Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Aine

It was so warm. Where was she? She inhaled and the scent of rain and wild flowers filled her nose. Home. She was home. wrapped up in her mothers arms. She squeezed her mother tight. She never wanted to let go, or open her eyes. If she did she knew it would all disappear. But why? Why would it all vanish? She couldn’t remember, but she was certain it would, so she squeezed her eyes tighter, determined not to open them and risk loosing this. Gentle fingers tipped her chin up, a calloused thumb brushing over her cheek bone. 

“Aine, open your eyes my sunshine.”

“No, you’ll disappear if I do,” she whispered shaking her head and burying her face in her mothers apron. It smelled of flour and honey.

“Oh, my sweet,” her mother said giving her a quick squeeze before lifting her face again. “We don’t have much time, please look at me.”

“What?!” Her eyes popped open, alarmed. Why didn’t they have much time? Her mothers tan face and glowing amber eyes came into focus, a smile gracing her lips. 

“Why?” Áine whimpered, her mothers face becoming blurred through the tears she was trying so hard to hold back. 

“Listen to me, sunshine. Remember that if you listen closely it will guide you. Listen to it. Trust it,” she said as she began to fade. Suddenly they separated, her mother slipping through her arms as if being pulled away by unseen forces.

“Nooo!” She screamed. “Don’t leave me! Give her back,” she choked on a sob, her protests lost as her mother disappeared completely, blown away by a far off breeze. 

“Listen...” her mothers distant words brushed her skin, as Áine curled into a ball of dispair. She couldn’t do this, not again. 

You must. Rise my child, a foreign voice wisked through her, like a the first rays of sunlight on an early winter morning, thawing her frozen soul. Slowly, she began to relax into the warmth. Without warning the heat became scorching. 

Rise! the voice boomed.

Strong hands gripped her shoulders, shaking her none to gently. She thrashed, but found couldn’t move properly. What the hell was going on! The hands pushed her roughly into sand and a weight pinned her hips down, effectively hampering her struggles. 

“Get me some water,” a deep lilting accent yelled from above her. She squirmed as much as she could before exhaustion hit her, all her strength suddenly seeping from her limbs. She sank down down down into the earth, falling past her body, past whomever pinned her down, past consciousness. She was so tired. All she wanted was to sleep forever. To return to that warm place in her mothers lap and never return. 

Abruptly she was yanked back into her body, cold liquid drowning her as she sputtered and heaved, trying to roll onto her side away from the water, only managing to turn her head and get one shoulder off the ground. Coughs racked her body to the point of pain. When they finally subsided she cracked her crusty eyes open, the water having washed most of the dirt from her lashes. A large body hovered over her. As her vision cleared a pair of unfamiliar, stern chocolate eyes came into focus. They studied her as she stared back unflinchingly. Blinking, the rest of the scene suddenly focused and she realized three things, (1) she was pinned under the brown eyed man, (2) she was surrounded by at least five other people, (3) and she had been captured. 

The last realization came with a flood of memories; her escape from the Kingsmen, her stupid decision to brave the dessert, and her encounter with the Nahati tribe. She barred her teeth and growled viciously, glaring daggers at the man straddling her as well as the people surrounding her as she tried futilely to free herself. 

“Get. Off. Me.” She hissed, bucking her hips as best she could and wrenching her wrists. He held her hands above her head, pressing them hard into the sand. The rope binding her wrists was chafing her already raw skin but her ankles didn’t seem to be tied. Unfortunately, the behemoth of a man sat squarely on her thighs, her torso caught between his knees.

“Is she awake?” a sultry female voice drifted through the people as they parted. 

“Yes, ____ (word for leader),” the man pinning her replied.

She paused her struggles as a beautiful woman appeared in the gap of the crowd. 

“Good,” she said, meeting Aine’s glare head on. They studied one another, sizing each other up. After a long moment the woman ordered the others to return to their previous tasks. 

The woman returned her gaze to Áine as she hissed, resuming her struggle, “get this lug off of me!”

The woman seemed to contemplate it for a moment, watching Áine futile thrashing. 

“Release her, Ammon.”

She tensed at the words, immediately stilling. The man atop her hesitated briefly before he swiftly rose and backed away. As soon as his weight lifted from her, she swung her feet up and to the right, rolling over her shoulder to land in a crouch, poised and ready. With a glance she quickly took in her surroundings. They were at the edge of a camp. Cloth tents dominated the landscape behind her captures, people dressed in long, billowing clothing blended into the landscape as they went about their day. Through a gap in the tents a little to her right she could see horses taking shelter under a large awning. 

It was sometime in the morning, the sun high enough for the sand to already be warm. 

So, she’d only slept one night. Hopefully. Other than the camp they appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless sand and sky.

In front Áine, the woman, stood calmly while the man who had held her down took up position just beyond her right shoulder. She must hold some sort of rank. They watched her, waiting. 

Slowly, Áine rose, her muscles protesting. Despite the nights rest she had gotten thanks to that blow to the back of her head, she was still exhausted. And her head was killing her, from dehydration or the nasty lump she was sure she had on the back of her skull, she didn’t know. Most likely both. But she ignored it all - her muscles, her head, her aching stomach - making sure to keep her movements controlled. She couldn’t let these people know how weak she was right now. Not if she wanted to escape. 

Turning to her companion, the woman asked, “Her condition?”

“She’s weak. Probably hasn’t eaten or drank in at least a day,” he replied. 

“Hey!” Áine snapped.

They ignored her as the woman sighed, “really,  solid grounders never prepare properly.” 

They were really ignoring her! That just lit a fire under her. How dare they? And the woman had even turned her back to her, as if she thought Áine was not even a threat.  Fine. If they wanted to play it that way, she would make them regret it. Áine lunged forward, looping her tied hands over the woman’s head and under her chin, pulling up in warning. They all went still. She studied the man, waiting for him to react to her obviously threatening position. But he just stood there, annoyed. 

“Give me a dagger now, or I coke her to death,” she demanded.

He just raised an eyebrow, “I’d like to see you try.” 

Was he trying to provoke her? His nonchalance made her blood boil. She pulled tighter against the woman’s neck to show him she wasn’t messing around, until she felt the cold tip of a blade slice through her shirt and press into the skin between two of her ribs. A small trickle of warm blood snaked down her stomach and she froze. 

“Is this what you were looking for,” the woman croaked, her voice rough with Aine’s rope around her neck. They stood there statue still as Áine considered her options. Of which, all were less than favorable. Slowly Áine relaxed her arms, the woman retracting her dagger at the same pace. 

Suddenly, she was back on the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Stars danced before her eyes briefly before the woman’s face came into view. Aine wheezed trying to breath, but beyond that she didn’t dare move for fear of the blade now pressed against her throat. 

“You’re right,” the woman said as the man appeared over her shoulder, “she is rather weak in her current state.” He grunted.

Honestly, Aine had to agree. Her strength was gone, along with her anger and any fight she had left in her. 

“Look,” she gulped after finally getting some air into her lungs, “if you’re going to kill me, just do it.” 

The woman chuckled, “I’m not going to kill you,” she said sitting back. Then, quick as a snake she sliced her dagger downward towards Aine’s stomach. Áine flinched, waiting for the pain… and waiting. When no pain came, she cracked her eyes open to find the woman had cut her ropes, not her stomach. She gracefully rose, holding a hand out to Áine. Confused, Aine warily took the woman’s proffered hand to be pulled effortlessly to her feet. 

“Let’s get some food and water into you. Wouldn’t want you dying, now would we,” the woman smirked. 

“What?”

“Food, mila. Lets go.” 

Áine didn’t move. What was this woman thinking? Áine had just threatened and attempted to kill her and now she was just going to let her enter the camp? And feed her? Was she insane?

“Why?” She blurted.

The woman smiled solemnly at her before grinning widely, mischief glittering in her eyes. “We’re all friends here, heavenschild. There are no supporters of the Dalgerstane King here.” 

Aine followed, still perplexed. Every other time her heritage had been discovered, she had been shunned and feared. And every time she had had to run. She could count the number of times her heritage had been discovered on one hand, but each and every time had yielded the same result: her fleeing and their chase, weapons in hand and fear in their eyes. 

This... this never happened, and she didn’t really know how to react. She certainly didn’t trust these people, but she didn’t feel the same hatred from them, only a curiosity as the busy people took a moment to watch her pass by. She made eye contact with each of them, keeping her demeanor stony. But she too found herself curiously studying the camp. Who were these supposed “friends?”

“Who are you?” Áine asked warily as they headed for a large covered area that appeared to be a dining space. There were no walls, just a large cloth awning the same color as the desert floor hanging above their heads. Low tables circled by Large colorful blankets waited for them. One table had food and drink spread across it. The woman made a bee line for it as she glanced over her shoulder. 

“Can’t you tell?” She smirked. Aine glared at her. She had an idea but Áine wanted to hear it from the woman’s mouth. Her glare didn’t even faze the woman, instead the wonam’s grin broadened. 

“Alright, alright. Chill, mila. I welcome you to the Nahati Tribe. Or at least, the largest of the Nahati tribes. Among those who know us were are called the Nahati Caldani. 

Just as Áine had suspected. But this woman wasn’t just anyone in this tribe. From what she knew of the Nahati, they were a matriarchal society. And the way these people respected and listened to this woman, the way she commanded her surroundings, she was someone important. But how important? And what were her intentions?

“And you? What do they call you?” Aine asked. 

“You may call me Aadyani.”

“And what does everyone else call you?”

“Oh, you’re a perceptive one aren’t you. Don’t get cheeky, mila. You wont make any friends that way,” she commented, both a warning and... was she teasing Áine? She hadn’t been teased like that since... she couldn’t remember. 

“I thought you said we were all friends here,” Áine remarked, ignoring Aadyani’s warning as she paused, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the woman. Aadyani merely brushed her off, as she flowed down onto a cushion at of the table filled with food. Suddenly the smell of the rich spices and juicy meats hit Áine, her stomach growling loudly.

“Eat first, then talk.”

Áine hesitated at the woman offer, still not trusting the woman. But she could barely stand as it was, her body still running on the dregs of the adrenaline left behind after their earlier scuffle. She dropped onto the cushion across from the woman and with one more cautious glance at her, Áine snatched a water skin and drank greedily.

“Pace yourself, mila. Don’t want to thrown up, do you?” She chuckled. Aine paused mid gulp and then took one more slow swallow. The woman was right, and Áine knew it. But she didn’t like it. She narrowed her eyes at the woman. Slowly and with great restraint, Áine began filling a wooden bowl with food. She passed over the meats and went for the beans and legumes first, knowing she should eat something that would be easy on her stomach first. Áine was no stranger to hunger and starvation, and she had learned a few things over the years. The woman watched her approvingly. She couldn’t tell if this was a test but it certainly felt like one. 

“So?” Aine prompted after a few bites.

“Hmm?” Aadyani hummed.

“Who are you?” She asked again.

Aadyani studied her. “Among my people I am known as ____ (word for leader).”

That word again. “And what does that mean?”

“It means they follow me.”

So Aine’s suspicions had been correct. She nodded. 

“And?”

“And what?” Aadyani asked innocently. Áine rolled her eyes. Like she didn’t know what Aine was asking. 

She chuckled, “Alright, mila. You want to know why you’re here.”

She gave the woman a no duh look over her bowl as she shoved another mouthful of food in, before taking another swig of water. 

“Well, we don’t make a habit of leaving half dead children alone in the desert.”

Aine’s cheeks heated and she swallowed.

“I am not a child,” she growled.

“Oh, aren’t you though. Heavenschild,” she probed. 

Aine went still, her face hardening. She resumed her eating slowly, debating how to answer.

“I dont know what you’re taking about,” she finally said after a bite. 

Aadyani had called her a heavenschild before and Aine knew they had seen her playing with light, but that didn’t mean she was going to admit it out loud. For all she knew, that was what they were waiting for. A verbal confirmation before imprisoning her and/or sending her off to the king to be executed. 

Aadyani sighed. “You dont need to hide it, mila. It’s ok. No one here will harm you.”

“Oh really?! Then what was that earlier?” she motioned frantically back in the direction they had come. “Why did I wake up pinned beneath that behemoth with my hands tied? For that matter, why was I knocked out in the first place?” She spat viciously. Did this woman really expect her to trust her? No. Never. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t, she would not trust anyone ever again. 

Aadyani‘s face hardened, all sympathy and pity gone. “I dont know you, mila. You are a stranger in my home, among my people. And you’re a heavenschild. Clearly, you have some training or at least some skill. I am ____ (leader). These people are my responsibility. You are as dangerous as and unpredictable as a sand dragon, and you expect to be treated any other way? Really? I’m not an idiot, girl. I treated you as I would treat any outsider, any threat. You’re lucky I decided to untie you. Don’t make me change my mind.”

They sat there in silence, glaring at each other. After a few long seconds, Aine yielded and looked away. 

“I didn’t ask you to bring me here,” she mumbled putting her half empty bowl down. “And I will leave as soon as you show me to my horse.”

“Your horse? Oh no, I dont think so,” Aadyani said. 

Aine growled, baring her teeth, “Well she certainly isn’t yours.”

“I beg to differ. I raised that mare myself.”

“And then you sold her off to some rich scum to live her days cooped up in a stable!”

“While I’m not proud of that, it was necessary. And I thank you for bringing her back.”

“I didn’t bring her back,” Aine gritted through clenched teeth, balling up her fists, “I liberated her, so therefor she is mine. Finders keepers.” This time she didn’t back down as they glared at each other. There was no way Áine was leaving here without that horse. She was hers.

“I admire your spirit, but neither of you are going anywhere.”

“Like hell.”

“We are at least five days from the nearest border town and I’m not letting you leave with my horse only for you to kill the both of you with your aimless wandering,” the woman snapped.

“I wasn’t wandering aimlessly,” Áine protested, but her words sounded flat even to her own ears. They both knew she had been hopelessly lost. But what other choice had she had. She was on the run from the kingsmen. 

“S**t,” she whispered under her breathe, her whole body tensing as she glanced out into the greater desert beyond the camp. She had totally forgotten about the kingsmen. She had to leave now. She couldn’t stay here. While they didn’t technically have jurisdiction, if they found out that the Nahati were aiding a fugitive of the kingdom, the tentative peace between the Tribe and Dalgerstane would shatter. And While she didn’t trust these people, she wouldn’t put them in that kind of danger. Nor would she wait around to be found by the kingsmen. She knew they wouldn’t be like her. They would enter the desert prepared and they wouldn’t stop searching until they found her. They had made that clear during their relentless pursuit. Even the dangers of the desert wouldn’t stop them.

“What is it?” Aadyani asked, following her gaze to the empty desert before looking back at Aine with a worried expression. Aine debated telling the (leader). Then she remembered the woman’s words, she would protect her people at all costs. And Aine was the biggest threat to them at the moment. If she told the woman what was coming, maybe she would toss her out, send her on her way, hopefully pointing her in the right direction first. 

“I’m being chased,” she said, gaging Aadyani’s reactions. Her eyes darkened her lips thinning into a line.

“By who?”

“The kingsmen.”