Dear Reader,
I am incredibly honored that you've made it this far in my book. Maybe my writing isn't quite so bad? :-) Yet, this is the end. The last chapter. No, it's not the finished work. In fact, since I completed the "first draft," I have added about 3,000 more words and I've barely made it to the second chapter in the reading and rewriting process. I am not happy with the professionalism, the quality, and the flow of the story, but it will do as the first draft. Still, this is the last that I will be posting on here. I have in times past reposted chapters when I changed something, but now that the complete first draft is done, no more revisions will be posted. Instead, you will be invited to read the final product, once it has been published by Little Dozen Press. Until then, if you have any comments, please share. I hope you have enjoyed Aquila and her story as much as I have enjoyed penning...er, typing it on paper.

Sincerest Gratitude,
Haley Crenwelge



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 14

Aquila shuddered at the thought of being attacked by a bird with brass claws and beak. Maybe that was why she felt like she was being watched the whole time. Suddenly the last part registered in her head. A man had stumbled into town half dead from such an attack. Aquila pulled the horses to a stop and turned her full attention on the man. He was not so tall, thin, but had a full head of blond hair above his green eyes that were a little too close together to deem handsome. “That man that came into town, did he live?”
“He is still alive. He was on the brink of death at the beginning, but Doctor Hagan is the best doctor around and he was able to spare his life. He got tore up pretty bad. Had an arrow in one leg and in his back. Looked like the bird grabbed him by the shoulders and knocked him over and then did a work on his back—oh, excuse me, my lady, I did not mean—“
“No, do not apologize. Where can I find this man?” Aquila was almost desperate.
“In the doctor's office, just down the street on the right, just beside the livery stable.” The man climbed onto the bench. “Allow me to drive you there.”
Aquila relinquished the reigns, half hoping the man was her husband and half hoping he was not. The poor man, whoever he was.
A moment later the man pulled back on the reigns and nodded his head towards a nice shanty with a beautifully kept yard. “That be the doctor's home and office. Go right on in.”
“Thank you, sir,” Aquila quickly scrambled down from the wagon. Turning back halfway to the door, she hurried back to the back of the wagon and scooped the babies out of the cradle.
The man climbed down and tethered the horses to the fence. “Have a good day, Madam.”
“Thank you,” Aquila shouted back to him as she burst through the door. “Doctor!”
A short, white haired, portly gentleman appeared, a towel in his hands, his eyebrows going up at the sight of the three crying babies. “May I help you?”
“Yes. The man you have here who was attacked by a Stymphalid, may I see him?” Aquila asked.
“You may, but not with those infants. They will disturb his—“ “Aquila!” someone shouted from a back room.
Aquila almost wilted at the familiar sound of her husband's voice. Ignoring the doctor, she rushed to the back room where the voice had come from. What she saw when she went through the door melted her spirit and she dropped to her knees beside the bed and sobbed. “I thought you were dead!”
Trouble smiled as he gently tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Shh, my love. It is all right. I am not dead.”
The doctor appeared in the room and took the babies one by one to another room. When they were alone, Aquila moved to the headboard and softly caressed her husband's face.
Trouble looked her up and down and then frowned. “You have lost a lot of weight.”
Aquila sniffed and tried to smile. “I needed to lose weight.”
“Yes, but not so quickly. You went hungry, did you not?”
“Y—yes. But I am all right.”
“Why are you here?”
“Sir Skelumu hired a new man for your job and told me I had to get out.”
“I heard a wagon. How did you get acquire a wagon?”
“Sir Briggs had one that he kept behind the livery stable.”
“He just gave it to you?”
“No, I traded him the pendant for it.”
“Aquila—“
“No, it is all right,” Aquila quickly assured him. “He was a member of the Royal Guard and was grateful for it. He said it belonged in the depths of the sea and willingly gave the wagon to me in return. Sir Briggs is a nice man.”
Trouble sighed. “My love...I have not ceased to think of you day and night. I am so sorry for abandoning you for so long.”
“No, do not think about it. You could not have helped what happened. Trouble...two weeks after you had left, six men rode into town with a Stymphalid. It had your dagger in its chest.”
Trouble nodded. “I plunged that dagger into its chest all right. I wish I had thought to pull it out, it was a handy thing. How did you know it was my dagger?”
“I went up to see what all of the commotion was about and noticed the inscription. I asked them where they got the dagger and they said they bought it off of a peddler a month or so back.”
Trouble frowned. “That is odd. Why would they lie like that?”
Aquila shrugged and laid her head on the pillow beside his. “I do not know, but that does not matter now. You are alive and getting stronger by the minute, no doubt.”
“Yes. Soon I will be up and walking again.”
Aquila giggled.
“What is so funny?”
“Remember how we met?”
“Yes, quite clearly.”
“It took you months before you could find the strength to get up and move about.”
Trouble's frown deepened. “Yes. But I hope it shall be quite different now. I do not wish to spend months on my back again.”
Looking up at his face, Aquila slipped a hand beneath the covers and patted him safely on his chest. “I am sure it will not take quite so long, my big man, now that you have your wife and children to cheer up your days.”
Trouble kissed her nose and smiled. “I am sure.”

********

Two days later Trouble was testing his weight on his one good leg and a crutch the doctor had provided. Aquila stood close by, prepared to catch him if he should fall.
“You could not catch me if I fell!” Trouble had frowned.
“I carried you up a mountain once before, I can catch you if you fall,” Aquila had insisted.
Trouble had just shrugged then and let her be. Once satisfied that the crutch would hold and he could move about comfortably, Trouble moved outside for some fresh air. A falcon soared overhead. Aquila watched it for a moment before gripping her husband's arm. “Trouble!”
“Yes?”
“The falcon. It is one of my brothers or sisters.”
“The falcon is your brother or sister?” Trouble frowned.
“No! It is carrying a missive from one of my brothers or sisters,” Aquila explained.
“Oh. I will get it.”
“Careful. They do not take to strangers very well,” Aquila cautioned.
Trouble slowly and carefully moved to the railing a few feet away that the falcon had perched on. It eyed him suspiciously and moved further down the rail. Stopping not even an arms length away, Trouble gradually lifted his free hand towards the bird. Ever so slowly, he moved towards the bird until he could reach the missive it held.
He returned to Aquila once the task was completed and opened the small parchment. “My dear brothers and sisters, Come home.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in, but when they did, tears streamed down Aquila's face. “Oh, Wren!”
Trouble stood there, for a moment, at a loss for what to say. He had not been expecting this any more than she had.
“It is over. I can go home!”

Chapter 13

It seemed like eternity passed as he stood there banging before a light slowly grew underneath the door and it opened to reveal the pajama-clad doctor. “You are going to wake the whole town if you keep banging and shouting like that!” He took one look at Aquila's pained expression and nodded. “It is time.”
“You mean—this is what—is supposed—to—happen?” Aquila gritted out.
“Yes. What did you think was supposed to happen?” Doctor Witherfield chuckled. “It is called a contraction.”
The contraction, as Doctor Witherfield called it, ceased and Aquila sighed. “I have no idea. I thought something was wrong.”
“No. Everything is going as it is supposed to go. Sir Classye, please put her in the bed to the left while I wash my hands,” Doctor Witherfield instructed.
Trouble obeyed and then quickly moved a chair to her bedside. Aquila took his hand and smiled. “They are coming. I am going to have my babies.”
“Yes, you are, my love.” Trouble smiled.
Doctor Witherfield placed another chair on the other side and sat down. “Now we wait.”
“Wait?” Aquila frowned.
“Yes. I must time the contractions. It may not happen for a few hours yet. I doubt it would happen before tomorrow comes,” Doctor Witherfield said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Tomorrow? But the pain!” Aquila complained.
“Yes, the pain will continue for quite some time. But just because you are in pain does not mean that it is going to happen right then.”
A contraction hit and Doctor Witherfield looked at his pocket watch. Aquila squeezed Trouble's hand with her right and with the left she clenched the bedsheets. Gasping with relief when it passed, Doctor Witherfield nodded. When another one hit, he nodded again. “Yes, it will be a few hours yet.”
Hours passed by slowly as contractions hit one after the other, the next one growing closer to the last one every time. Doctor Witherfield had at one point gotten up and poured a basin full of water. Dipping a rag in it and squeezing it out, he handed it to Trouble and motioned for him to gently pat her face. Trouble continued to hold her hand with one hand as he wiped her brow with the other. Aquila was immensely grateful for the cool water as it seemed that the room was growing steadily hotter by the second.
Finally, when Aquila was sure her contractions would not stop, Doctor Witherfield nodded at Trouble. “It is time.” Moving to the end of the bed, Doctor Witherfield looked at Aquila. “All right. This is going to be the hardest part of labor and delivery. It is going to be more painful then your contractions. Now when I say push, push with everything you got.”
Taking a few deep breaths despite the pain, Aquila closed her eyes and waited with dread. Seconds later Doctor Witherfield gave the order and Aquila pushed with all her might. The painful minutes of pushing seemed like torturous hours until finally Doctor Witherfield announced the arrival of a baby boy. Only seconds after that announcement Aquila could hear his screams and she opened an eye to look at him. Doctor Witherfield had him wrapped in several blankets and situated carefully on the second bed before readying himself for the next one.
Aquila released the sheets and then grabbed a fresh spot, once again bracing herself for the next baby. Doctor Witherfield ordered her to push. The contractions were returning with an even greater ferocity than before.
“I cannot do this!” Aquila screamed in agonizing pain.
“Yes you can, Aquila! You must! Now push!” Doctor Witherfield shouted above her screams.
Aquila took a deep breath and pushed with every ounce of strength she had, forcing her breath out in excruciating cries. Then when she was sure she had nothing left to give, Doctor Witherfield held up the second baby screaming and crying. “A second boy!”
Aquila released her grip on the bedsheets, the remaining air in her lungs leaving her in a rush. Closing her eyes, she tried to shut out the crying infants. She had no strength with which to—grabbing the sheets again, she screamed.
Doctor Witherfield blinked and Trouble jumped to his feet. “Why is she still in pain?” he demanded.
“There is another one,” Doctor Witherfield replied in calm shock.
“Another one?” Aquila cried out.
“Three babies?” Trouble declared.
“Three.” Doctor Witherfield placed the second baby carefully beside the other and nodded. “All right. Push!”
Aquila threw her head from side to side. “I cannot!”
Trouble released Aquila's hand and grabbed her face with his hands. “Push, Aquila, push!”
Aquila gasped for air. Pushing so hard she brought her knees and chest up to meet in the middle. Soon her own screams were met with a chorus of two unhappy infants. Suddenly Doctor Witherfield laughed. “We have her!”
The pain ceased and Aquila fell limp onto her pillow. She could say nothing to acknowledge her babies arrival, instead she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

*********

When Aquila opened her eyes it took her a moment to remember where she was and what had happened. “My babies!”
Trouble was immediately at her side. “Shh! They are all right. They are sleeping after their meal.”
Aquila's brow knit in confusion. “How did they eat?”
“You were so out of it that I had to turn you over and hold the babies in place but it worked. They had their fill and fell right asleep,” Trouble explained.
Aquila looked over to the three small bundles. “Two boys and a girl?”
“That is right. What have we decided to name them?”
“Sevrrech Laush, Gilov Elm-vesit, and...Emili Uwani.”
“Beautiful. Just like their mother.” Trouble kissed Aquila on the nose and then on the lips.

**********

“Baby, I am going hunting,” Trouble announced two weeks later.
“Hunting?” Aquila frowned as she smoothed a dark curl away from Emili's eyes. “But Love, you said it was dangerous out there.”
“It is, but we need food and I cannot afford enough food to hold us until I get paid again. Do not worry. I will be all right,” Trouble assured her.
Aquila worried her lower lip as Emili gently sucked her breast. “You will shoot everything that moves, will you not?”
Trouble chuckled. “I doubt I will be in that much danger.”
Aquila gently rocked as she thought of the many stories she had heard in the general store about many hunters who never returned. Horrible rumors went around about the different ways they died but all were painful and never left the family back at home happy.
Trouble stepped to her side and gently kissed the top of her head. “I will be all right. I will take every precaution necessary and will return home in two nights. You should have enough food until then.”
Aquila reluctantly watched him leave and sighed. “Deus, please watch over him.”

**********

Therget stepped out onto the porch of the tavern and rolled his shoulders in the heat of the afternoon. Movement at the end of the road caught his eye and all movement stopped as he watched the Tall Man mount up. His eyes narrowed as he remembered in great detail the evening before when the Tall Man had butted in where he did not belong. He had promised the Tall Man that he would regret it and Therget had no intention of not carrying through with that promise.
“Lywor! Struit!” he called gruffly into the tavern. “Ighthatrak, Rytanin, and Dar'bura!”
Five rough looking men showed up ranging from 5'4 to 6'1 from inside the tavern. “Aw, Therget, I was just getting to know that nice gal!” the short Rytanin complained.
“Close your mouth and listen,” Therget backhanded the man's shoulder. “You remember that Tall Man who saved Walshray from getting his head removed?”
“I remember,” Struit growled.
Dar'bura spat on the ground and cursed under his breath. Lywor scowled at the ground. Ighthatrak grinned. “We gonna make him regret it?”
“That was just what I was thinkin',” Therget nodded.
“How's we supposed to do that?” Lywor questioned.
Therget pulled on his brown scraggly beard. “Iggie, you remember our good friend, Eyskeloth?”
Light dawned on Ighthatrak, broadening his grin. “I sure do.”
“Who is Eyskeloth?” Lywor scratched his bald head.
“Not who, what,” Therget corrected.
Lywor, Dar'bura, and Struit were instantly curious. “Darn it, Therget! Would you just tell us?” Dar'bura growled.
“Eyskeloth is the Stymphalid that lives over in Froloch Marsh,” Iggie informed them.
“Are you insane?” Lywor shrieked. “We cannot go near that thing or we ourselves will be surely torn to bits!”
“Course we won't go near it, you ninny,” Therget scowled at the small man. “We will, though, somehow get the Tall Man close enough to the marsh and make some racket so as to lure that durned beast out.”
“All right. Now how is we supposed to get Tall Man to the marsh? He could take the five of us on all at one time.” Dar'bura cursed.
Therget thought for a moment. “Tall Man seems to believe in honor and if a woman were to scream from somewhere, he would probably run to her aid, right?”
“Right,” Rytanin nodded.
“So all we need to do is get Struit here to practice his screaming and Tall Man will come runnin' thinking its a damsel in distress,” Therget thumped Rytanin's carrot topped head. “We would shorely have him then.”

*******

Trouble was half a day's journey out of town and had yet to find one thing worth trying for. Sure he had caught him a squirrel or two with which he would use to survive during his hunting expedition, but two squirrels would not feed him and Aquila.
The sun was beginning to disappear behind the tree tops as he ventured farther and farther towards Froloch Marsh. The men in town had said that game was plenty towards Froloch. But they had also warned him of a Stymphalid that lived in those parts. No matter. He would be careful and would not come on any harm.
The woods grew thicker as he neared the marsh. Ever so slowly and quietly, he crept through the forest, watching for signs of movement. Suddenly he spotted a large buck. He licked his lips as he thought of the many ways it could be cut up and served.
Leaning against a giant oak, he slowly pulled an arrow from his quiver and aimed at the buck. Pulling back, he closed one eye and then the other.
A woman's scream split the air and the buck dashed off. Cursing under his breath, Trouble looked around. What was a woman doing out here? The sound had come from somewhere beyond him and where the buck had stood.
Quickly but still cautiously, he moved towards the direction he believed the sound to have come. It might be that he was too late. The woman, stupid as she must have been, had been attacked by a Stymphalid and would be dead by the time he got there.
Without warning Trouble stepped out into a large circular clearing. Stopping, he looked around and listened. It was quiet. Too quiet.
Then he saw it. Sitting on a limb across the clearing, watching him, was the biggest Stymphalid he had ever seen. If it was going to attack, he wanted it to make the first move. It might be possible that this guy was not wanting a fight and would just watch him. Thus he remained completely still.
Sweat trickled down his forehead and down his neck as he waited. Was he the only one? Would it be possible that there could be others around watching as well? He had never heard tell of whether they were companionable birds or not.
The bird did not move an inch. Deciding to chance it, Trouble stepped back into the cover of the trees.
Reeeeeaaak! The bird screeched. Wrong move. Trouble quickly moved back into the clearing. He wanted to be able to see this guy and get a clear shot at him if he was going to do battle.
The bird spread its wings and left its perch. It dove directly towards Trouble who quickly took aim and released the arrow. It was a quick aim and release that sent the arrow off so that it only grazed the bird that cried but kept coming.
Trouble dove for the ground as it tried to grab at his shoulders. His arrows spilled on the ground. He grabbed one and quickly stood and positioned it on the string.
Wildly looking around, panic seized him as the bird was missing. He could not lose sight of this bird. It would come out of nowhere and get him before he knew what was happening.
It was silent once more. Trouble looked at every branch in every tree around the clearing with no luck. He had only grazed the bird, not really disabling it. It would be back.
The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he forced himself to breath evenly. He pulled the string back and waited, vigilant. Suddenly he heard the wings flap and he looked up. Coming at a straight up and down angle from the sky was the bird.
He aimed the arrow and shot but missed it. Cursing under his breath, he dodged the attack and threw his bow and quiver aside in one smooth motion. As much as he dreaded it, this would have to be an actual hand to claw fight. He would be injured but it was his last chance. His arrows were spilled on the ground and he would have no time to pick one up. Drawing his dagger, he waited.
The bird was now on its feet with its wings spread out. Trouble's heart skipped a beat as the first feather shot out. He dodged it but a second brass feather hit him in the thigh and he went down on his knees.
It took that moment to jump at him. its brass claws latched into his shoulders and he cried out, dropping his dagger. It held on dragging him backwards and then it released, dropping him onto his back, his legs painfully pinned beneath him.
He was not going give up. Blood pouring from the holes in the front and back of his shoulders, he rolled over and grabbed his dagger.
Another brass feather pierced his side and he slammed his dagger blade down into the ground. Dragging himself forward, he raised his good leg and attempted to push himself off of the ground.
But the bird was on top of him, ripping out his flesh with its brass claws. He rolled his head to the side as he jerked from the pain and saw the bird's beak go into the ground where his head had been. He felt helpless to do anything. He managed to pull the dagger from the ground and when the bird moved for a better vantage point he rolled over and thrust the dagger into the bird's chest, right between the legs. It screeched and flapped its wings violently, furiously trying to fight away the pain, but to no avail. It fell to the ground. It was still alive but barely. He had gotten it close enough to the heart for sure.
Groaning in pain, he forced himself to stand. The world began to spin and he fell to the ground, hitting it with all of his weight. He cried out in agony. Pictures of Aquila being attacked so viciously by such a beast flashed through his head and he shuddered. She would not have survived. At this moment, he wondered if he would, too.
Darkness was beginning to envelope him and it was not just because the sun was going down. Shaking his head, he slowly yet painfully pushed himself off of the ground. Blood poured out of his back and shoulders rolling down his chest and legs.
The bird's arrow-like feathers still sticking out of his back and leg, he stumbled forward. If he did not start moving and find help soon, he would be forced to give in to the darkness, and it would be over for good.

********

Aquila pulled with all of her might before losing her grip on the board and falling back onto the bed. Wincing, she looked at her splinter covered hands. She was on the verge of crying.
Five days. It had been five days since Trouble had gone hunting and still he had not returned. He had said he would be back in two. Why was she so worried? He was only three days late. He probably had no luck close to town and ventured further in hopes of finding something. He would be back.
But she still wanted the boards off of her window so she could watch for him from her room and not having to constantly be going downstairs and outside to look for him. Now her hands were useless for now until she could remove the offending objects of her consternation.
Emili started crying. Aquila sighed in exasperation. Emili had not been sleeping well at all for the past four days and thus had been keeping her mother up as well as both of her brothers.
Aquila quickly moved to the cradle a kind elderly gentleman had fashioned for her and gently rocked the crying infants. It was not for another hour or so for their feeding.
Half an hour later, she rubbed her pounding temple and winced as the splinters continued to remind her of their presence. The babies had still not stopped crying even though she had taken each one in her arms and sung to him or her. She had walked around the room and spoke softly in their ear of her love for them. They had calmed down considerably but when she laid them down to take the next one around the room, they started up again.
Finally she was satisfied that it was close enough to their feeding time to feed them. So she moved the rocker beside the cradle so she could rock the other infant in the cradle while she fed the other two and sang.
She had them all fed and laying peacefully back in the cradle. Daring not to make a sound, she inwardly thanked Deus for His intervention. Quietly she slipped out of the room and down the hall. She wanted to go sit on the porch for a little while.
Aquila had her hand on the doorknob when Emili started screaming. “No!” Aquila pounded on the door and then cried out in pain. She had to remove the splinters even if the babies were screaming.
Finding a needle, she worked one by one, painfully dragging each splinter out. When the last one was out, she breathed a sigh of relief. Yet, the babies cried on.
“Trouble, where are you? I can not take this much longer!” Aquila shouted to no one in particular.
So her days and nights went. No sleep but maybe a half hour nap in between feeding and the next time the babies started crying.
Food was sparse as the days stretched on into a week and she had to ration herself to one square meal a day with a bite or two throughout the course of the night. Her weight began dropping as it was used to fuel her milk for the babies, leaving her completely exhausted.
One morning Aquila picked up all three babies and ran out the door. She had to get outside for some fresh air, screaming infants or not.
Heads turned as she passed the village people, curious as to what the ruckus was all about. She simply shrugged and they nodded sympathetically at her.
She had just made a full circle around town when six men rode into town, one carrying a large brass-like bird. People began to gather around them.
“Look what we done killed. A Stymphalid!” one of the filthy bedraggled men shouted.
Aquila moved closer to get a look herself at the creature. Worry creased her brow as she remembered Trouble's voice berating her for going hunting. “Many men have gone hunting and have never been heard from again.”
Aquila gasped. What if that was what had happened to Trouble? He had had a run in with one of these creatures and had been killed.
The short and fat man turned the bird around and Aquila frowned. There was a dagger still sticking out of the creature and on the handle it had an inscription but it was too small to read. Something about it, though, looked familiar.
Squeezing through the crowd, she moved so she was right beside the man and his horse. He grinned down at her revealing three missing teeth and winked. “Got me a perty thing, eh Lady?”
Ignoring the fowl stench that no doubt came from the man as much as the dead fowl, she read the inscription. “Nary a man who crossed this Woman and lived to tell.” Trouble! That was his dagger.
“Sir! Where did you get that dagger?” Aquila questioned.
The man frowned. “I bought it off a peddler.”
“When?” Aquila asked persistently.
“A month ago, why?” The man spat on the ground two inches away from Aquila's feet.
She stepped back. “You lie, sir. That dagger belonged to my husband and he had it on him only a week and a half ago. What have you done with him?”
“I ain't done nothin' with yore husband, madam. As sure as I live, this dagger belongs to me,” he stated emphatically.
“You—“ Aquila started to protest.
“Shuddup, Lady, and move on.” A short burly man nudged her back with his horse. “I was there when he bought that thang.”
Aquila quickly turned and worked her way out of the crowd, tears flowing down her cheeks. How that man had gotten the dagger, she did not know, but it was Trouble's for certain.
Once inside their apartment she slammed the door with her foot and bolted it. Babies in her arms, she leaned up against the door and slid down to the floor. Trouble was dead. That was all there was to it. They had killed him. The whole lot of them. Took his weapons and left him somewhere out there for the vultures and wild creatures to eat.
Aquila sobbed, the fact that all three of her babies were silently sleeping, lost on her. Trouble was dead.

*******

Three days after the men had rode into town with Trouble's dagger, Aquila pulled herself together and began packing. She was leaving, dangerous as it was. Sir Skelumu had found another man to take the job that Trouble had left and had informed her only that morning that she would need to pack up and move somewhere else.
Her clothes and all that she had for the babies was packed in the two saddlebags when she scooped the infants into her arms and took off for the livery stable next door. Frasier Briggs was a slightly older gentleman who she had only met a time or two. He was a respected businessman in town even though all he owned was the livery. Aquila had decided upon her first encounter that he was a good man. That was the reason why she had high hopes that he would grant her request.
“Sir Briggs,” she called out as she entered the large barn.
Frasier Briggs, though respected, was somewhat mysterious. He carried himself as one of high education although he boasted of no such thing. He walked with a limp which no one knew why. He remained cordial to all though he kept to himself as best as possible. It was with this limp that he scuffled around the doors of a small room and to her side. “Good afternoon, Lady Classye. May I take one of them bundles for you?”
Aquila relinquished Gilov to his care and smiled. “Good afternoon.”
“Such precious wee little ones, they are.” The man's gray eyes twinkled down at the infant he held.
“Yes. Sir Briggs, I have a special request to make. I pray that you will hear me out.” Aquila knew it was best to get right to the point.
“Yes, my lady, how may I be of assistance to you?”
“My husband has been gone for two weeks now and a man has shown up in town with his dagger. I can only imagine that he is dead. Sir Skelumu had to hire a new man to run the blacksmith shop and has told me that I am to move out of the apartment above it. I have no money at the present time, but I need to leave. Which is why I must ask that you lend to me in good faith that I shall pay you every penny it is worth...the covered wagon that sits behind the livery.” Aquila held her breath and watched his face.
He looked at her a moment in indecision and then at the babies. “You may have it. It has not been used for over ten years and I doubt it will be used in the near future. You may take it and I will trust that you shall send the money for it later when you have it.”
Aquila wanted to hug him. “Oh, thank you, Sir Briggs! You do not know how you have been such a blessing to me. I could not possibly travel with these babies in my arms. May Deus in heaven above bless you beyond what that wagon is worth.”
Sir Briggs gently caressed Gilov's soft cheek. “Aye, it would only be the babies that could induce me to extend such faith, even to a special lady as yourself.”
“I am going to get our saddlebags,” Aquila said and then left Gilov in Sir Briggs' arms.
After retrieving the saddlebags and whispering a final farewell to the apartment she had so diligently tended, she scurried through the livery to the back door and threw the saddlebags into the back of the empty wagon.
Frowning, she carefully scrutinized the interior. How would she keep the babies? The cradle! Returning to the apartment, she placed Emili and Sevrrech in the cradle and carefully carried them in it down the stairs and back to the wagon.
Placing it in the back of the wagon, she bounced on the back of the wagon to test the stability of such an idea. The cradle rocked a little too violently for her peace of mind. Scratching her head, she studied the cradle's rockers. If she sawed off the ends of the legs it might not rock.
Sir Briggs stood to the side, watching her in amusement. Aquila paid him no mind and quickly found a saw. Finding one hanging on a peg just inside the blacksmith shop, she returned and began sawing off the legs. They might have been nice to have but she was in need of a carrier for the babies while she drove the wagon.
When the task was complete, she bounced on the back of the wagon and smiled satisfactorily as it only slightly moved from side to side. With all three infants in it, it would help as well.
Aquila dropped her hands to her side happy at her success when she felt the familiar pouch hidden away in her robe. Blinking, she gently fingered the pendant through her robe and thought for a moment. Sir Briggs was an honest man. She had seen him attending church many times.
“Sir Briggs...I have something for you. Maybe you will take in payment or just as a promise of payment.” Aquila reached inside her robe and pulled out the small velvet pouch.
Sir Briggs straightened at the sight of the pouch and something flashed in his eyes. “Where did you get that?”
“I...I was somewhere between Braedoch Forest and Quentin, the palace of the old Lucian royalty, when a man was killed. Before he died, he slipped this into my hands,” Aquila explained. “Why?”
“Lady Classye, that is the pendant that—“
“Belonged to the Lucian royalty? I know. I only found that out after having my life threatened twice...I will understand if you do not want to take it. It is a hazard at times,” Aquila was quick to explain.
“No, Lady Classye, I will take it. I will take in as payment for this wagon. You see, I was a member of the Royal Guard. I was injured that fateful day that almost cost me my leg, which is why I walk with a limp. Tell no one of this, but I will take the pendant. It belongs in the depths of the sea!”
Aquila gazed up in amazement at the man as he stood at attention as he took the pouch from her hands. “You were of the Royal Guard?”
“Yes, my lady, I was. It was the greatest honor of my life to be able to serve my king,” Sir Briggs nodded as he handed Gilov to her care.
Saying no more, Sir Briggs harnessed the two horses that they had rode into town on to the wagon and then assisted her onto the bench. Once situated, Aquila turned and smiled down at him. “Thank you, Sir Briggs, for all of your help today and especially for this wagon.”
“Your welcome, my lady. Fare thee well!” Sir Briggs saluted her crisply and then waved as Aquila slapped the reins against the horses' rumps.
Only ten minutes west of town, Aquila felt something hit her legs and she looked down. A bow and quiver laid underneath the bench. The quiver had rolled going down the hill and hit her legs. Aquila smiled. Sir Briggs was sent by Deus Himself.

********

Leveling the arrow on the string, Aquila pulled it back and let it fly. Squealing only second later when it hit the target, she jumped from the wagon and took off after the now dead rabbit.
She packed it in some brown paper that she had stashed in her saddlebag and then stepped back up into the coach. She would have a good supper that night when she camped out for the night. Choosing to skirt around the woods, she pulled the horses to the left. It was rumored that a small town thrived some twenty miles to the southwest of Zharyd.
As it grew dark, Aquila looked around and shivered. She felt like a million eyes were watching her. Maybe she would just stop long enough to cook the rabbit. She would eat it on the road. The babies were sleeping just as well in the wagon as they were before anyway.
Pulling up, she gathered firewood and had a fire going before long. She skinned the rabbit and cooked the meat, all the while looking at the trees and through the open space behind her. Once the meat was cooked, she threw dirt on the fire and then climbed back onto the wagon.
Picking up the reigns, she slapped it against the horses' rumps. “Ho!” she hollered in the dark.
Dozing off and on through the night, she allowed the horses to simply shuffle along. When the sun rose she clucked to the horses and picked up the pace. So she traveled every day and night until arriving upon a small town that boasted the name of Larkspur.
Emili, Gilov, and Sevrrech were all wailing their complaints as she rolled into town and many stopped to watch her move down the street. One man, quite shocked at her appearance, stepped up to the side of the wagon. “Where do you hail from, my lady?”
“Zharyd,” she replied.
“You made it from Zharyd without a man?” he seemed incredulous.
“Yes. Why do you sound so surprised?” Aquila frowned.
“B—because! Stymphalids breed by the dozens between here and Zharyd. It is even dangerous for men to travel through here. Why just last week a man stumbled into town half dead from an attack from one of those beasts!”

Chapter 12

The next morning, Trouble had the horse's saddled bright and early. Aquila had just barely untangled her hair and rolled out of bed when he handed her a plate of food. “Eat. We must be on our way soon.”
Aquila obediently ate and then tied her hair up. “I am ready.”
Trouble picked up the saddlebags and escorted her out of the door and down the stairs. At the livery, Trouble nodded to the proprietor who returned the gesture as he lifted up the coins Trouble had left the night before.
Aquila groaned as she settled back on the saddle. “How much further do we have to travel?”
“There's a town called Zharyd that is about a week's journey southeast. I know a man there who once offered me a job. It is as good a place as any, I figure,” Trouble informed her as he ducked to make it out of the livery stable's doors.
“A week? Oh my,” Aquila muttered.
Trouble looked back at her sympathetically. “How did you get from Braedoch to Lucia?”
“I had a horse for a couple of days. But she died. After that, I walked.”
“All the way?” Trouble seemed incredulous.
“Yes. All that way.”
“Why did you keep walking? Why did you not stop in a town sooner?”
Aquila shrugged. “I was scared, for the most part. I had been hidden away my whole life. I did not know what outsiders were like. Were they all like Duard? I am so small it would be so easy for them to take advantage of me. So I just kept walking. I killed my food and ventured into a town only once a week if I came upon them. Otherwise I skirted around them and avoided them like the plague.”
Trouble led her eastward out of town before turning south. The town was just on the outskirts of the forestlands and they moved onto prairie lands that unfolded in gently rolling hills. Trees were still sprinkled here and there with a bush or two. Flowers were scant for which Aquila was want for.
Trouble's horse charged through unexplored territory belly high in grass. Aquila anxiously scanned the area for snakes and other critters that might frighten the horses. It would just so happen that her horse would be the first and she would fall and kill herself.
Further the two traveled. At one point Trouble had admonished Aquila to stay close and to never wander anywhere without him. Aquila shrugged wondering what reason she would have to leave him.
Aquila lost track of how many days it had been as they passed through the prairie to desert to mountain range to flat lands, day and night, until they finally walked into the middle of a bustling town that boasted the name of Zharyd. Trouble pulled up in front of an old inn. “Here we are.”
Aquila looked up at the old building and smiled faintly. “Finally.”
Trouble assisted her down. “Go get a room and lie down while I put the horse's to stall. I will bring food so we can eat alone.”
Aquila was only too happy to oblige. Walking into the inn, she was quite impressed with the cleanliness and the elegance of the lobby. It was rather spacious and a large red rug covered the floor. Two elegant chairs with red plush cushions sat on either side of a sideboard that held a locked booksafe that was encrested with a falcon. Along the front wall was a long settle and around the room ornate handforged fleur de lys uplighters brightened the room. A painting of St. Peter and the Apostles hung directly in front of her next to a staircase going up.
Aquila stepped to the front desk and rang the bell as the sign instructed. A tall, thin, middle-aged man appeared from a back room. He looked her up and down. “Do you speak?”
Aquila blinked at him dumbfounded. Finally she found her voice. “Yes, I speak. I need a room for two.”
The man raised a suspicious brow and looked towards the door before nodding and lifting a ledger onto the counter. “Sign here.”
Aquila picked up the quill provided and signed her name. “Thank you.”
“You will be room twelve. Up the stairs and to your right.” The man carelessly dropped a key onto the desk and turned.
Aquila picked it up and left. She could care less of the poor service as long as she got a room.
The room was as elegantly furnished as the lobby. A plush red rug covered the floor except for two feet of hard floor in front of the magnificent fireplace against the far right wall that boasted an elegantly crafted mantel.
A large oak bed was against the wall directly across from the door with matching oak tables on either side. A long iron bound boarded Oak chest sat at the foot of the bed. Two large chairs with cushions that matched the rug sat side by side on the in the middle of the left wall. To the left of the chairs was a long mirror and to the right of the chairs was a Roman Oak cabinet with copper fittings.
Aquila sank on the bed and closed her eyes enjoying the thick quilts that covered the bed. Trouble knocked on the door twenty minutes later and Aquila quickly ran to open it. “I am so glad you are here. I am famished!”
“Well, I thought I was not going to find you. The man at the front desk was refusing to let me know which room you were in,” Trouble growled as he entered with a large tray piled with covered plates.
Aquila chuckled. “He was not very nice when I signed in, myself. How did you find which room I was in?”
“By a little persuasive talk,” Trouble grinned.
Aquila shook her head. “The poor man.”
“Poor man? What about me with this food just trying to find my wife?” Trouble asked incredulously, his lower lip coming out in a playful pout.
Aquila threw her arms around him. “I think he was in greater danger than you.”
“You are right at that. Roast beef?”
“Mm, sounds good to me. Let us eat!”
Trouble set the tray he was carrying on the bed and sat down on the one side, Aquila on the other. Trouble pulled the tops off of the plates to reveal two plates piled with roast beef, stewed carrots, beans, and mashed potatoes. There was also a third plate with steaming apple pie. Aquila's eyes grew big at the sight of the huge helpings.
“Eat what you want. What you do not eat will not be wasted,” Trouble wasted no time in saying.
Aquila giggled. “I am quite sure it will not be if my giant for a husband has anything to say about it.”
Aquila picked up her fork and knife and cut into the roast beef. Trouble watched her eat for a moment before following suit. “One happy giant, yes ma'am. I talked to my friend while I was out and the job is still open. I start first thing tomorrow.”
Aquila paused for a moment to ask, “What job is this?”
Trouble looked at her with a glint in his eye as he slowly chewed his bite of meat. When he finally swallowed it, he replied, “You are looking at the town's newest deputiy.”
“But—“
“Nah, I am just jesting. No, I am a blacksmith.” Trouble winked at her.
Aquila continued eating. Finally, she stopped. “What are we going to do about living arrangements?”
“There is a bedroom, a tub room, kitchen, and living quarters above the shop that has been given to us to use. Seeing as we have nothing but two saddlebags, I can take them over in the morning when I go to work and you can just sign out of the inn as you wake up.”
The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Aquila only hate a third of the beef with most of the carrots and mashed potatoes. She managed a couple of bites of apple pie before pushing it all towards Trouble. Laying back, she closed her eyes.
“You are beautiful. Have I ever told you that?”
Aquila looked at him lovingly. “I cannot remember. I could always use to hear it again.”
Trouble picked up the tray and moved it to the table beside the bed. “Sleep well. You are home now.”
“I only hope we have a bed as good as this one,” Aquila mumbled just before she drifted off to sleep.

********

The next morning Aquila signed out of the inn. Trouble had already left earlier that morning but she had chosen to sleep a little longer. Now she walked across the busy street under close scrutiny from numerous passersby.
Just before she made it to the shop, an older gentleman stopped her. Doffing his hat, he smiled. “Good morning, Madam.”
“Good morning, sir,” Aquila gave a small curtsy.
“Are you just passing through or are you and your husband planning on settling down here?” The man replaced his hat over his balding head.
“We are settling down here. My husband is the new blacksmith. I am Aquila—“
“Classye,” Trouble's deep voice interrupted. “I am her husband, S'angard Classye.”
Aquila frowned up at Trouble but the gentleman smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet you two. I am Doctor Reisel Witherfield.”
“Doctor, eh? I imagine we will be using your services in the not too distant future.” Trouble winked down at Aquila.
“How far along are we?” Dr. Witherfield asked.
“A good seven and a half months,” Aquila beamed.
The doctor's eyebrows shot up as he scratched his white goatee. “Seven and a half?”
“Yes sir. My mother—Trouble's mother, thinks it might be twins,” Aquila explained.
“Twins...hm. Likely, but then again...no. It is not possible. Yes, twins I would believe it to be,” the man shook his head, a twinkle in his eye. “Double the blessing, I say.”
Aquila frowned at Trouble questioningly. To Dr. Witherfield, she said, “Yes sir. I could not agree with you more.”
“Well, I shall let you two be on your merry way. I have some patients to see this morning. Good day,” the doctor tipped his hat again and walked off down the boardwalk.
The couple watched the man's retreating back before Trouble ushered Aquila into the barn like doors of the shop. “I am S'angard in public. It was the alias I used several years ago when I thought I might settle down.”
“I hope I can remember. I am still Aquila though, right?”
“Yes. I did not see any reason to change your name.”
Aquila looked around the blacksmith shop that looked much like the one in Kantuuk where they had taken her cuffs off. This one had a wall around three sides of the shop but was open on the left side from the street towards the livery so it was easy to get a horse in to properly shoe it.
Trouble ushered her to the back of the far wall and through a door that hid a staircase. Up the staircase Aquila trudged ahead of Trouble until she found herself on a small landing. Then Trouble lifted her. “Allow me to escort you over the threshold of our new home.”
Trouble opened the door and in they went. It was a small living room that they walked in on. There was what looked like a settle cut in half sitting against the wall to the right, it was so small but it would fit her and Trouble. An old but sturdy square oak table sat in the middle of the room. A small bookshelf sat against the opposite wall beside the entrance to a hallway.
Trouble set Aquila down and she ventured down the hall. The first door to the right was the kitchen. A small fireplace sat to the right with a caulderon hanging over cold ashes. Next to it was a an old chipped cupboard that provided minimal cabinet space. A small table with two old chairs, one missing a leg, sat in the middle of the room. On the far wall was a window that Aquila knew would be its saving glory.
Further down the hall was the tubroom without a tub and at the very end was a small bedroom. Aquila almost melted when she noticed the small bed. Trouble's feet would hang off the end and they could not both fit on it at the same time. A once gloriously fashioned chest now sat at the end of the bed, its lock broken, cracked and rotting wood now its frame. There was one backless chair beside the bed and a window that had been boarded over.
“It is not much to look at, I know, but...we might be able to fix it up after I start working or possibly find another place to live in,” Trouble assured her.
“How will we sleep?”
“That is not as difficult as it seems. I on the bottom, you on top. But I promise that the bed will be the first to be replaced.”
“I want a cradle for the babies, first, then a bed.”
“Consider it done.”

*********

As soon as Trouble had returned to work, Aquila began cleaning up the place. She found a broom and dustpan and had the place swept from end to end and all of the cobwebs removed in less than an hour. Some soap, a bucket, sponge, and water from the well out back and she was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floors.
Trouble's employer, a Rothale Skelumu, appeared for a minute before disappearing. He returned carrying up a large tub with Trouble's assistance.
Aquila beamed at the men. “Oh, how wonderful! Thank you so much, Sir Skelumu, you do not know how much this means to me.”
The man's gray-streaked blonde mustache turned upwards as his blue eyes sparkled. “Aw, 'tis nothing, my lady. It was all I could do for putting you up in a place like this.”
When the men had left, Aquila scrubbed it with the sudsy water and sighed. She would not feel quite so inhumane now.
That afternoon Madam Skelumu appeared at her door. “Good afternoon to you, my lady. Sir Skelumu thought you would need some provisions to last until you could got your first paycheck.”
In she brought an armload of canned and dry goods. Then she pulled something out of the pocket of her apron that hung on her robust figure and set it on the table.
Aquila picked up the wooden object and shook it. Squealing with delight as it rattled, she threw her arms around the woman's shoulders. “Oh, thank you! The babies shall love it.”
The woman looked surprised but smiled pleasantly afterwards. “That they will, my lady.”
Aquila wished she would have stayed and had some of the tea that she had brought, but the woman shook her head, mumbling something about a turkey in the oven. Aquila rummaged through the different cans and items Madam Skelumu had brought.
Pickles, sprouts, beans, olives, a bag of potatoes, peas, flour, salt, sugar, pepper, yeast, tea, and dried meat. It was not much and Aquila doubted that it would get her through the next day, but she placed them inside the cupboard and put a pot of water over the stove. Company or not, she would have her some tea.
That evening Trouble came in to dried meat, sprouts, and peas. Aquila watched his expression expecting to find disappointment there. Instead he smiled. “You are so creative. I am afraid that the last bit of what money I had I spent last night. Sir Skelumu was gracious enough to allow me a bit in advance but I knew it was not going to much like we had been used to. But you will never cease to amaze me in how you can make a good meal out of so little.”
Aquila sighed with relief. That night as they laid in bed, Aquila thought through the next days' meals. The provisions would only last through tomorrow if even for the whole day. Something else would need to be done for the next few days until Trouble got paid.
She was really hungry for some rabbit stew. Hunt. That is what she would have to do. She would go hunting and hopefully bring back some rabbit. Aquila closed her eyes in peace that night.

******

Aquila did not bother to inform Trouble of her plans. An hour after he left, she was dressed and out of the door with Trouble's bow and quiver in one hand and his knife in the other. He had packed a lunch and took it downstairs so he would not be coming in until that evening and would never know she had left until she presented him with a bowl of hot savory rabbit stew.
A few hours later and several failed attempts at killing her a rabbit was leaving her frustrated. Every time she had come upon one she had made some mistake and the rabbit had gotten away unharmed. The first mistake was taking Trouble's bow. It was almost as tall as she was and was difficult to hold still while pulling the string back.
Her second mistake was leaning forward too much and snapping a twig underfoot. Her third mistake was poor stance, causing the string to hit the inside of her forearm sending the arrow off in an odd direction. She was reminded just how long it had been since she had been hunting.
Finally she came upon her sixth rabbit. It was a big one and she grinned. Suddenly pain shot through her middle and she doubled over moaning. The rabbit scampered away.
It was a good minute before the pain completely subsided and Aquila was able to recover. She continued on until she finally spotted another rabbit. Setting an arrow on the line, she carefully aimed and slowly pulled the string back. Boing! Success flooded her senses. She had not stepped on a twig or straightened her left arm.
The rabbit lay only a few feet away from her now, flat on its belly lifeless. She had hit it right on the back of the neck rendering a quick and painless death. She stopped and skinned it right there. There was a stream not too far back and she took the meat back and rinsed it thoroughly from the cool water.
After packing it carefully in brown paper and tucking it away in her robe, she rinsed the arrow in the river and replaced it in the quiver. Only a few minutes later she spotted her next victim and delivered another accurate blow to the back of the neck.
After skinning it and rinsing it in the river, she looked up at the sky. The sun was already going down and it would be almost dark before she got back. She would have to hurry if she wanted to get home before Trouble did.
She was breathless when she walked into the apartment above the blacksmith shop to find Trouble sitting at the table, his face in his hands. “Oh, you are home a little early.”
Trouble stood so fast his chair went crashing to the floor. His wide eyes took in the bow and knife in a quick glance and then he lost it. “Where have you been? Do you not care that I have been here worried sick about you?”
He was angry now and Aquila worried her lower lip. “I thought you would be working.”
“I was. I came upstairs this afternoon to see how you were faring and you were gone. I waited here all afternoon expecting the worst. And here you are with my bow. What have you been doing?”
“The provisions Madam Skelumu brought were not enough to cover us the week. I thought you might enjoy some rabbit stew so I went hunting. I did not think you would notice my absence or I would have told you so. I am sorry,” Aquila explained, dropping her eyes to the floor.
“Rabbit stew? You went hunting? With my bow? That thing is way too big for you!” Trouble almost roared. “Aquila, we are in Stymphalid territory. People go hunting every day and are never heard from again. You are never to leave this apartment without my permission, do you understand me?”
Aquila mutely shook her head and dropped the weapons onto the small table. She looked up and opened her mouth to apologize but Trouble's angry eyes silenced her. He was standing tall and straight, his muscles tense, his jaw working slowly.
Instead she slipped over to the stove and pulled out the paper packaging. Working quickly and efficiently, she had the meat and vegetables cooked and stewing in broth before she ventured to look back over her shoulder. Trouble was gone.
Dropping down at the table, she burst into tears. An hour later she wiped her eyes and got up to stir the stew. Pain shot through her middle and she was forced to fall back into the chair. What if something was wrong and that was why she was having these pains? She could be losing the babies or worse. Possibly her life could be in jeopardy and Trouble was not here to get her to the doctor.
The pain ceased once more and Aquila took a deep breath and stood. Dipping two bowl fulls out, she placed them on the table with silverware and sat down to wait.
Hours passed and Trouble never showed. Finally she dumped his bowl back into the pot and ate hers cold and miserable. What she had so been looking forward to tasted bland to her dull senses. This time the tears flowed silently.
She pushed the stew onto the back of the stove to keep it warm and retreated to their bedroom. She was ready for bed only minutes later. Curling up into bed, she listened for Trouble to come in. Her eyes slowly drifted closed, exhaustion overcoming her will to wait for his return.

********

When Aquila woke up the next morning, she found Trouble's bow hanging on nails above the door. The pot was empty and clean and a note was on the table. “Ate breakfast. At work. —T”
Aquila quickly ate a bite and dressed. She pulled a blanket around her shoulders and then went downstairs to find Trouble.
The object of her search was bent working over a horse's shoe. He barely looked up, grunting his recognition of her presence around the nails he had in his teeth.
Aquila looked around the shop and was glad to see they were alone. “Where did you—did you sleep last night?”
He nodded.
“I thought I would have woken when you came in.”
Trouble did not respond. Taking one of the nails from his teeth, he positioned it in the horse's foot. Aquila jumped at each swing of the hammer.
“Did you make you lunch or shall I bring some down for you?”
“I brought some.”
Aquila shifted uncomfortably. He was still sore at her and she wanted to cry all over again.
“Madam Skelumu said that she had some cloth that she would not be using. Said you could use it to make baby clothes. They live in the brown brick house at the end of the street. Said she would expect you sometime before lunch.”
Aquila nodded and turned. Forlorn and dejected, Aquila sauntered out the door and down the street. Forgetting that she did not even know how to make baby clothes, she was distracted with Trouble. She had made one life threatening mistake and he acted as if she had been unfaithful to him in some way.
Aquila found herself knocking at the described door before she knew it. Madam Skelumu appeared and gave a curt smile. “This way.”
Aquila mutely followed the woman down a dark hallway to a back room. The room smelled musty and Aquila nearly gagged from the dust that hung in the air. The robust woman stopped all of a sudden and stooped to pick up a sack. Turning around she thrust it into Aquila's arms. “Thank you,” Aquila managed to choke out.
Madam Skelumu nodded. “I have much to do this morning.”
Aquila quickly turned and almost ran out of the house. Madam Skelumu was certainly not a friendly type of woman. She was only just outside of the woman's fence when the ever familiar pain shot through her middle. She thought during these moments that she should visit the doctor but they passed within a minute or so and she always managed to talk herself out of it.
As at other times, the pain ceased. Walking as fast as she could, Aquila breathed in the fresh air as she tried to keep her blanket wrapped snuggly around her shoulders. Slipping around through the back, she avoided Trouble and went straight upstairs and dropped the bag in the living room.
Aquila ran for her room and thrust herself on the bed and sobbed once more. The noon meal passed but she ate nothing. It was almost time for the evening meal before she got up and ventured out of her room.
Her tears were dry and she had supper almost finished when two strong arms encircled her large stomach. She wanted to cry again as he bent down and tenderly kissed her neck. “I am so sorry. I will never do such a thing again, I promise. I did not know you would be so upset over it.”
“I know, and I am sorry I took so long in forgiving you. You know I did not get an ounce of sleep last night due to my stubborn pride? It was not easy for you, I am sure,” Trouble apologized as he gently danced her around the kitchen.
Aquila placed one hand over his and with the other she ran through his hair. “All is forgiven, my love. Let us leave it in the past and enjoy tonight.”
“Amen.”
It was almost an hour before Trouble hesitantly let her go to move to the table. “What is for dinner?”
“Fried rabbit, mashed potatoes, and turnips,” Aquila responded as she quickly set the table with two steaming plates.
“Mm.”

******

Aquila frowned as she looked at the material, her scissors, needle, and thread. How was she supposed to do this? She had never sewed an inch in her life much less cut the fabric out for one.
She sat there all day trying to figure it out but with no success. It was this way that Trouble found her that evening. Lost in her thoughts, she jumped when he tapped her on the shoulder.
“I am sorry, Dear, I did not mean to scare you. What are you working on?” Trouble asked.
“I was trying to figure out how to make baby clothes. Oh, no! I forgot dinner.” Aquila's shoulders slumped as she looked down at the untouched material.
Trouble chuckled. “I forgot about that when Madam Skelumu offered the material.”
Aquila was not amused. “My baby will go around naked because I am a terrible excuse for a mother!”
“Babies. Oh, which reminds me. Doctor Witherfield stopped in today and said that he would be by tomorrow to visit with you. He wants to get to know you a little bit and do a small exam in preparation for their arrival next month or so.”
“Do doctor's sew?” Aquila questioned as her brow knit in a frown.
Trouble almost died laughing. “They sew up cuts and wounds but not clothes!”
“Do not laugh at me. I am just trying to figure out how this is going to work.” Aquila stood and stomped on his foot. “I do not find this funny.”
Trouble seemed untouched by her attack but sobered. A twinkle still in his eye, he planted a kiss on the top of her head. “I am sure we will find something for them to wear. For now, I am hungry.”

*********

The next morning, Aquila made the climb up the stairs of the general store to the Doctor's office. She was about to knock when it flew open. Stunned and taken aback, the doctor looked her up and down. “How—how did you get up here?”
“I climbed up the steps one at a time,” Aquila frowned. “How else would I have gotten up here?”
“I must say I would never have expected you to make that climb in your condition. I was just on my way over to your home. But since you are here, come in and sit down.” The doctor opened the door wider and stepped back.
Aquila obeyed and found a comfortable chair with a cushioned back to settle down in. “I find the exercise quite invigorating.”
“That is good. Exercise during your pregnancy is a good idea. Delivering a baby, or in your case, babies is not an easy job,” the doctor was sure to inform her.
Aquila nodded as she looked around the open room. Along the far wall was two beds only a few feet apart with a table holding a lamp in between. Curtains hung from hooks on the ceiling to the side that could be moved to close off the beds from public view.
To the right of the door, in front of Aquila, sat a long narrow oak table and positioned around it were chairs much like the one she sat in. To the left of the door was a big desk with a chair in it. A cabinet stood beside the desk that held countless vials of herbs and medicinal potions. Lamps hung every few feet around the room allowing for no shadows which helped spread a happy atmosphere on the occupants.
“You said you had about one and a half months left?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hm. With twins it is more likely that they will come sooner.”
“One month?”
“It is possible that you will hold out for another month but I want you to be prepared: they could come as soon as next week.”
Aquila blinked. Next week? That was way too early. They would not survive. The pains. Should she tell the doctor about the pains. “But—“
Doctor Witherfield reached over and laid a reassuring hand on hers. “I know. There is always the fear of underdevelopment with a baby being born so early but, since you have held out as long as you have, I do not believe we will have any major complications.”
Aquila sighed in relief, her hand going to her heart. “I do pray you are right. I could not bare to lose even one of them.”
Doctor Witherfield talked to her some more about her life in general before Aquila realized it was almost noon. “Oh, please excuse me. I must be sure my husband has lunch.”
“Absolutely,” Doctor Witherfield said as he rose. “I also have other appointments I need to tend to. It was very good to be able to get to know a little more about you.”
Aquila nodded and left. Just as she walked into the blacksmith shop she realized just how tired she was. When she found Trouble happily eating away at leftovers from the night before, she went upstairs and fell asleep.

**********

As Aquila entered into the next week she became fearful at every movement her babies made or every slight pain her body seemed to inflict on her. Pain shooting through her middle was a regular occurrence during the day. It happened most days about 3 times.
One day she even woke in the middle of the night gasping pain. That time it had alerted Trouble and he wanted to take her to the doctor but Aquila shook her head and convinced him that she was perfectly all right.
Still she carried on. One week turned into two and she was almost certain she would make it another month when she neared the end of the second week since her visit with the doctor.
Then one evening as she sat in a rocker Trouble had managed to fashion out of some old wood behind the shop the pain seized her. Expecting it to end like it normally did, she was quite alarmed when it did not.
She was doubled over which put her off balance and she was going headfirst onto the ground with no way to stop herself when Trouble appeared from the back room and grabbed her. “All right, we are going to the doctor right now!”
“It—normally—stops after—a minute,” Aquila gasped out.
Trouble lifted her into his arms and calmly but quickly took the stairs to ground level. The pain stopped all of a sudden just as he stepped outside of the shop and Aquila breathed deeply. “It stopped.”
“We are still going.”
“But it sto—“
“No. I am not going to listen to that talk. You were in serious pain and I do not want to take any chances.”
Just as Trouble started up the stairs to the doctor's office, pain seized her again but this time she cried out. “Trouble!”
Trouble was starting to panic this time and was almost running up the stairs despite his heavy load. “Doctor!” The door was locked and Trouble shifted Aquila to one arm and with his free one began banging on the door. “Doctor Witherfield!”

Chapter 11
Aquila frowned. “No, I believe she has one other son. At least if she did not, I would not be married to him.”
The woman, Aquila assumed to be Poges, looked up at Oserene. “I am Poges, Oserene's wife.”
Aquila laid a hand on her stomach. “Oh, I hope we shall become fast friends and that our children might grow together. The bigger the family the merrier, I say.”
The woman smiled. “I would very much like that. But...we were under the impression that Trouble Woman was dead.”
Aquila laughed. “Dead? I believe many have thought him dead at times and many have tried to make him that way, but he is very much alive. He is at this very moment taking care of the grounds at Mother Woman's—“
“Sh,” Oserene quickly hushed her as a tiny bell rang above the doorway proclaiming the entrance of a client. “Please refer to her as Mother Dravaar.”
Aquila frowned but did as requested. “He is right now taking care of the grounds at Mother Dravaar's. He is looking forward to his reunion with you.”
“That is one reunion I should very much like to miss,” Oserene muttered.
Kasaba walked up at that very moment and panic seized her. “Oserene, I see you have met Aquila.”
“Yes, Mother, and I hear she is my sister-in-law, above all things,” Oserene gritted out between clenched teeth.
Aquila shrunk back at the menace in his voice. Have I done something wrong?
“Oh, I was hoping you would not find out about that until tonight,” Kasaba pouted. “It would have made so much better a reunion if you did not know ahead of time who you were meeting.”
“I'm sorry, Mother Dravaar, I did no—“ Aquila said.
“Oh, tsk tsk, no worries at all. You did no real harm,” Kasaba assured her. “But come. We are finished with our errands in town. Oh, Poges, would you bring over the baby clothes you have from Olga tonight? It seems we have a shortage of baby clothes.”
“Yes, Mother Dravaar,” Poges smiled.
“Thank you. We will see you tonight.” Kasaba steered Aquila out the door.

*******

Once Aquila had had a thorough tour of town, she and Kasaba returned home. Aquila wanted to tell Trouble of the events of the day, but got no chance, as Kasaba dominated the conversation all through lunch up until the time that Trouble left to cut some wood.
Kasaba seemed so intent on keeping the two world's apart that in her haste she had Trouble out the door before he remembered to bid Aquila a good afternoon. Aquila turned on her mother-in-law the instant he was out the door. “What are you doing? You would not let me get one word in edgewise all afternoon about the morning's events. Do you not think he has a right to know? Oserene thought he was dead. And he is not very happy about his return. Trouble should know these things.”
“He does not need to know such things until tonight,” Kasaba disagreed. “Now hush and get busy. We have plenty to do for supper tonight.”
Kasaba kept Aquila so busy cleaning and cooking all afternoon that Aquila wondered if she had not invited the whole town. Surely five people with an additional child could not eat so much food as they were preparing.
Time flew quickly though and Aquila soon found herself inviting Poges and Oserene with their daughter into the home before she knew it. But she did not forget that Trouble had not returned from his last assignment and would probably have liked to have cleaned up before his reunion with his brother.
Oserene frowned as he searched the room for his wayward brother. Poges ushered Olga in tentatively watching for the brother-in-law she had only heard about.
“Trouble has not returned from the afternoon's chores, but he should be in soon,” Aquila informed them.
Tension held the room's occupants in suspension. The table was set and all were gathered around it. Suddenly as if by cue, the door opened and Trouble stepped in. Aquila smiled with relief and rushed to her husband's side. “I wondered when you would be returning to me.”
One side of Trouble's mouth turned up in a cockeyed grin as he had eyes for Aquila alone. “I could not forget you so soon.”
Kasaba cleared her throat stopping Trouble from placing a kiss on Aquila's inviting lips. Trouble straightened and then tensed. Aquila looked over at Oserene and could not miss the way the fire flashed through the man's eyes. “Oserene, you already know him, but Poges, this is my husband, Trouble Woman.”
Poges looked down and Oserene stiffened. Trouble shifted uncomfortably. The tension was so thick that even six-year-old Olga knew that silence was the best thing at the moment. Kasaba was not going to stand for it. “Oserene, your brother has returned. Do you have nothing to say?”
Oserene glared at her, obvious hatred burning in his eyes. “How could you say that, Mother, after all he has done to you?”
“Your brother has returned to make amends, Oserene, and I must say that I am just as much to blame for his actions as he is,” Kasaba choked out.
Oserene came to her defense. “You could never—“ “Yes, Oserene, I was and am to blame,” Kasaba cut him short. “I treated him with contempt and disdain. I failed him and thus caused him to run as he did. And doing so he turned to the only thing he knew how to do. And that was vent his anger. But no matter what he did, I cannot turn him away, because it was I who made the first mistake. Now I want my family back—“
“We could never have our family back. He killed Father!” Oserene spat.
Trouble stepped to his own defense. “I did not.”
Oserene turned back to his estranged brother. “Then who did? Every report we have gotten says that the Woman killed Dirrach Dravaar. After all you have done, what have you to prove your innocence?”
“Me,” Aquila spoke up.
“Dirrach kidnapped my wife, Oserene. I retrieved her and Dirrach followed after me. In the presence of Aquila and thirty other men, he charged me with sword in hand while Aquila stood in between us. Those thirty other men fired upon him in defense of Aquila and Aquila alone. They had no choice,” Trouble explained. Suddenly he frowned. “Dirrach Dravaar?”
Aquila tugged on his sleeve. “They changed their name.”
“That would explain why I have not been able to find any news of their well being.” Trouble growled.
“Oserene, your brother is trying to make amends. Please, let us try and reach out to him,” Kasaba pleaded.
“You left here too long ago, Trouble. What have you been doing all these years? You sure made a good name for yourself. Yes, I am sure you started out with something small, maybe pickpocketing. Then you began pulling off bigger heists, until one day you had to kill somebody to keep from getting caught and turned in to the authorities. Then it did not stop there. You liked the taste of blood. And so you killed more—“
“Oserene, stop!” Kasaba cried.
Oserene ignored her. “—took more chances, until soon enough you had made a name for yourself. But you got real tired of that, did you not? You finally got tired of it and decided to make a grand turnaround. You go find a child barely able to care for herself and marry her. Did you force her to marry you, Trouble? I cannot see how any one in their right mind would agree to such an arrangement. You intimidated her into agreeing to marry you, that is exactly what you did. Then like the no-account killer that you are, you impregnated her and then left her. Which is when Father came in. He picks her up to save her from you and the fate you had left her to. But you could not stand someone stepping in and taking over what you should have taken responsibility for in the first place, nevermind that you left her. So you rounded up all of your friends, if you can call them that, and then you picked her up and then led your own father into an ambush. Well, I am not going to be so easy to get by. I came prepared.”
“Oserene, what did you do?” Kasaba demanded.
Poges sobbed. “I told you not to—“
Aquila felt Trouble tense next to her and then relax. He took a bite of chicken and chewed it with deliberate care. Aquila picked up her napkin and began fanning herself with it. “Oh, my.”
“Aquila, are you all right?” Kasaba asked, concern etched across her brow.
“Yes, I just need to go lie down. Excuse me,” Aquila smiled and stood.
Aquila could feel Trouble's eyes following her the whole way and when she opened the door she turned back and smiled at him. Kasaba was frowning down at her plate and Oserene was sitting back in his chair, triumph registered across his face as he watched Trouble. Aquila winked at him conspiratorially and then disappeared inside the room.
Oserene had obviously called some friends out and were no doubt waiting outside for Oserene to give the signal for them to close in. Aquila had to move fast.
Aquila packed Trouble a few of his belongings inside his saddlebag first. If nothing else could be done, Trouble could escape now and Aquila would follow later. When she had that complete, she packed a few of her things in a separate saddlebag. After it was complete, she stopped to think for a minute. She could hear Trouble making casual small talk.
A horse. That would be tricky. If Oserene had help out there, they would surely see her and intercept her. But she had to try. She peaked out of the window but saw no one. No doubt they would be hidden away. They would think it odd that she was coming out of the window but she had to try anyway.
Chair legs grated against the floor as Aquila heard Trouble say, “I am going to check on Aquila.”
Aquila quickly opened the window and forced her bulk through the window. If nothing else, she could distract the attention to her, and Trouble would be able to get out the window while she had the others around front.
Tip-toeing around the back of the house, she kept an ear out for activity. As she was reaching the corner she heard them. At least three men were moving through the thick foliage, just beyond eye sight. Aquila rolled her eyes. Amateurs. Surely Oserene could have done better if he expected to catch the Woman.
Continuing on, Aquila was sure to stay out of sight from the house, ducking under windows and running through bushes. She was inside the barn before someone grabbed her arm. “Hold it right there, Ma'am,” a low voice commanded.
Aquila turned to look at her captor and inwardly screamed with victory. Five men were now standing around. Three of them had to be the men she heard earlier.
“Raldo!” Oserene called.
The man holding her looked up and nodded. “Move in, men!”
Aquila was escorted to the front yard where she met four other men other than the her five companions. Oserene scowled at her. The men looked around puzzled. The man who held her arm spoke up first. “Where is the Woman?”
“You do not have him?” Oserene paled.
“He was inside with you, Boss,” another replied.
The corners of Aquila's mouth turned up smugly. “If he is not with you, Oserene, and your men clearly do not have him, where did he go?”
Oserene cursed. “Leave her be and find him! He could not have gone far.”
Aquila chuckled at the same time that she whispered a prayer to Deus to give her husband wings. Aquila walked inside and was met with surprised glances from Poges and Kasaba. “How did you—“
“I snuck out the window,” Aquila smirked triumphantly.
Kasaba chuckled. “You were not feeling ill at all.”
Aquila winked at her and then disappeared inside her room. She frowned. Both saddlebags were missing. Why would he take her things, too?
The door slammed against the wall and Aquila whirled around. She screamed and shrunk back at the sight of Oserene who's eyes were spitting fire.
“Where is he?” Oserene bellowed.
“How should I know? You were the last one to see him,” Aquila hollered back. For a moment she wished Trouble had not left and had stayed to fight for her, but she dismissed it, knowing that this was the only chance they had of a life together. He would either come back for her when the excitement had died down, or she would escape on her own. Finding him would be easier afterwards for he would certainly be looking for her.
“You were not ill at all. You came back here to sneak out the window in order to aid his escape. Where did he go?” Oserene slowly moved forward, his own domineering height towering over hers.
“I will admit to helping his escape, but I have no idea where he went. We had no original plans of escape. We did not expect to have to make such a feat. So if you think that intimidation is going to force it out of me, you can think twice.” Aquila squared her shoulders and placed her hands on her hips.
Oserene glowered at her for a moment before stepping back and crossing his arms. “So you admit to helping him escape?”
Aquila faltered a moment at the unreadable gleam in his eye. “Y—yes, I do.”
“Then you are under arrest for aiding and abetting a known felon.” Oserene grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the room.
Kasaba gasped and Poges paled. “Oserene, what are you doing?”
“Stay out of this, Poges, she has admitted to aiding and abetting a known felon,” Oserene informed her.
“You cannot arrest a pregnant woman, Oserene,” Kasaba cried after him.
“I can and I will!”
Aquila thought he said it rather loud and thought it unwise. While Trouble had left, he could certainly be lurking about watching to see what would happen and would no doubt have heard that.
“Raldo, bring the wagon,” Oserene commanded.
Aquila's stomach knotted in fear as the man who had grabbed her earlier came up the road from the barn with a wagon. One of the other men sat next to him a second standing in the bed of the wagon both with a bow in hand, armed with an arrow, and quivers full of arrows.
Once the wagon had come to a complete stop, Oserene took Aquila's wrists and fastened cuffs to them. Aquila silently breathed a sigh of relief he was merciful enough to fasten them in front of her. “Lock her in the third cell. He will never be able to get her out of that one. I will be there once I have taken my family home.”
Aquila examined every tree and bush on the way to town, praying fervently that Trouble would be there to rescue her. But it never happened. They rolled into town, uninhibited.
Raldo helped her out of the wagon and led her into the jail house. Ruffly pushing her into a cell, he said, “Get comfortable, this is your new home for a while now.”
Aquila lifted her bound wrists. “Could you—“
“Shut up,” he growled and turned on his heels.
Aquila's mouth gaped. Aquila grabbed hold of the bars and shook it. “You will not get away with this!”
“That is what you say,” Raldo said, laughing mockingly.
Aquila looked at the small, thinly covered board they called a cot. As silent tears slipped down her cheeks, Aquila laid on the cot and closed her eyes. It would be a long cold night.

*************

Three men guarded the jail from the back and three men guarded the jail from the front. Both sides could be seen from at least two men, one from the front and another from the back. A fresh and energetic crew of six men had replaced the previous shift every two hours. They were not taking any chances.
From the tree where he sat, high above the town, he could pick off each of the guards along the back wall with a bow. But the front guards would be trickier. They would certainly be discovered within seconds of going down and would hinder his ability to get inside the jail and out safely.
Another plan would have to be concocted. There had to be another way of getting inside without actually getting inside. Maybe even one that would not require bloodshed.

******

Aquila had pleaded with Oserene to release her from her restraints many times but to no avail. Aquila wished she could rub her back. It was hurting from her added weight combined with the hard cot she had to sleep on. There was no chair and the bars were painful to lean up against as well.
The ground was covered in dirt, besides the fact, she had reason to believe she had rather large rodent friends in the middle of the night, thus over ruling the idea to sleep on the floor. The pain continued to grow steadily worse as the hours passed. Aquila lay on her side on the cot and moaned. Her mouth was dry as she only got a small cup of water with each of her two meals a day and she had cried what other moisture she had in her body.
Now only her wet stained cheeks told of her tears as she stared carelessly through the other two cells to the wall that separated her from the office of the jail house. Oserene came in daily asking her where Trouble had disappeared to. This would be the third day and she could care less if he came in today. The answer was the same.
Aquila shuddered as a spider crawled up her arm. Rolling over, she brushed it off of her arm with the edge of the bed. She shuddered one more time, wishing for the hundredth time that she could take a bath. She was filthy and at night it felt like the dirt itself crawled over her skin.
The front door was thrown open and slammed shut by someone in a rush. Voices could be heard, but Aquila could not hear what was being said until Oserene exploded. “What?”
Aquila cringed. The other voice answered calmly and then all went silent. Seconds turned into minutes as Aquila waited. No one left. No one came. Someone shifted his weight causing the boards to creak underneath him. Then hard footsteps hit the planks and the door closing the cells off from the office opened. Oserene stood there in the doorway and looked down the row of cells at her.
Seconds later it closed and Aquila was left to wonder what it was all about until the following day when a similar event occurred. This time, Oserene calmly walked in and stopped in front of Aquila's cell. Aquila struggled to a sitting position and watched him. He said nothing. He just looked at her.
“What happened?” Aquila asked.
Oserene still said nothing. Raldo appeared in the doorway. “Shall I ready the wagon?”
“Yes,” Oserene muttered.
Raldo disappeared as quick as he had come and Aquila felt a glimmer of hope rising within her. Why would he need a wagon? Why was Oserene so obviously upset about whatever it was Raldo had come to tell him?
It had to mean only one thing: Trouble had found some way to get her released. Moments later Raldo returned with two other men. “The wagon is ready, Boss.”
Oserene nodded and lifted his keys to the cell. “Do not talk, just listen. Whatever we say goes. You do not walk unless we say walk, you do not blink unless we say blink. One wayward movement from you and you are history, got that?”
Aquila nodded and stood. Oserene headed for the door and frowned when she did not follow him. “Why are you not coming?”
“Because you said I was not to walk unless you said so,” Aquila replied smartly.
“Walk!” Oserene growled.

******

Aquila was ushered into the back of a wagon and drove out of town the oppositie direction of Kasaba's house. This area was mostly open and free of trees. It was also bare of grass and the horse's kicked up so much that Aquila had to shield her nose and mouth with her arm to keep from breathing it in.
They kept rolling across the barren wasteland, seeing only a jackrabbit bound across the way every fifteen minutes or so. Aquila watched the sun move across the sky and wondered if she was not being carried to some lost and forgotten prison.
Just before dark they crossed a river into grassy woodlands and Aquila could breath clearly. The wagon pulled up just then and as they assisted Aquila from the wagon.
Oserene pointed her in one direction. “Start walking that way. Straight. Keep walking and do not stop.”
Aquila looked at him uncertainly and then back in the direction he had pointed. At this point they were only surrounded by a few trees, but the direction with which he sent her would lead her farther into the woods. It was dark already but the thickness of the trees blocked out the light of the full moon.
Aquila turned and lifted her arms. “Would you—“
“No, now go!” Oserene wasted no time and pushed her forwards.
Aquila willed herself to place one foot in front of the other as she moved farther and farther into the darkness. She could not see a thing and found herself running into tree after tree. Praying that she was still going straight and not turning to the left or the right, she would feel her way around the tree and continue on.
Struggling to breath despite the agonizing fear that held her around the throat, she started to shake. The cold night air was now beginning to get to her. Stumbling over a root, Aquila gasped in pain, as she landed on her hands and knees on pine cones, rocks, and roots. “Deus, lead me out of this! Light my way. I cannot see what is in front of me. I do not know where I am going. Help me to trust You.”
Aquila pulled herself off the ground and kept on. She was certain she had taken a few turns in there but kept going. She would have no idea how to tell.
Hours passed and Aquila began to shake. Sheer will forced herself to keep moving and by the time she could feel the sun's first rays, she could not feel her hands or feet. Suddenly she stumbled into a small clearing. A fire was built and licking away at thick logs. The thought briefly passed her mind that she might have made a full circle and just found herself back at the same fire they had dropped her off at, but she did not care.
Aquila collapsed next to the fire and reached her frozen hands to the warmth. “Oh!”
Suddenly, two strong arms grabbed her and before Aquila knew it, she found herself nestled against a broad chest, a thick black coat covering both her and her captor. Aquila looked up and gasped. Trouble smiled down at her. “Miss me, Love?”
Aquila released the flood and cried. “Oh, Trouble!”
It was quite some time before Aquila could stop but Trouble sat there, with her in his arms, gently rocking back and forth. “Everything is all right now, my love. Everything is just fine.”
When the tears finally subsided and Aquila could feel her fingers again, she reached up to stroke his unshaven chin. “How did you get them to release me?”
“The Holy book says something about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. So I figured that if Oserene was going to insist on keeping my wife and child, then why could I not take his wife and child? With the knowledge that I had his family would then lead him to exchange mine for his,” Trouble grinned.
“Did you make them walk like they did me?” Aquila frowned.
“No. I actually left them at the jail house shortly after you all left.”
“Then how come I had to walk so far?”
“Because I was following them follow you.”
“They followed me?” Aquila pushed back from his chest looked around.
“Up until two hours ago. But I wanted to make sure you were alone before I revealed myself so I rode on ahead and fixed this fire and then backtracked to see if you were still alone.”
Aquila snuggled back up against his chest and sighed. “Oh, it was awful, Trouble, just awful. I have not had a bath in ages and I feel like there are millions of little bugs crawling all over me. My back has been in pain since the morning of the first day in jail and I have not been able to relieve it in any way. I have had these handcuffs on me since he first arrested me and he has refused to remove them.”
Trouble noticed the cuffs for the first time. He held her away from him, examining them and frowning. “That is going to be a trick. Hmm.”
Aquila winced as they seemed to be tightening around her wrist. Her wrists were red all around them. “They hurt, too.”
“Well, you are just a basket case,” Trouble teased.
Aquila nodded. “It was horrible!”
Trouble pulled her back to his chest. “I know, I know.”
Aquila melted up against him and was happy to simply be in his arms despite the cold and undesirable situation. The methodical motion of his large hands across her back eased her pain immensely and she closed her eyes, reveling in the serenity of the morning.
Moments later, Trouble took his coat off and wrapped it around her frame. “We need to get on the road. I want to get as far as possible away from Kantuuk, yet to the closest town we can to bed down for the rest of the winter. I would like to be settled long before this baby decides to enter the world.”
Aquila tried to put her arms through the sleeves before remembering her cuffs. She frowned. “Would you button this thing? I cannot get my hands through the sleeves.”
Trouble obliged and then lifted her onto a horse that had been tethered nearby. “Can you guide the horse like that?”
Aquila accepted the reigns through the jacket in between two of the buttonholes and nodded. “I can do it.”
Trouble mounted a second horse and turned his horse down a small path. “We should be in a small town by nightfall.”

********

Aquila was ready to fall asleep by the time they rode into a small town that boasted the name Tyracue. Down the street they cantered. A lively tavern named the Red Bull sat on their right, the light from the door illuminating the man sitting on the porch of the jail house directly across the street from it.
Next to the jail house sat a bank and two doors down from it was Tyracue Inn. Across from the inn, three doors down from the Red Bull, was a livery and next to it, only two doors down from the tavern sat the blacksmith shop. Trouble led Aquila around to the back and then pulled up.
“We will have to do this quickly,” Trouble whispered as he dismounted and tied his horse to a post.
Aquila handed him her reigns and he tied it before helping her down. Sneaking up to the back door, Trouble slowly opened it and peered inside. Aquila bounced underneath the coat to try and generate body heat, as she eagerly anticipated the relief coming.
When Trouble was satisfied that they were alone, he ushered Aquila in. Trouble built a fire in the forge. As it heated up, Trouble kissed Aquila tenderly. “We shall have that off in no time.”
When Trouble was satisfied with the intensity of the heat, he stuck two thick rods with pointed ends into the fire. Then he led her to the anvil and placed her wrists on either side of the anvil's thinner side. He placed a hammer on the anvil and then went to examine the rods.
After ten minutes of heating, Trouble picked them up with tongs and examined them. They were glowing red hot. He stuck them back on and quickly slipped on two heavy, thick gloves. Picking them back up, he stuck the pointed ends of the steel rods in the holes of her cuffs.
Picking up the hammer, he looked at Aquila. “You might want to look away. And do not jump!”
Aquila looked away and braced herself. Wham! Aquila jerked slightly, the cuff around her left hand loosened. Wham! Aquila jerked again as relief flooded her senses.
“All right, you are free,” Trouble announced.
Aquila shook the broken pieces free of her wrists and sighed as she rubbed each wrist. “That feels so much better.”
Trouble did not let her stand there long. “Come quickly. They would have heard the hammer hit the rods and will be investigating soon.”
They quickly disappeared out of the back door, but instead of lifting Aquila onto the horse, Trouble led them in the back door of the livery stable. He had them both unsaddled and rubbed down while Aquila found hay and oats for them. Trouble left a coin at the office in the front and then together they walked across the street to the inn.
Trouble had Aquila in a room before she could think. Aquila looked longingly at the bed. “I want to go to sleep but I know I would be miserable if I did not take a bath first.”
“I will get you one ready shortly,” Trouble assured her. “Sit down until then.”
Aquila was only too happy to obey and took a seat in a wooden chair to her right. Rolling her head back, she rolled it from side to side. The room was rather drab. Torn curtains hung on the window above the rather small and thinly covered bed. A wardrobe missing it's left door with the right one hanging by one nail sat directly across from her to the left of the doorway and next to her chair was a small, rudely crafted table with a single lamp that provided the only light to be found.
Aquila removed her thin shoes and kicked them towards the bed. She instantly regretted the action as her feet touched sandy floors. Trouble walked in as she frowned and shuddered. “What is the matter?”
“The floors are filthy!” Aquila complained.
Trouble sighed. “This is just not going well for you. I am sorry. But the water is hot and once you have cleaned yourself from head to toe, I shall carry you across the floor so you do not have to touch it.”
“No, you do not have to do that. I am being a baby,” Aquila shook her head and pouted.
“You have every right to be, my love, for what you have been through. And I know I do not have to, but I want to.” Trouble leaned down and kissed her nose. “Now go get in the bath.”
Aquila picked up her saddlebag Trouble had thought to bring in with him and quickly waddled out the door and down the hallway to the tub room. She had only just begun when Trouble joined her.
Wishing for all the world time would freeze right there, Aquila leaned back against his chest and sighed. “You are too good to me.” Forgetting half of the job, Aquila fell asleep there in Trouble's arms.