The Chronicles: Three Sisters 08

I didn't quite know what to say. So I described my dream - my vision - me holding the rope, her in the bog. I told her of my fears. Sulcen listened to every word, without answer or comment. It wasn't until I had finished, and several moments had passed, that she spoke.

- "You're afraid that I might kill myself? Is that it?"

- "No. I was ... more afraid that you might ... withdraw entirely, from the world."

- "Now you sound like my mother." she said.

- "We both care for you."

Sulcen shook her head. She turned from me, and sat up.

- "Easy to say. Too easy. I know that you do, Veran - in your own way. After what you've been through ... it's ... quite a bit."

- "But not quite enough?"

- "We're both trying, Veran."

She was right. That simple sentence was loaded with meaning. It described the best - and the worst - of our relationship.

"So I ask you again: do you really want to know? It will change your impression of me."

I took a deep breath. "Yes. I want to know."

She told me. Every detail. The whole agonizing litany of details.

***

Sulcen and I had cleared the air. But she was right: I no longer saw her in the same way. Some of the things she told me were, quite frankly, revolting. It was impossible for me to look at her without feeling a powerful surge of pity, and sorrow.

There was a distance between us, now. I was still patient, and understanding. But I couldn't believe that she would want to be touched - much less touched intimately - by any man, after what she had suffered. Sulcen sensed my uneasiness, and she recognized the look in my eye. It was not what she wanted from me.

I had no idea how to bridge the gap - and I feared that it was growing by the day. Tanguiste might have known what to do. But I couldn't even contemplate talking to her or Guenna about this. I was sure, somehow, that Sulcen would never forgive me if she saw the same pity in my daughters' eyes.

So our silences lengthened, and the distance between us grew. Both of my daughters knew that was something was wrong, but when Tanguiste asked, I snarled at her. She held up her hands, and stepped back.

How long this state of affairs might have lasted, I have no way of knowing. But in the middle of summer, things changed.

I was carrying wood into the house, for the cooking fire, when I saw little Vialla running toward Mother Nadesti's house. She wasn't more than eight years old, a curly-haired, snot-nosed little moppet.

Vialla saw me. She slowed down, stopped - and then sprinted in my direction. This was no child's game. Vialla was one of Guenna's 'sneakers', charged with keeping our scouts and watchers on their toes. The look on her face was enough to alert me that something was wrong.

- "Veran! Veran!" she called, as she ran towards me.

I dropped the armload of wood I was carrying.

- "What is it, Vialla? Tell me?" I said.

- "Millek isn't there!" she said, in her high-pitched voice.

- "Isn't where, sweetheart? Tell me plain."

Vialla took a deep breath. "I was s'posed to sneak up on Millek - but he wasn't there. Then I looked down the hill - and I saw men. Lots o' men."

I took a deep breath myself. I was remarkably calm.

- "Where? Where was Millek supposed to be?"

- "The Sleeve." she said.

Damnation. That was the place where my daughters and I, with Inisian and Moruith, had first ascended the Hill, shepherded by Vingoldas and the redheads. It was a steep path, but it could be climbed, if the climber was light and agile - or had a rope. It was one of the two easiest routes up the Hill.

- "Vialla - go find Vingoldas, and Hedyn. Tell everybody you see on the way. Understand? Tell everybody. Off you go."

Vialla ran as fast as her short legs would carry her. I went into the house, and picked up my sword. Sulcen was preparing food, but she looked up when I came in. Normally, she would have ignored me, but something in my demeanour had alerted her.

- "Trouble?" she asked.

- "I don't know." I said. "Find Vingoldas, and Hedyn. The girls. I'm going to the Sleeve."

Sulcen picked up a knife. "I'll go with you."

- "What? No!" I said.

- "That's not what you'd say to your daughters."

Sulcen had a point. But this was no time for a debate. I stepped outside, and broke into a steady run. I doubted that she could keep up with me.

"Find Vingoldas! Find Hedyn!" I shouted, to everyone I saw.

And I ran. Fast enough, I hoped, to outpace Sulcen. If there was trouble, I didn't want her anywhere near it.

It wasn't far, from the hamlet to the Sleeve - half a league, at most. But I had to pace myself - I couldn't do anything useful if I arrived there winded, struggling for breath. I had no idea what I would find. That was why I angled to the south, and skirted the tree line as I ran.

It was worse than I expected.

There were two strangers at the top of the Sleeve. They were naked to the waist, and barefoot. I could even see the dirt on their feet. These two had climbed the Sleeve. Wisely, they had left armour and heavy weapons behind. It's ridiculously difficult to climb the Hill with a sword, or an axe - let alone armour - weighing you down.

Both men were looking downhill. They had found our rope - and they had rolled it down the treacherous slope. They must have been intent on their comrades, because they didn't notice my approach until they heard me, running towards them.

They both spun about. One was a skinny, blonde-haired youth. The other was darker - and he had his forearm wrapped around the neck of our watcher - young Millek.

- "Stay back! Or I'll feckin' kill 'im!" said the man holding Millek.

Millek was eleven years old. He was the younger brother of Hedyn's wife. Their father had died at the Battle of the Bend, where I killed Dengel Nadesti. He was a pleasant lad, with a friendly smile.

Somehow, though, he had allowed these strangers to climb the Hill at our most vulnerable point. I didn't know if he had fallen asleep, or if he had crawled into the undergrowth - but he had failed us, at a critical moment.

That thought flashed across my mind. But I didn't slow down. If I stopped, and let these two strange men bring their friends up the slope, with our rope ... then everyone on the Hill would die. I knew that, as surely as I felt the sun on my back.

- "Shit!" yelled the blonde one, as he suddenly realized that I wasn't about to stop. He and his friend had long knives - but no other weapons, and no armour.

I made up my mind just before I reached him. Despite all of the lessons I had taught Inisian, and my girls, I swung my sword like an axe, chopping at his neck. Against an armoured, or well-armed opponent who knew what he was doing, I might have died.

But Blondie had only a knife. He couldn't possibly parry or deflect my heavy sword. He was also surprised by a left-handed attack. My blade smashed through his weak defence, and crushed his collar bone, gouging deep into his shoulder.

He fell, with my sword embedded in the top of his ribcage.

Unfortunately, it was too well embedded. I couldn't tug my blade loose. Meanwhile, the dark one slashed Millek's throat open, and then threw the boy aside.

I couldn't pull my sword from Blondie's body. His friend would be upon me in a moment. I let go of my weapon, and spun around, empty handed.

I felt the sharp edge of his knife grind against my left hip. He had meant to stab me in the back, but my sudden spin had thrown off his aim. Instinctively, I tried to grapple with him, reaching out with my right hand.

My fingers might have been weak, but there was nothing wrong with my arm. I got it around his neck, and began to throttle him from behind. Darkie tried to stab me again, but he was also pushing me back. I lost my balance. We fell to the ground - with me on the bottom. His weight, slight as he was, drove the breath from my lungs. But I wouldn't give up my choke hold, and I managed to wrap my legs around him.

That was when Sulcen arrived. I heard her howl, as she leapt on top of my opponent - on top of me. Darkie grunted, and then shrieked. Then I felt a blade scrape across my ribs. But Darkie wasn't moving. It was my wife, stabbing him in a frenzy.

- "Sulcen!" I screamed. "He's dead! He's done! You're hitting me!"

I must admit, my focus was quite narrow, for those few moments. But I am told that what happened next was epic.

Blondie and Darkie had climbed the slope, and then found our rope. They unwrapped it, and then rolled it down the slope to their brethren. The noise they made awoke or alerted Millek, but he made enough of a commotion that they spotted, and then grabbed him.

While I cut down Blondie, and wrestled with Darkie, one of their friends was climbing the slope. While Sulcen was stabbing Darkie - and me - another man reached the top of the slope.

This fellow would have made short work of Sulcen - and of me - except that Guenna had arrived, panting and out of breath.

At a range of twelve feet, my daughter fired an arrow, and put it through the raider's mouth. He dropped like a stone.

Guenna did not stop there. She advanced to the lip of the Sleeve, and fired an arrow at the next man, who was climbing up the rope. She missed. But that man was none too keen to be climbing a rope, with both of his hands occupied, while someone shot arrows at him.

I saw none of this. I was bleeding copiously, with two bodies on top of me.

Sulcen was trying to pull darkie off me.

- "The rope! Cut the rope!" I shouted.

My wife understood. She began to saw at the rope with her blade. Guenna stood guard at the top of the slope, in case any of the rivers tried to climb. It must have galled them, to be frustrated by a slender young woman with a bow.

I managed to push darkie off me, but my head was spinning from the effort.

Vingoldas and Hedyn arrived, and made short work of cutting the rope. Tanguiste arrived a moment later, carrying a bow. Sulcen knelt beside me, to examine my wounds. She gingerly touched just above the cut on my left side.

- "Did ... did I do that?"

- "You probably saved my life, Sulcen."

She blinked back tears. "You're a terrible liar, Veran."

- "I'm not. There's his knife - he could have twisted around, and stabbed me again. You killed him."

- "I almost killed you!"

- "You saved me, Sulcen." I said. I don't remember anything after that.

***

- "There he is." said Tanguiste.

I was on my back, on my bed. I stirred, and tried to sit up - and instantly regretted it.

"Stay there." said my daughter. "Sulcen! He's awake."

My wife was stirring a pot, but she put down her ladle and came over immediately.

- "How are you?" she asked.

- "He looks better." said Tanguiste. "I'll get the others."

Sulcen sat on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?"

- "Stiff. Sore. But very happy." I said.

- "What? What are you talking about?"

- "I'm happy." I said. "Because now I know that you do care for me."

- "Of course I care for you, you idiot." said Sulcen, with a half-smile. "Stay there - you lost a lot of blood." Sulcen put her hand on my chest as I tried to rise, and pushed me back down. She leaned over, and kissed me - which was exactly what I'd been after.

- "My warrior woman." I whispered.

Tanguiste returned much too soon, with Guenna and Vingoldas.

- "How do you feel, Papa? said my youngest.

- "You scared us." said Vingoldas.

- "What happened? After I ... I suppose I passed out."

- "Guenna held them off." said Vingoldas. He told me that she had killed one of the raiders, with an arrow. "Then she insisted that I show myself to them - so that they would know that there were men here. Warriors. But not Hedyn - she thought they might recognize him."

- "That's good thinking, girl." I said. "What did you see?"

- "There were fifteen of them." said Guenna. "And ... Kestutis was there."

- "Where are they now?"

- "They pulled back." said Vingoldas. "They lost three men."

- "Yes, but he's a clever-ass. He might be stubborn enough to try again."

- "We doubled the watchers." said Guenna. "And Hedyn is there."

- "Not your problem." said Vingoldas. "Until you recover."

- "Alright. I'll do my best. Now - could I have a moment alone with my wife?"

- "Oh - Papa. You've lost a lot of blood." said Guenna, blushing. "I don't think you should ..."

Tanguiste laughed aloud. "Guenna, I think he just wants to talk to her."

Guenna went crimson.

- "Is it too much to ask, to have a moment with my wife?" I said.

Apparently it was. Guen Nadesti arrived, with Moruith, both of them anxious to see how I was doing. I was tolerant for a while, and polite for a little while longer. Then I feigned fatigue. A cheap trick, perhaps - but it worked.

Tanguiste shooed everyone out of the house, and then left herself.

Sulcen resumed her position, sitting on the side of our bed. I took her hand.

- "You were magnificent." I told her. "You are magnificent."

There was that half-smile again. "You're in no condition for any ... foolery." she said.

- "Foolery, is it? I'll have you know ..." I had to stop, overcome by the urge to sneeze - which hurt like being stabbed all over again. Sulcen almost panicked, thinking that I had re-injured myself.

- "You have to rest." she pleaded.

- "I will." I promised. I squeezed her hand. "But I wanted to tell you first, that ... I love you."

Sulcen looked at me, for a moment.

- "I know." she said. "Now you're going to eat some broth, and then you'll get some rest."

***

My wound might have been infected. It seemed to be healing fine, but then I was struck by a fever. Chilled to the bone one moment, sweating buckets the next ... the girls helped Sulcen carry me closer to the fire, or wrap me in furs, or carry me back to my bed and then place a cool wet, wet cloth on my brow.

I lost track of time, and my mind wandered. In my imagination I was preparing for the fight with Bacho - to win Meonwe. Another time I felt like I was back on Piran's Point, hiding my little girls after the most horrific night of their lives.

One morning, I awoke, bathed in sweat, to find Tanguiste sitting on the edge of the bed, holding my hand.

- "Papa?" she said.

- "Tan?" I croaked.

- "How do you feel?"

- "Groggy. Thirsty."

My daughter fetched water, and raised me up enough for me to drink. From that dizzying height, I could see Sulcen and Guenna, asleep, across the room.

- "Why'm I so ... weak?" I asked.

- "You had us very worried, Papa. You were raving, and cursing ..." Tanguiste glanced over her shoulder. "You ... you called Mother's name, two nights in a row."

Groggy as I was, I still knew how much that must have hurt Sulcen. It would have been like twisting a knife in a wound.

"And then, last night," said Tanguiste, "you called Sulcen's name. And you called 'Yevna', too. We were so afraid."

- "Don't think I'm ready to die, girl. Not just yet."

*****