“Wait, wait! Maiden, stop running!”
It was the woman who was fighting her attacker a while ago. She was running after her. Tamlyn decided not to ignore her gut and kept running, her fear encouraging her legs.
“By the Moon’s tits! Stop! I’ve saved you! Wait!”
Suddenly the woman leaped and stood in front of Tamlyn.
“Stop!” she said with her long black arm extended in front of her.
Tamlyn fell to the ground, exhausted. Her dress was torn, her face and arms scratched and she was so tired she couldn’t take another step.
The woman stood near her exhibiting an angry look and thinning lips.
“This is how you, maiden, thank your savior. He was about to dry you of every single drop of blood you have in your veins. Damn it, girl. Don’t you know you’re not supposed to wander in these woods, especially at night and never alone? Come on, I’ll help you up. Come on.”
Tamlyn rejected her hand and stood up, eyeing the strange woman with the customary noble look: impenetrable, solid, detached and cold.
“I see, you’re of royal blood!”
Then she laughed, awakening the whole forest.
“A royal maiden, here! Are you lost? Still no answer. Well, goodbye then.”
And the woman turned and walked away. Tamlyn’s heart sank.
“Wait, Wait!” she shouted. “Wait!”
The woman turned back, grinning.
“I, I’m... thank you, first of all, for coming to my aid. The man was... demented most assuredly.”
The woman frowned and then her face, for a tiny moment, demonstrated surprise. However swiftly the expression faded away and she adopted the indifferent look so found of nobleman; nevertheless others were able to present such facade as well. Tamlyn noticed all the little expressions. She was trained by the Nanny in their distinctiveness.
“If you want to survive here,” she used to say, “in the art of reading others you, Tamlyn, must excel. Excellence brings forth survival: lack of it brings only a noose around your pale neck.”
“I... thank you, once again, good woman. I am indeed lost. Could you guide me home? It’s near the Castle Invictus. My father awaits. I went to visit a cousin nearby and my horse escaped me, the vile beast.”
“Your father must be out of his mind with worry...” said the woman, getting closer, her gaze locked upon Tamlyn’s eyes as if to see if she could rip her away from her locked secrets.
“Yes, for sure...¨ said Tamlyn, looking away, trying to convey the message of fear and fragility, even though she was at the moment very scared and undoubtedly fragile, but when others think one is week, Nanny pointed, they don’t notice the tiny blade going through their unguarded necks. The blade was secured, around her tight. She never used it but Nanny taught her how, if need be.
“He would be so happy to see you, his beloved daughter, he most assuredly would give me rewards for your safe return!” said the woman with sarcasm.
“After a beating rewarded to me for being so stupid, yes, he will compensate you.”
“Good! By the Moon’s tits, I’ll escort you!” the woman said and Tamlyn saw her teeth were unusual, sturdier and shiny. She herself was different, a woman who seemed to have the muscle of men, though clearly feminine. Her skin was dark and it was plain to see she could take care of herself in the woods. She was neither delicate nor meek. Her hair was shorter than Tamlyn’s and was black as raven’s feathers. Her eyebrows were thick and Tamlyn’s gut was screaming not to trust this woman, but what could she do? She was so entirely lost she had to take a risk.
“I am Marliese, from the Seven Swords Clan.”
“The what?”
Marliese laughed and laughed.
“You never heard of us? No? Well, we all live and work together.”
“In a village near by?”
“Of sorts. We tend to wander. We’re vagrants. And what is your name?”
They started walking, Tamlyn lifting slightly her gown, though it was irremediably ruined.
“Jolyn.”
“Jolyn? That’s a beautiful name.”
Tamlyn replied nothing. It was her manner, she tended to keep quiet plus she remembered Nanny’s words: “When you let others speak, without knowing, they reveal all their secrets to you. Keep your ears peeled and listen away, child, listen.”
So she did. Luckily, Marliese was not the silent type. Plus she had the confidence of knowing her companion was a week, frail young woman, so that made her guard go down.
The Seven Swords Clan, Marliese boasted, was a very ancient clan, full of secrets and victories. It had been allied with many kingdoms and most of those alliances were kept secret, for every body’s sake. They were vagabonds, wanderers, nomads, not very well respected.
“Gypsies?” asked Tamlyn.
“Of sorts,” Marliese replied with a wicked grin she no longer cared to conceal.
She spoke grandly of her tribe, the riches and power it had, bigger and mightier than any nobleman, plus - she added with some disdain - some noblemen had the blood but no true power to speak of! Not her clan, no. They had influence and authority, true power, used when it was needed and even their allies feared them. So they covered them in riches, gold, jewels, crystals, moon beams! Golden opals retrieved from mother earth’s womb. Yes, they were wealthier than many.
Tamlyn just listened. Too much boastfulness. Too much of it. Probably none of it was true. Let her brag. Let her guard be down.
After a silence, uncomfortable to Marliese, she picked up the pace and said:
“We must hasten. His kin will seek out revenge. You left your scent on his teeth. Walk, faster, come! Quick!”
They were almost running. After a while Tamlyn fell to the ground.
“Get up, child, get up!” Marliese commanded and from her throat escaped something similar to a growl her dog would make when she tried to take away his food in a playful manner.
“Jolyn, walk! Get up.”
“All right,” she said raising up. “I’m tired. So tired.”
“Fine!” sneered Marliese. “Let’s rest for a while. Your dearest father can wait. His heart can be broken for a little while longer. Sleep. Take a nap. I’ll watch over you.”
“No, no need to sleep, I...”
But suddenly the woman took a rock from the ground and stroke Tamlyn’s head with it. Before she lost her senses, she heard:
“I said sleep.”