Aesnil, set our seetarr off on their way, then slumped forward to rest.
We rode through the dark woods for hours, Aesnil silent, me half-dozing, before it occurred to either one of us that we hadn’t brought any food along. The only thing on our minds had been escaping from captivity, and I couldn’t help but rant silently against the stupidity we’d shown. Granted we were both relatively new to escaping, but I should have thought of it even if Aesnil hadn’t. I remembered the well-filled tray I’d been sent but hadn’t touched, thought about how easy taking most if it along would have been, and could have kicked myself. I was too used to traveling with the men of that world, l’lendaa who had no trouble hunting for what they wanted to eat. I stirred in the hard,
uncomfortable leather saddle and looked over toward the dark shape of Aesnil, riding in discomfort to my right. As Chama she had gone out on occasional hunting parties, but I was willing to bet she hadn’t done any of the hunting herself. The realization of hunger didn’t breed the determination to do something about it in her, a sure sign she had only gone along for the ride. She had said we had a long way to go; if it was too long a way, we might find that we’d escaped relative safety and comfort for the freedom of disaster and death.
Nervousness to be out of the vicinity of the palace kept me quiet until daybreak, but once the sun began to rise over the mountainous and upward trending country we rode through, I had to insist on stopping for a while. I still hurt from the beating the barbarian had given me, and the saddle I’d been in for hours hadn’t helped any. Aesnil was nearly as uncomfortable as I was, but the growing light had brought recognition to her of where we were, and .she insisted that we ride on a little farther before stopping. Since she seemed to know what she was doing I reluctantly agreed, and followed along through woods that turned from black to green as though by magic, the rising sun already beginning to warm the damp. The seetarr picked their way through the trees until we reached a pebbled road, followed the road upward for about another half mile, then let themselves be guided off the road to the right, behind a number of giant boulders that lay at the foot of the craggy rockface that rose high on that side of the road. Grelana had turned out to be a small country tucked into the skirts of a moderately small mountain range, and now we were heading up higher into those mountains. I preferred the mountains to the desert that lay on the other side of Grelana, but for some reason climbing higher into them was making me uneasy. I thought about it as we pulled the seetarr to a halt behind the boulders on a flat, rocky area that almost seemed swept, and decided that the lack of food was what was making me uneasy. I didn’t seem to think much about food unless there wasn’t any there not to think about.
“We may rest here awhile.” Aesnil announced, then raised her arm to point beyond three or four boulders that lay closer to the rockface. “There is a small spring over there, from which we may drink to heal our thirst. A pity we lacked the foresight to bring along the emptied drishnak skin, which might have been filled instead with water. There are sure to be other springs ahead of us, yet I know only a few of them.”
I looked at her sharply as she began dismounting from the seetar, wondering if she was blaming me for having forgotten the skin, but her mind held only vague accusation. She was unconcerned over everything except having gotten where we currently were, and was pleased over that, extremely pleased. She slid to the ground with no more than a grunt for the stiffness she felt, still too relieved to really be bothered by it, feeling a lot more chipper than I felt. It had also occurred to me to wonder what the seetarr were going to eat, and I was tired of asking myself such depressing questions. We had defied the l’lendaa who had claimed us and had made good our escape; why couldn’t I be like Aesnil and simply be pleased with the accomplishment? I sighed deeply then tackled the movement necessary for dismounting, not looking forward to it; I hurt too much for it to be anything but unpleasant.
It took Aesnil’s help before I was able to lower myself all the way to the rocky ground. She tsked and fussed over the pain I felt, seriously concerned, and immediately insisted that I lie down for a while. I was in no condition to argue with her imperious commands, and merely waited while she struggled to untie the rolled sleeping furs from the back of my seetar, then watched her spread them next to a boulder. It didn’t occur to me to be thankful that those furs were there until much later; it didn’t seem that men out on a brief night patrol would need them, but I certainly did. If I’d realized sooner they were there, I would have used them to cushion myself from the saddle. I lowered myself to one of the furs and stretched out on my left side, then sighed with the comfort of it as Aesnil covered me with the second. It would soon be too warm for the covering fur, but right then it felt good. Aesnil chose one corner of the furs to sit down on, toward my feet, and I looked over at her.
“You seem quite pleased to have arrived here,” I observed, watching her gather her long blond hair away from her face as she stretched. She looked ridiculous in the shirt and trousers she wore, and seemed as uncomfortable in them as I was; their one redeeming feature seemed to be that as awkward and uncomfortable as they were, they were better than gowns would have been.
“Indeed am I pleased,” she smiled, beginning to take off one sandal. “We have begun the journey to lasting freedom, the journey which may even return my country to me. These are things which cannot fail to please me.”
“To what lasting freedom do you refer?” I asked, more than aware of the excitement that filled her. “Where do we go, that you speak of having your country returned to you?”
“We travel to the land of Vediaster, whose ambassador I recently received,” she laughed, rubbing at her foot, “Their country lies beyond this mountain, and is governed solely by females. Even their l’lendaa are female. Should I promise them their choice of captives as slaves, they may well return with me to attack Grelana. Male slaves bring high prices in Vediaster, and the first to be sold there will be my council of dendayy.”
She laughed softly, inordinately pleased with the idea, her thoughts taking on the sort of movement which usually indicated fantasizing. I was glad she’d taken her attention away from me, as I wasn’t sure how well pleased she would have been with my expression. I’d been there when Aesnil had received the ambassador from Vediaster, a big, unpleasant-looking woman who had brought a matched set of male slaves as one of her gifts, handsome twin men who had been so filled with fear and true servility that it had nearly made me ill. I don’t know where I’d thought Aesnil was heading us, but it had never occurred to me that it might be a place like Vediaster. I wouldn’t have trusted women like them, but it wasn’t surprising that Aesnil did. They were her only hope of getting her country back on her own terms, and she was far too desperate to question her actions. If we managed to survive until we got there, I’d have to be sure to leave as soon as possible. All other considerations aside, the last thing I needed was to be caught up in the middle of a war.