| |
THE NEXT MORNING, MERRILYN and Aiden rose early and made their way along the road, towing the two men behind them. They found the bandits’ horses nearby and though Aiden allowed them to ride, he kept their hands bound and tied their reins to his mount to keep them from escaping. They soon found that they were closer to the mountains than they had realized.
Neither of them had ever traveled so far north, so they stood for a moment to gape at the scene before them. They were on the edge of a high plane that stretched to the edge of the mountains. The road led to the village of Norwulf, a fortified town on the very edge of Nomar. Behind the village of Norwulf climbed the imposing peaks of the Borderlands. Merrilyn had planned to cross the mountains after passing through the village. This had seemed a simple thing when they began their journey, but now they realized their naivety. The mountains appeared to climb straight up from the ground behind the village. It was impossible to imagine a trail that could lead them safely over the peaks.
Looking at one another, they each tried to smile encouragingly and nudged their horses forward. With each step, the mountains seemed to grow taller before them.
Someone on the road in front of them caught their eye. Stumbling toward them was a short, round woman, and as they approached her, they could see that she was quite old as well. Her face was etched with deep wrinkles and colored dark from the sun. Her hair was stringy and thin. It reached far past her knees, some of it even trailing on the ground behind her as she walked. Her clothes looked like rags that had been patched in bright colors throughout, so that her overall appearance was bizarre to say the least.
Merrilyn dismounted from her horse and, taking the reins, cautiously approached the woman, who mumbled to herself and every so often nibbled on strands of her hair. Merrilyn and Aiden exchanged a puzzled glance before Merrilyn greeted her cheerfully.
"Good afternoon, madam!"
The woman stopped walking and looked up at her, startled. "What are you doing here?"
Merrilyn smiled. "We are here to visit your good town. Could you tell us where to find the inn?"
Merrilyn nearly gagged as she stepped closer. The woman smelled wretched in addition to her absurd fashion. She nibbled on her hair again as she stared wildly at Merrilyn. Leaning closer, Merrilyn saw that there were tiny pieces of something tied into the woman's hair.
Turning to Aiden, she whispered, "It's cheese!"
"What?" he asked.
Merrilyn pointed at the woman's hair and mouthed the word "cheese" again.
His head tilted, his eyes questioning. Urging his horse nearer, his eyes grew wide before he turned away, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
Bite sized pieces of cheese were tied among the strands of the woman’s hair, and she nibbled on them as she watched Merrilyn, wide-eyed. Aiden turned away again to hide his laughter, as Merrilyn reached out to touch the woman on the shoulder.
"Madam, are you all right?"
The woman began mumbling incoherently again at Merrilyn's touch. Merrilyn was overcome with pity for her. She longed to hug the woman and comfort her, to take her home and clean her up. Instead, she closed her eyes and silently asked Loian to help her.
Instantly, the woman stopped mumbling. Merrilyn opened her eyes to see the woman standing there, eyes wide.
"What have you done?" the woman asked.
"I'm sorry. Are you upset with me? I didn't really mean to, it just happened."
Had she made a mistake?
"No! I...I can't believe it! I'm me!"
Merrilyn frowned, confused.
The woman rubbed her own face with grimy hands, feeling her brow, her cheeks, the deep grooves that framed her mouth. She turned wild eyes toward her clothes, holding up the hem of her skirt to inspect the patches and stains. She grabbed fistfuls of her hair, staring in confusion at the bits of cheese. Tears streamed down her face. "Oh, me! It's me! You have brought me back!"
She grabbed Merrilyn's hands and shook them heartily before she began dragging her down the road toward the village.
"Quick!" she said. "You must come with me! They'll never believe what has happened. You must come tell them how you saved me."
Merrilyn could hardly keep up with the woman as they raced down the road together. Aiden followed along with the horses.
The village sat behind two tall wooden gates enforced with iron. Two guards stood at attention on either side of the road watching their approach.
"Deni! Lewtis! Look what has happened!" the old woman called to them.
The guards turned to each other as if to confirm that they were both hearing the same thing.
"Is that you, Beatny?!" one of them asked.
"Yes! It's me! Can you believe it?"
Beatny dragged Merrilyn up to the gate and thrust her in front of the guards.
"Here! She did it! She healed me! Can you imagine? Just look what she has done!" The woman whirled around before them, but nothing had changed in her appearance other than her broad smile.
The guards shook their heads as they watched this. One turned his gaze at Merrilyn who smiled weakly while the other shouted over the gate to the guards on the other side.
“Ho, there! We’re opening the gate. We’ve got Beatny here and you’re gonna want to see this.” They worked quickly to open it for them to enter.
Merrilyn stumbled along behind Beatny into the city. Aiden followed as close behind them as he could with the horses.
"Halt!" one of them cried, moving quickly to block Aiden’s path. He squinted at Aiden, then leaned over to glance at his cargo.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked, jerking his head toward the two men on horseback.
A small crowd had formed on the other side of the gate and Aiden’s eyes scanned the crowd nervously. He shifted on his mount.
Merrilyn's voice rang out loud across the space. "This man captured the two bandits who attacked us last night on the road to your good village."
"Is this true?" asked the guard.
Aiden nodded.
"Well, then... let's have a look."
The guard walked past Aiden to examine the two men, who were desperately trying to hide their faces. He turned back to the crowd with a wide grin.
"Well, well. This young man's brought us quite a prize."
Grabbing the reins, he dragged the bandits’ horses forward so the people could clearly see the riders for themselves. A murmur went up among the townspeople.
"It's them!" someone yelled. "They're the ones who stole my horses two nights ago!"
The guard nodded then turned to the thieves. "We've been alookin' for you two.” He glanced at Aiden with a wink and a grin. "I think I'll take your cargo here, mister, if you don't mind. We know just what to do with thieves like these two here in Norwulf village."
Aiden nodded, and gave up the reins before dismounting.
Someone called out, "he's a hero!"
A cheer went up from the crowd, which had grown considerably, and people started slapping Aiden on the back. The crowd dragged him down the street along with Merrilyn toward the center of town. Merrilyn and Aiden smiled nervously and nodded as their new fans introduced them again and again to the townspeople who stood in awe at the sight of Beatny.
Beatny, too, sang their praises. "She healed me! This woman healed me"—which was always followed by—"He's a hero, too! He caught the thieves. Did you hear he caught the thieves?"
Merrilyn and Aiden tried to smile and keep up without getting crushed by the throng that propelled them through the village. It seemed the entire town had joined the parade by the time they arrived at a large house that backed up against the mountains on the very edge of the village.
Hearing the commotion in the yard, three women came out to see what was going on. At the sight of Beatny, they rushed to meet her, surrounding her with hugs and tears of joy.
“I’m me, sisters! I’m me again,” Beatny cried as she hugged her sisters.
“Beatny! My stars, what has happened, dear?”
Their eyes fell on Merrilyn, who blushed.
“At last! How wonderful!” cried one of the sisters, falling on Merrilyn with hugs. They began dragging her with them up toward the house. Aiden hurried to keep up, just barely reaching them before the women thrust Merrilyn through the door and into the house.
The crowd of villagers tried to follow them in, but another of Beatny's sisters shooed them away with promises of a large party if only they would leave them alone for a moment's peace. Closing the door with a loud thud, she leaned heavily against it and sighed.
"There!" she said with a smile. "Now, I think we shall all need some tea for this tale, am I right?"
She stood with one eyebrow raised, her hands clasped before her, until Merrilyn replied with a grateful nod.
"I thought so," she said. "Let's see! Honey, set the table. Addy, please see to Beatny. And I’ll start the tea!"
One of Beatny's sisters, Honey, ushered them into seats at the table near the kitchen hearth. Merrilyn looked around with interest at the little stone cottage. One half of the building was a sheepfold, closed off by heavy wooden doors. Though you couldn’t see them, you could hear the sheep bleating on the other side. Merrilyn had seen homes like it in her village and knew that the sheep were kept close to keep them safe, but also to add a warm layer of insulation to the side of the house. From the outside there would be large barn doors on that side of the house that would open up to allow the sheep to graze out in the fields.
The other half of the stone cottage was their home. It was a lovely home—warm, inviting, and painstakingly clean, it smelled strongly of sheep and fresh baked bread. Beyond the kitchen, an enormous loom sat in one corner of the sitting room next to the fire. Stretched across its frame was a beautiful pattern of stars in a deep blue background. On the other side of the fire were a spinning wheel and a basket of clean wool waiting to become yarn. Two chairs sat between the wheel and the loom, each one with a basket of yarn and a half-finished kitting project beside them.
The night promised fresh food and a warm fire. An evening of good company and good rest was just what she needed.