Omens In Ashes

My dear Malcolm,

I hope that my letter finds you in good health. As it carries all my love within.

I cannot but regret the distance between us through land, word and deed. Please be assured that I am mortified to have offended your dearest friend, for you to consider me rude. I wish that such moments could have been kept privately between us, for I feel some resolution could have been found.

I am hurt by your absence. I miss you, every hour of the day you’re in my thoughts. How can it be that we’re unable to share our time happily? I cannot follow you, though I long to.

You stay away, and each day our child grows. I am afraid of what’s to come. I wish that I had your ear, your support and the offer of your comfort to lean upon.

I never thought that I could feel so alone, as to know that the only thing which keeps us apart, is your determination to make it so. I hope that one day you might forgive my transgressions against you.

If the worst happens, please try and think the best of me. Know that my love for you is undying.

I remain ever, your faithful and loving, Elyna.

Elyna studied the words on the page, her quill balanced in her hand. She pushed her fingers through her hair. Head bowing as though it would meet the page. She closed her eyes. How could his absence hurt so much? They’d been apart for far longer before. But this time it was deliberate. Malcolm had made his displeasure clear.

Her parents had been furious at the cancelled ceremony. Her Mother had launching into a tirade against her. For the first time in her life, Pavoo had not intervened. Elyna had stood, silent as she endured her Mother’s wrath. Only she, Elyna could have a man sharing her bed, have his child in her belly, and to have ruined things so completely to have him leave in the middle of the evening. Only she was stupid enough, dull enough, plain enough to make it so. Elyna would have to be careful if she had any intention of keeping the favour of her husband. After all, she had been lucky to find it in the first place. Perhaps it was fortunate she had fallen pregnant, as he was clearly fickle in his attention.

When Elyna had made her only reply, that perhaps it had been Caelin’s own rudeness that encouraged Malcolm to leave, she had been struck. It was then that Pavoo had stepped forward, consoling his distraught wife and gently escorting her from the room. Elyna touched a hand to her cheek, sure it was red. It was certainly hot to the touch. Tears pricked her eyes. Caelin wouldn’t have done it, not if Emily had still been there. Elyna promised herself then, that it would be the last time her Mother struck her.

Caelin and Pavoo had left for Welles soon after. Beatrice and Billy remained and whilst her cousin still held infectious enthusiasm, even Beatrice grew quiet as the days wore on. Elyna was aware that she had disappointed her family and proven perhaps irrevocably that she was not a suitable partner for Malcolm.

Her tears landed heavy on the page, she straightened. She blotted the salted water and fanned the parchment. She folded it three, sealed it and slid the letter into her bag. It wouldn’t be sent. What hope had she of forgiveness? Malcolm had left with her accusations on his heels. Things that she no longer believed. Hadn’t believed since Malcolm had been so determined to convince her otherwise.

But it had hurt, he had lain his own accusation about Yvan and refused to let her speak. He had silenced her, disinterested in an explanation. Refusing her the time or courtesy she had given him. He had told her of Yvan, and then left to spend the day with Jared. What had been so urgent, that the Baron had followed Malcolm to Aramane anyway?

Elyna crawled into her bed, pinching the candlelight to darkness. There she lay, staring into the night. Afraid to succumb to sleep and relive the memories that she preferred to bury.

85th Day Blaze - AOK 21

‘Will you take the message to him?’ Elyna looked up at the man who stood before her.

Tall and slender, with his pale hair and beard neatly trimmed. He had dark eyes like Emily and was prone to smiling. But Liam was always uncomfortable in the presence of nobility.

‘Are you sure that there’s no one else?’ He looked around at the empty parlour, rather desperately.

‘No one I trust,’ Elyna grimaced, ‘besides you’ll get to see some of the country? More than Emily and I ever did.’

Liam folded his arms across his chest, ‘Will he be there?’ He asked, voice gruff. ‘The brother?’

‘Owen?’ Elyna peered at the man, confused.

‘No, the other one.’ Liam lifted a hand, scratching the back of his neck, ‘the one that Emily…you know…’

Elyna flushed.

‘We don’t have secrets, me and Emily.’

The woman nodded quickly, ‘uh…yes.’ She stood, her own nerves getting the best of her. ‘I imagine Ben will be there…is that going to be alright?’

Liam sniffed, his gaze moving to the window before he shrugged. ‘I’ll deliver your message. Then I’ll come straight back to you,‘ he promised, ‘Em was quite definite that I wasn’t to let you get in any trouble.’

Elyna laughed at that, she sat down again. Even from afar, she still had the best friend. ‘Thank you Liam…’

———

It was five days later that the Skyrider approached the home of Godric and Fredric. His clothes were travel stained, but he wore the pin of his rank clearly upon his collar.

Upon admittance, he requested an audience with the King. He forced himself to stand still and not straightening his tunic for the hundredth time. At last, he handed over the missive that had been so carefully carried. A package of papers, with three separate seals.

‘Your Majesty,

I can confirm that the record of your marriage has been recorded in the register of Renmere. Congratulations on your nuptials.

Signed, your most humble clerk.’

A second note, hastily scribbled was from Emily to Elyna, explaining that she had taken the portal back home in order to see the marriage recorded. She had sent Liam to Aramane to confirm that all was well and legal.

Next, a third letter had been carefully penned and sealed by Elyna.

Dear Malcolm,

I hope my letter finds you in good health.

My father is unaware that our marriage has been recorded. My apologies for any deceit. He believes that he still holds the record, but it is indeed a copy. I have never known my father as anything but honest and forthright, and am pained to consider he may use the register as some kind of leverage against the Kingdom. I don’t wish to be involved in any such agreements and chose to believe that his failure to submit the paperwork has been an oversight. One which is now corrected.

I trust Emily implicitly, which is why I have utmost faith that the record is correct.

I apologise if I have taken an action you would seek to undo. Such plans were already in motion before your departure to Rhode, and I held no ability to cease them. I don’t wish to hold any secrets from you, and so have sent Liam at the earliest opportunity so that were any machinations being made regarding the register, you could treat them with the disgust they deserve.

Your ever faithful and loving,

Elyna

Finally, came the letter with an earlier date. The letter she had deliberated over, toying each day whether it could be trusted to a courier. Finally, with Liam it could be safely delivered to the right hands. Whilst Elyna held little hope that it might come to anything; at least she would have tried.

Liam delivered the letter in person, the gathered guests of the Bennett residence falling silent as he approached Malcolm, only to be intercepted by Benjamin. Liam glared with quiet rage as he took measure of the man before him. Why Emily had chosen to… well he just couldn’t understand. The Beaumont name may have been old, but Benjamin was famed for little more than being brother to a king. “My lady wished me to deliver this in person,” Liam challenged.

“And so you have,” Benjamin said, as he plucked the letter from the skyriders hand.

Malcolm looked up from where he sat and offered Liam acknowledgement in the form of a nod. Liam returned the simple gesture before asking. “Do you wish for me to carry a reply?”

“I would only ask where you carry it?” Malcolm inquired.

“Aramane. Lady Burhan has chosen not to travel to Welles alongside her family.”

“Of course she didn’t,” Malcolm said under his breath. “I’ve no reply to entrust to you, but thank you for bringing this to my door.”

Liam nodded again and turned for the exit.

Malcolm raised his forearm from the armrest of the chair and spread his fingers to accept the letter from Ben. The knight took his leave then, choosing to follow Liam out to make sure he didn’t lose his way. Jared sat across from his friend without having said a word.

Malcolm opened the first of the four letters. It was to inform him that his marriage papers had been received. There followed a moment of confusion before Elyna’s second letter cleared it up.

“I never thought that I could feel so alone, as to know that the only thing which keeps us apart, is your determination to make it so.” Malcolm read the words aloud for Jared to hear, the rest of their company having already cleared the room.

He sighed and set the letter aside. “The morning you got here, she told me to just go and was surprised—not the good kind of surprised—when I returned. Yet she will share no blame in this,” Malcolm said.

Having read of her deception, he set the letters aside, exhausted by it all.

“How many letters does that make today?” Jared asked, after a long pause.

“Two more from her family, three dozen from Renemere, two from Elyna and… whatever these scribbles are,” Malcolm counted.

“I have no new advice to give, your grace—other than I believe you should go to her and give her family everything they want,” Jared said.

“You can’t be serious?”

“Deadly serious,” he replied, tone even but sure. “Make her brother the lead of your milita at sea, give her father that land he wants, the big wedding your mother-in-law demands, dote on your pregnant wife and all will be well.”

“At what cost?” Malcolm challenged.

“Pride, perhaps. Integrity, most certainly. Character,” Jared said. “Only—think of the cost if you do not grant them these things. Edmund rebels. Elyna’s mother and father—seven forbid, House Burhan—work against you. Elyna works against you. Her letters already prove she is capable of vile acts. What is a title unbefitting a man, land in another kingdom, a day of embarrassment and a few kind words? These things cost you almost nothing.”

“And what of my desires?”

“A wolf is a wolf, even in a crown—he can never be tamed,” Jared said, “and only a fool would think him so.”

Malcolm laced his gloved fingers through his hair and pulled tight. “Send a rider after Liam. I have a letter for him after all.”


Elyna

I will be in Welles on the hundred and tenth day of Blaze. Your mother will make all of the arrangements, all you need do is show.

You have no need to fear the future. Here we have magic on our side.

I look forward to seeing you. Please send Beatrice my regards. I hope she and Billy will be able to accompany you to Welles and attend the wedding they were so excited to help plan.

Regards

Your stubborn husband

A letter arrived by usual means, delivered to the Bennett residence.

96th Day of Blaze

My Dear Malcolm,

Thank you for your letter. I hope my response finds you in continued good health, and before you are able to depart Rhode. I will look forward to seeing you in Welles. Though I admit some trepidation at attending a ceremony arranged entirely by my Mother, without the balance Beatrice would have been able to offer.

Never the less, I shall count the days till the 110th with hope in my heart that we can swiftly reconcile.

Ever yours,

Elyna.


109th day of Blaze, AOK22

Two women and a man on horseback approached the travelling party from Rhode to Welles. After a moment of discussion with Liam, the Skyrider on a borrowed horse. The women dismounted, tethered their horses and the taller of the pair moved towards the house with a purposeful stride, whilst the second remained with their mounts. Two slender white horses that snorted with the excitement of a morning ride. They were both dressed simply, with white knee-length linen tunics over a dark blue skirt. Their sleeves were wide and cut to hang above the elbow, showing sun-freckled beneath. The taller woman had rich brown hair, braided neatly down her back and a concentrated look to her features. She was almost stern, with a pointed nose and chin, but her hazel eyes were warm.

The woman stood patiently with her hands folded before her, having requested a private audience with Malcolm Krome. Whatever judgments she made remained silent. Stepping into the shadows of the trees was a relief. Even though the morning was still young, with dew still glittering on the grass it promised to be fierce in its heat. Crickets sounded in the longer grasses. Birds broke out into morning song and the flowers that lined the road had started to open.

‘I carry a message from the Temple of Sisterhood in Welles.’ The woman bowed her head in greeting. ‘Your child was born on the 105th day of Blaze. Mother and Child are faring well.’

Liam and the second sister waited quietly to the side, out of earshot. The tall man’s gaze landing on Benjamin whenever it was able.

Malcolm stepped back up into the carriage having received the news of the birth of his child. He had not asked after the gender, moving instead in a kind of trance, his thoughts far away. He was followed by Roland and Jared, with Benjamin taking a moment to stare down the stranger in the road who had delivered Elyna’s letter some days ago.

“What’s his problem?” Benjamin asked when he stepped up into the coach.

“Who?” Roland asked.

“That skyrider that delivered Elyna’s letters the other day.”

Roland shrugged. “Maybe you humped his woman.”

Jared smirked at that while the pair laughed. He turned his eye on Malcolm then and realised the man had not heard a word that had passed between them. “Malcolm, what news?” He asked.

“Elyna’s has given birth.”

The three of them broke out into praise, congratulating the man. All three soon fell quiet as they realised Malcolm did not share in their joy.

“What troubles you, brother?” Asked Benjamin.

“I did not expect the babe to arrive so soon. By all means he should have been here Harvest at the earliest.”

“It’s a boy?” Benjamin asked, excited.

“I’m not sure.” Malcolm smiled, “habit.”

Jared looked thoughtful for a spell. “The twins arrived far sooner than expected and both survived. I’m sure you have nothing to fear.”

“I don’t think that is his concern,” Roland Suggested.

“Elyna loves you,” Benjamin said. “Any fool can see that. This baby is yours, of that I have no doubt.”

“Is he?” Malcolm said. “She all but accused me of being in love with Jared on our—“

“—What!” Jared said, “when, why?”

Malcolm shook his head. “After we were married. We had all had a bit to drink—“

“—The night we played cards?” Benjamin asked.

Malcolm nodded.

The right side of Roland’s brow jumped up. “In love with Jared?” He said, then laughed.

Benjamin also laughed. “We’ve teased you both about it in the past… but that’s all it was, teasing—are you sure El—“

“—I’m sure she was not teasing me. I think Yvan put some strange idea in her head about the baron and I.”

Well I’m flattered.” Jared teased.

“The trouble is, I think she believed him,” Malcolm added.

They were all silent for a spell before Benjamin spoke. “Do you think it’s because of Owen?”

“Owen?” Malcolm looked confused.

“You know he…”

Roland whacked Benjamin in the side before he could continue. “He’s your brother too, you know!”

Benjamin shook his head. “It’s just Owen—he doesn’t—what I mean to say is, he could be persuaded by a nice woman… or man.”

Malcolm leaned back against the leather seat, shocked into silence. Owen—but—how could he not know his own brother? “How—when?”

“Always!” Benjamin said. “There’s no shame in it. Half the Iron Hand are—“

“—And the nobility,” Roland said, “especially those from Venora.”

“So I’ve been lumped in with my brother without any proof of—“

“No one would care,” Benjamin said.

“That’s not the point,” Jared interjected. “Malcolm is a man of his word.”

“And what’s the word?” Benjamin asked.

“Ben!” Malcolm scolded. “I’m surprised you even have to ask. You know I like women!”

“Well it’s just…” Ben started.

“Just what?”

“You went all that time without—and you never—well, you never joined us in the city at the local—“

“—And that somehow determines what!” Malcolm interrupted Ben.

“Nothing, nothing. I wasn’t accusing you of anything. I can just—“

“—It sure sounds like you are,” Jared said.

“Well I could understand—you know—how the rumour might have gone unchallenged,” Benjamin added.

“Oh now you tell me there’s a rumour.” Malcolm crossed his arms and slouched back in his seat.

Jared’s hand came to rest against the king’s thigh. He pat him twice on the leg before withdrawing his hand. “Perhaps we should spend less time together to help dispel any—“

“—Don’t be ridiculous!” Malcolm said. “I know the truth, you know the truth. We don’t have anyone else to convince.”

“Elyna?” Benjamin said.

Malcolm scoffed. “She was writing to Yvan to confirm his suspicions and the second Jared arrived in Aramane she sent me away.”

Jared frowned. He didn’t like being the cause of grief for anyone, let alone his dearest friend. “I’ll return to the capital and wait out the season there.”

“No,” Malcolm said, “I won’t have this family continue to isolate me so that they might dictate my every decision. Elyna suggested we be civil and remain married in name only.”

“Like you have much choice in the matter,” Benjamin said. “Considering there is no divorce in Renmere.”

“You sound as if you speak from experience, Benjamin.” Roland teased.

Ben laughed. “I should have never married Anna…” He seemed serious then. “The life of a bachelor suited me just fine.”

“Nothings changed,” Roland said, grinning.

Ben smirked. “Sure it has. I feel guilty now. I never used to experience that before.”

Malcolm and Jared shared a look. The pair burst into a fit of laughter. When they had recovered, Roland asked, “why get married a second time then?”

Malcolm thought about it for a time before Jared diplomatically answered for him. “A show of unity. If they are married here and in Renmere, none may challenge the match or seek to come between them with better offers.”

“Knowing Elyna,” she’s had plenty of better offers.” Ben teased, and it was he and Roland who laughed then. As Malcolm had failed to join them in Nejem, the joke went over his head.

“It’s what Elyna wants,” Malcolm replied simply. “What kind of husband would I be to deny her that?“

“You won’t take a second wife?” Roland asked.

“Elyna is his second wife,” Jared said.

Benjamin laughed. “I hear the savages that live on the grasslands beyond the fjord bordering Oakley take many wives.”

“That explains it,” Roland said, “you’re part savage, Ben.”

Ben smirked. “Maybe… a distant descendant of Emanys.”

Jared rolled his eyes.

Malcolm only smiled. “One wife is trouble enough,” he said. “Elyna and I will make it work… whatever it is.”


They arrived in Welles some hours after that. Malcolm’s family and friends stayed outside to help unload while the king himself went in search of his bride.

It was late afternoon, with the sunlight still streaming through the windows. It was Billy, who jumped up from her chair in the hallway. From the scattered knitting and needlecraft surrounding her, it was apparent that the young woman hadn’t left her post in several days. Her red hair had escaped its pins and her usual perfect clothes were rumpled.

‘My Lord,’ Billy curtseyed as was an appropriate greeting to a King. It was then that she darted away like a mouse, beckoning him to follow her. Eager, and far too excited to show Malcolm where he could find Elyna. She led him up the stairs and down a long and winding corridor to a quieter wing of the large country mansion. The floorboards creaked beneath their feet as she glanced across at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

‘I’ll tell Grandmother you’ve arrived,’ Billy assured him with a smile, ‘and see that your men are taken care of.’ She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, ‘I’m glad no one else spotted us come through,’ she confided, ‘I thought you might like some time alone…’

The door before him was painted with a pale blue, the same color reflected on the walls as it was opened to the room beyond. A woman, whose outfit matched the riders who had been sent, stood from a chair in the corner of the room. She looked between Billy and Malcolm before glancing across at Elyna who gave a small nod.

It was then that the woman offered a smile and excused herself from the room. Billy turned to shut the door quietly behind the man. Leaving him alone with his wife and babes.

Elyna wore a loose dress of pale blue, that seemed to match the room. The sleeves were pulled tight to her wrist but the collar was left unfastened, dropping to a v across her chest. Her hair had been pulled back and she stood from the chair, balancing with a hand on the arm to steady herself. She offered a faint smile at the man, uncertain of the reception that would be received.

‘Twins,’ she said softly and swallowed her nerves. ‘Apparently it’s quite normal that they arrive a little early,’ beside her was a woven basket. Her second hand had been curled around the handle and remained their, unyielding. The basket look as though it was covered in a dome of golden light, softly twinkling over two fuzzy-haired babes. They were small, almost curled up together as they slept. ‘The Temple Sisters keep the dome,’ she explained softly, ‘it keeps them warm whilst they finish growing.’ She reached into the light, smoothing downy auburn hair with a soft smile.

‘Elsie Victoria of Mayce, and Luke James of Mayce, pending your blessing of course.’ Elyna looked up at him then, feeling as though time stood still. The first baby, stretched out and part opened a pair of green eyes to study the man. A little nose wrinkled and she turned, content to go back to sleep.

Malcolm couldn’t recall crossing the room to peer into the basket, almost as if he had been sleep-walking and had suddenly awoken. He crouched down beside the basket and pressed his hand through the shimmering golden veil and ran the tip of his finger over the little girl’s impossibly tiny, but perfect fist. His hand made pure by the strong magic, hung tentatively above the babe. Elsie instinctively opened her fingers and closed them about the tip of his forefinger.

“A girl?” Malcolm said, glancing up at Elyna with a look of awe turned quickly to pride. He had never imagined himself to be the father of a girl or twins for that matter. “Luke,” he said, testing the name. It was a good, strong name he had not heard too often, simple yet noble in its own right. It was Elsie who had stolen his heart, however.

The babies were so small, but already it was impossible to imagine that they had ever been held within the woman’s body. She looked so terribly thin, drawn and tired. He maneuvered his finger from the babe’s grip with the utmost care before standing to take hold of Elyna’s hands. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I hadn’t for a second imagined I would miss the birth.” He pressed a kiss to Elyna’s temple and stroked her hair. “Twins?” He said the word as if it couldn’t be real.

“You should get some rest,” he offered. “I can watch them.” Malcolm looked down into the basket again. Luke looked a little bigger than his sister. Was that too normal of twins? “Twins…” He donned a smile of disbelief.

With the man so in awe of their new arrivals, it was hard to keep away from him. Elyna hadn’t known how she’d feel. Some resentment that he hadn’t been there for the most frightening time of her life? Anger and frustration that things between them had been so difficult? But it had all faded away the moment he’d crossed the room. She closed her eyes as he kissed her temple, leaning in towards the man. Elyna steadied herself and looked up through some wayward hair that had escaped. He said twins, again and she couldn’t help but giggle. She tried to hide the sound behind her hand.

Though it was part nerves with her joy, she flushed. ‘I have no idea what we’re going to do,’ she confided with a soft laugh, lifting her arms helplessly. How on Noar did people care for two babies at once? Already she felt as though she’d needed more arms than an octopus and that was with the assistance of the Temple Sisters on hand.

It was then that Elsie woke again, screwing up her face as she looked around. Elyna reached into the basinet without hesitation. She pressed a kiss to her daughters’ brow and turned to pass her into Malcolms’ waiting arms. In his sisters’ absence, Luke shifted and the woman reached within the dome to stroke his hot little head. His hair darker than his sister’s, he had inherited her dark eyes too.

‘The Temple sisters have to come back every few hours to renew the charm on their bassinet.’ Elyna explained. Feeling a little lightheaded she moved to take a seat on the edge of the bed.

‘You’ve nothing to apologize for,’ Elyna admitted and hoped that he believed her. ‘Will you stay?’ she searched his gaze before offering another smile, and hopefully a peace offering. ‘Did you want to invite your family, and friends to meet them?’ She glanced at the door then.

Malcolm eagerly accepted the child and held her close, instinctively swaying her back and forth with care. Elyna had asked something but the man had been glued to the tiny bundle of joy in his arms. “Later,” he assured the woman, so that she might rest, undisturbed. “Elsie,” he cooed, it reminded him of his mothers name. Had Elyna chosen it with that in mind, he wondered.

Just as she had said, a temple maiden had come in to check on the babies and renew the spell that was tied to their basket. “Could you teach me?” Malcolm asked, watching over the babes who were once again cuddled up close to one another in the basket.

“Of course,” the maiden said, and explained the spell to the man, unaware he knew the basics of healing magic. “It is like drawing an orb about an object and teasing it into shape. You must imagine that all can pass through and see that the orb holds its heat. The golden glow will fade as the strength of the spell weakens.”

Malcolm thanked the maiden for her time and sunk down in the armchair beside the basket to continue his watch. Nearly three hours had passed by the time Malcolm woke Elyna, not because he wanted to, but because one babe had started to cry and then the other. When rocking them did not work to put them back to sleep, he knew they had demands that could only be met by a mother.

He let Elyna wake and sit up in the bed before passing her the first babe while he held the second. “Billy stopped in. She is going to bring you something to eat. I’ll go join your family for dinner and wash up before returning to give you some time to do the same,” he offered.

Malcolm knew this job was going to be bigger than the two of them and that Elyna would need to be the one to choose whether or not she wanted to accept help. He waited until Billy arrived before taking his leave, excited to share the news of the twins with his friends and family.

Like a puppet with all the strings suddenly cut, Elyna only lay down on the bed and closed her eyes before she had fallen into the deepest sleep. She had intended to talk to Malcolm, to ask him of how he had been for the last forty days. Had the journey been without trouble? How was Benjamin. Was it Liam who had found them? But all those thoughts vanished and were replaced by blissful, dreamless sleep. When he woke her, the woman blinked, staring blankly at the room. It took her a few minutes to come around, slowly sitting up and retying her hair into a horse’s tail. She yawned, nodding along to what he said without absorbing much of it as she wriggled to put her back to the pillows and fed the first babe.

Once she had fallen asleep in her arms, Elyna lay Elsie beside her and reached up to accept Luke.

‘Mal? She shook herself awake at last and looked up at him, ‘I would like to make amends with Jared, would you…’ she pressed her teeth into her bottom lip, ‘would he share any advice about twins with me? Do you think he would mind?’

Billy arrived then, with a broad smile and a tray of food.

‘My turn,’ she set the tray down gently and hurried over to the bed, accepting little Luke as Elyna offered him up. The redhead cuddled the baby close, carrying him over to one of the soft chairs as Malcolm made his departure.

‘Billy…would you like to come with me to Renmere?’ Elyna took care to scoop up Elsie and place her back in the crib. It was a rare moment that both children were sleeping and although she wasn’t hungry. Elyna knew she should take the opportunity to eat.

‘I already agreed to that,’ Billy pressed a kiss to the babies forehead.

‘I mean…for longer than the season. To help with the children?’

Beatrice had made sure that the table was set for Malcolm and his guests. As ever, the matriarch had tried to ensure that everyone would be comfortable. Everyone had been provided with a drink as they gathered, waiting to take their seats and begin the meal.

Caelin kept to a corner with Pavoo whilst Edmund was keen to greet Ben and ask after his good friend Owen. Light curtains shifted in the breeze from the floor to ceiling windows. The view looking over just one of the beautiful lakes that made up the region of Welles.

As Malcolm pulled the door closed the weight of his new reality seemed to settle in. How in the world were they going to do this, he wondered. Raise two children and help restore the kingdom to a state of peace. He walked the halls, far from himself, not seeing or feeling his own footfalls. On the way he bumped into Jared and wondered if the man had been waiting for him. Since sharing Elyna’s accusations regarding the man, Malcolm had found it difficult to look him in the eye. “Sorry,” Malcolm said, “I was…”

“Is everything all right?” Jared asked.

Malcolm held the man’s arms where his hands had instinctively gone to stop a collision. He lowered his hands slowly. “Elyna wants to see you.”

“Right now?” Jared looked confused. Malcolm nodded.

“I think she wants to apologise,” Malcolm said.

Jared made a move to go past the man and continue up the hall, but Malcolm caught his forearm and stopped him. “Perhaps you should wash up first,” he suggested. Malcolm didn’t say anymore, but couldn’t help but notice a strange scent on the man, something akin to sea salt and black powder, so unlike the baron’s usual musk.

Jared straightened. “Of course,” he said. “Elyna is in that room?” The baron pointed.

“Yes. I think Billy is with her at the moment but I doubt she will be there long. Beatrice is waiting for everyone in the dining hall.”

Jared nodded.

Malcolm continued down the hall to see to it that his things had been taken from the carriage and stored in his room. At dinner, he sat beside Roland and made no attempt at small talk, his brother, Benjamin, holding the majority of the conversations on his behalf. Part way into the main, Roland nudged Malcolm. “Where’s Jared?” He asked, voice low.

Malcolm snapped out of the daydream he had fallen into and replied, “he went to his room to wash up.”

“Should we expect him to join us any time soon?”

“I don’t think so,” Malcolm said, “Elyna wanted to speak to him.” Malcolm looked along the table to see Billy had joined them at some point. He wondered then when she had gotten back.

Benjamin looked as if he were dying to ask about the babe, but the mood at the dinner table, set by Elyna’s parents, made him think better of it and no one else had broached the subject. Instead he spoke to Edmund, explaining that Owen was well, but seemed to have re-broken his arm after a fall from a certain balcony that could not be named.

By the time dessert was being served, Malcolm rose from his seat and excused himself. Something about the evening just didn’t sit right with him. Roland and Benjamin rose to follow, but Malcolm dismissed them both. “Stay and enjoy this beautiful meal our host has prepared,” he told them, before thanking Beatrice and leaving the dining hall.

Malcolm went to Jared’s room and knocked, but there came no reply. He turned to leave but was stopped by something that sounded similar to a drawer closing. “Jared?” He called. Again there came no reply, just that odd sound.

The knight tried the door handle and when it clicked open, he was surprised to find that the door could not be moved. Something was blocking its path. “Jared!” Malcolm didn’t recognise the desperation in his own voice. He heard the sound of a chair creaking and stepped back to slam the full force of himself into the door. The impact shook him and though he managed to get the door to budge a little, it still wasn’t enough to open it. He tried again and this time something gave way.

Malcolm almost lost his footing as he poured into the room, stumbling over the leg of a chair. He turned to find Jared in little more than his undergarments with a balled up sheet of cloth keeping him from talking. Malcolm rushed to untie the man and as soon as the gag was free, Jared spoke, “there was a woman! Where’s Elyna? I think she means her harm!”

“What!” Malcolm said, going to the door, having helped his friend to his feet.

“Malcolm—she was a shapeshifter! She stole my robes. She… she looked just like me!”

“When!”

“As soon as we arrived!” Jared said. “You left and I came here and—“

“Move!” Malcolm said, pulling the door open.

“I think there was more than one. I heard a man. I swear I’ve heard his voice before, but I can’t rightly remember who…”

Malcolm departed, stopping only at his room to fetch a weapon. He ran down the hall and called to Benjamin as he went by the dining room to race to the wing Elyna was staying in with the babies. Roland and Liam weren’t far behind them, which saw Edmund to his feet too. When Malcolm got to Elyna’s door, he found it barred. “I’ll try outside!” Benjamin said, with Roland and Liam hot on his heels.

“What is going on?” Beatrice said as she made haste down the hall towards the group, her cane announcing each step before it was taken.

Jared, dressed anew and ready with his daggers and bow, went by Beatrice at such a speed that she almost toppled over. Steadied by Billy, she demanded again to know what was going on.

Jared rammed the door with his shoulder alongside Malcolm. But whatever had been moved to block it was stronger than them both.

“The balcony doors are open!“ Benjamin called upon his return.

“I’ll go get the horses!” Jared said, “Edmund! Come help me.”

Edmund blinked, confused by the commotion, but turned to go after Jared and ready the horses. Malcolm cut through the next door room to enter Elyna’s quarters via the balcony. He found the room empty and the babies gone. A large wardrobe had been pushed in front of the door to hold it shut. “There’s no way one woman alone did that!” Malcolm said.

“A woman?” Benjamin asked, confused.

“Jared was attacked by a woman—never mind—there’s no time for this!” Malcolm said. “Elyna and the babies are missing! We need to send riders out in all directions to search for them!”

“Babies!” Benjamin said, “as in plural?”

Roland didn’t wait, choosing to cut across the grounds on foot and start searching down by the lake for tracks.

Malcolm returned to the hall to head for the stables without replying to Ben, but was met by Edmund part way. “The horses are gone!” He said.

“All of them?” Malcolm asked.

“All four of yours,” Edmund said. “The stable hand is trying to catch one of the neighbours with Jared.”

Beatrice caught hold of Malcolm’s arm. “Where is she?” She asked. “Where is Elyna?”

“I need you to write a letter,” Malcolm said, “and have your most trusted spell caster get it to the docks as soon as possible.”

Beatrice nodded, “Billy get my things.”

“Inform them that no ships are to enter or leave the bay without a full search by Edmund’s men,” Malcolm said.

Edmund nodded, knowing what he needed to do and departed to inform his parents of what was going on.”

“The nobility of Aramane will not appreciate taking orders from Renmere… even a king,” Beatrice said.

“I want everyone at the port looking for her and the babies!” Malcolm ordered. Beatrice did not challenge him on that.

“Where will you go?” She asked

“To the gate. Wherever they’ve taken her… we will find them!”

‘Jared,’ Elyna looked up with a smile that she hoped hid her surprise. On her feet, she turned to greet the duke before holding her arms behind her back, having in the presence of a commander. She had asked Mal for a chance to speak to the man and broach the peace, but hadn’t expected him to arrive so soon, or alone.

‘This is Elsie,’ Billy stepped forward to show the baby to the man whilst Elyna moved to the basket smoothing back her sons’ hair, ‘and this is Luke,’ she introduced him quietly. The man looked between the babies and offered his congratulations. ‘Twins?’

Elyna grinned, ‘yes - they took us by surprise. It’s why I wanted to speak to you, after all you have twin girls.’ She sank down onto one of the chairs beside the balcony.

Billy moved to set Elsie down in her Mothers’ arms, sending the man might be more comfortable to ask her questions in private. ‘I’ll be back after dinner,’ she promised before slipping out the door with a wave.

Elyna nuzzled her daughters cheek, before looking up. She felt nervous in the man’s presence, finding it difficult to meet his gaze. ‘I wanted to ask, if you had any advice about twins,’ she watched as he moved to open the door to the balcony, tempting in a breeze from the lakes beyond.

He crossed then to the middle of the room, turning to watch her in thought. Twisting to watch the man she cradled the baby against her shoulder, her back to the door. ‘I owe you an apology,’ she decided to be blunt. ‘I’m sorry for what you witnessed earlier in the season - I was rude not to greet you and to make any kind of foolish suggestion that-‘ her cheeks coloured and she watched the shadow of the curtains on the far wall. ‘I am jealous of your relationship with Malcolm,’ she admitted, ‘you have his ear, his trust and his respect,’ she nodded to herself and forced herself to meet Jared’s gaze. ‘I hope to win those in time, but first I hope for your forgiveness. If you cannot grant it now, then perhaps I might earn that too?’

A darker shadow was thrown onto the far wall, but before Elyna was able to react a cloth was placed over her mouth. She threw her head back, trying to be careful with the babe in her arms. She struggled, trying to scream but the view faded to black. Jared stood over her, head cocked to the side with mild concern.

It was dark, it took the woman a few minutes to realise that she was awake. She lay on her side, blinking as her eyes started to focus. Something was poking into the side of her face, her mouth was dry and lined with a bitter aftertaste. Elyna tried to shift, attempting to sit up as memory flooded back. As though held back by a dam, the waters rushed forth and she panicked. Moving to scream she found her mouth was filled with cloth and tied around the back of head. She tried to roll, finding her knees with her hands bound behind her, frantic she scanned the darkness. Where were her children? Where were Elsie and Luke?

She let out a low moan to see them, cradled by a woman that she recognised. The Temple sister looked up, her dark hair had escaped its pins and curled around her shoulders. Her face was pale as she balanced a babe in each arm, her gaze darting back and forth in warning as Elyna struggled to her feet.

‘Ah my love,’ familiar arms wrapped around the woman from behind as she managed to stand.

A chill ran through her and she stiffened from fear, she knew that scent anywhere. With a deft hand Yvan pulled the gag from her mouth. Fingers sliding down her neck as he held her from behind, pulling her against his form.

‘Scream,’ he murmured into her ear ‘and I’ll kill the Sister.’

‘My babies are too small to be away from their basket,’ Elyna found her knees were buckling, but not longer from fear for herself.

‘All the more reason to keep her alive, don’t you think?’ He moved, tucking a strand of hair behind Elyna’s ear. ‘It’s a long journey to the coast.’

‘What are you doing Yvan?’ She hardly dared to whisper.

‘I thought I might kill your husband,’ he moved his nose against her jaw and Elyna shuddered. This was far worse than any of her nightmares.

‘But instead, I thought I might take something far more precious instead.’

‘Let me take my children back, please Yvan. I’d promise anything - just let me get them to safety.’

‘The sister here can keep them charmed,’ Yvan released her then, as though bored her let her drop back to her knees. ‘You’re not going back Elyna.’

Elyna scanned the other woman frantically, they were of a similar build and the children looked content, glowing with a faint golden light. Elyna coughed, bowing as she managed to breathe again. There had to be a way out of this. Yvan moved to sit down, resting his back against a tree. He looked up at the stars. Beyond their makeshift and fire less campsite, Elyna could make out four horses, black and beautiful.

‘Where are you taking me?’

‘To the coast, through Oakley.’ The mab smirked.

“Keep it. I need her to believe you’re the baron,” Yvan said. Wendell frowned.

“You said if I did this—“

“—Quit your whining,” Yvan said, cutting the man off. “Once we make it to the fjord, you can fly back to the docks and take my ship.”

Wendell said nothing.

“Just follow my lead and do as we discussed.”


By the third day on the road, Wendell was starting to worry. He had not had long to study Jared’s face before the attack and already the details had become blurry to him. Were the baron’s eyes blue or green? How did he move? What kind of accent was it he had heard? Holding this new mask for so long was beginning to give Wendell a headache. Still he followed them, hanging back, never saying too much, careful not to make eye contact.

“This is it,” Yvan said, “that line of trees ahead are the last we will see before the crossing. Oakley ends beyond those trees and the shore awaits.”

Wendell spat. Yvan was kidding himself, he thought. It would take him the better part of five days to reach the Shore People. More alone on foot without the horses if they were unable to cross the deep body of water that separated Emanys from civilization.

It was another two hours before they reached the crossing. From the top of the cliffs one could look out over the sea of grass, a lush, savage land with no end in sight. Even the distant mountain range to the east, the biggest in the known world, seemed small in comparison to the vastness of the plains.

“Your payment,” Yvan said, holding up a leather pouch to the baron, heavy with gold.

“I require no payment,” Jared said. “You have done myself and the kingdom of Renmere a service in removing this thorn.”

“You’ll do as we spoke of?” Yvan said. “You'll tell the king the twins are mine, that Elyna chose this.”

Jared tightened his grip on the reins. He gave a short, sharp nod of agreement and pulled the animal about without looking back. As Wendell rode away, he couldn’t help but wonder what would become of the two women and the babes in their care. He hoped then and there for their safety, but even more than that, he hoped that he would never cross paths with Yvan Yilmaz again. There was evil and then there was something beyond… Yvan had passed the point of no return and Wendell wanted no further part in it.

A mile from the fjord he got down from the beautiful black horse and removed the animal's tack and carried on alone for a time before choosing to take to the air. He shrugged out of the stolen robes, dropped the uncomfortable mask of the golden haired stranger and looked skyward. The red, yellowed eyed eagle circled up towards the clouds and was gone.


At the crossing, the horses were tied to the large wooden raft and led into the water. Their nostrils flared and their eyes bulged as they fought the strong, quick moving current, dragged across the fjord by the ropes around their necks. Yvan paid the ferryman in silver and tacked the horses on the other side before helping the women up onto the animals. They would no longer be able to travel in the comfort of the carriage, which stood abandoned on the cliff tops.

He tied Elyna’s hands behind her back in the way only a sailor could, knowing her to be a confident rider. The woman of the temple was permitted to ride with hands free, one of her arms clutching Elsie, while Yvan held Luke, keeping the maiden close so that her magic could support both babes. He knew keeping hold of one of the twins would encourage Elyna to stay in line. He had chosen the prince, knowing that if she forced him to seperate them, Luke remained the more valuable of the two.

“Don’t speak, don’t yell, don’t make a sound,” Yvan said. “From here on out we are all in danger until we reach the Shore People. You won’t find any help in these grasslands… only death. The Ontari are known to eat their own. I dread to think what they will do to a trio of strangers.”

The woman of the cloth looked as white as her garb, sick to her very core at the thought of following the man into the grasslands. Her magic wavered as her brow grew wet with sweat. “I don’t feel well,” she said.

“Make that the last thing you say or I will kill you myself,” Yvan hissed.

She glanced at Elyna and seemed to overcome her fear, holding Elsie a little closer to her chest.

“If they find us,” Yvan said, “death will be a kindness. Now go on. We will ride through the night and rest by day until we reach the safety of the shore.”

In the brief snatches of time that she was awake, Elyna was permitted to hold her children, clutching tightly as she fed them. Reluctant to give them up, even to the maiden who accompanied them. They’d sat in the carriage the second day, pressed close together.

‘What’s your name?’ Finally, Elyna broke the silence as she cuddled Luke against her chest. Her voice hoarse, mouth dry from the herbs that kept her consciousness from surfacing. Her lips cracked from dehydration.

‘Riva,’ the girl replied with the smallest of smiles. She held Elsie, her gaze distant as she renewed the spells that would keep the babes warm enough to survive their first few weeks of birth. Every day mattered, every hour was important and increased their chances.

‘How did you end up here?’ Elyna kept her voice down, aware of Jared and Yvan both in earshot.

The girl flushed, beyond the rolling carriage wheels, the dark sky flickered past. They were approaching dawn, though Elyna didn’t expect that their pace would slow.

‘I came to renew the spell on the basket,’ Riva murmured, ‘I saw them wrapping up the babies to travel, and you were lying on the floor.’ The girl swallowed, her dark eyes wide, ‘I couldn’t let them just take you,’ she admitted.

‘You volunteered?’ Elyna felt her eyes sting as Riva nodded.

‘The babies…’

‘They wouldn’t make it without you,’ Elyna choked. The girl had been brave, risking her life to help the twins. Elyna didn’t know how she would ever repay her. Or how they were going to get out of this. ‘Thank you,’ she extended her arm, the limb heavy and tingling as she moved it.

‘The herbs in your medicine bag?’ Elyna glanced at the leather pack, stuffed into the corner of the carriage and the maiden grimaced.

‘We use them for pain after delivery,’ Riva confided, dark eyes bright, ‘he’s using them to keep you sedated…I’m sorry…’

Elyna shook her head, barely moving it against the backboard. ‘It’s not your fault,’ she could feel the herbs working again, forced down her throat in the form of a cold tea. Her thoughts were fuzzy, hard to separate from her dreams and nightmares. ‘Thank you, Riva…’ the words slurred and the maiden moved to gather Luke into her arms with Elsie. ‘You’re cold,’ Elyna motioned to the jacket that had been tucked against her head. Someone, probably Jared, had grabbed a handful of her clothes. ‘Take the jacket…my scarf.’

‘It’s the magic,’ Riva admitted, pulling the clothes on despite the warm weather. ‘It’s draining me.’

What Elyna couldn’t work out, was why Jared had so betrayed his friend. She saw him, always at a distance, never speaking much. He wouldn’t look at her and Elyna felt her heart breaking every time she caught sight of the man. Why had he done this? Had she truly insulted him that much? Malcolm had been angry when he’d gone to Rhode…could he hate her so badly that Jared thought that this was preferable to marriage?

In the moments she was fully conscious, she still couldn’t understand why. She had never imagined him to be cold, without Riva’s intervention the woman was certain her babies wouldn’t have survived. Not born so early and still so small. When her thoughts were free of sedation she struggled to concentrate, wrestling with ideas to get free and discarding them all. There was nothing that didn’t risk her children, or Riva. Elyna knew she would give her own life to send the children to safety, but if she died in the attempt to free them all from Yvan, what guarantee did she have that they would make it back to Mal?

The herbs started running out, thought Elyna suspected Riva had managed to lose a number throughout the journey. For which she was incredibly grateful. They stood, overlooking the sea of grass and her breath caught. There was a wild beauty before them. She turned, listening to the men as they spoke. Closing her eyes. Mal wouldn’t believe Jared, would he? He wouldn’t believe she had done this? She felt as though she was in fire, in agony as she burnt from the inside with no way to express her rage and frustration.

What if he did? What if Mal believed all the lies. What if he thought she had run away with Yvan. She could have screamed in desperation but held her mouth shut. Her son was taken from her once again as Jared departed. Please, she prayed silently, please Jared, please by the Seven relent on this…

Her gaze scanned the dirt beneath her feet, landing on a sharp piece of flint. She bent, fastened her left boot and slid the stone into the leather.

Without the Baron, she felt the threat towards them all increase. They pushed on through the first night through the grasses and she watched, staring at Riva and willing the girl to stay strong. They followed the line of the fjord. The steep cliff never far out of sight. She could hear water running past, far below. But out of view from Yvan, she slid the stone from her boot.

The drugs had worn off. Yvan pulled her from the horse, letting her land on the compact dirt between the tall grass. Dawn approached, she could see it on the horizon, the first touches of grey light. She could smell it in the rising damp of the earth, though the grasses and sparse flowers were strange to her. He had set Luke in a basket, one that attached to the side of the horse like a saddle bag. She could see her son, tucked up and sleeping soundly. She’d been worrying at the knots behind her back but every attempt saw them pulled tighter, cutting into her flesh. But the flint had worked well, damaging the strands and cutting a ragged path through the rope.

Yvan took Elsie, placing her beside her brother as he held the horse as Riva slid down. On shaky legs the woman surveyed the grasses before dropping beside the basket. She extended her magic over it, though even Elyna could see she was looking paler as the hours wore on. How much magic was she using? How long before it started to cost more than she could give?

Yvan took a moment to stretch and it was the moment Elyna had been waiting for. She concentrated her efforts and with a soft snap managed to free her hands. She launched at Yvan in the semi-darkness. He turned, catching her attack and gripped her arms. Adrenaline fuelled her desperate motions but her body was lacking the strength it had previously held. He tossed her aside with ease, half-laughing but it was Riva who jumped at him next. He spun, wrenching the maiden from his back and threw her down. She screamed, landing awkwardly on her back on the edge of the steep drop down to the river. Elyna scrambled to her feet, stumbling as she tried to rush him again but Yvan let his fury reign. He dragged Riva to her feet, and threw her down again, this time into the ravine. Her legs flew over the top as Elyna dived with a shout, Yvans hand closing over her shoulder before she could try and catch the girl.

Instead, she was forced to her knees, watching in horror as the limp body of the temple maiden tumbled down the fjord and into the water below. Yvans hand curled around her shoulder, pinching as he stared down at her.

‘Just us now,’ he whispered.

Elyna closed her eyes, trying to throw off his hand. Just her, Yvan and two babies.

“You fool,” Yvan said, “you always were reckless and now it has cost someone else’s life.”

He let go of Elyna’s shoulder and grabbed her by her mane, pulling her to her feet with a painful yank. “I didn’t want to have to cross the grasslands but you’ve gone and left me no choice. We will need to move quickly if the twins are to survive now.”

Yvan looked at the strong veil of magic protecting the babes and frowned. He loved children. Elyna knew this. All his life he had wanted more than the bastard some tavern wench had beared him. How were some men so fortunate and others so beaten down by the world? Malcolm had everything, the kingdom, the woman, and now twins… “He doesn’t deserve any of it!” Yvan growled. “I’ll die taking from him what should have been mine,” he mouthed then to himself.

He dragged Elyna to her horse by her hair and tied her bindings tighter than he had the first time. There was nothing stronger than a sailors knot and Yvan proved that now. He helped her up onto the horse and emptied the saddlebags on the healer’s mount. The basket was fastened to the saddle and tested. “Good and strong.”


They were two nights into the journey and had slept with the horses hobbled throughout the day. By the third night, Yvan was surprised to find that the glowing lines of the magic covering the babes looked stronger where they should have been completely gone. The healer was dead and so too should her spell be, yet the deeper they travelled into the grasslands, the more cemented the spell became. Yvan did no question it, but was grateful every time he gazed upon it.

He had dared to build a small fire that day and roast a rabbit over the glowing embers, skinned and butterflied like a chicken. The lion's share went to Elyna, along with the rations of water and, though it wasn’t much, it would keep her supply flowing for the twins. There was ample time to feed and rest them during the day, while most of the night, at least the darkest part, was spent on horseback.

Yvan didn’t ever say much, but every now and then Elyna might catch him watching her as he had all those years ago. There was a certain tenderness to his hard expression that only someone who had once been close to him was able to see. However, whenever she caught a glimpse of it he would spit or say something horrid, as if maintaining her fear, perhaps so that she would not recognise his own, was priority.

On the third night he worked to put as much distance between them and the campsite as possible. If the Ontari found them, they would have more to worry about than whether or not the healer’s magic stayed in place. After a few hours of travel, Yvan slowed the horses to a comfortable walk and turned to look at Elyna. “One more night,” he said. “There is a ship waiting for us at the shore. It will take us to Rathos and from there we can raise the children and build a peaceful, quiet life for ourselves.” At no stage did he ever suggest that someone would come looking for her or that he feared that they were being followed. Yvan needed her to believe that no one cared, that he was her only port in a storm of his making.

Elyna covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself from screaming. She bit the back her knuckles as tears flooded her cheeks. No, it was single word repeated. No! Not Riva. Not someone so good and kind and pure. She’d been so young. Too young to meet such a violent end. It hadn’t been her fault, had it? Yvan had kidnapped them all, placed them in this desperate escape. It was him. She pressed her palms to her eyes, bowing forward with a low moan of grief before he dragged her. Elyna hissed at the man, stumbling on weak legs over the ground. She hated him. Hated him with every breath.

They fell into a silent pattern where she was able to care for the children. Always surprised when the Butcher would change their soiled clothes or soothe them during the journey. But that was the big surprise with Yvan, his tenderness. The care he could bestow. So rare that it felt special to be within his good graces, to be so elevated above anyone else in his life. To be treated well. She glared back at him. Silent and scanning every passing terrain for inspiration. There had to be some form of escape. There had to be a way. Elyna peered at the grasses, wondering if she should be more afraid of the people of Emanys, or of Yvan.

Most of all, her gaze lingered on the basket that shone with a faint gold light and the enduring spell of magic. Elyna refused to think too much about it, the children seemed healthy enough, growing each day. She rode on in agony. Although she had been somewhat healed from their birth before Malcolm’s arrival, every part of her ached with fatigue. With the constant drain the twins placed on her body. She knew that already she had lost the little weight that pregnancy had bestowed. She felt herself shrinking day by day. Soon, her shirt would hang loose from her shoulders. The woman had never experienced such a constant twist of pain, sharp little points where the raw skin of her wrists rubbed against the rope. Her muscles, her middle aches from constant use and her bones felt as though they were about to crumble within her body.

Then she would catch Yvan looking at her. He would be cruel and the woman sank deeper into her thoughts. Mal couldn’t follow her here. She didn’t want him too either. Everyone knew that if you entered the grasslands you never returned. Elyna clung to her hope that somehow, Malcolm was safe. He would be looking for her, wouldn’t he?

No. The same word repeated from days before. A consistent companion along with the memory of Riva tumbling down the fjord. She had chosen the wrong time to make her move. She was stupid for that. Someone else would have timed it perfectly, or been stronger, better trained…it was her fault Riva had died. And no…Malcolm wouldn’t be looking for her. He would believe Jared. His greatest friend. He was probably relieved that he was free now, free to return to Renmere without such weight around his neck. She would have been a terrible Queen. Everyone knew it. Malcolm had spent the season in Rhode, had been eager to go without her. It was better this way. It had to be better for him.

The woman made no further fuss as they travelled, eager to care for the babies and afraid he might stop that. The stars were bright above them, lighting the grasses in a way that now felt oddly familiar. Yvan slowed his horse and Elyna tensed. Her own horse stepping sideways in a sudden movement. She nudged it gently with her knees, soothing it with a whisper. She looked straight ahead rather than acknowledge the man. Her mouth set in a firm line as he shared his plan.

Elyna shook her head, ‘I’ll kill you.’ She replied softly. ‘I’ll see my babies safe, Yvan. And I will kill you.’ She turned her gaze on the man. Dark eyes burning with fury. It didn’t matter if Mal never wanted to look upon her again. It didn’t matter if he refused to acknowledge the children, disowned them, annulled the marriage or anything else. She would see her children safe and she would kill the man who had stolen the life from her. Who had tipped poor Riva over the gorge.

Yvan, unbeknown to himself, had made a fatal error in entering the grasslands, made all the more deadly on the account of the season he had chosen in which to do so. Blaze in Emanys saw the Ontari people camp closer to the western shore, putting them in direct conflict with Yvan’s chosen path. Had they continued to skirt the fjord, it was more than likely the group would have made it to the shore without issue, but choosing to enter the grasslands, especially without a guide, was beyond comprehension.

The horses nickered and stepped sideways in the tall grass, as if backing away from an invisible danger. The net of magic they had unknowingly stumbled upon was seamless, and could be faulted only in the way the light rippled across it on impact, almost unnoticeable had it not been cast in complete darkness with the moonlight working against it. One had to look closely to recognise the hole in the net, about knee height from the ground, where the tussocks of grass didn’t quite line up.

It was only then the smell of dampened fires and smoked meats would touch their senses. A dog barked somewhere close by, which set off a second that sounded much more distant. This upset the horses even moreso, causing the animal carrying the babies to rear up and kick. Yvan acted fast, twisting the lead rope about the horn of his saddle to secure it. He jolted the reins, forcing his own mount to turn towards Elyna’s. “Hold still,” he said, as he undid her bindings, cutting her free. “Get off the horse!” He hissed, and pulled her down. He undid the strap holding the basket in place and lifted it with care into Elyna’s waiting arms. “Stay down. Stay quiet.”

The barking grew louder and closer. Yvan cut the tack free from the horses and whipped one of them across the backside, causing it to lurch forward and buck as it bolted off into the tall grass, its mate giving chase. Yvan’s own mount fought against the reins, desperate to follow after the pair that had disappeared into the darkness, serving as bait for the nearby dog which seemed to take up chase.

He took his sword from its sheath and kicked his horse, encouraging the mare to follow. Whatever happened, he thought, their chances of survival were better if they split up and found one another come the dawn. As his figure retreated into the dark, there soon followed a high-pitched yelp. The sound of the second dog drawing near was drowned out by the unmistakable thunder of hooves meeting the dry earth. The net of magic quivered again and then fell as three riders galloped towards the direction Yvan had gone.

Should Elyna glance down into the basket, she would find that her son, Luke, was missing.

She hated magic. Hated the invasive slyness off it. Even if it had its purposes, in keeping the babies alive, she still hated it. The horses skittered sideways and Yvan launched into action. With her hands freed, Elyna was all too keen to scramble from her horse and accept the basket. Holding it close to her chest she sank down into the grass. Hoping that it would hide her. There was a strange juxtaposition with the wild grasses that seemed to go on, uninterrupted, endless with the scent of cooking fires, the barking of dogs.

She watched as Yvan made his preparations, hardly daring to breathe. Was this it? Was this the moment she should have been waiting for? His horse left cloud of dust as he vanished into the night. Elyna looked down then and her heart stopped. Where was Luke? The beat returned in a frantic drum. Where was her son?

Elyna stood, scanning the saddlebags she dived, pulling out a length of material that she tied in a knot between her hip and shoulder. She grabbed hold of Elsie then, the girl startling awake with a cry. Elyna tipped her into the make-shift sling, starting to run. Leaving the saddles and supplies discarded to the grassland. One hand cradled around her daughter's head as she pushed through the grasses, following the sound of hoofbeats over hard sun-baked earth, in the darkness.

She could hear the yelping dog and stumbled forward, free hand outstretched to push the grasses aside. The horses and dogs were far faster but Yvan would circle, wouldn’t he? Trying to throw them off. Panting, Elyna paused. She closed her eyes as the grasses rustled over her head and forced herself to a state of calm.

Where are you? She whispered and spin again, sprinting as fast as she could to where she heard the heavier shod hoof beats of the black carriage horse. It had to be Yvan. She would take back her baby. She wore a long purple dress that had been pulled up and knotted at the waist. Beneath she wore her sleeping trousers, soft from age and cut to below her knees. Her boots were moulded to her feet and atop the dress was a pale linen shirt, pinned against her body by the sling. There had been no weapon she could take from the baggage, nothing that she could see fast enough in her desperation to follow after Yvan and reclaim her son.

Elsie, soothed by the motion and the scent of her mother had stretched out before curling up, going back to sleep. Elyna was exhausted, but she would track Yvan to the end of Noar if she had to. Grasses closed behind her and she shivered. She wished for her bow, for her sword…for her lover.

Kyanite blinked awake from his dream. He had always been a light sleeper, moreso now that the tribe were a two day ride from the city of tents. He listened as his sleep-dulled senses were sharpened by the nearby bark of one of the tribe’s hunting dogs. The warrior sat up on his knees and reached out to feel for Cora in the darkness. The huntress stirred, reaching instinctively for their son, River. The rising one year old yawned and stretched out where he lay before rolling into his mother's embrace to drift off again.

“It’s probably just the roar of the distant waves upsetting them,” Cora said.

Kyanite pulled on his skins and fasted his belt before leaving the warmth of the ger to investigate. He found Aspen already up, the dark-haired man moving to collect his spear. Woke you too? Kyanite signed.

Aspen nodded. West! He signed in reply, pointing to the edge of the camp where Kyanite then spotted a weak point in their net.

He crawled into his brother’s tent and reappeared a moment later with Jaeger in tow. The trio went to their horses and followed the dog out into the dark, a high-pitched yelp alerting them all to what they perceived to be a danger to their tribe. Aspen and Jaeger looked down at the dead hunting dog from atop their horses.

“An animal didn’t do that,” Jaeger warned.

Kyanite was already on the move, pointing the palomino mare west. She had a white blaze, a dark nose and four white socks. Aspen rode back in the direction of the camp to make sure they were not under attack, while Jaeger went east, choosing to circle back and race about the perimeter.

As Kyanite rode out into the dark, he slowed his mare and squinted, not sure he saw, but rather heard what was racing towards him. He threw his body backwards just in time to dodge the swing of a sword and instinctively swung out at the rider with his bec de corbin, the beak of the war-hammer catching his attacker in the side. Yvan was pulled from his mount with such force that he was left winded by the jolt of the impact.

The Ontari man dismounted and raised his hammer to swing again, a clean blow that would fall right between the captain’s eyes, halted at the very last second by the tortured cry of an infant. Kyanite kicked the man’s sword aside and knocked him hard in the temple with the butt of his weapon. Yvan gave a half-groan as he was knocked unconscious. The grassland warrior bent and lifted the babe from the leather of Yvan’s vest. He pressed the toe of his boot into the wound on Yvan’s side, quite sure the man wasn’t going anywhere, given his total lack of response.

Kyanite held the child up to look at him. He blinked, confused. Ontari babies didn’t cry, but he had heard human children did. This man was a clear outsider, yet the child he carried was as small as a newborn Ontari. Had he stolen it, Kyanite wondered. He sheathed his custom made war-hammer and held the baby close, the boy's check pressed to his bare chest for warmth and comfort. Even with all of the soothing techniques he had learned raising his own son, the baby did not settle and Kyanite knew the cry was either driven by pain or hunger.

Jaeger soon circled back and caught up to his brother, discovering the unconscious man at his feet. “Dead?” He asked.

Unconscious, Kyanite signed as best he could without disturbing the baby.

There were two women in their tribe who could offer the comfort and nourishment the infant required. Kyanite signalled for Jaeger to secure their captive and take the horses back to camp, while he went ahead on foot. When he got back to camp, Aspen stood waiting with a second babe and a woman he had on her knees with her hands bound at her back.

“Another?” Aspen said, surprised. Their language fast spoken and difficult to decipher.

The mother? Kyanite asked wordlessly.

“She’s mine. I found her!” Aspen said.

Kyanite did not challenge him on his claim. Instead he crouched down in front of the woman and showed her the boy, safe and unharmed, but upset and in need of comfort. He studied her face, certain she was not of their people. “Aramane,” he said. It was the only common word he knew. He rose then and looked at Aspen. “Let them rest with Cora tonight. She will heal them. You may announce your claim with the dawn,” he agreed. “Jaeger needs your help.”

Aspen nodded and did as commanded, disappearing into the dark after passing the babe into Knyanite’s care. Kyanite took two steps before looking back at the foreigner. He bid her to follow with a gentle jerk of his head.

Inside the ger, Cora had poked the fire to life, weak at best, but strong enough to light the cosy decor. She sat on a bed of furs, topless, wearing only a few soft layers of leather that hung from her hips like a makeshift skirt. Her skin seemed too dark for the vibrant blue of her eyes, her soft brown hair long and fashioned away from her face in a labyrinth of intricate plaits and complex knots. A long string of beads lay wrapped about her neck trice over, the dark, honey colored amber dotted with small imperfections. Strong thighs decorated with white, tribal tattooing made her both fearsome and strangely feminine all at once. The healthy child that lay asleep in her arms was gold of crown, with skin as dark as his mothers. She set him down on the furs to sleep and eagerly accepted the twins with a look of sheer surprise.

When Elyna stepped into the ger, she questioned her husband with a puzzled look. “Aramane,” he said. The knot in her brow softened as if she had understood. Cora nodded and gestured for the woman to sit and share their fire.

Kyanite undid her bindings and walked to the edge of the tent on his knees to fetch water for the stranger. He handed it to Elyna in a cup made of shaped copper. Cora coed something soft and intangible at the man and he turned about again to gather up one of the wooden bowls full of sweet summer berries they had picked the day before. She hissed and the hen-pecked man scoffed before reaching up to break a piece of cured meat from their stores. He held it out to Elyna, finally meeting her gaze.

Cora could see the woman was in no mood to accept food and crossed the furs to hand her whichever baby she reached for first. The other was soothed by the huntress, held close and hummed to. “Name?” She asked Elyna after a few minutes had passed and the baby had settled. She turned a finger on herself and said, “Cora Sunstone.” Cora watched Elyna. “Kyan,” she pointed to her husband. “River,” she said, stroking her son’s golden mane. She then pointed at the baby in her arms, hoping Elyna would let them know what to call it by.

A man came out of the darkness and dropped her to the ground, with an efficiency that she found embarrassing. Never, had she so needed her Skyrider training and felt so out of touch with it. A stranger in her own body as he made swift work of binding her hands behind her back and taking Elsie from her care. Her cheeks were tracked with silent tears as she struggled, staring into the darkness, searching for any sign of her son. Listening for anything that might tell her of Yvans fate.

Then a man emerged like an ancient god from the darkness. Part of the grasses himself with her baby in his arms. A second man, similar to the one who had caught her. Elyna bowed forward, pulling at her bonds until he crouched to show her that Luke was unharmed.

‘Please,’ she searched his face, scanning the features she could make out in the starlight. ‘Please give him to me.’ She begged softly and watched dismayed as the man stood, with Elsie alongside her brother. Aramane he said and she blinked. It was close enough to the truth for now. Were they going to kill her? Why would he be so tender with the babies if that was the case?

Elyna scrambled to follow them, struggling to feet before he could move beyond her view. Everything in her screamed to run. Almost…she couldn’t, wouldn’t leave her babies behind. She cursed her lack of knowledge around the Ontari. She didn’t know their language or customs. Would they take her home? Had they killed Yvan?

Her breath was stolen by the woman before her. But as her gaze dropped to the sleeping child, she felt some relief. This was a family. Wasn’t it? The woman accepted the twins with grace and ease and Elyna half fell to her knees. Another weight lifted from her shoulders. The Ontari woman made her feel both over and under dressed, uncertain where to look.

With her bonds cut, she massaged her aching wrists. Rubbi them without taking her gaze off of her children. The man offered water which was carefully accepted. She tilted it back and forth in the bowl. Would it be poison? Elyna took a sip before finding herself drinking the rest in a steady flow. Her gaze fixed on the twins again. The water uneasy in her stomach, the copper bowl discarded.

The tent wasn’t large enough to stand up in. At least, not in the section that she had been bid to sit. The woman approached and Elyna extended her arms for her son. With Luke in her grasp she was able to check his tiny body over for any injury. Satisfied he was upset but otherwise well, she wrapped him up again and sank back. Sitting cross legged she cradled her baby against her chest. The woman was expectant and Elyna forced herself to look up. Names?

Elyna gave a slow nod, murmuring the names to herself. Her head felt heavy with fatigue. Her heart still raced too fast. She knew that she was grimy, covered in dust from their travels, with stains lining her cheeks. Kyan, Cora, River.

She wet cracked lips, feeling helplessly eager to win the friendship and hopefully the aid of the family.

‘Elsie,’ she replied. She extended a hand to touch her daughters back before retreating again. ‘Luke,’ she pressed a kiss to his forehead as he fed. ‘Elyna-‘ she touched a hand to her own chest.

‘Please?’ She extended her hand towards the woman again. Her left arm was empty and she gestured to her babe, ‘please…’ It had been far too many days since she had held both children together. Her tears had returned and Elyna sobbed, cuddling her son close she tried to smother the sound. She couldn’t explain the sensation exactly. She didn’t feel safe, not amongst strangers, not knowing what was to come. But she was exhausted from the punishing ride. She felt as though she had given everything and still felt only despair. Now, now at least this was different. Perhaps she might even have the chance to protect her babies. Maybe she could even go home.

“Elsie,” Cora said, voice soft. There was a certain raspiness to the woman’s tone, as if she had a powerful voice that had been tempered for now.

Kyanite watched and listened, trying to commit the names to memory. Elyna, he thought—it was unlike any name he had ever heard.

Elyna gestured, repeating the same strange word. The pair looked at her, trying to make sense of it. Cora glanced at her husband and said something with her hands. Should I give her the baby?

Kyanite tipped his head, signalling that it was her decision, a gesture which could have just as easily been read as mild disinterest. Cora shuffled closer to her son and patted the furs beside her, making room for Elyna. She passed Elsie into the woman’s care then and lay down with her back to the woman, holding her boy close as she worked on returning to sleep.

“She smells,” Cora complained, with eyes closed.

Kyanite made a sound akin to laughter as he moved to leave the tent. “Walk with her to the lake tomorrow,” he suggested.

Cora sat up on her elbow. “Where do you go, husband?” She asked. “What if she is dangerous?”

“Aramane,” he scoffed, as if nothing dangerous had ever come of such a place. “Sleep,” he ordered, and left the tent.

Kyanite went to discover what had become of the injured man he had taken the baby from. He walked to the edge of camp and realised that Aspen and Jaeger had dragged the stranger back to camp and tied him to a post intended for securing horses. The pair had then sat down to repair the mirror disguising their camp from the world. Kyanite moved to sit alongside them, drawing in and moving magic to their combined will.

“Aspen says there was a woman with two babies?” Jaeger asked.

Kyanite gestured the sign for yes before using the same hand to shape the magic that kept them all safe, not only from strangers but the creatures of the grasslands too.

“She’s mine,” Aspen said, just in case Jaeger had any designs to take the woman for himself.

“You can not claim her,” Jaeger challenged, “until you have a wife of your own. The ink on your tattoos is not yet dry and already you disgrace your stripes.”

Aspen spat. “Gypsum Swifthare will marry me in Bloom,” he said. “Then I will take my claim as second.”

“Elyna,” Kyanite said. “Her name is Elyna.”

The pair looked at him, both falling silent for a time before Jaeger spoke up, “Elyna? Is she his wife?” He pointed to the unconscious man tied to the post.

“Belongs to the tribe now,” Kyanite said, before getting to his feet. “Let her heal.” He looked at Aspen, as if to warn him. The youngest of the trio looked away but gave a nod of agreement.

Kyanite returned to the tent to the sound of Cora humming. He knew when his wife was content as she often hummed. He pulled the makeshift door closed and hung his weapon up, the beak of the hammer painted with Yvan’s blood. He took off his belt and set it aside before going to the furs. Tucked in alongside River, he let Cora’s gentle humming lull him to sleep.

Elyna looked between the pair of Ontari. Whatever language they used, she couldn’t decipher but she recognised the use of their hands in communication, even if she didn’t know the words. Members of the Iron Hand used an ancient form of sign language and she couldn’t help but wonder if there might be some similarities. Whatever was discussed, Elsie was returned to her and Elyna gathered both her babies close. Luke lay asleep across her lap as she fed Elsie, the Princess peering up at her before giving a wriggling and settling down to rest.

The pat on the furs was clear enough communication enough and Elyna stared. Watching the final exchange between what she would consider husband and wife, before the man departed. She watched the tent close behind him and let out another breath. Did she feel safer in his absence? Not really. For some reason she hadn’t felt threatened by the man, for all that he had been brusk and efficient, she’d not felt any predatory behaviour from the man.

Elyna watched the woman lie down to sleep, her back exposed. She closed her eyes and shuffled around the tent till she could set her own back to a support of any kind. In this case, a saddle horn. She didn’t want to disturb the babes in her lap, besides, the idea of joining the bed of furs was…it wasn’t right. Her eyes felt as though she had been rubbing sand into them. Heavy and sore with exhaustion she sat with her back to the tent wall and watched the woman and baby sleep.

Should she be trying to escape? Should she be more afraid? Any logical concern was swept away by her exhaustion and dismissed. Her head tilted back against the support and with a baby resting on each knee the woman slid into an uncomfortable sleep. Her head rolled forward and she woke, startling herself.

Carefully, Elyna lent forward and eased one of the fleece aside from the rest. A small one, just large enough for the twins to sleep on. The babies huddled together, content on their soft bedding. Elyna wrapped an arm over the pair and rested her on her on the makeshift pillow. Lying on the floor of the hut, she finally closed her eyes. Starting again as the man returned and paid her no attention.

She nodded to herself and settled again. As a Skyrider she had camped in worse place, worse weather and on more uncomfortable ground. Sleep was quick to claim her, though she slept lightly, fitfully. Stirring at the unfamiliar noises of the tent and the nearby family. The dogs barking around the camp and then the first touches of dawn as they slid beneath the fabric walls.

She woke then, sitting up as her gaze fixed on the hammer. The tip painted with blood. Yvans? She wet dry lips and looked down at her son. Luke was lucky to be alive. Had Yvan survived? Elyna sat up. She took a few moments to run her fingers through her tangled hair before braiding it in a crown around her head, setting it neatly aside. On her knees she collected the discarded copper pot and used what was left of the water to clean the wounds around her wrists. Flinching in silence as the water irritated the raw skin. Later, she would bind her wrists to help them heal, hopefully after a chance to wash them more thoroughly. Besides, she didn’t want to wake the family by tearing strips of cloth.

She pressed a kiss to each of her children, the babes even more exhausted than she. On her knees, she shuffled to the door, shifting till she could peer out at the camp beyond through a small gap in the fabric, one hand resting on the fleece with her children. It was still early Dawn, the grasses of the plains rustling in a light breeze. It smelt like summer. So this was Emanys…

A number of tents seemed to spread away from the one she had stayed in. And then she saw him. Tethered like a goat to a stake. Elyna was on her feet, pushing out of the tent she was surprised at how steady she felt as she stood. She didn’t remember crossing the distance between herself and the man, or the sudden movement of the Ontari guarding him from a distance. But she moved towards the man like a thunder cloud. He sat up as she approached, moving to stand until buckling.

With no way to defend himself, her blow had caught him straight across the jaw and the man spun, dropping back to the dirt with a moan.

‘Bitch!’ He snarled, ‘after all I did for you!’

‘How dare you! How dare you risk them!’ She kicked him, white hot with fury she aimed her foot at the wound in his side without regret or remorse. He could have hurt Luke. He had taken two newborn babies from a place of safety and dragged them into the wilderness.

Yvan flinched again, trying to curl up as she knelt and slid her hand through his hair. Gripping it till she could pull his head back and snarl into his face. ‘I told you, Yvan! I told you I would kill you!’

The commotion outside saw Kyanite to his feet, reaching for his weapon instinctively. He peered out through the entrance to the ger and snorted. Cora sat up, discovering the two tiny babes at her feet. She took them up and drew them into the warmth of the furs.

Escaped?, she asked her husband, with a wave of her hand.

Exploring, he replied, wearing an amused smirk.

“Too bad,” Cora said. “I would like more children.”

Kyanite hung up his weapon and returned to the furs. So kill her, he signed, “take them.”

Core whacked the man. She knew he was only teasing, but it felt strange to hear him say the words. “I want your children,” she whispered.

He made a short sign that had a long meaning in their culture. When it is favourable.

Now, she gestured.

“In the dark,” he said. Most Ontari tried for children during the season of Frost to insure they were blessed with a good start and warm weather ahead of them for their first year of life.

“River was born in the dark,” she challenged. “He is healthy.”

“Harvest,” Kyanite corrected. We were fools.

Cora smiled. “Then let us be fools, husband.”


No one had stopped Elyna’s violent onslaught. Yvan was no better than pig food to them. If she killed him, she would only be saving someone else the task. Gifting the rations it would take to keep him alive. Cora exited the tent, dressed in a short sleeve, leather crop and skirt. Her eyes were painted and outlined in black, the tips of her fingers stroked with the same brush. “Elyna!” She called, in a powerful voice. She made the sign for Enough, a short, sharp, open hand remark that doubled as Stop.

Cora moved to inspect the tribes captive then, gazing at him as if she were deciding on the value of allowing a lame sheep to move among the flock. He looked strong, healthy, handsome even—for a foreigner—despite the wound inflicted upon him by her husband. As Orna of the tribe, first wife to the Onkarl, she made most of the decisions.

“You stupid bitch!” Yvan said, spitting blood, “you told these savages your name!”

Cora wasn’t sure what the man had said to Elyna, but she gathered by his biting tone that whatever words he had spoken were intended to wound the woman. Cora crouched down and pressed the point of her thumbnail to the man’s left cheek until it broke the skin and the substance on her skin and under her nails burned in the tiny wound. Yvan howled a most terrifying cry, his whole body convulsing at the pain of the burning sensation that stung like a thousand bee stings, and caused the left side of his face to go completely numb. It left him unable to talk and seemed to sap the life from him. Only a small jolt of his foot signalled that he was alive.

“Sa’vet,” Cora said. It was a word with many meanings, but in Yvan’s case, it meant slave. To be considered below all members of the clan, including that of working captives, like Elyna, who were free to move about the camp.

Come, she gestured to Elyna before signing something to another woman, instructing her to make sure the slave’s wound was seen too.

Cora ducked back into the tent to steal her son from the warmth of the furs. She asked Kyanite to take one of the twins and waited for Elyna to lift the other before venturing outside again. Cora pointed to the sun, saying its name for Elyna in their language before gesturing to the children. “Morning light is good for babies,” she added, quite sure Elyna wouldn’t understand, but eager to try and teach nonetheless.

Kyanite handed Elyna her son and followed the pair with spear in hand. “Oka, Oka!” A small voice called from behind them and Kyanite turned and held his arms out to a little girl that looked about three years old. He lifted her and carried on after Cora.

Kyanite signed the little girl’s name with a hand for Elyna before saying, “Arrow.” The little, golden haired girl smiled at Elyna and pointed to the babies.

“Baby!” She cried in a strange language.

Kyanite echoed the word and smiled. They walked to a nearby lake, crystal clear with a white sand floor. A number of smooth round rocks lay dotted about its edge, some taller than Arrow stood in height. The girl wriggled excitedly and Kyanite set her down and watched as she raced towards one of the rocks to start climbing. He took River and carried the boy on his shoulders as he moved to patrol the lake edge.

Cora washed her hands and took a small blade from her belt to start cutting flax from nearby plants. They were soon joined by another woman who Cora greeted as Ari. Arrow ran up to the light haired woman and gripped her leg, a clear indication that they were related. Ari set about helping Cora gather flax and once the pair had found enough, they sat down in the sun and started stripping and weaving it into a tightly knit basket, big enough to fit the twins. As they worked, they sang, happy to take turns holding the babies if Elyna allowed.

“Swim!” Cora encouraged, signing the word which looked similar to the action itself. “Kyanite makes sure it is safe.

“Who is she?” Ari asked.

Aramane captive, Cora replied with a gesture.

Pretty, Ari waved.

Cora studied Elyna for a moment as if to judge for herself. The woman looked tired, she thought, in need of rest. Strong, she told Ari, before asking, “where is Archer?”

“Sleeping still,” Ari said, with Jaeger.

Cora smiled. Kyanite was almost out of sight, choosing to walk the length of the lake before eventually making his way back. He set River down in Cora’s arms upon his return and undressed before walking up to the waters edge. Neither of the women seemed to take any notice of his nudity, something that seemed common amongst their kind. Kyanite found the water warm enough that it did not shock him as it rose above his hips. He had left his spear standing up in the soft sand at the edge of the lake and swam out towards the deepest part.

Before she could make good on her threat, a command sounded over the camp and Elyna twisted. The woman pushed Yvan away from her, taking steps to put distance between them. Out of range for when the man turned with his latest insult. Was it wrong to tell them her name? A tremor of fear ran through her then, was there some kind of magic that could harm her, or the children in that. Elyna lifted her chin, defiant as she watched him punished by Cora. Refusing to flinch, she glanced back only once as she was bid to return to the tent.

What was done was done. The people of the grass had her name. It had seemed the right thing to do at the time. Her fingers trembled as she collected her daughter and watched Luke in the arms of the golden warrior. Setting aside her worries was hard, but she followed the family quietly enough. Nose wrinkled in concentration as she tried to discern Coras meaning. Something about the Sun and the Babies? It hadn’t felt like a warning.

The tension easing from her shoulders as the small girl raced to join them. The girl had no fear of her adults…but also didn’t seem to think of Elyna as less than a person. Elyna hoped that her instincts were correct and there was some measure of safety here for her, and the twins. Baby, she heard the girl’s excitement and the repetition from Kyan. Baby, she murmured to herself in Ontari.

The clear, sky blue waters were beautiful. Breathtaking, and she slowed her steps to take them in. With both babes, Elyna sank down on one of the wider smooth stones, crossed legged as she adjusted the twins blankets to keep their fair skin well protected from the sun. She watched them women weaving, committing another name to memory.

Another command was given by Cora and Elyna found the corner of her mouth pulling in a faint smile. The grasses woman was one used to giving orders. At least, Elyna reasoned she was good at following them. She turned to the water, cautiously passing the babes over to Cora she edged towards the water. There was no shade and little cover on her modesty. But Elyna was desperate to wash up.

She pulled off her outer layers, sitting as she stripped to her breastband and undergarments. She slid into the water, one hand on the rock for balance. Unable to see a current, that still didn’t make it safe. But Kyan returned and strode forth with undeniable confidence. Once again, Elyna found herself uncertain where to look. Focussing quickly on the stones beneath her feet. The warrior was a handsome man, but more than anything he made her miss Malcolm all the more. Her lover was chisled, lithe and long of limb. He had the most beautiful green eyes, echoed in his daughter. He was untamed, a wolf disguised as a King.

The water was warm, not quite like a bath but it felt like a luxury. She slid down into the water and beneath the gentle ripples. Holding her breath before she stood with a cascade. She washed as thoroughly as she was able, cleaning out the wounds on her wrists, flinching at the skin before she was finally satisfied they were clean. She unfastened her hair and let it flow in the water. Finally, she pulled her clothes off the rock to scrub them.

Elyna set them to dry, reaching out of the water where she crouched to lay them on the sun baked rocks. She took care not to look at Kyan, or note his movements and instead edged out of the water. She pulled on her shirt but left it unfastened. Collecting the purple dress she tore it into two long strips to use as slings for the babies. A number of small strips were added to the pile, two used to bind her wrists.

Her tasks complete, Elyna reclaimed her son to feed. She studied Cora and Ari and missed Emily. Would any of this have happened if Emily had been in Aramane?

Elyna waved to Cora, hoping to gain her attention. ‘Lake?’ She pointed to the river. ‘To Aramane?’ She asked.

Cora had accepted the twins with quiet glee, holding them close until she was sure they were settled. As Elyna left the water, the twins were placed in the basket atop a soft leather blanket made of rabbit pelts. Wrapped snugly in their blankets, they were set aside in the shade to snooze.

“She’s tall,” Ari remarked.

Womanly, Cora replied with a wave.

“Do you think she will run?” Ari asked.

“Yes,” Cora said, after some thought. She signed something to Ari and the woman got up to walk back to camp, returning a while later with some things.

Cora fed River and watched her husband as he returned to his spear, only to slip into the lake again and swim out to the deep once more, this time to hunt. River was not yet one, but walked and moved with the confidence of a two year old. Ontari children grew up fast, due to the wild esen that had mutated the race's genes, making them perfectly adapted to their nomadic way of life. He leaned on his mother, shy, and went to play in the grass nearby when commanded.

Cora watched as Elyna took up one of the twins to feed. She couldn’t help but marvel at the woman, whom she could only assume was a first time mother, without the guidance of her own. A difficult path to tread with one child, let alone two.

Elyna said something, the sound of her strange language so alien to Cora. She looked in the direction Elyna pointed, her brow knitted in confusion. “Kyan?” She asked, sure then that a shake of the foreigners head meant she had misunderstood.

Lake?, Ari signed.

“Lake,” Cora said, signing the same word for Elyna. It was then she noticed Elyna’s wrists. “Ari.” Can you heal her?

Ari looked up from her task and passed her things to Cora before encouraging Elyna to sit. She took Elyna’s hands one at a time, so that the woman could still hold Luke, and drew glowing white fingers over the raw skin of her wrists, easing the pain and encouraging the skin to heal as if days had passed. There remained faint red marks from the rope, but otherwise the skin appeared renewed and strong.

Cora had carried on threading tiny stitches into the soft pieces of hide Ari had given her. Ari too resumed her task, working on what looked like a little boot. Sheep wool was threaded to the lining of the hide before being twisted and fastened into shape. “For Luke and Elsie,” Cora said. If nothing else, Elyna would recognise her own children’s names.

With tender hands, Cora slipped the first little boot onto Elsie’s right foot. Ari was soon done with the second, which went on the left before they began work on another pair. Elyna had said something about Aramane, pointing completely in the wrong direction. “Aramane,” Cora signed the word as she spoke it, “is north.” She pointed, but with little in the way of landmarks outside of the night sky, navigation would be difficult, even if the woman chose to walk in nothing but a straight line from where she sat.

“Luke… Elsie,” Ari whispered, trying to remember the names. Names were very important in Ontari culture. It was an insult to misuse or pronounce one incorrectly. A name, after all, had the power to live on forever, be it worthy enough.

When they were done with the boots, Ari offered a pile of folded clothes to Elyna, all made from soft shades of tan leather. The largest piece, a wool lined jacket that fastened at the front over what appeared to be four or five wolf teeth, would be too hot to wear for now, but come in handy during the nights. From late Harvest the temperatures would cool considerably.

“Should wear,” Ari said.

Cora agreed with a nod, encouraging Elyna to remove her skirt and don the soft pelts. “Dangerous to be seen as a stranger,” she said, signing the word for danger. “Other tribes might take Elyna,” she tried to explain. Different is dangerous.

Kyanite returned to the group after drying and dressing at the lake edge. He had a fish on the end of his spear and two more hanging off the ends of two fingers. “For Jaeger,” he said, offering the one on the end of his spear to Ari.

She smiled and signed her thanks before calling Arrow over to her. Arrow ran over from where she had been playing by the rocks and threw her arms about Kyanite’s legs. “Oka, Oka!” She said, beaming.

“Onkarl,” Ari corrected her daughter.

“Oka, Oka!” Arrow laughed, leaping at her mother.

Kyanite pinched her side and grinned as the girl giggled, twisting in her mothers arms. Jaeger appeared then from the tall grass with a baby in his arms, a little boy, who looked about two seasons old. He traded the child for the fish and thanked his brother with a wave. The pair looked very similar, both about average height with grey eyes and long blonde hair. Kyanite’s hair was a dirty shade of blonde, tied back from his face, while Jaeger’s was a lot lighter. He wore his out, the length of it falling to the top of his hip bone. It looked clean and glossy, despite the lack of sweet smelling lotions and potions available to them here in Emanys. If Elyna got close enough to anyone, she might smell the distinct scent of raw coconut oil.

Kyanite handed the rest of the fish to Jaeger and picked up Arrow so that Ari had her hands free to care for Archer. He stalked off into the tall grass then and found River, scooping the boy up to take back to camp. The rest of the party soon followed once Ari had fed her boy. Cora set about her chores, showing Elyna around the camp as she went. The tribe was relatively small, made up of five families and seven gers, the biggest of which was used to cook, smoke, dry, and store food in.

She introduced Elyna to Aspen, a dark haired young man of about twenty. He was unmarried and lived alone. Willow, a woman much older than any other in the tribe, was without a husband, but had three children of her own. Ash, Willow’s oldest boy, almost eighteen. Elowen, a girl a year younger than Ash, and Olive who looked no older than ten.

The last family was headed by Onyx Rainfell who had two wives, Pearl and Sonya. Pearl had a son, Jasper, and daughter, Jade, the same age as Willow’s older children. Sonya had a little girl who looked no older than two. When greeted by the pair, she cast her eyes down and did not speak. Sonya looked Ontari or at least she was styled like one, but she wore a thin gold chain around her neck with a single yellow stone, which was far from anything the nomadic people had the ability or tools to craft.

Cora waved then, leaving Elyna to explore while she went about her daily tasks.

Never before had Elyna appreciated her ability to talk, as she did now. In Common, she often felt unable to speak clearly but it was certainly easier than trying to cross the boundary of an entirely unknown language, two if she considered the signed words. She watched Cora, concentrating on the woman’s reaction. The side of her mouth pulling into a rueful smile at the realisation that the woman hadn’t understood.

Ari approached and Elyna watched her without moving. She surrendered her hands, watching sidelong. Malcolm had used magic on her, as had countless healers over the years but Elyna doubted she would ever be used to it. She steeled herself, forcing herself to sit perfectly still without jumping up to run. Letting out the caught breath in her lungs when the healing was complete.

‘Thank you,’ she attempted grace, smoothing her hands over the renewed skin. Without the pain, clean from the lake and with her babies she felt more herself than she had in days.

Cora turned them to slid the little boot over Elsie’s foot. Elyna could have cried then from sheer gratitude. She forced a smile instead of tears, wanting to reach out to the woman who had been nothing but kind. Unwilling to overstep a custom, instead she reached out to touch the boot, gently stroking the soft leather in appreciation. The stitches were small and well made, had through leather without a practised hand. Elyna wondered if she might be able to help the woman with their sewing, as a way of repaying their kindness, when she was presented with a pile of clothes.

She looked between the two, trying to decipher their meaning. Danger? She wondered and poked at the clothes. The leather was dangerous? That didn’t seem right. Why were clothes dangerous? Either way, they were keen for her to change, and her own clothes were damp and dirty. Elyna took what cover she could to pull on a leather top. It covered her shoulders and torso and was probably far looser than the woman before would have chosen. She discarded her shirt, folding it up before pulling on a skirt, over the top of her shortened tan trousers. Feeling she looked more Ontari she held her hands out to her sides and performed a slow twirl to the woman.

However, it appeared Aramane was in a totally different direction than she had thought. How many days would it take to get back to Oakley on foot?

Kyan and his brother came and went and Elyna stilled in their presence, determined not to watch the naked man. She committed all the names to memory, repeating them slowly before carrying the twins in their basket, back to camp behind Cora. She offered Archer and River smiled whenever they glanced her way. She bowed her head as she met the rest of the tribe, and dutifully avoided looking at Yvan.

When Cora left, Elyna looked around. There had to be a way she could be useful? Something she could do? She had spotted a number of weapons, but as the tribe hadn’t shown any violence towards her, she didn’t want to risk any kind of misunderstanding, that she might be any threat to them.

She found Ari by one of the tents, with a collection of leathers, sewing. Elyna carefully sat down beside her, setting the babies in the shade once more. She mimed the action of sewing before holding out her hands, offering a small, hopeful smile. Ari paused a moment before handing over a small project. Leaning over often to direct what she had set Elyna to sew, inspecting her work.

Elyna concentrated on her task, pausing only tend the children. Before finally she finished and returned a completed blanket back to Ari with a cautious smile. She looked about then to see Sonya near by. The noblewoman drew a breath, ‘you’re not from here?’ She called out. ‘Are you? You weren’t born to the grasslands?

Every now and then there would be a great rumble as a herd of cattle were driven by the camp, followed by tribesmen on horseback, with long wagon trains following them. What remained of the city of Emanys was on the move, these only the stragglers who had not gone days before. As Onkarl, Kyanite had made the decision to continue camping closest to the shore for Harvest. With the vast majority of the city having moved on, competition for game and resources would be little to none. The lands around them would heal, unmoved by a single camp of Ontari.

Ari might have once called herself Orna to the Onkarl, as first wife to the man some years ago, before he had released her of their promises in order for her to remarry his younger brother, Jaeger, whom she had loved since they were children. She shared a daughter, Arrow, with the Onkarl, but to save confusion, the girl had been raised as Jaeger’s own, and Kyanite had been humble enough to accept it. Now, with a legitimate son, Archer, to Jaeger, she had cemented her place on the tribe as a valued member. Her skill in leatherwork and sewing was of the highest standard, and so, when she discovered the foreigner, Elyna, was quite adept at the craft, she smiled, pleased with herself.

Ari inspected the blanket and signed her approval, studying the stitches and marveling at the woman’s skill. “Elyna,” she acknowledged, before making the sign for good, with a smile. She took the work then to go in search of Cora, excited to share her discovery.

Sonya was fair skinned and suffered for a life in the sun. She had auburn hair, blue eyes, and dark freckles on her arms and face. When Elyna called to her, she first ignored the woman before looking about herself to make sure no one was listening. Sure her absence would go unnoticed, she took up a woven basket of raw cotton and carried it to where Elyna sat. She set it down between them and started pulling the cotton fibres away from the seeds they grew from. “Don’t look at me,” she said, her common of an Aramane accent. “Just work.”

For a time she did just that, continuing to clear the cotton from the seeds until she was sure no one was paying them any mind. “I was born in Oakley,” she admitted. “My father farmed cattle for a living. He made the mistake of trying to capitalize on the grasslands. The Ontari took everything from him and it cost him his life.” She looked across at Yvan. “If they don’t trade him away, they will kill him,” Sonya said. “I had a sister,” she whispered, “she was traded away to another tribe for livestock…” Sonya bit her lower lip. “I escaped the tribe but my captor caught up with me. Onyx saved me… I had spent seven years trying to run. After marrying Onyx, I just didn’t see the point anymore. My family is gone. What life would I have to go back to that I cannot build here?”

Had he kissed her? Malcolm tortured himself as he lay in bed on the eve of summers end. Had he told her he loved her? Why was the memory already a blur? In the love-haze of holding their twins for the first time, had he told her how truly blessed he felt to call her wife?

Malcolm got up, unable to find peace or rest in the strange bed. Tomorrow he would walk through the portal gate and return to Renmere to carry on the search for Elyna. They had searched every ship docked in the bay, including Edmund’s, and found no answers or clues. A wanted poster had been printed and distributed the second Jared had recalled hearing the disgraced captain’s voice. But who had his accomplice been? Outside of knowing the man or woman behind the stolen identity was a shapeshifter, they had little to go on. Malcolm, however, had been adamant that they were looking for a sailor. He could not put the smell of brine and black powder from his mind.

“It’s a gun ship,” he had told Edmund, “of that I am sure.”

Lord Burhan had gone with his blessing to search the coastline, but no news had reached the king as of yet. If they were sailing somewhere, Malcolm could only pray it was home. He knew in travelling via the portal gate he could be setting thousands of miles between himself and Elyna. The reward of which far exceeded the risk. His resources were best organised from home, not Aramane where he had already made himself unwelcome among royalty.

“I’ll stay behind,” Benjamin said.

“As will I,” Roland spoke up. It seemed none of them could find rest.

Malcolm gave his blessing in the form of a simple nod. “I’ll need someone here,” he acknowledged, “to organise our effects on my behalf. I’ll send you fifty men.”

“Fifty?” Jared challenged, unsure the capital could spare such numbers.

Malcolm nodded again. “And a second warship.”

Jared folded his arms, running the numbers in his head. With two warships abroad and fifty foot soldiers, they would be down almost four hundred men. “Should we not send word to all major ports and wait to hear something before we act?” The baron suggested.

Malcolm sighed, sure he was right. “I’m thinking with my heart in place of my head, aren’t I?”

Benjamin frowned. “Send the crew, we can do more as a smaller unit and cover just as much ground with Beatrice’s help.”

“There’s absolutely no evidence that they left via the port, which means they are more than likely still here,” Roland added. His words tore at Malcolm’s resolve. Already he was second guessing himself and Jared could see it.

“If you do not return to the capital—“

“—I know,” Malcolm said, cutting the baron off.

Roland kept staring at the map. “What if?” He began, but seemed to lose faith in his own suggestion before it was fully formed. “No.” He shook his head. “You don’t think…”

“What is it?” Benjamin encouraged.

Roland pointed to Oakley and ran his finger out towards the fjord and beyond. “You remember how cunning the captain was.”

“Cunning,” Benjamin agreed, “but his self preservation far exceeded his ambition.”

Malcolm studied the map. Beatrice had told them that crossing the fjord was suicide, no matter the body count. “Edmund is bound to intercept them along the coast if that is so. Even Renmare’s best horses cannot outrun a warship.”

Deep down Malcolm knew a small part of Yvan had truly loved Elyna, and she him. Would he risk her life? The nagging returned then, what if she had planned this? What had she said in all of those letters? No. No, that simply could not be, not so soon after giving birth. Still, he could not help but put himself at the centre of blame.

The first time the herd rumbled past, Elyna seemed to pause, crouching down as she extended a hand to the baby basket. Muscles tensed and ready to move into action. By the forth time, the cause of the sound became clear and the woman would extend her fingers to the basket, but continue what she was doing. The woven grasses warm beneath her palm. The dirt held the same unfamiliar scent that as slowly becoming ingrained with her sense of the place. Something like hay, sand, horse and the bitterness of dry vegetation.

Good, she repeated the word back to Ari with another fleeting smile. She was building a small collection, though it was a long way from clear communication. Ari dashed off and Elyna looked around. She stood to stretch, lifting her arms above her head with a crack of bones before shaking herself out. Her disappointment that Sonya had ignored her, was replaced by the woman’s approach. She sank down, reaching for the cotton and copying the motions as she pulled free the seeds to discard. Careful to copy the other woman’s actions.

She focused on her task, not looking up as Sonya broke the silence. Her brow drew in a frown as she gave a small nod. ‘Why is it dangerous for us to speak? Or be seen speaking?’ Elyna asked softly.

The Ontari were good folk, were they not? Although the idea of a Sister or even Yvan being traded made her feel deeply uncomfortable. Elyna hated slavery, and all of its forms. And to trade people like cattle, was simply an enslavement of such freedom. Had she lost her freedom? Even with kind jailers, a prison would feel steadily smaller. Elyna knew she wouldn’t do well within such expectations or confinement. She swallowed, determined to carry on as she had been doing, gathering information about an unfamiliar culture to find the best way forward…whatever that was.

Nothing to go back to? Sonya’s words seemed to ring in her ears. Elyna curled her hand around the ring, hanging from her neck. ‘Would you translate for me, to Cora and Kyan?’ She asked quietly. ‘So that I can explain my story?’

Sonya teased the white clouds of cotton through a maze of fine metal teeth, separating and straightening them. She looked as if she was giving thought to Elyna’s question, though remained unsure how to best answer her. “It’s taken a long time to earn their trust,” she admitted, “I’m worried that if we were caught speaking the common tongue, I would lose that trust.”

She pulled the cotton strands to the edge of the metal comb and picked up two smooth sticks, closing the cotton between them before turning them to gather the cotton up in a long, thin cylinder shape that looked like miniature cyclones once the sticks were removed. When Elyna asked her to act as translator, she frowned. “Let me sleep in it?” She said, repeating the task at hand.

The sun was high in the sky now, the heat of the day making the individuals of the tribe lethargic, many of them moving into the shade to rest. Sonya picked up the hand spindle then, a long, slender piece of polished wood with a whorl on one end and a small metal hook on the other. She took up a length of prepared cotton and spun it onto the shaft of the spindle, watching as it thinned out and gathered at the top of the whorl. The cotton was thicker than the fine, machine spun product available in the civilised countries of Aramane and Renmere, but this was perfect for dying and weaving into cloth.

“I know this world is so different from our own,” Sonya said, “but there’s something about it…” She fell silent then, considering her old life, one that seemed so alien to her now. Could she go back? Did she want to?

She watched as Cora came back into camp with River asleep against her back, secured with a clay coloured wrap. “She’s the Orna,” Sonya whispered to Elyna, “the first wife of the Onkarl. She makes all of the decisions for the camp outside of where and when to set down. She chooses who stays and who goes, who marries and what we work on from day to day. Everyone works, even her. We are all expected to pull our weight.”

“The blonde one is Ari. She was married to Kyanite years ago but the two brothers fell out over it. That little girl, Arrow,” Sonya pointed, “Is Kyanite’s daughter, but he states no claim. Jaeger is quiet and loyal, fiercely so,” Sonya said. “Kyanite…” She went to say something and stopped as Onyx walked by. She waited until the man passed out of earshot before speaking again. “Kyanite is every bit his namesake, Blackwater,” Sonya said. “He’s as calm and as deadly as they come. If you have any love for that man,” she glanced at Yvan, “you’ll ask them to trade him. They won’t let him live long otherwise.”

Elyna watched the deft motions intently. For all the she enjoyed sewing her practical knowledge of creating cloth was lacking. As the metal teeth were surrendered, she picked them up and ran her thumb over the prongs in experiment. Considering the answer in silence.

Elyna hadn’t met many Ontari, so knew that she should neither judge nor assume, but Sonya seemed to look so different from the others. Her skin was fairer than Elynas own and suffering from exposure to the sun. Her pale eyes and bright hair set her apart, her tribe new already that she was not born Ontari, how could speaking Common or not, change that? It’s not my life, Elyna reminded herself, it had to be Sonya’s decision as it was her risk to measure and take or refuse.

‘I’d like some way to say thank you,’ Elyna admitted. She watched Sonya with the spindle and attempted to pull some of the cotton through the teeth, brows furrowed as it snagged. Instead she set about smoothing out her error and glanced up at the bright sky. ‘If I could say it? Or show it in some way?’ She bit on her bottom lip, ‘the tribe has been very kind to me, and my children. I’m grateful.’

Sonya was right, the world within Emanys couldn’t feel further away from
Renmere or Aramane. Another herd rumbled past before Cora walked by, intent on her next task. Elyna took her cue to move the baby basket into the shade of a nearby tree. She shifted to sit beneath the boughs herself. Still within an arm's reach of Sonya and able to hear her.

All of the information shared, Elyna repeated in her own mind. Nodding along in concentration. Her gaze shifting to each member of the tribe, should they be in sight when named. At mention of Kyanite she felt a thread of fear. Of the same forboding that had followed the entire season. Would he kill Yvan? Should she let him, or do as Sonya suggested and request that he be traded to another tribe? It might give him a greater chance of survival…was that a good thing?

Elyna retreated further into the shade, pushing her fingers through the front of her braided hair. Who was she to make such a choice? She who valued life above all else, she who had most to lose if Yvan managed and escape and decided to follow her steps again. ‘He should be returned to Renmere,’ Elyna told Sonya softly, ‘to answer for his crimes.’

Sonya scoffed and twisted to glance over her shoulder at Elyna. “The Ontari do not care for his crimes outside of Emanys. His only crime was to step foot on forbidden ground. He is sa’vet. It loosely translates to outsider, but words have multiple meanings here. Sa means found, trapped, be still, or to move. It also means slave. Vet is lost, empty, dead, and strange.” Her hands made different signs or movements depending on how the word was used. Sonya was quiet for a moment, scolding herself in silence for saying too much. She worked on training more cotton thread onto the spindle before drumming up the courage to ask what it was Elyna wished for her to explain to the leader of their tribe.

Elsie started to stir and was collected by her Mother as Sonya explained Yvan’s status. Elyna watched the hand motions intently, trying to see how they might relate to the signed language she knew. Elsie stared up at her with bright green eyes and Elyna smiled in reply. She bounced the baby girl gently on her knee, keeping her head and neck supported. It was impossible to imagine Elsie as a little girl, and hard to remember her as a smaller baby. But Elyna knew that her daughter was growing. The linen gown too short on the arms and hem. Elyna unpicked the knot, and pulled at the stitches to give her daughter more room to grow.

Sonya posed her own question, and Elyna hesitated. What was she asking for really? She tucked Elsie against her shoulder, her gaze resting on the flattened grass beneath the tree. She could smell fish on the cooking fires.

‘I’m from Renmere, not Aramane,’ she explained. She drew a breath then, ‘I can use my skills to help this tribe, to hunt?’ Elyna drew a hand across her brow.

‘I am Lady Elyna of Mayce and Burhan, Knight, Skyrider and Queen of Renmere.’ She looked up then, the truth simply existing between the pair of them. ‘Yvan abducted me, and my children within five days of their birth. My King, he will be looking for us, for them…’ she corrected. ‘Somehow, I need to return to Aramane.’

Sonya laughed and when Elyna did not share in the joke she sought to unravel, she stared at the woman. “You’re the Queen of Renmere?” She asked, sitting with mouth agape, her hands still.

Sonya had heard of the Burhan family in her school studies as a girl, but Mayce was new to her. She set her work aside and seemed to sit for a spell, not knowing what to do or say. Would keeping her bring war to the world as they knew it? Renmere was so far away. How had Elyna been brought here, Sonya wondered. A detail that did not matter if the woman spoke the truth.

Sonya studied Kyanite. He sat at the far end of the camp working on a piece of stretched hide. “Your value to them lies with your children,” Sonya explained, “and your ability to make more. Don’t get me wrong… no one will take you unwillingly here, but nor will they allow you to simply walk away. I’m not sure they will understand your title… but I could try and make them understand the trouble that might come from keeping you.” Sonya frowned. Perhaps, she thought, that would only endanger Elyna too.

“Or…” She began, “there is a tradition amongst the Ontari people that allows foreigners to return home unharmed after a year has passed.” She waved a hand as if to beg forgiveness as she knew she had not explained it well. “There is more to it than that. But I imagine… if you really are a queen, you don’t have that long and, seeing as the Onkarl has chosen to remain camped here for Harvest… the next time we will be this close to Aramane again could be more than a year away.”

Sonya stood up. “My lady, if you wish for me to speak on your behalf, I will do so, but I beg that you weigh your options carefully first.”

Elyna looked down as the woman laughed at first. If someone had told her a year ago that she would be married to a King, she too would have laughed. It seemed the most unlikely thing in the world.

When Sonya spoke again, Elyna found herself smirking, bitter. Before the expression vanished, replaced by longing as she looked out across the sea of grasses. ‘You understand that my value to Renmere is exactly the same? In my children, my ability to have more,’ Elyna shrugged, it was the simple truth of nobility.

The Skyrider followed Sonya’s gaze to the Onkarl, and the thread of fear pulled again. She looked down at her daughter and closed her eyes. There was relief in knowing she wouldn’t be forced into something against her will, but it was tempered with the understanding that there wasn't an easy solution. She was a captive, only with more freedoms and comfort than Yvan.

Elyna looked again to her former lover and sighed. It would be good to have the council of someone else and once she had trusted the man. Now, she was sure that she would certainly do the exact opposite to his advice.

She shook her head, ‘I don’t want to be a danger to anyone. I don’t wish any harm…but if I’m being tracked it might cause more difficulties for the tribe. It is for Cora and Kyan to decide, is it not? They deserve the truth.’ She let out an uneasy sigh. ‘I would ask, what actions Kyanite would take, had River and Cora be stolen from him so soon after the birth?’

“Would your king die for you?” Sonya asked. “For any one of the children in his camp, the Onkarl would lay down his life,” she said. Sonya seemed to consider the truth and then thought of what she knew of kings, selfish rich men more likely to remarry than step outside of their kingdoms and risk power, hiding behind a wall of ill gotten council. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I’m sure your king loves you and I will make them understand the dangers. Just give me a night to find the courage. I would have my husband and wife stand with me to ensure they understand the gravity of my words.” Sonya bowed her head then and moved on in search of her little one.

Yvan looked up from the post he sat against and stared at Elyna. He spat a mouthful of blood and rolled his dry lips together, trying to wet them. He held his hand out as if holding a cup and tipped it towards himself, begging Elyna in silence to bring him some water. He had given Elyna most of the rations during their travels and now, more than ever, he was feeling it.

Elyna bowed her head in acceptance and thanks, ‘please don’t call me,
My Lady,’ she added softly, ‘I’ve always just been Elyna.’ She glanced at Yvan as Sonya departed. Then with Elsie asleep she placed her back in the basket and departed without looking back.

It was a little while later that she returned and set the basket beneath the tree again. The babies blissfully asleep, they seemed to be thriving in the grasslands, despite the absence of someone to cast their spell for warmth. With the children secured, Elyna approached the captive and set a bowl of water, and the cured meat she had been given the night before in his reach. It was then that she retreated, the sun blistering the back of her neck. It was Yvan’s fault she was here, but he had kept them all alive. She had never been a cruel person, or enjoyed the suffering of others.

‘The woman,’ she gestured behind herself with a hand, ‘she asked if Malcolm would die for me.’ Elyna chewed on her bottom lip as she crouched, ‘honestly, I don’t know. I don’t think so,’ her gaze dropped to the hard baked earth between them. ‘Especially not with Jared telling him all those lies,’ Elyna extended a hand to the dirt, moving her fingertip through the dust. ‘But I would die for him, Seven, I might have to if it’ll stop him venturing into Emanys on a fool’s errand.’ She looked up then.

‘I loved you once, Yvan…but I wouldn’t have died for you.’ Elyna gave a slow shake of her head, ‘I don’t know what they will do with you, kill you or trade you are most likely from what I’ve learnt.’

“Lies?” Yvan scoffed. “You still think it was Jared’s choice to be rid of you?” He sneered. “Malcolm is the one with blood on his hands. He didn’t want you or the children. He has his own and they will always come first. Jared told me your mother was unbearable.” He laughed a dry sound at that. “I should know… sometimes you are too. You’re not a queen until you go through the official ceremony. Stupid girl, did you really think he would make a queen of you?”

Yvan stopped only to drink before the opportunity to do so was gone. Ari had healed his wound after Elyna’s attack only hours before. That told him he had value. “If you told that woman as much, you might want to cut her throat before she tells anyone else, or they’ll trade you and me both. Imagine what a queen would fetch in the moving city? They’ll keep your children, of course. You’ll be no use to them soon enough.”

Yvan flinched and sat upright, hiding the dried meat in his sleeve as he kicked the empty bowl away. His eyes followed Cora as she approached. He had not so soon forgotten the pain she had inflicted. Cora picked up the wooden bowl and studied Elyna for a moment. Had she given the man water, her look seemed to ask. Cora made the sign for no and pointed at Yvan. Her instruction was wordless but clear. Elyna was not to go near him.

“Aspen!” She called.

The man stepped out of his tent where he had been working on making arrows. “Orna?”

“Ride to the Reddawn tribe,” near the shore, Cora instructed. “Tell them,” we wish to trade. “When you return tomorrow,” the slave will be ready.

Aspen nodded. “I’ll leave after we eat this evening.”

Cora agreed with a nod. Good.

“What do you want for him?” Aspen asked.

Wives, Cora signed. “For Ash and Jasper.”

Aspen put his hands on his hips. He did not like the idea of marrying later than two boys younger than him. “For Harvest?” Aspen asked.

“After their name days,” Cora said, both of which fell in Harvest.

“As you wish, Orna.” Aspen returned to his work.

Cora summoned Elyna with a wave. Yvan watched her go. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he said, under his breath. As much as he hated her sometimes, he didn’t want anything to happen to Elyna or the children.

The afternoon was spent working on different pelts and small jobs. Cora washed up before heading to the main tent where the rest of the tribe gathered to eat. Each family brought something to share, which was dished out equally. Ari gave Elyna a plate of smoked fish, dried meats, summer berries, nuts, and seeds. Sonya had made a flatbread, a rare treat for all, and smothered it in a thin layer of herbs and goat cheese.

They gathered around the central fire pit and ate as the sun set. Aspen stayed long enough to eat and then was gone. After dinner, they sang and told stories, and the men shared a strong smelling drink. Sonya sat down beside Cora and said nothing, at least not in words. She had eaten in silence and hummed along to one or two songs before calling it a night. On the way back to the ger, Cora set a bowl full of water down for Yvan, but did not offer him food.

Inside the ger, she pointed to the furs, encouraging Elyna to get comfortable. River was set down with care, having drifted off to sleep on the walk back in Kyanite’s arms. Cora sat on the opposite side of the furs and summoned the Onkarl with a small gesture of her hand. He sat down and she positioned herself behind him, undoing his hair to comb and style it. “She is from Renmere,” Cora told her husband, as she coated her hands in a thin layer of coconut oil and ran them through his hair. The Onkarl appeared unmoved by the news.

His grey eyes watched Elyna. “The Isle of Dragons?” Kyanite asked.

“The land of kings,” Cora agreed.

“That is far?”

“Forty days and nights by sea,” Cora said.

Kyanite had not taken his eyes off Elyna. He had misjudged her, he thought. Many tales of warriors had reached the ears of the Ontari from the distant shores of Renmere. Men and women alike. “Elyna,” Kyanite finally addressed the woman. “Renmere?” I want to know of this land, Renmere, he signed.

Every word from Yvan’s tongue was poison, but they found their mark. Elyna studied her fingertips, coated as they were in a thin layer of dirt. How could anything he said, be true? If Malcolm hadn’t wanted her then why had he come to Aramane? She would have slipped away into obscurity and made a new life for herself and her children. Her gaze drifted to the camp, the kind of life she saw here. One without title and all the ridiculous obsession of status. A simpler life where she could be of use.

It made sense that Malcolm wouldn’t want her as his Queen. It wasn’t even a title that she wanted for herself. But then why had he married her? Why not simply delay and have her quietly removed. Malcolm loved her…didn't he? Hadn’t he, once maybe. She looked up as Cora approached and nodded, accepting the responsibility of giving Yvan the drink. She watched the exchange between Orna and Aspen as she climbed to her feet.

‘However things are between Malcolm and I, I will face them,’ she told Yvan without looking at him. ‘But I can no longer believe that you ever cared for me. Goodbye Yvan.’ She glanced at the man then as though trying to fix him in her mind. He was handsome, still her first lover. There was something rugged in his features, like the untameable wind and ocean. His eyes were bright, intelligent and piercing. Everything about his appearance had always screamed danger, but there had been tenderness too. Something deeply hidden, wrapped away that he had shared with her. It had made her feel special and loved to experience it. But it had been false. A manipulation of a naive girl who had wanted to be loved, to be worthy of the devotion he promised. If this was the last time she saw him, she would remember him like this, proud as a wounded lion, as dangerous as a cornered snake. Deep within, she still felt a stirring of lust, although it wasn't something she would ever admit to herself, or anyone else. She loved Malcolm with her whole self and Yvan was a memory best forgotten.

In the afternoon, the woman tried to seek out Aspen, recognising the scent of fletching above anything else as he approached. However, unable to find the man she followed Cora, determined to be of use. Any work she was given she completed diligently, signalling for help if there was something she was unsure of. Between keeping the children satisfied and settled, and trying to do her best for the Ontari, Elyna was exhausted as the evening meal came around.

She kept the basket always in reach, her hand resting upon it. As the stories and singing started up, she found herself falling forward. Head nodding as she struggled to stay awake. When was the last time she had slept? When had she last felt safe? Was she safe here? At least till morning the woman reasoned, then who knew.

Elyna followed Cora and Kyan with stumbling steps. Though couldn’t help but feel as if she were intruding on private family moments. She focused on settling the children, moving to the edge of the tent she now knew was called a Ger. Without a bed for herself she kept a small fleece on which to lay the children. She smoothed it out on the matting before looking up to meet Kyanite’s gaze.

Renmere he said and she nodded. ‘I am from Renmere,’ Elyna replied slowly, watching his hands with care.

He seemed to ask a question and was waiting for a reply. Elyna suspected that the Onkarl was not a patient man and looked about herself. Her pulse hammered in her throat as she moved to a patch of uncovered floor. She extended her hand and sketched out the rough shape of Renmere in the dirt. ‘Renmere…’ she pointed before frowning and shifting to draw an approximation of Aramane and Emanys, naming them also.

She glanced at Kyanite and Cora to check their attention was held before breaking Renmere into its areas, naming each of them in turn, finishing with Burhan and Mayce before pointing to herself. ‘Elyna Burhan,’ she explained softly. She pointed to the Jacadon isle with a smile before gesturing to the tent wall, with her hands created a shadow of a dragons wings outstretched.

She looked around then before standing cautiously and miming a the shooting of a bow and arrow. She pointed to herself again, ‘Elyna Burhan, Skyrider.’

“Small,” Kyanite said.

“But strong,” Cora warned.

They are far, Kyanite waved, dismissing her warning.

Cora stoked her husband’s hair, pulling it back from his face to tie up for the night. “Burhan is a noble name,” she said, leaning close to his ear to whisper the words, “they will want her back.”

“Is Elyna noble?” Kyanite asked his wife, twisting to meet her eye.

Cora nodded. Sonya told me. “She’s the queen of Renmere.”

Kyanite rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Queen?” She is the Queen of the Dragon Isle?

Cora tipped her head, unsure if she believed it. “That’s what Sonya said.”

Go get her! He demanded.

Cora started, not used to her husband demanding anything. She nodded and left the ger. Kyanite watched Elyna, looking between her and the map on the floor. He got up and went to the wall of the ger, taking a piece of off coloured paper, a rare thing in Emanys, and gave it to Elyna. He picked up a piece of charcoal and let her have it, signing the word for draw. “Draw a map?” He pointed to what she had tried to draw on the earth.

Sonya stepped into the ger not long after Cora had left to fetch her. The pair sat on their knees awaiting command. Kyanite pointed his wife to the furs and she moved without fuss. He looked at Sonya. She had been with the tribe so long that he had almost forgotten she spoke common.

You will tell me what she says? He asked Sonya in silence.

“Yes,” Sonya said, in common, using the grassland sign.

“Are you the Queen of Dragons?” Kyanite asked, looking at Elyna.

Sonya translated for Elyna, looking worriedly between her and the Onkarl.

“Who is that man outside?” Kyanite followed up, to make sure they were not also in possession of a king.

Again Sonya conveyed his words to Elyna, careful in the way she responded to the Onkarl, hesitant.

Finally, Kyanite asked, “what do you want?”

Elyna watched the exchange between husband and wife, again feeling as if she were intruding in a private moment. She kept her gaze askance at the map she had etched on the floor. At Kyanite’s command, she flinched. Her hand extended to her babes’ automatically, hesitating over them before the man seemed to settle. She looked up at him, quiet as she met his gaze and waited for whatever might come next.

She extended her hands to the offered paper, holding it carefully as he pointed to her sketch. Elyna nodded in understanding and settled herself on the floor, placing the paper flat on the smoothest part she could find. Eventually she gave up trying to smooth the dirt and held the paper pulled taught across her thigh, a method often used by Skyriders’ that had dropped their sketching boards from the sky. Elyna knew from experience that they always landed in dense forest, or meadows, never to be seen again.

With a practised hand and the tools provided she was able to outline Renmere more precisely, and indicate where Emanys might be in relation to the far south. Before she could add anything further, the women returned and Elyna set the map aside. Leaning forward to hear more clearly she looked between the group.

“Are you the Queen of Dragons?”

Elyna looked from Sonya to Kyanite. Dragons? She frowned,
was that simply Renmere, an island of Dragons? Yvan had said not, that Malcolm would never wish it. But Malcolm had never lied to her, not that she knew. He had said that she could chose and Elyna had made her intentions clear. She would serve her country the best way she could. She would support Malcolm if that was what he wanted. She would be his Queen. Did an official ceremony matter? It would be a hard concept to explain. ‘Yes. Of Renmere, none may rule Dragons.’ She replied softly, nodding her head in small motions. She set her shoulders back, forcing herself to sit up straight.

“Who is that man outside?”

‘A warrior,’ Elyna explained, ‘a liar…a man who I loved once, years ago.’ Her cheeks coloured then as though more touched by the sun than she had allowed that day. She was going to be honest. No matter what.

“What do you want?”

Elyna looked down then, considering her words carefully. She extended her hand to the map, brushing the paper with her fingertips. ‘Safe passage to Aramane for me, and my children.’ She asked and forced herself to look up again.

‘If that is not permitted, Sonya mentioned a ritual? Where I might leave safely after a year?’ She ran her fingers down her nose, ‘if that must be, then is there a way I might send word to my King? To let him know that we are safe, that we will return.’

Elyna hated leaving things unfinished and tapped the map gently. ‘I will draw a good map, I was a Skyrider before a Queen. I have spent years mapping my kingdom from the sky,’ she gestured up. ‘I will make this a fine map.’

“Yes,” Sonya announced, “Elyna says she is the Queen of Renmere and that the man outside is a warrior.”

Kyanite sneered. Some warrior, he thought, to be taken from his mount with such ease. “Their father?” Kyanite pointed to the twins.

Sonya looked at Elyna after relaying the message. “No,” she soon confirmed, “they are the Prince and Princess of Renmere. Their father is the king.”

Kyanite felt all at once that these matters were bigger than him. Should they have followed the city of tents, he wondered, and offered Elyna up in good faith to the Akohl. He was as close to a king as one got in Emanys.

“She wants safe passage home,” Sonya said, for her and the twins.

Kyanite was on his feet, pacing a slow path back and forth across the flax woven mat beneath them. What would happen if the King of Dragons chose to invade the grasslands looking for his wife and children? If the grasslands did not kill them, the Ontari would, he thought. Even their dragons were no match for their strong mirroring magic. What a battle, what glory there was to be had.

I will let her write, Kyanite signed, “if she allows me to read the letter.” I will need your help, Sonya.

Sonya nodded and turned to Elyna. “The Onkarl has agreed to allow you to send word home.” Sonya looked back to Kyanite then. “What of her safe passage?” She asked. Will the tribe escort her to Aramane?

Kyanite looked thoughtful for a spell. “Let us see what comes of the letter,” he said.

How can her king send reply? Sonya asked out of curiosity, not sharing the translation with Elyna.

He can’t, Kyanite replied.

Sonya nodded. “Have any returned letter sent to the tavern at the Shore,” Sonya told Elyna. “I can ride there myself to fetch it.”

Kyanite waved. What do you say to her?

“That there is no return address,” Sonya replied.

Kyanite folded his arms. “I want her to teach me common.”

Sonya looked surprised. It was standard in Emanys for all outside influences to be shunned. The Ontari were very protective of their language and culture. She was surprised to learn Kyanite wanted to understand their language. I can help with that, Sonya signed.

He nodded. Very well.

She turned to Elyna. “The Onkarl has an interest in learning your language. I must return to my family now. You know where to find me,” she said, lifting a hand to touch the woman’s shoulder. Goodnight.

Kyanite signed a farewell before taking a look at the map Elyna had started. He set it aside and said, “tomorrow,” finish it later. He glanced at Cora and said something with a gesture. Cora nodded. The Onkarl stepped out of the ger then and disappeared into the darkness.

Cora sat up, “come,” she summoned Elyna, encouraging her to bring the twins onto the warmth of the furs. It is just us two tonight.

Elyna waited, looking back and forth with all the sense that she was on trial. Her words inspected as she sat, cross-legged with a straight back. One hand lingering over the babies. Her gaze fixed on the Onkarl watching him sneer at first. Her stomach contracted then, tight with knots before she was able to confirm that no, the children did not belong to Yvan.

Kyanite paced and she resisted the urge to join him. Restless with inaction she smoothed her free hand over her leg, forcing herself to stillness rather than give way to the tension that pooled in her middle. What thoughts were considered by the man? What decisions were weighed, and was there anyway she could provide more information?

“The Onkarl has agreed to allow you to send word home.”

She couldn’t help but feel disappointed, that everything wasn’t so quickly resolved, but she nodded with thanks. There was still hope. Perhaps after a year, she swallowed suddenly her gaze dropping to her knees. A year…she and Malcolm were so often forced apart. Maybe it was for the best. What could she put into it? What would be safe, if her letter was to be checked by Kyan first?

‘Thank you,’ Elyna offered a faint smile to Sonya, unaware of the deception that had taken place.

‘I will be very glad to teach him,’ Elyna nodded again. She lifted her hand in a small wave of goodbye as the woman slipped away.

She forced herself to stay calm and strong, but she felt defeated. Like a puppet with the strings cut. With the map set aside Elyna watched his departure. The tent flapped closed behind him and she felt that the air was clearer. He was much like his namesake, the dark waters beneath were apparent.

Summoned by Cora, Elyna hesitated before gathering up the children. She considered what the woman had suggested before laying down, too exhausted to refuse. With her back to the woman she spoke softly into the night. ‘I am sorry for the trouble I have bought to your door,’ she apologised before sleep took her swiftly.

The next morning, after a night of disturbed sleep, the twins regularly taking it in turns to wake and feed. Elyna woke early. She gathered the wrap of cloth and positioned it around her body, pulling the twins in with care. With the babes blissfully resting she edged out into the pre-dawn and stood in the near darkness.

Where was the edge of the magic? Elyna moved to where she thought they had entered the night before. It was then that she put her finger and thumb to her mouth and whistled. A sharp, low note that all horses in the Iron Hand were trained to. After a few minutes she repeated the action and found herself grinning as through the grasses, appeared a jet black horse. The creature snorted, circling with caution before bowing her head and making an approach.

Elyna turned sidelong, letting the horse she had ridden, without the use of her hands, approach. She had wondered in the night what had happened to the carriage horses. A soft nose lipped her fingers as she turned to stroke the inky nose bone down from the eyes. She bowed her head against the horses, who she had privately named Wraith. Eyes closed she took a moment to inhale the scent.

‘Where are your friend’s eh?’ She asked softly, ‘where did they run off to?’

A second horse came charging into the camp, the veil of magic protecting the area having confused the animals, keeping them from finding the place they had tried to remain so close to. The second black horse was a mare who stood just as tall as the gelding that had protected Elyna from what might have otherwise been a heavy collision. The animals were spooked having spent far longer in the open than they were used to, and blood was dripping from the mare’s nose, her chest covered in white sweat that had cooled and dried in layers.

Kyanite approached from behind the woman to greet the black mare. He ran his hands over her and lifted one of her feet to find her shoe had come loose and damaged the edge of her hoof. “Treka,” he said, sharing the name for horses in Emanys before disappearing into the ger to get the tools he needed to remove the animal’s shoes and pull the tacks free before tidying up the edge. When he returned, he noticed Elyna had the twins with her. Had she been considering an escape? He signed the word for danger, pointing to the land beyond the protection of the camp’s magic. For a moment then he seemed to concentrate and the gap the animals had created upon entry was closed.

He worked in silence, removing the shoes one by one from each horse. They would not serve them well on the grounds of the plains like they did the demanding streets and roads of the cities. The horses were led to the freshwater lake to drink, tempted by what looked like a few broken pieces of sweet potato. Kyanite let them eat from his hand then combed the sweat from the mare’s chest with a wet, stiff-haired brush and did his best to clean her up before allowing the animals some rest. He doubted the horse that remained missing was alive.

Sonya approached the lake with her family and was summed by the Onkarl with a wave. She greeted him with a gesture and he signed something in return. Sonya nodded before addressing Elyna. “This is the sign for danger,” she explained, “the Onkarl says it is important that you stay within the boundaries of the camp.” She glanced at Kyanite as he signed something else. “He says he is happy to stake the ground to show you where it is safe.” Sonya looked Elyna in the eye and whispered. “There are worse things in the grasslands than tribesmen, my lady.”

Elyna moved to catch the second horse, before being beaten to it. Startled she realised that Kyanite’s movements had been unheard in the commotion. Slowly soothing the gelding she watched the horse master inspect the animal with confidence. Trekka, he said and Elyna smiled quietly in reply.

‘Horse,’ she replied as the gelding nudged her gently for a treat. With Kyanite returned she moved carefully around both animals, endeavouring to keep them calm and checking over for any injuries. The gelding turned towards her with a nicker whenever she moved too close towards the mare. He hadn’t enjoyed losing his rider in the dark.

Before following the man to the lake, Elyna approached the hole in the magical defences. She edged closer, closing her eyes to see if she could feel or sense where the barrier was. Was there a tickle on the fine hairs on het face? A faint sense of charred air?

Elyna stepped back with a sigh and turned to catch up with the tribesmen. She settled to feed the twins as he carried on his work. The horses were clearly comfortable around him, which made her feel relieved. Did he remind her of Malcolm? Both men were leaders, used to their command being followed. But he was light and kissed by the sun in all the ways that Mal was dark, like a wolf on a moonless night. Maybe they shared a wildness. Though Kyan forged his survival in the grassland and Malcolm for over a decade had been forced to civilised culture and buried that part of him so well. Elyna found her gaze on the dirt, pensive.

When Sonya appeared, Elyna looked up with a smile and a small wave. Tilting her head to the side she repeated the gesture for danger, recognising that Kyan had already shown it that morning. Ely nodded, with the babes sleeping in the grasses beneath a tree, wrapped up in their sling, the woman stretched out, arms above her head.

‘I won’t leave,’ she told Sonya, ‘can you tell him that? I’m not going to run away. They have been kind when they could have been cruel, I would repay that with my respect…’ she looked to the horses, ‘I appreciate it may not be in my power to gift anything, but I hoped they might have use for the horses?’ She pulled her fingers through her hair.

‘What is out there?’ She asked finally, ‘can you describe it? Would Kyanite tell me?’ Elyna couldn’t hide the enthusiasm in her voice. This was a brave new world to explore. Today she would write her letter, then who knew how long it would be before she was able to go home.

“Horse?” Kyanite echoed, not sure he was saying it right. “Horse,” he whispered to the mare. “You are Treka here.”

Sonya gave Kyanite the woman’s message and he was still for a time before he gave a nod of thanks. In the grasslands the strong survived by taking what was earned in battle and through conquest. Elyna had no claim to the animals by all rights, but the gesture was well received.

The mare seemed to move as the man’s shadow, comforted by his stillness and calm demeanor. He was a sorcerer of sorts when it came to animals, having spent his life living in such close quarters with them. The mare went to her knees in the soft sand surrounding the lake and then lay down in the sun. Kyanite sat in the shade of the tree and closed his eyes, reaching out with his esen to search the surrounding grasslands like a spider feeling for movements in its web.

Something saw him to his feet once more, his gaze pointed south east of the camp. Riders, he signed to Sonya when questioned in silence.

Sure enough, some minutes later, a handful of men rode into the camp. Kyanite moved to greet them, recognising his own man and the elder who had returned with him. “Aspen,” Kyanite nodded.

Onkarl, the young man replied with a wave.

“So where is this slave?” The elder asked as he got down from his horse.

Kyanite pointed to the tethered man. He is strong and healthy, Kyanite signed.

The elder nodded his agreement. “But is he worth what you ask, young rider?”

“Him and a treka,” Kyanite offered, “strong stock from beyond the fjord.” He turned and pointed to the black gelding.

The elder followed him to the lake. “And the mare?”

Kyanite shook his head. “She is not mine to give.”

He checked the gelding over. “The slave, the treka and ten hide, and you have a deal.”

Kyanite nodded after a moment of consideration. “I will fetch the hide.”

Sonya stayed close to Elyna throughout the exchange, translating anything she deemed worth knowing. “The tribe is growing,” she said, “this is good for you… the Onkarl will be kept busy… too busy to notice that we speak the common tongue outside of his presence. Have you written the letter yet?”

Elyna found herself meeting the Onkarl’s gaze, returning it with a nod of her own. A man of few words, perhaps it was why she liked him. Certainly, she was aware that she felt safer with the Ontari tribe than she had any right to. But what was to be gained from being defensive? From trying to flee into the wild grasses? Elyna studied her hands before watching the horse settle down beside the man.

There was nothing to be found in panic except pain and more fear. She was at the mercy of the tribe and their good will. Elyna hoped that she was doing the right thing in being a lesser burden upon their resources.

With the horses settled, Elyna checked her babes once more before carefully approaching the edge of the water. In Ontari skirts it was easier to sit with her feet skimming the cool surface. It was going to be another hot day. She would enjoy the kiss of sun on her face as long as possible before retreating to the shade.

Kyan moved quickly and Elyna twisted to watch him, shielding her gaze with a hand. Slowly, as the approaching riders rumbled to a halt, the woman stood. Silent she waited, watching the exchange. The gesture to Yvan caused her heart to squeeze. Elyna looked down, studying her bare feet in the dirt. Should she try and help him? Could she? She blinked quickly, with a half turn to Sonya. Grateful the woman was happy to translate, Elyna found herself watching the dust gathering over her toes again.

‘Would he mind it so much?’ Elyna asked quietly, ‘he wanted to learn the language?’ her brow drew together in a frown.

‘I have…’ she pulled the short roll from her pouch. ‘Can you deliver this for me?’ She weighed the scroll in her hands. Heavier than the mere paper, it was weighted with her words. Reluctant she parted with it.

Elyna had cut a ribbon from her tattered dress to bind it. But within, the brief note followed.

Malcolm, my dearest love.

The babes and I are safe. Held within the grasslands of Emanys. I believe we will continue to be safe here. For what has set your closest advisers against me, I can only apologise. And pray, you may permit our return home. That any sins be laid at my feet, that I may answer them.

Any answer you provide should be left at the Inn on the shore.

Your ever faithful and loving, Elyna