Kushiel's Dart

word of assent. "Well, then!" Gunter said loudly, looking at the rest of us. "You will stay with me, wolf-cub, and you, Brede. For the rest, you will do what is needful, and we will meet here when the sun is two fingers above the hill, eh?"
    I was left unsure of my own role, but Hedwig and another woman-Linnea, her name was-both dismounted, and Hedwig beckoned me, a kindness in her face. My homely Knud reached over to take the reins of my mount, and would not meet my eyes.
    Gunter and Brede had dismounted as well, and Gunter made an impatient gesture at Joscelin. He remained in the saddle, blue eyes darting, his horse dancing a little at the pressure of his knees. If I was hard-put to guess what was happening, it must be ten times worse for him; he had come quickly to grasp rudimentary Skaldic, but it was hard to hear, with everyone milling about in the open air. "My lord, my oath is based on my lady's safety," he reminded Gunter.
    "She will be safe, wolf-cub," Gunter said quietly. "She goes to a King, and you with her."
    Joscelin met my eyes, and I nodded. He dismounted and tossed his reins to one of the thanes.
    And then Hedwig took my arm and led me away, and I could only glance over my shoulder, watching as the men went the other way, and people stared and murmured.
    In the women's hall, they stared no less, and there was venom in the whispering that followed. I cannot help but be grateful, in my deepest heart, for the kindness of Hedwig and the example she set for the women of Gunter's steading. And though she had neither seniority of place nor age in the women's hall, she commanded it as if she did, bustling others out of her way and securing the bathing room for our usage.
    It was warm in there, and humid. Linnea busied herself with filling the tub. Like Knud, she would not meet my eyes. Hedwig stood waiting, and did not look away. I loosed the pin on my fur cloak and let it fall to the floor.
    "What did he bid you, Hedwig?" I whispered.
    "To polish your beauty so it shone," she said gently.
    I undid the bindings on the furs about my legs, then unlaced the kirtle of my woolen gown, stepping out of it. "Did he tell you why?" I asked, shrugging off my underskirts of undyed wool and stepping into the tub.
    "Yes," she said, even more gently, then shook her head. "Child, if I could do aught about it, I would. But'tis a man's world we live in, for all that they give us a voice in it."
    I reached out for her hand then, and kissed it as I had the first day. "Hedwig, you have given me kindness, and that is more than I deserve," I murmured. This time, she did not snatch her hand away, but laid it open against my cheek.
    "You brought beauty to my steading, child," she said. "Not just in your face, but in your manner. You listened to our songs, and made them beautiful. I thank you for that."
    So I had meant something to her, to the folk of the steading, and not just as Gunter's plaything. It made me weep to hear it, though I poured water over my face and showed it not. I could not afford, then, any more pity. I finished my ablutions, and when I had done, Linnea helped me into a gown of combed white wool. Where they had hid it, I do not know. It was a little crumpled from the journey, but the heat of the bathing room eased the creases. I sat quietly then on a stool while Hedwig combed out my hair, teasing out the tangles of eight days of travel until it fell in a wealth of dark, shining curls.
    "Mark the sun where it stands," Hedwig said to Linnea. She gave a quick nod, and slipped out of the room.
    "Am I ready, then?" I asked.
    Hedwig gave one last flounce to my hair. "If Waldemar Selig has seen anything like you," she said with satisfaction, "I will eat my shoes." It was unexpected, and it made me laugh. She smiled then, and hugged me roughly. "I'll miss you, child, I will at that. You and that beautiful lad both."
    And then Linnea came scurrying back, an alarmed look on her face. "They're gathering," she gasped, picking up our things.
    If I was a gift fit for princes, surely I was fit for barbarian kings. I donned my fur cloak, and left the women's hall with Hedwig and Linnea, ignoring the murmurs.
    Outside the great hall, representatives of several steadings had gathered. We stood together, the folk of Gunter's steading, and tried to stand tall in our pride; I daresay even Joscelin and I were no exception in this, and if I had not the height to match the Skaldi, at least I had the pride.
    The slanting sun cast a blaze