The new light had not yet reached its highest when we entered a large clearing. The clearing, ringed with tall, bare trees all about, seemed sufficient for twice our number and more, yet it was there the males halted and began seeing to the unburdening of the mounts. The females, freed from the need for further riding, dismounted quickly, handed over the reins of their lanthay, and moved away from the activity of the males. Their assistance was not required in the erecting of the tents, and the males preferred having them where their presence would not be a hindrance. Despite the threatening gray so close above their heads, the females laughed gaily as they took themselves across the clearing, some few attempting to run in the deep, unmarked snow. I watched them from the height of my lanthay’s back, attempting to fathom the meaning of their lightheartedness. Perhaps they had no knowledge of the gravity of the quest we rode upon, the gravity which kept their males from the same gaiety, or perhaps they lacked the sense to appreciate such gravity. I knew not which the answer might be, yet I knew that warriors, in their place, would not have done the same.
“A wench should have the company of other wenches, Ceralt,” came Telion’s voice from behind me. “How is she to learn to be as they if she is ever kept from their midst?”
I turned to see Telion and Ceralt regarding me, they having dismounted from their lanthay and having tied them. Telion stood with arms afold across his chest, an unreadable expression upon his face, yet his eyes held a remembrance of anger and disapproval. Ceralt, beside him, regarded me with brows drawn together, and his head nodded in agreement.
“I fear you have the right of it, brother,” Ceralt pronounced, self-annoyance tinging his tone. “How indeed is she to learn a woman’s ways when her constant companions are men? Men may teach a woman her womanhood, yet womanly ways are taught by women.”
He came close to the side of my lanthay, then, and his hands at my waist took me from my mount and stood me before him. I had not released the lanthay’s rein, and as it jumped from our sides, Ceralt’s hand shot out to halt it, at the same time pulling the rein from my grip.
“I will see to the care of your lanthay,” he informed me, gazing down upon me with a softness to the light of his eyes.
“Take yourself now to the other wenches, and learn what you may from their doings. I should have seen to this much the sooner. ”
I attempted protest, yet such an attempt was futile. Telion, in deep concern over my welfare, urged Ceralt to discount my “shyness” with other females, a shyness which had kept me from joining their ranks sooner. The male knew well enough my thoughts upon city females, yet sought to send me to their midst for purposes of his own. Ceralt saw no covert reasons in Telion’s arguments, therefore was I soon sent upon my way, Ceralt’s demands for obedience ringing in my ears.
The deep snow left very little doubt as to the direction taken by the females, a thing which soured me further. Midanna are taught to leave no track which an enemy might come upon and follow, yet even Midanna would be hard put to see to the thing in the treacherous medium termed snow. Little need was there to aid any tracker with as many prints as the females had left, yet they had proceeded to leave the full story of their passage upon the ground. It came to me to wonder if those males who hunted each new light to fill the set’s needs also left such an abundance of evidence as to their presence. If so, game would soon be scarce indeed.
The females were not far ahead, yet a large bush, made larger through being heavily laden with snow, kept them from my sight till I was nearly upon them. I rounded the bush, concerned with keeping my footing in the slick unevenness left by those who had gone before, then stopped abruptly to stare at the sight which met my eyes.
All of the females of the traveling set had rounded the bush, even she who was known as Famira. This was easily seen as it was she who knelt in the snow beyond the line of other females, her head covered by her arms, her body bent forward to protect her face, all of her shaking to the pelting of snow which rained upon her from the other females. The attackers laughed and shouted as they threw what was between their gloves, then bent to the ground at their feet and grasped a renewed supply of their chosen weapon. Not all threw at once, nor did all bend at once, therefore an almost constant pelting fell upon their sole target. In typical, empty-headed lack of vigilance, none heard my approach as all concerned were too enwrapped in jumping about joyfully and laughing in delight. I halted perhaps three paces from the backs they presented me, feeling the increased dampness in the air from their disturbance of the snow, and folded my arms in deep disgust.
“What do you do here?” I demanded angrily, watching as their laughter ceased and they spun quickly to look upon me, guilt and fear writ large upon their faces. How like all city females they were, pleased to do a thing yet shamed when found doing it. One or two nearly tumbled to the churned up snow, so rapidly did they turn, yet the others quickly repented their fear and startlement, and anger took its place.
“Why do you sneak about behind us?” one of the females demanded in turn, brushing a stray lock of dark hair from her eyes. “We do no more than that which we have longed to do for many kalod! It is more your place to join us than condemn us!”
“I grow weary of being told what place is mine!” I returned, straightening even further before the eyes of these females. “Never have I found the need to hide behind numbers when facing a single opponent! Should you wish to see to revenging some past injury done you, face your enemy with dignity and with like meeting like. For many to fall upon one demeans your motives as well as your actions.”
The females cared little for my words, and muttered angrily among themselves as I looked upon them. Some few appeared to be considering the merits in pelting me with snow as they had done with Famira, yet I, with legs spread wide and arms afold, was no easy victim for their wrath. Should they be foolish enough to attempt the deed, they would soon discover the difference between a wench and a warrior.
The bite of the cold was sharp upon all of us, and the females before me had had the joy taken out of their doings. She who had spoken tossed her head as though discounting my words, then all began to return as they had come, filing past me with baleful looks for me and venomous ones for the female Famira. She called Famira rose slowly to her feet, her gloved hands brushing at the snow which covered her, her eyes upon the backs of her departing attackers. When all of the females had slowly rounded the bush and vanished from sight, Famira turned her eyes to me.
“And what of you?” she called, her voice edged with bitterness. “Do you come now to avenge previous wrongs? Your weakness meant naught to me when we first faced one another. Come and take what you feel is due you and have done with it!”
She stood and faced me, trembling slightly with anger, perhaps even with disgust at the actions of those about her. She had little fear of that which I might do to her, seemingly looked upon it as merely another burden which must be borne, another indignity to be suffered before it might be forgotten. I returned the look she gave me with something of a smile, knowing a loss that she might no longer be considered an enemy. Famira the village female would have been an excellent enemy.