Kell's Legend

voice small, and hugged Kat.
    “Everybody leaves me in the end,” she said.
    “No! I will be there for you. Forever! Until we die.”
    “Until we die?”
    Nienna squeezed her friend, took her hands, pressed her cold skin, her frozen fingers, and huggedher like the sister she’d never had. “I swear on my soul,” she whispered.
    The boat ride had slowed, and within a couple of hours they finally left the clinging veils of ice-smoke and mist behind. A new world opened before them, fresh and bright as they drifted from wreaths of haze into a landscape of rolling fields crisp with frost and patches of snow. Large hills lined the horizon, many thick with great scars of conifer forest, junipers, yews and blue spruce, great green and white swathes that stretched in crescents across the undulating hillsides peppered with teeth of rock and littered with pink and magenta winter heather giving bright splashes of colour.
    Eventually Kell guided the boat to the banks of the river lined with towering silver fir, and they cruised for a while in silence, each huddled in their own damp clothing, stinking from the tannery, lost in thought at the recent, savage events that had overtaken Jalder.
    “There,” said Saark, pointing.
    Kell nodded, spotting the small stone cottage backed by yews, and guided the boat towards a shingle beach where he leapt out into the shallows and dragged the boat up the shingle with a grunt. He stood, axe in pink chilled hands, as the others jumped free and Saark joined him, rapier out, searching for any possible enemy.
    “You think they’ll follow us here?” said Saark.
    “Have you ever seen a creature like that Harvester?”
    “No.”
    “Me neither. I’ve no idea what they’ll do, my friend. But for now, at least, we’ve put a good twenty milesbetween us and the…madness in Jalder.” At his words, he saw Nienna shudder and he moved to her, placing his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, Nienna. We’ll build a fire.” He hugged her.
    ‘I was thinking. Of mam.’
    Kell frowned. “She’d gone to work at Keenan’s Farm, yes? To work on the pottery?”
    Nienna nodded, face frightened.
    “That’s eight miles out of the city,” said Kell, soothingly. “She’ll be fine. Trust me. The enemy want the garrison; it’s not worth their effort scouring the countryside for every little farmstead.”
    Nienna gave another nod, but Kell could see she wasn’t convinced.
    They approached the stone cottage warily. It was single storey, simple in construction with a thatched roof. No smoke came from the chimney, and no livestock scattered in the yard as was normal for these modest but cosy dwellings.
    “It’s deserted,” said Saark, kicking a bucket which clattered across the mud.
    Kell threw him a dark scowl, and moved to the entrance. “What’s the matter? You sorry there are no serving wenches at hand to see to your every petty whim?”
    Saark shrugged, and stood, a hand on one hip, his rapier pointing at the ground. He plucked at a tattered, stained cuff. “Well, I’m sorry there are no serving wenches sat on my hand, Kell old horse. It’s been commented in social circles how I can supply the most exquisite of pleasures to even the most buxom pigs with a face like a horse arse.” He smiled, showing neatteeth. “I have a certain way with female flesh. And with male flesh, come to think of it.”
    “Keep your thoughts to yourself,” said Kell darkly, “or you’ll have a way with my fist,” and he entered the cottage. He emerged a moment later, and gestured them inside. They stepped in. The floor was flagged with stone, and a table and several chairs, old, battered but expertly crafted, stood in one room. A kitchen bench ran down one entire wall containing wooden plates and cups, and a large jug. The second room contained a huge bed, still scattered with old blankets. Saark peered in, and tutted.
    “What’s the matter now?” snapped Kell.
    “No silk sheets,” smiled Saark, and rubbed at weary eyes. He yawned, and stretched. “Still, it’s good enough for tonight. I’m going to take a nap.”
    “No you’re not,” said Kell, turning to face him across the long table.
    “Excuse me?”
    “I said,” growled Kell, “you’re not going to put down your head and leave all the work to us. We need wood for the fire, water for the pot, and I spied a vegetable patch outside with cabbages and potatoes. They need to be pulled from the frozen soil and scrubbed clean.”
    “I’m