Janna Mysteries 1 & 2 Bindup

by Felicity Pulman

  He held up his hands in a gesture of peace. ‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered. ‘I … I have nothing save the clothes I am wearing. I was going to use what I stole from you to travel somewhere safe, to find shelter and buy food. But I won’t try again, I promise.’

  ‘Why are you here in the forest?’ Janna demanded, not in the least mollified by his explanation. ‘What are you hiding from?’

  ‘Why are you here?’ He turned the question back on her. ‘What are you hiding from?’

  Janna was silenced, but only for a moment. ‘I asked first,’ she muttered.

  A grin stole over his face once more. ‘I’ll make a bargain with you. I’ll tell you my story if you’ll tell me yours,’ he said. He waited for her grudging nod before continuing. ‘I am on the run from my lord. He’s a cruel man, cruel as the devil. He beat me.’ The youth touched his dirty face. Janna saw a jagged scar on his chin, and winced in sympathy.

  ‘I ran away ’cos I decided I’d rather live as an outlaw than stay at the mercy of that swine,’ the youth continued. ‘I’ve been hiding here in the forest ever since, catching whatever I may to eat, and drinking water from that pool you fell into.’

  ‘How long have you been here?’ Janna strove to keep any hint of warmth from her voice, lest he believe she might take pity on him and share with him her treasures.

  ‘I don’t know the time in days exactly, but I reached the forest as the trees were just coming into bud from their winter sleep. I think it must be mid-summer now?’

  Janna nodded. ‘Close enough. The fence-month may well have started already. You must certainly leave the forest as soon as possible, as must I.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘’Tis the time when the does give birth to their fawns. The forest is forbidden to all at that time so that mothers and their babies are not disturbed. ’Tis a dangerous time to hide here, for the forester will be on constant watch to protect the king’s deer for the hunting season to come.’

  The young man nodded thoughtfully. ‘I’ll have to take my chances. I can’t leave until the seasons turn full circle.’

  ‘Why?’ Now it was Janna’s turn to ask the question.

  ‘If I can stay hidden for a year and a day, I shall have earned my freedom from my lord.’ He grinned ruefully. ‘That’s if I can stay alive for that long.’

  In spite of her best efforts, Janna felt some sympathy for the ruffian. His story touched her. So, too, did the realisation that, although he’d stolen her purse, he’d made no effort to harm her, or keep her goods once she’d tracked him down. She, too, had stolen something: the clothes she wore, and from a poor peasant who could ill-afford to lose them. She was in no position to judge what anyone might do when pushed to the limit of need. ‘What will you do after a year and a day?’ she asked.

  The young man shrugged. ‘I would like to become an apprentice, to learn a trade, but I have not the money for that. So I will do anything at all that might help me earn my bread and keep.’

  ‘No-one will give you work and shelter once they know you’re a runaway serf,’ Janna pointed out.

  ‘They will if they think I’ve come from Wales. That’s what I’ll tell them. They won’t care who my lord was, so long as I show willing and work hard.’ The youth flexed his muscles. ‘I am strong,’ he boasted, ‘and I can turn my hand to anything I’m asked to do. I’ll have no trouble finding someone to take me in, I promise you.’

  Janna nodded thoughtfully, while her mind ticked over in a tumble of ideas. If she helped him, so too might he help her. She held out her hand. ‘My name is Johanna, but I’m known as Janna,’ she said. ‘I, too, am in hiding. That’s why I’m dressed like this. I call myself “John”, for he was my father – a man of wealth and importance,’ she added proudly.

  The youth nodded. He relaxed his wary stance, sprawling back against the grass. ‘My name is Edwin.’

  ‘If you come from Wales, shouldn’t you should call yourself by a Welsh name? Hoel or Gwyn, something like that?’

  ‘Edwin, Hoel, it makes no matter so long as they believe I’m a free man from across the border.’ He shrugged, and patted the grass beside him. ‘Sit down,’ he invited. ‘I won’t hurt you.’

  Not taking any chances, Janna hooked the purse onto her girdle, and tied the girdle firmly around her waist. Then she sat down as she was bid, sword close at hand, keeping a careful distance from Edwin.

  ‘So where are you bound? And why are you hiding?’ he prompted.

  Janna took a deep breath, hardly knowing where her story should start. With the fact that her cottage was burnt to the ground and she was homeless? Or a few days before then, when the nightmare first began?

  ‘I am Janna, daughter of Eadgyth the wortwyf,’ she said. ‘My mother used her knowledge of herbs to heal the sick. Just a few days ago, she was called on to physic the lady of Babestoche Manor, Dame Alice, and her newborn babe.’ She paused, debating whether or not she should tell Edwin how her mother had also looked after Cecily, one of Dame Alice’s tiring women, and how Eadgyth had drunk the poisoned wine that was meant for Cecily.

  ‘My mother taught me all she knew, but she is dead,’ Janna continued, choosing her words carefully. ‘She died in mysterious circumstances, and I have sworn to avenge her death and bring the culprit to justice. But I need my father’s help for this. Although I know who caused my mother’s death, I cannot accuse the man for he is all-powerful whereas I am but a humble outcast. So now I’m going in search of my father.’ She patted the purse at her waist. ‘My mother never told me who he was, but I hope that this letter and these pieces of jewellery will help me find him.’

  ‘No wonder you took after me in such a fury!’ Edwin gave her a rueful smile. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said again, adding, ‘But why do you dress like a youth and travel in such secrecy?’

  Janna sighed. ‘The man responsible for my mother’s death turned the villagers against me. They burned my cottage to the ground, thinking I was in it. It is safer for me if everyone thinks I died in the blaze, but just in case anyone sees me …’ She swept a hand down her body, indicating the clothes she wore.

  Edwin’s lips pursed in a silent whistle. He regarded Janna thoughtfully for a moment. ‘It seems to me that, if we can’t stay here in the forest, we should journey together. We might be able to help each other,’ he ventured.

  Janna nodded in agreement. ‘Your lord searches for a lone runaway, while you understood what I was quickly enough.’ She slid a sideways glance at him, and he reddened once more.

  ‘Yea, well I was in a … a position to see more of you than most,’ he said, shame-faced.

  ‘Than any man has ever seen before,’ Janna said tartly. ‘Had you not seen what you saw, would you say I could pass for a youth?’

  He looked her fully in the face now. He was taller than her, and Janna noticed that he was also a little older than her own sixteen years. His face was comely rather than handsome, and he had an attractive smile. She noticed the scratches on his dirty brown cheek, freshly made and dappled with beads of blood. She, too, had left her mark on Edwin. ‘You should wash those scratches,’ she said. ‘I’ll find some herbs that will help them heal.’ She felt sympathy for the mistreated youth, but she would not say sorry; she wasn’t quite ready to forgive him yet.

  He nodded his thanks. ‘You dress like a man,’ he said then, ‘but you walk and talk like a girl.’ He jumped to his feet, put a hand on his hip and took a few mincing steps.

  Janna was surprised into laughter. ‘I do not!’ she protested.

  ‘You laugh like one, too.’

  Janna gurgled into silence. ‘I can’t dress like a girl,’ she pointed out, making her voice purposely deep. ‘These clothes I’m wearing are all that I own.’

  ‘That’s better,’ he approved. ‘And if you walk like so …’ He began to stride about, his arms loose and swinging freely by his side. Janna scrambled up and began to copy him, walking first beside him and then in front, so that he could watch her.

&nbs
p; ‘Like this?’ she asked.

  He grinned at her. ‘You fight like a girl, too.’ He gently touched his scratched face with his dirty hand.

  Janna kept silent, refusing to feel guilty for protecting what was rightfully her own.

  ‘If you’re going to live as a boy, you’ll need to learn how to defend yourself in a fight. You haven’t the strength to fight fair, but your instinct was right.’ Edwin patted his groin. ‘A hard kick here will cripple your attacker and give you time to run like the devil himself. But you were too slow. I knew exactly what you had in mind.’ He forked two fingers and, before Janna had a chance to react, he stabbed them towards her eyes. ‘You could also try to blind your opponent like this, or …’ Edwin’s fingers closed together. ‘You can use your hand to break his nose, or his neck.’ His hand became a blade as he chopped up towards Janna’s nostrils and then sideways at her throat. She felt the side of his fingers slam hard against her skin, and swallowed involuntarily.

  ‘Hit hard, hard as you can. And be quick, you have to take your enemy by surprise,’ Edwin continued. ‘But what will you do if he comes from behind you?’ Giving Janna no time to reply, he ducked behind her and grabbed her, pinning her arms to her side and holding her close to his chest. With a startled cry, she tried to fight him off. ‘What will you do then?’ he whispered. His breath blew warm against her ear. She felt a deadly fear as she realised she was powerless in his grasp.

  Still he held her, while she struggled uselessly in his grip. He gave a small huff of amusement and continued to hold her tight. The sound enraged Janna and she increased her efforts, but to the same end. She could not get away from him.

  ‘You stamp down on my foot. Hard,’ he told her. As Janna’s knee came up he released her suddenly, and skipped away out of danger. ‘Don’t signal your actions,’ he warned. ‘And don’t give your enemy any chance to escape.’

  Janna nodded slowly. Suddenly, she sprang towards him. Her fingers stopped a hair’s breadth from his eyes.

  ‘Yea, that’s it. Now go practise on someone else!’

  Janna scowled at him. Her heart was still racing after the fright he’d given her. Unrepentant, he grinned back. ‘You’ll do, John – so long as you remember who and what you are!’

  ‘I’ll remember.’ She squeezed her fingers together and tried a few practice chops at the air, pretending that she was aiming at an opponent’s neck. And his nose. Her fingers formed into a V to stab at unseen eyes. For good measure, she stamped down hard on an imaginary foot.

  Edwin craned his head back to look up through the green veil of leaves. ‘There’s not enough sunlight to tell which direction we should walk in,’ he said. ‘Do you know the way through the forest?’

  ‘No.’ Janna’s face fell. ‘I lost the path at that clearing by the pool.’ She looked about her. ‘I have no idea where we are now.’

  ‘We’re at the place I’ve made my home.’ He jerked a thumb behind him. Looking past him, Janna noticed a small shelter fashioned from branches and stuffed with mud and leaves. Longer branches were laid on top of the primitive walls to form a rough roof; they were covered with a layer of reeds for extra protection. She had to look hard to see the shelter, for it was almost indistinguishable from the surrounding forest. It would give Edwin some cover from rain, but was too small for anyone to live in any comfort. Nearby was a small circle of blackened flints, with three branches meeting at a point above the space in the middle. Janna realised she was looking at Edwin’s fireplace.

  ‘What do you do for food? Do you have any?’ she asked, suddenly ravenous.

  Edwin shuffled his feet, looking shifty. ‘I trap small creatures with this,’ he admitted, pulling a snare of plaited fibres from the front of his tunic. ‘I cook them and eat them.’

  Janna felt juices seep into her mouth. ‘I’m so hungry,’ she said. ‘Do you have anything we can eat now?’

  ‘No.’ He smiled slightly. ‘I could offer you some water, but I saw you drink your fill in the pool.’

  ‘You have water? And something to cook in?’ Janna’s gaze flicked around the forest floor, settling on several plants of interest to her.

  Edwin nodded.

  ‘Then light the fire,’ Janna instructed. ‘Before we go anywhere, I’ll make us a pottage of herbs to fill our bellies for the journey.’

  ‘We can’t, not in daylight! The smoke will betray us.’ Edwin cast a nervous glance about him.

  Janna hesitated. Her stomach growled with hunger. She was famished. ‘Let’s risk it,’ she said. ‘The forester is probably miles away, and even if he does see the smoke we’ll be gone before he can track its source.’ Not giving Edwin a chance to protest, she drew out her knife and hurried towards a clump of nettles. She kept an eye on Edwin’s movements as she plucked the nettles by the stem and carefully cut away the stinging leaves. A patch of chickweed drew her on, and she harvested a handful of green shoots before moving over to gather some dandelions and a snippet of wild garlic to add flavour. Although her treasures were safe in her purse, she still wasn’t sure how far she could trust the young outlaw. It was true that they might be able to help each other; nevertheless, Janna reminded herself to be wary, to stay on guard just in case she’d misread his intentions. So she watched him.

  His boast had not been an idle one, she thought, as she recalled how powerless she’d been in his grip. In a fair fight between them, he would be the winner. He was taller, and he had a wiry strength that became evident as he wrestled with a dead branch to break it up for kindling. The fire laid and the tinder struck to light it, he poured some water from a crudely fashioned jug into a small iron pot and hooked it over the flames to boil.

  Reassured that they had a common purpose, Janna ventured further, looking for mushrooms to add bulk to the brew. She couldn’t find any more puffballs, but a few oyster mushrooms fanned out from a rotting tree stump and she gathered those, along with some late white mushrooms that nestled in an open grassy patch. She inspected them carefully for insects and to make sure they were truly an edible variety and not any poisonous look-alike. Satisfied that they were sound, and that she’d gathered enough to satisfy their hunger, she searched now for a bird’s nest. Some eggs, or even some berries, would make a welcome addition to this most basic of broths. The nests were empty and berries still unripe, but she espied something even better. Janna smiled with anticipated pleasure as she hurried towards the big white splats of lacy elderflowers peeping through the green cover. She held up the front of her smock like an apron, and dropped in what she’d already gathered, then cut several elderflowers to add to her collection, finally circling back towards the fireplace. The pot hung over the fire, steam rising in the cold air, but there was no sign of Edwin. He had vanished.

  With a sinking feeling, she looked about for him. ‘Edwin?’ she called softly, remembering to keep her voice pitched low. ‘Where are you?’

  There was no response. ‘All the more for me, then,’ Janna muttered, trying to keep up her spirits. Carefully laying aside the elderflowers, she threw the mushrooms and plants into the pot and, shivering, stepped closer to the fire to warm herself and dry her clothes. All sympathy for the outlaw had gone along with his disappearance. Beaten by his lord indeed, she thought, as she recalled the scar on his chin. Got that in a free fight more like, probably while he was trying to steal from someone else!

  A slight rustle set her fumbling for her knife. She whirled around, frantically trying to recall the moves Edwin had taught her. The eyes. The nose. The neck. The foot.

  As she saw who it was, she relaxed. Wearing a proud grin, Edwin strode forward and dangled a limp furry form in front of her nose.

  ‘Erk! What’s that?’ Janna jumped backwards.

  ‘A leveret.’ He set down the hare and pulled out his knife.

  ‘But it’s only a baby!’ Janna protested.

  ‘That’s right. I found it lying in a clump of grass.’ Edwin looked down at his prize. ‘It must have been ailing or I wouldn’t have cau
ght it.’ He began to strip the fur from the small body.

  Janna shuddered, but she didn’t stop him when he threw the leveret into the broth. He peered in after it, and sniffed suspiciously. ‘That’s poisonous.’ He pointed at one of the mushrooms.

  ‘No, it’s not.’

  ‘I don’t eat fungus. It can kill you.’

  ‘I know. You have to be careful. But that’s a white mushroom, and there are also some oyster mushrooms. They’re quite safe.’

  Edwin looked at Janna. ‘How do I know you’re not trying to poison me?’ he muttered.

  ‘You don’t,’ Janna said cheerfully, ‘but you don’t have to eat them if you don’t want. I’m hungry enough for both of us.’ She offered him an elderflower. ‘Have one.’ She stuffed the sweet lacy flower into her mouth and chewed it with relish.

  Edwin took a cautious bite, looking dubious. Then he licked his lips in appreciation, and quickly scoffed up the rest. It seemed he’d decided to trust her after all. Janna smiled to herself, and picked up another flower.

  They ate the pottage with their fingers, taking pleasure from the hot food. It went some way to settling the ache of hunger in their stomachs. Even the hare was shared between them, although Janna tried to close her mind against what she was eating as she picked the flesh from the small bones.

  ‘A feast fit for King Stephen himself,’ Edwin commented, and licked his fingers. Janna pulled a face at him. If Edwin really believed that, he must be truly deluded. But his ready grin showed her that, even if he’d never attended a banquet, his imagination was every bit as vivid as her own.

  ‘Are you ready to leave now?’ he asked, when every last morsel was finally eaten. He stood up, and looked about for the jug and the pot that had held their meal.