“I will get the blankets.”
“What is your name?” she asked.
“Lindo.”
Yes. That was it. She had been racking her brain and simply could not come up with it.
“Thank you, Lindo.”
“You are most welcome, my lady.”
Lindo then took a shivering Mariah out to the little copse and brought the girl back quickly. Mariah’s teeth were chattering when he brought her back and Ariana immediately drew the girl to her body, warming herself to near feverish levels. She couldn’t keep it up for too long without making herself sick, but she could do it long enough to warm Mariah considerably. Then she would lower her body warmth to normal and they could remain cuddled together sharing warmth that way. Lindo tossed several blankets into the carriage before locking them in there again. Ariana warmed two of the warming stones and placed one at Mariah’s feet and one in her lap for her hands to rest on. Before long Mariah said, “That’s much better. I’m nearly warmed through now.”
“Good,” Ariana said, lowering her body temperature to normal. She leaned into the corner of the bench and made sure they were covered well as Mariah curled up against her. They hit another rut and were jounced roughly.
“Two weeks of this,” Mariah said grimly.
She had not thought of that. It would be hard going. There was no mistaking that. She felt for Mariah more than anything. She could put up with it, she had made long journeys before, but Mariah had not had opportunity to travel with her in the four autumns of service she had given Ariana thus far. Mariah was a young, sheltered girl who had been looking for the adventure of being lady maid to a grand and famous woman. She had wanted to travel with her far and wide. It was just that, for the first autumns of her service they had been at war and travel had been unsafe. For the first autumn of peace there had been much too much responsibility at home to deal with the fall out of the land deal they had brokered with the Kiltians. They had had to relocate thousands of people from what was now Kiltian lands and given them free lands elsewhere in the country. For the second autumn of peace, when it was deemed safe to travel at last, the opportunity had simply not presented itself as yet. Although she had been considering a diplomatic mission across the seas to a land called Gruman to open up peace and treaty negotiations come the spring.
Now she might never get that opportunity.
No, she thought firmly. She would not cultivate a defeatist attitude. She would get out of this somehow. She would save both her and Mariah…somehow.
Or, at the very least…one day, Sin would grow tired of her and he would send her back.
Well she was determined to make that day come as soon as possible. She would be as intractable as she knew how to be. She would drive him mad with her refusal to give in to her fate.
Raja Sin would regret the very instant he had thought to take her away from her home.
Chapter Five
Raja Sin had moved away from the carriage every time it came to a halt. He did not want to see her. He did not trust himself to see her. But as tradition dictated, he had to be in charge of this abduction. He could not simply leave it to his men. That would not be right. Besides, where would he go? Everything was already prepared for her ahead of them. All that mattered now was to bring her safely through the journey and to his home.
He knew she would become uncomfortable in the carriage. Two weeks of jouncing and jolting would wear on a body very quickly. It certainly wore on him when he was on horseback for that long. Although, the trip from Kilt to Saren was significantly shorter on horseback. Almost half as short. Almost.
He had seen to it that the cushions provided for the women were as thick and soft as could be, but that would not help much in the long run. He saw to it they stopped every so often for the women to stretch their legs if they so wished to…but the cold kept them inside the carriage more often than not. As he rode beside the carriage he reached out and touched it, warming the cold metal slowly and gently, making it warmed inside for the two women, but not so hot that they baked as if they were in an oven. He supposed Ariana could have done the same thing, but he did it all the same and wondered if she noticed. Of course she noticed. She had to be aware of the change in heat. It was in her nature to be aware of all things energy and heat and fire.
The longing for her was unbearable. Knowing she was right within reach. It was agonizing. Yet he did not approach her. Did not want her to know he was there watching over her. He didn’t know why exactly, but he wanted to keep himself apart from her until he reached his home and could have her where he wanted her.
They would stop for the night, allowing the women to stretch out on their benches inside the carriage so they could sleep without being jounced about. So that the men could camp and rest.
Sin was impatient. Sleep meant more time wasted…more time apart from his goal.
More time apart from her.
Damn it. What was this fever he was in? How could it control him so thoroughly? He had fought it…god knows he fought it. For two autumns. Since the day he had met her. Now all he could think about was that fair porcelain skin, her long white neck…her rich, velvety red hair. That color. That color that no Kiltian woman had. Hells, even Saren women with that color seemed to be extremely rare. But that hair of hers shone like a jewel, sleek and shiny and oh so tempting. His dreams had been fevered with images of his hands holding her by her hair as she did sinful things to his body.
Growing aroused in the saddle was not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination and he shifted astride his Kiltianan stallion. Known for being fast and durable, he favored the breed. Some preferred the Jilutians, but speed was all well and good…until they got tired out easily. Kiltianans had been bred for speed in rocky, mountainous terrain. So, they had the best of all needs. Strength, endurance and speed. Not speed enough to rival the Jilutians, but enough for what they were needed for. Enough to haul rock and gold and gemstone and marble. And now…to haul plows and threshers.
The state of his body did nothing to improve his mood or his patience. It was an effort to keep control over himself, to keep from snapping off the heads of his men. But he thought they could feel him all the same, feel his frustration. With himself. With the situation…with everything. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like not being in control of himself and his needs. That was the whole reason behind all of this. To regain some control. Some sanity. Some normalcy.
His normal had been all about obsessing over her these past two autumns. More so these past two months since that kiss in the gardens. He had thought to purge himself of her that night. To kiss her and find her to be as dull and unappealing as all the other women in his life had become. To find her to be terrible at kissing, awkward at passion. Something. Anything but this twice-damned craving.
However the kiss had only made the craving more powerful. It had blinded him to everything else, made him utterly useless to his people who needed him. And all the while he had known she hated him. Everything he was, everything he stood for. She had sat across that table from him for a week thinking he was nothing but a savage. And she was probably right.
He knew he was doing nothing to endear himself to her by abducting her like this, that she would look on the act as an offense, but he would deal with that in time.
All he had to do was get her home. The rest would come with time.
Ariana was going mad. Each jolt and bounce went straight to her clenched teeth. Her bottom and legs were sore beyond imagining and it had grown so cold that she was heating the rocks and even the metal of the carriage to keep them warm and it was serving to exhaust her. She was aware of someone else doing the same thing…heating the metal of the carriage body. But it was so cold it didn’t last very long.
She wondered who it was. Who was the shaman who used fire like she did? Was it Sin? But whenever they stopped and let her out she did not see him amongst the men. He did not eat with them when they sat around the campfire and ate the fresh game that wa
s hunted.
At first she had been too irritable to eat…to angry. Now she was just too tired. She had grown exceptionally wary of Mordol. He seemed intent on leering and making lewd comments at every turn. The more they travelled the more his mood soured. She imagined he was just as tired as she was. They had pushed on endlessly, their speed never changing, the horses only resting at night.
And then they plodded on the next day.
She had lost track of time. Track of days. But she refused to ask how much longer to their destination. She would not have them see her eager for the end of the journey…lest they mistake it for eagerness to be with Raja Sin. Mordol had already taken to suggesting as much.
“Bet you’re right eager to get out of this coach and into a nice warm bed…Sin’s bed. Yeah. He’s going to do you up fine. Lay you down and spread those pretty white thighs of yours.”
These sorts of comments were made whenever the others were out of earshot. She suspected if they were overheard or known about it would not go well for the man. But she refused to complain about it. He was goading her for just such a reaction. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
She kept from complaining about her aches and pains as well. Mariah was bearing it stoically and if she could bear it, then Ariana could too. Mariah only complained when she was cold, so that Ariana knew it was time to warm her.
When the coach came to a sudden halt only a short couple of hours after their last stop, Ariana was surprised. She heard shouting outside of the coach, a flurry of activity, then they were moving forward again.
Only to stop a short while later.
Wondering what was going on, Ariana tried to see out of the little window. She heard people, saw bodies running past. There was more shouting.
“Ho the gate!” one man shouted.
“Ho the gate!” came an echo.
There was the sound of grinding metal and then the carriage jolted forward again.
They were in civilization! No more fields…no more wilderness. There were people here. People behind a gate of some kind.
Ariana couldn’t help but feel her heart leap with excitement and fear. Excitement that the journey might be over…fear that a reckoning was at hand.
The coach bounced to a stop only a minute later and a flurry of voices and shouting could be heard. She sat back down across from Mariah and closed her eyes.
What now?
They were left to wait and wonder for a long time it seemed. Mariah reached across to pick up Ariana’s hand and squeeze it. Ariana realized her fear must have been written on her face and she immediately schooled her features. She would not give him the satisfaction. She would be poised and powerful. Just as she should be. Then she would burn his house down to the ground.
The door to the coach opened and once her eyes adjusted to the light, the first thing she saw was Lindo…and the fact that it was snowing. It had to have started only within the past two hours, but already there was an inch of it on the ground.
It was St. Haubruck’s Day. And she would not be there to spend it with the orphans as she had promised. That is…if it was snowing in Capitol City. They had travelled so far. What were the odds of it snowing there as it was here? They were much further north now and very likely in the mountains of Kilt.
She took Lindo’s hand and he helped her down. Then he did the same for Mariah. That was how she knew their journey was ended. Lindo had never allowed them both to alight from the carriage at the same time except for when they stopped for the night. It was only midday.
She stepped into a bailey of some kind. She caught sight of a building right before Lindo touched her shoulder and said, “Sleep.”
She collapsed into his arms.
Ariana’s lashes fluttered open. She sat up quickly and grunted in frustration. Damn it, she had wanted to catch sight of the way in and out of the building. How could she make any type of escape if she didn’t know the way out?
The first thing she noticed was that, outside of a few lamps, the room would be utterly dark. She looked for windows and realized there were none there.
She was lying on a bed, the mattress thick and soft, sinkable and delightful compared to the hard seat of the carriage. The bedding was furs and velvets, the plush fabrics sinful and delicious. There were dozens of pillows, presumably filled with down from the soft feel of them.
She slid out of the bed, and stood up. The bed was low to the ground so it took a little effort to get her sore body to respond to the command to rise. Her feet hit a thick carpet and she realized she was barefoot. She saw the room was made entirely of marble, from floors to walls to ceilings, the ceilings supported by marbled columns. The room was large with a massive fireplace on the far wall. And sitting before the fireplace was a large copper tub filled with steaming hot water.
“Oh my god! A bath!”
She hadn’t bathed in two weeks. She could have left herself smelling bad and covered in dirt from their travel, making herself as unappealing as possible to the louse who had kidnapped her, but she wanted the bath too much to resist it. She walked over to the tub and saw rose petals floating on the surface of the water. She groaned. She would be the fatted calf. He was preparing her for himself. Again, she debated not bathing, but she couldn’t do it.
Slowly, she pulled her soiled dress over her head and dropped it to the ground. She did the same with her drawers and undergarments. She got into the water with a moan of pleasure. The hot water immediately sank into her sore muscles, allowing her to relax. She looked around herself then and saw a large, ornate metal door in one wall. Iron. Iron and stone. Two things she could not set on fire. Perhaps if she worked hard enough she could melt the iron of the door, but again that would gain her nothing. She would then have to step through a pile of melted metal…and even she could not stand to touch metal that hot. And the act would completely exhaust her, leaving her no way of defending herself afterward.
And then there was Mariah to consider. She couldn’t leave her behind.
Where was Mariah?
And as if she had asked aloud, the door to the room opened and in walked Mariah. Ariana sank down into the tub, shielding herself from whomever else might come in, but the door closed in Mariah’s wake. Mariah, looking freshly bathed and dressed in a fresh frock came hurrying over to her.
“My lady! I thought I would die when I woke up and you were gone!” she gushed out, falling to her knees and throwing her arms about Ariana’s shoulders. Ariana hugged the girl back, just as glad to see her. Then Mariah sat back and looked her and the room over critically.
“Well,” she said, “may as well get you bathed and dressed.”
“Dressed in what? Not in that thing,” she said, nodding toward the offensive dress she’d been wearing for two weeks.
“I’m sure there’s something somewhere. In some of those drawers perhaps.” Mariah handed her a sponge and some soap she found on the floor, then she got up to look in the drawers.
She took out a colorful skirt and a violet colored blouse. The Sarens wore single dresses, empire waisted gowns that went to the floor. These clothes were in the loose fitting Kiltian style.
“There are no under garments,” Mariah noted with a frown.
“Why am I not surprised?” Ariana sighed. “I guess I should be grateful he’s letting me get dressed at all.” She eyed Mariah’s simple knee-length skirt and blouse in a pale blue color. “You wear it well.”
“I’m just grateful to be out of my old dress. Now bathe. Let’s get you cleaned and dressed before anyone decides to come in.”
“I have a feeling we are being monitored.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because I thought of you and suddenly there you were. I’ll bet they are reading my thoughts.”
“Don’t get paranoid now. I’ve been kicking up a fuss ever since I had my bath. I think they just got tired of hearing me yell.”
“Mariah, I didn’t know you could be so troublesome,” Ariana said wi
th amusement.
“Wait until I get my hands on one of them when they aren’t paying attention. I don’t care if I don’t have any majic. A kick in the groin is still a kick in the groin.”
“Ouch. You have a point. But please…don’t do anything that will get you into trouble. I would hate to see you hurt and I have no way of protecting you. In fact, I think they will use you as a means to keep me in line. They already have been.”
“I know. And I’m sorry for that. If you had been alone, you might could have escaped. But I thought you would be better off to have me as not. I wasn’t thinking I could be a hindrance to you.”
“No! Don’t you dare worry about that. You were very brave and loyal for what you did. I won’t soon forget it.” Ariana began to bathe in earnest, scrubbing away days of filth. She didn’t know what Kiltian bathing habits were, but it was inexcusable that they hadn’t been offered a bath once since leaving Capitol City. Then again, they had been in wild country. The only thing they could have used was an obliging stream…and that would have been freezing even to her.
Still, had they been on the road there could have been an inn or something. Maybe. They were in hard country now…Kiltian lands. It was hard to know what was available. It had only been two autumns since the Kiltians had had their new lands. The Sarens that had been there before had been ousted from their homes and businesses. Who knew what had sprung up to replace them.
Ariana finished her bathing and standing up in the tub she accepted a fresh towel and wrapped herself in the thickness of it. It was of a strange tufted material…like velvet only softer and more absorbent. It must have been something from a Kiltian loom. She had never seen anything like it before.
There was a dressing table with a mirror set into it and it had a small padded chair before it. Ariana sat down before the mirror and eyed the many jars sitting on the table. Sighing, she picked one up and opened it. She smelled the unguent inside and touched it with her fingertips.
“Some kind of lotion,” she said. She went for another jar and found it full of hairpins. Each little jar held something to aid a woman in dressing herself. Everything smelled so pretty. It sickened her. She was getting that fatted calf feeling again.