounded on one side by the trees they’d just left, and on the others by the river which bent around it. The current here was both fast and deep.
The five women had their backs to it, faces determined, spears, knives and rocks held at the ready. They had nowhere left to run, but were determined to go down fighting. They had tasted slavery for a short time, and preferred death to a lifetime of misery.
The five slavers were moving warily towards them, axes held lightly in their hands. The death of their fellows had hardened their mood, and they had no interest in taking the women alive. There was no playfulness in their faces, just cold intent.
The thunder of hooves caused both parties to turn and look. The slavers were bemused, not recognising the riders but understanding the wealth and power that the quality of horses implied. The women’s shoulders slumped a little, as what little odds they thought they might have had, now seemed to have slipped to zero.
Thomas cantered past the slavers, paying them just a nod as he passed, and rode on towards the slaves. The two women with spears raised them, as if preparing to throw.
‘Hold hard ladies!!’ he cried. ‘We’re on your side!’
He twisted in his saddle and called back ‘Melody! Deena! Deana! Over to the women’s left flank, dismount and ready your bows! Rowena and Berthilda secure their right flank! Kelsey, stay mounted and mind the horses on the left flank! Be ready with your sword if we need it!’
The escaped slaves operated as a unit once more. The two on either side rotated their stance to face the new arrivals, while their leader stared impassively at Thomas, spear held warily in her right hand.
Thomas gave her a nod before walking his horse slowly over to the slavers. ‘I am Prince Wulfstan of Mercia. Which of you is the leader here?’
A man with a red hat raised his hand. ‘Our leader is back on the road, but I am Wada, the senior man amongst us here. We are trying to recapture our property.’ He indicated the women.
‘I may be able to help you there.’ smiled Thomas. ‘I might be keen to buy.’
Wada shook his head. ‘They are no longer for sale. Their escape would have incurred severe enough punishment, but they have killed two of our friends, and stolen two horses. They are to be put to death, here and now.’
The lead woman shook her spear angrily. ‘They killed my father and his brother, and stole us as slaves! They got what they deserved, a life for a life!’
The slavers stiffened, ready for battle.
Thomas smiled. ‘It sounds as if they may have a point. Did you do what she has accused you of?’
Wada snarled. ‘They are Northumbrians! They are fair game. The men resisted and paid the price. It is their own fault they are dead! We would have sold them unharmed.’
‘And your men attacked us when they could have left us alone!’ cried the woman. Then she mimicked him cruelly ‘It is their own fault they are dead!’ and spat nastily onto the ground.
Wada started to run towards her, the muscles in his axe arm tense and ready to strike.
Kelsey drew his sword.
All five girls drew their bows, each picking a different target.
Wada stopped and turned angrily to Thomas. ‘They are ours! We have the right to do what we will with them. Why are you interfering Your Highness?’
Thomas smiled gently. ‘Come my friend, you cannot win this fight. They might be lightly built girls but you’ll each have an arrow in you before you get another five steps.’
He straightened up on his horse, watching the man’s axe hand clench white. ‘Surely it’s better to come to terms? I’ll pay well you know.’
The man shook his head. ‘I cannot agree terms. My master would not allow it. You would have to speak to him, and he is back on the road.’
Thomas nodded. ‘Understood. So send one or two of the others back to get him. We’ll wait.’ He indicated to the women to relax their bows.
The man hesitated.
Thomas raised the stakes. ‘I tell you what. Perhaps your master would prefer it if I took possession of them now, and he can meet me in the palace at Tamworth to discuss terms?’
The man’s jaw dropped. ‘My master would want them killed. He will certainly not want them taken away!’
‘Then we are agreed I think. You will send one or two of your men here to fetch your master. The rest of us will wait and chat amongst ourselves until he gets here. We are agreed, are we not?’ he asked, cocking his head the side, his trademark gentle smile in place.
Wada stammered and blustered for a bit, but eventually waved off two of his men back up the path.
Thomas walked his horse over to the women, dismounted, and offered his hand to the leader. He gave them his now well used spiel.
One of them objected that
they were not slaves but free women who had been kidnapped.
Thomas countered with a description of their circumstances at that moment, but offered them safe passage with his party regardless of their choice. ‘You can make your minds up tomorrow morning, after you’ve had a good meal, and a chance to chat with the others.’
An hour later the slave master walked out of the forest with five men. He scanned Thomas’s group, assessing their strength.
‘There are four archers moving into position on our left, just at the edge of the forest.’ reported Wulfstan.
Thomas had a brief chat with Melody, then mounted and rode over to the slave master.
The man assessed him coolly. ‘I am Polhard, the owner of these slaves. Is it not dangerous for a young prince to be out on his own in the forest?’
‘I am not alone.’ said Thomas, indicating his troop.
The slave master waved his hand. ‘Children. Apart from that one of course.’ he indicated Kelsey. ‘But there are enough of us to take him down easily enough.’
Thomas drilled him with his gaze. ‘So you think that twelve of you are enough to take us?’
‘Twelve my Lord?’ smiled Polhard smoothly. ‘We are only eight. But yes, even eight would be enough.’
‘If you are indeed only eight, then it should be alright for my friends to do a bit of target practice.’ snapped Thomas. ‘I think there may be some game over there in the forest.’ he said, pointing to where Polhard's archers lay in wait.
The slave master looked at him, his face unreadable. ‘We are only eight.’ he insisted.
Thomas returned the stare for a full minute, then shrugged his shoulders. ‘As you wish.’ He caught Melody’s eye and nodded.
She swiftly drew her bow, took aim and let fly. The arrow sped across the grass and into the trees, where there was a soft thud, followed by a rustle of shrubbery. A second arrow was on its way only seconds later, followed by a third. On each occasion there was the same soft thud and the shimmer of leaves.
The rustling exploded into the loud crashing of underbrush being smashed out of the way by a panicked animal, getting rapidly fainter as the one surviving archer ran for his life.
‘You are indeed eight.’ said Thomas with a straight face. ‘As you said, and as you wished. My apologies for ever having doubted you.’
Polhard had gone very pale.
Thomas leaned down to put his face closer to his and murmured ‘I prefer straight forward and transparent dealings.’ his double meaning very clear. ‘What if I pay you double what you’d get at the market for them? Then we can all get back to our lives.’
The slave master smiled anxiously. ‘That’s all very well Your Highness, but I have two dead men and two stolen horses to recover as well.’
‘They tell me that the horses belonged to their families before you kidnapped them. That means they have simply retrieved their property, so you’re owed no compensation there. The two dead men are wergild for that woman’s father and brother. No compensation there either. Do you accept double their value? Yes or no?’
The man gulped, bemused by this very strange and frightening child. Finally, he nodded his assent, and Thomas handed over the cash. Thomas also asked for a receipt which offended the slave master, but he sullenly wrote one out regardless.
The men left the clearing, one of them casting curious looks at where the shrubbery noises had come from, but Polhard shot him a look of such antipathy that he quickly looked straight ahead again.
Thomas watched them go, then quietly turned his horse, and trotted back to the group by the river.
12 Double digits
Thomas did the introductions from his side.
‘I’m Freawaru.’ said the leader, a strongly built blonde.
Thomas laughed. ‘That means peaceful hearth, doesn’t it? Well, I can certainly see the fire!’
She shot him a look. ‘And this is my sister Storm. We’re blacksmiths.’
The look continued, daring him to say anything.
He nodded. ‘That explains the strength and the skill. Most impressive.’
Still guarded, she introduced the others. ‘These are my cousins, Topaz, Scarlett and Jade.’
‘And what do they do?’ asked Thomas.
‘Sometimes they help out at the forge, but Scarlett can read and write, so she kept the business books. Topaz and Jade are polishers and sharpeners for the knives we make.’
Thomas bowed. ‘It’s very unusual to meet any female blacksmiths at all, let alone two of them together. Throw in two polishers and sharpeners and it’s unheard of!’
Freawaru glared at him defensively. ‘Our father had no sons. He wanted Storm and me to marry so he’d have people who could take over the business when he got too old.’
Storm laughed, tossing her long ash blonde hair across her powerful shoulders. ‘But we didn’t think anyone in the village was worth marrying, so we put him off all the time!’
Freawaru nodded. ‘So Storm and I insisted he teach us ourselves, and after a lot of arguing, he did. We’re good too! Not as strong as the men perhaps, but we can do pretty much everything they can except the really heavy stuff, and some things we do better than them.’
‘I don’t doubt that for a moment.’ Thomas replied. He knew that there had indeed been female blacksmiths through the ages, despite many people thinking it was a male only craft. ‘So was that why he let Topaz and Jade try out the polishing and sharpening? Because you two turned out so good as blacksmiths?’
Topaz broke in. ‘No. We did that ourselves. Our father, Freawaru’s father’s brother, sharpened the village tools. We stole two of the old worn out polishing stones and learned with them. When the old man saw what we could do with stones he thought fit only for the midden, he let us get on with it properly. It doesn’t take strength. It just takes a good eye, and good skill.’
‘People always wanted our knives if they had a choice.’ added Jade.
Thomas nodded. ‘I know just how much skill is involved to polish and sharpen a blade. So that leaves you.’ he said, turning to Scarlett.
She blushed. ‘Our fathers had a clerk in the early days who diddled them by cooking the books. They vowed to keep it in the family after that, so father forced the priest to teach me.’
Thomas laughed. ‘How did he manage to do that?’
Freawaru said ‘Easy. Father refused to fix his sickle until he agreed!’
Thomas laughed again. ‘Excellent. I’d liked to have met your fathers.’
All five burst into tears.
Thomas winced. ‘I’m so sorry. That was thoughtless of me.’
While all this had been going on, Berthilda had been checking out the two horses the women had used for their escape. She pronounced them a bit tired and sore after their runs with heavy loads, so Thomas insisted that all five rode the spare horses they’d brought with them.
Melody had asked if they should strip the archers in the trees of their weapons, but Thomas forbad it. In fact he didn’t want his folk within touching distance, and he definitely didn’t want them bringing back anything that might be used as evidence. He hadn’t been sure of his legal rights when he’d ordered Melody to shoot, and in fact still wasn’t sure. He didn’t feel guilty though. When dealing with a slaver who sets hidden armed men at a negotiation, he felt there were no real rules. And that went double when said slaver made veiled threats.
So instead, they rode off in a column, two abreast back along the path they had come.
Thomas rode with Melody at the front, followed by Freawaru and Rowena, then Berthilda and Storm, Scarlett and Deana, Deena and Topaz, Kelsey and Jade, and lastly the girls’ lame horses on lead ropes.
The intermingling was a deliberate ploy by Thomas, to allow everyone to get to know each other. When Freawaru’s band made their decision later that evening, they’d have at least some experience of the others. He’d paired with Melody to take himself out of the discussions.
After a time, Melody, looking stra
ight ahead, asked Thomas. ‘How did you know the archers were hiding in the forest? I myself could only just make them out, and only because you told me where to look and what to look for.’
Thomas made no reply.
Melody turned her head towards him. ‘And come to that, how did we chance upon the girls just where and when they needed our help the most? It was as if you knew from the moment you told us to get the horses ready.’
Rowena was having her own conversation with Freawaru, but she had excellent hearing, and her ears pricked up, hungry for Thomas’s reply.
Thomas smiled his usual smile, and said. ‘Coincidence. That’s all. I felt we ought to inject a bit of realism to our training, and give the horses a bit of exercise. After that I just followed my nose. As for spotting the archers, I just have very good eyes and ears. I heard them moving into position, and after that I spotted them quite easily. So partly luck, partly paying attention.’
Melody continued to gaze at him. The constant state of fear she had been in with the priest, was nowhere to be seen. She knew it was safe to ask the Prince direct questions. ‘And we brought all the spare horses.’ she said. ‘One for each of them. Was that just good luck too?’
Thomas kept his smile, but it was a bit fixed now. He’d overplayed his hand, and been spotted. ‘All the horses needed exercise. Sometimes things work out, that’s all.’ he said lamely.
‘It looked for all the world as if someone told you where to come, and even told you about those archers in the trees.’ said Melody, before facing ahead once more. ‘Good luck indeed.’ she murmured.
Understandably, the conversation died off for a bit after that.
Rowena continued her chat with Freawaru, but was mulling over what she’d just heard. She thought back over the events that had happened since she’d met the Prince. There were some things that had puzzled her at the time. For instance, how had he known about the beer? How did he know so many things?
Further back in the column the conversations were warmer, as the women chatted, laughed, and got to know each other.