Chapter 7: The Warrior

With his new sword in hand Emil walked with Clark to the gate. He left the sword next to his spear, and then tended to the dogs, making sure they had water and tossing them a few scraps to satisfy their hunger. Emil introduced Clark to the two hounds that now belonged to his son and showed him the commands that the dogs would obey. It was late in the day when they returned to the partying villagers and Emil was happy to see Diana deep in conversation with Clark's wife. Emil briefly thought to himself how good it was to be in the company of other people.

A pig was turning on a spit over the fire pit and some of the villagers had brought out musical instruments and were tuning up in anticipation of singing and dancing later. When David saw Emil, he rose from his place amid the girls at the table with a smile.

"So, Hunter, are you ready to pick your horses?"

"It's too late in the day for that," interjected Clark. "You wouldn't want our friend to have to make his choices in the dark would you?"

"Well, if you won't take your horses today, then you'll have to stay and enjoy the singing and dancing with us tonight," David suggested.

"Good idea!" Clark exclaimed. "We don't have a lot of room, but we can surely make a snug and comfortable spot for you and Diana in our barn." He nudged Emil as he spoke, winking slyly.

Emil was quick to grasp the significance of Clark's suggestion and he readily agreed. He sought out Diana and explained the change in their plans and was pleasantly surprised when she offered no complaint. "It's nice to have other women to talk to, and I'd enjoy another good meal and some music."

"You don't mind sleeping in the barn?"

"I've slept in worse places and shared a blanket with much worse people," she replied with a sparkle in her eye.

Once more, the villagers feasted around the long table, swapping stories, telling jokes, and in general enjoying their weekly break from lives that consisted mostly of hard manual labor. As the sun set and the last of the food disappeared, the music started in earnest. At first there were songs sung by one or two, but as the mood struck them the villagers joined in, and soon each new melody was performed by a different combination of voices. The beer and cider flowed, but in moderation, and as inhibitions lowered, the music quickened and the dancing started. The music was simple, mostly traditional fiddle and guitar tunes that had survived in memory through the times of death, violence and civil war. The dancing was just as simple as the music, a combination of waltz and two-step and sometimes just moving rhythmically to the music. The villagers seemed little concerned with form and just concentrated on enjoying themselves.

Soon the girls fluttering about David convinced him to dance, and then those unoccupied with David descended on Emil. He protested, but it was in vain, and quickly they had him clumsily stepping along to the music. Margaret, whose eagle eye missed little, detected jealousy brewing and dispatched Clark to dance with Diana. Once Clark had instructed Diana in the rudiments, he smoothly exchanged partners with Emil and Emil and Diana found themselves dancing together in a situation they could never have imagined hours earlier.

"I can't believe we're dancing!" Diana exclaimed. "I never saw dancing before in my life; I only read about it."

"Sometimes when I was young, my mother and father would dance. My mother taught me a little, but it was a long time ago and as you can tell, I don't remember much," Emil laughed.

"My life has been one surprise after another since you came along," Diana declared. "I wonder what's next?"

Emil smiled to himself as he considered the possibilities, but he wisely refrained from giving voice to his thoughts. They danced together throughout the evening, becoming more and more at ease with each other and as the night wore to a close, Diana found herself comfortably resting her head on Emil's shoulder.

The villagers were hard workers and early risers, so all too soon the festivities came to an end. People began to drift away to their various dwellings, and before long only a few couples remained. As the last of the villagers disappeared, Clark and Margaret motioned to Emil and Diana.

"Come on. We'll find you some blankets and show you where you'll sleep," Clark grinned. "We're early risers, so as you can see, it's early to bed too."

Clark led them through the darkness to a small barn, and shortly thereafter, Margaret arrived carrying a candle lantern and an armful of coarse blankets. Margaret handed the lantern to Emil and the blankets to Diana, gave a wistful smile, and wished them both good night. Without further comment, Clark and Margaret disappeared into the dark.

As Diana spread the blankets on the straw in an empty stall, Emil gave a low whistle, and within a few seconds, the three dogs quietly joined them.

"I think maybe having a little company might make you feel safer," Emil suggested.

"I feel safe enough with you," Diana answered sweetly.

"Well then, at least they'll keep our feet warm," he laughed.

As they lay together, fully clothed under the blankets, dogs curled up contentedly at their feet, Diana moved closer to Emil, and tentatively placed an arm across his chest. When he was sure she wasn't going to move away he placed his arm around her shoulders, cradling her head next to his heart. They lay like that unmoving for a while, savoring the intimacy. Finally Diana spoke. "How were you so sure you could beat David today?"

"It's a long story and not a happy one. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I'm not tired and I'm still a little excited from the dancing. I'm used to unhappiness. Tell it to me."

"I guess you'll need to know anyway," he said with a hint of regret and sadness in his voice.

"The story starts with my father. He was a professional soldier, one of the best. Right after the lights went out he fought for the government, but then as things got worse and there was no government, he fought for one private army and then another. Finally, when he realized that no army or cause could make things go back to the way they were, he took my mother and me to the home where I still live. He was always very wary and believed that our survival would depend on our ability to defend ourselves. My mother used to joke and call him the 'perfect warrior', but she also believed that he was right."

"When I was younger, I thought all his worries were foolish. All I ever wanted to do was to hunt, but he insisted that I learn to fight. He taught me everything he knew, and he made me practice daily up until the time I started to do all the hunting. After that time I was required to practice whenever I wasn't hunting. He taught me to box and to wrestle and he taught me the tricks and skills of hand-to-hand combat. I was always a better shot than he, and a better stalker and hunter, but he was expert with all other sorts of weapons, and he taught me those too. He even taught me arm-wrestling tricks as you saw here today. His training was comprehensive and I hated it, but I loved my father so I went along."

"So that's how you learned to fight so well?" whispered Diana as she snuggled against Emil's chest.

"There's more to the story, and it's the sad part," Emil continued. "One day when I was seventeen, a man came to our home. He name was Luther and he was an old friend of my father. Luther was a soldier too. He was tired and hungry and my parents took him in because they knew him and trusted him. I thought he was a strange man. He was always preaching religion and claimed that he was destined to become some kind of combination savior and warrior priest who would lead mankind back to the light. He wanted my father to join him, but my father told him that we were happy and content to live a simple life where we were. I didn't like the man, and I was glad to get away from him to hunt. One day, about a week after he arrived, I'd been hunting early in the morning with the dogs and we'd chased a deer for a long way. When I finally returned home in the afternoon, I found my parents dead, murdered by Luther. He had killed my father in his bed as he slept, and then tortured and raped my mother."