The Teller Tale

I hope you like my new story. Just so you know I haven't given up on my other stories but I needed something to ease me back into writing.

*****

Athilica's cry resounded through the villa, loud and piercing in the quiet of the early dawn. Aodhan sat bolt upright in bed, his heart pounding painfully in his chest as his eyes searched frantically in the dark. He instinctively reached out to rouse Maria and found her side of the bed cold and empty. A stab of fear flared through him before he remembered that his wife had gone to visit her friend in the next vale and wouldn't be back for another two days.

He sighed softly and slipped warily out of bed. One of the serving women should have already seen to Athiclica. It was odd that no one had responded to her yet.

He shrugged it off and pulled his dressing gown firmly around his slender frame. The harsh cold bit into him, driving further into his tired bones with every step he took. He wondered, somewhat helplessly, if he would ever grow accustomed to the fierce northern weather. Having been born and raised in the far south he was far more accustomed to near desert heat. Maybe one day he could survive a winter without catching a fever.

She was still shrieking when he entered the nursery. The closer he got to her the more he disliked the sound of her cry. It wasn't the normal scream of a child who needed changing or feeding. She almost sounded afraid. He picked her up and began rocking her, singing softly as he moved her back and forth. Maria was better at sending her back to sleep but he did a fair job in her absence. Before long her little face relaxed into a mask of contentment and she slumbered.

He put her gently in her cot before stepping softly out of the nursery. He made his way down into the kitchen to fetch a drink of water when an odd smell evaded his nostrils. He vaguely recognised it but he couldn't remember from where. "Oliver?" He called out softly, trying to find the kitchen boys slumbering silluite in the dark. "Oliver, are you here lad?"

There was no answer. A sudden feeling of dread seized him as he stepped hesitantly into the kitchen. At least three people slept in the kitchens every night. It was inconceivable that he could find no trace of them. The room was light enough for him to make out the outlines of the stove and worktops. If they were in the room he would have been able to see them.

And then he noticed it, a dark stain that was slowly creeping its way across the stone floor. He realised what the smell was then, though it has been a long time since he had seen so much of it in one place. He stepped back hastily, no longer so eager to find his missing servants.

"Hello teller," A familiar voice said a moment before a shadowed figure stepped from behind the pantry door, his voice as memorable as his tall and powerful frame. "How about a song or two?" As if on cue Athilica let out a wailing scream. A sudden and terrible smile lit up the intruders face. "You've been busy Aodhan."

The singer was running before the other man finished his last word. He dashed up the stairs towards the nursery, collecting one of Maria's glass vases as he went. A hand caught his arm on the stairs and tugged him back. He allowed himself to be spun around and as he turned he smashed the vase hard against the intruders head. He was released but he knew with a sickening feeling of dread that the action was going to cost him dearly if he was caught.

He made it into the nursery where Athilica was screaming in obvious distress. He pushed the child's furniture against the door in a desperate attempt to barricade them inside, knowing all the while that the gesture was utterly futile. He knew who was after him and he knew it would take a lot more than children's furniture and a locked door to keep him at bay.

He barely managed to reach Athilica and scope her up into his arms before the other man forced himself inside the room. He wasn't even breathing heavily as he stepped towards them.

"She isn't here." Aodhan said breathlessly as he retreated backwards. "She'll be gone for weeks yet." He lied.

He saw the smile again, a sharp streak of light in the dark. "Of course she isn't here teller. Why do you suppose I picked tonight to visit you?"

"What?" Aodhan's back came up against the stone wall of the nursery. Athilica was still screaming, making it hard for him to think. He rocked her again, trying desperately to calm her down. "What do you want?" He was terrified when he was that smile again. "Are you going to kill me?" He asked quietly. He looked down at Athilica. "What about my daughter?"

"Put her in the crib Aodhan."

He shook his head and held onto her more tightly. "Do what you want to me but please, she's just a baby!"

"You are trying my patients. Put her in the cot!" The latter came out as a fierce bellow that shook Aodhan's already frayed nerves.

He could feel his arms shaking but he couldn't make himself release her. "Give me your word you won't harm her." He said, his voice as soft as a bell chime in comparison to his. "I'll do anything you want if you'll just give me your word."

For a moment he thought he would have to grapple with the bravo. The idea was so absurd it was almost funny. But then the other man rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in a bored manner. "You have my word tinker," he drawled. "I won't hurt the child."

Aodhan reluctantly laid her gently in the cot. She had exhausted herself from crying and every instinct within him demanded he pick her up and comfort her. He began to reach for her again when a firm hand latched around his arm and dragged him back. "It's time to go Aodhan."

"What?" He was being pulled out of the door. "Go? Go where?"

A dark laugh, one that Aodhan remembered so well. "It's a surprise, behave and maybe you'll get there in one piece."

"But the child..."

He wasn't prepared for the backhanded blow that caught him across his cheek, though a part of him reasoned that he should have been. He crumpled to the ground, a groan working its way out of his throat. Flashing lights momentarily dazzled him as he felt strong hands hoist him to his feet. "I forgot how delicate you are teller!" An amused voice buzzed in his ear. "I'll have to be more careful less I break you."

"Wait," Aodhan shook his head fiercely to try and clear his rattled mind. "The child, she'll die if we leave her here."

"That isn't my problem."

Aodhan ground his feet into the floor to try and plant them. The bravo barely noticed. "If you take me Maria will be furious, but if you let our baby die she'll destroy you Acriam. You know she can do it, you can't beat her!"

Aodhan's heart leapt up in his throat as a big hand seized his jaw and forced him up onto his tiptoes. Acriam bent down until there was less than a fingers width between their faces. The other man's dark green eyes burnt into his with seething hatred. "It's taken me five years to track you and your whore down. Five years of living with the humiliation of what she did to me." The pressure on Aodhan's jaw increased until he was sure it was about to break. "You think I fear her? Think again teller. I intend to destroy your whore. I intend to take everything away from her until all she has left is revenge. And then, finally I'll kill her, but not before making sure she knows who's responsible for her fall from grace,"

Aodhan closed his eyes tightly and tried to control his fear, fear for his daughter and wife and fear for himself. "I saved your life once, or have you just decided to ignore my mercy in favour for your revenge?"

The bravo thankfully released his hold on Aodhan's jaw and latched firmly onto his wrist instead. "Don't you think you'd already be dead if I had forgotten?"

"So then what is it you intend to do?"

"I already told you teller, it's a surprise. But never fear, you'll find out soon enough."

"And what of my child Acriam, is she part of your revenge?"

He turned back to look at Aodhan, a snarl disturbing the scar that ran from his eye to his jaw. The teller tried to remember how the other man had looked, back when he was still a young and naive soldier. He could remember once envying Acriam for his fighting skill and handsome face. He remembered counting him as a friend. How the years had changed him.

The bravo must have read something in Aodhan's expression because his eyes hardened and he tugged the teller violently forward. Aodhan fell to his knees with a pained grunt but before he could recover he felt a hand twist into his hair and he was hauled back to his feet. "I kept my word haven't I? I haven't hurt her."

"You leave her here alone and she'll die! You know that."

"Your nattering is irritating me."

Aodhan laughed at that. "It's irritating you? In the name of the gods, were talking about my child!"

He was pushed hard in the back and fell sprawling onto his bed. "Get changed, and dress warmly."

"I'm not leaving her!" Aodhan said defiantly. He saw a glimmer of metal and realised that bravo had pulled his blade. "I don't care what you do to me; I won't leave her here to die. Not so you can fulfill a vendetta against a woman that was well within her rights for what she did to you."

He saw the blade race towards him and he was sure within those few moments that he was about to die. He thought of Maria, coming home to find him dead on their bed. What would happen to their child?

"Open your eyes," A dark voice growled above him. "Now," he roared. Aodhan obeyed and let out a moan of fear as the blade swayed dangerously close to his right eye. "Listen to me very carefully teller. For the sake of the history we share I don't want to hurt you, but that doesn't mean that I won't if you do not heed what I say. The child will come to no harm, I promise you that." He must had read the disbelief in Aodhan's eyes for suddenly he drew back the blade and fell down beside him. "I left the old hag alive. She fainted and I saw no reason to end her. When she wakes she'll see to the child. My quarrel is with the whore but I will not kill a child to get what I want. Taking you from her should be enough for what I plan."

Aodhan felt an almost giddy sense of relief. "You left Alia alive, truly?"

"Yes, truly. Now get changed." Aodhan walked hesitantly to his wardrobe and began selecting his clothes. Most of the things he owned were well made to protect him from the cold. He chose the ones he wore whenever Maria managed to drag him out to hunt with her and slowly began to change. "Teller?" The bravo said quietly, his back to Aodhan as he peered out of the bedroom window. "Disobey me again and you will lose your eyes. I make no idle threats and you will not need them for what I have planned for you. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Aodhan said quietly, trying to sound dispassionate despite the emotions whirling inside of him. "May I see her once more before we leave?"

Those cold green eyes turned to him. "No."

For a moment he thought of disagreeing but he believed Acriam would carry out his threats. He closed his eyes briefly, willing himself to be strong.

"Are you ready?" The bravo asked.

No, Goddess no! "Yes." He answered softly.

A large hand latched onto his shoulder and drove him out of the bedroom. Athilica's exhausted cries echoed in his ears long after Acriam forced him out of the villa and onto Maria's saddled mare. He took a deep breath and willed the gods to watch over his child and wife. He could only pray that Acriam had told him the truth and that Alia still lived. He took one last look at his home and then the snow blinded him and all he could do was hunker down in his cloak and try to stay warm.

******

Aodhan wrapped himself more firmly in his cloak and tried to control the fierce shaking that seemed determined to rattle every bone in his body. He could see Acriam looking at him from the corner of his eyes and Aodhan wondered if the other man was concerned for him or merely worried that the tinker would die before he got to carry out his petty act of revenge.

"We're coming to a town, we should be there before nightfall." He called, his voice as emotionless and cold as the first night when he had forced Aodhan onto the horse. It still shook him that not ten years previous the two of them had been comrades.

He thought back to the first time they had met. They had both been boys then, cocksure and full of themselves. Aodhan had been a journeyman, wearing his trades in the various cities of the southlands. He had caught the eye of a highborn lady and as a result he had been invited to the royal court to perform before the king. His nerves had been shot at the time and he remembered an amused voice offering him a drink to calm him down. He'd turned around and looked up, way up, at one of the tallest soldiers he had ever laid his eyes on. Because of his gypsie decent he tended to avoid soldiers. They rarely had must respect for his people. The guard either didn't know or didn't care. Despite their obvious differences the two of them had hit it off immediately.

"What town?" Aodhan asked. Judging by how far they travelled he would have guessed they were heading towards Valconry. The problem was he had always been useless with directions and had quickly lost his bearings. Despite his best intentions to keep track of where they were headed he was well and truly lost.

He knew he had made a mistake when he was greeted with deathly silence. He risked a quick glance upwards and felt his throat contract. "You'll find out soon enough." The bravo snapped, his eyes suddenly hard as he reigned his horse closer to Aodhan's. The singer clenched the horse's pommel with a gloved fist and hunkered down slightly. The last thing he wanted was another clout across the face. The one he'd received that morning was still ringing in his head and he suspected he was sporting an impressive shiner on his left eye. "I could never understand your adversity to defend yourself." Acriam said wonderingly, repeating the words he had uttered countless times in the past. "All these years and did you ever bother to learn how to use a blade?"

"I wouldn't make a very good warrior." Aodhan answered truthfully. He pulled his cloak even tighter. "I found my trade and I intend to stick with it."

"And what a name you made for yourself." Acriam smiled and shook his head ruefully. "They call you the greatest mistral that ever lived. I remember listening to you sometimes and wishing that you would just shut up so I could think, and now people are mourning your absence." He met Aodhan's eyes and the once familiar smile melted away. "How time changes us, eh? Though I suppose it was kinder to you than I."

Aodhan thought of his beautiful wife and precious daughter and wondered if they both still lived. It was possible that Acriam had lied about leaving the old woman alive. He thought of his beautiful wife, coming home to a houseful of dead, her husband missing and her child abandoned. She would not mourn, he realised, not until she had sought justification for what had been taken from her. "I suppose it must have been." He answered at last. He looked pointedly back at the big soldier. "You hate us for that too I suppose?"

He was sure Acriam was about to strike him down again but this time he refused to be cowed. He lifted his head and met the other man's flashing green eyes without flinching. Acriam's hand floundered for a moment before he allowed it to drop listlessly to his side. "Stop testing me Aodhan." He said, his tone brisk as he put some distance between them. "I'm losing patients with you."