The Fairest Thing Chapter 9


 * To extend the scope of the raid, the Caesar divided his eager legions into four bodies, and, for fifty miles around, wasted the country with sword and flame. Neither age nor sex inspired pity: places sacred and profane were razed indifferently to the ground; among them, the most noted religious centre of these tribes, known as the temple of Tanfana. The troops escaped without a wound: they had been cutting down men half-asleep, unarmed or dispersed.

- Tacitus, Annals, Book 1, Chapter 51, written 14–68 A.D.

The Fairest Thing Chapter 9
"How can you read that, map, Peewit?" Maenad asked, incredulous. "I…I just can. All of a sudden." "Is because of something one of those Guardians did to you?" Asked Johan, standing next to Dennis. Peewit turned to face the squire, and his eyes went wide. "Dennis" was a ghostly aura barely concealing Princess Sabina. Except her hair was cut short, and she wore a ring on her thumb that blazed like a star. His missing ring, the one that made a person's desired appearance materialize. But…how did he know that? Was it really Sabina in disguise, or another trick? He clasped his forehead and concentrated on the map. He continued to translate, but kept looking at "Dennis" out of the corner of his eye. Though the features and voice were double, it was certainly Sabina under the glamour. What on earth was going on? Dusk was approaching when the map was deciphered enough to calibrate their location. The guardians had apparently moved them about a hundred miles closer to the mysterious town. Whether this was a sign that they were more benevolent than they seemed, or that they wanted Maenad to be far, far away from them, no one could tell. They decided to camp for the night and set out the next morning. Their animals grazed as the four sat in the waning light around the fire. They did little talking, only the trill of insects broke the silence. Everyone had questions they wanted to ask the others, but there was no real polite way to ask. If you saw the things we have seen, you would kill it now. As if sensing Johan's thoughts, Maenad spoke up first. "I want to thank you…for speaking on my behalf earlier. That's not something many humans would do," she murmured while staring at her half chewed hard tack. "You're welcome, Maenad. But it's been bothering me...the things they said, about how you slaughtered their people. Are any of those things true?" "I did a lot of things back then that I try not to remember. I was following orders, we all were. That may not be an excuse to some people, but we did what we had to in those days. It was a very long time ago. You said so yourself." She seemed sincere, and it was rare for her to be so humble. "If you could go back and do things over, would you still do what you did?" "No. I wish I'd never had to go to war. It was never my choice to be this way." Peewit did not sleep well that night. He kept noticing more things he had never noticed before. Things he'd never been able to notice before. A rustling woke him as someone left the tent. It was Dennis. Peewit silently rose and stepped over his sleeping friends and waited outside the tent. After a short while, Dennis came back up the hill. "Peewit, what are you doing up?" "I couldn't sleep…Princess." Dennis gasped and pulled Peewit away from the tent, covering his mouth. "How did you know?" She demanded in a whisper. "I can see through the ring's spell now. I've been able to see lots of things since that guardian touched me. And I know things, too. It's kind of frightening." "You can't tell them! Especially not Johan! He'll try and send me away if he finds out now!" "So are you going to tell him at all?" "I will, just not now. I want to wait for the right time." "Does anybody know about this besides me?" "N…no. I ran away, and those papers from King Gerard are forged. I stole the map and his seal to do this." She sat down and crossed her arms across her chest. "I couldn't stand the thought of marrying against my will, and being away from Johan. That's why you can't tell anyone. I'm…I'm already probably in a lot of trouble." "I promise you I won't tell anyone," Peewit said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Just please, tell Johan soon." In a lot of trouble didn't begin to describe things, Peewit thought. Dame Barbara would be mad as a wet hen when she found out how far Sabina had gone to avoid her birthright, and for the first time he was glad he was in a haunted bog and not back home. Travel was easier in this part of the bogs, and after a few more days, they started to see what may have been trails though the marshes. When they camped for the evening, Johan tested Dennis's abilities in archery and swordplay. He was impressed; Gerard had made a good selection for him. Peewit had been given command of the map since he was the only one who could read it. "We might be closer to the town on the map, if it's still there. The trails probably lead to it," he said, looking at one of them. "So should we follow them? Remember what happened last time we followed a road…" asked Dennis. "I think we should," replied Johan. "I have a feeling that where the village is, we'll find people who know where my father is." They followed the road for some ways, with Maenad scouting ahead as a wolf. "There's some humans around, though they think they're hiding from us" she said, shifting to give a report. "They're waiting for us over the hill, probably to catch us in an ambush. What do you suggest we do?" "How many are there?" "Five. All armed. Dressed strangely, too." "Let's go on ahead, but be ready for them. Maenad, you lead; Dennis, have your bow ready. Try not to hurt them until we know who they are." Peewit put the map in a safe place, and whispered a battle plan in Biquette's ear. As expected, they were ambushed on the road by five individuals, all wearing strange eastern-style clothing, and all were on foot, without horses. The strangers ignored Maenad, and went straight for the humans. Dennis fired a warning shot inches from one of them, catching an arrow in his flapping cloak. Another one came at Johan with a sword, but Johan was able to parry the blow. A third tried to knock Peewit off Biquette. Maenad leapt on his back and nipped at him to get his attention. Biquette rammed one trying to come at Dennis from behind. They were about to regroup for a second attack, when the one who Johan had fought off put his hand up and said something to his companions in a glutteral language. The other four paused, as if they'd realized something. All were staring at Johan in particular. "Why come you here, foreign soldiers?" the leader finally asked with a heavy accent. "I am Sir Johan, and my companions and I are looking for the Brothers of Equality. They've captured a relative, and we've come to retrieve him. We don't want to fight you, but we will if we must." The strangers talked amongst themselves excitedly in their language, before the leader again addressed Johan. "Yes, we see this. We to a place take you, where we ask if you can see. No promises. But your weapons must be given first." Johan and Dennis dismounted and reluctantly handed their weapons to the strangers. Peewit was unarmed except for his music, and Maenad stayed a wolf, pretending to be a very large pet dog for the time being. The humans were blindfolded and led with their animals several miles to what they saw was a large hall once they were finally inside and the blindfolds were taken off. "Here you wait. Don't try anything!" said the leader as he left. They could hear him talking with a guard outside, but could not understand what he said. "What should we do?" whispered Dennis. She was actually a little excited to be on a real adventure where she wasn't being rescued or expected to behave like a proper princess. "Wait here. We've got no weapons, but Maenad's under the table, and she saw the way here. She can lead us out if we need to escape. Besides, if they have my father, I want to cooperate for the time being." When she realized neither she nor her friends were in immediate danger, Maenad left the hall. As a "dog" she was allowed to come and go as she pleased. They were in a small village by a river. The village was actually on a raised hill overlooking the countryside, with simple buildings of wooden construction and thatched roofs. The building her friends were being held in was actually a small castle or fortress, with cottages surrounding it. Their horses, goat and pony seemed to be treated well, but the men were of course going through their packs. Checking for more weapons and any valuables, if these were indeed pirates or highwaymen. She scouted around the village some more, carefully avoiding any animals or people, until a small boat arrived on the river. This seemed to cause quite a stir, though she was only able to pick up a little of the language these people used. She raced back to the fortress to defend her companions if need be. The doors to the hall creaked open, causing the humans to start. A group of heavily armed men in foreign dress came into the hall, followed by two individuals in hooded cloaks. Johan, Dennis, and Peewit all stood to meet them. The two cloaked figures walked up to them and looked them over carefully. "It is true. I can see it. It's remarkable! He'll be very happy, wouldn't you agree, Swanhild?" "I think he will." They pulled their hoods back, revealing themselves to be a young man and woman, both in men's clothing. They had similar features and black hair, one could tell they were close relatives. The woman had a scar etched across her cheek, marring an otherwise pretty face. The man's appearance was especially startling; he looked as if he could be Johan's older brother. He had longer hair and a close-trimmed beard, but the resemblance was unmistakable. "Hello, cousin. We've been told a lot about you."