Part of me was flattered. He’d shown me great honor in the way he’d talked to me. He’d even called me ‘raisa-ro,’ though my position certainly didn’t merit such an honorable title. Imagine, the leader of a village using such respect to address a mere wanderer!
And the village as a whole—or the majority, at any rate—had welcomed me to stay. Though I obviously didn’t agree with their Traditional stance on women being forbidden from participating in anything dangerous, I recognized what a bold step it was for the village to be willing to allow me to stay as one of them after they had seen for themselves my skills in a fight. The usual response would be to politely offer me hospitality and then wish me well and send me on my way. Despite what Thone had said, that went beyond selfishness of wanting a dragon guardian on hand, especially seeing how they were accustomed to their relationship with Krenish.
I’d spent so many years traveling on my own that the thought of staying in a village, of calling one place home, seemed foreign. For me, ‘normal’ meant walking the road, finding a place to stay the night, trading, moving on. Aimless, yes, but comfortable. Easy to keep Axen away from prying eyes that wouldn’t understand our bond. Safe. It was the same thing I’d been doing all my life, ever since I was a little girl.
A cold feeling crept into my mind, and I shifted my thoughts. Could I really adapt to village living? Could I survive in a Traditional village? I would have to conform to certain restrictions, certain standards. It would be difficult to restrain my instincts, to silence the responses born of years of training. The thought of never practicing with a blade again, or having to sneak around to practice, made me frown. Too foreign. No, I couldn’t stay put.
But something else tugged at my mind. If I left, what would that mean? I’d be free to carry on as I always had. Free to practice whatever skills I saw fit to practice. Safe in the routine of my normal life. And what of Emsha?
A nudge of cold trickled into my belly. I knew bullies. I’d encountered plenty in my life. If they found someone weak enough to make a victim, then they resisted any force that would require them to stop their bullying. Jennik would find another way to target Emsha, a more subtle way, some way to manipulate and shove Emsha back into the victim’s role, where they belonged, in his eyes. And that was even with Axen and me still present. What would they do if Axen was gone?
The cold in my stomach spread. I had humiliated Jennik. I had challenged him publicly in the streets and forced him and his men to flee. I had challenged him in front of his men, alone and unarmed, and escaped victorious. And I had prevented him from carrying out vengeance on the men of Emsha by breaking up the battle and once again forcing him into retreat. But he couldn’t get revenge on me. He had many fighting men on his side, but not enough to take on a dragon.
And what did bullies do when they couldn’t take out their anger and humiliation on the cause of those feelings? They found the nearest weak target and took it out on them. If I left, that would be Emsha.
I closed my eyes. I was stuck. I wanted to move on, but if I did, it would open the way for Krenish to charge in and wreak vengeance and destruction on Emsha. As long as I stayed, Krenish would have to keep their distance.
I made a face. This stinks.
Yeah, they do sort of smell, don’t they? Strange little meat things.
I couldn’t help but smile. That’s not what I meant. We’re stuck here. If we leave, those bad men will come back and attack Emsha.
So?
I sent a jab of scolding displeasure her direction. So that’s a bad thing. These people are victims through no fault of their own.
Then make them not victims anymore.
How do you propose we do that?
I don’t know. Find them a dragon?
I rolled my eyes. Ha, ha.
Make them stronger?
They already are plenty strong. There just aren’t as many of them here as in Krenish. I paused. I suppose we could help them attract more people to their village. It should be able to grow, being along the main road, even as Traditional as they are. But that will take time. More time than I’m interested in sticking around.
What about one of those paper things?
I frowned. Paper things? A book?
No, the paper things. The things that say, I will not attack you because you will give me meat, and you will not attack me because I will give you rocks, and it makes everyone happy.
A peace treaty based on a trade agreement. I remembered witnessing a signing between two larger settlements along the main road almost a decade ago. Axen had been fascinated by all the pomp and ceremony. It had taken a lot of convincing to keep her watching from the nearby mountainside instead of plopping herself into the middle of the crowd to get a closer look at the proceedings.
I wasn’t entirely sure how far Krenish could be trusted to stick to an agreement on paper. But it could be that Emsha did have something valuable to offer on which a treaty could be founded. Something which hadn’t been discussed before because Krenish was too busy bullying Emsha to consider other possibilities. And a formal treaty was taken seriously by the crown. I had been traveling east, but I could head west and stop by the Meeting Hall to notify them of what had transpired. Official approval and oversight of the treaty would give Krenish extra motivation to behave.
It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was better than anything else I could come up with. Yes. A peace treaty. That might do it. I smiled. Thanks, Axen.
She yawned. You meat things have such easy problems to solve. How to coax a rekin out of its hole at breakfast time—now that’s a problem.
As the day passed, I found it easy enough to obey Magra’s orders to stay put and rest as my worn-out body insisted on frequent naps. Fasha stopped in to deposit a wreath of flowers on my head. Rik visited to check on me twice, probably out of some need to feel he was doing his honorable duty. At one point I saw Erret stomp past the window and shoot a glare in my direction. I resisted the temptation to wave.
Jaska returned as the day set into evening and set to work cooking dinner and attending to the cleaning duties around the house.
“Don’t forget to make enough for our guest, tabe-me,” Magra said from where she worked in the corner, weaving fresh bandages. I hadn’t realized she and Jaska were married, or that she was married at all, for that matter. She had a stronger air of independence about her than the other women of the village.
“Thone insisted that he and his children tend to our guest’s dinner.” Jaska looked up at me from his sweeping. “If that is acceptable.”
“It’s an honor,” I said.
Sure enough, Thone arrived a short time later with his family. After greeting Magra, Jaska, and myself, Thone directed the children through moving a small table to a more central position beside my bed, then spreading out a meal. He served while the children found chairs for him and Tarvia. They sat on the floor and waited for their turn to get their food.
Tarvia had been chatting with Magra, but she sat in the chair closest to me once the meal was ready. “Magra tells me you should be well enough by morning to no longer be constrained to bed rest. I imagine that comes as a relief to you.”
It did. As easy as it had been while I napped the day away, my body was stronger now and already getting itchy for movement. I never had been good at staying in place, whether it was settling down or merely sitting for too long. “I will be glad for the chance to see more of your village.”
“As long as you take it easy.” Magra gave me a look from across the room before returning to her meal with her husband.
“It’s a great village,” Fasha piped up around a mouthful. “Jec lets me play with the hammers sometimes. And Lashia braids my hair. And—”
Thone cleared his throat, and she quickly returned to her food.
“It seems like a very nice village,” I said. “I’ll be sure to meet everyone I can.” Everyone actually interested in meeting me, that is, I thought. I didn’t doubt there
were a few more like Erret who would be displeased with my decision to stay.
We ate in silence for a moment before Thone spoke up. “I trust your dragon is well?”
I sensed her pleasure as she downed her own dinner. “Quite, thank you.”
He glanced at the window, then down at his food. “Might I ask where it goes?”
I tried to make sense of the question and failed. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
He got that awkward look again. “That is, where is it now? I would assume it doesn’t stray too far from you, but obviously it’s farther than my people tend to travel through the course of the day. I’m sure they would have mentioned if they had seen it.”
Ah. He was curious how something so big had gone unnoticed until she chose to join my side. And wanting to make sure Axen was staying a safe distance from his people. I gestured to the northwest. “She prefers the environment and,” I glanced at the children, “fauna in the mountains.”
“What’s a fauna?” Fasha asked.
Her oldest brother elbowed her. “Hush while the adults are talking.”
“Fauna is what the dragon eats,” the other brother whispered a little too loudly.
Fasha’s eyes turned round. “Oh.”
I bit back a laugh.
Thone gave the children a scolding look, then turned back to me. “But the nearest mountain is nearly a day’s travel from here.”
“As I’m sure you can imagine, Axen is able to travel much faster than we can.”
“I see.” He paused. “It—she—truly is that far away?”
I let my mind slip closer to hers, to see more of what she saw around her. Sparse trees outside a dark cave. A few bones left from her meal. A breathtaking view of the valley stretching far below her perch.
“Yes, truly. It’s quite normal for us. I travel the roads, and she avoids disturbing people. So much as she can.”
“Then you don’t spend much time together?” Tarvia asked.
“Not too much.” A hunt and ride in the mornings. Sometimes another in the afternoon, if I could find a quiet place away from people for her to pick me up. And another in the evening before I found a place to rest for the night. Plus regular chatter between us throughout the day. Some might call that ‘much time,’ but it was less than it once was. Besides, my answer seemed reassuring to both Tarvia and Thone.
Fasha set her empty bowl aside and stood to tug at my sleeve. “Excuse me, please, raisa-ro.”
“Yes?”
“Are you going to stay here?”
I glanced at Thone, who looked as interested in the answer as his daughter was. “I believe I will. For a little while, at least.”
The little girl beamed. “Yay.”
Thone’s expression was a bit more sedate, but no less pleased. “I’m glad to hear that. You’ll be welcome to stay with us for as long as you wish.”
“Thank you.” I hesitated, unsure how detailed I could be with the children there but still feeling a need to express the reason I was staying. “I normally keep to my travels, but I wasn’t certain about possible consequences of my departure. Specifically where Krenish is concerned.”
Tarvia stood. “Children, take our things home and see to the cleaning.”
The three immediately gathered up the remaining food and dirty dishes. Fasha gave me a bow and a peck on the cheek before scurrying after her brothers. Tarvia bid me goodnight and followed the children, leaving me alone to discuss the matter with Thone.
Once they were gone, I folded my hands in front of me. “I am concerned what Jennik might lead his men to do if they find a dragon is no longer in residence in Emsha.”
The look in Thone’s eyes made it clear that he, too, had thought about that possibility. “He won’t be happy about how you bested him and his men.”
“And if I leave, I fear he’ll take that out on you and your people.” It was perhaps a little too bold for me, an outsider, to presume to discuss village politics with the leader, but I broached the subject regardless. “However, I thought that while Axen is here to prevent them from trying anything too bold, you might be able to find grounds with Jennik to form a peace treaty.”
Thone snorted, but caught himself. “I’m afraid we’ve attempted diplomacy with Jennik in the past. He isn’t interested in peace.”
“Forgive me for speaking boldly, tabe-ro.” I didn’t wait for consent before continuing. “Jennik was not interested in peace with a village he could overpower and bully into submission. He may be more interested in discussing terms of peace now that he can no longer do that.”
Thone leaned back and scratched at the short whiskers on his cheek. “His pride is great. He wouldn’t demean himself into speaking peace with a village he deems lesser than his own.” He stood, marking the end of the discussion. “Thank you for your concern, raisa, but I’m afraid our troubles with Krenish will not be so simple to resolve. Do not stay for our sake if you would prefer to travel on. We have faced their wrath before and will face it again. We weather through, as we always have.”
I settled back into the bed, my limbs itching to move even more now. Maybe he was right. Jennik would never agree to peace. I was only delaying the inevitable by staying. I should just leave. Maybe right now, while Magra was busy helping her husband clean up after their own meal. I could rest on Axen’s back as easily as I could rest in this bed.
But my stubborn streak kept me planted firmly in the bed. I’d said I would stay, at least for a time, so that’s what I was going to do. I would find a way to convince Thone to talk to Jennik. And I’d help them find some reasonable agreement based on something that would last long after Axen and I had moved on. I would.
That, or I could eat them both.
I closed my eyes. No, Axen. You may not.