Lialt, after vowing punishment for my actions, took himself from the dwelling, leaving Tarla to creep about as though it had been she who had caused the anger in him, yet in a short while he had returned and silently seated himself not far from the fire. Though he seemed to have words for none in the dwelling, his eyes fixed themselves to me and did not stray, causing even greater upset in the young village female. I, however, had been looked upon many times by males who had been mine in the Hosta home tents, and the gaze of Lialt meant naught to me. I sat or lay in the furs as I wished, finding comfort difficult to attain, and fed upon as little of the provender offered by Tarla as ever. Tarla turned anxious eyes to Lialt as I returned the still-filled wooden pot to her, yet Lialt did naught save narrow his own eyes thoughtfully, then take himself off again. That darkness, a stranger aided Lialt in forcing the potion upon me, showing that Ceralt had not yet returned. Till then, it had been none save they two who had visited each darkness with the chalky liquid which brought sleep, an action I had as yet to understand. I knew not why the potion was given me, yet no darkness had passed without it.
Upon the fourth fey, after having fed upon almost none of the falum, I was displeased to see the return of Lialt. The male entered the dwelling, closing the door quickly as always, yet when he turned from the door, his left arm showed itself to be laden. Tan leather lay folded across the arm, and in his hand the male carried wrapped furs of the sort which Belsayah villagers wore upon their feet. I frowned at his burdens, not caring for the sight of them, yet the male took no note of my displeasure. With firm step he approached the furs where I lay, and looked down upon me.
“Your appetite has grown as pale as your features, wench,” said he, frowning. “Close captivity works ill upon all wild things, therefore must you now be allowed a certain freedom from this halyar. A hin or two beneath the open skies will return you some measure of strength and appetite. Tarla will assist you with the clothing and boots.”
With which words did the male throw his burdens to my feet, the movement revealing the presence of a copper-colored belt as well. Tarla, all asmile, began to walk toward me, yet I cared not for these new events.
“Jalav requires naught save her clan covering,” said I, raising myself to sitting in the furs. The leather, I was now able to see, was like that which Tarla wore, a slave-woman’s covering. Truly did the male wish to see me slave, yet Jalav was no slave.
“The chill in the air is too sharp for one unused to it,” said Lialt, crouching down beside me, sober-faced. “As weakened as you now are, you would surely fall ill were you to leave here with naught save that bit of cloth. The leather and furs will protect you, Jalav, and keep you safe for Ceralt.”
So, I was to be kept safe for Ceralt, protected as though I were city slave-woman in truth! Rage rose once again within me, straightening my shoulders and lifting my chin high. Heatedly, I regarded this male Lialt, and my tone was not kind.
“Had Mida wished her Midanna to don leather and furs,” said I, “it would have already been done! It is the clan covering which Midanna are to wear, and naught else have I ever worn! All things are as Mida wishes them to be!”
Though I expected to see Lialt enraged, the male showed naught of anger. Still sober-faced, he nodded slowly.
“All things are indeed as the gods wish them,” said he, “yet one may not know the will of the gods till an event has transpired. It is my intention to see you in the proper clothing for this time of the kalod, and I shall not accept your refusal. I allowed you your will in the matter of the bandages; in this matter, my will shall prevail. Do you don the clothing with Tarla’s aid, or with mine?”
No rage had yet claimed him, no anger, nor impatience. Merely did he crouch beside me, calmly awaiting his will to be done. Again I felt my lack of strength, my helplessness in being wounded and unarmed among males, and briefly I shivered, touched by the fear that Mida had meant such a fate for me forever. Was I destined for the lot of slave woman, ever to bend to the will of males, never again to ride free? My hand crept to my middle, seeking to still the rolling illness there, and I dared not think upon the number of times I had failed Mida. Surely, had she wished to find reason to abandon her warrior, she need not have sought far.
“I do not wish to leave the dwelling,” said I to Lialt, lying again in the furs. Once before had I been prisoned beneath the skies of Mida, kept from freedom by the metal of an enclosure, seeing that which could not be mine. Should it be true that I must now be slave to males. never again would I seek to leave the dwelling. I attempted to turn from Lialt and lie upon my side, yet the male moved swiftly to take my face in his hand and turn it toward him once again.
“No, Jalav,” said he quite gently, his light eyes full upon me. “You shall be clothed in the leather, and you shall be taken outside. Not again will I fall to anger over your willfulness, for I shall not allow you your willfulness. Is Tarla to aid you, or am I?”
There were no words which might be spoken then, for the male wished to hear none, therefore I spoke not at all, merely returning Lialt look for look. There was naught then that the war leader Jalav might do to free herself, yet was it not the way of Midanna to heed the will of their captors. Much pain had the leather of Bariose given me, yet it had all gone for naught, for I had not obeyed him as he had wished. Never would I obey the will of males, never would I bow before them! This must Lialt have seen in my eyes, for his lips tightened and his nod became stiffened.
“Very well,” said he, releasing my face. “As it is my aid you desire, you may have it. Should your modesty be offended, you must recall with whom the decision rested.”
Then did Lialt take up the leather covering and quickly remove the lenga pelt from my grip, throwing it to one side. Tarla gasped in distress clearly disturbed by Lialt’s doing, yet no more was accomplished by the female than the wringing of her hands. In full disgust, I took my sight from her, thinking again upon how matters would have gone had one of my warriors been in the place of the slave-woman. Lialt struggled to raise me from the furs, at the same time attempting to place the covering over my head, yet matters were not of a mind to aid him in his doing. Lialt might have raised me, or he might have placed the covering upon me, but with Jalav unmoving, he could not do both. Furiously, he struggled to accomplish his aim, seemingly forgetting that he was not again to fall to anger, and I smiled at his fruitless struggles, seeing the will of the gods being done. Then a thought came to me, a thought possibly sent by Mida herself. How, asked the thought, was Jalav to make her way from the village and the land of males, when Jalav knew naught of that which surrounded her? Surely it was at Mida’s behest that Lialt sought to take me from the dwelling, and I, a mindless fool, attempted to deny this. Had I continued in my blindness, surely Mida, in disgust, would have permitted me to remain in the capture of males forever. If I were to find my freedom, amends must quickly be made.
“Hold,” said I to a red-faced, panting Lialt. “I do not wish your aid with the covering. I shall do the thing myself.”
Lialt, astare in disbelief, allowed the covering to fall from his hand. “Now she wishes to do the thing herself,” he murmured, wiping at his forehead with the back of his hand. “First she will not hear of it, now she must do it herself! A man must indeed be insane to enmesh himself with a woman!”