Chapter 37

Jorgarn crossed the border into Freeland on a horse and was greeted like a returning hero. He surprised everyone by showing up at his house one evening carrying his belongings. He was somewhat startled to see someone else was already using the main bedroom, although it was unoccupied at the moment.

Tired from the long journey, he lay down on the floor, figuring correctly he could figure things out in the morning.

Jorgarn soon learned that life had begun to take shape slowly in Freeland. There were myriad problems: a shortage of crops, an overabundance of unskilled laborers and the fact that 90 percent of the population ranged in age from 15 to 23 chief among them. There was a shortage of children, only nine younger than 14, and older adults, only 11 older than 25.

The warriors were happy with their small farms and close proximity to one another.

Pernice, Fieth, Renoit, Belad and Lippit all lived within a 10-minute walk from Jorgarn's door and Merg lived with Pernice. Leyota visited whenever her duties as a Councilor would allow, which were rare, it seemed.

It was she who used Jorgarn's rooms when she had a few days to visit – as he found out when she awakened him early the morning after his return.

"Creator!" she screamed when she opened the door and saw a strange man lying on the floor.

Jorgarn sat up and tried in vain to find his sword. He relaxed when he saw Leyota standing in the doorway. She relaxed as well, dropping all pretense and running to him for a hug.

"So it's true?" Leyota asked. "Denae has been ousted."

"For now," Jorgarn said. "I think it was mostly a way to get rid of me. Things have been testy there since I returned."

"I heard," Leyota answered. "Have you returned for good? Will you return if she is reappointed?"

Jorgarn shook his head.

"No," he said. "Once she was deposed, my commitment ended. If she is named anew, she will appoint a new Knight – if she can find one."

Leyota smiled and laughed.

She was showing the stress of leadership but she appeared to be bearing up well. Jorgarn was immensely proud of her. She had been showing up every weekend to assist the group in building dwellings or preparing fields or cutting trees. Jorgarn was amazed how much she had grown in the three years he was gone, a feeling that was never more evident than when she had hugged him and then went to the bedroom to change her clothing. She eschewed her normal manner of attire – long formless dresses – for a tight tunic and a pair of trousers when she helped.

Jorgarn had been back only a few weeks when he spotted a young woman in the Capital who he didn't recognize but looked familiar. She was walking with Belad and she stopped suddenly when she spotted Jorgarn walking toward them.

"You remember Vellendira, don't you?" Belad asked with a slight blush. He saw the confusion on Jorgarn's face so he continued. "She acted as a translator for us. She travelled with us for many months."

Recognition dawned and Jorgarn smiled.

"Well met, Vellendira," he said, exhausting his entire vocabulary of Umbrian. The young woman looked frightened.

"She is hoping to come live here," Belad said, unaware of the distress Jorgarn's proximity was causing the woman. "She showed up yesterday and the only word they understood was my name. The Council is debating their Immigration Policy right now?"

"Their what?" Jorgarn asked in confusion.

"They policy of allowing others to join us," Belad said. "I thought anyone could move here. Apparently I am the only one who thought that."

"I thought that," Jorgarn mentioned. "Well, would you please tell Vellendira that I am happy that she is well and that I welcome her to Freeland."

Vellendira and Belad started a halting conversation in Gobriki that Jorgarn was certain contained more than his welcome. Jorgarn saw Belad's face reddening and he put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"I am certain I am not among her favorite people," he said. "I believe that many in Umbria see me as little more than a barbarian."

Belad nodded sadly.

"Could you ask her how I became known as Yerk?" Jorgarn asked. "I've wondered about that since I heard the name."

Belad asked the question and his face reddened further at her answer. He looked to the distance as he tried to formulate his answer.

"Your name has sounds they don't use," he said. "So in Umbria, you were known as Yorkarn. But that word means ... well it means 'beautiful.' Yor means 'beauty.' They didn't want you to be known as Beautiful or Beauty so they settled for another word, Yerk."

"Which means?" Jorgarn prompted.

Belad looked to the ground.

"I simply want to know," Jorgarn said. "I won't take offense. There are some actions I regret – although they are few."

"It means 'animal' or 'beast, '" Belad said reluctantly. "I tried to tell her when she was travelling with us that you were truly a kind man but her country's army pushed you to the point they saw. She doesn't believe her soldiers would act as we know they did. But at the same time, she tells me that she was treated better as our captive than she was as a woman of noble birth. I don't understand."

Jorgarn smiled again at Vellendira.

"I hope she will judge me not on my past but on the future," he said. "We honored our word to those who surrendered and to those who did not take up arms. I hope that she can understand that actions in battle do not reflect on a person's character so much as they reflect on his emotions. And I hope she finds happiness in Freeland."

Belad translated Jorgarn's words but Vellendira still looked uncomfortable around the man who order her country destroyed.

It was later the same day when a tired Leyota delivered the Council's verdict. They had agreed to an open policy on allowing people to live among the Freelanders.

"I should hope," Jorgarn said. "These people that are here, we're all from somewhere else. Vellendira has more claim to this land than any of us. Why was there even a discussion?"

"Because some people insist upon a discussion for everything," Leyota railed. "There are some on the Council who are in love with the sound of their own voices."

She sat heavily on a wooden bench at Jorgarn's table.

"Are you not enjoying the trappings of power?" Jorgarn asked as he sat across from her.

"Mostly, I am," she said. "We have a real opportunity to make a great country. But others cannot seem to understand that this cannot be based on the land we left. We must forge a new identity, away from Emertland and Longview and Swar. We must be our own country with our own goals. There are some who simply do not understand that or simply won't admit it."

She exhaled heavily and lowered her head to her chest. Jorgarn reached across to rub the muscles in her neck and shoulders.

"It won't work unless we all want the same things," she said.

"Oh, it will work either way," Jorgarn answered. "I have faith in people like you to lead us in the right direction. It will be harder if there are others pulling the opposite way, but it will work. The others will simply be left behind. You have spoken of your vision for Freeland and I think it is a good one. I think most people support it. What is hardest is convincing them it won't be fulfilled in a week or a month or a year. We probably will still be working toward the goals you set this week in 10 years, if the truth is told. It is a slow process and we are starting with next to nothing. I know you understand that and so do many of us. I also know you can be persuasive when you need to be."

Leyota felt her muscles relax under Jorgarn's strong hands.

"I wanted to show you something but it can wait until later," he said. "Merg and his three friends have done a wonderful job in creating the new bows. The trees on your land are perfect for it and Merg figured out if he takes the wood to the stream and uses a polishing rock with the silt, he can make them extremely smooth and supple."

"Really?" Leyota asked absently.

"They have made it a very efficient process," Jorgarn continued. "One boy finds the wood and cuts it to the right length, a second strips the bark and shaves it and Merg polishes it clean. They have managed to make three a week for the past month. I tried the first one today. It is impressive. As soon as the blacksmith's shop is ready, they want to discuss a new design for arrows. One of the Velottans showed them a tri-tip. Once the bows are aged, they want to offer them to the militia."

Leyota turned to Jorgarn and a broad smile flashed across her face.

"When they are complete, you want to sell them to the Council to give to the militia," she said. "I think you should wait until they have 20 or 30 complete. Offer to sell 10 to the militia and then suggest to Council that we approach Emertland and Swar to see if they would like to buy the remainder. Jorgarn, we have our first tradable goods!"

"Uh, OK," he said. "If that's what you think we should do, that is what we'll do. I'm just glad to see you smiling again."

Leyota's smile widened further.

"Which brings me to another reason I stopped by," she said. "If I told you that you could do something that would make me smile for the rest of my life, would you do it?"

"Of course," Jorgarn said without hesitation.

"Perhaps you should wait until I finish before answering," she said with a slight smirk.

"Why?" Jorgarn asked. "If you think it should be done and it will make you happy, I am positive that I would do it. What is it?"

Leyota took a deep breath.

"It would make me very happy if you were to allow me to become your wife," she said.

Jorgarn's eyes widened in surprise and his mouth dropped open.

"Are, are you sure?" he stammered. Leyota's warm, rich laughter filled the room.

"Only since about the second time I met you," she said. "Well, perhaps the first time. Do you remember that? The first time we met, I mean."

Jorgarn nodded.

"Your brother and I met your carriage when it arrived at the Capital just before the Ascension Ceremony," Jorgarn related.

"Yes," Leyota responded. "You met our carriage and assisted me from it. You smiled up at me and extended your hand for mine. I took it and you assisted me down the stairs. You didn't lift me beneath my arms and carry me off. You allowed me to exit the carriage as a young woman and not as a little girl. It was the first time that had happened to me. Then you proffered your arm to me and escorted me into our lodgings. You did not put your hand on my shoulder and usher me forward. You allowed me to enter beside you. Oh, that caused a round of teasing from Riset. But it was worth it.

"Jorgarn, there has never been a time when you didn't treat me as your equal. The day I came to your chamber to tend to you, we sat and talked. You and I had an adult conversation – another first for me. Even with the Princess, I was a charity project. She wanted so much to impress you with her maturity that she took me in – then treated me as if I were a child. I was utterly ignored, as invisible as Merg used to be – as invisible as I was at home. Then you asked me on to your staff. The next thing I knew, I was running your staff. You gave me guidance but you trusted me to act as I saw fit in most matters. You asked my opinion on things and it wasn't simply to appease me. It was because you valued it. Even when you acted outside of how I believed you should, I knew you still considered my view rather than dismissing it as advice from a child.

"When Stenweed came, I expected my role with you to diminish. Instead, you made sure it expanded. I was your personal secretary. I was the person you trusted in all matters, the person who knew of your plans for Salaria first and the person who understood above anyone else what pain the Princess caused you. I was the only person under Creation you trusted with all your secrets. Now, you seek my counsel on almost every matter that concerns you and Freeland. You seek it not because of my role here. You seek it because you value me. Yes, Jorgarn, I am certain that I would very much like to have you as my partner for the rest of our lives."

Jorgarn gazed across the table at the beautiful young woman across from him.

"Then it would make me extremely honored to have you as my wife," he told her as he extended his hands to her. He was surprised when she didn't take them.

"I ask only that you consider it," Leyota said. "You need not answer now. I don't mean to pressure you."

Jorgarn chuckled.

"There is no pressure," Jorgarn said. "I have long known that you are a formidable woman. And I confess I have long loved you. When you were not yet an adult, I loved you not in the manner of husband and wife but in the manner I loved Eslada. I consider Chicote my family and I considered you that, too. You are the only person I know who can brighten my darkest mood with a single look. I have told you before that you have a wonderful smile. What I should have told you is that you have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen. Since my return from battle, I have come to picture you differently. Not as the young woman I left to handle my affairs and to make decisions on my behalf. Now I view you as the adult you have become: The woman who still brings lightness to my heart whenever I am near to you. You are the woman I trust most in the world and you are the woman I missed most when I was away.

"It was Denae who I still believed that I loved. These past months, I have come to realize that you were always the one closest to my heart, the first person I thought of when in times of trouble or times of happiness. My heart leapt when you announced that you would accompany me wherever I went. It was while I was away that I realized that I wished Denae acted and thought as you do. It saddened to me think that one day you would marry someone else and our relationship would change. I believed you looked at me as another older brother. I did not realize that you felt this way."

"I saw what happened to Bralan," Leyota replied with a blush. "Do you realize, even now, when you speak of me as a 12-year-old, you do not refer to me as a child?"

"I did not know you as a child," Jorgarn said simply. "From the moment I met you, you carried yourself with grace and charm. I do not need to consider this, Leyota. I believe we will make a wonderful couple. I believe we have made a wonderful couple for many years now."

Tears welled in the corners of Leyota's eyes but her smile was wide and as pretty as ever.

"When do you wish to marry?" Jorgarn asked. "I know these things take several months to prepare for and I believe it will take longer given our lack of facilities here. I know you probably dreamed of your wedding day as a child. I will do everything I can to make it as wonderful as you hoped it would be."

Leyota tilted her head back and laughed.

"You are certain that you wish me as your wife?" she asked again. "Absolutely certain?"

Jorgarn nodded.

"Come," she said as she finally took the hands he had left outstretched to her. "I wish to tell Merg first. Then we will announce it to our friends. Is Merg nearby?"

"At the creek," Jorgarn said. "I doubt he will accept the news well. I believe he loves you himself."

Leyota shook her head.

"No," she replied. "I mean, yes, but not the way I love you. He idolizes us both. He does not think of me as a future wife for him, although he does enjoy looking at my wobblies."

She glanced down at her bosom.

"But he enjoys looking at everyone's wobblies," she continued. "He is, after all, a 12-year-old boy. He caught Lucea Alna in the tub last week. I literally had to take his arm and lead him away. Otherwise he would still be standing there looking."

"I must admit that I stared at your 'wobblies' the first time I saw you had grown them," Jorgarn said playfully.

"You are still as bad as Merg sometimes," Leyota rejoined with a light swat on the arm. "Usually, I simply pretend I am looking elsewhere and allow you to enjoy them."

She stopped just inside the door and pulled the bodice of her dress downward.

"There, my pre-wedding gift to you," she said. "You are the only male to ever see them bared. Do you like them?"

Jorgarn gulped. Leyota's breasts were lovely. The bodice of the gown thrust them upwards toward him. The playful smile on Leyota's face only added to her charm. His hands went forward without conscious thought but he regained control soon enough to stop them at her waist.

"Touch them if you would like," she whispered. "So long as we cement our courtship with a kiss."

Jorgarn leaned forward and pressed his lips to Leyota's. Her hands left the front of her gown and went around his neck, pulling him tighter to her. Her hips pressed forward until their midsections touched.

Leyota found Jorgarn's left hand with her right and pulled it upwards until it rested over the breast which was now covered again by her gown. He felt the hard nipple beneath the fabric for only a moment before Leyota brought his hand higher. She slipped both of their hands beneath her gown and the intensity of her kiss grew as Jorgarn's fingers gently glided across her bare skin.