Kushiel's Mercy

memory of my long search for Berlik, wandering through the endless Vralian forests. And I thought, too, of the night that Clunderry had staged a cattle-raid, the night that my bindings had broken and I’d ridden into the woods alone, compelled by Morwen’s summons. And then there was the night I’d entered the standing stones with Morwen, that terrible night, and the race through the woods afterward.
    It was a relief when the grey light of dawn began to filter through the trees. Paskal halted.
    “The forest should break in another league.” He pointed westward. “Unless I’ve led us astray, there is a shepherd’s hut where we can take shelter for a few hours. Can you keep going, your highness?”
    “Yes.” Sidonie looked weary, but her voice was adamant. “Thank you, messire, but you needn’t ask. I can ride as long and hard as need be. Just don’t let the horses founder.”
    Paskal glanced at me for confirmation.
    “She means it,” I said. “On both counts.”
    So we pressed onward. The going was easier in daylight, and despite my misgivings about his youth, Paskal was a good guide. We emerged from the pine forest to bright green hills, a stone hut visible in the distance.
    “Well done!” I commended him.
    He smiled with pride. “I can always find my way to anyplace I’ve been. My mother says it is because birds sang to me in the womb while she carried me.”
    “That’s lovely,” Sidonie murmured.
    Paskal’s smile widened. “Thank you, your highness.”
    He led us down the valley and up the far side to the shepherd’s hut. After being trapped in besieged Amílcar, I had to own, I felt my heart rise at the sight of all that open space surrounding us, green hills as far as I could see. We were exposed, but no one could come upon us unseen, that was a surety.
    There was a little stream where we were able to water the horses. Paskal carefully laid out the contents of his packs: a measure of grain for our mounts, bread and cheese and sausage for us. I bade Sidonie sit on the lumpy pallet in the hut and set about building a small fire in the pit in the middle of the floor. Elua knows, after Vralia, that was a skill I’d mastered beyond compare.
    “Do you want to take first watch or shall I?” I asked Paskal after he’d fed the horses.
    He looked surprised. “I will keep watch, my lord.”
    “Oh, no.” I shook my head. “Paskal, we’re dependent on you to reach Roncal before Astegal’s men. Once they discover they’ve been tricked, they’ll ride like the devil. We need you with your wits and astonishing bird-sense about you. That means we’re sharing duties, you and I.”
    “My lord!” he protested.
    “Imriel,” I said. “How old are you?”
    Paskal flushed. “Nineteen.”
    “Gods,” I muttered. He seemed younger; but then, I doubted he’d lived through anything close to what I had by the time I was his age. “Just do as I say, please.”
    “First watch, then.” He glanced at Sidonie. “I daresay her highness would appreciate it.”
    With that settled, Paskal went outside to keep the first watch, while I joined Sidonie on the lumpy pallet. “Are you all right, love?” I asked softly, folding my arms around her.
    “I’m fine. I could keep going if we didn’t need to breathe the horses. And I don’t mind taking my turn at watch.” She shivered a little. “My first real glimpse of war, that’s all.”
    “I’m sorry.” I tightened my arms around her. “Sorry you had to see it.”
    “No.” Sidonie was quiet a moment. “No, I think it was important that I did. Important that I understand what it is that I’ve asked Aragonia to do and what I will ask the Euskerri to do. Not only in abstract terms of freedom and country, but the real cost of blood and horror.”
    I pressed my lips to her hair. “You’re going to make a remarkable Queen someday.”
    Sidonie rested her head on my shoulder. “Not for a long, long time, I hope. My mother’s a remarkable ruler in her own right. I’d be more than happy to spend the balance of my days as a remarkable heir.”
    “That, my love, isn’t in question,” I observed.
    After that we slept for a time. It felt like only a few minutes before Paskal came to wake me with a tentative shake, but I could see that the sun had shifted. I freed myself gently from Sidonie. Paskal curled up in a blanket on the other side of the hut, and I went outside to keep watch for another hour or so.
    I hated to wake them. The little fire I’d