Black Arrow Lord Ch. 03

He smiled a little coldly as he picked up the rest of his things to take them out to the stable for his horse, "I am hoping that it will at least protect me for a little time in case someone wants to whip me again.

I think that we do not need to go anywhere for a meal. Please take me where I must go to teach."

Matsu was growing angry herself and she nodded, "I will wait for you at the front of the house."

When he'd gone, she turned to Kōichi, "What is the matter with him?"

Kōichi looked a little uncomfortable, "I have not seen him this way before. I think that you must have insulted him over your remark, Matsu-san."

"Insulted him?" she snorted, "He must be quite the large baby then if it takes so little to do that."

"You do know that you are sometimes a little too proud," he said as he turned to go, "You treat others as you know that you would hate to be treated and then you wonder why they are no longer pleased with you."

He stepped to the door. "Enjoy your journey."

When Valdemar had saddled up and ridden around to the front of the house, Matsu was waiting for him and she had nothing to say to him at all. She only turned her horse and galloped off. She obviously expected him to follow, and though he rode after her, he didn't spur his horse to more than a trot.

He rode on and after a time, he noticed that the hoof prints on the road thinned out to only one fresh set and by their spacing, it was clear that she hadn't even slowed down at all. He rode until it began to grow dark and then he turned around and began to ride back toward the village.

That lasted only a few minutes before he heard her call to him from behind, and she'd used that word.

Gaijin - so that he knew that they were back to their original relationship. He stopped and looking back, he saw her waiting for him up at the top of a slope.

He decided not to be an idiot about it, knowing that if he played this out of pride as she was likely doing, then the two of them would be sitting on their horses forever. He turned around once more and rode to her at no faster a pace than he'd been going the whole time.

"Gaijin, who gave you permission to return to the village?" she asked impatiently.

"I did," he said, "I am only a criminal and a rather stupid and mindless one at that. I do not own a fine warhorse. I have only this one and she is no proud thing. She is only a horse who has walked far her whole life and she cannot run well or fast, and she cannot follow your tracks in the darkness. I followed as far as I could, knowing that I would need the little light which is left to me to find my way back."

She looked hard at him, trying to decide if he was being impertinent or stubborn.

"I could have you whipped," she smiled, "Samurai may kill anyone of a lower class that we wish. I do not need much of a reason at all."

He raised his eyes then and Matsu was a little surprised by the cold flicker in his blue gaze.

"What you are," he said in a very low and menacing voice, "is a daughter of privilege to my eyes. You might possess the power to have me whipped by someone else, or even have me tied so that I could do nothing while you whipped me. I have no doubt that you are skilled with your weapons, but I can tell you that as we are right here, you cannot whip me.

If you want to try to kill me, then that is your choice, Matsu-san. You may attempt it if you wish, but I would see it as a waste because where I am from, a man has the right to defend his own life as best he can. It might cost you your own. That, to my eyes would be a waste."

"A waste of what, Gaijin? A good woman?" she sneered, "Someone to make a man's home and raise his squalling young?"

She laughed then, "As though you could best me in anything."

He shook his head, "If that is what you believe that I hold in my head, then keep your stupid notion. It ought to serve you well." He snorted, "Oda-san must be a cherished friend who shares your views on most things, especially his ideas of what a woman's place is -- Samurai or not."

He looked off into the darkening distance for a moment and then she watched as he turned to look at her and there it was again - that unsettling cold blue flicker in his eyes as he continued his thought.

"And if it happens by some chance that you succeed at whipping me, then you should kill me right afterward. I would become the hound of your nightmares if I was allowed to live. I'd need to be kept in chains forever.

And your gods protect you if I were ever to get free. I'd tell you to ask the last one who whipped me, but, ..."

They glowered at one another for a few more seconds. Matsu broke the lock when she scowled, "I loathe Oda-san."

"I know it," Valdemar said, "I have not even seen you near to each other and I could have guessed that."

"You will never see him and I near to each other," Matsu said, almost spitting the words, "By what means could you guess?"

"I try to think about the people that I meet," he said, "Oda-san would lay his life down for what he believes is right, and while I know that you are likely no less heartfelt, his way dooms someone like you to a life which you do not want for yourself."

"Which way would you wish to see?" she asked as they stopped near the entrance to a narrow draw which she knew would place them in a poor tactical spot were they to be ambushed there. Valdemar saw it as well, but he said nothing as he fished through one of his pockets.

He drew out a cigar and he lit it in the brief flare of a match. If they were ambushed, he told himself, he'd do what he could to get himself out of it.

If she was only half as good as she seemed to think that she was, he reasoned that she ought to have no difficulty with it. He put the matches back into his pocket and he puffed his cigar for a moment to draw out her anticipation of his reply, hoping a little that it would annoy her.

He only looked ahead as he spoke around the cigar, "I couldn't care less."

"That is not the way that I have heard that you are," she said, and he almost groaned, wondering why she thought that he wanted to speak with her at all. He guessed that if one grew up the daughter of a daimyo, then one would just have to think that everyone stood ready to kiss her ass at a moment's notice.

Valdemar leaned over his saddle and looked at her, "That question is not for me to answer as I am a stranger here. I have not been here long enough to see the way of everything. But as far as my own wish is concerned, I prefer your way, if it matters to you."

"And why is that?" she asked.

"It makes things more interesting to one like me," he said, "Many of the women here are beautiful to me. If there were more like you, they would be even more fascinating to me as well, not that any of my fascination would do me any good.

I do not care much personally what you do, but I might want to give you a little fair warning if you love this way of life which you and Oda-san share as you glare at one another.

Avoid the Christian faith if you and your people can. Stay with your own gods, choose someone else's, I do not care, but avoid the Christian teachings."

Matsu grinned then, "You see? This is the sort of thing which I had hoped to discuss with you over a meal -- but that was before I took what you have called my stupid notion.

Come; ride with me and we will talk. I am sorry if I insulted you. I have had the time to think as I rode back, wondering what had befallen you."

She looked over for a long enough moment so that their eyes met, "What I said was callous and unkind -- especially to one who bears scars as you do. Pride can make a person stupid. I do not know you, but I think now that what was done to you was done in order to break your spirit and your will. I am a little glad that the attempt must have failed."

They rode through the gloom, talking quietly at some points where Matsu indicated that it was likely safe to. She found it a little difficult to get him to speak much anymore, needing to phrase her queries so that he had to reply or run the risk of seeming rude.

"I must know what lies behind your words about the Christians," she said.

He almost sighed, deciding that this talk was mostly for her amusement and entertainment.

"A long time ago," he said, "a dark cloud hung over a great portion of the land in Europe. There are many lands there, not only one or two -- or six. There were a people feared by many for the way that they came often and raided, stealing everything from money to women, killing any who tried to stand before them and laughing in joy as they did it. They were large and fearsome warriors from out of the cold northlands, and the mere sight of their dragon ships on the horizon could make people tremble and run.

They were called Vikings and the lands which spawned them slowly became five or maybe six different lands.

Mostly, they were men, but there were women among them and I have been told that a woman could be a clan lord and hold land in her name and that she was equal in the eyes of their law to the men.

They were also traders who traveled far and later, they became farmers and landowners in the lands they had originally raided. Some even became bigger lords and were kings.

They held their own religion, but slowly, the Christian faith came to them. Where before it was desired to die a glorious death in battle, their own lords decided that they preferred not having to do that to get to their heaven. Most of them forced their own vassals to become Christians on the threat of death."

He looked around in the deepening gloom for a moment, "The faith is not a bad one by itself, I think. But like anything else, there are always men who trade on it and tailor it to suit their purpose. Today, a woman in their lands is not equal to the men and cannot hold land by herself. I believe that in some ways, adopting the Christian faiths robbed those people of their fierceness."

"These Vikings came from all of those different lands?" she asked.

He nodded, "They were all a little similar anyway and the lands are all in one area. Most of them spoke the same language and many could understand each other even if their speech was different. They were the Norse, the Swedes, some of the Finnlanders, some of the northern Germanic tribes, the Gotlanders , ...

And the Danes.

The priests have been here for a few hundred years already. All that I am saying is that once they close their mouths over you, the great Samurai will lose their teeth and there will be no room for fierce women warriors at all."

Matsu was surprised, "You say now that your kind -- the people of your land, they were among these warriors, and now are cowed?"

"My kind were among them, yes," he answered, "But I did not say that they were cowed. I meant to say that they were changed. I cannot say how much, because I was not living then. That was hundreds of years ago. But I have been to other lands in Europe and I can speak of what I saw. The Danes of today are very much alike to the French and the Dutch and the English and all of the others. Their armies are armies now, and not bands of raiders and they fight their wars in much the same way as the armies of any other land.

Everything changes anyway, regardless of what one might want. I studied a little of your people's ways of fighting before I came here. The merchant who taught me thought that I was wasting my time and his with my wanting to know. But I learned anyway.

Think of how the Samurai fought at the time of the Mongol invasions and before what you call the Divine Wind came to ruin their attacks. Some ships landed and the Mongols spilled out onto the land. The Samurai who faced them began to proceed in the way that they knew -- one man stepping out to challenge and then when an opponent stepped out, the Samurai would begin to proclaim his heritage; who his father had been, and the father before and so on and on. It would take a long time, but it was how one clan of Samurai fought another.

But Mongols are not Samurai, are they? They charged in their hundreds, being there for more than to only listen to a good story in a language foreign to them. The Samurai learned from this to skip the tale when fighting one who does not know your tongue."

"How would it have gone if it were these Vikings who stepped out of their ships?" Matsu asked.

"From what I know, Northmen also treasured their ancestry, but there are a few differences. They did not step out of their dragon longships; they simply jumped over the side and waded out of the surf. They did not ever come to listen to anything.

If it had been Vikings, they would have paused only long enough to stare for a moment. And then they'd have begun to laugh as they ran to begin. They wouldn't have understood a word. They couldn't have cared less either. Perhaps it is a trait that I share with them."

He laughed to himself quietly then, "I think now that they would have come to appreciate their opponents in the Samurai. More than perhaps anything, the Northmen loved a good fight. It is possible to respect one's enemy.

And another difference was that the Divine Wind might have had less of an effect. I was told that many of the Mongol ships were for use on rivers and had flat bottoms. Very bad in a storm. Longships were made for long voyages on stormy and very cold seas.

But as I said, things change and ages pass. I do not think that it would even have been possible to raise an armada among Northmen; not on the scale which would have been required to invade a land such as this."

They were silent for a time until some minutes later, Matsu looked over again, "What are the women like, where you come from? Are they large and hairy as well?"

The question caused Valdemar to see a little of how he must look to her and he chuckled, "Oh yes. They are even hairier than the men. Some of them grow long beards and never wash and there are giantesses among them. Why do you think that the men were always away raiding, after all?"

Even though it was almost dark, he saw her mouth open so he shook his head. "That was not truth. I only made a joke. Our women are as lovely as most other sorts of women can be. They are not hairy -- well, most of them are not. They have the same eyes and their hair can be the same as ours; blonde and brown and red and black. It is said that there are more with very light hair among us and I think that it is at least a little true in the north. I have seen young girls and maidens with hair the same as mine, but it was so light that it looked white in the sunshine.

But my talking of them does me as little good as my fascination over a few warlike women of Japan. They are where I am not and the ones here believe that I am a hairy demon."

He thought that his jibe had sailed right past her ears as they rode on for a minute or more and then she said, "I saw that you have hair on your chest. I have never seen a man with so much hair."

Valdemar rolled his eyes, well and truly tired of it now, "Yes, of course. I am only an animal to the eyes of any civilized and cultured person. I spent most of my childhood with no shirt on in the winter. All of us did -- even the girls -- so that we might get our wish -- to be the hairiest creatures next to the bears. If I do not shave as soon as I get out of the bed, and if I do not shave again before midday, then I will have a full and thick beard by the evening meal.

I do that sometimes if I know that I will have soup, so that I can strain the vegetables out of it with the hair on my lip. I have a little hair on my chest and a little on my arms, some on my face and even some in other places. I have no way to know, but I likely even have some on my backside. My people come from a cold, dark land, where one tries to stay warm. Shivering really cuts down on stupid talk for half of the year. That is why we live there; so that we do not have to answer stupid questions."

She tried one more time after that when she said, "So, you really were not a criminal?"

His reply was little more than a growl, "Use your imagination and make up whatever you like." He puffed once more on the cigar, hoping that he didn't singe his lips and then he threw what was left down into a snowbank.

"I don't care what you think. I'm an animal, remember?"

They rode on, both lost in their thoughts for a time until they arrived at an outpost. They were let in the gate and that was when the stares began. The Dane did his best to ignore the looks as Matsu led him to where he could sleep. She tried to get him to change his mind about the meal, but he said that he was tired and wanted to sleep. When she left him, he sat chewing strips of dried beef for a time. He'd been hungry, but he had no hunger for her company.

The next day, Valdemar taught as he could with Matsu interpreting for him. But though she now tried to be a little friendlier, he didn't seem to be in the mood and as soon as the men dispersed to return to their duties, he coolly prepared to take his leave and ride back to the village.

And by then of course, Matsu had no intention of trying to dissuade him anymore. She rode with him in silence to the edge of her area of responsibility.

"Thank you for the lessons. I must leave you, but I hope that I may see you again."

With that, she turned her horse around and galloped off. She didn't know it or care, but he didn't believe a word.

In that sense, they were in agreement. Her thanks had been only polite. As far as she was concerned, he could fall off the edge of the world and she wouldn't care.

---------------------

The next day, Valdemar taught again, though it was a smaller group near the village, so it didn't take very long. They were done not long after noon, he guessed.

"What will you do now?" Kōichi asked and Valdemar chuckled as he began to walk back to the village.

"I go to learn of the deer around this place. It is far too late in the day now, but I will take my bow in case I see a deer, but that is not the main thing. I wish to learn of where they hide. I think that deer must be all the same, no matter where or which sort they are and they are creatures of habit. If you learn of their haunts, then you know where to be near when you begin. Do you wish to come along?"

"Perhaps," Kōichi smiled a little, "I may wish to see how far away that you can get while you look for their hiding places. I will stop you if you look to be in danger of wandering off too far. Or, I could just take you to those places, Valdemar-san, since I know of most of them."

Valdemar's jaw opened at that, "How do you know of these things, Kōichi-san?"

The youth smiled and spoke rather quietly, "The daimyo claims the deer for his own, but Valdemar-san, there are very few rich hunters here and rich or poor, the people must eat. I poach in these woods sometimes so that the poor might have a little meat to eat now and then. If you only own one animal and you need that one for some of the work, then you cannot eat her.

No one eats meat unless their animal dies of old age or overwork. Many people have no animals at all and the whole family must do all of the work."

They began to walk to where Kōichi kept his bow hidden, but long before they got there, they heard voices and shouts and turned in that direction.

Valdemar was astounded to find Matsu on her feet in a small clearing just in front of a small house in the woods. She was facing four men -- who carried the appearance of Samurai to him, though his companion whispered to him that they were little more than bandits. The men were all on horseback, three of them with drawn swords, and one holding a bow.

Matsu kept them all off-balance rather easily, standing before them with a naginata cradled in her hands. Whenever one of them looked to be getting a little too brave and nudged his horse, she moved and her skill with the long bladed weapon reminded them that she could deal them a lot of damage with only one strike and was not in danger of falling off her horse, since she wasn't on one. They also couldn't just ride her down -- not with that weapon in her hands, not if they valued their horses.