Errant

by Armas, Florian

  “Five people in all, good riders. We need to go fast and stealthily. Orban and Mehadin may try to block the roads,” Codrin answered.

  “Five!” Big Mouth exclaimed. “He will steal the papers.” His finger pointed at Codrin. “And sell them to Orban.”

  “Aron, let him speak,” I said, annoyed, and gestured for Codrin to continue.

  “I need Vlaicu.” Codrin’s voice was quite calm, as if Big Mouth’s deprecations did not touch him, yet I knew it was just appearance.

  “And the other three?” I asked.

  “Vlaicu knows best.”

  “I will talk to Vlaicu. We can’t let you decide such important matters,” Big Mouth said, to emphasize Codrin’s inferiority.

  “We need to ride fast through Mehadin’s land,” Codrin ignored Big Mouth, and in a curious way so did everyone else.

  “You want to go through their land?” I asked, suddenly uneasy.

  “Nobody will expect that. And the northern road through S’Arad’s land is better watched, Orban has more soldiers. An embassy is not a caravan, the risks are different, and I set the course. I will not be offended if my plan doesn’t fit in your objectives, and you hire somebody else.”

  “It seems that you have a lot of experience with embassies,” Mohor spoke for the first time in the council, staring at Codrin, with a thin smile on his lips.

  “Yes,” Codrin said, looking straight in his eyes.

  I kicked Mohor under the table and he nodded, almost imperceptibly. “You set the course,” I said to Codrin. “What about the protector’s fee?”

  “I don’t work for money with you,” Codrin said sharply, and I saw father ready to interfere, but something in Codrin’s posture stopped him, convincing me not to insist either.

  “Thank you, Codrin,” I said, not knowing what else I could tell him.

  “May I speak to Saliné?” Codrin half surprised me.

  “I am sorry, but Saliné is indisposed,” I quashed his expectations, and that made me feel bad and ungrateful, but they needed to stay apart, just to make their lives easier in the long run. Sorry Codrin, I apologized again inside, and I almost tried to grasp his hand again. I stopped in time, thinking that it was not the right moment, and I did not want Aron to witness our special bond. I am not sure Codrin still thinks it’s special anymore. At least not right now. I sighed involuntarily, stirring some small reactions around the table.

  “I should have asked before accepting. Or be lucky and come ten minutes earlier at the stable,” he subtly told me that I was lying; Saliné had come back from a ride just before Codrin’s arrival.

  “You would have received the same answer,” I ignored his provocation. “What’s bothering you?”

  “I want to tell her what happened today, and that your embassy will carry the marriage contract.”

  “I will explain it myself.”

  “That’s exactly what I am afraid of, what you and others will tell her,” Codrin could no longer restrain himself, yet his voice was apparently calm. Involuntarily, he gestured toward Aron.

  “Don’t worry,” Aron grinned, “I will let Bucur do it for me.”

  That left Codrin without a riposte, and he looked ready to punch Aron, but he could not, and moved the discussion away. “When can I meet Vlaicu?”

  “Now,” Mohor agreed. “He is in the guards’ room. Then tell me the names of the other three men who will join you.”

  “Codrin, please stay,” I said, when he tried to leave. When all the other left the room, I went to him and touched his face. “There is too much anger in you right now. It will subside. You are an intelligent man who knows what is possible and what is not, and you handled Big Mouth’s provocations well. Come back safe. We are your family.”

  He moved away from me, slowly, just to show that it was deliberate, not an uncontrolled reaction. “You don’t really want me back.” His tone was icy, and he left me in haste.

  “That’s not true,” I whispered bitterly, but it was too late, he was no longer in the room.

  “Jara, you are pushing Codrin too hard,” father came back after Codrin left. “It’s not your style, and he doesn’t deserve this.”

  “Don’t think that I want to harm Codrin, he is like a son to me. I know he is upset, and I am walking a tight rope, to keep him away from Saliné and close to us at the same time. Saliné will marry the young Devan. That cannot be changed. Like Saliné, I wish Codrin could be her husband, but we need the Devans to survive. Now that was stupid,” I stopped. “I am telling you about the necessity of all this. It was a hard evening, father. Both Saliné and Codrin accepted their separation in theory, but mind and heart are not the same. Separated, they have a chance to forget each other, and start a new life. And if for Codrin it would mean Vio, I will fight for them.”

  “You can let them to meet from time to time…”

  “Their bonds will become stronger; Saliné’s wedding a nightmare, her life a nightmare. I want Saliné to have a chance with her husband – marriages are more difficult for women – they have a whole life to stay together.”

  “I am not convinced, but you are the mother, so I’ll leave it to you. At least take care of Bucur. He is becoming too close to Saliné and that is poisoning Codrin. His mind is haunted that you plan to marry Saliné to Bucur, if things fail with the Devans. Aron is pushing slowly in that direction. And it would be a bad idea, Bucur is not what he appears.”

  “Bucur has some charm, and is the only one with decent manners close to her age here. She needs some training in how to play at court, and he might help to distance her and Codrin. But to marry him? No. It’s Devan or Codrin.”

  “Bucur is a well-known seducer. He has had many women; even now he is ‘entertaining’ two of them at the same time.”

  “Bucur?” I asked, doubtfully.

  “Stejara, to be a ruler means to be informed. You are still an outsider in Severin. I could understand that you knew nothing when Codrin was arrested, you were new here. But you did not know what happened to Dana, and to her father too. Don’t take me wrong; you are working hard as Secretary because Mohor has none other to take over, and you do a lot for our alliances, but you need to keep an eye open too. Bucur is spending too much time ‘helping’ Saliné’s way in high society. Such effort is not done for nothing; he is not doing this just to help you or because he is bored. Aron is a cunning man, and has many plans.”

  “Codrin told me the same about Aron’s plans, but I thought it only jealousy,” I said, suddenly worried.

  “Then you should be more careful, and Saliné too. She is more mature than her age, but still a sixteen-year-old child. And Codrin is not much older. Just one wrong step and everything might fail in a way that cannot be foreseen.”

  When father left, I went to the library, bitter and nervous; it was a long time since he last time castigated me like this. Saliné and Bucur were there, reading a book at the table, seated on opposite sides. It was her turn to read aloud, and I stopped for a while, just to hear her pleasant voice and intonation. That calmed me. Codrin taught my daughters to interpret the characters in the book, to express their feelings when reading, and both Saliné and Vio did it well.

  “Please excuse me,” I interrupted her. “Saliné, I need to talk with you. It will take a while,” I gestured to Bucur that she would not come back.

  Back in my room, I decided to tell her directly. “Saliné, keeping into account your actual status, it would be better to spend your time with Bucur only during the day.”

  “Why, mother? It’s pleasant to read like this in the evening. And Bucur would be upset. He is a nice companion.”

  “You can do it with Vio, she likes to read too, as I remember. And don’t worry, Bucur always finds some consolation overnight, with two women in the city.”

  “Bucur?” she asked incredulously, the same question I had asked before, just that she was a young girl, and I was not, and there was no excuse for my lack of knowledge.

  “It’s a well-k
nown thing. I thought you were aware of it,” I cheated, trying to present things as naturally as possible; she could not know something that even I was not aware of.

  “We don’t discuss such things, mother, and I never thought… He’s never kissed a woman.”

  “What?”

  “This is what he told me.” She was clearly troubled, and at that moment, I wished the discussion had happened earlier.

  “Did he kiss you?” I asked, without thinking, wishing it to be untrue.

  “Mother, I am engaged, and unhappy that you assume such bad things about me. Bucur is just a companion, nothing else. He is not … Codrin.”

  Bucur is playing the innocent man with her… What else is he playing? “Then why are you upset?” I stopped her because she was wobbling, and took her in my arms, feeling that she really needed it – despite all my efforts, Codrin never left her mind alone. “Please tell me,” I pushed, as she stayed silent. “What is the problem?”

  “I believed Bucur.”

  Chapter 17 - Codrin

  Below, following the Nera as it cut its path through the mountains, a second troop of riders was approaching along the road. It was our fourth day after leaving Severin for Deva with Mohor’s embassy, and we were already deep in Mehadian land. In the morning, we passed the place where Jorn and his men died, and some human relics were still there, mostly bones – Big Mouth did not consider it necessary to send anyone after his brother’s remains. Everything else, weapons, clothes, had disappeared. Mehadians again, I checked the rider’s banner through my spyglass from our hidden place in the forest, sitting on the top of a small hill that overlooked the road – they were still far. If there is a third one… One minute for us to reach the road. I observed the riders again. Ten, I counted. Should we attack them? That would signal that we are here, but it would be one troop less. And perhaps fewer of us. The riders came closer and I recognized Mehadin’s elder son, and I knew that he had been sent to kill us for the papers we carried. I can’t tell Vlaicu. Unable to decide, I listened to the stirring of a faint wind in the trees. There is no other way…

  “Another troop is coming,” I warned the solders. “If they don’t turn back, we have to attack them. They could trap us here for a long time. We don’t have that time. Soon, the ridges become steep, forcing us to move down onto the road again, and there are too many soldiers around.” Most of the time we rode, hidden, through forests, in parallel with the road. Fate has sent the right opportunity to me, I stared again at the young Mehadin. I have to convince them… I glanced at Vlaicu and his soldiers, as indeed none of them was mine.

  By a strange coincidence, one of them, Ban, the chief of the archers, was with Mohor when I had that duel with Aron. The soldier that winked at me, I remembered. When Vlaicu presented the soldiers to me before leaving Severin, I winked at Ban, and he answered with a good laugh that puzzled Vlaicu.

  “Some good, shared memories related to Big Mouth,” Ban said, then recalled the story for Vlaicu. “The guards are not very fond of Big Mouth and his men,” he winked again at me.

  I shook my head to escape the unwanted invasion of memories. The road was curving just below us, getting larger, with a small strip of forest stretching in parallel on a small ridge, ten feet higher than the road. I am the Lead Protector; I don’t need to convince them. I have to order them. “Ban, go to the left side of the forest. Behind that bush with white flowers,” I pointed out a place a hundred paces from us. “Stay hidden, and wait until I release my arrow. Killing the first one will slow or even stop them. Then you shoot at will from their rear, as many arrows as you can. None of them must escape and reveal our presence here, so we have to charge them. When I charge you do the same. Vlaicu, you go with Ban. You too,” I pointed to another soldier. “You stay with me,” I said to the last one. Go!” The riders were coming.

  My first arrow killed their leader, Mehadin’s son, and his horse stopped abruptly, then half turned, with the body hanging from its left side, its neigh filling the valley with fear, and the rest of the riders almost bumped into it, unsheathing their swords. Ban’s arrow killed the rider in the rear. They turned, disoriented, and I sent my second arrow. Another one fell.

  “Ride!” I shouted and charged to block them as they started to spread out.

  Vlaicu did the same from the other side, yet Ban still had the time to send another killing arrow. He is good… Caught between two charging groups, the riders lost some moments more, and when they finally organized themselves another two were down by Vlaicu’s and my swords. Whatever fear our soldiers had, it vanished away, and in a minute, there was no enemy still mounted. We dismounted to check them, but they were already dead.

  One soldier moved to take a ring from a dead body. I saw him from the corner of my eye, and forced myself to ignore him. Better pretend that I did not see. It was a break in the hierarchy I would have been forced to punish, but I could not afford to. He was a Seigneur’s man, not a wanderer’s, and found it hard to obey me, or he was just greedy. Vlaicu stopped him, gesturing in my direction. I was the Lead Protector, and had the Winner’s Right.

  “This is a good one,” I told Vlaicu –pretending that I saw nothing – leading the young Mehadin’s horse by its halter. “Better than yours,” I pushed the halter toward him. “Is your sword inherited?”

  “If getting it from the one who tried to kill me means inherited, then yes,” he grinned, with understandable satisfaction.

  “You just inherited another one,” I pointed to the respectable sword lying in the grass still gripped in Mehadin’s stiff hand, “and I think that you fit in his armor too.”

  “Thank you,” Vlaicu answered, with a trace of deference in his voice.

  Mohor’s soldiers were poorly fitted with weapons and horses, and Vlaicu, while better equipped than others as Chief of the Guards, was still in the regular range. He had now a Seigneur’s horse, sword and armor valuing over seven hundred galbeni, almost five years of his income. From what Jara told me, Mohor kept a tight purse on everything, gathering money for the final war, and because his lands were average at best in revenues, he was sometimes tighter than was really needed, unwilling to realize that a strong army is built over time, and is not cheap.

  “Do you know him?” Vlaicu pointed to young Mehadin’s body.

  “One of the Mehadin’s Knights,” I lied. “A rich one. Split everything else between you, apart from any letters you find,” I gestured to the other three. “Vlaicu, you decide what to whom. I want them well equipped, too,” I pointed to our soldiers, and let them take whatever valuables were there just to forge some bonds that could be useful later. Unfortunately, there was no letter to give me more insights in Mehadin’s intentions.

  When they finished, I stared at Mehadin’s body, which looked smaller without the armor. Mohor will have his war now. A bit sooner than he expected, I smiled. Or Orban expected…

  I mounted Zor, and they were in the saddle too, almost unrecognizable, all of them having new armor and horses at least at the level Vlaicu had had before, and far better than their previous gear and horses. We will go faster now. “Ride!”

  We journeyed unchallenged to Deva and as decided with Jara and Mohor, Vlaicu delivered the letters. I let him go alone with his soldiers into the city, and later I sneaked in to meet Balan, the first Mester of Deva. This time I avoided Dan, the Chief of the Guards; he knew Vlaicu. In fact, it was not Codrin going there, it was Tudor, and to hide things better, I borrowed a straight sword from Vlaicu, who now had two.

  “You will have a wedding soon,” I told Balan.

  “Me?” he asked surprised, all his children were already married.

  “Not you,” I laughed. “Devan.”

  “The fool,” he shrugged, annoyed. “What wedding is that? A naked bride with no lands and castles? I know, she is beautiful, intelligent, even marked by the Circle, but no house can survive in the long term with such poor marriage arrangements.”

  “Marked?” I asked. It was the second
time I have heard about the Circle, a thing I had considered just a legend.

  Balan did not answer for a while, staring at me, my question bothered him, and I could not understand why. “You caught me on the wrong foot.”

  “I apologize,” I said hastily, trying to put some pressure on him. Are you a member of the Circle? “We can consider that no discussion took place.” We can’t really consider that. Can we?

  “Cernat has a certain lineage that makes him and his descendants suitable candidates for the throne. There are twelve lineages still alive,” he gave me something – our relation was good and with benefits for both.

  “Like Orban’s lineage,” I tried to give the impression that I was not completely unaware.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “And the marking?” I pushed further.

  “Each child with a proper lineage is tested by the Circle. The ones who pass are marked. Will you go to Arad soon?”

  “In one week from now. Delia?” I asked, understanding that Balan would not enlighten me further.

  “My first grandchild,” he said, his voice filled with joy. “But I can’t go to see her until mid-summer.”

  “If you want to send a letter…”

  “And a small gift,” he glanced at me, and I nodded. “They are already prepared. I was just waiting for the proper courier,” he smiled. “Will you stay for lunch? Dan has a guest from Severin, their Chief of the Guards, Vlaicu. I know him, a fine man, it would be a nice gathering. They should arrive in a few minutes.”

  “Thank you, Balan, but my men are waiting outside the city,” I said, as casual I could. “We must leave in one turn.” At leisure, I moved closer to the window – it offered a good view on the street. Dan and Vlaicu were coming down the road, and I felt sitting in a tight place. “There are some people in the street that I need to avoid,” I gestured outside. Some unknown riders were storming the road, so I was covered when Balan came to the window too. “Would you mind if I leave by the back door?” I let some urgency fill my voice, to make him agree with me and move faster.