Chapter 50: Perspectives

Issa walked diffidently to the small creek, holding the dark, wooden bucket carefully at her side so it wouldn’t bang into her leg. The sun was tall in the sky, roasting the earth below it and everything crawling or walking. The heat could even be smelled as what little breeze flowing over her served only to move the hot air from place to place. The dark smell of fungi and earth whispered upon that hot breeze, with the fragrance of roses and jasmine underlying the sickly-sweet odor. She reached up, grabbing the top of her blouse and pulling it forward and back, trying to get some air to the drops of sweat slowly sliding down her breasts.

The creek burbled ahead and when she reached it, she found a flat stone and sat a moment. She stretched out and then closed her eyes and lifted her face to the mid-day sun, reveling in its warmth. The day was hot and sweat coursed down her face, between her breasts and down her torso, but she still welcomed the heat of the sun on her face. It comforted her and she couldn’t help but give a slight sigh of contentment.

A light breeze drifted over her, bringing the scent of wood and honeysuckle undercut with a slight odor of grass and maybe just a touch of moist mold. The water added its own unique scent to the cacophony of smells, cut with lily-pads and water grass. The gentle brook gurgled around her, mostly drowning out the clanking sound of the knights or the murmuring movement of others in the camp some thirty yards away.

One familiar sound cut through the sound of rushing water, and she turned her head to watch as her brother and older sister laughed as they entered a dense thicket of oak and alder. The two were on horses, Teran leading and Yren in full armor looking stiff and uncomfortable on his placid, roan mount. It was unusual to see Yren feeling uncomfortable, but not to see him in Teran’s company.

Bena had mentioned their sister was pregnant with Yren’s child. She sighed a bit and let her hand cup her stomach. Bena hadn’t told her, but she knew the signs without her sister’s new-found sight. It was amusing watching the younger girl step around the topic. It was even more amusing to push her sister towards the discussion of children and watch her wriggle her way out of it.

She ran her fingers around her cloth-covered stomach. She thought she could feel the slightest of swells in her abdomen, though she knew it was far too early to notice any change. She sighed again as she let her hand fall away.

“Thinking of what might have been?” Elva asked, as she came closer to her middle daughter. Elva found Issa different than the thoughtful girl she’d once been. As she looked back, she saw over time what she’d failed to see as it happened. Issa had changed little by little as she grew, becoming more selfish and prouder. In their daily interactions, she’d missed the slight changes, but she could see it clearly now in hindsight.

“What?” Issa asked, startled. She relaxed when she saw her mother coming up on her. “What do you mean, ‘what might have been’?”

Elva glanced over where Teran and Yren had disappeared, then returned her gaze to her middle child. “Yren, of course.”

“Oh, no, mother,” Issa replied dismissively. “Teran can have my cast offs – until I’m ready to take him back, of course. If I ever even want that.”

“Why would I waste my time on Yren when I can have a real hero in my bed?” She stroked her stomach and smiled. “Or his child in my belly.”

“A real hero?” Elva asked, uncertainly.

“Why, Chugad, of course,” Issa explained. “While Yren was off running around like a headless chicken, trying to prepare the town, Chugad was very nearly giving his life to try to negotiate our safety. Yren may have the brawn, but he has nowhere near the brains nor the bravery of my Chugad.”

Elva closed her eyes lest Issa see her eyes roll. She knew her daughter saw what she wanted to see, believed what she wanted to believe. No words she could say would change Issa’s mind and anything she said would harm her relationship with her middle daughter. Better to say nothing and remain on good terms than say something and risk losing one of her daughters.

She knew better, of course. She doubted Chugad had actually tried to save the town. Based on what she knew of the man, though she admitted most of it was gossip, it was far more likely he had planned on saving his own skin, leaving the town to rot. However, Issa seemed to sincerely love the man so, for her daughter’s sake, she would leave her misgivings unvoiced.

Her daughter’s delusion concerning her brother was more difficult to accept, however. How had she lost such faith in Yren? Why would she be willing to believe so little of him? And what arrogance was it to believe Yren would come calling at her beckoning? Issa had somehow managed to convince herself she could take her brother back at any time. Elva knew differently. The girl had burned those bridges fairly thoroughly. Her only hope was the two could remain friends in the future.

“So Bena told you, then?” Elva remarked, the barest hint of disappointment crossing her features.

Issa laughed. “Not at all. I may not be a priestess, but even I know the signs, mother. It’s fun to watch Bena walk around it, though.”

“She wanted to tell you, but she wasn’t certain how you’d react,” Elva explained.

Issa shrugged.

“What are Yren and Teran doing on horses?” The younger woman asked, changing the subject even as she dipped her bucket into the stream.

“Yren doesn’t know how to ride,” Elva explained. “Teran decided she could teach him. She’s been giving him lessons during the noon meals and after dinner.”

“I admit I’m surprised Honor Hawksley even allows us a mid-day break,” Issa huffed. “I’m even more surprised she allows the two to go off on their own.”

“They’ve promised not to go far and to take precautions,” Elva explained. “I think part of it, though, is that Honor Hawksley knows Yren needs to learn to ride if he is ever going to have any chance at becoming a knight.”

“Yren? A knight?” Issa chuckled dismissively. The entire idea was absurd. Yren was a passable smith and a decent enough sword, but he was nowhere near good enough to be a knight. “He certainly can delude himself, can’t he?”

Elva didn’t trust herself enough to answer, so she changed the subject. “How is Chugad doing?”

“The same,” Issa replied, her voice quavering slightly. “He is always in so much pain. Bena tries to help but she hasn’t been able to do much. She may be too young and too new at being a priestess. Chugad has heard of a Tyln priest at Klevel who is much more gifted.”

The young woman looked slightly troubled. “Chugad has made disparaging comments about Deia. I’ve not said anything to him – how can I, when he is in so much pain? – but he claims Tyln is the only true god. I’ve asked him where Bena’s power came from – power which healed him as well as he is right now! – but he says it is a trick by demons and chaos spawn to trick us away from Tyln. I’ve not credited his words ... but lately ... I’ve wondered. You don’t think Deia might not be what she claims to be, do you?”

“Issa!” Elva reproached her. “Deia is as much a goddess as Tyln is a god. Are you going to let your faith waver simply because his wounds are beyond your sister’s power?”

Issa looked down for a moment but then looked back at her mother defiantly. “I don’t care about all that. If Tyln succeeds where Deia has failed, I will gladly bend my knee to him.”

Princess Ataya stepped nimbly up the creaking, wooden steps, her head half turned towards her two maids. She was laughing at a ribald comment Mulet had made towards Dakin Oovert. He’d remained when they’d changed guards in Knottline. She wasn’t sure what had happened to the man – but he was far less boisterous than before. He deferred to her, of course, but his eyes were haunted, and he didn’t try to flatter her or get closer to her in any way.

His change had unnerved her a bit. She’d thought she’d understood him. He’d seemed to be simply another minor noble looking to cater favor or perhaps more. He seemed ambitious, something she could understand and prepare for. While Ataya was willing to admit she was fairly pretty, she knew what drew the attention of men to her. She wouldn’t have nearly as many admirers if she weren’t destined for the crown.

She glanced about for Yren but couldn’t find him. Could he have similar ambitions? He had never acted like she’d expected him to act. He’d never even tried to play on his ties as her champion. Well, except in his attempts to keep her in safety. Perhaps he was just trying to be subtle. Maybe he was playing the long game.

The more she thought about it, though, the less she believed it. Yren was just ... Yren. He was a commoner so maybe he didn’t even know how to act around her. He had never displayed an agenda or acted anything more than what he was. It was one of the reasons she liked him.

... and she DID like him, of course. It didn’t go further than that, though. It couldn’t go farther than that. She liked him, they were friends, and she’d named him her protector. She felt safe around him.

She glanced around for him again but simply couldn’t find him. It was starting to annoy her.

In an effort to distract herself, she turned her attention back to Dakin and Mulet. The two were flirting now, which miffed the princess a bit because she had been flirting with Dakin. Especially where Yren could see. Well, not flirting, exactly. She was more trying to get Yren to push back on the minor noble. She didn’t want to encourage Dakin – but it made her feel warm and cared for when Yren stood up for her. Even when he stood up to her.

And she needed to feel warm and cared for and safe right now. This whole trip had been a revelation to her. Secretly, to herself, she could admit she had enjoyed being a child with few responsibilities. She had wanted that to continue for at least a little while, allowing her to sample at being an adult without the responsibilities of being an adult. That was the whole reason behind her confrontation with Gillen in Cava.

It had failed miserably and now, in those dark moments when no one was looking, she knew she was responsible for the complete destruction of her royal knights. The entire platoon was gone, with only Gillen and Uud and Sylva still alive. How could she live with what she had done?

She had to live with it, though it crushed her every time she thought of it. She tried to follow Gillen, to do everything the woman asked, but she so frequently found she could not just follow anymore. Maybe there was just something wrong with her.

It was another reason she liked Yren. Although he constantly remembered she was a princess, he was one of the few treating her like a normal person. There were times, like now, when she relished being treated as normal.

She brought her attention back to Dakin. The guards were their caretakers. Two of them rotated onto the footboard of the carriage, one to protect each side. As days went by without a new attack, they’d taken to becoming more attendants than protectors. They fetched things for the women in the carriage and at least one of them accompanied any of them disembarking. If all of the women went, both of the guards would follow but if the party was split, with some staying and some going, one attendant went with the disembarking women while one stayed behind.

“You are so scandalous, Mulet,” Caprice declared with a hearty chuckle. The girl was following Ataya while Mulet lingered behind.

“It’s not scandalous if it’s true,” Mulet rejoined, turning and winking at the fiercely blushing guard. She paused, one foot on the lowest step and the other on the ground. She was facing Dakin with her legs suggestively wide, though the dress she wore hid everything but lean expanses of exposed legs. “Are you on overnight guard duty again tonight.”

“N-no,” Dakin stuttered. “We rotate the overnight duty. Today my watch will end at twenty-two hours.”

“Well, then,” Mulet purred, her eyebrow arching. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be needing a walk about then. I wonder if I can find a nice, strong guard to accompany me – so I don’t get lost or ambushed.”

“I-I think I can arrange to be there to protect you,” Dakin assured her. Ataya scowled briefly before carefully putting on a neutral face.

“If you can,” the maid replied, “we might just have to see if I can introduce your staff to all of my openings this time.”

Dakin gulped. His mouth opened a time or two, but no words came out. Finally, unable to speak, he just nodded.

Mulet smiled and mounted the steps, Caprice and Ataya laughing at her. With Ataya, at least, the laugh was a bit forced. It sounded like Mulet had already trapped the young guard. For a brief moment, Ataya thought back to everything she’d missed out on at the Harvest Festival in Cava. So many shadowy whispers about what went on during the Harvest Festival late at night...

“Have you really already been with him?” Ataya questioned as she caught her breath. They had made it safely into the carriage. Though the door was open as others came in, she had pitched her voice so only Mulet heard. She hoped.

“Who? Pretty boy?” Mulet asked rhetorically. “Several times.”

“I bet he’s hung like a mule,” Caprice gushed, her tongue licking her lips unconsciously.

Mulet shrugged. “Actually, he’s pretty average. He’s only good for a time, sometimes two. Plus, he won’t do the Feast. He says it’s too degrading or disgusting or something. I’ve thought about asking him how I must feel when I’m swallowing his sword but...”

She shrugged. “Men are usually such boys, I was afraid he’d cut off our rendezvous.”

“You should cut off more than your meetings if he’s too droll to reciprocate,” Ataya declared, her voice laughing freely. She only had rumors and stories about what went on during such ‘rendezvous’.

She had to admit, it felt so good to laugh again. She’d been focused so much on the tragedy which had befallen them, and the serious, precarious nature of their quick march towards Callisto, she had been quite depressed.

Trust Mulet to pull her from her melancholy, even if it was with Dakin Oovert. Three seasons older than Ataya, the maid had an earthy, irreverent sense of humor and a flirtatious, sexy nature which Ataya often found hilarious. She caught herself in mid-chuckle when her eyes grew accustomed to the darker interior of the coach they’d acquired in Knottline.

Caprice and Mulet glanced at each other and then back to the princess.

“We ... uh ... really can’t do that, Ataya,” Caprice started diplomatically.

“Why not?” Ataya asked hotly. “If the Feast isn’t good enough, then neither is the Sword.”

Mulet pursed her lips. The princess was over her majority now. It was probably time she was told the truth. “Because it’s part of our jobs.”

Ataya looked from one to the other in disbelief. “It’s what?”

“Part of our jobs,” Mulet explained. “A rather pleasant part, more times than not.”

“If you are ever... ‘pursued’ ... and the attention is not reciprocated, it is our job to waylay the pursuer,” Caprice continued the explanation, biting her lower lip. “Your mother was quite clear we were not to let anyone through, and we were to use whatever means were necessary. Sometimes we can get away with talking, sometimes we can nudge a knight against them. We can even stab them, if necessary. Usually, it is enough to seduce them, though.”

“Dakin pursued you in Hasp,” Mulet expounded. “Events got too crazy for us to divert him then, but we’ve blocked him since.”

Mulet’s face grew troubled. “He hasn’t really been pursuing you lately, though. It seems kind of strange, but I thought it would be better if I took steps.”

She broke into a smile. “The duty hasn’t been all that terrible, really.”

“Neither of you should be put into that position,” Ataya railed.

“It’s part of our job, Ataya,” Caprice smiled. “The knights are here to protect your person. We’re here to protect your virtue. If our own gets a little sullied in the transaction...”

She shrugged. “We really don’t mind. Mulet and I both really like sex – though she favors men while I favor women, we are both happy to bed either. Once in a while it is onerous, but not overly.”

Ataya turned in righteous anger and frustration and brought herself up short to see Empress’an Audette’s face just as stormy as she felt. “What’s the matter, Audette?”

“Your champion is what’s wrong,” Audette spat. Audette’s companion, Ilzu Fareen, winced from the side of the Empress’an. She gave a quick shake of her head as Audette launched into her tirade. “While you were gone, I thought I’d sit up front and get some fresh air. Do you know what that great lump said? Do you?”

“‘NO’,” the Empress’an screeched through clenched teeth. “He told me ‘No’! He claimed it wasn’t safe up front, that he would be heading to lunch shortly, and I should ‘remain in the rear, where your safety is assured’.” The last was said in a high-pitched sneer.

“When I told him I needed some air, he suggested I open one of the windows a crack,” she continued, her voice tight. “‘Not too wide, though,’ he said. ‘Keep it closed enough an arrow wouldn’t fit through’.”

“When I told him I WAS going to sit up front and there wasn’t anything he could do about it, do you know what he said?”

“Audette, I...,” Ataya started placatingly.

“He said I was wrong!” Audette nearly yelled. “He said I might think I was going to sit up front, but I was actually going to sit in the back, and he’d chain me to my seat if he had to!”

“Mmmm, I bet he could do it, too,” Mulet breathed in a suggestive voice. Her vamp act had gotten Ataya to laugh finally so she was sure it would have a similarly disarming effect on the Empress’an. She really didn’t mind the sexual liaisons; as Caprice had said, she really did enjoy the sex. Still, it was a role – a pleasant role – she played. With Yren, though... “Have you seen those big hands and huge feet? I think I’d let him chain me to anything he wanted, if you know what I mean.”

It seemed to have at least partially worked as Audette was brought up short.

“What?!?” she asked, her eyes blinking at the older woman.

“Big hands and big feet,” Mulet giggled. She knew her giggle could be disquieting – and could keep her out of trouble, as well. “You know what they say about big hands and big feet, don’t you?”

Audette shook her head, her rant effectively broken. “What ... what does this have anything to do with big hands and big feet.”

“Well, the tale is if a man has big hands and big feet, he also has a big...” Mulet started.

“Mulet!” Both Ataya and Caprice shouted, interrupting the older girl.

“What?” Mulet asked innocently, winking at Ataya. “It is what they say! And he would almost have to be big all over, don’t you think?”

“Why ... I...,” Audette started, flustered. A slight blush began coloring her cheeks. “I mean ... I’m the Empress’an ... and he ... he is just...”

“My champion,” Ataya said with a smile. She finally caught on to what Mulet was trying and decided to help her. She could return to her other conversation later. She could return to her internal melancholy any time. “Don’t think we’ve missed how you look at him. Why were you looking to sit up front with him anyway? If you wanted some air, why didn’t you come with us to the brook?”

Ataya was surprised to feel a bit of jealousy as she spoke to Audette. She’d seen the Empress-an’s looks at Yren but had pushed them out of her mind at the time. Yren wasn’t enamored of the empress-an so nothing would come of it. Of course, she would have to make sure nothing came of it. She didn’t think Audette was right for Yren.

“Perhaps you’re just looking in a mirror,” Ilzu retorted, coming to the aid of her flustered friend. She knew the princess was simply having some fun with Audette, but she didn’t want it going too far. “If you want to talk about someone making eyes at him.”

“Ah, but the difference is I don’t deny it,” Ataya replied insouciantly, a slight blush climbing into her cheeks as well. She carried a wide grin on her face. “Yren is a large, handsome man who is incredibly gentle for all that he is strong as an ox. Of course, I look at him. It’s only human to look at him. I know enough to know I can look but touching is barred. I don’t look at him with hungry eyes, either, like Audette does. Besides, I just find it funny that your Empress’an chooses to deny it.”