The sun was almost down when we turned in. I spent time at the well, cooling myself off with buckets of water. Duncan tossed me a towel. I spent a moment before using the towel myself to dry off Silah. I then thought of her in human form.
"Well, that was a first." She smiled graciously after reforming, "Perhaps you are learning after all?"
I gave her a sidelong glance as I toweled off my face and patted down my arms. We then followed Duncan through the kitchen entrance. Duncan led us to a private booth that seemed to be a place he spent a lot of time. It was off of the kitchen, but behind a doorway leading into the main dining area. It was just down the hall from his secure room where we had met just earlier last week.
He led us in and motioned for us to sit down.
"I'll get some food coming our way."
He glanced at Silah.
"Oh yes, she'll eat. Three men's worth, if you can spare it."
He raised an eyebrow and turned and walked toward the kitchen with a bewildered expression on his face.
"You don't have to make such a scene." She said, looking at me with her brow furrowed.
I was confused, but I nodded anyway.
Duncan settled in and food and drinks were delivered. The ingredients that they had been dipping into meant, to me, that the fresher foods had long since been spent and they were subsisting off of the reserves of salted beef and pork with stewed cabbages and tomatoes. Eggs were tossed into the mix to round out the portions with something fresh. However, the ale was plentiful with the shipment having arrived yesterday from the Go Bråch brewery in Hlofreden.
Duncan settled in and I listened eagerly to the tale. Silah and I ate while Duncan spoke, his food going cold, untouched while he spoke. After Silah had polished off the plates put in front of her, she slid in closer to me, cradling my arm, engrossed in the tale Duncan spun.
"I heard this story around a campfire one night," Duncan settled in, his voice distant, recalling memories, "It was during the fourth season of the 10 Years War. It was a cold winter and morale was low. We were visited by a war chief, I forget his name. But, he was telling stories of the old heroes to take our minds off of the cold.
"He spoke of a time in Materune, quite some time before the unification of tribes. There was a man they called Rafal. He had traveled up through the Southern woods. He pledged his sword to fight with the Nezan tribe turning the tide for them. He spent two winters in Nezan Mesto, eventually earning the tribe independence from their Northern oppressors.
"After that he was said to have traveled North, never to be seen again. Those who fought alongside him told of his magical companion, a woman of surpassing beauty. She was … cursed to serve the wielder of the blade." He looked at Silah, looking for any recognition.
"That tale is at least two hundred years old." Duncan then turned and spoke directly to Silah, "And his companion's name was Silah."
She nodded absently, seeming very far away. Duncan seemed to expect more from her, then he looked to me seeming confused.
"Each time she bonds with … someone. She loses the memory of her previous bond."
"Ah." He nodded, thinking of the implications.
He looked at her again, catching her eye. I saw the look he gave her. It was like the look he had given me when he offered to take me into his care. It was a look of compassion for a lost and wandering soul. It touched me, reminding me that we weren't so different, Silah and I.
"I will say that this … what you to have, is far different than the story. She was his, unquestionably. However, you two," He paused, looking for the words, "You have each other."
He seemed to think better than to bring those thoughts to bear after he had said it. The table went silent. Duncan looked between the two of us, weighing the budding relationship in front of him.
"It's time for me to help clean up for the end of the night. We've got a room upstairs for you, it's small, but you'll be here for a while. Rooms will open up tomorrow afternoon when the guard and some of those hopefuls depart for Hlofreden." Duncan stood from the table, stretching, "That ale is good enough, but it's heavy. It makes me sleepy."
I was feeling it, too, and I stood and shook his hand.
"Thank you, Duncan," Silah said, quietly looking up at him.
"It's been my pleasure, Silah." He nodded to her, giving her a slight bow, then turned and moved back into the kitchen. Banter erupted as he entered. I smiled. He was back to commanding his troops.
I looked down at Silah who sat extraordinarily still. I moved out from the booth and held my hand out to her. She looked up, her face was a mix of emotions that I couldn't hope to decipher. I lifted her to her feet, then swept her up in my arms. She looked at me, surprised at first, then closed her eyes and rested her head against my chest. I carried her through the door into the dining room on the way to the stairs. As soon as the noise and bustle blasted through the now open door, I realized I had made a huge mistake. After a moment of picking a path through to the stairs, there were a few catcalls and whooping as some of the rowdier men saw my prize.
My blood began to boil and I clenched my teeth, feeling my body start to heat up, but Silah's warm hand caressed my cheek and she opened her eyes, looking up at me lovingly.
"Oh, my beast, they have no thought beyond the next moment. Let them be." She said whispering gently in my head, while looking up at my face. There was darkness on the stage; her presence, only a voice.
I pushed the door open and carried her through, being extra careful to navigate the doorways and room properly, not wanting to spoil the moment. It was true, the room was extremely small and narrow with a bed just shy of being too wide for it. There was a chair, a trunk, and a window, and very little else.
I laid Silah on the bed, and felt my own exhaustion set in. I knew that tomorrow was only going to get worse with Duncan's training. However, I also knew, though, that I was younger than he was, so unless he found a way to keep me occupied, he'd also be exhausting himself. I wasn't the youngling he once knew. I settled in the chair with a tired smile, removing my boots and dented breastplate then stripping to my waist.
"You have a very good life," Silah said, still deep in thought, staring at the ceiling.
"I can't complain. My only regrets have been the things that were out of my control." I said plainly.
"Me, too." She said with a small voice.
I felt a pang of sadness at her words. I sighed. I laid next to her in bed, but instead of her curling up to me, I embraced her from behind, putting my left hand on her slender waist and supporting her head with my right arm. She reached down and pulled my left hand from her waist and kissed it tenderly, then cradling my hand and arm, nestling into my embrace.
I drifted off to sleep musing, achingly, about what it would mean to save Silah.
(Get to know Akeron)
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