“Oh!” Katrin cried, “Could we stay overnight? At the inn?”
Menders was about to say they couldn’t, but Eiren put her hand on his knee.
Katrin had been desperate to go to the village and stay overnight since the winter day when he and Eiren had taken her there two years ago. He’d intended to stay overnight then but a sudden shift in the weather had forced them to return to The Shadows. They couldn’t risk being snowed in at the village for days or even weeks. But now it was midsummer, the weather was dreamily perfect.
The rest of the household needed a rest from the norm of eternal vigilance. Menders himself would not rest, of course, but the others would appreciate a break. There had been two plots against Katrin’s life in the past year. One was part of an amateurish coup attempt. The other, far more serious, arose from a faction that sought to eliminate Katrin as a potential threat to Princess Aidelia, whose bizarre behavior had finally motivated the Queen’s Council into questioning her fitness to become Queen. Menders learned of both plots long before anyone had a chance to get near Katrin. Kaymar had eliminated the perpetrators.
But the threats meant that the late winter and springtime at The Shadows had passed in a state of high alert. Menders’ Men were tired and on edge. Menders had scheduled more rest days and sent a number of the Men on holiday altogether, but an overnight without the Princess in the house would be a novel situation. It would make a nine year old girl incredibly happy as well.
“I think we could manage that, particularly since Eiren has just passed her test to act as a guard for you,” Menders smiled.
“You did!” Katrin threw her arms around Eiren’s neck. “That means we can go to the school together without Kaymar!”
“Poor Kaymar,” Menders teased.
“He won’t mind and you know it,” Katrin laughed. “And some of the children are afraid of him, though I don’t know why.”
No, she wouldn’t, Menders thought. Fond as he was of Kaymar, he would be the first to admit that his second in command was eerie at best. At times, when he was feeling contrary, Kaymar delighted in presenting a sinister mien. Even some of the Men gave Kaymar a wide berth.
“May I see your knife?” Katrin asked Eiren, who was still holding the sheathed practice weapon.
“This is only for practice,” Eiren explained, setting the practice knife aside. “This is my proper knife.” She unsheathed her knife carefully, silver blue light shimmering along the cutting edge. She handed it to Katrin handle first. Katrin turned it over in her hands.
It was a thing of beauty, Menders thought proudly. He’d made it for Eiren himself, showing her each step in the process as he formed and tempered the blade, balanced the knife specifically for her hand. He’d carved the bone handle into the shape of a large-eyed falcon, carefully setting a number of his Thrun gems into the finished weapon. Learning knife making had been required in Special Services training and it was a particular hobby of his, as his enormous knife collection testified. Sharing it with Eiren, who had become very interested in the craft during the process of creation, had been a joy.
“Isn’t it time for me to have a knife of my own?” Katrin asked suddenly, looking at him, her fingers stroking the falcon handle. “Hemmett had one at my age. I am half grown now, Menders.”
He looked at her, as if seeing her anew.
The years go so fast, he thought. He’d taught her some defensive techniques already, but they emphasized escape, how to elude danger. He’d known the day would come when she needed to learn more but he’d blinkered himself about it. There was a certain loss of innocence when someone learned to use a weapon.
“Yes, it is time,” he said softly. “I’ll make one especially for you, like I did for Eiren, and you can help with it. But we can’t bother with it today if you want to go to the village and stay overnight. Now, go pack a bag with what you need while I make arrangements to be away.”
Katrin handed the knife back to Eiren, scampering away in high glee.
Eiren smiled at the unguarded expression he let come onto his face once Katrin was gone, stood, kissed him and stroked his hair.
“She certainly caught you off guard,” she said. “What would you like to take for our mad jaunt to the village?”
He told her what shirt he wanted and left the rest to her, then went to let Kaymar know that he would be away.
He was on his way the stable to get the carriage when Katrin came running down with a case, wearing her best dress. She ran past him, saying giddily that she would go and help Klaas get the gig hitched up. She raced out the door and down the drive, while he couldn’t help laughing. He almost felt superfluous, with such a capable nine year old around.
(34)
True Courage
Katrin looked over her shoulder as Eiren built up the fire in the school stove. It was getting colder. The schoolhouse windows were cloudy with frozen condensation.
Katrin had been helping a little girl write her letters, but Eiren turned and beckoned to her to come to the front of the room.
“It’s getting so cold, I think I’d better let them go home early,” she said softly. She always talked to Katrin as if she was another teacher, not nine years old. “Could you help the little ones get into their coats and other things?”
Katrin went to the entryway where the coats were hung, collecting the smallest ones. It was easier to bring them out to the children than have the little ones struggle in the crush at the door.
Eiren clapped her hands for attention.
“It’s growing very cold so I am going to send you home early today,” she announced. “I want all of you larger children to watch out for the little ones, please. Don’t stop or dawdle on the way. Go straight home.”
The children nodded quietly. They all knew how dangerous the weather could be in Old Mordania. It was late autumn and the profound cold was a good sign that winter was about to appear.
Katrin bundled one small child after another into coats, made sure mittens were firmly on hands, wound scarves around throats and tugged caps down snugly. She admonished each one to go home quickly. They all promised and some of them hugged and kissed her. They really liked her, the little ones, and were always happy on the days she came to the school.
Eiren went outside and looked to the west. Katrin knew she was watching for storm clouds. By the time she came in her face was red with cold and she was shivering.
“It’s still clear to the west,” she told the children. “I want those of you who come on foot to run home as fast as you can if that’s closer than a mile. Those of you who ride or drive, please take the ones who have to walk more than a mile and move those horses along. I think there’s a storm coming.”
The children didn’t have to be told twice. They raced away from the schoolyard.
“Thank the gods they all go east. We’re the only ones who have to travel west,” Eiren said, looking out the western window of the school. “We’ll need to put the shutters up. Best to put our things on first, we’ll leave right after we see to the shutters.”
They hurried into their coats. Eiren found extra pairs of gloves for them to tug on over their regular ones as well as some extra heavy stockings she kept in her desk. They had no furs with them. It was usually too warm for furs this time of year.
They had to struggle with the shutters because their hands went cold so quickly. The shutters had not been put up yet this season, so they had to lift them into place and then work the latches. After they had the two up on the west side of the school, Katrin felt frozen clear through and Eiren said, “That’s enough, we can’t stay out here any longer.” They hurried inside and stood by the stove.
“Gods,” Eiren shivered. “I can’t remember anything like this. Unbutton your coat, Katrin, I want you to bundle up more.” She wrapped a couple of shawls around Katrin and together they managed to button her coat over them. Then Eiren found a couple of heavy veils and wrapped one around Katrin’s head and one around her own.
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��I don’t know whether to go to Papa’s for the night or head for The Shadows,” Eiren said. She looked out the window again. Katrin followed her gaze.
There were no clouds coming. She thought that very strange, for usually such rapid drops in temperature saw the arrival of great banks of grey, wooly clouds.
“Let’s go home,” Katrin said. Eiren nodded.
“Yes, with this intense cold, I don’t want Menders thinking we’re caught out in it and there’s no way to let him know we went to Papa’s,” she agreed. “I wouldn’t want him coming out into this looking for us. Warmed up? Let’s hurry.”
The cold was terrible, sharp like knives. Together they got Eiren’s mare, Rosie, harnessed to the governess cart and climbed in. Katrin pulled the lap rug out as Eiren shouted to Rosie to get home. The horse set out at a fast trot in the direction of The Shadows.
Katrin found it was hard to breathe. She snuggled up to Eiren, who held the reins with one hand and put her other arm around Katrin. After a moment or two, she changed hands, putting one in the pocket of her coat. Katrin was holding both her hands under the rug but they were already so cold she could hardly feel them.
Suddenly Rosie slowed and tossed her head. Eiren handed the reins to Katrin and got out of the cart. She covered Rosie’s eyes with her hands for a moment, then went around to the back of the cart, took out the horse blanket and put it on over the little mare’s harness. She came back to the cart, took the reins and Rosie started out again.
“Her eyes and nose are getting frost around them and her sweat is freezing on her,” Eiren said calmly into Katrin’s ear. “This is a terrible cold snap. Are you all right?”
Katrin nodded. She was cold, horribly so, but not so cold that she couldn’t bear it. She and Eiren huddled together on the seat. Eiren pulled the lap rug higher around them and slapped Rosie’s back with the reins.
They hadn’t gone much further before Rosie slowed again.
“I’ll do it this time,” Katrin said. She got out of the cart, ran to Rosie and removed the ice from her eyes and nostrils. Katrin scrambled back in as the cart started to move. Moving about had warmed her but the instant she sat down the cold was back, tearing at her like a wolf.
Suddenly a wind hit them, so strong it rocked the cart. It nearly blew Katrin over backwards. Eiren looked up at the sky. Even through the thick veil Katrin could see that she had gone white.
Katrin looked up and gasped in horror.
She’d never seen a cloud like that before. She’d never seen a cloud moving so fast - and she’d seen hundreds of storms sweep out of the west.
It was pitch black, boiling and climbing high into the sky so fast that it made her feel sick to watch it.
Eiren grabbed the whip from its socket and cracked it over Rosie’s head, yelling for her to get home. The wind whipped her words away so that Katrin couldn’t even hear her. The horse ran for a minute or two, then slowed, her sides heaving. Eiren had to get out to clear Rosie’s face while Katrin held the reins. They started out again, making little headway before Rosie began to stagger and Eiren had to repeat the procedure.
Katrin looked around. They were only halfway from the school and they had been struggling against the cold for ages!
Just as Eiren reached the cart, a huge gust of wind nearly blew her off her feet. With it came snow, so much that Katrin could barely see Eiren beside the cart. Katrin leaned over, her hand out. Eiren caught it and climbed in, putting an arm around her.
They started again, but within moments the snow was up to the axles of the cart. It bogged.
Eiren put her mouth to Katrin’s ear.
“We’ll have to walk,” she shouted. The wind was so strong that Katrin could barely hear her.
Eiren pulled two coils of rope from beneath the seat. She tied the end of one coil around Katrin’s waist, paid out about fifteen feet of rope, and tied it again around her own. Then she helped Katrin from the cart and around to where Rosie was standing, shivering and frightened.
Their hands were so cold they couldn’t remove the horseblanket to unbuckle Rosie’s harness. Eiren drew her knife and sliced through the thick leather. She tied the end of the second rope to the cart, then walked to the horse’s head. Katrin took hold of the harness near Rosie’s rump and they began to walk into the wind and blinding snow.
After they’d walked about twenty steps, Eiren took the coil of the rope that was tied to the cart and walked off the side of the road, wrapping it around the closest tree. She struggled back up to Katrin, cleared Rosie’s nose and led on. After another twenty steps, she did the same thing. Katrin realized she was making a trail with the rope, so that they would not get lost, so that they could get back to the cart if they had to.
The third time Eiren started to walk to the trees, Katrin groped her way up from the horse’s rump. She put her face close to Eiren’s and saw that Eiren was panting and exhausted.
“I’ll do it,” Katrin said, taking the coil. She waded through the snow until she bumped into a tree, went around it with the coil and then fought her way back to the road against the wind, snow and cold. She caught hold of Eiren. They both clung to the horse and continued forward another twenty steps. This time Eiren took the rope to the trees, and came back, while Katrin cleared the ice off Rosie’s nose and eyes, patting the little mare and trying to calm her. The poor creature was trembling with fear and fatigue but she went on when Eiren came back and spoke to her.
The wind strengthened and blew Katrin off her feet. When she fell the snow was all around her, above her head. Eiren helped her up. Eiren stomped her own feet, and made Katrin stomp hers. They were like wood blocks, but she could just feel them. They struggled on, Katrin counting the steps in her mind. When twenty were taken, she tried to take the coil of rope from Eiren, but Eiren shook her head.
Katrin didn’t try to argue with her. She clung to Rosie’s bridle, shielding the trembling animal from the terrible wind with her own body.
Eiren took a long time getting the rope around the tree and could barely struggle back through the deepening snow, which was now up above her knees. Katrin grabbed Eiren’s hands, hauling as hard as she could, helping her back to the horse.
To Katrin’s amazement, Eiren lifted her veil a little, smiled and yelled against the wind,
“We look like snowmen!”
They did indeed. Katrin had to laugh, even though she was so cold it hurt.
“Come on,” Eiren yelled, covering her face and putting an arm around Katrin. Rosie started forward. The snow was drifting so deeply that they were struggling to walk.
Twenty more steps. Katrin looked at the coil of rope in Eiren’s hand. It was terribly thin, it wouldn’t last another twenty steps!
“If it runs out we’ll go from tree to tree,” Eiren shouted to her. Katrin tried to take the coil but Eiren shook her head. She struggled to the trees, looped the rope around. She fell heavily as she struggled toward the road.
Katrin was about to go to her but Eiren rose on her knees and motioned her back. She got to her feet and staggered to Katrin, holding her side and panting heavily. They struggled forward for another twenty steps.
Katrin’s legs were shaking as if she no longer had any bones at all. She took the rope from Eiren and waded through the snow to the trees, looping round, wading back. She tried not to be afraid when she turned back to the road. The snow in the air was so thick that she couldn’t even see Eiren. The wind was blowing the snow sideways, clogging her veil and driving icy flakes under the collar of her coat.
Eiren grabbed her, pushing Katrin’s hand under part of Rosie’s harness. She struggled to the little horse’s head and hauled on the bridle.
Rosie wouldn’t move. She was cold and exhausted. Eiren coaxed her, tugged at the bridle and then slapped her neck. The mare still balked. Katrin slapped Rosie’s rump, trying to ignore the pain that exploded in her icy hand as Eiren leaned on the reins. Rosie was as still as if she was carved from stone. She would not budge.
&n
bsp; Eiren drew her knife and poked Rosie’s rump with it. That got her moving, fast. They held on with all their might as the horse plowed along.
Rosie finally slowed, her nose and eyes encrusted with ice. Eiren was starting toward the trees with the last of the rope when a gust of wind made the snow swirl upward. Katrin thought she saw something dark up ahead. She lunged at Eiren and caught her arm.
She was too tired to speak and the wind would have torn her words away, so she pointed. Eiren turned to look.
The air was thick with snowflakes but then another cruel gust tore at them, cutting straight through their coats. The snow swirled upward.
A dark form was advancing toward them. They yelled and waved their arms. Eiren caught Katrin close. They walked toward the dark figure, which had been blotted out by faster driving snow.
It was impossible for Katrin to tell which direction they were moving in. She looked down and saw that Eiren had one foot in the rut along the side of the road and that she didn’t take a step until she found the rut again. Katrin kept peering ahead, trying to see the dark form, but the wind kept driving snow into her veil.
Another upward gust of wind revealed Demon, eyes rolling with rage, snorting and biting at the snowflakes. Beside him was a man. A glint of spectacles between a heavy muffler and fur hat let Katrin know it was Menders.
He grabbed them both to him, kissed them through their veils, then pulled furs from the pack on Demon’s back. He enveloped them in the warm softness. Drawing a pistol from his pocket, he fired into the air twice. After a moment they heard distant answering shots.
Menders didn’t waste time trying to talk against the howling wind. He tied Rosie’s reins to the pack on Demon’s back and began to put his arm around Katrin.
She shook her head, and pointed to Eiren, because she knew Eiren was completely exhausted. Menders began to protest. Katrin drew herself up and stepped back.
She was the Princess. Eiren needed help more than she did.
Menders nodded and pushed her hand under the belt of his greatcoat. She held on tight. Menders put his arm around Eiren, grabbed Demon’s tail and yelled to the farlin to go home.
Weaving Man: Book One of The Prophecy Series Page 42
