Chapter 6

Except that the willow bark tea didn’t really help. Once the headache really hit me, I felt so bad that I threw up everything I had been eating or drinking. It was like my first hangover some ten times over. Once I gradually started to feel better, I felt weak as a kitten. Bellcauniel sat next to me as I was sitting there on the ground, barely protected from the rain by some blankets. The others had already left the area, most heading back towards the village, but there was another group that made sure that the Guardians and the Magicians actually left the valley.

I took another sip of water and tried to get a feel of what would happen with it. It wasn’t too long ago that I had thrown up. I turned towards Bellcauniel.

“You know Bell, the Guardians will try sneaking in sometime soon. That one Magician was so pissed that he will demand something. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d try to catch some of your people. I’d suggest you be careful when you leave this valley, for whatever reason.”

“Why do you feel like that, Stian?”

Yes, why indeed? I had been almost a year with a group of Guardians and during that time I had never gotten a feeling like I had a bit more than a day ago.

“I don’t really know. Somehow, that group of the Guardians I saw there reminded me more of something that one ex-Guardian told me about the group I spent a year with. Neither of the leaders gave instructions to go after me once I had shot that arrow and yet the three Guardians did so automatically. No, that was some special group that goes with the Magicians. Some people who aren’t afraid to use force when told. I’ve got some bad feelings about them.”

Bellcauniel smiled at me.

“Funny that you say so. Immianthe was almost certain that there were one or two Magicians among the Guardians. Hiding there.”

I shrugged and closed my eyes for a moment. Thinking and talking like that was almost too exhausting. Besides, I was really hungry.

“I think I could try to eat something. For sure I’m not in a shape to ride back home before that - and I’d really like to sleep a full night in a real bed.”

Two days later I had been able to sleep one full night in my bed - and that was all I did there. I went to sleep before sunset just after a light dinner and washing myself, and the sun was high when I woke up. I might have slept even longer, but my bladder made sure that I had to hurry getting up. Even if I was more or less used to the fact that I had to share the toilet with several women, this morning was something special - I was being followed and even peeing while sitting seemed to fascinate them. Well, at least they had some fun. I quickly washed myself with some cold water, then dressed and headed to find something to eat. Both Fainauriel and Bellcauniel had probably been up for some time already.

I was just finishing my second portion of porridge when Fainauriel came to me.

“Stian, there are people who’d like to talk with you. Or do you need to eat some more? Allynna can take a look at your wounds while we’re talking.”

“I guess I’m finished here. Another cup of tea might still be fine.”

“I’ll get it for you.”

Then she gave me a kiss on my cheek. Maybe this would be a good day.

“Thank you for coming, Stian - and that tea smells heavenly. Could someone get some more of it for everyone?”

The tone of Mylaela’s voice was so different when compared to what it had been that I was sure I pricked up my ears so that they moved. The look on my face probably also showed my bewilderment since I faced more smiles than I had ever seen here. Then I remembered something that had bothered me but I had had no possibility to ask before falling asleep.

“How about the girls at the hut? Are they all okay?”

As soon as I had asked the question I wished that I hadn’t, since the looks around the room changed immediately.

“Neuriel died soon after you left the hut. There really wasn’t much anyone of us could have done for her. Luckily she’s the only one who died.”

Mylaela took some breath before continuing.

“The others ... Melima and the baby seem physically okay, despite everything that happened. She seems to be safe from the bad effects because she was pregnant. The others are still undergoing thought treatments for some time until we can be sure that we have gotten all those deadly Ugly People seeds out of them. They should be okay, finally, at least physically.”

I felt both bad - and relieved. Bad because Neuriel had died but relieved because of the others. Even if they may never want to see a male person again.

“Stian, there might be a time in the near future when those women would need you. It has something to do how we Alfar respond to certain stimuli - but the main point is that the girls should have babies as soon as they are healed enough.”

I coughed up some of my tea.

“How ... I was almost sure that doing something with a male would be the last thing they want to do now.”

“I’m not saying that we really understand it ourselves, but it’s the way we are and how our psyche reacts to certain things. We really hope that you can help them.”

It was Bellcauniel who snorted now.

“Like there would be some serious doubt about that. You know that Fainauriel and I are different than most of us, but even if we usually really like what he’s doing to us we don’t mind some help there. However, based on the looks the girls gave him last night and this morning there might be a queue.”

It wasn’t just what she said, but the way she said it, that made me blush. It didn’t help at all that there was a roomful of older women looking knowingly at me - and most of them smiling. On the other hand, this episode took our thoughts away from all the bad things that had happened. I was a big boy, I could take this.

I closed my mouth.

“So, Stian, that ability of yours to sense the bigger living beings from a distance...”

The rest of the morning was more or less used in figuring out how I could use my special ability, to make sure that the village and its inhabitants would be safe. It was agreed that I would do some more or less regular patrols around the village trying to sense if there were some unwanted visitors close by.

“It was clear that those Ugly People had been following us for some time. In fact, we found out that they had been doing it from a distance for almost a year. I don’t even dare to think what could have happened if they’d been able to reach the village in the wee hours of the night as they had planned. These two things were a wake-up for us, since we are certain that it wasn’t a coincidence.”

I didn’t ask how these women had found out that those Trolls had been spying on them for almost a year. Maybe some of them had really wanted to tell what they knew. Yeah, for sure.