Hawkmistress! (51 page)

“God forbid,” Romilly said, shaking her head, “but if he makes Mallina happy, better her than me!” She could not imagine how anyone could tolerate that man, but Mallina had always been something of a fool, perhaps they deserved one another! “Anyhow, Mallina would be the kind of docile and obedient wife that Garris wanted.”

Ruyven said, “You are so fond, you say, of my father; but have you yet gone to greet your own?”

“My father can willingly dispense with my company,” Alderic frowned stubbornly. “He has never sought it; he sees only my mother in my face.”

Romilly remembered what she had guessed before she left Falconsward; Alderic was Carolin’s son! And therefore, rightfully heir to all these lands….

She bowed and said, “Let me take you to your father, my prince.”

Alderic stared and laughed. “Romilly, Romilly, my young friend, if you have believed me the king’s son, better that you know now how you have misjudged me! Carolin’s sons are safely in the care of the Hastur of Carcosa, and I have heard rumors that Carolin is courting a certain leronis of Tramontana-” he smiled at Ruyven and said, “That was in the air even before you left the Tower, my friend.”

“And Domna Maura has promised to wed him, if the Council gives leave,” said Ruyven, adding grimly, “Providing any of us escape this war. Rakhal fell upon us with clingfire-arrows; we managed to fight him away, but he will rally and be upon us again, and the Bearer of Burdens knows alone what devilry of laran-work he will fling against us when next he comes! So make haste to greet your father, ‘Deric, for this is but the lull before the storm, and by this time tomorrow we may be fighting for our lives! Would you greet your Gods after death with the stain of kin-strife still upon you? For it is most likely you have come only to die at your father’s side.”

“As bad as that?” Alderic asked, searching Ruyven’s face. Ruyven nodded, grimly.

“We are, as I said, at the center of the storm; at peace for a moment, no more. Carolin has need of all the leronyn he can summon to his side, ‘Deric.”

Romilly interrupted, “What is this? If you are not Carolin’s son-“

Alderic said quietly, “My father is called Orain, and he is foster-brother and friend of Carolin. I was reared at Carolin’s court.”

She reached for his hand with sudden confidence. She should have guessed, when he had spoken of the way in which his father could not endure to look on him. Carolin, even in an unwanted dynastic marriage, could have shown courtesy and kindness to a woman; but, as reward for her moment of foolishness, she had seen straight into Orain’s heart. She was sorry for Alderic that he had not known a father’s love; for now she knew how blessed she had been in that love.

“I am the king’s hawkmistress,” she said, “and he will have need of my bird soon, if we are to meet Rakhal again on the field of war. And, no doubt, your father is with him.”

“I doubt it not at all,” Alderic said, “He is never far from the side of his king. When I was younger, I hated him for that, and resented it because he cared more for Carolin’s sons, and even Lyondri Hastur’s little son, than for me.” He shrugged and signed. “The world will go as it will; love cannot be compelled, even within kin, and to such a man as my father, my very existence must have been a painful reminder of an unhappy time in his life. I owe Orain a son’s duty - may I never fail in it - but no more. Kinship, I sometimes think, is a joke the gods play, to bind us to those we do not love, in the hope we can somehow be reconciled to them; but friends are a gift, and your father has been a friend, almost a foster-father to me. When we are free of this war-” he touched her hand lightly. “We need not speak of that now. But I think you know what I would say.”

She did not look at him. There had been a time, indeed, when she had thought she would willingly have married this man. But much had happened to her in the year since then. She had desired Orain himself, even though he had not wanted her. And Ranald … what had happened with Ranald was not the sort of thing which led to marriage, nor would a Drylands lord be likely to marry a mountain Swordswoman; indeed, she did not think she would marry him if he asked, and there was no reason he should. Their bodies had accepted one another joyfully, but that was under unusual conditions; she would have accepted any man she supposed, who had come to her and offered surcease from what was so tumultuous within her. But apart from that, they knew little of one another. And if Alderic knew she was not the virtuous maiden she had been a Falconsward, would he even want her?

She said, “When this war is done, Lord Alderic-“

“Call me Deric, as your brother does,” he interrupted her. “Ruyven and I are bredin, and as friend to both your brothers, I owe you always a brother’s protection, even if no more.”

“I am a Swordswoman Deric,” she said. “I need no man’s protection, but I will gladly have your friendship. That, I think, I had, even at Falconsward. As for anything more than friendship, I think-” uncontrollably, her voice was shaking. “We should not even speak of that, until we are free of this accursed war!”

“I am grateful for your honesty, Romilly,” he said. “I would not want a woman who would marry me just because I am the son of Carolin’s chief counselor and friend. My father married because the old king wished to honor his son’s foster-brother by giving him in marriage to a high-born lady; they despised one another, and I have suffered for that; I would not wish my own children torn by hatred between their parents, and I have always sworn that I would marry no woman unless we were, at least, friends.” His eyes, levelled and gentle, met hers, and for some reason the kindness in them made her want to cry.

“For anything more we can wait - Swordswoman.”

She nodded. But all she said was, “Let us go, then, and greet your father.”

But they did not reach Carolin’s tent before they met Orain, hurrying toward the place where the birds were kept. He said, “Mistress Romilly, your sentry-bird is wanted-” and stopped, blinking, at the sight of her companion.

“Father,” Alderic said, and bowed.

Orain took him, for a moment, in a brief, formal embrace. The sight hurt Romilly; she was so accustomed to Orain’s rough affection. She thought, he would have greeted me with more kindness than that! He said, “I did not know you had come, my boy. Carolin has need now of any who are skilled at laran; perhaps you have heard that he came down on us with clingfire.”

“I heard it when I came to camp, Father,” Alderic said, “and I was making haste to offer such small skill as I have to Carolin’s service; but I came first to greet you, sir.”

Orain said, with constraint, “For that I thank you in his name. The king’s leronyn are gathered there-” and he gestured. “Mistress Romilly, bring your bird; we must know how long we have before Rakhal falls on us again.”

“Are we to march out on Rakhal, then?” Alderic asked, and Orain said, with his mouth set in a grim line,

“Only to get free of the bodies here, so that we can maneuver if we must. If Rakhal has clingfire at command, we dare not meet him in the woods, or all this land will be burned over between here and Neskaya!” And as Romilly looked toward Carolin’s headquarters she saw the tent struck, and the Hastur banner taken out by his guardsmen. Alderic glanced once at Romilly, but all he said was, “I must join the others, then. Guard yourself well, Romilly,” and hurried away.

She went back swiftly to prepare herself for riding, and set Temperance on her saddle, leaving it to Ruyven’s young assistant to strike the tent and pack it for moving with the army. Could Rakhal indeed be so thoughtless of the land as to send fire-arrows in forested country, at this season, and risk fire? Well, it was like what she had heard of the man. For that reason, if for no other, somehow they must defeat that unprincipled man who called himself king!

Now that she knew what she was seeking, it proved easier to send up the sentry-bird. Because of the rain, Temperance was reluctant to fly, but this time Romilly did not hesitate to send the bird up, almost to the bottom of the low-lying clouds. She flew her slowly in circles, gradually widening, so that she could see Rakhal’s army on the move. As she rode, half of her mind on the bird, she joined Carolin and his array of skilled leronyn, men and women; it crossed her mind, briefly, that she was one of them, that perhaps at last, she had found her true place.

I am Swordswoman still. But I am grateful that I need not bear a sword in this combat. If I must, I think I could do so, but I am glad that my skills lead me elsewhere. I do not want to kill… and then, grimly, she forced herself to be realistic. She was a part of this killing, as much as if she bore sword or bow into the battlefield; more, perhaps, for her sentry-bird’s eyes directed the killing. She took her place, resolutely, between Lady Maura and Ranald. One or both of them would remain in rapport with her, to relay the information to the ears of Carolin and his general.

It cannot be easy for Jandria, to go against Lyondri this way, and know that she will be instrumental in his death- and now there is no help for him but death. She was not sure at that moment whether the thought was hers, or Lady Maura’s, or even, perhaps, Lord Orain’s. They were all in a tight little group, clustered around Carolin, and Alderic was among them. At the edge of her awareness she saw Alderic greet Jandria kindly, and call her “My lady Aunt.” As if it were something she had dreamed a long time ago, it crossed her mind that if she married Alderic, she would be kinswoman to Jandria.

But we are sworn to one another in the Sisterhood, anyway, I need not that to be her kin. Alderic said it so; kinsmen are born, but friendship is a gift of the Gods….

Maura looked at her meaningfully, and Romilly remembered her work; she went swiftly into rapport with Temperance, who was still flying in widening circles over the great plain. At last she spotted, through the keen eyes of the bird, a darkening cloud of dust on the horizon….

Rakhal’s army, on the move, and riding swiftly toward the forested cover of the hills. As she saw, and as this information was relayed swiftly to Carolin, she caught the thought of the king, So he would hide within the cover of the trees, for he knows I am unwilling to use clingfire, or even ordinary fire-arrows, where there is danger that the resin-trees may bring on wildfire. Somehow we must overtake him before he reaches the forest, and do battle on ground of my choosing, not his. And Romilly sensed the touch of his mind on Sunstar’s; Lead my men, then, great horse….

She saw with a strange widening consciousness, linked to Carolin, to Sunstar, to all the men around her. She knew that Ranald had seized her horse’s rein and was guiding him, so that she could ride safely even while she was in rapport with the sentry-bird, and spared him a quick thought of gratitude. The ram was slowing, and after a time a strange, low, watery sunlight came through the clouds. She flew Temperance lower, over the armies, trying to fly high enough that she could not be seen, yet dipping in and spying…

Rakhal’s armies seemed shrunken in size, and off to the north she saw another body of men and horses. Were they coming to Rakhal’s aid, now that the first battle had thinned his ranks? No; for they were riding away from Rakhal’s main army as swiftly as they could. And Carolin’s thoughts were jubilant.

Rakhal’s men are deserting him, now they know what he is … they have no more stomach than I for this kind of warfare. …

But the main body of men was still formidable; they had come to a halt at the brow of a little hill, and Romilly knew, being in communication with the minds of Carolin’s men, that Rakhal had seized the most advantageous terrain, and would make a stand there and defend it.

This, then, would be the decisive battle. Under urging from Carolin, she flew the bird down closer, so that through her eyes, Carolin’s advisers might take stock of the size of the forces arrayed against them. Rakhal had the advantage, it seemed, in numbers, and in terrain.

Somehow we must lure Rakhal from that hill….

Alderic rode toward his father and spoke to Orain urgently for a few moments, and Romilly, what small part of her mind was not with the bird, heard Orain say to Carolin, “By your leave, my lord. My son has put me in mind of an old trick in the mountains, and we have leronyn enough to make it effective. Let me lead a dozen or two of your men, with the leronyn, to cast an illusion as if there were four times as many of us, to force Rakhal to charge down upon us; then you can come and take him on the flank.”

Carolin considered for a moment “It might work,” he said at last, “But I’ll not send your leronyn into danger; most of them do not even wear swords.”

Ranald Ridenow said, “My laran as well as my sword are at your service, my King. Let me lead these men.”

“Pick your men, then - and Aldones ride with you, all of you!” Carolin said, “but pick your moment carefully.”

“Mistress MacAran shall do that for us,” said Ranald, with his hand on Romilly’s bridle.

Orain said, “Would you take a woman into battle?” and Romilly, pulling herself free for a moment of the rapport with the bird-mind, said, “My lord Orain, I am a Swordswoman! Where my brother will go, I shall go with him!”

Ruyven did not speak, but she felt the warmth that said, not in words, Bravely spoken, sister, and with it a touch from Alderic. Somehow it reminded her of the day when they had flown hawks at Falconsward, at Midsummer-festival.

When I am free of this war, I shall never again hunt for pleasure, for I know now what it is to be hunted … and with amazement, she knew that the mind which held this thought was Orain’s.