Daughter of Hauk (The Raven Chronicles Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter Twelve

            
 
A
rwenna awoke slowly the next morning, the memories of the day before gradually working back into her consciousness. She was in her room. Her eyes narrowed; she didn’t remember coming to bed. She and Joss had been talking; she must’ve fallen asleep on him. The flap to the main room moved aside as Joss came in carrying a tray full of food.

              “Good morning. I hope you slept well.” He calmly walked over to the small table next to the bed and put the tray down. All sorts of delicious smells arose from it, making her sit up straighter and start examining the contents hungrily. “Go ahead and eat. I told you I was going to make sure you did.”  She grinned at him as she reached for the plate. Joss moved over to a chair and sat down.               “Barek carried you in here last night after you fell asleep. He and Y’Dürkie went out this morning, something about dwarves arriving in the night. And don’t even think about running off to find them,” he cautioned her as she reached for the corner of the blankets. “I heard him tell the guards outside quite emphatically that you weren’t allowed to leave without him or Y’Dürkie.”

              “Still under house arrest then, am I?” She chuckled between mouthfuls. “What do they intend to do when we get on the road?  Shackle me to my horse and lead it for me?”

              “I doubt they’ll go that far. They’re really just trying to keep you safe, you know. They were even arguing some this morning over which one of them had more of a right to kill Bohrs. I think Barek finally decided it was okay for Y’Dürkie to do so if she had the chance, but she had to bring back his head so Barek could boil it down to the skull and make some kind of goblet out of it.” 

              Arwenna almost choked on her eggs when she heard that. “That’s the barbaric side of Barek, to be certain. And he’d best not use it around me. I’d smash it into a powder.”  She tossed a napkin onto the plate.

              Joss rose and retrieved the tray from her lap. “I’ll go return these and be right back. Just holler at me if you decide to stay in bed all day and I’ll come chat with you in here.”  She half-jokingly tossed a pillow at his retreating form.

              Arwenna rose quickly after he left the room and began to dress. One of the dresses she was given, a beautiful dark emerald green silk, had a neckline that would show off the sunburst on her shoulder.
If I’m going to be one of the Chosen Daughters of
Hauk
, she mused,
people need to know it
. A quick look into the jewelry pouch revealed matching necklace and earrings in the same color as the dress. The final touch was the comb in her hair. The mirror in the room was small, but gave her enough of a view to know the type of impact she would make.

              Sounds from the next room alerted her to Y’Dürkie and Barek’s return. Someone else was with them from the sound of it. She took a moment to smooth the front of her skirt before stepping out.

              “Arwenna, are you up…”  Barek stopped mid-sentence, eyes open wide at the sight of her.               She couldn’t resist doing a small spin to tease him. Joss stood just behind him. His eyes were wide, and his mouth opened ever so slightly. The look of amazement on his face warmed her.

              Y’Dürkie recovered first. “Vow. You look nice vhen you vant to!  Vhat is the occasion?”

              “Politics, actually. From what Joss has told us, people are going to be coming here expecting a Chosen Daughter of Hauk. I think it’s high time we let them find one. They’re going to have a certain ideal that I need to live up to, and I figure this is about as good as I can make it right now.”

              Barek recovered himself and spoke up. “It’s not a bad idea, really. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, Arwenna, but we could definitely use this to our advantage. Let word get out that the army’s being led by a Chosen of Hauk, set you up as the figurehead leader of the army. More may come to our banner this way.” 

              “Joss, do you know if either Irini or Lian can sew?” she glanced at him, privately enjoying the awestruck look still present on his face. “I’d like to try and alter the neckline of those dresses they gave me. I need to have the sunburst mark visible now, not hidden away. Joss?” Arwenna looked at him questioningly.

              “Huh? What? Oh, sewing. I’ll, um, I’ll go ask them.”  He stammered, leaving the tent in a hurry.

              Arwenna smiled to herself as he retreated.               Y’Dürkie’s voice brought her back from her thoughts. “That really vas not very nice of you, Arvenna. You should have given the boy some varnink before doink something like that. It is more fun if you give them a head start!”

              Arwenna blinked for a moment. “Head start?  He’s the one that came here expecting a Chosen of Hauk. I just finally decided to step into the role.”

              A huge commotion outside made them run for the door. The camp was in an uproar, people pointing to the clear sky above. Shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight, Arwenna started to scan the sky for whatever was causing the commotion. Movement to her left caught her eye and she turned just as the huge creature flew overhead. People scrambled out of the way as it landed a short distance from them. Arwenna and Y’Dürkie exchanged smiles as they began to run towards Lexi and her new mount.

              “He’s beautiful, Cousin!  What’s his name?” Arwenna called out to Lexi as they got close enough. Her eyes were mesmerized by the creature. Brass-colored feathers covered the wings, with white on the body and head. Golden eyes rose above the hooked beak, staring back at her with both an intelligence and fierceness that surprised her.

              “He says it’s Grie,” Lexi called back. “It took me a while to find him. Gryphons are rare enough in the world and most won’t take on a rider.”  She reached out to pat the beast’s neck.

              Arwenna took her eyes off the massive beast and gazed up at Lexi. “Did you have any trouble finding us?”

              “Wasn’t that hard. Figured an army might be something Barek would cook up. I circled the area this morning, and spotted him and Y’Dürkie walking around. Pretty much took the guesswork out of things.”

              Arwenna glanced around at the fear on the faces of those nearby. “I think your new friend is making some of ours a bit nervous, Cousin. Is there someplace near where he can be comfortable and not make the horses upset?”

              Lexi nodded. With a fluid motion, she slid down from the creature’s back and whispered something in its ear. The creature took to the air in a powerful leap and glided towards a cliff high above the camp.

              Linking her arm into Lexi’s, Arwenna began to lead her to the command pavilion. “It’s good to have you back with us, Lexi. There’s been some changes you need to be filled in on. Come, we’ll get you something to eat and catch up.”

              It didn’t take long for Arwenna and the others to bring Lexi up to speed. Arwenna let Barek and Y’Dürkie do most of the talking, happy in having Lexi back among them. She found herself wondering where Joss had gone off to. The sound of Lexi’s voice brought her back into the conversation.

“What?  Oh, sorry Lexi. I must’ve drifted off. What was the question?” Arwenna pulled her attention back to the room.

              “I was just commenting that the color does you justice, Cousin. And the dress definitely adds to the image you want to portray. Something’s not quite right, though.”  Lexi reached a hand up towards the back of Arwenna’s head. Arwenna could feel the magic Lexi worked. “There, much better.”  She sat back with a satisfied smile on her face.

              Arwenna reached a hand back and felt the long hair she had always loved. She looked at each of her companions in turn, and the feeling of love and protection overwhelmed her. She gave Lexi a huge hug and a whispered, “Thank you, Cousin.”

              Dinner that night was relaxed and full of laughter. Joss and Lian joined them. Lian was quite an accomplished seamstress, and was more than willing to help Arwenna with her alterations. A small change to the pavilion gave Lexi a place to sleep. As the night wore on, different people began to drift off to find their beds until the only ones still up were Arwenna, Lexi, Barek and Joss.

Lexi made a big show of stretching around midnight. “I’m so tired I don’t think I can see straight,” she announced.

              Barek moved his tankard fast enough that Lexi’s arm didn’t spill what was left of the ale inside. “What do you expect me to do about it, carry you to bed and tuck you in?!” he said in a joking tone as he finished off the last of the contents.

              Lexi looked over at him, batting her eyelashes. “Please?  Pretty please?  I promise not to shoot fire arrows near where you’re standing for a whole week!”

              Arwenna started laughing, choking on her wine. Her laughter got harder at the look of resignation on Barek’s face as he put his tankard onto the table and got up. Lexi squealed as Barek reached down and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He waved a hand goodnight to her and Joss as he carried the squirming Lexi towards her cot. A soft thud could be heard, followed by the sound of his footsteps heading towards his own room.

              Arwenna leaned back in her chair and toyed with her empty goblet. She hadn’t felt this relaxed in months.
The only thing missing is Mialee and Rhiannon
, she thought.

              “You’re thinking of something again, I can tell.”  Joss’ voice jarred her for a moment.

              “Just about how nice tonight was. It’s been a long time since I was able to relax and have fun with friends and not be worried about something coming around the corner. Tonight was almost perfect.”  She smiled slightly. “Odd thing to say, the night before marching to war, isn’t it?” 

              “Depends on how you look at it. From what you’ve told me, you could use some quiet in your life.”  Joss rose and offered to refill her goblet.

              “I’ve not had a quiet life. But it’s been far from boring. I was extremely lucky in falling in with Barek and the rest of them. Another group and I may well have done things I would’ve regretted.”  The wine started to get to her; a nice relaxing warmth spread through her body.

              “I doubt that very much. Even as a little kid, you had a very firm grasp on what was right and what was wrong. The rest of us kids always tried to do right in your eyes whenever you were around. The really unruly ones would even wait for you to go inside before they cooked up the most troublesome pranks. You still have that effect on those around you, Arwenna. We all want to do right by your standards, make you think we’re special.”  He gave her a very direct look over the rim of his goblet.

              She shied away from the intensity in his eyes, trying to ignore the way her heart began to race. “I don’t know what you mean, Joss. I’m just me. I know I told Barek I’d step into this role that everyone expects me to play if it will help bring fighters to our war, but it’s not going to be an easy one for me. I much prefer to stand back and keep people from dying than have an adoring public to face.”  A yawn escaped her lips, despite her best efforts.

              “Must be bedtime for you as well. And, as your self-appointed caretaker, off to bed with you it will be. Come on now, up you come!”  He reached over and pulled her up with his hands.

              She came up a little fast, and the wine caused her to sway a bit on her feet. The feel of Joss’ hand on her arm to steady her was nice, nicer than she would’ve expected. Without thought, she put a hand to his chest to steady herself. They were standing close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face. She looked at his face, both excited and afraid of what she saw there. Swallowing hard from the butterflies churning in her stomach, she started to move her head away, but he stopped the movement with a gentle hand. The look in his eyes made her heart beat a little faster. Ever so gently he leaned down to kiss her. She answered with one of her own but pulled away when the kiss became more passionate. Stammering apologies, Arwenna started to walk away but he drew her back slowly with one hand.

              “It’s okay, Arwenna. I understand. I can wait until you’re ready to heal. I’m not going anywhere.”  He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Go to bed. I’ll be here in the morning.” Arwenna watched him walk out of the tent before she went back to her room.

Chapter Thirteen

            
 
T
aking a deep breath, Arwenna tried the spell Irini just taught her again. The cup began to shake a bit, but did not go flying across the tent. Frustrated, she stared at the offending cup, her fingers twitched slightly. Without warning, the cup exploded.               Everyone in the tent ducked for cover as pieces of pottery flew about the room.

              Arwenna’s wide grey eyes met Irini’s equally shocked ones. “What did I do that time?” she asked, her voice heavy with frustration.

              Irini picked up a nearby pottery shard and looked at it closely. “I’m not certain, but I’m starting to get an idea.”

              “Please tell me!” Anger colored her voice. “I don’t like this. If the spell is supposed to do one thing, why is it that every time I try it, something else happens?” She’d been at this for a week now, each night as they made camp. Her progress had been painfully slow and frustrating.

              “Because you’re not like the rest of us, Arwenna. You’re a Chosen Daughter of Hauk. I should’ve thought of this before. You’ve got two purposes for your magic; healing/protection or utter destruction. I don’t think you’ll be able to do anything in between.”  Irini dropped the shard onto a nearby table.

              Arwenna thought for a moment, the slow glimmer of an idea began to take hold. She closed her eyes and moved her fingers slowly, tracing the shape of the cup as it was before the explosion. The gasp from Irini made her open her eyes. Pieces of pottery flew back towards them, mending themselves into an unbroken cup. They watched in silence as the cup gently set itself back down on the table, not a chip or crack to be seen.

              Irini recovered first. “I’ve never seen it done that way.” Her voice was hushed with awe. “You didn’t use any words, did you?”

              “No, I…ah…I just thought of it whole again. I’m not even sure how I did that.”  Arwenna picked up the cup, examining it closely.

              “That’s not right. Our magic comes from Hauk, we have to get his blessing before we do anything.”  Irini’s voice reverberated with condemnation. “The rites are sacred. To circumvent them and wield magic without Hauk’s blessing is just….”

              “Evil? Demonic? Against the faith? An abomination against Hauk?”  Arwenna’s voice was sharp. “Those are the same arguments they used with me within the Order of Silas, Irini. If I’m the Chosen Daughter of Hauk, that you yourself believe me to be, wouldn’t you expect my magic to work differently?  Or have you now decided that I’m not that person based on how I work my magic?”                Arwenna leveled an even gaze at Irini. “Differences don’t equal evil, Irini. It’s what we do with those differences. If I’m in the middle of a battle and need to use magic to save lives, I’m not pausing and spending twenty minutes to get an altar ready. There’s no time. The Gods and Goddesses answer regardless of the preparation. I need to do what must be done. Out there,” she gestured towards the door of the tent, “doesn’t wait for the right hour or the right incense or the right color of candle. You can’t lead a life steeped in what happens in the ideal situation when those you care about are dying around you.”

              Irini nodded, conceding Arwenna’s point. “Thank you for that lesson. I’ve lived within the Order for as long as I can remember. I often forget that the rituals performed outside of the Church walls are different.”

              “You can’t let your love for ritual get in your way during a battle, Irini. There are too many lives at stake.”  Arwenna reached out a hand to her new friend. “Rituals will have their place after all is done. There will be many funeral rites we will have to perform, I fear. As to those, well, I know I’ve got a lot to learn. There seems to be more celebration and less sorrow in them.”

              Irini smiled a bit. “True. Believers in Hauk see death as a celebration of the life that had been led and joy that they can now join Him. I’m sorry to say I’ve heard some of the rituals of death from another Cleric of Silas. They’re fairly depressing.”

              “I’ll agree with you. I never quite understood the concept of purging evil by pointing out the parts of someone’s life that would prevent them from joining their God. When you’re dead, you’re dead, with a few exceptions of direct interference. Telling a grieving woman that her husband wasn’t good enough in life so she needs to do penance for his sins so he can go to Silas wasn’t something I ever felt right about.”

              A commotion outside made them both look up. Guards were heard telling someone to go away. A crying woman’s voice carried over their shouts, “I have to see her!  She’s the only one who can help!”

              Arwenna leapt to her feet and covered the short distance to the door of Irini’s tent. Poking her head out, she saw the guards Barek sent with her trying to restrain a young woman. There was a small, cloth-wrapped bundle in her arms. Arwenna saw a small hand fall free of the blankets as the guards moved the woman away.

              “No. It’s okay. Let her come here.”  Her voice was soft, but it carried a tone of command that made the guards stop and look her way. They let go of the woman. “Please, come here.”  Arwenna gave the woman a gentle smile and waved her over.

              The woman slowly approached her; tears still streamed down her face. “Please, Mistress, it’s my daughter. The healers all said they couldn’t help her. She’s my only child. Please, can you help?”  The woman’s voice tore at Arwenna’s heart.

              “May I hold her?”  Arwenna asked gently.               The woman placed the small bundle in Arwenna’s arms. Pulling back some of the blankets, she looked down on the newborn. “She’s beautiful,” Arwenna smiled at the woman. “Have you given her a name yet?”

              Swallowing hard, the woman shook her head. “We’ve been afraid to, in case she died.”  Fear for her child was written all over the woman’s face.

              Something stirred in Arwenna’s mind. It was almost as if she could see why the infant could barely breathe.
There
, she thought,
part of her throat is blocked
. She put one of her fingers on the infant’s throat, right above where her mind saw the blockage. A small green light began to appear from her finger and spread out around the neck of the little girl. Without warning, the infant wailed a healthy cry. Arwenna smiled back at the woman as she handed her the healthy baby. “There you are. I think it’s safe to name her now.”

              Stammering her thanks, the woman slowly backed away from Arwenna with her baby cradled safely in her arms. Arwenna noted the look of wonder on the faces of her guards. What happened here wouldn’t remain a secret for long.

              Turning around, she saw the same look on Irini’s face. There was no way she would learn anything more today. All Irini would want to know is how she did that. With a sigh, she excused herself and headed back to the main pavilion, guards in tow.