The Sheriff of Estole took the paper out of her king’s hands without a by-your-leave and read through them with her own eyes. Then she nodded in satisfaction. “I think so. I’ll have copies of this made and posted in every corner of the town.”
“Look at this!” Edvard waved the paper in the air, beaming from ear to ear. “I struggle for weeks to come up with something, and yet this group puts together the essentials within barely an hour! I was right to call you lot in.”
“Does that mean you’ll feed us now?” Ash inquired dryly. His expression suggested that he was touched by the praise Edvard showered on them all, but was too manly to admit it.
“Oh, that? You know I’m joking, of course I’ll feed you. Well, I think we’ve gotten enough work on this done for tonight. But keep thinking on things, and as thoughts come to you, tell them to me. Yes?” Turning, he looked to his left side, checking with them as well. “Yes? Good. Let’s be off to the dining hall.”
Chapter Thirteen
Broden sat down in the dining hall for breakfast, following routine faithfully, and waited for the rest to appear.
Riana came in first, hair tied up in a simple knot at the top of her head, weapons in hand, and a content expression on her face. He looked at her carefully as she entered and noticed that the slightly thin quality of her cheeks was diminishing steadily. No doubt because of a steady diet of good food. The dark circles under her eyes were basically gone as well, disappearing as she consistently got a good night’s sleep.
“Morning, Da.”
“Morning, daughter.” He said nothing else as she sat across from him, loaded up a plate with enough food to feed two grown men, and devoured the lot of it without seeming to breathe. “Hungry?” he asked laconically.
“Starved, for some reason,” she admitted frankly. “I do no’ know why guarding a man that be building on a wall be tiresome work, but it be just that.”
He grunted in amusement. “Mayhap for the same reason that chasing a woman all over the city be tiresome work as well.”
She smirked and shrugged. “Mayhap so. Ashlynn and ye be set to go out again this morning, eh?”
“I hope for a quieter day than the ones afore,” Broden replied, silently wishing for his words to go straight to a god’s, any god’s, ear as he spoke. “The new laws should be posted about by now. The people will like as no’ prefer these over martial law.”
“I would hope so,” Ashlynn said as she entered the room. “They’re much more lenient after all. Good morning.”
“Morning, lass,” Broden returned. “Where be Ash?”
“He stopped by the kitchen to ask for a picnic basket to be made up for him and Riana,” Ashlynn responded as she settled herself at the table. “He said something about not wanting to work on an empty stomach, of having to trek back here to get lunch.”
“A fine notion,” Riana agreed. From her expression, it was clear she wondered why she had not thought of that yesterday.
“I absolutely cannot wait until that wall is finished and Ash can go back to building houses.” Ashlynn took a large swallow of chilled juice before asking, “Riana, how is his progress? I didn’t get a chance to ask him before he went to bed last night how things were going.”
“They go apace,” Riana assured her. “He seems pleased by how things be going. He did say things were no’ going as fast as he hoped, but the man be doing the work of five all on his lonesome, so I do no’ see how he can be quicker than this.”
“Ash always gives a positive estimate of how long a project will take, and never considers the worst-case scenario,” Ashlynn warned her. “So whenever he gives you an estimate of how long something will take, add at least three days. In this case, Edvard and I added a good week onto the guess he gave us.”
“I will mind it,” Riana assured her.
They all paused when they heard the rapid click of heels coming their way, the sound staccato against the tiled floors. In the next moment, Miss Haley stepped into view, looking a trifle flushed, her pristine hair coming loose so that wispies framed her face. “Excellent, the two of you are still here.”
Ashlynn paused with a bite halfway to her mouth and looked at her. “I can tell from your expression I’m not going to like this. Well, Miss Haley, what trouble is brewing this morning?” she asked with a too bright smile on her face.
“The laws that you had copied and posted through town this morning are receiving…mixed reactions. Most of those that are displeased with them are gathering around the central fountain.”
Broden gave a sour grunt.
Ashlynn let out a more vocal whine. “But the laws are nicer than living under martial law!”
“Yes, but they are in some cases harsher than the old Bindings,” Miss Haley soothed. “The penalty for murder and rape, for instance, has a stiffer sentence than the Bindings. Most of the laws they’re pleased with, but others they’re questioning.”
Ashlynn rolled her eyes to the ceiling, palms flipped over to face the heavens. “Macha, grant me patience. Broden, are you finished?”
He popped the last bit of bread into his mouth before slinging his quiver on. “Have a good day, daughter.”
“Aye,” Riana responded, tone worried. “Call if ye need us.”
“That we will.” He did not have the time to say anything else, as Ashlynn was already out of the door.
They went directly to a main town square that he knew well. Ash had brought them through here on their first day. A fountain stood in the middle of the street, gushing out water in a pretty stream to fall into a shallow basin. Around the basin gathered men and women of every age and trade, all of them talking amongst themselves in a low, angry murmur like a gathering storm cloud.
Oh, he did not like the look of this.
Ashlynn, having no sense for danger, popped up to stand on the fountain’s edge to give her a slight boost in height. “I’m Sherriff Fallbright! What’s the problem, here?”
A roar met her as people shouted back their answer. The fine hairs on the back of Broden’s neck stood straight up at their tone. Every instinct he had told him to grab Ashlynn, sling her over his shoulder, and make a run for it. It took every ounce of control to stand still.
“One at a time,” Ashlynn responded in irritation, not apparently worried about their anger. “You. Yes, you, in the green shirt. What’s the problem?”
A towering man that looked to be a carpenter or some such snapped back, “These laws are worse than the Bindings!”
“How?” Ashlynn asked. “I had a hand making these laws, and only two have stiffer sentences than the original Bindings. Murder and rape.”
He pointed an outraged finger at her. “Exactly! These are dangerous streets and we don’t even have the right to defend ourselves!”
Ashlynn stared back at him blankly. “What?”
Broden let out a sigh. He’d been afraid of this. That pretty language of Ash’s might be fit for kings, but the common man could not understand it. Shaking his head in exasperation, he took a step up to stand beside Ashlynn. With a breath, he gained enough air to bellow out above the crowd’s head, “I be Broden Ravenscroft, new citizen of Estole! I be a simple archer, no’ a lawyer or a king, but I know the laws ye have in yer hands. Will ye let me explain them to ye so every man can understand them?”
Ashlynn leaned into his side to whisper, “Why don’t they understand them? I thought they were totally clear-cut.”
“Aye, lass, if they ken all those fancy words Ash used,” he muttered back.
The row of people in the very front eyed him with clear misgivings. “If you’re a simple archer,” one woman asked, a baby on her hip, “then why do you understand them?”
“Because I also had a hand in making them.” He grinned at her. “Yer new king made sure the common man had a voice with these new laws.”
Green Shirt waved the paper in his hand and demanded in outrage, “You agreed to these?!”
“Oh, keep yer hair on, man,” Broden ordered, waving him
down. “The law does no’ say ye can no’ defend yourself. Quite the opposite. It says unless a man be defending himself, or another, then it be murder. Only cold blooded murder deserves the noose.”
The grumbling of the crowd abruptly stilled. A faceless voice called out, “So we’re allowed to defend ourselves?”
“Aye,” Broden said firmly. “And yer families, and yer friends, and any innocent ye see in trouble. Edvard Knolton would have it no other way. But mind—this be self-defense and it will no’ pardon ye in matters of revenge.”
They mulled that over for a spell. Ashlynn cleared her throat and asked, “Is there anyone here that still has a problem with that law?” Her tone suggested there better not be, because anyone that did would be contemplating murder, and she’d want to have a word or three with them.
“Isn’t the punishment for rape a little too strong?” another faceless male voice asked.
“Not at all,” Ashlynn denied with a feral smile. “It was another common citizen that requested this punishment, by the way, but I agree with her wholeheartedly. Rape is the worst thing a man can do to a woman. Oh, and by the by—Edvard also agreed with it. He said that if he ever found that a man had done that to one of his sisters, he’d kill the dastard himself. Our king has every intention of protecting the women in this country the same way he’d protect one of his sisters. So men, if you think you can get by with such a heinous act, think again. Your king will not tolerate it. Worse for you, I will not tolerate it.”
Broden saw a few men gulp and noted their faces. He’d be keeping an eye on those. “Now, be there any other law that ye have questions about?”
They wound up starting from the very top and working their way through every law on the paper. Ashlynn cast an amplifying spell on his throat so that Broden was not in danger of losing his voice after doing nothing but shouting for an hour. Finally, however, they were satisfied, and the crowd broke up of their own accord. Glad to have that over, Broden hopped lightly to the ground before extending a hand to Ashlynn.
She took it with a quick, grateful smile and alighted to the ground. “Thank you. Phew! That did not turn out as badly as I feared. I’m glad you were with me, Broden. At first, I didn’t even understand why they were confused or angry.”
Aye, well, she be an educated woman. Of course she would not understand ignorance.
“But having you explain it set them at ease. Edvard was truly wise to have you assigned to me.” She paused and looked up at him thoughtfully. “Are you sure you don’t want to just become permanent partners? I like Riana just fine, but she doesn’t have the same effect on people that you do, and I sorely need your intimidation and understanding of people in this job.”
Broden rubbed at the back of his neck and admitted, “I be thinking the same this morning. Me Riana can hold her own in any fight, but it would always be a fight. A man be no’ intimidated by two pretty girls.”
“You can say that again.” Catching his arm, she looked up at him through her lashes, a charming smile on her lips. “Won’t you please be my partner, Broden? Pretty please?”
He’d like to meet a man that could say no to an invitation like that. Blowing out a breath, he mentally bowed to the inevitable. “We need to talk it over with Riana and Ash, but aye, lass. If there be no objections, I will be your partner.”
Beaming at him brightly enough to put the sun to shame, Ashlynn threw her arms around his waist long enough to give him an exuberant hug that nearly squeezed the stuffing out of him. Before he could do more than blink and gasp, she bounced back again, her hand cupping her earring. “Ash? Ash! Stop building that wall and meet me at the castle. Broden just agreed to be partners with me.”
Broden spluttered. “Now wait, lass, I said we need to talk it over—”
“And be quick about it, before he changes his mind,” Ashlynn ordered firmly. Taking hold of his hand, she dragged him back to the castle, completely ignoring his protests.
Chapter Fourteen
Ashlynn seemed intent on ramming this partnership through before he had proper time to re-think it, but Broden could not let her. They returned to their suite of rooms in the castle, meeting up with Ash and Riana, who were already there. Before the lass could say much more than hi to her brother, he grabbed his daughter’s arm and drew her out onto the balcony so they could have a word in private.
“Da, ye sure?” Riana asked him, brows furrowed in bemusement. “I know we talked about this the other night, but….”
“I know, sweetling.” He let out a breath and wondered how to explain. “I think it time to make it official. In truth, I have just been dragging me feet.”
“Aye,” she agreed simply. “I knew it from the first day, in fact. But I bided a bit and let ye come to it on yer own.”
And was not that just like the usual. Riana had a sixth sense with people and animals alike. She knew when to trust them and when to keep her distance. The fact that she’d took to Ash and Ashlynn so quickly should have told him where she stood on the matter. Still, he couldn’t help but double check, and asked, “So partnering with Ash for a lifetime be fine with ye, then?”
“Aye. He be an easy man to work with, and a kind one to know. Where be the trouble in that?”
True enough.
“Well enough, then.” Satisfied, Riana turned and entered the room. “With that sorted, work your magic.”
The twins were nearly bouncing on their toes in excitement, faces radiating joy. Seeing that pair of expressions, Broden felt almost guilty for dragging his feet in making a decision.
The wizards reached out for the own partners and drew them in closer. Broden could not keep an eye on what Ash did with Riana, as Ashlynn demanded his undivided attention with a gentle touch to his chin. He looked her dead in the eye, not at all able to guess what she would do next.
“Lean down a little,” she instructed. “Then match your breathing to mine. The magic between two partnerships is all about synchronization.”
Whatever that meant. He nodded as if he understood and bent enough that their breath mingled. The position flustered him slightly, as it was akin to preparing for a kiss, which boggled his mind. The lass was close to his daughter’s age, for pity’s sake! She was not a candidate for that.
Ashlynn didn’t seem bothered at all by the position. Her hands reached up to gently touch his temples, and she started saying a spell of some sort in that singsong language she used for magic. The air around them grew dense with glowing swirls, and his skin warmed pleasantly. He found it hard to not look about him, and to keep his eyes on hers.
The feel of the magic went from pleasant to strange as she continued. It was not uncomfortable, just odd, outside of his ken. It felt like…well, it felt like every nerve in his body had just come awake. As if he sensed the world more than saw it. He’d barely gotten used to this feeling when he abruptly became aware of another heartbeat aside from his own.
Ashlynn?
She smiled at him, and as she smiled, he felt her joy. His own eyes went wide. Now wait a fool’s minute, no one had told him that partnering would let him be tied like this to her!
“Shhh,” she soothed. “This is temporary. The bond is almost complete.”
Temporary? So their link would not be so obvious in his own head?
He could not get the question out before she said a final word, and a new sensation distracted him. The magic that had swirled around them closed in and settled on him like a second skin, purring like a contended kitten. Even that faded a mite, settling into him so that it did not glow, but the feeling of it remained.
Ashlynn stepped back a half-pace and gave him a satisfied nod. “It’s done.”
He could no longer feel her emotions as before, but he found that her presence still rested somewhere in the back of his head. He knew she was there, knew in a general sense how she was. Harboring a suspicion, he closed his eyes and found that he could mentally point with complete accuracy where she stood. “Lass. I be thinking ye did no�
� explain this partnership business as well as ye should have.”
She grinned at him without a trace of apology on her lips. “You’d never have agreed to it if I had. You’re too cautious of a man.”
He frowned at her, mouth set in an unhappy line. Only to himself could he admit she was likely right. It was wise of her to play it close to the chest as she had.
Glancing to the side, he found Riana staring up at Ash with a perplexed smile on her face. “Daughter?”
“This feels strange in a way,” she answered without looking away from Ash. “But Da, I have to think it be for the better. I would rather know where he be, at all times, than for him to be in trouble and I can no’ find him.”
A point he had not yet considered, but a valid one to make. Especially in this crowded, confusing city, he would need all the help he could get to keep track of his wizard.
“Besides,” Riana added, grin growing, “now I have the sense of magic on me skin day and night, and I can no’ complain about that. It be such a nice feeling.”
Well, and what was a man to say to that?
Ashlynn, understanding more now what went through his head, just gave him a pat on the shoulder but did not comment. “Well, with us settled, let’s go back to work. We have too much to do and not enough time to do it in.”
For three days, there was blessed peace. At least, for Riana and Ash there was. They went every day to the far edge of the city and built on the wall. In that three-day span, Ash finished the northwestern section and then started on the southern end that would match up with the existing city gates. For her, it was a welcome break. Out here, away from that crowd of people, she felt like she could properly breathe.
She did discover that she could talk to Ash as he worked. For him, building things with magic was akin to building things with actual tools. He did not mind a lively conversation to while away the time. He knew much more of the world than she, so she peppered him with questions. Often, he would ask her just as many questions, as he had no real experience living in forests or mountains. It stunned her to realize that he had no notion of how to hunt, or track, or know the time by looking at the sky.
Arrows Of Change (Book 1) Page 13
