by Jordan Baker
“All right, then. I guess Maramyr is as good as anyplace right now,” he told her.
Aaron picked up one of the dead soldiers and began unceremoniously dragging the body toward the barn. Ehlena followed a few paces behind him.
“What are you doing?” the girl asked, her voice almost a whisper.
“We have to get away from here and I’d rather leave as little information as possible,” he told her. “If you want to help, go see if you can catch a few of the soldiers’ horses. We might need fresh mounts if we have to make a run for it. I’ll deal with this.” Aaron began to pick up another one of the dead soldiers.
She did not inquire any further.
Once he had moved all the dead soldiers, he gently dragged Tarnath’s body and that of Matthius to the barn. He put them both side by side on the large workbench then doused them both in oil, along with the rest of the barn. Ehlena had managed to gather almost a dozen horses including those that they themselves had ridden and she had tethered them to some trees at the far edge of the steading, away from the cottage that had all but been consumed by flames. Aaron checked the horses for supplies and selected four of the strongest-looking of the bunch along with his and Ehlena’s mounts then set the rest free, hoping that some farmer might make better use of them than had Manfred’s men. One of the horses he chose to keep was the large warhorse that had belonged to Matthius. Even though Aaron had to remove an arrow from its shoulder, the stallion had remained calm and it did not seem as though the injury was serious. He noticed several scars on the animal and suspected that it had seen some battle and he hoped that if the horse healed properly, it would make for a dependable mount, especially if they ran into any trouble.
The horses dealt with, Aaron set about finding a few more supplies. Luckily, the cold storage shack that had been built into the side of a mound of earth near the house had not caught fire. Inside, he found a few salted meats hanging from a beam, and some preserves on a shelf that had been left over from the winter. He loaded everything he could find into the saddlebags then he returned to the barn.
Inside, he saw Ehlena kneeling near Tarnath and Matthius. Her head was bowed and he thought he heard her saying something, but he did not recognize the words. There was a strangeness in the air around him and he felt a twitch in the back of his neck as though his headache might come back, but it was different somehow. His boot shifted in the dirt and Ehlena turned to look at him. There was a soothing, peaceful look in her eyes, a serenity that Aaron found oddly as disconcerting as it was comforting.
“They are with the gods now,” she said then rose to her feet.
Aaron nodded then took another look at his uncle and mentor, the man who had raised him, an old warrior who had seen so much of the world. Tarnath lay next to the other man, who Aaron barely knew but who it seemed to him was an old friend to his uncle. Perhaps it was fitting that the two fighting men would see the afterlife together. He bowed his head and wished them well, wherever they might be, then he struck a flint to the metal edge of the table. The sparks landed in the oil and it quickly caught fire. Aaron backed away to the door of the barn and watched as the flames spread quickly through the structure, burning fast from the oil and then catching the straw and dry wood of the walls. Ehlena stood with him, watching it burn until the wind shifted and the smoke became too thick to tarry any longer.
The two of them gathered their horses and set off along a tiny trail that would take them away from Ashford, away from the cottage, and away from the only life Aaron had ever known.
*****
Aaron and his quiet companion rode long into the night. Aaron thought that, given their present situation, they would be better off in the woods, so they took the back trails that ran high through the mountains. Aaron had never travelled this way but he remembered Tarnath having told him of the many mountain trails that ran through the forest, a lot of them shadowing the main roads. So long as they kept moving east and south, they should not stray too far off the mark. Once they reached Maramyr, they would find Ehlena’s aunt and figure out what to do then.
They rode a fair distance, and it was getting very late, the moon having already left the sky, leaving only stars to ride by. They were both growing tired so Aaron kept a lookout for a good place to camp. Eventually, they came to a stream that crossed the trail. Aaron stopped and stared hard into the trees near the edge of the stream. Before long, his eye found what he was looking for. It was a thin trail leading off into the forest. He stopped their horses and dismounted to take a closer look. It was an animal trail and Aaron left Ehlena with the horses and scouted down it a bit. A short distance into the trees, he found a clear spot where the trail ran close to the stream, which was big enough for them to leave the horses and rest for the night. Ehlena had not said a word the whole time they had been travelling and she quietly tied off her horse and unpacked a blanket from the bag on her saddle.
They were both too tired to bother with a fire and they could see quite well from the bright moon that lit up the night sky. The two weary travellers quietly shared some dried fruit that Aaron dug from one of his packs and they lay their blankets on the mossy ground beneath the thick branches of a great evergreen. Aaron lay on his back watching the light of the stars grow dim as they still tried to peek through the cover of the green needles. Ehlena lay down just next to him and curled up to sleep. It came quickly and they both fell into an exhausted unconsciousness.
Aaron awoke a short while later to find the girl snuggled up under his arm, one of her arms clasped around his waist. He felt more than a little awkward and thought maybe he should wake her up but he stopped when he looked down at her sleeping face in the fading starlight. Gone was the crinkled look of her brow. Her face had relaxed, returning her from the tired and frightened young girl to the very attractive young woman his friend Brian had first noticed at the tavern.
Aaron hoped Brian had escaped and pushed his worst thoughts from his mind. Now he was worried more about Ehlena. He was not used to dealing with girls, aside from the casual hello on the odd trip to town. He had also been somewhat disturbed with her eerie silence the whole way. He was very confused by this strange girl but he figured that she was likely distraught from her own sense of loss after the horrible events of the day. She had lost her father and been forced to trek through the night into the dark forest with someone she barely knew. He hoped she would be all right once they reached Maramyr.
Restless with his thoughts, Aaron rose from the bedroll and found the bundle he had gathered from the secret door in the cottage. Unwrapping it, he found a sword and several other items rolled in together. The sword had a simple yet elegant scabbard with symbols inlaid in silver on the black leather. Its hilt was simple and unadorned except for a great red ruby set in the end of it. Aaron unsheathed the blade and it shone a steely blue-grey in the dim, early morning light. At first glance the blade looked plain enough, but when Aaron turned it slightly, he could see a series of rune symbols that had been subtly worked into the steel. Aaron replaced the sword it in its scabbard.
The canvas sack held some odds and ends, which looked to be useful travelling items and the pouch contained what looked to be a small fortune in gold coins with the Maramyr print. Aaron had always wondered how Tarnath had managed to keep going to town to buy supplies since he practised no trade and his thumb had always been as green as charcoal. Maybe if the old man had been a farmer he would still be alive. They would never have gotten mixed up in such troubles, Aaron thought angrily. He unrolled one of the parchments. One was a title deed of something called Coromay and the other looked to be a royal writ. It was a letter of recognition signed by the old King, to his ‘honored friend’ Tarnath. Aaron shook his head. He knew that Tarnath had been an armsmaster, but he did not know he held a title and was friends with the king. It seemed that Tarnath had kept many things from him. Aaron put the items away and climbed back into the bedroll, moving his shoulder a bit to give Ehlena more room and he felt her arms hug him tig
hter as she responded in her sleep. Aaron closed his eyes and felt sleep finally claim him once more.
He awoke the next morning to the sound of water gurgling nearby. The sun was already high overhead and Aaron guessed that it would almost be noon. He unwrapped himself from his blanket and looked around for Ehlena. He heard a splash and turned toward the stream. Hanging from a branch were some wet clothes, Ehlana’s. He walked out from the tree cover where they had slept and saw the girl floating on her back in the water. Aaron turned his head and his throat made a strangled sound. The water was exceptionally clear, at least near the surface and he blinked a couple of times to clear his eyes of the glimpse of the young girl's nakedness as she floated near the water’s surface. There was another splash and when Aaron cautiously turned his head back to the water, he saw Ehlena submerged now up to her neck. She was smiling at him.
“Good morning,” she called. Surprised, not just by her nakedness, but by her cheerful expression, Aaron cleared his throat.
“Good morning,” he responded awkwardly. A few moments passed while the two of them stared at each other.
“Well?” she called. He turned his head again, trying to be polite. She gasped a sigh. “Are you coming in or not?” Aaron looked at her again and felt his face redden a bit.
“In the water? My leathers won’t take well to water,” he tried to protest. He was a little embarrassed.
“Don’t be silly. Look at yourself,” she cried. “Take them off. Don’t worry, I won’t look.” Aaron just folded his arms and stood his ground. She scowled back at him. “Look, if we’re travelling together, you could at least be a gentleman and bathe. You are very dirty and that simply won’t do,” she told him, throwing him a look that punctuated her words. This was not up for debate. She paddled around in the water to look the other way.
“Okay, it’s safe now,” she called out.
Aaron stood stubbornly for a minute and then he peered over and saw his reflection in a calm part of the water beside a rock at the edge of the stream. The face that looked back at him was barely recognisable as his own, he was so covered in soot from the fire. Aaron realized that he could perhaps benefit from a swim in the river but he made her promise to keep her head turned before he started to undo the tie of his breeches. She had said barely a word to him yesterday but now she began to chatter more than a squirrel. And she was bossy too, but Aaron somehow found that he liked the sound of her voice.
Confused and decidedly out of his depth, he muttered a few oaths pertaining to how strange girls were and figured that at least it was a good thing that she was in better spirits. As he was pulling his shirt over his head he heard a slight giggle from the water. When his head reappeared out of his shirt, he looked and saw that Ehlena’s head was still turned away from him. He scowled to himself and, placing his clothes on a rock at the edge, waded into the water, which was crisp and cool but not unbearably so, at least not at first. As he took his first few steps in, he thought he saw her head start to turn. He quickly dove into the freezing water and surfaced nearer to her than he had intended. Aaron paddled back a bit, a bit uncomfortable being that close to this girl he barely knew.
“There,” she said. “Isn’t that better?”
Aaron mumbled a response between shivers. Now that he was immersed in it, he realized that the water was really cold. The stream was surprisingly deep and there was very little current. Ehlena paddled over to a rock near the other side of the stream and her knees came up out of the water as she flipped over onto her back.
“This is a great spot,” she said. “You can sit here, see. It’s like a bench. The water’s warmer here too.” She folded her arms around her knees in front of her making at least some attempt at modesty. Aaron mumbled again. He was no longer shivering as much and the water did seem a bit warmer. He still felt a little numb though.
“Here,” she said. “You sit here for a minute. I’ll be back.” She swiveled forward onto her feet, turned and dove sideways into the stream. Aaron could not help noticing the buoyancy of her upper body as she sprang half out of the water and he closed his eyes, trying to be polite. He still hadn’t opened his eyes when she resurfaced and he heard her giggle again.
“Sorry,” Ehlena said with a laugh.
Aaron swam over to the rock where she had been sitting and found it to be quite a comfortable spot. The water was a little bit warmer there and it was also in the sun. He leaned his head against the rock and closed his eyes and sat a while, feeling the water flow gently by.
“Don’t look, I’m getting out for a minute!” he heard her yell. He turned his head to the side, making it obvious that he was looking away.
A few moments later, he heard another splash as the girl jumped back into the water.
“Its all right now,” she said.
Aaron turned to see her swimming across the stream towards him. He closed his eyes again as she drew near. He could not for the life of him figure out what had effected the change in the girl. Just the day before, Ehlena had been quiet and morose, barely speaking. Now, she was romping about in the water, almost as if nothing had happened. Aaron decided not to bother trying to understand this strange girl. He was still exhausted from the day before and still had a lot of things to sort out in his own mind.
Aaron heard a light splash and moments later heard Ehlena resurface near him. He sighed and kept his eyes closed. It was then that he felt her arm next to his in the water. Surprised, opened his eyes and saw the girl sitting next to him on the rock bench. In the coolness of the water, he could feel the warmth of her bare skin as she brushed up against him and he felt the blood rush to his cheeks.
He lifted his feet up onto the rock and pulled his knees to his chest, trying not to look at her and hoping she would not notice his embarrassment. Staring across the stream, he saw that she had hung his clothes, now clean, upon a tree branch. He quietly hoped they would dry quickly. Aaron had always of himself as an easygoing kind of person but Ehlena’s newfound openness was making him very uncomfortable and he hoped that all girls were not so forward as she.
“You’re feeling better today,” Aaron said, thinking conversation might help.
“Matthius was my god-father,” she said even though Aaron had not asked. “He was like a father to me, and I'm very sad about what happened, but it's too much. I lost my mother to illness not long ago and Matthius was going to take me to Maramyr so I can live with my aunt for a while.” She gazed up at the blue sky.
“You’re not sad?” Aaron asked her.
“Of course I am. It’s very sad. I liked Matthius. He was like a father to me. He and my mother were kind of, you know, involved and he was very good, to her and to me.” She sighed, seeming to debate something in her mind. “He died honorably, in battle, which is the wish of every Aghlar warrior. We’re not supposed to feel bad if an Aghlar falls in battle, in fact they celebrate it with a lot of beer drinking.” Frustrated, she looked up to the sky. “Oh Aaron, why is everything so mixed up?” She grabbed hold of his arm. “First my mother dies and now Matthius, and your uncle Tarnath too. I pray that the Lady will preserve us.”
Aaron felt her relax next to him when she mentioned the Lady, who some called Lady Luck. Whatever the goddess meant to Ehlena, Aaron found it interesting that the girl would talk of the old gods, for he knew they had been forgotten by many. Aaron’s shoulders were tensed with nervousness and he almost lost track of what she was saying as she shifted closer.
“You’re in the same position as me now,” she said. “I’m really sorry your uncle was...” she trailed off. “What will you do now?”
Aaron had been asking himself that very question ever since the day before. He took a deep breath as he considered how to answer her question.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “Tarnath was all I had. My parents died just after I was born and I’ve lived in that cottage back there my whole life. Maybe I’ll go to Maramyr and become a soldier or a guard. That was my friend Brian’s dream but it look
s like I have little choice. I’ve got enough money to live for a while but when that runs out. If there isn't work as a guard, I could always do some smithing.” He hoped things would go well in Maramyr. “It should be okay. I found some papers of Tarnath’s that he kept hidden. He used to be some sort of commander for the king at Maramyr. Maybe he had some friends who might be able to help me find my way.” Beyond soldiering or smithing, Aaron could not think of anything else he was skilled enough to do.
“You don’t know anyone in the City?” She was surprised.
“No. I’ve never been there. I’ve never been anywhere,” he told her. Ehlena was amazed. She could not imagine what it would be like to live the way Aaron had, in the middle of nowhere, no shops, no streets, no people around.
“I would not want to go to Maramyr without proper introductions,” she commented. "Maybe I can ask my aunt to help you."
Aaron shrugged at her. Ehlena thought he was strange, this boy from the country. Even though he had never been anywhere, he did not seem like the other low born people she had encountered in her travels with Matthius through the countryside. He spoke differently, as though he had been raised in the city, and there was a spark in his eyes of some deeper intelligence that captivated her whenever he looked directly at her. Her face blushed a shade when she realized that she was staring at him.
“You know, you're very strong. I would be a wreck if I were you,” she said and let go of his arm only to push off the ledge into the water then climb back on in front of his knees. He opened his eyes wide at that. Her soft face, encircled by wet hair was inches from his nose and her hands came to rest on his legs, quite above his knees. She pulled herself up toward him kissed him quickly on the lips. “Thank you for saving me.”
Ehlena gazed for a moment into his eyes and then noticed his face contorting with the utter nervousness. She smiled, her eyes laughing and her mouth breaking into a smile as she moved her feet to either side of him and kicked herself backwards, swimming out into the stream again. A few seconds later, her head popped out of the water to see Aaron's face now shining bright red. Ehlena cupped a hand to her mouth and laughed. She could see that he was really embarrassed and she thought it was a little funny. He was very shy. She decided that Aaron had a lot to learn.
