I agreed. “But Junia after me,” I said. “You say the horses are trained to this: leg and voice commands, then? Run through them with me?”
A few commands from Talyn, and two butts appeared in the training field, one at each end. A compact Han gelding was led out. Junia's eyes widened at the stirrups. “Let me put him through his paces,” I said, and rode out onto the field. A few circuits, the last with no reins, and I was ready to shoot.
I thought it had probably been a while since the gelding had heard arrows fly past his neck, so I shot the first one from a gentle trot. I felt the tiny sideways flick he made, and patted him reassuringly. We trotted to the other end, and I shot again, and this time he was steady. I urged him to a canter. After four more shots, I pulled him up. As I had thought, the stirrups made it much easier.
Junia had watched closely, studying the commands to the horse. She mounted, settling into the saddle, fitting her feet into the stirrups. She was taller than me. Rasa stepped forward, and adjusted the stirrups. Junia looked uncertain, but she rode out into the field, trying the gelding's gaits. I noted how she stood in the stirrups, testing the idea. Comfortable, she rode back for the bow.
After the first shot, every arrow hit almost at the centre, and from a greater distance and speed than I had attempted. Junia shot both from standing in the stirrups, and with her feet kicked free of them and her seat low. I had never seen her shoot before, or ride, but watching her was like watching Casyn with a sword, lethal grace in every fluid move. I shared that thought with Talyn.
“I was thinking exactly that,” she said. “If she can teach us this, we have a new weapon against the Marai.”
In late morning, Dian and her patrol returned. We had become good friends on the ride from Casilla to the Wall, two years earlier, and we hugged for a long time. “Oh, Dian,” I said, “I am so sorry. I had to leave Clio to the Marai, last year. I had no choice.”
“Couldn't be helped,” she said. “It was a brave thing you did, Lena, you and the Linrathan man. Who turned out to be the Emperor's son? It's like a midwinter's tale, the brave deeds, and then exile, and then returned to your rightful place. Places? He's here too, isn't he?”
“Cillian, his name is,” I said. “Yes, he is.”
“And you found Casil, and brought us ships and men,” she said. “Definitely a midwinter's tale come to life. Except that in a story, you and Cillian would have sworn undying love.”
I began to laugh. She gave me an assessing look. “Oh, Lena, really?” she said, joining in the laughter for a moment before sobering. “I hope your tale has a happy ending, then.”
We rode again, so Dian could see the possibilities. “Junia rides differently,” she observed, as we watched.
“Casilani saddles don't have stirrups,” I told her, “and the shape is different. But she's adapting quickly to the stirrups, using them to advantage.” I turned to include Talyn in the conversation. “Junia was a captain, in Casil, which I believe was equivalent to cohort-leader here, so we need to acknowledge her rank as well as her expertise. I'd like to appoint her as instructor, and give her the same authority as Dian, but only on the training field. Any objections?”
“She speaks only her own language?”
“Yes. But she taught me regardless. And I think she'll pick up words quickly.”
“It's your decision, Lieutenant,” Talyn said. “But I have no objection. How will you let her know?”
I considered. We had two Casilan speakers, and one would be riding north shortly. Even if I considered Druisius's limited ability to translate, he would be leaving with Sorley. A thousand men to integrate with the Empire's troops, and one translator? Who would also have a myriad of other duties? He will have planned for this, I thought.
Junia dismounted, leading the gelding over to us, grinning. “Lena,” she said, and mimed shooting, and then a moving object. “Itá,” I said. “In Casil,” I told the other two women, “we shot at a moving target, a human form made of cloth and stuffed, hanging in such a way it could be made to swing and twist.”
“A pavo,” Talyn said. “We use them, but not for archery. But there isn't one here.”
“Pavo,” Junia said. “Itá. Yes.” We looked at her in astonishment.
“The same word?” Dian asked.
“Our language developed from Casilan,” I said. “So perhaps it's not surprising we have kept some words.”
“Well,” Dian said. “I think we can build a pavo, at least a crude one. With your permission, Lieutenant, Cohort-Leader, I'll assign some guards to that task, this afternoon.”
I nodded. “I will be with the Emperor for part of the day,” Talyn told her, “so you will need to take charge while I am away. Unless the lieutenant is remaining here?”
“For a while,” I told her.
“Who's this?” Dian asked. I followed her eyes. Sorley and a boy of twelve or thirteen walked towards us. Ruar, I realized. He'd grown a bit, in the last year.
“The Lord Sorley, from Linrathe,” I told her. “He travelled with us. And Ruar, the Linrathan hostage, and heir, but I assume you know him?”
“Yes. He rides patrol with us, as did Kebhan, until he joined the archers this year.”
“Lena,” Sorley said. “I'm glad you're here. I'm looking for Cohort-Leader Talyn?”
“That's me,” Talyn said. “How can I help, Lord Sorley?”
He handed her a note. “Ruar and I, and one other, ride north today, to the Wall. We need horses for fast travel; we must be there as quickly as is possible.”
Talyn's practiced eye studied Sorley, assessing his weight. “Who is the other?” she said. He gave her a name.
“Not Druisius?” I said, surprised.
“No,” he said briefly. “I need a guide, and Druisius is needed here, to translate the best he can.”
“I see,” I said, unhappy for him. “Sorley, can you translate for me, while you're here? Tell Junia our ranks, and that she is to be instructor here; her rank is Cohort-Second, the same as Dian's, but her authority right now is only on the training field. And that we are building a pavo.”
He relayed all this to Junia. She grinned, and nodded. “Gratiás,” she said.
“Cohort-Leader, I was also to tell you the Emperor requests your presence in a short while, and that you are to eat with them,” Sorley said. Talyn gave a brief nod. He turned to me. “Lena, can we talk privately?”
“Cadet Ruar, go with the cohort-seconds to choose horses,” Talyn said. “Lieutenant,” she said to me, and left us. We waited until they were beyond hearing distance.
“You are leaving soon?” I asked.
“As soon as the horses and equipment are ready. I came to say goodbye.”
“I'm sorry Druisius isn't going with you. It doesn't seem fair.”
“He understands. Lena, because I am leaving...and because I may never see either of you again, Cillian told me what you discussed last night. Both about the succession, and about how he feels, about being a father, someday. I told him that any man who can teach as patiently as he can should not worry. I hope I did not overstep.”
“You can't, Sorley. Thank you. He will miss you; we both will.” That sounded inadequate. “I don't want to think about not seeing you again. Please come safely home. We need you, and we love you.”
“That's what Cillian said. I will do my best, Lena.” I put my arms around him. “You should tell him your promise, Lena, in case I am killed. I told him that, too,” he murmured.
“Perhaps I should. I know his; he didn't tell me, but he told Turlo, and I overheard.”
“That's cheating,” he said, trying to laugh. I kissed his cheek.
“Sorley,” I said. “About Cillian being a father someday—it's sooner than he knows. I'm pregnant.”
“What? Are you sure? You haven't told him?”
“No. I am not yet past three months, and our practice in the women's villages is to keep quiet until then. I am only telling you because you are leaving.” And becaus
e you may die, or I might.
“I am honoured you told me,” he said. His face became serious. A muscle jumped, under his eye. “Lena, if the worst happens, but I am alive—do I tell him?”
“I would say no. If you can accept that. If I die, and he knows that our child died with me, he will tell you, if no one else. If he doesn't know, why add to his grief? But it will have to be your decision, if you are the one left by his side.”
“If the gods demand a life, I hope it is mine,” he said. “Lena, please be safe.”
“I will try.” He hugged me tightly. Tears dampened his cheeks when he stepped back. I brushed them away, trying to smile, and kissed him gently on his mouth.
“Both of you,” he murmured. “I am a fortunate man. Goodbye, Lena.”
“Go with the god, Sorley.”
We spent the afternoon choosing horses and discussing training schedules. Junia repaired the two damaged bows as we talked, and strung and tested each of the twenty-four. As we did an inventory of arrows and equipment, a shelf of cloth strips caught my eye.
“I will need breast bands,” I said. “Are there enough to me to take two or three?”
“Certainly,” Dian said. “But I'm surprised you need them.”
“I find with my body turned more in the saddle,” I improvised, “the bowstring brushes my breast.”
“Good to know,” she answered. “Others may find the same.” I took three, pushing them into my breeches pockets. Even when I had hugged Dian, and Sorley, I had inwardly winced at the tenderness of my breasts. Last night, my body's responses after a month of abstinence had masked any discomfort, but I would have to think of something to tell Cillian. I hoped the bands would help.
In late afternoon, Talyn returned. Cillian accompanied her. I began to introduce him to Dian, and then stopped. “I don't know your rank now,” I told him.
“Major,” he said easily. “Adjutant and Advisor to the Emperor, Cohort-Second. I remember your name. You were at Tirvan in the battle against Leste, were you not, and then later rode north with the lieutenant?”
“Yes,” Dian said. “Good of you to remember, sir.” How easily he was slipping into the protocols and expectations here, I thought.
He spoke to Junia in Casilan, smiling at her response. “Junia asks me to tell you your horses are excellent, and she is impressed by your soldiers. But her bows are better.”
We laughed. “They are,” Dian said. “Lieutenant, a word?” We walked away from the others. “I am out of line, I know,” she said, grinning, “but your prince is a very handsome man, Lena. I am envious.”
“He is not a prince,” I said, laughing.
“He would be in the midwinter's tale,” she said. “Surely the Emperor's son is close enough?”
“Thank you for your thoughts,” I said aloud. My back was to Talyn and Cillian, so they couldn't see the grin. “I agree with your assessment. But, Dian,” I added, quietly, “our relationship cannot be public. We are both officers. You know, and Talyn, and Junia, but I would prefer if the guards I command did not, nor others. If rumours become a problem I will address it.”
She nodded. “Understood, Lieutenant.”
Cillian and I walked back to the headquarters together, observing the appropriate protocols between a junior officer and her superior. Insignia of rank had not yet been found for us, so we escaped the salutes we would otherwise have been required to respond to, but we still needed to behave as expected. Nor could we talk of what had been decided: too many ears, around the camp.
“Tell me?” I said, as soon as the door to our room closed behind us.
“Talyn is an intelligent woman,” Cillian said. “Thoughtful. She and I have agreed to be co-regents, if necessary, until one of our children—ours, or hers, or her sister's—is determined to be an appropriate and willing successor.”
“Are you happy with that, Cillian? It is not too much?”
“It is a compromise, and one that may never happen. Casyn has agreed to be the heir. The co-regency would only be necessary if he dies before one of our children is ready to inherit.”
“He took that on?”
“He said he had to, for the Empire. But that if he was still alive in ten years, and if Talyn's son, who is eight, I gather, and a cadet—was willing and suitable, he would retire in favour of the boy.”
“I hope for his sake that happens. He deserves it. He and our council leader Gille—they had a few weeks together, the summer he came to Tirvan, and he looked content, just shoeing horses and teaching us to fight.”
“I am glad the decision was out of my hands. Callan agreed I could not be the direct heir, for the reasons I gave yesterday.”
“And Ruar's reaction to the agreement?”
“Remarkably mature. He was more interested in what it meant for movement of his people between our two lands, and whose laws took precedence, than in the change to being a client ruler. The Teannasach serving his people. Donnalch taught him well.”
“And now he's going home, to rally his people, or at least those on the Wall.”
“He was pleased by that. Although he may change his opinion, after a day or two in the saddle.”
“Why didn't Druisius go?”
“Sorley needed a guide, and we need Druisius here, with Sorley gone. They both understood.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I didn't like it, but it was the right thing to do.”
“He said you told him the same thing I did: we need him, we love him, and to come home.”
“Yes. We had a few minutes alone. It is difficult, now, to imagine life without him.” He paused, looking diffident. “Did you kiss him goodbye?”
“Of course.”
“So did I.” Men did, in Linrathe, I remembered.
“That's what he meant!” I said. “I kissed him, on the lips, and he half-smiled and said, ‘both of you’. I'm glad you did, Cillian. It will be a good memory for him.” Cillian looked slightly relieved. “You didn't think I'd mind, did you?”
“Not really. But I still thought I should tell you.”
“You didn't need to. Speaking of kissing—?” He laughed, and put his arms around me. Against his chest, my breasts twinged, reminding me of the excuses I needed to make.
“Are you eating with Callan tonight?” I asked, a moment later.
“Yes. Probably most nights. I'm sorry, Lena.”
“Don't be. I'll eat with the other junior officers. There are friends here for me to catch up with.”
“Good.” He had turned to look at some papers on the table. “And then Callan has asked me for an hour, when the day's work is done each night, to talk. I don't want to say no, käresta, but it might limit our private time.”
“And we will be an army on the move, very soon,” I said. “But take that time to be with your father, while you can. You can always wake me up.” He looked up from the map in his hand.
“I suppose I can,” he said, smiling. “Another bed not to waste, for the few days we have it?”
“Exactly. But, Cillian,” I said, as casually as I could, “archery from horseback is different from on foot. The bowstring brushes my breasts and makes them sore. I'm trying to learn to shoot both right-and-left handed,” I added. Not a bad idea, I thought. Perhaps I'll try it. “I'm going to wear a breast band, to reduce the contact, but—"
“Be gentle?” he said.
“Yes.”
“I don't remember this being a problem in Casil.”
“It's the stirrups. They change the position of my body.” They did, actually. None of what I had told him was untrue.
“I'll remember. But tell me, if I misjudge.”
Later, I asked Birel for directions to the junior officers' commons. Entering the room, I saw Finn, talking to another man I didn't recognize.
“Lena!” he said, as I approached. “What a thing you have done, you and General Turlo and the others.” He offered his arm, in the soldier's greeting. “We have hope again.”
“Finn.” I was truly
pleased to see him; he had been a good friend, at the Winter Camp. I glanced at his insignia. “Captain now, I see.”
“I'm still alive,” he said grimly. “And you?”
“Lieutenant. I will be commanding a horseguards division.”
“I have been remiss with introductions.” The other man, another captain, greeted me cordially. “Lena is from Tirvan,” Finn told him, “and as you must have heard, was with General Turlo in Casil. There is a story there to be told!”
“There is,” I said, “but you know I can't tell it.” There would be an agreed version, and until I knew what I could speak of, and what I couldn't, I would be circumspect. “I was with the Emperor, yesterday, and so while I know in general where we stand, I have few details. Could we talk about that, instead?”
“I'll leave you to catch up,” the other captain said. Finn found us a quiet corner, and the steward brought two mugs of beer.
“Where to start?” Finn said.
“I don't want to make you relive it,” I said. “Why don't I just ask a few questions, and you tell me what you can?”
“A good idea.”
“Gulian and Galdor?” They had been at the Winter Camp with me, too.
“Galdor is dead; he was killed early on, in the first raids. Gulian was on Leste, as he hoped, and then he was sent to the Wall, so I don't know. Josan is dead too.”
“I'm sorry.” Two of them, at least, had been Finn's friends. I drank a bit of the beer.
“Midsummer, the Breccaith,” he said, “was terrible. So many gone. Did you remember it, wherever you were?”
“After a fashion,” I answered, remembering Sorley's haunting, heartbreaking song. “A different tune, but the same intent, a lament for those lost.”
“It's the intent that matters,” Finn said. “The general would have wanted it.”
“For Darel? Yes. And I, for Darel, and Tirvan, and others as well.”
“That news must have been hard, Lena. I wish we had been able to keep the villages safe.”
“I wish I had been here,” I admitted. “But we cannot change what is done. Where are the youngest boys, Finn? I haven't seen them here.”
“Casilla. Our hold on it is secure; the walls are strong, and the harbours guarded by two of our ships. The oldest men, from the retirement farms, supervise them, teach what they can, keep them busy. Is there someone you were wondering about?”
Empire's Legacy- The Complete Trilogy Page 101
