Aquila

2011-09-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

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2011-04-30T16:02:00.002-05:00

Chapter 3

  Aquila had not even worried to say goodbye.  She threw her two robes and four
tunics into her saddlebags that the monks had pulled from her dead horse, left a note
 for Father Suriya, and set out on foot, her bow and quiver slung over her shoulder.
 She did not want to ask for a horse after all of the trouble that she had caused. 
Surely they would not even grant it now.

  She traveled without a thought until dark began to set in and panic began to seize
her beating heart.  What had she been thinking?

  Every noise caused her nerves to jump and she squelched the urge to scream.  
Her wide, dark blue eyes searched every leaf and rock for anything that might pose
 a threat.

  Stumbling upon a thicket, she crawled through the tight space into the middle
and curled up.  Aquila was certain she would not be able to fall asleep, but fatigue
 overcame her will and she drifted off to sleep an hour later.

  Aquila squeezed out of the thicket and stretched her arms to the sky to try
 and pull out some of the kinks in her back and shoulders.  The sun was barely
completely over the horizon and it promised to be a good day.  Something purred
nearby and she stilled. Moving only her eyes, she looked at everything within
sight from that viewpoint. Nothing.

  Slowly rotating her head downwards and to her right, her heart stopped.  A
huge cat sat only a few feet off, staring at her hungrily, its tail flicking this way and
 that.

  Think!  Aquila mentally hit herself over the head to try and clear up her foggy brain.

  Her arms were still upraised and if she slowly lowered them, she could probably
snag her bow and an arrow without too much fuss.  The cat's tongue rolled over its
 upper lip and as it did, Aquila slowly lowered her arms.

  The cat only twitched, encouraging Aquila that she could pull this off.  She had the
 bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right.  Now to only get it on the bow,
pulled back, and aimed before the cat felt threatened.

  Aquila had just touched the arrow to the string when the cat screeched.  Pulling
the string back, Aquila turned it on the cat as it leaped into the air towards her.  
Standing only one whole second after releasing the arrow, she darted to the side
just as the cat came sprawling into the ground that she had just been standing on.

  The force of the cat's weight hitting the ground pushed the arrow all the way through
causing her to wrinkle her nose at the bloody sight.  At least her defensive skills did
not fail her.

  Upon further examination of the cat, Aquila returned her bow across her shoulders.
 Headless, the fur would make a good rug or coat for someone and it might mean
good money for her if she could learn how to skin it and clean the fur.

  Taking a long knife one of the frequent guests at the monastery gave her, she cut
the head off and then cut a straight line down the cat's stomach.  After it was
completely gutted, she looked at the meat and the bones on the cat's lining and
frowned.  How was this going to work?

  Butchering it more than she was doing good, Aquila ran the knife just under the
fur and cut it free of the majority of its skin and bones.  Some other creature would
enjoy the feast.

  Once it was much lighter she rolled it inside in and slung it over her shoulder.  She
would not mind finding a river just then to wash her hands and the fur of blood.

  Yet it was not for a full twenty four hours before she heard the sound of rushing
 water.  But before she saw the river she saw a thin plume of smoke rise above the
trees in front of her.  Stopping dead in her tracks she lowered her head and ducked
 behind a tree.  Moving from one to the other in cautious awareness, her ears
pricked at the sound of a gentle low voice singing some tune.  It was a man to be sure.

  Now she could see the river between the trees in front of her and on the other side
 of the river was a small clearing.  A small hut was nestled amongst the trees.  It
was rather quaint and seemed rather inviting.  Movement caught her eye and she
ducked further behind the tree.

  Taking a slow breath she peeked around the tree to see a big sturdy fellow with
red hair and full beard sitting at the river’s edge, washing something shiny in the
river’s water.  His shoulders were three times her width and his arms had to be the
size of one of her brother’s leg.  His brown leather tunic was belted with a black strap
and he wore no boots on his feet.

  The wind blew and Aquila momentarily enjoyed the cooler air while she waited for
the man to return to his cabin.  All of a sudden the man stilled for a moment.  The
hairs on Aquila’s neck stood on end as she wondered if he sensed some sort of
danger lurking.  Was he friendly?  Could she trust him?

  Oh, Deus, please guide me! She cried inwardly.  She slowly and quietly sat down
against the tree and waited.

  “All right, now, come out from behind there!” his voice turned gruff.

  Aquila almost jumped.  Was he talking to her?

  “I know yer out there, I can smell ya, now out with ya, I say, or I’ll have your hide
 hanging from my rafters before the night is over!”

  Aquila slowly rose and peeked around the trunk of the tree.  He seemed to be
boring holes through the tree straight at her.  Swallowing the thick bile in her mouth,
 she clenched her bow in one hand and slowly stepped out from behind the tree.

  Surprise lit his face and he took one step into the river.  Aquila stepped back and
pulled her bow from her shoulders.  “Come no further!”

  The man stopped in the middle of the river and looked at her this way and that.  
“What have ye there?”

  “A mountain lion.  It thought I would make it a fine supper,” Aquila said, her chin
 rising with pride.  “I would not let it have the best of me!”

  “No, I think not.  What do you plan on doing with that thing?” the man lifted the
object he had been washing in the river and flicked it in the direction of the cat.  
The blade of a long knife flashed in the sunlight.

  Aquila’s eyes grew wide and she stumbled backwards.  He looked down at the
offending object and quickly shoved it into the back of his belt.  “My apologies, my
Lady, I was just washing it in the river when I smelled your friend there.  Many a
person has tried to steal my things that I can’t be too careful of the company I
allow around this place.  But you will find me a decent sort of fellow if you care
 to stick around for some dinner.”

  Aquila’s stomach growled at the thought of eating something.  Food had not
 crossed her mind since she left the monastery.  “You know anything about making
these hides into rugs and the like?”

  The man chuckled.  “Why of course.  ‘Tis what I do for a living.  Bring it on inside
and I’ll get ya some supper.  We’ll talk of that after we’re done.  The name’s Triolitus,
but friends call me Trio.”

  Aquila looked him up and down carefully before inching forward.  “Aquila.”

  Trio moved back towards the hut.  “Now that we have pleasantries behind us, let us
 get on with dinner makings!”

  Aquila then and there decided he must be friendly and quickly moved across the river
.  Her stomach’s aching suddenly became increasingly more evident.  Maybe it would
 not hurt to let down the guard long enough to get something to eat.

  Once inside the dimly lit hut, her eyes scanned the room.  Against the far corner
was a low wide crudely made bed with a small table next to it.  A well burned candle
 sat on a wood block atop it as well as a chunk of charcoal and parchment paper.  A
 hearth with a chimney above it sat on the direct opposite corner of the room, a large
cauldron sat over a fire, steam rising above it from its contents.

  Just to the right was a table with two crudely built chairs beside it.  On her left was a
workbench with various tools scattered about.  Animal hide rugs scattered the floor
 and hung from the walls all the way around the hut and Aquila knew Deus’ providence
 had led her to the right man.

  Trio motioned to the workbench.  “Drop your belongings on the bench here and go
wash up in the river.  Aquila dropped all but her bow and arrows and returned to the
river.  As she vigorously scrubbed her hands and arms in the coolness of the river’s water
 she thought how wonderful it would be to immerse her aching body in its inviting comfort.
 Maybe she could find time before turning in for the night.

  Trio watched his visitor through a small window in the front wall of his hut and hummed the
tune his mother taught him as a child.  Aquila was certainly an interesting little thing.  Where
she had come from he could not determine.  Her brown robe spoke of a monk’s clothing
but there were no female monks.  Only the Sisters, but they wore black robes.

  Her age was too hard to tell.  Her size would suggest a wee lass but her voice and
mannerisms spoke of one much older.  Her tired steps told him she had been travelling
for some time.  Trio would take care of her.  Before she left he would make sure she had
a good night’s rest and a full stomach.  Her face was gaunt and her hands seemed to tremble
 like they would shake themselves off.

  Aquila slowly rose from the riverbed and turned back to the hut.  She could feel her body
 growing weaker with every step she took.  Once inside she almost fell into the chair.  A
wooden bowl almost magically appeared in front of her and a spoon was somehow in her
 hand before she could think.

  The creamy broth was hot but Aquila did not notice as she consumed the contents of the
 bowl.  When it was gone, she looked up to find Trio watching her across the table, eyes
 wide, spoon poised mid-air above his own bowl.  “Mercy, Child!”

  Aquila wiped the dribble off of her chin and looked down in embarrassment.  It did not
 last long when Trio refilled her bowl and placed a plate of hot bread beside it.  Aquila did
 not miss a beat and had a chunk of bread in one hand, the spoon in the other continuously
 moving.

  Trio shook his head as he proceeded to eat his own meal.  “How does a wee one like
yourself survive out there?”

  Aquila swallowed a chunk of bread and looked at him.  “How does anyone survive out
 there?”

  “Pardon my forwardness, but do you mind me asking how old ye be?”

  “Not yet twenty years of age.”

  “What has you so wanderlust like?”

  Aquila looked down and did not answer for a good long while.  Then taking a deep breath,
 she responded.  “My family was thrust out of our home.”

  “Have ye been walking all this way?  Where do ye hail from?”

  Aquila recanted her journey in full length from her trek out of Braedoch Forest to the
monastery and then here.  She left out the meeting with the man who gave her the pouch
which she only just then remembered still hung underneath her robes.

  Trio gave a low whistle and shook his head.  “A strong constitution have ye.  Not many
a person could take such a hard long journey as ye have and still be breathing.”

  Aquila only shrugged and continued on eating.  The full loaf that had been sitting beside
 her was now reduced to crumbs and she emptied her second bowl.  “Thank you, it was
very good.”

  “Bah, only a modest meal it is,” Trio brushed the compliment off and took the plate and
bowl to a basin of water next to the hearth.  “You must stay here for the night.  I will bunk
out in the stable with the animals and you can have my bed.”

  Aquila looked up in surprise.  “There is a stable?”

  Trio nodded.  “There is, but it is back behind the trees a bit down the path.”

  “I can sleep in the stable, I do not wish to take your bed from you.”

  “Absolutely not.  No guest of mine shall be relegated to those quarters, no ma’am.  I am
 quite fond of my friends out there, I shall be quite comfortable,” Trio insisted.

  Aquila sighed and willingly relented.  Exhaustion was slowly overcoming her thoughts and
 movements.  Before she realized what she was doing she was curling up in the bed and falling
 fast asleep.

  Trio was humming his mother’s tune and turned around to ask his guest if she wanted to
 work with her lion when he discovered a vacant table.  Glancing across the room he shook
 his head.  “Poor Lass.”

  Trio covered his rather smelly guest up with his favorite fur blanket and blew out all of the
 candles lit in the room.  She would sleep well tonight.

                                                                            *****

  Aquila slowly opened her eyes and stared at the wall in front of her.  Blinking once, then twice,
 she slowly recanted the events of yesterday.  The gentle humming of Trio’s voice filtered in
 through the window and she sat up.

  The smell of the dried blood on her clothes reminded her of her filthy state and she wrinkled
 her nose.  A bath was first on her list of things to do.

  Aquila’s bare feet had barely touched the floor when the door creaked open.  Trio stepped
 in and smiled at small guest.  “Good morning, my child.  Care to break the fast with me?  There
 will be no simple fare this morning as I have been out a hunting!”

  Trio held up a featherless feasant and Aquila licked her lips.  “Not usual fare for the first meal
 of the day.”

  “No, but Trio here does not do many things the usual peasant would do.  It’s a feast all day
 every day for me and it shall for you as well!” Trio grinned and then suddenly as if smelling
 Aquila’s stench afresh, he asked, “Have ye any other clothes to wear?”

  Aquila blushed in embarrassment and grabbed her bag from beside the workbench.  “I have a
 few pairs.”

  “If ye follow the riverbed down through the woods just yonder then you shall find sufficient
 cover in which to do yer bathing,” Trio cocked his head just so.

  Aquila nodded and quickly slipped out of the house.  How she would enjoy this.  True to his
word, Aquila walked inside the edge of the river down a ways until she found herself
completely surrounded by thick trees and bushes.  She pulled out her second brown robe
 and draped it over a bush.  Thankful she had thought to take a bar of soap from the monastery
 she slipped it under the cold water before scrubbing it across her body from head to toe.

  Once complete she dropped onto her back in the river and sighed with relief.  Only allowing a
few moments relief to overcome her travel weary body she pulled herself up and quickly dressed
 in her clean robe.  Tying a small twig from a bush through the neck and sleeve of her dirty robe,
she fastened it to a root of a tree that stuck out into the river and allowed the robe to soak in the
 water while she gathered her things and returned to the hut.

  The smell of the roasting pheasant greeted her senses as she neared the doorstep and her mouth
 opened slightly in pleasant expectation.  “Trio, it smells so wonderful!”

  Trio winked at her.  “Pull up a chair, Child.”

  Aquila obeyed.  “After we break the fast can you teach me how to turn the lion into something?”

  “Certainly.”

  True to his word, upon completion of the meal, Trio picked up the cat skin and turned it over.
 “Aha, this will be first.”

  Trio explained every last detail of the work required and then took her step by step.  By late
afternoon the cat’s skin had been completely cleaned, treated, and prepared to dry out in the
sun as the last step.  Aquila beamed with pride at her work as Trio praised her quick wit in
 learning.

  For the next three days Aquila remained with Trio.  Trio took her out on his trap line and taught
 her how to set them up, how to make her own traps, and allowed her to clean the skins and
create rugs and leather bags out of them.  Then on the third day Trio took her into town.

  “You can’t be going off doing this stuff without knowing how to get a fair price for your work.
 Never let anyone take advantage of you.  They will try their best to do so but do not let your
hopes to sell get in the way of getting a good price for your wares,” Trio lectured.

  Aquila stared at the surrounding town in wide eyed wonder trying to pay attention to Trio’s
words.  It was all completely new to her.  Horses and coaches ran this way and that, people
were all over the place swarming like a hornet’s nest all awhirl.  Absentmindedly, Aquila grabbed
 Trio’s large arm and clung to his side in fear of being trampled and lost in the mass.

  Trio only glanced down at the small girl at his side and bit his lip.  He was growing rather fond of
 his guest.  He had never had a wife.  Thinking back to the one love he had allowed himself the pleasure
of...she had been a beauty.  Her love and passion he once thought he would never lose.
But it had been a mistake.  Now so many years later he wondered if she had been telling
 the truth when she said the child was his...  Trio shook his head and turned his attention
back to the child at his side.  He was over twice her age and felt like he could reasonably
call her his child.  She had never talked of her father and now wondered if she ever knew him.

  A rather questionable character leaning up against the side of a building looked her up and down
 and Trio gave him the most menacing look he could muster.  Trio had never looked at himself in
 a mirror but his look must have been a pretty good one as he quickly lowered his gaze and skulked
 away.

  Smirking beneath his red beard, he walked a little taller.  If she cared to stay with him forever
 he would not mind.

  Aquila listened and watched as Trio bartered with one of the local tradesmen over the price
of his wares.  The tradesman did not want to give him what he was asking for so after a few
minutes of arguing Trio picked up his things and turned to go.  The flustered tradesman stuttered
 and then called out, “Wait!”

  Aquila noticed the smug look of satisfaction on Trio’s face and grinned.  He had been expecting
 him to sway.

  “Good man, Taurus!” Trio declared.  “I knew I could count on you.”

  “I suppose I should know better than to argue the price with you, Trio,” Taurus muttered
sourly.  “But you always have the best furs and bags to sell that I cannot afford to lose you.”

  Aquila once again assisted Trio in setting everything out on the counter one by one.  Just as
she placed the last one up on the counter she noticed Taurus watching her with his squinty
black eyes.  Aquila quickly shrunk behind Trio and peeked around him at the offensive
gentleman.

  Trio glanced down at her and then frowned at Taurus.  Taurus stroked his long thinning
black beard with a dirty hand and then looked up at Trio.  “How much for her?”

  Trio slammed his fist down on the cabinet.  “She isn’t mine to sell, Taurus, now you leave
 the chi—girl alone.”

  Taurus scowled.  “You know I have been looking for more help around here.”

  Trio scoffed.  “Help!  You mean another wench!”

  Taurus quickly counted out the pennies for each item.  When Trio was satisfied with the
 toll, he brushed the coins into a leather purse and handed it to Aquila.  “Hold onto that for
me now.”

  Aquila obediently secured it to her belt and raised her chin to Taurus.  “I, sir, am not for
sale and I shall certainly not become your wench!”

  Trio patted her on the shoulder proudly and then led her outside.  “He shan’t be messing
 with you, Child.”

  Once beyond earshot of Taurus, who stood watching them from the door until a patron
 entered his shop, Aquila turned to Trio and asked, “What’s a wench?”

  Trio gave a hearty laugh.  “Child, I had no idea you did not know what it meant when
you used it!”

  Aquila was confused.  What was so funny?

  When Trio could recover himself, he explained how Taurus was well known to buy slave
 girls from the slave market or take in homeless waifs to work in his store during the day
and then use for his entertainment at night.  They were ill fed and abused and more often
than not were carried out only after a few months to be buried in the local cemetery.  Very
 few had managed to survive his ill treatment.

  Aquila shivered at the thought.  “Oh, what a repulsive man!”

  All of a sudden Trio stopped in front of a rather crudely built building and stared at it,
seemingly lost in thought as he stroked his beard.  Then he looked down at Aquila and
 said, “I was thinking about building a room off of my hut.  I could make a bed for you in
 there and give you some privacy.  You have been doing a fine job with the skins.  We
could make a great team and you would earn your wages plus room and board if you
cared to help me with the trap line.”

  Aquila stared wide eyed up at the big man.  She had certainly grown fond of Trio…but
 something told her she was not where she belonged.  “Trio…oh, I thank you for your
 gracious offer.  I have enjoyed my stay with you, I have, but…I do not feel like my
journey is complete just yet.  Maybe I will go on and then if I do not find an end somewhere
 else then I can come back, yes?”

  Trio smiled and Aquila could have sworn she saw a tear roll down his cheek.  “Certainly,
 my child.  You will always be welcome at Trio’s house.  Any time.”

  Aquila threw her arms around the big man’s waist and squeezed him tight.  It felt good to
 know there was some place in the world she could return to if she could find nowhere else
 to rest.

  That night after Trio retired to the stable, Aquila took the leather purse off of her belt and
set it on the desk beside the bed.  Taking the lump of charcoal and a piece of parchment
paper, she carefully scrawled out these words:

  Dearest Trio,

    My heart aches to say goodbye but I must.  My journey is not complete.  I will be
going on towards the north east.  You will find the money for your skins in full tale
 in the bag, I take nothing that I did not bring with me.  Think of me often and with
 great fondness, I hope to see you once more.

  With love,

      Your adopted daughter

  Aquila wiped away the tears that now flowed freely.  She felt like she was leaving her
siblings all over again.  For a moment she questioned her reasons for leaving as she held
the parchment paper in her hands, but then set it down, picked up her bag of things, and
 left.

                                                             **********

  Aquila brushed away the leaves from under the big pine tree.  She had been traveling
 by foot for two weeks.  Now she was just too exhausted to go any further.  It was a
mountainous range that she had stumbled onto two days before.  Until the mountains,
the area had been alive with trees but now it was nothing but rock.  She found it rather
 strange that this one lone Pine tree should be there, but it was, and she had used it as a
 shelter for the past couple of days.  Now she lay down beneath its big branches and
 hugged herself.

  “You will make it, Aquila.  I have faith in you.”  Aiden's last words rang in her
head.  He had followed her out that evening she had left and assisted her onto Tayla.
 But when she showed the least bit of doubt that his faith had been accurately placed,
 he had made her say it herself.

  As she so often did, she pulled out the cross pendant and fingered it for a short moment.
 Now she was more than ever determined to make it through.  Thoughts of her last home
with Trio drifted across her mind as she fell asleep.

                                                                             *******

  Aquila trudged up the small path on the side of the mountain.  The ocean was alive and
she enjoyed the cool breeze that blew off the sparkly blue waters beneath her.  She had been
 at this for a couple of hours now and it did not seem like it was going anywhere but the
 breeze and the smell of the ocean helped to rejuvenate her.  She did not know what she
 was looking for.  Maybe a place to stay?  In these mountains?  She thought ruefully.

  She was better off going back to town and finding a place there but then again, she would
 have to face people...and men.  Her experience with Taurus left a bad taste in her mouth
and she did not want to try and weed out the good men from the bad.

  Aquila was about to turn around and go back when she leveled off onto a small landing.
She chanced a glance upwards and saw a large cliff looming above covered in thick, lush,
green life.  There seemed to be a big rock covered in the beautiful greenery right in the
center of it.  It was almost like another part to the mountain but something was oddly
 peculiar about it.  The only thing was that it was a far distance up and there seemed to
 be only one way up: a narrow ledge that wound up the side of the mountain all the way
 to the top.  But it was green, which meant there had to be some sort of water source
up there and it would be a great place to remain out of the way.  It was possible there
 was a cave hidden behind the vines.  What also intrigued her interest was the lone tall
tree that looked misplaced on the otherwise barren mountainside.

  Determined to make it before evening, Aquila flattened her body against the mountain's
side and inched her way up.  Occasionally her left foot slipped and she stopped abruptly,
 grabbing onto whatever her fingers could reach, to keep from plummeting off the narrow
 ledge.  Sweat beaded down her forehead and more than once she wondered if she should
 have turned back.

  Two hours later, she reached the top.  Wiping the sweat from her brow, she studied the
 scene before her.   One tall pine tree grew out of what seemed like pure rock on one side
 and then greenery sprouted up so thickly that you could not see the rock it covered.  She
 frowned and put her hand into the greenery to feel the wall of the rock.  It was flat and not
 bumpy and jagged like the mountain had been so far.

  She stepped back and looked up.  The wall went up for a hundred feet.  There was a
slightly smaller wall on top of the rock.  All of a sudden, a bird flew out of the smaller wall
on top.  Aquila's eyes widened.  Was that a window in the wall?

  Aquila walked around the big green wall.  She was completely worn out after the long
trip around, but now she was convinced more than ever that she had found her a place to
 stay.  The closer she looked at the large wall the more it was evident that it was not just
 a big rock.  It was a palace and most obviously abandoned.

  Her job now would be to find the door and clear it, so that she could get in and out.
 Unfortunately it was getting late and the sun was already disappearing behind the mountains.
  She would camp here tonight; instead of going all the way back to the pine tree she had
called home the past few days, and would wake with the dawn.  It was sure to be a beautiful
 sunrise.

                                                             *******

  Aquila frowned in exasperation.  She had been looking for a door all day and had come
up empty.  It was nothing but vines, wall, and more vines.  She looked up at the retreating
 sun.  Had she really been working that long?

  Aquila was about to give up.  Maybe this was not a castle.  But every time she looked at
 it the more she was convinced that that was exactly what she had stumbled across.  Just as
she was about to pull away, she felt something.  It was small and barely even there, explaining
 why she had missed it altogether the first two times.  It was a small line that ran straight up
 and down.  She pulled the vines away from it and looked.  It was indented slightly and it
was a darker gray than the rest of the wall as if someone had put mortar in the crack.  Had
someone been actually trying to conceal it from the outside world?  Was there someone
 living inside?  Surely there was no way someone could survive closed up in there for so long.

  Aquila pulled out the knife she had, concealed in her robe, and began chipping away the
thin layer of mortar in the crack.  It was easy, and with only the help of the bushes to climb
on to remove the mortar from the top part of the door, she had it finished by night fall.  
Unfortunately, the same vines and bushes she had used to aid in her endeavor would have
 to be dug up and moved before she could open the door.

  It was the work of another day.

                                                                            ********

  Aquila pulled furiously at the base of the vine.  She grunted in the effort until she had to
pause and catch her breath.  She pushed her sweat-dampened hair out of her face.  She had
 been digging with her knife and hands all morning and afternoon pulling vines out of the ground.
  Now there was only one left, but it was the biggest one and it was proving to be just as big a
 challenge as its size.

  Aquila looked around quickly before grabbing the root at the base and throwing her body
 into an all out battle with the vine.  Her face turned red and her fingers white, sweat pouring
 down her body, as she let out the biggest battle cry her lungs could give.

  Suddenly she heard the vine groan, she felt it giving away, and she was not sure that was
 what she wanted it to do at this moment but there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  “Oh, no!” she muttered as the vine let go of its hold and she fell backwards landing hard
on her derrière.  “Ow!” Aquila almost screamed.  There was a rock perfectly situated so that
 her tail bone landed on the jagged top.

  Aquila held up the vine with it is dirt clod vines and cursed it.  She stood and winced.  It
would smart for a few days...maybe even weeks.  Just then she remembered the reason she
 had gone to all that trouble.  The door was free of the pesky petiolaris vines and she could
 open the door.  Aquila grabbed the knob and pulled it down.  The door groaned and
 complained with the stress that she was putting on its old rusty hinges but did not budge.

  Aquila frowned and examined the mortar in the space between the door and the wall.
Forcing her knife into the crease, she worked it along until the thin layer of mortar started
 falling out.  It was only a cover up job, not a permanent solution.  Finally, when she had it
 all cleared, she tried once more.  Still, the door did not want to move.

  Persistent in her endeavors, Aquila pulled and pulled.  Deciding that it was quite safe to
do with the door as she had done with the vine, she stopped and breathed for a moment.
Energy is what she would need for this job.

  Turning to look out over the cliff and the vast expanse of the ocean before her, she sighed.
  Even at this height she could smell the salty waters below and when she closed her eyes, she
 could feel the water splashing up on her as it hit the rocky wall.  She had definitely found her
 home.

  Moments later she turned back to the door.  Setting her shoulders in determination, she
grabbed the door handle and counted, “One...two...three!”

  Throwing everything into it, she pulled and pulled.  The door groaned and creaked,
stubbornly refusing to give way.  Yet Aquila continued.  Opening her mouth and air passage,
she took a deep breath and cried out.  The sound echoed off of the mountainside and carried
 over the sea, but the door still did not budge.

  Stopping and letting go of the door, she gasped for air.  “One,” she grabbed the handle again.
“Two...three!”

  Once again she threw her weight into it and hollered for all her worth.  The door creaked and
groaned and then all of a sudden it budged slightly and she stilled.  It was beginning to open.  
After panting for a moment, she tightened her hold on the handle and pulled.

  Little by little, inch by inch, the door gave way and opened.  Finally she stopped and stared
inside the open portal.

  It was dark inside, but the light shining through the doorway revealed cobblestone flooring.
 Aquila stepped just inside the doorway and felt unearthly cool.  Just to the right of the door there
 was a torch and she took it from it is anchor.  Now if she could find some way to light it.

  Aquila stepped outside and looked inside her small bag for something with which to start a
flame.  There was a flat stone inside and she pulled it out.  She grabbed the rock she had landed
 on and sat down.  Anchoring the torch in between her legs she struck the jagged rock against
 the smooth one several times.  Nothing was happening.  She tried some more until she finally
saw something.  Several more tries and something started going for her.  The rock threw a
large spark and, before long, it engulfed the cobweb covered torch in a bright blaze.

She dropped both rocks by the doorway and took the torch. She held the torch high, as
she stepped through the doorway, into the chilly air of the castle. It was a slightly large room
with cupboards along the wall. In the middle of the room was a big black cauldron covered in
dust and cobwebs. It hung at an awkward angle as one end was sitting on a blackened hearth
and the other half was held up by a rusty chain from a pole affixed above it. This must be the
kitchen, Aquila mused. Aquila swung the torch around until she found a door. She opened it
to find a pantry. Rats quickly ran for cover from the light behind various tins and hole filled boxes
all over the floor. She shut the door and shivered. She hated rodents. She found a second door.
This has to be the door into the corridor, Aquila told herself. As she put her hand on the doorknob,
it was as if something was awaiting her on the other side. The hair on her neck and arms stood on end.
Something was not right about this place. She froze as a cool breeze hit her, taking her breath away.

Chapter 4

Aquila took a deep breath and turned the knob. At the same time a cool draft caught
the door and it flew backwards, hitting the wall with a big bang. Aquila jumped and screamed.
There was nothing but a dark hallway. Aquila took a deep breath. Calm down, Aquila.
There is no one else here. Besides, what could possibly be living in here besides rats and
bats? Just watch out for them and they will leave you alone. Now get a grip! Aquila
took the torch that sat on its anchor beside the door and lit it with the torch she already held.

She would need all the help she could get. She poked the torch through the doorway and
held it high to help illuminate the hall and eliminate the cobwebs hanging down. If she did live
in this place, she would need it slightly decent. What better time to start then now? There
were two small double doors just to the left, as she started down the hallway, and she
opened one and poked the torch in. There was an old fireplace at the other end of the small
room. Two dusty settees sat opposite each other in front of the fireplace, dust and cobwebs
now the only thing taking residence on them. Beside the one to the left on top of a small
wooden table lay a tin cup on its side, a dark stain on the table told of the cup’s contents
now long gone.

Aquila left the door open and turned back to the hall. Torches lined the hall and she now took
the time to light them. There were two other doorways, one to each side that she opened.
Beds lined the walls in each with a small fireplace to one side of the room. The same story
in each one: cobwebs and dust with an occasional rat or two. Now the corridor turned
at a sharp 90º angle and on the darkness went. She cautiously moved forward, lighting
the torches as she went. Her guess was that she had just come through the servants' quarters.

Halfway down the hall she found a set of double doors that opened into a large spacious
room that had double doors along the sides and on the far right were two magnificent
oak doors that reached the ceiling. It was no doubt the front of the ballroom. A beautifully
ornate chandelier sat in the middle of the floor, a rope going up from it to the ceiling
through a pulley. The other end of the rope was rotted and hung loosely halfway down.

Stepping into the large room, she gazed in awe at the pictures painted on the ceilings.
It was as if a story was being told of generations past, etched into the fiber of what
would go on before. Pictures of elegant women and finely dressed men danced
across the vast expanse floating above her. Gracefully positioning herself as one
of the ladies was in the arms of a gentleman, she closed her eyes and slowly
swayed from side to side, turning around the room. Humming to herself a song that
she faintly remembered hearing as a child, she imagined herself in the arm of one of
those gentlemen.

Suddenly she stopped abruptly and shook her head. It would never happen. She could never
subject herself to another man’s will again. Aquila crossed the floor to the hallway and closed
the door softly, then continued down the hallway until she reached a door to the left. Its hinges
groaned and complained as it revealed a large desk at the far end of a wide book-lined room.
A settee sat with its back to her and there was a small table at each end. A single beam of light
that shone through the vine covered window, whose drapes hung half torn from its hooks,
rested on top of a small tattered book, a quill and pen sat beside it on the desk.

As Aquila stepped into the room the feeling of something unknown and mysterious
returned and she shuddered. Goosebumps covered her skin as the hair on her neck
rose. The air was tense with a sense of dread. Aquila could not understand why.
It was an uninhabited room.

Aquila moved around the room looking at the endless volumes of books. There
was a row of thick historical texts and she pulled one that lay flat on its side
off of the shelf. It was the latest dated text on the shelf, but it was still two
hundred years old. She ran her finger over the top and dust two inches thick rubbed
off. She wrinkled her nose and wiped her finger on her leg. She blew on it and
instantly regretted it. Dust flew everywhere, into her eyes, mouth, and nose. She
sneezed three times as her eyes started watering to rid themselves of the intruding particles.

When she had finally cleared her eyes of the dust, and she was able to see again,
she opened the cover. Just inside was an inscription that read, “Quentin, of the
Lucian Kingdom, in the province of Meru”. She carefully turned the pages until she
found “Quentin”. There was an ink sketch of a magnificent castle in all its glory. Flags
flew at each corner hailing the circular cobblestone drive that came up to a wide staircase
that led up to two gigantic oak doors. The grounds were well cared for, rose bushes
lined the steps, and the drive and the grass was well tended. Two guards in full regal
attire stood at each side of the doors and two more at each side of the bottom of the
steps and a carriage with a coat of arms painted on its side sat attached to two beautiful
white bays just off to the side.

There were two guards that patrolled the top of the castle and just below them,
on the second floor, was a good sized window with beautifully ornate curtains
drawn back. The picture was done so well that you could see couples dancing in
the ballroom there on the second floor. A beautiful sunset framed the castle
in the background and Aquila felt as if she were there...for a second. The door reaked
and she jumped and dropped the book. No one was there.

Aquila scooped up the book and quickly placed it on the shelf. She moved
to the desk, her attention was drawn to the book on which the beam of light rested.
She opened it tenderly so as not to tear the fragile pages and read the first
line aloud. “The humble recordings of Alverdine Portchi, the beloved of Sark
Thatcher, of the royal Lucians.”

Aquila read a few entries at the beginning and then moved to the middle of the book.
Her eyes scanned the page until they spotted the words, "day of atonement”.
Her eyes focused on that one word for a moment before she went back to the
beginning of that entry. It was dated, “the thirteenth day of the month of June, in the year of our Lord,
1224.” It had only been fifty years since this entry had been written.

The entry started, “How could I have been so foolish! Sark will not listen to me. He thinks my
council is foolish. It worked for myparents back at home. Who is he to think it would not
work here? One day I shall rule the kingdom and things shall be as they should. The people
will fear me and will do as Isay. Then we shall thrive and Sark will have to listen to me.
These servants are allowed too much slack. Just you wait and see, King Sark Thatcher,
when I am queen you will cater to me and to my wants and will have nothing wanting and will
understand why I say the things I have advised you to do. The day of atonement draweth near!”

Aquila frowned and closed the book. She would take this with her for later reading.
Aquila tucked the book into the front of her robe and took a last look around the room
before heading for the door.

*********

Aquila slowly clicked the small rusty trap open and pulled away. Wiping the sweat off her
brow with the back of a grimy hand, she took a deep breath. She had been walking along for a
day now plotting a trap line for her to use as a means for a living and had just now started the
turn towards home. The discovery of a wide clear stream would prove useful as a good
camping ground, as well as a natural source to lure animals with. After sufficiently covering
the trap with leaves, and hoping that the rusty trap would come through for her, Aquila stood
and continued on her way. A few hours later she abruptly found herself at the edge of the forest,
a decently sized thriving village sprawled out before her.

She had known by references made in the books in the library that there was a town
nearby, but she had not been certain as to the direction it was in. “Deus’ providence
has surely led me to you,” she announced to the empty air in front of her. Suddenly
realizing the irony of talking to herself, she shook her head and moved forward. Once
in town, Aquila started to get nervous. The people of this town were not all too accustomed
to strangers. Everyone seemed to stop and stare as she walked down the middle of the
street. Maybe I should not walk down the middle of the street in this garb. That is
probably what is drawing all the attention, you numbskull! Aquila mentally laughed
at herself.

Quickly moving to the shadows of the buildings, she examined every building and its
wares as she moved. Street vendors looked at her warily as she drew near and then
began trying to sell her their stock.

Aquila walked up and down every street she came to until she walked up on the
trapper's store. Venturing inside she studied the wares. There were many different
items of interest. Rugs, belts, purses and satchels, mounted animal heads. She was
examining one particularly fine rug when a friendly sort of voice spoke up, “Can I help you?”

Aquila jumped and whirled around. “Oh! I am sorry. I was just looking at your things. They
are so nice.”

The round burly man’s face lit with a smile that went from ear to ear. “Why thank you! I only
buy from the best!”

“I see that. Maybe I can interest you in the future in some of the things I make,” Aquila
said as she fingered the fine rug she had been looking at.

“Oh? Do you make rugs and the sort?” The man’s thick brown eyebrows shot up.

“Yes, I do. In fact, I just got finished setting up my line of traps. Tell me, would you
know of a place here in town where I could maybe purchase for use as a workshop?”

“Not right off the top of my head. The banker would know of places for sale. He is
just down the street. By the way, my name is Boar Knifke.”

“Aquila.”

Boar gracefully accepted the hand Aquila offered and he bowed low. “It will be my
pleasure to do business with you, my dear. I take it you are fairly newcomer around here.
As a gift of good faith between me and thee, I insist you take this fine rug you are so interested
in. May it bring you warmth on the cold winter nights. You say you live here in town?”

“Oh, I did not say that,” Aquila quickly corrected. “But the rug will definitely help,
thank you very much. I promise I will repay your kindness.”

Boar just brushed her off and quickly rolled up the rug. “Do not trouble yourself.
I feel we shall become good friends.”

Aquila thanked him again, picked up the heavy rug, and turned to leave. As Aquila
stepped outside, she forgot about the porch and fell into the dirt. Aquila lifted her head
and shook it. Spitting the dust out of her mouth, she struggled to her feet, barely
noticing the hand that was gently helping her up.

A tall woman with a mass of blond curls piled atop her head stood in front of her,
Aquila’s rug draped over her shoulder. “Are you alright? I saw you take the fall.
That must have come as quite a shock!”

“Yes, I am fine, thank you,” Aquila nodded and smiled.

“Good. I am Lady Fridgeirsen,” the lady beamed.

“Aquila.”

“My home is just two streets down. Would you care to join me for my afternoon tea?”
Lady Fridgeirsen invited as she tucked a stray wisp of her sun-bleached hair back into
her straw bonnet.

Aquila thought for a moment. She had nothing better to do other than to go home
and that could wait a little bit. She was certain that if she stepped up her pace, she
could certainly make it back to the creek before she had to camp for the night. “I
would be delighted, Lady Fridgeirsen. I am feeling a little faint with the heat.” The
last part was a lie and Aquila mentally slapped herself for not leaving it at, “I would
be delighted.” Even with her small stature, she could endure what some people four
times her size could not.

Aquila followed silently behind Lady Fridgeirsen as her host talked on and on
about the town and all the happenings as of late. Aquila's eyes widened and
laughed as she talked of everything from devastating swirling winds to flocks of chicken
s running through town as if their heads were chopped off.

Before she knew it, Aquila found herself in a messy little kitchen, sitting at an
oak table with four decorative chairs. Messy was putting it lightly. It was
obvious she was in the process of reorganizing everything.

“Excuse the mess of things. I'm preparing it to be sold,” Lady Fridgeirsen chuckled
as she placed a kettle over the cast iron stove. “I just started repainting the kitchen,
as you can tell.”

Lady Fridgeirsen moved to sit in the chair beside her, and for a moment, all was
silent. Aquila folded her hands and placed them on the table, uncomfortable with
the lull in the conversation.

Lady Fridgeirsen placed a hand over Aquila's and squeezed. “You are new to town
and young. If you need a place to stay, I would be more than happy to accommodate you.”

Aquila smiled reassuring. “Thank you so much for your kind offer and concern, but I am
staying in the eastern mountains far out of town away from harm. You need not worry,
Lady Fridgeirsen.”

Lady Fridgeirsen patted her hands. “Well, if you ever need anything, you are always
welcome here. And also, please call me Minella. That is my first name and I would be
very happy if you and I could become good friends. Are you planning on coming to
the village often?”

“Whenever I check my traps, I will come right through the village,”
Aquila informed her.
“Then you must stop in here every time and have tea with me.”

Aquila thought for a moment before deciding that she rather liked Minella. “I would
love to see you, Minella, whenever I can come through town.”

An hour later, Aquila finally managed to take her exit and quickly left town.
A glance at the sky told her she should not have taken so long. Still, she could
make it to the creek.

The sun disappeared and the wolves were howling long before Aquila finally
came upon the creek. It had taken her a little bit longer to set up the few traps
she had plotted for her return trip than she thought. Relieved and completely
exhausted, she collapsed under a large oak tree and fell asleep.

*********

Aquila sighed beneath the warm morning sun and opened her eyes. There just in front of
her face was the long face of a hideous creature. Its dark yellow scales shimmered in the
sun. She could only see one glassy green eye from the angle of the face but it was watching
her carefully.

She would have loved nothing more than to run, but not knowing how it would react to
such rash behavior, she stilled the wild beatings of her heart and remained motionless.
It seemed to sense her conscious state and it moved. Suddenly the warm comfortable
feeling left as it rose to its feet. Aquila blinked as she realized that it had not been the
warm morning sun that she felt, but the warmth of the gold dragon that had come to
cover her overnight.

It turned its full attention to her, its wings securely tucked beside its muscular body.
Remembering that Gold Dragons were supposed to be friendly, Aquila moved slowly and
cautiously to a sitting position. Still the dragon did nothing.

Aquila cocked her head to the side, and did a double-take when the dragon
did the same. Aquila straightened her head and then cocked it to the other side.
The dragon mimicked her again. Aquila straightened and then leaned closer. The
dragon did so as well and Aquila choked back a laugh.

“Can we be friends?” she asked the creature.
Remarkably the dragon moved to her side and tucked her safely into the folds of his
left wing as if to say yes. Aquila smiled. “Then I shall call you Leo.”

A few minutes later Aquila moved from her spot to the river and waded in. Breakfast
would have to be fish, as she had forgotten to purchase anything in town. No
mind at all. Aquila had taught herself to be a fairly decent fisher at home when she
had nothing better to do than to sit by the river and sing.

Ten minutes later she threw a yellow bullhead onto the bank, a safe distance
away from the water's edge. Aquila started to turn back but stopped abruptly
when Leo stood and breathed fire onto the rebellious catfish.

When Leo pulled back, the fish lay still. She noticed the brownish-gold hue the fish
now had and nodded, “Humph.”

Her attention was drawn away when something shimmered in the water and she
prepared for her final catch. Five minutes later she came up with a white
catfish this time and threw it next to the first fish. Leo did the same thing and
Aquila returned to the banks.

Once the meat was taken off the bones, Aquila studied it. The meat was
already well done. She took a bite. “Mm, Leo! You need to come home
with me. You can be the cook!”

When she had finished the fish, she looked up to find Leo watching her
curiously. “Oh, no! How rude of me. I shall catch you one before we go home.”

Ten minutes later and Aquila had him a fish. Aquila went to throw it onto the bank
but Leo stepped forward and caught it with his mouth and swallowed it in one smooth
motion. Aquila tossed him a few more before drying her hands with her robe. Aquila
stepped onto the bank and smiled. “We make a good team, Leo!” Aquila walked
upstream for a little ways, pondering her fortune at finding two new friends, as Leo's
shadow from above the trees followed her all the way. After finding a thinner place in
the river, she crossed and then oriented herself in the right direction. That night, as she
walked up to the base of the mountain where the palace sat, she looked up wearily and
moaned. She had hoped she would make it home for a good night's sleep on her
homemade straw mattress, but as tired and weary as she was, she did not look on
that feat with pleasure.

Suddenly, Leo landed and lowered himself. His wings outstretched and waiting, Aquila
frowned. What was he trying to say? Leo flapped his wings a couple of beats then
back up towards her. Aquila thought for a moment, measuring the animal’s size.
It was not very big at all, but it was bigger than her by a bit. It could carry her and
maybe that was what he was trying to say. Shrugging, she slowly and cautiously
climbed onto Leo’s back. His long wings expanded to their full length and began
moving gracefully up and down, and before Aquila knew what was happening, Leo
lifted them both into the sky. They were soaring up the mountain side at a brisk pace,
and much sooner than Aquila could have imagined, he had them sitting on the cliff where
the palace sat.

“Good boy, Leo,” Aquila patted his head. “You can sleep in the kitchen if you like.”

Aquila opened the door and stood aside as Leo looked hesitantly through the doorway.
Finally it cautiously ventured inside. Aquila shut the door and patted its head. “Find you
a comfortable spot to sleep, Leo. I shall see you in the morning.”

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

Aquila pulled at the board. She had been exploring the kitchen for what seemed like hours,
the words in the journal playing over in her mind. I stashed a slew of weapons in a secret
compartment in the bottom of the cupboards. I have turned all the kitchen servants
against Sark and have successfully fooled them into believing in me. We are still so far
from our day of atonement but it will come at the last and what a glorious day it shall
be. If only I could trust my Love to talk with him about it…but I fear he is still highly
devoted to his king though he spent last night in my quarters.

Aquila had to read the last part again. Someone had betrayed their king and had an affair
with his wife now fifteen years after their marriage. Who was this person? Captain of the
guard, butler, personal assistant? The journal entry went on to talk about him without
actually naming him. He seemed to be important somewhere in the ranks of the castle’s
attendants.

It also puzzled Aquila what the "day of atonement" was. After reading fifteen years' worth of entries,
Alverdine had talked so much about it. Upon their marriage Sark had still not listened to Alverdine's
ideas on how to govern the land. Aquila understood as she spoke of high taxes, encouraged slavery,
and the establishment of druid lords as the religious leaders and supreme dictators underneath Sark
himself.

Aquila wondered if there had not been any children. Alverdine spoke of none in all the fifteen years
entries. Aquila shook her head and returned to the task at hand.

What were these weapons intended for? Suddenly Aquila’s hand caught the corner
of a board slightly upraised and she pried it up. There was the compartment she talked
about! It was empty except for one rusty long sword. Where were the rest?

Aquila carefully examined the compartment and felt along the sides and the bottom.
Nothing else was there and no sign of any other compartments inside. She returned
the rusty old sword and placed the board in its place. Alverdine was surely planning
some sort of revolt.

********

Dearest brother or sister, I send this letter out with a prayer that it shall find you.
I shall press upon my falcons that I wish for you to receive this, but I cannot be sure
that they shall obey. I know that by doing this, I am defying Duard and his direct
order. However, I feel I am somehow right to do so. Perhaps it is as Father Andrew
said. We need to regard Deus’ will as higher than Duard’s when it comes to moral
decisions. I think it is thus with this. If it isn’t, my heart will at least be at peace in
the knowledge that I have attempted to contact you. If you fare well or poorly,
please let me know. Pen a reply on the back of this parchment and reattach it to
the falcon’s leg. He or she shall return to me with your message, of that I am
certain.Your loving sister,Wren

Aquila pulled her hair over her left shoulder as she looked at the palace behind her.
She had just come out to get a breath of fresh air when she saw Gavin, one of
Wren's gyr falcons, flying in. It had landed just off a ways and it had taken her a
little time to slowly and cautiously get the falcon's trust enough for her to approach,
but it had been accomplished and she now returned inside to retrieve her writing instruments.

She had managed to come up with some charcoal bits at the town she had visited
before finding the castle. Maeron had expressly forbidden them to contact each other.
Why? She did not know, but how could he find out that they were contacting each other?

Aquila laid the letter flat on the table and picked up the bit of charcoal. Pausing only a
moment to think of what she would say, she placed the charcoal onto the bit of parchment
and began,

Dearest Wren, I miss you terribly. It has been a long hard journey.
Tayla died halfway into the journey. After a prolonged stay in a monastery,
I finally left on foot until I reached my final destination: a long forgotten
palace. There are mysteries of which I have yet to discover and could never
be told by air that which I have discovered. I fare well and hope this missive
finds you doing so as well. All my love, Aquila

Aquila wanted to tell Wren of what she had discovered at the palace and in the
journal. Now as her thoughts returned to the journal and everything that she had
read, her impatience began to get the best of her. So far I have only covered
the downstairs grounds. I have yet to make it to the second floor where I
believe the wedding to have taken place. There are two ballrooms. One
downstairs which was the normal ballroom, but there was a second one
upstairs used for special occasions like that of a wedding. I must venture
to the second floor for surely something up there would tell of the mystery.
If someone did actually put the mortar there to hopefully hide the
whereabouts of the entrance, who was it? Who came out on top of it
all and do they come back every once in a while to check on the place?
Oh, to get to the bottom of this whole thing! Aquila kicked at the air in
frustration.

**********

Aquila sighed, as she opened her eyes to find herself tangled in her thin blanket and hair
again. This was becoming a routine. Every morning she was all tangled in her bedding
and her hair never helped. It got twisted in with her blanket and it was a literal pain to get
herself untangled. One day she would not be able to get herself untangled just because
of the magnitude of the mess.

Then it dawned on her. Today she had vowed to uncover any mysteries the second
floor held. She unwound her way out of the covers, stood, and grabbed the torch.
Even in the middle of the day it was rather dark where she did not open windows, and
still even then, it was not as bright as the vines were so thick, it let in very little light.

Aquila stumbled to the staircase and looked down the dark expanse. She bit her lip.
She slept in a room that was more like a small attic room above the second floor but she
had never ventured around the second floor. Why not? The wedding that was to have
taken place the same day that Alverdine's journal ended on would have been held in the
ballroom on the second floor. Something surrounded the second floor...something worse
than that of what she had felt when entering the library. It just grew worse and worse at
each step she took, drawing her closer to the second floor.

Aquila took a deep steady breath as she stepped onto the carpeted second floor. She
lit the two torches on each side of the stair case and then continued down the hallway.
The only way she would get the courage to open the ballroom doors was if she went
directly there and did not give it a second thought.

The hall seemed to go on and on, an endless tunnel towards the unknown, the
torches numberless. The flames cast shadows on the wall as she steadily made her
way. Time seemed to stand still, life on pause as the dread rose higher and higher to
what she might find. Why she thought she would find something, she had no idea. It
was just an empty room. It was an empty castle. There was no reason for her to
dread it. She was on an adventure...it was not working. Nothing she could tell her
nerves would work. Her skin was crawling now and her hand shaking.

She almost jumped when she turned to light a torch and it was the door to the
ballroom. Quickly recovering, Aquila's shoulders rose in determination. Her
hand went to the door knob and she shoved the door open. She stepped inside
and lit the torches on both side of the door. Now she turned and jumped. The
silence that had pervaded her journey was disrupted with terrified screams.

2011-04-27T15:13:00.002-05:00

Well, last time I posted here I said there would be no reposting of the chapters. I'm here to tell you that I lied. Not intentionally. I had no idea the process of seriously reading and redrafting I would find myself with an almost complete change in directions. Oh, characters are still very much the same, but there are added twists and Trouble's father is no more. Well...you will have to read it. So here goes chapters 1 and 2.

Chapter 1

  Only an hour after Maeron had laid down the verdict, Aquila ran for her spot at the river once more.  She
had nowhere else to go.

  Once she felt the cold sensation of water running across the tops of her feet she dropped her face into the
 folds of her tunic now bunched around her knees and cried.  She was silent, but she cried nonetheless.
 Maeron was heartless!  How could he?  Why?

  There was no answer.  Nothing seemed logical to her.  They had done well in obeying his every command,
 for they knew from past experiences that he would show no reserve in punishing them if they did not.  So
why had he decided to banish them?

  Aiden would fare well.  He, the oldest, was strong and capable.  For certain he had shown himself capable
of many things over the years as the protector of his eight younger siblings.  Taerith, as well, would do just fine.
  He was a man.  Men always had things they could do, places they could go.  Arnan fell in that category as
 well.

  Even Sam would make it.  He was strong despite his young age and timid ways.  But what about his twin,
 Zoe?  Yes, Zoe would fare well.  She was independent, stubborn at times, and strong.

  Daelia, Ilara, and Wren were all strong women.  Yet she shuddered at the thought of being left completely
alone.  Yes, she was by herself much of the time, but she always had someone to look up to for guidance if
 she ever needed it.  She had never been left to her own life with no one there to give even silent support.

  She knew a little of cooking, archery, and woodworking from various siblings but she was not a master
 at any.  She was small and inexperienced when it came to the ways of the world.  She had had no exposure
 to other people and something inside her feared them.  What if they were all like Maeron Duard: cynical,
 cruel, careless, and spiteful?

  Aquila physically shook at the thought and determined to shy away from contact with the outside world
 as much as possible.  Looking up at the sky, Aquila sighed.  The sun was going down and she needed to
 return home before long.

  Standing, she sighed and bid a farewell to her favorite corner of the world.  That night, Aquila rolled up
into a ball in her bed and cried.  It would be her last for a very long time.

  Only an hour after curling up in bed, she threw back the covers with haste.  Just leave now, she thought to herself.

  Why wait out the inevitable?  Leave now and avoid the sad farewell tidings of the others.  After packing
 a well worn leather drawstring bag with two extra pairs of clothes and necessities, she slipped into a dark
 brown tunic which she secured closer to her body by a rope belt.  Aquila slipped a small dagger into a leather
pouch which she fastened to her belt before donning her cloak and then crept through the shadows out of the
 room.

  Darting as fast as she could for the cover of the stable to avoid being seen, Aquila slipped around the side
of the stable and through the rails of the corral.  Her small figure went unnoticed by the resident horses. 
Unnoticed by all but one, whose head came up.

  Softly whispering to the gray mare to soothe the horse's nerves, she gently rubbed its neck.  The horse
 nudged her almost too hard and she stepped back to keep her balance.  “Ho, there friend!” Aquila squeaked.
 Moving back towards the stable the horse obediently followed.

  Once inside the stable and positioned in the back stall, Aquila quickly and smoothly bridled the horse and
 placed a roughly faded blanket over its back.  Then planting her feet a little more than shoulder's width apart,
she pulled the heavy saddle from its rack.

  Aquila had saddled Tayla many a time, but it always took her a few times of trying to get the saddle
 high enough to go over her back.  She swung the saddle behind her slightly. “One...two...three!”  Throwing
 her weight into it she slung the saddle up but it did not quite make it.  Twice more she tried with no luck.

  Her breathing labored, she grunted to three and then attempted a fourth try.  This time it went over the
horse and she nearly fell forward under the horse's girth from the loss of weight to balance her out.
 Stopping herself short, she stood erect and quickly latched the saddle.  A small voice in her head reminded
 her that she had never successfully mounted a horse without aid.

  Nevertheless leading the horse out of the stable, she tried to throw her bag over the saddle so the strings
would latch onto the horn that had been crafted onto the top of the saddle specifically for her to hold on to
 but she overthrew so that the drawstrings missed the horn and it fell to the ground on the opposite side of
 the horse.  Tayla shied away from it and Aquila quickly grabbed at the horse's reigns to calm her.

  Someone picked up her things and began stuffing some of the things back into the bag. “Aiden!” Aquila
gasped out.

  “Do not worry, I will tie it on for you,” Aiden assured her.

  Aquila gently soothed the horse's nerves by caressing its strong neck.  When the task was complete,
 Aiden turned to her.  “Do you want a hand up?”

  Aquila nodded slowly and placed her small hand in his large one.  As his fingers closed in around her
 hand she felt a surge of confidence shoot through her uncertainty.  When Aquila was safely mounted, she
 looked at her older brother for the goodbye he had no doubt come to give.  “Thanks.”

  “You will make it, Aquila.  I have faith in you.”

  Aquila choked back the urge to cry.  She could not cry now.  Aiden had just said he had faith in her
and crying would defeat the spirit inside her that wanted to make him proud.  Would she really make it?  
She could only imagine being thrown from her horse should it be spooked by some small creature, a
ruthless man like Maeron finding her and domineering her life, or—Aquila nodded slowly to mask her
 tormented thoughts.

  “Say it,” Aiden commanded quietly.

  Her facade had not worked.  “I will make it.”

  “Deus guide you,” Aiden smiled in response.

  Determining to carry Aiden's strong faith with her, she picked up the reigns.  “Deus guide me and thee.”

                                                             ********

  Aiden's encouragement only lasted her as long as she was in the realms of her home. Once Tayla stepped
 onto unfamiliar territory on her trek northeastward, fear began to rise and she fought back the urge to turn
around and head back.  She would have to make this journey sooner or later.  Better sooner than later.

  Aquila's eyes darted from side to side, from the ground in front to the limbs of the trees that towered
 above her.  It felt like a million eyes were watching her.  Shivering in the cold night air, she pulled her cloak
 tighter around her shoulders, sinking further into the protective covering of the hood.

  The minutes stretched into hours, the hours into what seemed like eternity, as she slowly moved forward.  
Daylight could not have come sooner.

  When the sun peaked through the trees, Aquila sighed.  While she felt like she had already covered
 thousands of kilometers between her and her beloved home, she knew she had probably only gone 11
 kilometers.  Moments later the horse stepped out of the forest to open grasslands.  Aquila pulled the reigns
 back and stared wide-eyed at the expansive space of nothingness in front of her.

  Forestland was all she had known.  No one had ever told her there was such a place as this.  How naïve
 she was!

  Spurring her horse on, she studied the landscape before her.  Brown grass.  That was all it was as far
 as the eye could see.  There was nothing appealing about it.  It grew almost to Tayla's belly.

  No trees poked up here or there once the forestlands had ended.  There was not even a green bush.
 It was brown and flat.

  For days Aquila traveled.  She would go north one day and east another, sometimes both.  A time or
 two she stopped to observe from a distance the activity of a town situated along her route. Yet not once
did she travel through but detoured around them.

  Then when she thought she would be lost in tall brown grass forever, she spotted in the distance the
 towering images of trees.  Aquila almost squealed with delight.

                                                             ********

  Aquila shivered in the cold night air and for the hundredth time readjusted her cloak tighter around her
as Tayla slowly trudged on.  For three nights she had ridden straight through before she finally reached the
trees.  She had been quite happy when she reached them but now wondered if it might not be much warmer
 out in the open grasslands.

  Now she slowly pushed on, repeating over and over, "I will make it.  I will make it."  She did not really
 mean them, but for Aiden's sake, she said them.  It was supposed to be mid day but the limbs of the trees
 blocked out the light of the sun so that it seemed so much darker amidst the forest and lack of sleep was
 slowly taking its toll.  Aquila’s head nodded, her grip on the reigns loosened, and all of a sudden Aquila
was jolted awake as she tumbled off of the horse.  Her back landed on a root and Aquila cried out in pain.

  Remaining motionless for a good few seconds, Aquila took several deep ragged breaths before looking
around.  There was a small knull in the base of a nearby Alte Bäume tree which would provide a sufficient
 hiding place for her to sleep in.

  Aquila did not bother to stand.  She rolled over onto her hands and knees and crawled over the roots and
 soft dirt and into the safety of the tree.  Tayla vigilantly followed her mistress.  Suddenly thunder split the air
 and she looked up.  Apparently the trees were not the only thing blocking out the sun for she now noticed
 the dark grey clouds looming up above, now threatening to pour upon all the unsuspecting refugees beneath
 all that they contained.

  “My things!” Aquila half squealed, half moaned.

  Forcing herself to move, she crawled underneath Tayla’s belly and undid the saddle.  Once that was
accomplished, she tugged on one side and it all slid off the side of the horse.  Tayla shied away from the
offending object and Aquila quickly patted her friend’s belly.  “Whoa there, Tayla.”

  Just as the rain began to fall Aquila retreated back into the hollow of the tree, dragging the saddle and
leather bag with her.  Lightening lit the air and thunder cracked overhead.  Almost as if on cue the trees
began sway.

  Aquila curled up as far in the hollow as she could and rested her head on the saddle.  Her rest would be
 hard to come by like this.  Aquila had not had a moment of rest when she was pelted by rain.  Startled by
 the sudden discomfort, Aquila scowled at the trees above.  The wind had grown so fierce now that it blew
 the rain in at an angle.  She and all of her belongings with her would be drenched despite her efforts.

  For hours on end Aquila shivered in the wet rain attempting to get some sort of sleep but to no avail.  
When the torrent finally ceased, Aquila crawled out of the hollow and and squeezed as much of the water
 out of her cloak as possible.  Raising herself to her full height she took a step forward and then stumbled
 forward as her foot sunk into the mud.

  Aquila groaned as she pulled her muddy booted foot out of the muck.  “What next?”

  Suddenly something moved just under Tayla’s foot and the horse reared in fright.  Aquila lunged for the
 horse’s reins but she was too slow and Tayla bolted.

  “Oh you foolish beast!” Aquila yelled after it.

  “Silence, girl!”

  Aquila screamed and whirled around.  A slightly heavy set man dressed in a brown robe stood with one
hand against the tree, the other hidden inside his robe.  His hood concealed most of his face but Aquila could
 see his teeth clenched together amidst his graying unkempt beard, his shoulders rising and sinking quickly as
 he was either out of breath or in serious pain.  Probably both, Aquila surmised.  “Who are you?” her voice
 quivered in fear.

  “Nevermind who I am, all you need to know is that I am not here to harm you.  But there are men behind
 me who are trying to find me and kill me.  You must listen carefully—“

  “Men are trying to kill you?” Aquila gasped.

  “Yes, now be quiet and listen, there is not much time!” he hissed.  Then taking the hand out of his robe he
held out a small brown leather pouch.  “Take this and go northeast.  Run for your life.  When they find me
they will kill me but they do not know of you…for now.  Cover your trail and keep going.  There is an old
 man in an old mill that rests beside the Cloughlin river.  It lies seven kilometers downstream of the Cloughlin
 Falls.”

  “Who is he?”

  “No questions, girl, now go!” the man urged as he doubled over in what appeared to be pain.

  Aquila did not have time or the capabilities to saddle Tayla quickly.  She quickly secured the brown pouch
 onto her belt, picked up her other bag of belongings and grabbed Tayla’s reins.  Leading her over to stand
 beside a root that protruded three feet above ground, she threw her arms around Tayla’s neck and then
 thrust her body on top of the horse’s.

  Once she had the reins comfortably grasped, she kicked the horse into motion and shot for the northeast
corner of the world.  Only moments after she had left the man she was certain she heard him cry out but
she dared not look back or slow down.

  Aquila did not know how long she had been running Tayla when she saw the trees open up.  Still confused
 and dazed with the cold that was setting in and the events that sent her running that she had no time to react
when her horse stumbled and fell, plunging her head long into the open grassy field.  Everything went black.

Chapter 2

  Above her was a high wood ceiling.  Aquila blinked and took several deep breaths as she looked around
 the room.  Two lamps hung on the wall on either side of the door six feet from her head that allowed enough
 light to see bookshelves all around the small room.  In the opposite corner, a brown robe-clad figure stood
with his back to her.  Concern flooded her mind.  She had been found by a stranger and was now helpless to
 defend herself if he turned out to be a foe.

  Aquila must have made a noise as the man suddenly turned around.  “Ah, I see our guest has awoken.  
If you will pardon me for one moment,” he bowed smiling kindly and left the room.

  Aquila picked her head up off of the flat hard surface and pulled back the thick warm blanket to look at
all of her limbs.  Everything seemed to be all in one piece.  Her ankle was wrapped in white cloth but other
 than that nothing seemed to be amiss.  Moments later the door opened again and a girl dressed in a black
robe walked in.  A black cloth concealed most of her blonde hair aside from a few stray wisps that rebelliously
stuck out at the sides of her temple.  "Good morning, my Lady."

  "Good morning," Aquila replied once she could find her voice.

  "I am Sister Marla.  I was on my way to say my prayers when I met Brother Thomas in the hall.  You
must forgive his abruptness.  The Brothers are not accustomed to guests.”

  “Who are the ‘brothers?’  Where am I?” Aquila questioned.

  Sister Marla smiled.  “You are at what some people call a monastery, but for those who reside within its
walls it is called the Haven.”

  Aquila frowned.  She knew nothing of such things.  “What is a monastery?”

  Sister Marla looked at her perplexed.  “Why…have you never heard of a monastery, of monks, or nuns?”

  Aquila shook her head.  “I have lived…secluded from the rest of the world all my life.  I have heard of no
such thing.”

  “Oh dear.”  Sister Marla’s eyebrows furrowed as she stood there looking at her for a moment.  Then she
 drew up a chair and sat down.  “Well a monastery is where a group of men seclude themselves for the sole
 purpose of worshiping Deus, the Almighty.”

  Aquila looked puzzled.  “They do nothing else?”

  “Nothing else,” Sister Marla responded.  “I come from the convent, the monastery’s sister haven, if you will.
 The convent is home to a group of women who find their sole purpose in life is to do the work of the
 Almighty and worship him in singleness of heart.”

  “What brings you here?”

  Sister Marla smiled.  “We have a garden that grows certain foods that the monastery cannot grow and
 they have things that we cannot grow.  So once a week I come over here to bring some gifts in exchange
 for gifts from their garden.  The Brothers and we Sisters share a common bond in our fellowship with
Father Deus that we get along very well and oft times join together for Holy Communion on Sabbath day.”

  Aquila nodded but said nothing.  It was all so strange.

  Sister Marla reached over and patted her hand.  “It’s a lot to take in.  But for now the monks want you
to know that you will be welcome here as long as you want to stay.  If you ever need food or water, let
them know.  Clothes they can also help with, although I am sure it is all old brown robes that smell of ,"
Sister Marla wrinkled her nose.  “They have you here at the moment, they only found you about an hour
 ago, but they are preparing a more comfortable bed for you in the back abbey where you will not be
 disturbed by anyone should you wish to seclude yourself for any amount of time.  They seem to know
nothing of women despite their exposure to we nuns.”

  "Thank you," Aquila smiled at her and then turned to the Brother Thomas who had only now returned
to the room.

  Brother Thomas nodded and smiled.  Sister Marla sat and talked with Aquila for a few minutes before
she begged her leave.  Brother Thomas, who had said hardly a word, followed her out and Aquila was left
to her thoughts.

 Aquila looked up at the ceiling and tried to remember what had happened before she passed out.  She had
 been running from something.  A man in a mill…then it hit her.  Reaching just under the blanket she pulled
 the pouch from her belt.  Inside was a smaller red velvet pouch closed with a single pearl button.

  Aquila fingered it for a moment before opening it up.  Inside was a small but heavy gold cross with a
 star-shaped emerald in the center of it.  She rubbed her thumb over the emerald and gaped at it.  It is so
beautiful.  Where could it possibly have come from?

  Just then the door opened and Aquila hid it in the folds of her skirt.  A monk appeared by her side with
 a bucket of water.  “Good evening,” he greeted.  “I am Brother Marklus.  Would you like a drink of water?”

  “Yes, please.”  Aquila lifted her head and accepted the cool drink of water he offered from a crudely
 crafted ladle.

  “We have a room prepared for you now.  If you will allow me, I will assist you down the hall.  I fear your
 ankle is not healthy enough to support itself,” Brother Marklus motioned towards her foot.

  "Thank you, Brother Marklus, I would be deeply appreciative of your help," she said.  Aquila pulled the
 cross out of her skirt and fingered it for a few more seconds before putting it back in the velvet pouch and
 into the leather one at her side.  I wonder who’s cross this belongs to.  Who is the man at the mill?

  One week later, Aquila was dying of boredom.  When Brother Thomas came in to put fresh candles in
 the lamps, she asked, “Where do you get those candles?”

 Brother Thomas turned and smiled at her.  “We make them here.”

  “Could you teach me how to make them?” Aquila’s eyes widened in wonder.

  “Why certainly, my dear,” Brother Thomas’ eye sparkled.  “We shall start this afternoon.”

   Aquila hobbled down the hall that afternoon on a wooden stick one of the monks had fashioned for her
use only two days before, following Brother Shasmal, a jolly round fellow who always had a tune to whistle.
 He led her down a hall that turned this way and that past door after door after door until finally he opened
one and ushered her inside.

  Inside the dimly lit room, Aquila could see a long table in the center of the room, a wall of shelves covered
in candles of various sizes and lengths.  On the opposite side of the room was a big chimney with a blazing
 fire under a large cauldron.

  Brother Shasmal led her to the big cauldron.  “This, my dear, is where we make the wax and heat it until
 it’s boiling hot.  You then take a fair sized piece of twine, here,” he held up a length to demonstrate.  “And
then you dip it in the wax until just so.  You lift if out and count to ten and then dip it again.”

  “Why do you count to ten?” Aquila asked.

  “To allow the first layer of wax to cool so that a second layer will sit on top.  Now you try.”

  Aquila took the piece of twine and dipped it in the wax and then held it above the liquid.  “One, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”

  Down it went and back up.  It was growing and Aquila smiled with satisfaction.  Brother Shasmal smiled
 and clapped her on the shoulder.  “Very well, my dear.  Now when you are satisfied with its size then tie it
 to one of the hooks beside the mantle here and start with another.  I shall come back later and see how you
 are doing.”

  Aquila contentedly dipped, counted, and then dipped again until she was happy and then tied it to a hook. 
Then with the next.  She had gone most of the afternoon when she stepped back to survey her work and then
 cringed.  They were all rather ugly, misshapen, and poor looking.  While the candles on the shelves were
evenly from top to bottom, perfectly round, and flat across the top and bottom, hers were fat around the
bottom and thin around the top or vice versa.  The tops and bottoms were rather ragged and they generally
looked like blobs of nothing.

  Feeling quite perturbed, she sat down on a barrel next a big table that graced the middle of the room.
 Suddenly she felt very tired and exhausted.  It was time to call it a day.

  Just as Aquila was heading out of the room, Brother Shasmal walked up.  “I was just coming to check on
 you, dear.  How are things going?”

  “Not very good,” Aquila admitted.

  “Now now, they can’t be all that bad,” Brother Shasmal assured her as he stepped past her into the room.

  Upon closer inspection, Brother Shasmal clucked his tongue and sighed.  “Well maybe candle making is
not your niche.”

  “My niche?”

  “Expertise, my dear.  Go along and rest for today, dear.  We shall find you something else to do tomorrow.”

  Aquila turned to leave and sighed as she heard him mutter no one in particular: “Now to fix this disaster…”

  The next morning a Brother Platimus greeted her for breakfast.  Aquila eyed the wiry man who could only
be about two inches taller than she as she nibbled on some fruit.  His gray hair indicated age despite his
youthful vigor.

  “Good morning, Lady Aquila,” he smiled.  “Are you ready for a day in the washroom?”

  “Washroom?  Oh, I will only be a minute.  I am afraid I slept a little late this morning.”  Aquila quickly
choked down the rest of her fruit and grabbed her stick.

  “Oh no need to rush.  The laundry will not be going anywhere until we get there,” he chuckled.

  Aquila wiped the juices from her chin and smiled.  “I am ready.”

  Down the hall and out the back door they went.  Aquila breathed in the fresh air and almost squealed
with delight.  “It has been so long since I have been outside, this is wonderful!”

  “Our ‘room’ is a small shack down by the river.  You shall be able to leave the door open and enjoy the
 beauty of God’s nature while you work,” Brother Platimus told her.

  Aquila quickened her step to keep up with him.  He might only be two inches taller than her but he was
very spry and quick on his feet.  Only a moment later they were at the river’s edge and there lay the shack
 that was hardly as deep as Aquila was tall.  Inside sat a large washtub and washboard.

  Brother Platimus took a pitcher off a nail above his head and strode down to the river and drew some water.
 “It will take us some time to fill it enough to work in.”

  Aquila observed his several trips down to the river and back to the washtub until it was finally full enough to
work with.  Aquila dropped down behind the tub next to a basket piled high of brown robes and grabbed a
 bar of soap.

  “I assume this needs no explanation.”  And with that, Brother Platimus was off.

  Aquila just shrugged.  She did not mind working alone.  The shack was too small for two people to try and
work together and with the door open and the birds whistling she quite enjoyed her solitude.  The river’s music
 floated in as well and Aquila remembered her favorite spot back home.

  In went a robe and the bar of soap, then draping it on the board she took the soap and scrubbed the clothes
with it, back and forth, up and down, side to side.  Then she flipped the robe over and did the other side. 
Once rinsed off she wrung it out and pulled herself up.  Aquila remembered the rope outside hung from the
 trees.  It most assuredly was for the use of drying the robes.  Over the rope it went and in went the next robe.

  Time escaped Aquila and her thoughts were preoccupied with home and her simple carefree life at the
present moment that she hardly knew what she was doing at any given time.  When the basket was
completely empty, she stepped out of the shack to survey her work.  “Oh my!”

  The sun could be seen shining through holes and rather threadbare robes hung along the rope.  Brother
Platimus arrived on the scene and stopped in his tracts.  “What happened?”

  “Were those not there before?” Aquila asked.

  “Of course not!”  Brother Platimus was rather aghast.

  “Oh dear,” Aquila moaned.

  Brother Platimus looked back and forth between Aquila’s downcast expression and the hole-filled robes
 and then shook his head.  “Come, come.  You must be exhausted.  Take a break for the day and we shall
 find you something else to do tomorrow.”

  Aquila made the trek back inside rather dejectedly.  Task number two had failed her.

  The next morning Aquila was taught how to make soap.  It, too, proved to be a disastrous feat.  She had
 somehow got the ingredients and their amounts all wrong and it was too runny to form into balls.  Then she
 had needlework to do, patching all the holes she had scrubbed into the robes.  Thread was all over the
 place, robes with holes too big for the patches attached to them and finally the last straw came when she
 discovered she had sewn her own skirt onto the robe.  Sighing in exasperation, she kicked the open air. 
It took her a little bit to undo her mistake but she undid it and successfully sewed the patch on.

  A monk entered moments later with her afternoon meal.  He picked up the top robe and pulled at the
stitching around the hole.  Aquila noticed the way the material puckered around the patch and she hung her
 head.

  Shrugging, he scooped up the robes, the needle and leftover patches and left.  An hour later another
monk came in carrying several oil lamps and a jug of oil.  They were all empty and Aquila quickly busied
 herself in filling them.  When she was finished, oil was everywhere, but they were filled and she handed
 them to the monk who had come to retrieve them with pride.

  The monk eyed the spilled oil, shook his head and clucked his tongue, and left.  A moment later he
 returned and cleaned up the mess.

  It was not until the next day, as Aquila fingered her hair that she had decided to leave down, that
 Brother Shasmal came in with her next task.  He brought her a container of candles and Aquila frowned
 down at them.  “What am I supposed to do with already made candles?”

  He picked one up and lit it from the lamp he pulled down from the wall.  “All of the candles must be
 allowed to burn for a second to condition the wick for proper use.  Simple task but a needed one.”  
He let it burn for a minute and then blew it out and placed it in an empty container he had brought along.

  Aquila nodded and began following suit with the rest of the candles.  Halfway through, she accidentally
 leaned too close to the flame, and some of her hair caught fire.  Screaming, she quickly batted it out with
her hands.

  Brother Shasmal and Brother Platimus appeared as she looked down at her badly burned hands.  
Brother Shasmal picked her hands up and looked them over.  The two exchanged wide eyed glances
and then Brother Platimus left.

  “My Dear, the instructions were to light the candles, not your hand,” Brother Shasmal scolded.

  “I—I tried!” Aquila burst out crying.

  “There there, my Dear,” Brother Shasmal patted her on the shoulder as Brother Platimus returned.

  Bandages and clean water were in his arms and quicker than anything he had her hand all bandaged up.  
“There we go, Lady Aquila.  Be sure and change the bandage every morning and every night and put this
salv on it.”  Brother Platimus pulled a small flask out of his pocket.  “It will help the healing process.”

  Aquila remembered her brother Sam and how he loved working in the garden, with herbs, and always
 had the perfect herb or salv to heal everything.  Suddenly she remembered the pain of leaving her family
 behind all over again and her tears returned with fresh vigor.

  Poor Brother Platimus and Brother Shasmal had no idea what had hit her.  They just looked at each other
and shrugged.  Aquila did not know when they left her but she suddenly looked up to find herself all alone
 with the pain.

  One week later when her hands were almost completely healed and she could use them without having
to bandage them up, Brother Cloic from the kitchen brought in a churn and handed her the stave.  Inside
 was soured milk, cream, and some other ingredients and Aquila wrinkled her nose.  Pumping the stave up
and down in the churn constantly, Aquila smiled at the rather tall and robust gentleman.  Maybe she had
 found something she could do.

  After a while, the milk hardened and Aquila had to stop pumping.  Removing the stave, she looked down
 into the churn.  Was that what butter was supposed to look like in the churn?

  It was hard and lumpy; much like her candles had turned out.  When Brother Cloic returned to examine
 her work, he looked down in the churn and shook his head.  Aquila's heart plummeted and her shoulders
 slumped.  “I am useless!”

  Still, as the days kept on, Aquila remained faithful to clean robes, patch holes, make crooked candles,
refill oil lamps, and make butter.  The one thing she refused to do was burn the candles.

  Then after a few weeks of these things Aquila tested out her ankle without the use of the wooden stick.
 It felt strong and well again.  She took a few steps this way and then that, she stood on it and lifted the other,
 held it in the air and turned it this way and that.  Aquila smiled and jumped an inch off of the ground.  “It is
as good as new,” she exclaimed to the empty room.

  Brother Platimus walked in then handed her a package.  “Ah, I see we have completely regained use of
our limbs.  Well we thought you might have use for these.”

  “What are they?” Aquila asked holding the package slightly at a distance.

  “Robes,” Brother Platimus answered, slightly bemused at her hesitance.

  “Oh, thank you, Brother Platimus.”  Aquila looked down at her worn clothing.  She had changed between
 her light grey tunic with a thicker blue tunic and a white tunic with a thicker brown tunic every other day.
 She had not noticed how worn and tattered they had become.

  When he left, she opened the package and pulled out the two brown robes.  “Hm, they are better than
what I have on…”

  Aquila quickly changed into one of the brown robes.  Running her hands down the side of the brown cloth,
she nodded.  It was soft and comfortable and light.  The lack of weight almost made her feel naked and she
 knew it would take some time for her to grow accustomed to wearing something different than her tunics.

  Now up and walking, Aquila took on more responsibilities.  She kept up those previous activities but
added cleaning chores to her daily routine.  Unfortunately they were just as big of disasters as her first jobs
 were.  One afternoon while cleaning a window in the main library, she tumbled off her stool and grabbed a
 hold of the curtains.  It produced a bruised hip and torn curtains that would have to be mended.  While
 mopping the kitchen, she tripped over her mop and knocked the bucket over just in time for Brother
Portogal, a rather serious fellow, to come by and slip.  It landed him in bed for a period to heal from his
 injuries.

  Finally one morning, Aquila was mopping the main corridor and thinking to herself, as she often did,
what she wanted to do with her life.  I think I could really get to love this life.  I work from sun up
to sun down but it gets me food and board and my robes are not quite so bad.

  Now that Aquila's leg was completely healed, she could go about her way.  Father Suriya, the head of
 the convent, greeted her for breakfast one morning and told her she could choose a horse from the stables
 as final payment for all her work if she chose to leave.  But Aquila was steadily growing to like her place in
 the monastery, which is what she learned it was called through one of Sister Marla's visits.

  Aquila paused a moment and leaned on the broom of her handle.  It was certainly a wonderful prospect.
 No man would come to look for a wife here, and she could feel as free as a bird.  No man would have rule
 over her again.  She was through with that life.

  Aquila sighed and picked up her broom.  She extended it out and pulled it back but was stopped abruptly
 when it hit something.  She gasped and turned around to find Father Paduma standing there holding his nose,
 blood running through his fingers.  "Father Paduma!  Oh my goodness!  I am so sorry," Aquila cried as she
 pulled a clean rag out of her belt and handed it to him.

  The blood kept coming no matter how hard they tried, and by the time Sister Marla came on the scene,
Aquila and Father Paduma were both bloody messes.  Sister Marla quickly took control and was finally able
 to bring it under control.

  Nevertheless, Aquila hung her head and sighed.  She would be packing come morning.

2007-12-07T17:06:00.000-06:00

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!”

2007-12-06T21:52:00.000-06:00

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!”

2007-12-05T14:02:00.000-06:00

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!”

2007-12-03T17:52:00.000-06:00

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.

2007-11-26T23:41:00.000-06:00

Chapter 10
Aquila pulled her horse up as she approached a low hanging limb. They were traveling
on a narrow path through very heavy foliage. Trouble had had no problem leaning to
the side of the horse to miss it, but Aquila had one big issue that kept her from ducking or
leaning as Trouble had. “Um, Trouble.”
Trouble, already a few feet away, reined up and turned around in the saddle. His face
said he wanted to die laughing but one look from Aquila told him he had better think twice.
He turned the horse around and came back. “There is no way the horse can go around the
limb with all of the trees and bushes. Hm...can you climb over?”
Aquila looked at him as if he had lost his mind but then studied the limb. It was a sturdy
limb and could probably hold her weight. At least what the limb would get. She could
keep most of her weight on the horse if she kept one foot on the back end of the horse as
she lifted her other foot over the limb and planted it in the stirrup of the saddle.
“Hand me the reins and I'll hold the horse steady,” Trouble said as he climbed off of his
horse.
Aquila obeyed and Trouble led the horse under the limb until Aquila was directly in front
of it. Aquila slowly and cautiously balanced herself on her knees on the top of the saddle
and then stopped. “How do I do this?” Aquila was starting to panic. Her original plan
had been a good one but the process of getting there was a scary ordeal. The horse could
shift at any moment sending her crashing to the ground beneath it. And her stomach was
hindering her from lifting her leg so that she could plant her foot securely on the horse and
lift the other one over the limb.
“Change of plans,” Trouble said hitting himself on the head. Ducking under the branch,
he reached up to stabilize her. “Let me help you down and you can walk underneath.
Then I will help you back up on the other side.”
Aquila's mouth gaped. “How come we did not think of this before?”
“I have no idea,” Trouble shook his head.
Aquila placed one of her hands on Trouble's shoulder until he had her in his arms and then
she wrapped her arms around his neck. For a moment he held her in his arms and Aquila's
mouth parted slightly. He is so strong. He lifts me now with just as little effort as he
did before.
Trouble accepted the invitation. Dropping the reins, he enveloped Aquila with his
powerful arms and leaned forward. His kiss was ever so gentle yet possessive.
When he pulled away, Aquila spoke in an almost inaudible voice. “I think this pregnancy
is causing mental blocks. Please excuse my lack of intelligence. I promise it shall come back
to me when this child is born.”
Trouble chuckled. “You are excused.”
Trouble held her yet for a few more seconds before setting her on the ground. When they
were both re-situated on their horses, Aquila asked, “Who are they?”
“Ah, yes, they,” Trouble nodded, having momentarily forgotten about their previous
conversation. “There were two children born to one of the maidservants, who had been
married to one of the executed menservants, who were imprisoned. Because the children
were innocent of any wrong doing, they were released from prison when they were old
enough to make a life of their own away from their mother. But their father was one of the
band leaders, who had convinced his wife of their right to the Lucian royalty, who in turn
passed it on to her children before they left her. You see, there was one valuable, priceless,
heirloom that was known across the kingdom to represent the Lucian royalty and whoever
had it was revered as the highest person in all the land of Lucia. Their influence and power
would be great and everyone would follow them. That heirloom was lost in the chaos and
was never found on any of the maidservants or the bodies of the male servants. When the
children of the maidservant were released, it was rumored that they had somehow had
possession of the priceless heirloom all along, and that now they were out to rule the
kingdom. As that circled around, a band of the royal guard came back together to reclaim
the heirloom in hopes of restoring it to the rightful place: buried in the sea where the whole
world believed the royalty to have perished. They retrieved the heirloom, but one of the
royal guards became greedy and stole the heirloom himself. He disappeared without a
trace. It is believed to have passed from one cut-throat's hands to another, but the children
of the maidservant and their clan has been after it ever since. Finally Pleo received a
missive from one of his men that they now had possession of the heirloom but Pleo never
saw or heard from him again. That was about two years ago. There is word that they
have discovered the whereabouts of the unfortunate possessor of the heirloom and has
even sent two assassins to retrieve it. The first assassin was supposed to have returned
the heirloom just over a year and a half ago...but he never returned and so they sent a
second one who was the unfortunate victim of the first assassin's blade...mine, in fact.”
“The heirloom?” Aquila said as she reached down into her robe and pulled out the
small velvet pouch.
“That cross pendant in the red velvet pouch you keep hidden away in your robe,”
Trouble responded without even looking back.
“And how did you know where I kept it?”
“Well, I searched the castle for it while you were gone, first off. Second off, I
searched you one night and found it,” Trouble said matter of factly. This time he looked
back.
Aquila's cheeks reddened and she quickly looked away. “So, that was only a week
and a half's time. What did you do for all of those months?”
“Well, after he told me all of that, I realized that these people would not rest until they
had the pendant back. I figured you would not mind me being gone a little bit longer and
so I left to track them down. It took me two months to track them down and another
month to find the right time and method of annihilating them. Then I doubted my reasons
for keeping you the way I did. I was obviously being selfish. You really did not want
me anymore and I would no doubt be sentencing myself to a life of bitter estrangement
that would not make either of us happy. It took me a few weeks before I decided that
I could not leave you without giving you the reason why I left and tell you that I had
released you from our commitment to each other. You had been gone for what had to
have been only one week when I got to the palace. I stayed at the palace with my
doubts for a week more before finding myself in your room. It was there that I had
this sudden desire to hold you again. Then I thought of how it must have been Dirrach
who had carried you off and I was furious that he would cross the line and take
something that was mine away from me. So then I tracked you down. And that
concludes my story. So tell me about your story.”
Aquila shivered as she remembered the cold nights she spent wondering where
he was. “Well, I waited for you. After about a month I found myself greeting the sun
every morning watching for you at the edge of the mountain. It got cold, too. I ran
out of wood and I was afraid that you would return the instant I was gone to chop
down a tree for firewood and you would be angry with me. You should know that
I was completely intimidated by you and feared your wrath so horribly, that I spent
my nights in cold darkness.”
Trouble was silent and Aquila proceeded. “Then one day Dirrach showed up and
the next thing I knew, I was running off with him and his clan. He introduced Yerik
to me first off and told me that he was my body guard. So from then on, day in and
day out, we traveled on. The Beldarak Thadal was the worst experience I have ever
had. We lost my horse and I had to scramble up with Yerik on his horse. But it was
so cold. I had a fever for a few days afterwards. It was only a day or so later that
Earh came running up with your threat to Dirrach.”
“Hm,” Trouble grunted acknowledging that he had heard her. Silence fell for a long
while as they continued to forge their way through the jungle. Finally Trouble cleared
his throat awkwardly. And what was Yerik like?”
Aquila sighed. “Nothing like you. He was rather clumsy, not very good looking
at all...and he could hardly hold my weight.”
Trouble looked back and grinned. “That really matter to you?”
“If you had not come along first it would not have mattered at all. But having met
your strength first...I could never forget the way you could lift me with ease. And
when he asked me if I preferred him or you...I could not help but compare you two.
Where you were graceful and poised, he was the total opposite. He often stumbles
or kicks rocks when he walks. And as I said earlier...you could no doubt have lifted
me onto the horse with no help from me and not had a problem but he could hardly
assist me onto the horse. He was the perfect gentleman, but I knew that he could
never possibly be as gentle and loving as you are, and that I could never spend the
night with him as husband and wife without thinking of you. It would not have been
fair to him and I would have regretted my choice for the rest of my life. I would
spend it pining away for a man I willingly turned down. I only wish he had not taken
it so hard. He might have found him a wife who could love him like he deserved.
He could have been very happy with someone else, if he had only given it up!”
“Do not torment yourself over it. He did what he had to do,” Trouble offered.
“What he had to do?”
Trouble looked back at her understandingly. “Honor. In his mind I was only the
wretched man I used to be. If I had been in his place, I would have done the same
thing.”
“But you called him a foolish boy.” Aquila was confused.
“I did. But not because he tried to protect you. Because he acted in anger. You
never strike in anger. It clouds your senses and leaves you prone to make mistakes.
Deadly mistakes, like his,” Trouble explained. Sighing, he continued, “No, he was
not foolish because he tried to protect you. The men in his camp will give him a
heroes funeral. After all, he tried to take a stand against the Woman. Anyone
who does that is revered as the greatest man who ever lived. I have that reputation.”
“But you are different now!”
Aquila sounded so triumphant over that fact that Trouble turned around and
smiled. “I guess I am at that, my love.”
“I guess that makes me the greatest woman alive.”
“How is that?”
“Because I took a stand and conquered you with my love.”
Trouble laughed. “Yes, you did.”
**********
It took a week of traveling before Trouble pulled up in front of a small shack
just outside of a small town. It would have only been a few days as Dirrach had
said except that Trouble had discovered he was a little rusty on his directions from
his extended absence. A wisp of smoke curled out of the chimney and
disappeared into the drearily clouded sky. Lightning flashed in the distance and
the thunder slowly rolled in as rain could be smelled in the humid air.
Aquila saw the light in the window and breathed a sigh of relief. “She must be
expecting Dirrach back to be up this late.”
Trouble did not say anything as he sat motionless on his horse. Aquila studied
his profile under his wide brimmed hat as he seemed to have forgotten she was
there. His jaw tightened and then loosened to just tighten once more.

“Trouble, sit down and be quiet...go cut some firewood...stop it, Trouble,
I am busy...go feed and milk the cows...you are nothing but trouble, did you
know that...clean that mess up, Trouble...why can you not be like your
brother...I wish you would just disappear...”
It all came back to Trouble as the familiar smell of his mother's apple dumplings
met his nose. Mother's apple dumplings were Father's favorite. She definitely
was looking for him.
Why had he come back? The last time he saw his mother was that morning they
discovered his stash of stolen goods. It was nothing big, only a couple of pieces
of candy, a special rock he had had his eyes on for months on the general store's
shelf, a small knife, and a few other toys. He had been ten at the time and when she
said, “I wish you would just disappear,” he decided to grant her her wish.
His life he had spent working for his father almost every minute of the day. But
when he was not working, he was always asking his mother questions about things
or tried to help her do things. They always proved disastrous and she would
constantly belittle him for his failures. She also never found time to answer his
questions, instead telling him she was busy and he was just being a bother.
When he left, he figured he was doing them all a favor. She wanted him to
disappear and he wanted to get out from under his father's thumb.
“Who is out there?” a soft voice called from the shack.
Trouble all of a sudden realized that it had started to rain and had grown
considerably darker. He looked at Aquila who was just watching him. “Sorry, my
love,” he whispered and quickly dismounted.

Aquila breathed a sigh of relief when Trouble reached up to help her down. She
was soaked and getting rather cold. Fear of a relapse from her previous bout with
the cold caused her to send a quick plea up to Deus for mercy.
After Trouble set her on the ground, she preceded him to the open door. She
could see the tall woman that stood there waiting and instantly saw the similarities in
the woman and her son.
When they were both in the light where the woman could see them, she gasped
and took a step backwards. “Trouble!”
“Hello, Mother,” Trouble nodded as he removed his hat.
Trouble's mother recovered enough to realize Aquila's presence and state of her
pregnancy. “Quick, come in out of the rain. You must be cold.”
“Mother, this is Aquila,” Trouble said once he had removed his soaked trench
coat and shut the door. “She is my wife. Aquila, this is my mother, Kasaba Woman.”
Kasaba only glanced at him as she ushered Aquila over to the fire. “Stand here
while I go fetch something for you to change into. We can not have you wearing wet
monks clothes.”
Aquila was led to the hearth that sat in the middle of the large room. Kasaba
disappeared into a small room at the back of the small rectangular room. Aquila
looked up and found an ink sketch above the modestly sized fireplace's mantle of
Dirrach, Kasaba, and a young man who resembled Trouble and Dirrach. The sketch
seemed to be missing something but Aquila could not put her finger on it.
Aquila looked down dismally at the gray and white Crocotta rug that was being
drenched. Hopefully it would dry and not ruin.
She sighed as she saw the Crocotta fur lined chaise with a hand carved oak wood
framed glass table in front of it. On the other side of the room was a simple but
sturdy oak table with four chairs placed around it. In the center of the table sat a
steaming pot that smelled of the apple dumplings that made Aquila hungry with the
rich cinnamon spices emanating from the dessert.
There were two windows on the front end, one on each side of the solid oak door.
A lamp hung above both and Aquila felt sorry for the woman knowing the news they
had to bare.
Kasaba appeared in the doorway. “Come this way, Aquila.”
Aquila quickly obeyed and Kasaba led her into a small room barely big enough for
them and the large bed and elegant oak armouir it held. Dirrach must have been an
excellent craftsman.
“You can change in here in privacy. I hope these things work,” Kasaba said as
she handed her some pieces of clothing.
“Oh, I am sure they are fine, thank you so much,” Aquila smiled her gratefulness.
Kasaba disappeared out the door and Aquila quickly changed. She then
scooped up her wet things and returned to the living room. It was very quiet and
Aquila could feel the awkwardness of the reunion. She hurried to the outside door
and said, “I will just toss these things outside and hang them up to dry in the
morning when it stops raining.”
“Oh, no. Surely you do not go around wearing monk's clothes all day. You
can just throw them in the fire,” Kasaba shook her head.
Trouble grinned. “Actually, Mother, she does.”
“Yes, I do. And I only have two sets so I must save these,” Aquila explained.
Kasaba looked perplexed but did not object any more. When her mission was
through, Aquila took her place at Trouble's side and noticed that he, too, had
found dry clothes to change into. She looked from Kasaba's averted eyes to
Trouble's concerned expression. Aquila was completely at a loss as to what to
say.
“How is Oserene?” Trouble offered.
“He is doing well. He got married eight years ago to a lovely young woman,
Poges. They have only had one child but are hoping for another one. Oserene is
the law around here, now,” Kasaba replied. “I assume you have seen your father
and that is why you have come.”
“Yes, Father. About Father, Mother...he is dead,” Trouble said awkwardly.
Kasaba gasped and buried her face in her hands. “And I suppose you were
the cause of that!” she accused.
“No, I was not. He charged me with his sword with Aquila in between us
and he was fired upon by other men. They had no choice, Mother,” Trouble
explained.
Kasaba was uncontrollable for quite some time. Aquila and Trouble had to
escort her to the chaise and wait for the flood to subside. Aquila patted her
arm and offered comforting words like, “He was a good man.” and “He loved
you very much.” even though she did not even know how much Dirrach loved
Kasaba. She had to guess on that part.
When Kasaba was finally able to compose herself, she became a completely
different person. All signs of tears disappeared and she patted Aquila's hand.
“When are you due, dear?”
“In about two and a half or three months,” Aquila responded.
Kasaba looked at Aquila's enlarged stomach and thought for a minute.
“You must stay in my bed until the baby is born.”
“Oh, no, I could not intrude on you like that,” Aquila objected.
“Oh, yes you can, and you will. Trouble will see to that,” Kasaba raised
her chin triumphantly.
“I will?” Trouble confirmed. Kasaba gave him a look and Trouble turned
to Aquila. “I will.”
Kasaba suddenly turned sad and took Trouble's hand in hers. “Trouble,”
she sighed. “I made the greatest mistake in treating you as I did. I was not a
very good mother to you. A—after you left...there was this hole in my heart that
has never healed. I have cursed myself and berated myself many a time since
that day you left. I could not stop missing the little boy who was always asking
questions...that I never seemed to have time for. Dirrach does not know this, but
I have been praying for you to come back ever since. And now you have.
Please do not leave me again. I know I was harsh in accusing you of Dirrach's
death but...”
Trouble wrapped his mother in his arms and gently held her to his chest. “Do
not worry, Mother. If we part, it shall not be on such terms.”
Aquila furiously wiped at the tears that were pouring down her cheeks. If only
I had a mother to go home to. But I do not even have Wren.
Kasaba hugged her son for a moment before noticing Aquila. “Oh, Trouble,
take Aquila to bed. She is exhausted.”
Trouble kissed his mother's forehead and then stood. “Yes, Mother. Aquila,
you heard her. Off to bed we go.”
Aquila giggled through the subsiding tears at the way he said “we” and quickly
scooted off of the chaise and into the back room. Trouble was close on her heels
and was quick to wrap her in his arms when the door was shut. “Oh, my love! I
am never leaving you alone for as long as I live.”
“You know that is not possible. You must make a living somehow and I cannot
follow you along with children and a house to tend to,” Aquila shook her head.
“Then I suppose I shall have to leave you with my mother while I am gone.
Mother was always a strong woman and can protect you when I am not around.”
“Are you sure she will like that?”
“She will love having you around with a grandchild,” Trouble assured her.
Aquila chuckled. “Children do have that affect on people.”
********
“So, what is next for the two of you?” Kasaba asked them as she set cups of
steaming coffee in front of them the next morning after breakfast.
Trouble had just finished filling his mother in all that had gone on for the past
two years. Breakfast had now been cleared away and Aquila was massaging her
stomach as pain sliced through her core.
Kasaba frowned for a second as Aquila grunted but thought nothing further of
it. Trouble did not notice it at all and shrugged. “I figure I will try to find a job
around town. Maybe go talk Oserene into deputizing me. But I reckon a felon
such as myself could not be given such a job.”
“Nobody in town knows your identity. And Oserene can be talked around,”
Kasaba informed him.
“Then I shall see him today when I go into town,” Trouble concluded.
“Do not bother going into town. I shall send a missive inviting them to dinner
tonight. We can have a family reunion and you can meet Poges and Olga,” Kasaba
suggested.
“Good. It will give me time to get some things done around here.” Trouble
stood and kissed Aquila on the forehead before heading out the door.
Kasaba watched Aquila for a moment before leaning forward and placing her
hand on Aquila's stomach. “Do you have any brothers and sisters?”
“Eight of them.”
“Is there a history of twins in your family?”
“The two underneath me are twins, why...” Aquila looked down. “Oh.”
“I think we are expecting more than one. What have you been doing in
preparation for these babies?”
“What have I been doing?”
“Yes, like making clothes, diapers, and the other necessities needed for the
care of an infant.” Aquila looked horrified. She knew nothing of how to prepare
for a baby.
Kasaba saw the look and her mouth dropped slightly. “You mean you have
not done anything?”
“I know nothing of how to prepare for a child,” Aquila explained. “The twins
were the only ones underneath me and I remember nothing of my mother's
preparations and she died when I was very young.”
Kasaba instantly sprang into action. “Let me see what I have left over from
Trouble and Oserene. Probably not much. I think I sent most of it to Poges when
she was pregnant with Olga.”
Aquila followed Kasaba to the back of the house and into a closet. Kasaba
opened various boxes and shook her head. “Poges has them all. I shall ask her
about them tonight and see what condition they are in.”
“How far is town?” Aquila asked.
“Oh, not far. Why?”
“I want to get the feel of this place. Trouble talks as if he wants to settle down
in this town. You could go with me and give the missive to Oserene.”
“That is a good idea. Let me go get the horses ready.”
Aquila did not ask to help. She had given up all attempts to assist in such
preparations. Instead she slowly wandered outside and towards the stables. It
was a beautiful place. The gray stone with a thatched roof and a chimney rising
above it to the right gave it a quaint and cozy atmosphere.
The smoke did not bother the birds that blissfully sang from the trees that
completely surrounded it, sealing it off from the outside world except for one gravel
road that seemed to simply disappear into the foliage beyond.
Aquila looked around and frowned. Where was the barn? She circled the
whole cottage but found nothing. She was thoroughly confused by the time Kasaba
appeared in a buggy coming up the one road leading in.
Kasaba read the look and nodded. “The barn is just beyond.”
“Oh.” Aquila grunted and groaned her way up into the buggy. “You do not
think I will look a scary sight?”
“What? The fact that your stomach is five times as big as your body? Yes,
but they are kind people and will not say anything,” Kasaba said matter-of-factly.
Aquila looked at her incredulously but said nothing. The trip into town was
much less overshadowed as the house. The road led out of the trees into open
space that seemed to relieve the oppression Aquila had begun to feel. “I think
I want to live on a farm out in the middle of nowhere. Something like this.
There are trees but not so many that you can't see the sky or enjoy fresh
uninhibited air. Here there is plenty of room for the kids to run around without
worrying about thorns and briars.”
“That would be a wise decision. Trouble and Oserene were always coming
in with scars,” Kasaba noted.
The picture of the scar that ran across Trouble's back suddenly flashed
through Aquila's mind. She had seen it that first day when she bandaged him
up from the spear in his side. Somehow she had not thought to ask him about
it since. Now it plagued her. “How did he get that scar on his back?”
“What scar on his back?” Kasaba frowned.
“Oh, he must have gotten that while he was gone.”
“Most undoubtedly. What does it look like?”
“He has one thick long scar that runs from his left shoulder to the bottom right
side of his back.”
“We shall have to ask him about that.”
The remainder of the trip into town was quiet but when Kasaba appeared in
town, a small town called Kantuuk, people began pouring from one side of the
street to the other to meet her. Aquila was perplexed. “Do you always get such
a greeting?” she asked her mother-in-law.
“No,” Kasaba shook her head in a quandary all her own.
“Kasaba, are you all right?”
“Have you heard about Dirrach?”
“Kasaba!”
“Do you need anything?”
Everyone was talking at once asking questions about Dirrach and her well
being. Suddenly a tall man appeared cutting through the crowds. “Mother!”
Kasaba had already put the brake down on the buggy and handed the reins
off to another man so that the tall stranger simply lifted her down and whisked
her away. The crowd seemed to follow, completely ignoring the other woman
in the buggy.
Aquila watched the crowd disappear into a saloon. Sighing, she folded her
hands in her lap and waited a moment. Surely Kasaba would remember her.
Right now she was at a loss as to what to do. The feat of getting down from
the buggy seemed much scarier than getting up.
When some time elapsed and she had obviously been forgotten, Aquila finally
looked over the side. “Fine.”
It was slow, and even scarier than just thinking about it, but she finally
managed to touch ground. Straightening her skirt of which she was
unaccustomed to wearing, she looked around. The general store was easy to
spot and so she decided to venture in.
Tanner's General store was well stocked and seemed to be decently priced
as well. She looked over the dry goods well and then moved on to a section
that was devoted to clothing. There was some baby things that she began
picking up and examining.
“Excuse me, can I help you?”
Aquila jumped, startled at the sudden presence of the woman addressing her.
“Oh, no. I am just looking.” Aquila looked up at her and then at the taller man
beside her. She had seen that man before. It only took a moment to place him.
“You must be Oserene Woman.”
“Y—yes, I am.” The man stuttered out as he looked at the other woman.
“How did you know?”
“I saw your picture with your parents above the mantle,” Aquila said as
if that would explain everything.
“Picture? You know my parents?” Oserene asked.
“Did Kasaba not tell you? I am sorry. I only assumed she would have
told you. I am her daughter-in-law,” Aquila informed him.
Oserene's face paled. “D—daughter-in-law? I—I am sorry, you must be mistaken.
I am her only son.”

2007-11-17T01:21:00.000-06:00

Chapter 9
The next morning, Aquila woke up and sighed. I am not going to think of Trouble anymore. This morning I am turning that page in my life and never looking back.
“Good morning, Lady Aquila,” Yerik's low voice intruded in on her thoughts.
Aquila gladly turned her attention to the man. “Good morning, Lord Galowen.”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did, thank you. And you?”
“I did, thank you.”
Yerik handed Aquila a steaming cup of coffee. Aquila accepted the cup as she studied the man who had become her companion. He was not that handsome but then again she could see why some girl might enjoy his attentions. He was well built and slightly above average in height. His large hands were rather clumsy but he made up for it in excellent manners and his smile was quite winsome despite the small gap where his left front tooth had been knocked out. His eyes matched the muddy brown of his hair that was gradually receding back over his head. But this was hardly noticeable as he normally wore a black flat cap with red and gold bennu feathers.
Yerik shifted and Aquila realized he was watching her as she watched him. “Forgive me, Lord Galowen, for starring. It is quite rude of me.”
Yerik merely shrugged. Dirrach stepped in at that moment. “We need to mount up.”
Aquila wanted to complain but shut her mouth. Instead she took a deep breath and grunted as she struggled to stand. Her baby kicked in protest and she gasped.
Yerik frowned. “Lady Aquila, are you alright?”
Aquila managed to nod. Yerik offered his hand and she grabbed hold. With his help, Aquila was able to get off the ground and sighed in relief. “I do not know if I can do that again.”
Yerik chuckled. “It is a pity there is not such a thing as a transportable pulley and harness so that we may lift and lower you from the horse to the ground so that you may get up and down as much as you like. It might also help you off of the ground.”
Aquila nodded in agreement. “I just can not wait until I have this baby and I can lose this weight.”
At that moment the baby kicked again but it was rather odd. At the same time that it kicked on her left side, it felt as if it had kicked the right side as well. Aquila frowned but said nothing. Yerik was already in position to assist her onto the horse.
When Aquila was comfortably situated on the horse, Yerik smiled up at her. “Maybe we can travel at a slower pace today.”
Dirrach had mounted his horse and was by their side at that moment. “Aquila, are you uncomfortable with the pace we have been going at?”
Aquila flushed. Looking down she admitted, “Yes.”
“Do not be ashamed. It was harsh of me to push you at such a pace with you being with child like you are. I offer my sincerest of apologies for my thoughtlessness. We shall travel at a much slower pace,” Dirrach assured her.
Aquila looked at him and smiled in gratitude. “That would be so nice, thank you.”
Yerik mounted and Dirrach spurred his horse into a comfortable walk. Alas, despite the slower pace, Aquila's discomfort grew worse. Once a tear managed to slip down her face and Yerik reached over and wiped it off. Aquila was slightly startled at the gesture but shook it off and sucked it in. Concern for the baby within her was growing. Could he or she withstand the strain of the trail?
Are you a girl or a boy? Will you look like me or...your father? I do not know if I could handle the pain if you become the constant reminder of a man I once loved. Memories of the good times she had had with Trouble flooded her mind at that moment and she had all she could do not to turn around. Trouble was probably not even home anyway. She would be returning to an empty castle where his memories would haunt her there. Besides, she could not love him like she did before.
“Have you thought of a name for the baby?” Yerik's voice intruded into her thoughts.
“A name? Oh...I guess I have not thought about that,” Aquila frowned as she reached up to move a small low hanging limb out of her way.
“Well, think of some. You must have one soon. We would not want the little one to surprise us earlier than expected and not have a name for him or her.”
“Maybe something like Gustav, or Gilov maybe.” Aquila shrugged.
“So do you think it is a boy?”
“With as much movement as this little one is giving, it has to be a boy. Right?” Aquila's brow furrowed.
Dirrach pulled up at that moment forcing all to come to a stop. “Yerik, we are coming up on the Beldarak Thadal within the next mile or so. Lady Aquila will probably need a steady hand to help her across.”
Yerik nodded and moved his horse so close to Aquila's that his foot brushed the hem of her robe. “She will get across safely.”
“Good man,” Dirrach nodded and then moved the entourage forward.
Moments later a dull rumble could be heard in the distance. As they traveled on it grew louder and louder until it became a deafening roar. Aquila's eyes widened and she swallowed in fear. White caps crashed wildly against rocks that stood up above the angry river that looked as if it could carry an elephant away.
“Do not be afraid, Lady Aquila,” Yerik said calmingly. “It only looks impossible. Many have crossed it and lived to tell about it. I have no doubt you shall make it as well.”
Yerik nudged his horse even closer so that he could place an arm around Aquila as he kicked his horse into motion. Aquila's horse followed obediently and down into the river. Icy water hit Aquila's legs and she shuddered wanting for all the world to return to the bank. Aquila gasped, exhaled shakily, and gasped again as the strong icy arms of the river crept up her legs and then up her waist.
Aquila grabbed a hold of the horse's mane to steel herself against the raging force of the river. In between gasps for air, Aquila squealed, “Lord...Gallowen!”
Yerik's hold tightened around her waist. Seconds turned into hours as the travelers fought to stay on their horses while the horses struggled to not get swept downstream. Halfway across the river, Aquila's horse's leg struck an underwater boulder and the horse panicked, losing it's control. Aquila quickly let go of the horse's mane and threw her arms around Yerik's neck as the raging waters swept the horse out from under her.
Yerik pulled her over the front of his horse as soon as she was free of her horse. “Hold on, Lady Aquila!”
Dirrach was the first to make it across and he turned to watch as the others joined him. “Hold on, Aquila! Yerik!”
Aquila shook from the cold water that penetrated clear to her bones. It seemed the onslaught would never end and she was losing the feeling in her lower half. She was acutely aware that she was easing up her grip around Yerik's neck, and had it not been for Yerik's arm around her waist, she knew she would have surely been swept away by the river's merciless fury. Yet even Yerik's grip was shaky enough to leave her fearful of the consequences should he give way.
Exhaustion hit Aquila and she leaned up against Yerik's wet chest. Closing her eyes, she prayed, Deus, where are you...

It was hot. Hot and dark. Yet shadows fell over her even through the darkness. Something heavy laid over her body and she pushed it away trying to find relief from the heat but something repositioned it. A low voice admonished her, “You have to stay covered.”
“Hot,” Aquila mumbled in response and tried to push away the heat source. A firm grip held it over her and she gave up. “Hot—“

“How is she doing?”
“Her fever broke this morning.”
“Good. The worst is behind us.”
“She should be out of it at any moment.”
Aquila opened her eyes. Staring up at a gray wall, she blinked. A cave. But what happened to the river?
“Aquila?” Yerik appeared at her side. Dirrach frowned at his side. Yerik shook his head. “Lady Aquila, how are you feeling?”
“Aquila, we were worried about you,” Dirrach said in a reprimanding tone.
“I am sorry,” Aquila squeaked. Clearing her throat, she smiled apologetically.
Dirrach winked as he reached over to pat her hand. “You rest now. You will be up in no time at all and we can continue our journey. It should not be but a couple of days or more now before we reach home and you will be in the capable hands of my wife, Kasaba.”
“Thank you,” Aquila squeezed his hand.
“Excuse me, I must see to the other men,” Dirrach nodded at Yerik.
When Dirrach had left, Yerik picked up her hand. Aquila turned to him, “What happened? The last thing I remember we were in the river.”
“We got out, is what happened, but you came down with a high fever due to the freezing temperatures you had to endure while in the river. We thought we had lost you several times over the past couple of days. But you seem to have come out of it all right,” Yerik explained.
Aquila nodded. Then, remembering something Dirrach had said before the river, Aquila asked, “Lord Gallowen, what's Beldarak Thadal?”
“That was the name of the river. It means 'Treacherous Fate'.”
“Oh.” Aquila studied the man sitting beside her. His face was too wide, his nose to big, and his forehead too bare of hair for her to find him attractive but something about him stirred up a desire to love again.
Yerik released her hand awkwardly, having held it longer than propriety allowed already. Aquila looked away and pulled her hand under the thin blanket that covered her, the form of her pregnant stomach reminding her of the obstacles in between her and a future with a man. No one would want a woman with a child.
Suddenly Aquila's future dimmed. Why did I ever think I could start over? Sure, I could probably forget Trouble completely but that does not change the fact that I am a mother and it is looked down upon for a woman to leave her husband. But I did not leave him, he left me...but people would wonder and no man could marry me with my baggage. It would shame them. No one would even consider it.
A tear slipped down her cheek bone and rolled into the crease of her left ear. Yerik frowned. “What is wrong?”
Aquila jumped. She had forgotten that he was there. “Oh, it is nothing. I am just tired, that is all.”
“Sleep now,” Yerik ordered. “I will have some food for you to eat when you wake up next.”

********

True to his word, Yerik had a plate full of food ready for her when she awoke. After assisting her into a sitting position, he handed her a plate with some beans and meat on it. “Rabbit meat. It is very good,” he responded to her questioning look.
Aquila accepted the plate and ate as if it would be her last. When she was done, Yerik took the plate back. “Are you ready to travel?”
Aquila nodded. “I am ready.”
Yerik stood and helped her to her feet. “We only have a few days travel ahead of us.”
Aquila suddenly remembered her horse. “What happened to my horse?”
“We found him on shore a mile downstream with a broken foreleg.”
“Poor horse,” Aquila frowned. “How will I travel now?”
“You shall ride across the front of my horse. When we take a break we will trade with one of our men to give ours a break from the weight.”
Dirrach approached then. “Are we ready?”
“Yes sir,” Yerik saluted.
“Mount up!” he roared over the camp.

**********

As the day progressed, Yerik kept Aquila involved in lively banter. Many times Aquila would burst out laughing causing Dirrach to look back with a frown. Putting a hand to her mouth, she stifled it as best as possible. Yerik would chuckle every time.
Aquila was already asleep in Yerik's arms when nightfall hit. Recovery would still take a little bit more time.
The following day was the same. Aquila rose and sat across the front of Dirrach's horse that now served as Yerik's. But that evening Aquila was wide awake when they set up camp. She frowned as Dirrach nervously paced around the campfire. He had been on edge since that morning. Aquila had seen him talk quickly with the men but for some reason had left her out of it. All day, during the ride, he was constantly looking around and everyone seemed to be keeping one hand on a sword or bow. Aquila was curious but did not know if she should ask.
Now they were encamped in some tall grass in a small circular clearing. Tall pine trees lined it one foot apart from the other but they were not enough to block out the beautiful star covered sky above. Aquila forgot about Dirrach's agitation as she rested on her hands and sighed. “It is a beautiful night, is it not?”
“Very true, Lady Aquila,” Yerik agreed. There was a small moment of silence before Yerik cleared his throat. “Lady Aquila, I was wondering—“
Suddenly one of the men that had been on guard duty came running up with wide eyes. Aquila immediately noticed the empty sheaths at his side where his long sword and dagger normally were.
Dirrach frowned. “Earh, where is your sword?”
Earh was out of breath and looked as if he had just passed death's door. “It is...him...he sent me...to warn you...he wants...his wife back.”
Dirrach scowled. “You tell him he will not have her.”
Earh dropped to his knees. “Please do not send me back...without her...he says he will...kill me if...she is not with...me.”
“Fine. I will tell him,” Dirrach said and then turned to his men. “This is it, men. Yerik, you stay with Lady Aquila. The rest of you, come with me. We are going to finish him off.”
Something sliced through Aquila's heart when he said that but she frowned and shook it off. It was only after the men had disappeared into the trees that Aquila became concerned. “Yerik!”
“Yes, Lady Aquila?” Yerik moved closer.
“Trouble is smart. He is a good tracker. He no doubt knows that there are way too many men for him to take on by himself and would not chance an encounter with the lot of them. You must leave now, or you shall surely lose your life,” Aquila pushed him towards the direction the other men went.
“But Lady Aquila, I am here to protect you. I could not forgive myself if I left you to the hands of that ruthless killer. I will stay and fight for you,” Yerik protested.
“No! You must go now. You would be foolish to think you could take him. He will not hurt me but he will not think twice of killing you if you should even lift a finger to challenge him. Go, go, go!”
“Never. Lady Aquila, you must know now that think that I am in love with you. You deserve better than he and I would rather die than give you up,” Yerik informed her.
Suddenly his eyes grew big and he gasped, staring at something behind and far above Aquila's head. “You just may have that chance,” a deep voice responded as a blade came to rest on Yerik's shoulder, inches away from his neck.
“You fool!” Aquila frowned at Yerik. “It is too late now.”
Yerik glanced upward at the dark figure looming over them. “You must be a man of some honor. Surely you would not cut me down now without giving me some chance.”
“You want a duel?” Trouble asked evenly.
“That is exactly what I want. One long sword, no daggers or bow. Code of honor on both of our parts,” Yerik nodded.
Trouble lifted his sword and a hand steered Aquila to the side. Aquila watched as Trouble stepped back, replaced his sword in its sheath, and bowed. “Code of honor—to the death. Aquila, move to the left. Monsieur Yerik, take your stance and prepare to die.”
Aquila was only happy to move further away and held her breath. Yerik slowly stood and bowed awkwardly. “Monsieur, I am afraid you have met your match.”
“Nonsense. I have only met one man who I could not kill but neither could he kill me. Know that if they return before I kill you, the code of honor is of none affect in the interest of my wife and I.”
Yerik placed one hand behind his back and lifted his sword. “You may find that I have the upper hand.”
“How is that, short stuff?” Trouble cocked his head to the side as he tapped his sword to Yerik's.
“Just that. I am shorter than you and thus can better come in from underneath then you can.”
The fight had begun and Aquila wanted to close her eyes, but she could not force them shut. Trouble set the pace at an easy level and began walking around, forcing Yerik to turn in circles. “Yes, but I could slash your throat just as easily, especially since I have a longer reach.”
“True,” Yerik shrugged.
That movement almost cost him as Trouble took the first move and lunged at him, but he recovered quickly and blocked it away. Trouble's eyes glinted in the soft moonlight. “I must say, it is quite a shock to be gone so long and then to return and find your wife missing. Add to that the fact that once you catch up to her you find her pregnant and enjoying the company of another man.”
“The baby is not mine, if that is what you are implying,” Yerik growled as he attempted a downward slash at Trouble's left leg. “She was much that way when we acquired her pleasant company as she is now.”
“And how am I to believe a word you say?” Trouble swung at Yerik for a horizontal strike to the neck.
“Trouble, this baby is yours!” Aquila came to her own defense. Looking from one man to the other, Aquila frowned. Trouble had yet to break a sweat but Yerik was showing signs of overexertion already.
“You may want to rethink this, boy. There is no room for errors in this game.” Trouble blocked a vertical strike and then paused. “Tell you what, you pull out in the next two or three minutes and I shall release you from death. Otherwise, you might not be so fortunate.”
“Ha.” Yerik lunged but Trouble flicked it to the side. He did it with such ease that Aquila cringed, waiting for Trouble to finish him off.
“Yerik, pull out now,” Aquila pleaded.
“Never. I shall not rest until I see you freed from the oppression of this man,” Yerik sneered.
“He is not oppressing, really. I can take him,” Aquila assured him. “Please, pull out. My husband is reasonable, you will live and...”
“No!” Yerik yelled just as he dodged a playful jab from Trouble.
Aquila could tell that Trouble was not exerting any extra energy. But Yerik's wet neck and face shimmered in the dim light. When the pace started to pick up, Aquila could see what Trouble was doing.
“He is playing with you, Yerik. He is not even sweating,” Aquila pointed out. “He is letting you think you have a chance but he is also making you nervous. Trouble just picked up the pace and will go from a challenge to total intimidation until you make one mistake. That is all it will take and then he will strike at you and you will not have a chance. Yerik, please!”
“You have fallen quiet, Monsieur,” Yerik commented to Trouble.
“What is there to say? My wife is doing the job just fine,” Trouble smirked as he flicked away the testing jab.
“Your wife,” Yerik remarked snidely. “You do not even know your wife, do you? You have been gone how many months? I do not even think you ever loved her. A ruthless killer such as yourself could not even begin to know the meaning of love much less feel it. Say, why do you not ask your wife whom she prefers?”
“All right. Aquila, my love, whom do you prefer?” Trouble complied with no hesitation.
Aquila looked from one to the other. She thought about Yerik. He had been nothing but nice and gentlemanly. He was predictable, easy going, and a good conversationalist. But his hands could not have spanned her waist like Trouble's. Where Yerik was awkward, gruff, and unstable, Trouble was smooth, graceful, and firmly grounded. Yerik had the greatest difficulty assisting her off and on the horse but Trouble could no doubt, despite her extra weight, lift her without feeling a thing. She knew Trouble was gentle and loving, and while Yerik could no doubt be that in his mind, he could never measure up to Trouble.
“Aquila?” Trouble's voice broke through her thoughts.
Aquila shook her head and noticed that the fighting had come to a standstill. She looked between the two. Yerik seemed so sure of himself but Trouble was unreadable. Aquila sighed. “Yerik, you are sweet. You have good intentions, and I am flattered by your affections.” A tear rolled down Aquila's cheek. “But...it would be unfair to you to say yes to your proposal. While you have been nothing but a gentleman from the start, I lost my heart long ago and there is no getting it back. When with you, I would think of Trouble and how he would act and things that he would say or do in each given situation. I would dream of him at night instead of giving you my full attention. I could not make a life with you even if I tried. This child in me is Trouble's and would be a constant reminder of the life I could have had. Please do not be angry with me.”
Devastation hit Yerik like a load of bricks. But it quickly turned to anger and he turned on Trouble once more. “You can not have her!”
In that moment, Yerik made the biggest mistake, and Trouble cut him down with one quick flick of his wrist. Aquila watched in horror as Yerik fell at Trouble's feet. Trouble sighed. “Foolish boy. Never strike in anger.”
Suddenly there was a commotion coming from the forest and Trouble sprang for Aquila. She was in his arms before she could do anything and he disappeared into the forest on the opposite side.
Trouble was quiet but quick. They could hear the men cry out when they found Yerik and Aquila buried her face into Trouble's neck to keep from making any noise, as she cried for the brave man who had attempted to win her heart. It was her fault he was dead.
A few yards later, Trouble mounted with her still in his arms. “A few months pregnant, are we?”
“Try like almost six months pregnant,” Aquila replied sardonically.
“We are not going to last long on this horse. We stayed way too long,” Trouble scowled.
“Well, I am so sorry,” Aquila scowled back. “But I do believe this was your fault.”
Trouble grinned at that point. “I guess it is.”
“There is no guessing about it. If you had not left and stayed away for so long, Dirrach would not have found me alone and been able to carry me off so easily.” Aquila raised her chin.
Trouble softly kissed her lips as he kicked the horse into motion. “I am sorry, darling.”
Aquila could not explain why, but relief flooded her being. Did I really miss him that much? Aquila thought as she melted into the arm he had around her back. You still love him.
“I guess I do,” Aquila sighed.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing.”

*****

Trouble and Aquila were in town when Dirrach and his men caught up to them. Unfortunately, they were also in the middle of the street. Aquila squared herself in front of Trouble. “Dirrach, wait.”
Smoke could almost be seen from the fire in Dirrach's eyes. “Out of the way, Aquila. It is time to end this once and for all.”
“No, Dirrach! Please, listen to me,” Aquila cried.
“He killed Yerik who's been like a son to me. Something Trouble never was. Now he is going to pay,” Dirrach cursed.
“Dirrach! He is the father of my child. You can not do this to me,” Aquila still pleaded.
“How can you sit up there after the way he treated you? He abused you on your wedding and then left you. Now you defend him?” Dirrach pointed his finger at her as if accusing her of all of Trouble's wrongdoings.
“Dirrach,” Aquila barely whispered. “I love him. I chose him. Yerik asked which one I preferred and I told him I preferred Trouble. Yerik made the mistake that lost him his life. If you must be angry at someone for Yerik's death, it is I. I killed him with my own betrayal of his heart.”
“Trouble, are you going to stand up and fight or are you going to continue to hide behind your woman's skirts?” Dirrach spat.
“I could come out from behind them, Dirrach, but you will not win this fight,” Trouble informed him evenly.
Dirrach laughed. “How do you think you are going to get out of it this time? There is twenty of us and one of you!”
“Wrong,” Trouble said.
Immediately men appeared from both sides of the street, some behind Trouble, and some even behind Dirrach's men. They all had bows with arrows ready and all were looking at Dirrach.
Dirrach stepped back and looked around. “Who are they?”
“I am not without friends, Dirrach, contrary to what you may think. There is about fifty of us here and all around you. Take your men and leave or prepare to meet your maker,” Trouble commanded.
Dirrach's anger seethed for a moment as he furiously tried to come up with a plan. Suddenly he lifted his sword and charged at Trouble. Unfortunately Aquila was sitting in between them and she was certain he meant for the blade to go through her and then into Trouble.
Arrows suddenly flew from every direction and Dirrach fell to the ground with ten of them stuck in his body. The other men quickly raised their hands. “We give up. We are leaving,” Earh yelled.
“Good idea, my friend,” Trouble nodded.
Once the men had turned their horses and left, Aquila took a deep breath. It is over. What about his mother? The poor woman, Aquila thought mournfully. “Trouble, your mother! We must go to her. She will be so upset.”
Trouble's arm tightened his hold on her. “What she will be more upset by, her husband's death or the return of her lost son, is the question. But for tonight, let us find a room in the hotel and start out tomorrow.”

**********

Aquila woke up, her hair neatly pulled to the side, and Trouble leaning over her, resting on his arm. Trouble smiled. “Good morning, my love.”
“On the way to your mother's, I want an explanation of why you were gone as long as you were,” Aquila informed him.
Trouble bent down and kissed her lips tenderly. “As you wish.”
Aquila threw the covers back and rolled to her side. Pushing up with her arms, she put her feet over the side and stood. “We need to get ready now.”
Trouble was slower in getting up but when he did get up, he was dressed in only a couple of minutes and was headed out the door. “I will go saddle the horses.”
“Horses?” Aquila frowned.
“Yes. After you fell asleep last night, I bought a horse off of one of my friends. Poor Jessup was not going to last much longer.” And with that he was gone.
Aquila was ready and waiting twenty minutes later when Trouble walked in. Aquila felt like she was waddling as she moved for the door. Stopping just in front of it she grabbed Trouble's shirt and pulled him down. “I love you,” she said and kissed him. “Now let us go.”
Trouble chuckled as he shut the door and followed. When Trouble had checked out of the hotel and had her situated on the horse, Aquila asked, “So, what were you doing all this time?”
Trouble mounted his horse and turned his horse towards the west. “I went to town to look for a job. After a week and a half of not finding one, I headed home. I decided to check your traps as I went.”
“How did you know about my traps?” Aquila interrupted, shifting to a more comfortable position on the rough saddle.
Trouble looked over and grinned. “You know that big hippocerf you caught that you could not carry with you?”
“Yes.” Aquila frowned as she tried to think of the time she had told him about it.
“How do you think it wound up at your feet that morning in the barn?” Trouble asked mischievously.
“You?” Aquila was incredulous.
Trouble nodded. “I followed you on one of your trips into town. I was curious as to what you did. Well, it was at the old mill down by the river that an old man, who introduced himself as Pleo Edler, stopped me and asked if I was the inhabitant of the old Lucian ruins. I said yes and he invited me inside with the excuse that he was our closest neighbor and felt like he had been rude in not reaching out to me sooner. But when we got inside he asked me about the ballroom on the second floor and if I had seen it. When I explained that I had, he told me the story. He was the King's closest friend and as such, his closest advisor. No one knew, and could know, that they were best friends. It was only proper that the King did not associate on a friendly basis with his advisors, but he did not trust Pleo's job to anyone else. But anyway, in the middle of his wedding ceremony, the servant that held the rings produced a knife and thrust it into poor Lady Portchi's stomach. A long sword went into His Majesty's chest and then chaos and pandemonium ensued as knives and swords appeared all over the room. Some managed to escape unscathed, but Pleo had to know if his friend was truly dead. So he moved through the hysterics to the front and just as he had emerged, a knife went into his side and then another across his neck. But it was not a very efficient job as he managed to get up from the floor and exit the door the priest had fallen at. He said he did not remember much after that other than the fact that he hid and watched as the servants partied over their massacre outside until a branch of the royal guard that had been out on a regular patrol of the surrounding grounds came riding through. Obviously some of those who had manged to escape found them and the royal guard executed every manservant on the grounds. They sent the maidservants off to life in prison. Pleo, as the highest ranking official alive, made the royal guard take an oath to never tell what had happened there that day. He disbanded the the men and dismissed them to places all over the world. History books know nothing. All they tell is that on the thirtieth day of the month of June, in the year of our Lord twelve hundred twenty four, the Lucian royalty was silenced and never to be heard from again. Everything else is left to one's own imagination of what could have occurred, although Pleo said that he doubts anyone has ever gotten close to what actually happened. He sealed the doors and transplanted some ivy and petiolaris vines and whenever he got wind of people going up there, he scared them out of their wits with tales of ghosts. So far it had worked. Except somehow you managed to slip by. And now, you have something that they want.”