‘Why are there no archers among them?’ Leana asked me.
‘Look carefully and you’ll see there are no stirrups,’ I said. ‘At these speeds, archers tend to fall off quickly and end up trampled into the dust. You’ll notice there’s little armour, too, because it weighs too much. These fellows need to get around as quickly as possible.’
Leana said too loudly, ‘Seems easy. You said these races were the toughest sport going.’
‘Your servant,’ a senator called deridingly, ‘speaks bravely – from this distance.’ A ripple of laughter spread around us.
‘She’s not my servant,’ I replied, then turned back to her. ‘The event can be rather nasty once it gets going.’
‘Spirits save me, we did far more than this in Atrewen games as girls and boys,’ she said with exasperation. ‘We had to jump obstacles as well.’ Again she spoke forcefully.
I chuckled awkwardly, not wanting to create a scene. The looks we received from the others were unfavourable at best. Insults were muttered about the ‘dark foreigner’ and my temper began to flare.
Veron calmed me down, and we discussed the rules of engagement: how the riders could do whatever they wanted, throw what they wanted, hit with anything; but they had to be quick, and weigh up the amount of attacks they made against their overall speed. The only rules were not to cause harm intentionally to the horses: those riders who did found themselves disqualified and paraded at the end for the crowd to jeer and hurl whatever they could at them.
The riders didn’t so much line up as group together and then they started the race, thundering around the figure-of-eight in a cloud of dust. One rider received a spear to the ribs and, whether or not it drew blood, he fell off his horse and he was out of the race. The dust cloud arced along the other side of the stadium, well beyond the thick wooden poles and back around. Ahead of it came the charge of the horsemen, riding close together, throwing their weapons this way and that, with the more nimble and skilful riders out in front, away from the fray.
There were two riders, one in a red vest, the other in a blue, edging ahead of the pack, but as if to impress the king himself, right in front of us a rider in yellow threw a dagger at the red leader, striking his thigh; they both tumbled to the ground on the corner, both falling under the feet of the horses, to cheers and jeers from the various factions in the crowd.
The noise seemed to precede the riders around the stadium like a tidal roar. Dust drifted into the bold blue sky. The two fallen riders lay completely still in the bloodied dirt while a team of helpers came to clean up the mess.
Leana muttered, perhaps louder than she realized, ‘Spirits save me, they’re terrible riders. Bad fighters also.’
‘You should keep your voice low,’ I hissed. ‘This is a noble sport in Tryum.’
‘Drakenfeld,’ someone said, ‘this outsider seems to think she could do better.’
‘I could!’ Leana shouted back.
‘Don’t react to their taunts,’ I said. ‘Don’t show that their words have any effect. They’re baiting us.’
‘Nonsense,’ Veron interrupted with a grin. ‘Leana, if you honestly think you can do better, you’re more than welcome to try.’
‘Tell me which way I must go, and the next time you see me will be there, in the field,’ she declared, glaring at the senators behind. ‘I have done more dangerous things in Atrewe as a child.’
A lot of the others were laughing at us, and let their disgust of Leana be known to all.
‘It’ll be a disgrace, but I’m happy to watch that happen to an outsider.’
‘The woman will not even finish, let alone come in the top three.’
‘I bet she buggers him at night.’
‘They probably don’t have horses where she comes from.’
I tried to maintain a cool and professional manner, half wishing Leana could smack one or two of them around the head.
Leana touched my arm, and leaned in closely. ‘I would like to do this. If you will permit it.’
‘You honestly don’t need my permission.’
‘But I want you to understand.’
‘Understand what?’
‘These people walk in small circles. Unlike those down-city, they have maybe never met anyone from Atrewe. I want them to know that Atrewens are every bit as good as the best Tryum can produce.’
‘What happens if you end up injured or killed?’
‘Spirits save me.’ Her eyes revealed a desperation I had never before seen.
‘Very well.’ Turning to the smug senators, I called over, ‘All right then. She’ll ride.’
At least the view was good down by the side of the dirt track. The crowd was behind us, an intimidating sight, and there were a few people taking bets nearby, chalking up numbers on pieces of slate while young boys collected and distributed coins. I’d also found a decent pastry seller, too, so I munched glumly on one of his pies as I waited for Leana to emerge from what Veron lovingly described as ‘the pits’, where the riders equipped themselves with armour and weapons. Veron bought himself a cup of wine and rejoined me.
‘I wouldn’t worry,’ he said, slapping me on the shoulder. ‘She’s got spirit.’
‘She’ll become a spirit if she’s not careful.’ I became acutely aware, yet again, of how much I depended upon Leana’s skills, and how much I would miss her if anything happened out there.
‘You think she’ll meet her death?’ Veron asked nonchalantly, as if he was talking about the weather.
‘I’ve no idea,’ I replied. ‘Upstairs I made an offering to Polla and, shortly after, made a five pecullas bet. That should cover all eventualities.’
‘Worry not, I’ll help find you a new assistant should the worst happen.’
I opened my mouth to reply, but Veron continued, ‘I’m joking, Drakenfeld. I know you’re some strange unit together. What I still don’t understand is, how come she’s not attached to anyone.’
‘She was. Once.’
‘Once?’
‘Remember the massacre I told you about, in Atrewe, when I met her?’
‘Ah.’ Veron nodded. ‘Her fellow died in that?’
‘Decapitated. She doesn’t talk about it much, as you can imagine.’
Veron shook his head. ‘Surely she could move on though, and take other lovers?’
‘Even in death, Atrewens who were married are still bound. It makes things rather complicated, so I understand. Well, even more complicated than marriages between the living, that is. I’m sure she’s met other men on the road with me, who she’s been interested in. If I’m honest, I have encouraged her to go and have some fun with them, too, but as far as I’m aware she kept to her vows. Though I think it’s a shame, given how short life can be, I respect her decision.’
‘Love, eh? Almost as messy a business as politics.’ Veron chuckled and we took our place by the barriers, talking to some of the race stewards nearby. Apparently two riders had died during the first race, three during the second and one more during the third, and in addition to this there had been ten further life-threatening injuries. The best I could hope for was that Leana would not join the corpses. I knew, however, that she would be seeking nothing short of a victory, and would push herself to make a point.