Everlasting (4)

A fantasy story

Previously:

Part one

Part two

Part three

Nothing was real, the earth mixing with the sky, the wind bending the very fabric of the world around him, the sand biting his eyes, pebbles slamming every uncovered patch of his skin. Nothing was real, except Ani holding onto Aereus’ body, screaming her heart out in terror.

When the wind calmed, the world around them seem to unfold in an unseen cruelty. Bright daylight clashed with Aereus’ blue irises; his bare feet sunk in the ice-cold mud of Autumna. He was standing barefoot on the enemy’s ground, with nothing but a sword and one of his enemies holding on to him for her life.

“Calm down! It is over,” he said. She would not let go for quite a while. Neither did he. His left arm wrapped around her; the sword held by his right.

“We should’ve never left Crane’s shack,” Ani whispered.

“We could not have stayed there forever,” Aereus said looking into her eyes.

“I wish we could…” Ani’s voice was softer than the reeds whispering around them. Autumna, the land of everlasting autumn, was covered in moors and lakes, reeds, tiny trees, and bushes.

Aereus couldn’t look away, lost in the darkness of her eyes…

“Sorcery…” he shivered and muttered, finally letting her go. He looked around – nothing but moorlands as far as the eye could see. The east wind bore a heavy scent of dead, rotting flesh.

“What are we to do?”

“Get away from here as fast as we can,” Aereus said, holding his sword at ready. They were still not far enough from the battlefield.

“We have no proper clothes, no shoes, we ‘ll freeze…” Ani whispered frantically.

“Shhhh…” Aereus hissed, shielding her with his body. He heard a horse galloping; the sound came from the nearby bushes.

A horse did indeed emerge, breaking its way through the bush, but lucky for the two, there was nobody riding it. The animal approached quite calmly, as if sent directly toward them. Nobody followed it, nor did it shy away, when Aereus grabbed its reins.

“Whoa, whoa,” he held the horse down, though there was no need for it, the animal did not resist, nor object to the two rummaging through the large saddle bags it carried. Clean clothes, boots, some food and even a pair of warm hooded cloaks.

A crane bird cried loudly flying over their heads.

“She’s looking after us. Crane,” Ani said.

“I do not like sorcery,” Aereus grunted.

“Crane’s sorcery saved your life. If the sorcery does good, it cannot be so bad, can it?” Ani spoke softly, touching his face. Aereus could not move or even take a breath when she looked deep into his eyes. All he could do was nod foolishly. The horse neighed as if replying to the crane bird. Aereus woke from the magic of Ani’s eyes. Must avoid staring straight into her eyes, he noted to himself. Whatever this sorcery was, Aereus could hardly resist it.

A terrifying howl resounded through the bushes, following the horse.

“A wolverine!” Ani grabbed Aereus’ arm. He knew the sound well – giant wolverines, monsters of the old with large human bodies and wolves’ heads lived in the Northern woods of Hebeny where he’d spent his childhood. A sound he wished to forget.

“It must be following the horse. Those bastards love fresh horse flesh even more than corpses,” Aereus said with disgust. He shook his head. “Sorcery attracts nothing but trouble.”

Another howl interrupted Aereus. “We must leave at once!”

They put on the cloaks.

“I must apologize, but since we have only one horse, and we’re in great haste, we must…”

“Stop talking and help me up, dimwit!” Ani scolded him with a smile.

He helped her, then climbed onto the horse behind her. The Autumnian horse was smaller than the tall Hebenian stallions, yet it was sturdy, and what’s even better - it knew the safe paths through the moors.

When the howls fell far behind them, Aereus finally realized, he had never held a woman this close. Ani had snugged in his lap, while he held the reins; she did not shy away from making herself comfortable between his arms. Autumnian women, he though swallowing hard.

Aereus turned to assess their whereabouts, no time to indulge in futile feelings, - the landscape was dull and grey.

Not only was the land cursed, nay, it seemed dead! The stench of decay and death was truly sickening - how can one stand living on this rotten earth?

“It is still early spring. Yes, Autumna is the land of everlasting autumn, but it can be very beautiful. It is my home,” Ani replied, because yet again Aereus had been thinking out loud.

He blushed heavily, thanking the Foreverold Ani didn’t glance back at his face.

“I shall leave you in the first safe place I can find,” he said bluntly.

To which Ani gave a quick laugh.

“There is no safe place for me here anymore. Now that my father has passed, I have only one path ahead of me.” She went quiet.

“What?”

“Maybe lonesome young women in Hebeny have a different fate, but in Autumna we are destined to become whores.”

“No! But…impossible!” Aereus could not comprehend such disgrace!

“Autumna is a cursed land,” Ani said grimly.

“Then where…?” Aereus was yet again interrupted but this time it was something he saw with the corner of his eye. A large column of smoke rose behind them.

“They are burning the dead,” Ani explained.

Aereus’ heart filled with rage. He had heard stories of Autumnians being brutes, but this was beyond his understanding. Hebenians buried their dead with dignity. Especially the soldiers.

“I despize this land!” He grunted. He rushed the horse onward.

“I shall take you to Hebeny and find a decent house for you to work and live,” he said sternly. Though the only Autumnian women he had ever seen had been ugly old whores luring young men into the local brothel, he was certain there are decent homes in need of maids. If not, Aereus own mother could surely use another woman to help her around the house. Only until Aereus finds Ani another safe place to live in, of course.

“If we live long enough to get there,” Ani said, hiding her face in Aereus’ embrace.

Indeed, Aereus’ grim thoughts were overshadowed by even darker ones. He was a soldier on enemy’s land - clearly not an Autumnian. His light skin, blue eyes, and copper-colored hair gave him out. The tawny, dark haired Autumnians would behead him without asking any questions. He was a mere glance away from death.

Without him, Ani was an unprotected young woman in the wilderness of Autumna. Whether apart or together, they were doomed, yet together they had at least a tiny chance to survive.

“We shall not die in Autumna. I promised my mother that my grave won’t be found of the cursed land,” Aereus grunted. He did not look back at the smoke rising behind them, nor did he say a word about the stench of burning flesh filling his lungs.

They rode as far as the horse would carry them until it was exhausted.

“There! There would be a good place to rest.” Ani’s dark eyes scanned their surroundings. She pointed at a slightly elevated spot, covered with a thick patch of bushes. There was a small meadow behind it, where earth did not feel as damp as elsewhere. The horse grazed on the grass while the two sat on a pile of bushes Ani had made Aereus cut down. They didn’t dare to make a fire, instead they took the untouched food from the saddle bags.

They ate in silence, trying to ignore the stench of burned corpses in the air around them.

“There’s no clear water source nearby. Here, drink!” Ani gave Aereus a leather flask from the same saddle bag. He had presumed it’s some kind of a strong beverage.

“What is it?”

“Snakeling Strong water. The best booze in three kingdoms. Have you not ever tried it?”

“No, I do not enjoy strong beverages.”

“It is not about enjoinment,” Ani smirked, “when there’s no clean water or fire, this quenches the thirst, and keeps one warm. Try it!”

Aereus did, but regretted his choice the very minute the drink reached his tongue - it was liquid fire running down his throat! He gritted his teeth not to spit it out. Yet, after he overcame the disgust, his mind grew sharper, and his limbs - warmer. Indeed, it was a cold day, and the fog gathering in the bushes whispered of the approaching night. A drink like this could save a life on a cold Autumnian night.

It also made Aereus tongue loosen up for a conversation.

“You said you did not choose the sword, but clearly you know how to use it,” he said.

“My father had always wanted a son. Mother died giving birth to one. He had nothing but a daughter left. So, he taught me sword fighting. Though my hands were never made to hold a sword in them.”

“What were they made for then?” Aereus drunk tongue made him ask questions which he would never dare to ask sober.

Ani smiled warmly.

“I can barely remember my mother’s eyes, but what I do remember is that with her around, the hearth was warmer, and our house was full of love. My hands were made to keep the hearth burning, to make warm meals for a good man, and to cradle our children. Everything I did not receive from my mother, I long for giving to my children.”

Aereus sat with his mouth ajar staring in her eyes. Such a humble wish moved him deeply. He did not know how or why his hand touched her face gently. Ani kept smiling invitingly and closed her eyes submitting to his warm palm cupping her cheek.

A lonesome howl in the distance woke him from the strange sorcery he had fallen under once again.

“The wolverine is following us!” Ani whispered terrified.

“More will come this way. Since they cannot have the corpses now, the bastards will hunt down anything in their path. They can smell us a mile away. At least the wind works in our favour.”

Both climbed back onto the horse. It was not pleased, having rested only a short while, yet even the horse knew the howls meant danger.

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To be continued…

Thank you for reading! The next part is coming next Saturday.