To Claim the Elvin Princess: Apprentice (27 page)

48

Rasten had sat one evening, absorbed by a book of personal recollections, penned long before by an Elvin female, who had fallen into the hands of the Eridians, and had been a slave for nine years. Her anger had been sharp, but her observations precise and honest, even though they made him cringe at times.

I found the Eridians to be well ordered and much inclined to a hearty and stern self-discipline. There is much expectation within their society regarding how life should be. From the doing of chores and common tasks, to the way the people relate to each other, there is a deep and well established routine regarding how things may be done.

This orderliness starts early, with the children, who are sternly ordered and cared for. There is much play only until about age four, when the child is given small tasks, and then expected to contribute in enumerable small ways, to the doing of life. Boys especially, but also any females who are of sufficient strength and ability, are begun in the work of arms starting at age five, and what passes for play, from then on, is mostly mock fighting, using small wooden swords. Growing up in such fashion, their general level of skill at combat is remarkable.

The men mostly treat women as servants, except for those with proven ability regarding weapons, who are much desired and revered as companions. I observed more than one young man falling to a female of better skill, and ending up her mate, he having lost the right to refuse her desires! Otherwise, a woman can expect to be sternly regarded, and well disciplined, but if she does as instructed, she is respected and often much loved. I found the regard of both women and men for each other confusing often, compared to the regard the Elvin have for each other. They seem capable of much stronger loves, but are plagued by wicked bouts of jealousy as a consequence. A mate, especially a female, flirting with someone other than their partner, risks a handy thrashing, and a man caught with his hand on someone else’s women, will get swift practice with his sword, for his violation of the norms...

...I was mostly amused when not confused, by the ways in which infidelity are treated. We Elvin have no expectation of such, and finding your partner in bed with another is simply an opportunity to play with someone else! Not so for the Eridians, who regard such as justification of a beating at minimum, and occasionally a painful death! What astounded me the most was their inclination to engage in such dalliances, in spite of the stern penalties attached to getting caught! That they do so, is undeniable, as the number of children born bearing no resemblance to their mate’s partner is quite astoundingly common. The Eridians, having no idea of genetics, merely find this odd and puzzling, and shrug it off as some manifestation of the gods. Their simplicity and ignorance allows them to get away with this, while pretending to observe their own rules! The thing that disturbs me most is that I could have told them the truth, but chose not to. That I feel now like a partner to their misbehavior still troubles me....

...There were moments when I was being raped repeatedly by my captors, when I would have had no hesitation to curse the lot of them, and give the order to wipe them from our world. At more sane moments of reflection, I found myself almost liking them, seeing something wonderful in their simple lives. The knowledge that the Elvin passed through this same primitive barbarity untold eons ago, makes me humble, and more inclined to forgive them their treatment of me...

...That I was spared a worse fate, simply for being beautiful and female, is also disturbing. Several of the men had much regard and desire for me, and treated me well. That they lack the skills of the Elvin, in sexual matters, was disappointing, but not nearly as terrible as their aversion to bathing! I did manage to instruct several in ways to be more pleasing to a female, and no doubt there are several Eridian women who owe me for such too, benefiting from what I taught their men...

...the Eridian women were more inclined to hate me, simply for existing, at least initially. They were openly jealous of my appearance, and were incensed that their men folk found me highly desirable. Had the men not forbid such, I would likely have been cut and disfigured, to ruin my visage...

...however, the children found me interesting and kind, and responded to me as such, at least until they became older, and picked up the attitudes of the adults. I was pleased that my steady determination to be helpful, eventually eroded the women’s spite, making them less focused on just my appearance. This was a large victory, and made life much more bearable. Still, anytime one of the women was forced to sleep alone, as her mate chose to be with me, I was again confronted with a new bitter and angry one. Still, it was better to confront this one by one, then to have the entire tribe against me...

...having spent nine years as their captive, feeling abandoned by my own people, it is amazing to me at times that I didn’t succumb to their offer, and become a full fledged Eridian warrior. It is hard to fathom oneself choosing to remain basically a slave, or worse, the village whore and plaything, rather than to be free to wield a sword, something I spent my entire life doing. Yet I must confess, the reluctance to fight against my own people was both deep and wide. I also understand that I would have willingly suffered more abuse, even death, rather than to turn against my own kind, to spare myself such suffering. I hope that would be accorded a sign of character, and not foolish cowardice, but my ordeal is too personal for me to honestly judge it wisely. I shall leave that to other, wiser sages...

Rasten gently closed the book, and laid it carefully on the table. He sat immobile many long minutes, considering the words he had read, moved profoundly by the thoughts and observations of its writer. Amein had come in the room and stood silently watching him, letting him absorb what he had read, knowing how much reading it had touched her.

When he finally moved a bit, he noted her, and looked intently at her face. “She’s a relative...isn’t she?” Amein smiled hugely, delighted by his guess.

“Princess Liariea was father’s great aunt...she lead the campaign to subdue the Trocaridians and fell in battle on that distant world. That statue of the Warrior Princess in the great hall...that’s her!” Amein declared, bursting with pride.

“When was that?”

“Almost two thousand years ago...she was a mere child, being barely four hundred, but she is revered by every Elvin girl, especially those who choose to pick up the sword! If you want to understand how much that’s true, mention her name to Leinien or Narimein sometime!” she insisted.

Amein had slipped close, and Rasten turned to let her onto his lap. “You want badly to be regarded like she is...don’t you?” Amein blushed at this, a look of complete guilt touching her face.

“Every Elvin girl secretly does! But boys have their own heroes too! Our father is one of them!” she sighed. “We Elvin greatly love our history, and invest much pride in the doing of great deeds. We are quite prone to hero worship, likely more than we should, but that’s just part of being Elvin. We’d be naked without our pride!”

“But doesn’t pride tend to foster arrogance?”

“It might among humans, but we work hard to keep that from happening!” she declared, sounding to Rasten majorly snotty and stuck up. He tickled her hard, which left her a disheveled mess.

“Stop that!” she scolded.

“Don’t be so pretentious. I suspect you’re a lot more snooty than you want to admit!” he suggested.

“Maybe...but then, we do have a lot to be proud of!” she sighed.

“How much do you have to be ashamed of, but refuse to face?” he asked. The silence was profound, as Amein sat, avoiding even glancing at him. “Well?” he prodded, poking her ribs with his index finger.

“Stop that! We aren’t perfect, and every Elvin knows that. We do teach our young all of our failings and mistakes...we just don’t dwell on them!”

“Really? What’s your worst mistake as a race?” Rasten asked. Again he was greeted by silence. He touched her ribs with his finger, tentatively, which brought forth an exasperated sigh.

“Don’t you dare! Alright...I told you about what we did to the Narisinians; nothing we’ve ever done will top that bit of evil...but...we’ve done other things wrong too!” she sighed.

“Such as?”

“We were once wrong about what another race had done. We were sure they had used a wicked sorcery to visit destruction on another group which we were close to. Our leaders decided to punish them for doing such, but too late, we discovered that our belief was wrong! We have never forgiven ourselves for that mistake either!” she moaned, looking miserable.

“I take it your punishment was a bit harsh?”

“Worse than harsh: we wiped out the entire race!”

“How many was that?” Rasten gasped, finding this staggering somehow. Amein shrugged.

“Maybe fifty or a hundred million...even if it had been ten, our guilt would have been as strong!” she sighed. The magnitude of such death stunned Rasten. “You think we’re completely wicked, don’t you?” she managed to snivel.

“That’s a pretty strong screw up! I’d be ashamed of that too!” he declared, slipping his arms around her. “I’m assuming you’re determined to never repeat that mistake? Wait...this is why the Eridians are still alive, isn’t it? No matter how much they hurt you, you can’t find the will to just wipe them out?!” Amein nodded.

“Mostly our own shame is all that keeps us from doing so! You know how tired we are of this war! Still, those of us who confront our history, and know the guilt of being wrong, hesitate to be that abrupt. Rasten, you will have to confront your own feelings of hatred and anger against them too, as you watch our people die in what is essentially senseless combat! Never lose sight of this; the enemy are people too, with hopes and dreams, with lives and families. Were we to find peace, they would make great allies, strong and courageous. The skills and strengths that make them terribly foes, would make them welcome friends too, if we could find the way past this ceaseless warring!” she insisted, the intensity of her words revealing her deepest feelings.

“You want more than anything to be the Elvin Princess, who finds that peace, don’t you?” he asked, understanding how profoundly she hungered for this to be her legacy.

“Enough to die for it! Rasten...if I fall in battle, promise me you’ll never stop searching for that peace! I want that more than any other thing to be what I’m remembered for. Enough of our people have won honor by deeds of arms. What we need on our own world is a lasting peace, for this world to be home and a secure refuge for all the races, and for them to have friendship and harmony! Promise?”

“Yes. You sound like a hippie girl,” he teased.

“What’s that?” she asked, completely at a loss.

“Several decades ago on earth, we had a bunch of spoiled young people who rebelled against authority, wanting peace, love and harmony, while doing nothing likely to accomplish that. They were slutty too, eager to toss off the prudish strictures, and have sex all the time, with whomever they pleased. They eventually all grew up, and became their parents!”

“Really? I like the slutty part...maybe I’m part hippie?”

“Are you in the mood now?”

“I’m an elf...I’m always in the mood!” she giggled, kissing him.

49

“Are you serious?!” Rasten demanded, having just been told that he would lead the attack on the Eridian village, where the Elvin captives were thought to be held.

“Very...you have shown great aptitude for tactics and an exceptional amount of sense and judgment. Only with real experience will you develop them more. This is a small task; a small force attacking a small village...it will be a perfect opportunity for you to be tested, and well informed. All the training in the universe is no substitute for having to battle real enemy warriors with real weapons, and having to kill or fall yourself. You will learn much about that which is within you, by doing this!” Lord Comarien declared, grinning slyly, he having been Rasten’s main instructor for warfare and tactics.

Rasten would have complained to Amein about what he considered the dubious nature of this decision, but before he could, he discovered that the decision to give him this responsibility was hers. This gave him pause, if for no other reason than his understanding of her stubbornness. He was less than eager to engage in a contest of wills with her. Still, after dinner he raised the subject.

“I understand I have you to thank for the opportunity to lead the attack on the Eridians?” he asked, trying to sound both grateful and reasonable. Amein had her back to him, fiddling with an arrangement of flowers.

“You think I’ve lost my mind, don’t you?” she succinctly replied, hiding her grin.

“I do have...well, it seems a stretch to me!” he sighed, knowing he was doomed to lose any argument.

“You have more than enough skill and training...what you lack is confidence!” she insisted, turning and crossing her arms. “There is only one way to gain that! Thus, your ass is going off to battle! I trust your instincts, and wish you to also do so!”

“I hope I don’t get anyone killed!”

“I have no such worries...those going have been hand picked, and are well seasoned and experienced. You will not need to hold their hands! All you’ll need to do is lead, and keep alive...the Eridians are disinclined to be impressed by your lineage or station!”

“How much will you worry?” he asked.

“Enough...I’ll likely cry too...but that’s not a reason to shirk my responsibilities! I didn’t go to all this bother to have you fail or be afraid to do your duty!” she advised him.

“I just hope the warriors aren’t taking bets as to how much I screw up!”

“They’re not inclined to do such a crass thing...elves do have
some
decorum!” Amein snipped.

Rasten wisely resisted the urge to say anything, turning his thoughts to what he should consider, to prepare for the attack. His first effort was to find the ones who had been spying on the Eridians, and consult them, wanting to have the latest bit of insight as to what their enemy was doing.

“We saw no mass of terranaks, such as would indicate that more than one village had come together. The Kaderi village looks much like normal, except that one can see an occasional Elvin female doing something. The Eridians are fond of using our people for chores, when they aren’t raping them,” one of those who had just returned advised Rasten when he inquired.

“We have no way to know if some of them are elsewhere, do we?” Rasten wondered.

“No, and we likely won’t. I can’t imagine they’d ever all be outside at the same time, where we might spy them.”

“But wouldn’t the Eridians wish to share them? If others came from surrounding villages to help capture them, I’d think the others would wish to share in the spoils!”

“You’d think so, but the Eridians are strange. Perhaps the others were given more goods and valuables...they don’t think like we do, or so it seems!”

“If they are spread among several villages, we’ll be raiding more than one...I’m not inclined to leave a single one behind!” Rasten declared.

“Are you willing to kill every single warrior in a village? That may be more likely than you’d prefer...the Eridians don’t like being bested, and will fight to the last man...or woman! They much prefer death to losing!”

“They think that’s heroic? I find that stupid and crazy!” Rasten complained.

“You can think it anything you like, but you still have to deal with it. I’ve seen many of them cut their own throat, rather than be captured when they are wounded or beaten.” This gave Rasten pause.

“On Earth...the world of my birth, we were only a few centuries removed from a time when much of humanity existed as barbarians, and were as foolishly inclined. Perhaps I should not look down on them?” he proclaimed.

“What ever you might think of them, they are certainly brave, even foolishly so. That makes them dangerous!”

“I’m concerned that someone might escape, and warn the nearby villages...if the Elvin are spread around, they could be easily killed before we could get there!”

“Have no fear...our flyers will make sure none get aloft, and escape! Any on foot will be too slow to give a warning.”

Rasten decided that he needed to have a better grasp of the Eridian village they intended to attack, and so went to the Citadel’s enormous library, where maps of all Am-Coteiru were kept. The topographic ones let him visualize the terrain, and the others, well drawn to scale, gave him valuable insight into how close the forest cover might be. Much of the surrounding land was open farmland, or pasturage, but the north side of the village was scarcely fifty paces from the tree line.

Rasten used a ruler to gauge the distances, noting that the forest ended barely three hundred paces to the north, in at least one pocket. The idea that they could swing wide, and approach unseen, landing most of their force to the north, and swiftly making their way through the forest, suggested itself clearly. If the remaining flyers flew low, and wrecked havoc on the village warriors, capturing their attention, the bulk of the Elvin could slip between the houses at a run, and engage them fully.

When he had the chance to speak with Amein, he laid out his ideas and plans, wondering what she might say.

“What if they spy you, or if one of the women do, and sound the alarm? How will you manage if more than the normal number of warriors are present? If you don’t scout them at all, you’ll be going in blind!”

“I somehow think that is less foolish that giving them warning, by overflying the village just before we attack!”

“Are you sure? What has been happening all along?”

“We’ve been surveying...well shit, there’s the answer...we can fly high over head the day before, and they’ll think its just a normal thing!”

“See? Always look at any problem from many avenues, to make sure you don’t miss something. In the midst of a battle, there isn’t time for contemplation. You’ll find that time flies when you are fighting, especially when things get dire!” 

“I assume even the best plans can go to hell quickly?”

“They often do,” Amein suggested, nibbling her lower lip. “Your job is to make sure you and all the others aren’t dragged to your doom also!”

They spent two days preparing, and sent word to the Elvin villages nearest their target, to expect them, and to be vigilant, should anything involving the Eridians become visible.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to come across a whole group of Eridians, coming to raid our own? We could punish them quite well, and on the spot too!” Narietin insisted, he being one to have volunteered to go on this mission.

“I suppose that depends on how many we had to engage!” Rasten sighed, feeling less enthused and more nervous than the Elvin who would accompany him. “You really enjoy fighting?” he wondered. Narietin shrugged.

“We are quite good at it, and it is exciting. Once you get past peeing down your leg the first couple of times, it likely won’t bother you!” the elf laughed.

“Great...how many actually do that?”

“Most, but few will admit it!”

“Including you?” Rasten teased. Narietin suddenly look disturbed, it suddenly dawning on him that thanks to Rasten’s truth sense, there was no answer that would not reveal the truth.

“I had to empty my boot like many do!” he admitted, and laughed. “But so do most others. Ask Amein about her first battle sometime, but don’t do it with her in arm’s reach!” he teased.

The flight to the Elvin Village of Haeirine took two days, their sixty flyers stopping to camp near a small encampment from which the Elvin mounted patrols over nearby Eridian lands. They considered this a precaution, not wishing to give any potential Eridian a reason to inflict retribution on the helpless people of a village, for some how having aided their Elvin foe. Stopping thus also let them hear news of Eridian movement and activity.

They talked into the darkness eager to hear a full accounting. The fact that there had been little movement on the part of the Eridians seemed hard to fathom.

“So none have been in motion?” Rasten asked, curious.

“Only the occasional messenger, flying to and fro. We’ve seen no sign of the Eridians moving in mass or even by twos or threes,” one of the camp flyers declared.

“I’m not sure that is good or bad!” Narietin sighed. “This is the time of year they move about, raiding each other and us. I can’t imagine they’d give that up, unless they are planning something else! They know we expect a certain amount of raiding each year...perhaps they’ve decided to do something more wicked?”

“Assuming we’d be disinclined to expect anything more than the small raids? That would be a perfect strategy! Shocara might like that!” Rasten suggested.

“Let us hope the ones we’re going to see are as disinclined to expect us!”

“I hope they haven’t moved or killed our females...I’d hate to have to wander all over Eridian lands looking for them!”

“If they’ve killed them, they may not be a problem much longer...Amein would have little choice but to inflict a wicked fate onto them, no matter how loath she would be to do so!” Rasten proclaimed harshly.