FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (113 page)

     It was slightly past noon when the elderly couple and Dawn stopped for lunch. They parked their carriage by a patch of clear land to the side of the road and tethered their horses to a nearby tree. The elderly man took a bucket from the back of the cart and went down to the stream and returned with it filled with water for the horses. The elderly woman took out a small clay stove from the cart, placed some firewood in it and started a fire. She then took out a pot and some food items which she had wrapped in big banana leaves and started cooking lunch. Dawn just sat silently, trying to look as confused as she could. Half an hour later, they ate their lunch. The elderly man seemed to be eating at a hurried pace. Even his wife looked surprised
!
Neither she nor Dawn could see why he was in such a hurry. The elderly man gave a loud belch when he finished his meal He then took a mat from a compartment under the driver’s seat of the cart, went to a nearby tree and lay down.

     The elderly lady shook her head, obviously embarrassed by her husband’s behaviour.

     “Don’t mind my husband, he behaves strangely when he’s in the company of strangers. I’m sorry, where are my manners
?
I’m Grace and my husband’s Cliff,” she said.

     “My name’s Breeze,” said Dawn in an impromptu manner, not being able to come up with a decent name in her mind until a gentle breeze blew at her cheeks.

     “Breeze, that’s a nice name for a girl,” said Grace.

     “I don’t know about that. I got teased a lot because of that name when I was young,” added Dawn, hoping to give a sense of reality to her lie.

     Grace took a long, proper look at Dawn. Then she smiled.   

     “You know, you’re actually very lucky
!
” she said.

     “I know
!
Like I said, if I hadn’t run into you and Cliff, I would’ve been recaptured by those mean, evil men
!
” said Dawn.

     “No
!
Please don’t take this the wrong way. What those men did to you, it was horrible
!
Just horrible
!
No woman should go through that
!
But what I meant to say was that you were very lucky not to have been caught by the Serpentians
!
” explained Grace.

     “The Serpentians
?
” questioned Dawn, looking totally surprised.

     Dawn had forgotten that Timberstock was raided by the Serpentians earlier in the year.

     “Yes, the Serpentians. I’ve seen the damage they’ve done to Timberstock. Buildings destroyed. Men killed. Women and children kidnapped. Almost the entire town population was gone. I mean, you’re a pretty girl, Breeze. It’s nothing short of a miracle that the Serpentians hadn’t kidnapped you and made you their slave
!
” answered Grace.

     “I was out of town when the raid happened. I was in Fallsene visiting my cousin,” replied Dawn quickly, masking any signs of being caught unaware; but she was, indeed, caught unaware.

     “It’s like I’ve said. You’re lucky
!
” said Grace.

     Dawn sat quietly, not knowing what to say. She had never thought of it before, how it felt like to be a victim
!
She had always been the victimiser, the hunter
!
She was never a prey, never the victim
!
So what if she was actually caught by the Serpentians, what would she have gone through
?
What would she have to endure
?
How would she have taken it
?

     Grace took out two mats from the compartment under the cart’s driver seat and spread them out under the shade of a huge tree. She beckoned Dawn to lie down on the mat and take a nap. Dawn was not sleepy, but decided to oblige anyway so as not to raise suspicion.

     Dawn’s mind drifted back to Ray and who he was. His existence was a shock to her. All this while she had believed that the Order of Fire Elementhars was destroyed and all Fire Elementhars were dead. But Clanmaster Collart had lied. Her uncle was right all along. She knew she could no longer return to the fold of the clan. There were two very strong reasons for this. The first reason was that she had failed to accomplish her mission, which entitled the death penalty as far as clan law went. The second reason was that she had become a living witness to a failure that the clanmaster had claimed did not exist, and she had become a direct threat to his credibility and therefore, his leadership.

     Suddenly, Dawn feels something rubbing at her thighs. She sits up to see Cliff in a kneeling posture with one of his hands sliding up and down her inner thigh. Instinctively, she slaps his hand away.

     “What are you doing
?
” Dawn demands.

     “Come on, miss. I know you want it. I’m not like those men. I’ll be gentle,” says Cliff, with a dirty grin on his face.

     “Cliff
!
What are you doing
?
Are you crazy
!?
She’s young enough to be your daughter
!
” yells Grace.

     “Keep out of this, Grace
!
I want her
!
I want some fresh meat
!
I’ve suffered all my life, but no more
!
I want something young and fresh before I die
!
I don’t have much time left, you know that
!
” barks Cliff.

     “Stay away from me, old man
!
” warns Dawn.

     “Don’t worry
!
I’ll be gentle. I’m well experienced, you know
!
” says Cliff with the dirty look still on his face.

     “Cliff, no
!
” protests Grace as she catches Cliff’s hand.

     “Leave me be
!
” yells Cliff as he slaps Grace across the face.

     Grace collapses back to the ground, trembling and crying. But as Cliff turns around, Dawn punches him straight in the face and breaks his nose. Cliff falls to the ground while Dawn gets on her feet.

     “Argh
!
You broke my nose
!
I’m not going to be gentle with you. No, miss. Not going to be gentle at all,” says Cliff as he gets back on his feet.

     Cliff runs at Dawn with his hands aimed at her shoulders. Dawn steps forward and swings her elbow vertically upwards at Cliff’s jaw. Cliff slips and falls at the impact. Dawn wastes no time in stomping her heel onto Cliff’s nose and chest. She stomps and stomps and stomps.

     “Stop it
!
Please stop
!
Please, Breeze, please
!
” pleads Grace.

     Dawn stops. Grace runs to her husband’s unconscious body and kneels beside him. She shakes him hard and then feels for his breaths and pulse.

     “He’s dead… He’s dead
!
You… you’ve killed him
!
You’ve killed my Cliff
!
” cries Grace.

     Dawn gave Grace a fierce look. Grace shrinks away from Dawn.

     “That’s enough
!
Shut up
!
” said Dawn suddenly.

     The acting was over. Dawn regretted her decision to fake being raped. It did not go as planned. But who would have thought a gentle elderly man would turn out to be such a hideous monster
!
As a highly skilled assassin, she should have known better than to make judgements based on appearances
!

     “But you’ve killed my Cliff
!
” cried the elderly woman.

     “Shut up
!
Shut up or I’ll kill you just like I killed Cliff
!
” threatened Dawn as she pulled out the hunter’s knife that she had in her canvas bag and pointed it at Grace.

     Grace’s expression changed from sorrow to shock. Her voice left her. She just sat on the ground with her mouth opened wide.

     “Do you have a shovel
?
” asked Dawn.

     “Yes, at the back of the cart,” answered Grace.

     “Stay here
!
If you run, I’ll chase you and kill you
!
Do you understand
?
” instructed Dawn.

     Grace nodded. Dawn left to get the shovel.

     Dawn took two hours to dig a grave big and deep enough to bury Cliff in. Grace just sat silently beside Cliff’s body, looking at the young woman whom she had thought to be an innocent victim. But as Grace watched Dawn dig, she realised that Dawn was not who she made herself out to be. When the grave was ready, Dawn dragged Cliff’s body over and threw him unceremoniously into it and then filled it with soil.

     Half an hour later, Dawn was driving the cart with Grace seated next to her. Grace was silent, and so was Dawn. Dawn had discarded her torn clothes and had dressed herself in Grace’s clothes, looking like a farmer’s daughter in an oversized, second-hand dress. The disguise looked good, thought Dawn to herself. She might still salvage the situation.

     It was mid-afternoon when Serene arrived at Garrison Timberstock. She ordered the garrison commander there to loosen the roadblocks and security checks so as to let Dawn slip through.

     “Minvian, you must be joking
!?
” said the garrison commander, a soldier who also held the rank of minvian.

     “Joking _ I am not of this, minvian; as a matter of fact I am quite serious
!
” said Serene firmly.

     “But I need authorisation for this
!
I cannot just simply let her slip through
!
The order is to capture the assassin, not give her free passage
!
” protested the garrison commander.

     “Aware _ I am of this about the order, but I need for her to be left untouched until such time I am ready to apprehend her; so I am countermanding the current order and I assume the full responsibility for doing so. Report _ you may do of this to your superiors that you are now complying with the requirements of the Royal Guards,” insisted Serene.

     “Very well, minvian,” relented the garrison commander.

     “Gratitude _ you have mine of this,” said Serene courteously as she bowed and left his office.

     Just a few hours later, Dawn and Grace arrived at the northern roadblock leading into Timberstock.

     “Good evening madam, miss
!
” said one of the soldiers manning the roadblock.

     “Good evening, soldier
!
What is going on
?
” asked Grace.

     “Nothing, madam. Just routine checks. I need your names, place of origin and reason for entering Timberstock,” said the soldier.

     “My name’s Grace and this is my daughter Breeze. We come from the outskirts of Eastcap Grand Town and are here to trade timber and firewood for money and provisions,” said Grace.

     “Standby while we check your cart
!
” said the soldier as he and his comrades checked every inch of the horse-drawn vehicle.

     “All right madam, miss; you may go,” said the soldier as he waved them pass.

     The horse-drawn cart rolled along lazily. After a long while, Grace turned around and looked at Dawn.

     “They’re looking for you, aren’t they
?
” she asked.

     “That’s none of your business, Grace,” retorted Dawn.

     “You’ve killed my husband
!
I don’t blame you for doing so, but the speed and efficiency with which you did it tells me that you’re no ordinary woman. So who are you exactly
?
” asked Grace.

     “Keep quiet or I’ll kill you, too
!
Now smile and pretend that we’re excited to be here
!
” said Dawn in a low yet firm voice.

     “You’re going to kill me anyway, right
?
” objected Grace.

     “I hope not to do so, unless you cause trouble for me. Now stop asking these questions and answer mine
!
Where do you trade your items
?
” commanded Dawn.