The Iron Princess

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘No, it sounds as though she’s entering the final stages. I would not be surprised if her waters have broken by the time we get there.’

  ‘If they have, Noffren will be lying on the floor in a dead faint.’

  ‘If he is, try to drag him out of the way without waking him. It’ll be better for all of us.’

  ~~~

  Taiana’s waters had broken, but Noffren was still on his feet. Soon, Athelynn had Taiana propped up on some pillows near the house’s fire and it was just a waiting game.

  Ayah’s main job at this time, especially with new fathers, was to keep Noffren from interfering and worrying too much. Ayah had seen more than a few births and had learned all the signs. She kept a silent count of Taiana’s bouts of pain, judging the gaps between and the length of each contraction, and judging them against other women she had seen in the same position. Taiana was, in Ayah’s opinion anyway, doing quite well. Athelynn seemed pleased too. Still, this was doing nothing to shake Ayah’s conviction that she would have to meet a man she really loved before she would put herself through the same process.

  ‘How much longer?’ Noffren asked. He was a handsome man with blonde hair and startlingly blue eyes. The couple were very much in love and had been for as long as Ayah had known them. Right now, he looked like a man in fear for his life, though Ayah was sure that it was Taiana and the baby he was worried about.

  ‘It will take as long as it takes,’ Ayah replied. ‘Taiana is doing well. I don’t think this will be a long one, but babies come when they want to. Ama says her qi is strong. She’ll be a healthy baby. Taiana is strong too, so you’ll have nothing to worry about except getting any sleep for the next few months.’

  They were interrupted by cries of pain from Taiana and Ayah began counting another contraction. ‘You’re doing well, Taiana,’ Athelynn crooned softly. ‘I know it hurts, but it’s necessary. I’ll give you something for the pain later, I promise.’

  ‘It sounds like it hurts so much,’ Noffren said.

  ‘Oh, it does,’ Athelynn replied, smiling. ‘Ayah kept me in agony for three quarters of the day and half the night. I believe she was determined to be born on Great Sky Day. She finally decided to let go just after midnight.’

  ‘Why thank you, Ama,’ Ayah said. She had heard that story before.

  ‘Well, it was all worth it in the end and I’m sure your daughter will be less stubborn.’

  ‘I’m not stubborn!’ Athelynn raised an eyebrow and Ayah pouted. ‘Well, okay. Maybe I’m a little stubborn.’

  6th Day, Second Marita.

  Ayah rubbed at her eyes and put another log on the fire. Behind her, Taiana was having another contraction. ‘Maybe the baby is going to be as stubborn as me.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Athelynn replied. ‘She’s coming down.’

  Ayah turned and saw that her mother had the slightly distant look she got when she was examining the flow of qi. She could see the baby even through her mother’s belly. ‘I wish I could do that,’ Ayah whispered.

  Athelynn either did not hear or ignored the statement. ‘We’ll be seeing a head soon. Taiana, you must push. You’ll know when. Just remember that more women than you could count have done this before. It’s a natural process.’

  ‘It doesn’t feel natural!’ Taiana shrieked. ‘It feels like I’m trying to squeeze out Noffren!’

  ‘I assure you, you’re not. Push.’

  It was another ten minutes before the head appeared. At first it was more or less a tuft of hair, but as Taiana bore down, the shape became more obvious and Athelynn slid her fingers in around the baby’s head. Ayah had watched this before and knew that her mother was checking that the cord was not around the baby’s neck. When Athelynn frowned, Ayah knew there was a problem. Taiana was too busy focusing on the breathing and the pushing, and Noffren was too busy hyperventilating, so neither of them noticed Athelynn’s disquiet. Ayah had been through this once before and prepared herself for what might come next. But as the baby’s face began to emerge, Athelynn eased the sinewy cord out and over the baby’s head; there would be no need for a knife this time and Ayah relaxed. Now it was just a matter of time.

  Soon enough, the sound of a pair of healthy lungs giving vent to their displeasure at being expelled from the warm environment they were used to was filling the air. Athelynn and Ayah carefully washed the baby’s face and then Athelynn handed Taiana’s new child to her.

  ‘It’s traditional for new parents to remark upon the baby’s beauty,’ Athelynn said.

  ‘She is beautiful,’ Taiana replied wearily.

  ‘What are you going to name her?’

  ‘Oh, she’s Tinayah. It’s even more appropriate since Ayah helped deliver her.’

  Ayah blushed. ‘Thanks, Taiana. I was happy to help.’

  ~~~

  At first, Sanden thought he had awoken because of the newest addition to the village’s population. Whatever they were going to name Noffren and Taiana’s baby, she had a good pair of lungs, but…

  No, that sound was audible, but not loud enough to raise him out of sleep. Something else had stirred him and he pushed aside his blankets and reached for the sword beside his bed. Keeping the weapon there was an old habit; long ago, he had been far more wary about ever being unarmed and when he had first come to Avrilatha, there had been bandits who occasionally raided the Plains villages. In recent years, things had been quieter and Sanden had almost settled to the point where he did not keep his sword nearby. Almost.

  He knew that some other instinct had broken his sleep when the door to his bedroom began to open. The first thing through it was a sword blade and Sanden knew exactly who was trying to sneak up on him even before the imperial lieutenant stepped through the door and looked around the room. The man had the tactical awareness to realise that he had lost the element of surprise quickly enough and they had left their mail shirts behind in an attempt to be silent, but he had his two compatriots with him and he appeared to also have the overconfidence which plagued imperial soldiers. He raised his sword, pointing it directly at Sanden’s face. ‘There’s the traitor. Get him.’

  They moved in quickly, swords flashing in the light from the moon coming in through the single window. Sanden assumed a defensive posture out of first position and easily pushed aside the only blow which came close to hitting. The lieutenant was holding back, giving himself a hard time actually hitting but making it harder for Sanden to hit back. He was using his men as a shield, which marked him down another peg in Sanden’s view. None of them were especially skilled, but it was three against one: when they attacked again and Sanden missed a parry, he felt the sharp pain of a sword piercing his side. It was time to reduce the odds against him.

  Sanden’s sword lashed up and in toward the man who had stabbed him and the soldier fell back, clutching at his throat as blood spewed out from between his fingers. He clashed aside the two swords coming at him and pushed his attack, stabbing out at the second subordinate and pushing the blade right through his windpipe. That was when the lieutenant’s sword stabbed into Sanden’s guts and the world began to spin.

  ~~~

  Ayah was feeling rather happy as she made her way back home. So she had spent almost three-quarters of the night awake, but she had also helped to bring a new life into the world. That was worth some loss of sleep. She was sure there would be more of that since she was a little too wound up to fall asleep quickly. Her mother had, however, sent Ayah ahead since she could see that her daughter was flagging. So, Ayah had trooped off through the night, thankful for the full moon, to her bed.

  Something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. She turned to look, but whatever it had been, a blur of red in the moonlight, it was nowhere to be seen now. She gave a shrug and then made to go on, but something else caught her attention: there were horses in the smithy. It seemed a little late for someone to want horses shod and Ayah thought she recognised the saddles.

  Getting closer confirmed that the three hors
es appeared to be the same ones that the imperial soldiers had been riding and that the door from the smithy into Sanden’s house was open. There were not many locks in Avrilatha, but Ayah’s home had one and the smithy had another. Both buildings held materials that thieves might take an interest in, so they had doors which could be locked. The lock on Sanden’s door was broken and that was not a good sign. And it was while Ayah was looking at the lock that she heard voices from deeper inside the building. She moved inside.

  ‘… a traitor to your nation.’ The voice sounded like the lieutenant whose horse had needed shoeing. It was harsh, accusatory. ‘The emperor himself put a price upon your head.’

  The reply was muffled, weak, but it sounded like Sanden. The voices seemed to be coming from the smith’s bedroom and Ayah spotted a man lying half out of the door, blood pooled around his head. It was one of the soldiers.

  ‘You’re a coward!’ the lieutenant said in response to whatever Sanden had said. ‘You ran from the nation which raised and trained you.’

  ‘I ran from an emperor willing to needlessly sacrifice his own men and murder innocent women and children,’ Sanden said. ‘I’ve heard enough of your prattle. Kill me and have done with it.’ Ayah’s eyes widened and she picked up the sword beside the fallen soldier.

  ‘I prefer watching you suffer while you bleed to death.’

  ‘No!’ Ayah snapped, stepping over the body and through the door. ‘Get away from him.’

  The lieutenant was not actually very near to Sanden. He stood against the wall, the window just to his left. His face was in shadow, but Ayah could hear the sneer in his voice. ‘The little girl from the smithy. Put that down, girl, before you cut yourself.’

  Sanden was lying with his back against his bed. He was naked, sitting in a pool of blood with a sword loosely held in his right hand. ‘Go, Ayah,’ he said, motioning to stand, but failing to do more than ooze more blood. Ayah ignored him.

  She also ignored the second body lying at Sanden’s feet: the second soldier who seemed to have taken a neck wound. She raised her sword into first position, the tip aligned with the lieutenant’s shadowed face.

  ‘I see,’ the lieutenant said. His blade came up and he lunged forward, his sword tip aiming for Ayah’s chest. Ayah dashed the blade aside and struck back, driving in with all the skill Sanden had taught her. Her blade plunged deep into the man’s chest and his eyes widened. He coughed and blood flecked his lips, dark in the moonlight. Then he fell, his legs folding under him. He was not moving, but Ayah could see him breathing. Her fists clenched, but she could not bring herself to deliver the blow needed to finish him. Besides, she needed to see to Sanden.

  The sword fell from her fingers, clattering on the wooden floor boards, and Ayah rushed to her mentor. She had to stop the bleeding, and then she would get her mother.

  ~~~

  ‘You’re lucky to be alive,’ Athelynn stated flatly as she washed the blood away from Sanden’s wounds to get a better look at them. ‘Ayah has stopped the bleeding, but these are deep wounds.’

  ‘There were three of them,’ Ayah said, ‘and in a confined space. That’s not fair.’

  ‘War is rarely fair, Ayah,’ Sanden responded.

  ‘We aren’t at war. What did they want? I heard that man call you a traitor…’

  ‘Later,’ Athelynn snapped. ‘I need to close these wounds. Hold still, Sanden.’ She closed her eyes and placed her hands over Sanden’s stomach. There was a wound there, but that was not the point of the contact position: Athelynn was going to reinforce Sanden’s qi with her own. Ayah knew this was going to cost her mother a lot and moved closer. Sanden’s body stiffened as the alien qi was pressed in upon him and his body’s own qi reacted, moving as Athelynn directed.

  Then Ayah was reaching out to catch her mother as Athelynn sagged. Sanden relaxed on the treatment bed, where he had been brought by two of Athelynn’s neighbours. Those same neighbours were taking care of things in the smithy or had said they would.

  Sanden pushed up onto an elbow. ‘Are you alright, Athelynn?’

  ‘She will be,’ Ayah said. ‘Healing like that takes a lot out of her.’

  ‘I’ll be fine after a night’s rest,’ Athelynn said, a smile in her voice, but also tiredness close to exhaustion. ‘Ayah, would you help me to my bed? Then you can come back here and keep an eye on our patient.’

  ‘I don’t need–’ Sanden began.

  ‘I’ve closed the wounds, but you’re not even near to healed. It will be days before you can work and longer before you’re fully fit. You’ll rest now. Healer’s orders.’

  ‘Yes, Laoshi,’ Sanden said, and then he lay back on the rather hard bed and closed his eyes.

  ~~~

  In the morning, Athelynn was fully recovered, if a little tired from the late night, and Sanden was mobile. Mobile, but slow. He moved with one arm around his stomach, bent at the waist, and there was pain in his eyes. Athelynn insisted that he stay in the treatment room until he could move without pain, and he countered that he could not take up that room when others might need it. If she insisted on having him around, then he would sit quietly in their lounge and sleep in one of the chairs.

  Ayah was bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, but she went out to help as the other villagers disposed of the three bodies from the smithy. She had been sure that at least one of them was still alive when she had half-carried Sanden out, but they had all been dead by morning. Ayah was not feeling too good about that: she had not actually killed the lieutenant, but she had certainly facilitated his death. She and a couple of the other girls set about scrubbing the bloodstains out of Sanden’s floorboards, and all she could think of was her sword plunging into the lieutenant’s chest the whole time.

  Though she had more to worry about than that. For one thing, there was the mystery of what the soldiers had wanted with Sanden, why they had called him a traitor, and why the emperor had offered a reward for him. And then there was Baraban. The landowner’s son had been about the village while things were being taken care of. No one would have told him what was happening and Ayah doubted he had seen much, but he knew something was going on. He would dig. If he found out what had happened…

  But it was evening and Sanden was sitting by the fire with Ayah and Athelynn when he finally said, ‘I think I owe you both an explanation.’

  ‘You don’t,’ Athelynn said. ‘You’ve been very good to us ever since… You owe us nothing.’

  ‘Ayah saved my life last night and doesn’t even know why she had to. I think I owe her an answer to her question.’ Sanden’s gaze shifted to Ayah. ‘They called me a traitor, Ayah, because I am. To them anyway.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Ayah said, frowning.

  ‘I was born in the Iron City, raised in the Empire of Iron to believe that we were the greatest nation in the world. I believed it and I joined the Army. I started as a regular soldier and worked my way up to major. I was in charge of a battalion when… When the emperor sent us out to take Garia City.’

  ‘You were at the siege of Garia City?’

  ‘And I watched as generals ignored all the precepts of strategy, throwing men at the walls of the city to die. When we finally got inside, I saw executions, torture, and worse. Our glorious Empire killed its own people and those of a conquered city to please the mad man who sits on the throne. I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t accept it. I left the Army, ran from it and, eventually, I came here.’

  There was silence for a second or two and then Athelynn said, ‘You are hardly the only deserter from the Imperial Army. Why would Siyu personally put a price on your head?’

  ‘There were plenty who ran from the siege rather than be sent against the walls again. They were mostly conscripts and they mostly ended up as brigands and bandits. I was the highest-ranking officer to desert and the emperor took it personally, I suspect. Well, he has other things to think about now, but back then I was his greatest embarrassment.’

  ‘I was barely born when Garia C
ity was taken,’ Ayah said, ‘so it’s not a surprise I never heard about some imperial major deserting, but I’ve not heard of anyone else leaving the Army recently.’

  ‘Not the Army,’ Sanden said, ‘but there are rumours about that Sying, the Iron Princess, went missing not long after her sixth great birthday. Some say she was kidnapped by spies from Istollam last summer, but it seems more likely that she escaped the palace to avoid an arranged marriage the summer before. There is no reason for Istollam to involve themselves in that kind of politics. I think it more likely that Emperor Siyu wants an excuse to attack Istollam and take control of a huge swathe of the Plains.’

  ‘You really think there’ll be another war?’

  ‘The men who came here were scouts, Ayah. It may be a few short years away, but war is coming.’

  7th Day, Second Marita.

  The morning saw Sanden a little better, but Athelynn was still concerned about him and refused to allow him to move around too much. So, Ayah was sent to the smithy to collect a few clothes and other items Sanden wanted and it was as she was leaving that she ran into Baraban.

  The landowner’s son was looking smug, which could not be a good sign. What he said made the reason for his smugness obvious. ‘I have something I need to discuss with you, Ayah. Something very important to our future.’

  ‘We have no future, Baraban,’ Ayah replied. ‘Certainly not before my next great birthday. I’m busy, so if you’ll–’

  ‘I don’t think you’ll want the Imperial Army finding out what you and Sanden did to their troops.’

  ‘Baraban–’

  ‘And they won’t. Just so long as you agree to a betrothal on your birthday.’

  Ayah scowled at the young man, but he just looked back at her with that smug grin. She contemplated wiping it away with a slap that would set his ears ringing, but Baraban was just the kind of vindictive bully to actually go through with his threat. She suspected that he would find the results less than agreeable but persuading him of that was likely to be hard. ‘Let me think on it,’ she said.