by G S Santos
He turned around and marched to the other side without looking at Adelphine. He crossed the camp and sat at the entrance to the forest, still wearing a wineskin tied behind his back. He took a sip.
Adelphine could not believe what he had done. Her blood boiled. But she would. She dug into the ground several meters ahead, she dug with all her might, and before long, she was exhausted. She dragged Tristan's body and placed it carefully between the leaves.
Pavel walked through the camp, loaded the body of Klaus and Wilthers, and hung them from a tree, sticking his head through the branches. Adelphine avoided looking there.
Pavel looked back at Adelphine and looked at the small hole.
"This is not a worthy burial," he declared. "The wolves will take it out and devour it, or it will stink for several days. Do it well."
Adelphine said nothing and sat among the stones, at least to take a break. And this Pavel guy, she would rather not talk to him. She decided she had to find Magzas. It was the best. Magzas surely would tell her what to do. At least, Adelphine expected, the offer of the bag full of gold was still standing.
Adelphine decided to enter the mountain grove again. She had to find Magzas and tell her there was nothing to worry about.
"Stop!" she heard Pavel screaming behind her, and she turned around.
"I have to find Magzas," she cried.
"Magzas? Who’s Magzas?"
"Magzas! The girl who came with us. The other sorceress."
Pavel took a step and rested his sword on the ground. He shook his head. "Stop playing. We have to stay together. Those traitors have called an army, surely. If you stay close, I will guarantee your protection. If not, I can also accuse you as a conspirator."
"I have not had anything to do with that!" Adelphine protested.
"So stay here. That's an order."
"What about Magzas?"
"What Magzas?"
"I have already told you! The other woman."
"What other woman? You are the only one in the whole company."
Adelphine took a step forward. That did not make any sense. Magzas had been with her always. At her side. She had even talked to Tristan and Klaus, hadn’t she?
Adelphine looked around. "But she was with me. She was always next to me. In the carriage, she was against the window."
"You were always leaning against the window."
"I was talking to her!"
"I thought you were praying."
Adelphine felt her skin go pale.
Magzas?
Who were you?
Fear crawled up her back as if someone had injected it into her veins. She felt the light fade and her head hit the ground.
When she woke up, she was still sitting next to the ashes. Pavel, at least had not tied her up like Klaus. She sat down and tried to make sense of everything. Was it a dream? Magzas had to be there, somewhere. But if not…was she a spirit? A ghost?
Pavel looked at her from the side, a cotton bag and a lot of luggage in his hands.
"Sorceress. We have to get out of here now. If those of your land arrive, we will be finished. And I do not know what they will do to you."
"B-but they are my people."
"Didn’t you say that you were not wanted in that land of yours?"
"But, no... I cannot do this... No. I have my brother there."
Adelphine looked at him. She had disposed of all the material, by her side, she had left some bags of luggage for her.
"Where will we go?"
"There is a town twenty miles away. There, they can help us send a message to the king. And we will gather an army."
Adelphine was too stunned to speak. She shook her head and looked at the immensity of the forest, the quarry, and the mountains in the distance. She had already taken the first step and taken her away. There was no going back. She looked at Pavel, his face always serious, as if he did not know joy, or anything other than duty, and swallowed hard.
She staggered to her feet and looked around. Pavel had finished burying Tristan. He had broken the tools of Klaus and Withers and the other tents. They were going to leave all that behind.
Adelphine stood up, stared at a stone on the floor, and sighed. It was time to say goodbye. She walked to that makeshift grave, where Pavel had buried Tristan's belongings.
"Where is Tristan's sword?"
"The sword?"
“Yes, that big sword."
"It's buried there. Deep down. I don’t want them to be used by bandits."
"I want to take it with me."
"You? You will not be able to use it, much less carry it all the way."
"Goodbye, Tristan," she said. "I loved you. I still love you, and I hope to see you one day, smiling in Valhalla, with your father, your father Van Preussen, and the All-Father."
"Come on," said Pavel.
"Where is that sword?" Adelphine insisted, frowning at him.
Pavel turned his back on her and advanced, shovel in hand, to a corner, near where the thick forest began. He dug the shovel into the ground and pulled out a pile of dirt, which he threw aside. Adelphine leaned out and caught sight of the hilt of the big sword, ran like a devotee of a forest god, and knelt in front of the objects. She moved the earth with her fingers, to see what other things Pavel had left. She found a short dagger, which Tristan wore under his coat and used to throw against the bandits, and under it, a small amulet carved in iron. It had an embossed engraving, so intricate and magical that it struck her with awe; like an eight-armed sun, its arms like spiked tridents, each with three strikes before the tip, and a circle near the center.
She lifted it high, then put it around her neck. She unsheathed the dagger for a moment and stared at it. It also had a lightning bolt engraved on the underside of the handle, and an embroidery of intercepting rectangles adorned the scabbard. The blade was leaf-shaped, and measured a little more than the palm of her hand. It looked like the daughter of the longsword.
Adelphine stood up, remembering the promise she made in front of her father's body. To serve justice. And that was another reason. Although Klaus was already dead, even if they were all dead, she saw greater injustices coming from that insane cause.
"Come on, sorceress! Do not waste any more time!" Pavel growled.
"I'm ready." Adelphine stood up and followed Pavel down another path, which sank into the depths of the forest.
To be continued in part II:
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
