A/N For the record, the plan was for Jareth to slide quietly out of the story after the last chapter. Then someone said, "I wonder who Jareth Chose?"
Since the answer was supposed to be "I have no idea, he just rode off into the sunset and lived Heraldically ever after", I really didn't expect to see him again.
Until that question.
And then I started wondering. And then he showed back up and this happened. Y'all have only yourselves to blame. :-)
Chapter 29
The first bell woke Kyminn into the pre-dawn darkness. His small trainee's room was a far cry from the guest suite he had lived in previously, but this one had immediately felt far more homelike. It was the work of a few seconds to tidy the blankets and ensure the room was presentable. In the still-quiet bathing room, he checked his appearance in the polished plate and fingered his chin for stubble. Shaving was starting to become more and more of a necessity these days.
As he regarded the young man staring back at him, Kyminn wondered if he appeared as changed on the outside as he felt himself to be on the inside. The past four moons had seemingly vanished without a trace. Working lather onto his skin, Kyminn tried to catalog the changes.
First, there had been Jareth, Bryann and Shifa, leaving to Choose. They hadn't actually needed his assistance in getting tacked up, there was a team of grooms serving the unpartnered Companions who were more than happy to help. The request had been more in the way of a leave-taking, although Jareth had gently insisted that his own tack be seen to by Kyminn's hands. It was a warm reminder of their many days on the road and the hundreds of times Kyminn had fitted Jareth, Derris and Bryann into their harness.
Bryann had returned the soonest, appearing with his Chosen within a scant two days. Bryann's Chosen was a quiet, serious young woman. Stocky and dark haired, Herald Trainee Corielle was well matched to the solid and thoughtful Bryann. Just a few weeks into her training, she was already gaining a reputation for someone who thought before she spoke and who could be counted on to give a measured opinion. This, combined with a profound loyalty and deeply protective streak, augured well for her future as a Herald.
Shifa was the next to return, although it took her most of a moon to do so. Her Chosen was Herald Trainee Dar. Dar was possibly the smallest trainee ever to grace the Herald's Collegium. At the time of his arrival, he was also inarguably the scruffiest. The child of backwoods charcoal burners, Dar arrived completely illiterate but with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things woodland. Scrubbed, trimmed, and dressed in something beyond soot and rags, Dar proved to have an irrepressible cheerfulness and willingness to apply himself to overcoming any and all obstacles. Any who attempted to pity him for his past were treated to a shocked look and his tart rejoinder.
"Aye, but I be knowin' I have all the larnin of that there stone. But whut I does has is good fambly and no heart for shirkin'. 'Append that 'appy ain't all for gewgaws and whatnot. We as had naight fer things but alls fer us, and that twere enuf, belike. I'druther a cold hearth and warm fambly then warm fire and nobbut cold things. Poor an 'ungry ain't noble and I don't say tis. But oncet you gots that, don' need so much else as decent folk. And if the price for keepin' food on the table and decent folks about is a mite of 'ard work, well, thas alright nor me."
Jareth had taken fully four moons to return, having arrived early the previous day. Their appearance had caused a near riot of consternation both Herald's and Healer's. It was highly unusual, to say the least, for a Companion to arrive, exhausted and nearly freezing, bearing his newly Chosen. The sight of a staggering Companion bearing a bleeding and pneumonia - racked Guardsman right up to the door of Healer's had acted like a beehive tossed into a temple.
Kyminn had been assessed as far enough advanced in his skills to be assigned shifts at the duty desk. He was thus the first to encounter Jareth and his burden. Kyminn had paused only long enough to ring the alarm bell in the "minor emergency, more hands needed" sequence before leaping to assist. A flick of his Gift ascertained that Jareth himself was uninjured, freeing Kyminn to concentrate on the rider.
The first person to arrive was a fellow senior trainee and Kyminn promptly sent her pelting off to bring in assistance from Herald's. Two other Healers arrived on her heels. One helped get Jareth's Chosen out of the entryway while the second saw to Jareth. Cutting away the frozen coat, the other Healer asked "Any idea what happened? Why is a Companion bearing a Guardsman? And who is he?"
Kyminn busied himself with his patient. "I don't know. Jareth here," a nod in the appropriate direction, "left to Choose four moons ago. I am guessing that this," a nod for the unconscious man, "is his choice."
An affirmative snort and stamp confirmed Kyminn's guess. Jareth had come inside the flagstone entryway itself. He was being as unobtrusive as a Companion could be – which, in the confined space was 'not very'. It was clear Jareth had every intention of overseeing his Chosen's care as much as possible.
"Pneumonia, both lungs. Arrow wound…still embedded…right hip. Slashes, relatively minor but inflamed, right chest wall.." the Healer cataloged the injuries. He noticed that Kyminn had grown still and looked up sharply. "What is it, Trainee?!"
"This man. This guardsman. I know him." Kyminn's face was a study in shock. "His name is Allek Bellman. I last saw him last spring, when he was assigned to our village when we needed help with Randen and Derris. He's also my cousin."
"And now he's here, wounded and on an exhausted Companion. Well, mysteries later, treatment first."
Within a short time, the newly Chosen had been whisked away for treatment in one of the rooms set aside for Herald. Jareth, in turn had been settled into the adjoining Companion's stall. All in all, it took several marks and the presence of a mind speaking Herald before they got any answers. The tale, as relayed from Jareth, was more misfortune than mystery.
Guardsman Bellman had left Oakden not long after Kyminn had. The Guardsman's new posting was some distance away, along the Karsite border. It was a perilous posting and well lived up to the adage that the only thing to come out of Karse were bad weather and brigands. Still, Bellman had been hale, whole, and overwhelmed with joywhen Jareth appeared in late autumn and Chose him.
Sent on his way well equipped and with the envious good wishes of his comrades ringing in his ears, the newest Herald Trainee began the long journey back to Haven. An already quite passable rider, the pair were able to make excellent time, it being mutually agreed they would prefer to spend more winter in Haven rather than on the road.
A fortnight into their journey they encountered their first major storm. The waystation was spare, but more than adequate to the task and they were able to press on their way within a few days. Slowed by storms and impeded by snows, their pace slowed drastically. The third storm caught them out of shelter and only Jareth's memory brought them, snow blinded and half frozen, to the door. Unfortunately for them, they weren't the only party taking refuge from the storm.
The brigands within were warm, rested and well armed. When Allek pushed open the door, the surprise was equal on both sides. His guard training had his numb, mittened hands clawing for his sword even as he tried to back out of the room. The interlopers, suffering no such impediment, swung first. To Allek's credit, the swordsmen succeeded only in scoring a glancing blow to his ribs before he was able to twist out of the way. He threw himself back up on Jareth and withdrew into the storm. Neither of them even saw the arrow, shot blindly into the dark, until it pinned him to the saddle.
Wounded, outnumbered and under armed, there was no possibility of their retaking the waystation. Their only option was to press on, putting some distance between them and the foe. They traveled for another mark, trusting the snowfall to obscure their track and blood trail. They spent the remainder of the night curled under the sweeping boughs of a pine where Allek bound his wounds as best he could.
As soon as weather permitted, the pair detoured to the nearest guard station. There they were able to rest and have Allek's wounds treated. Although the post's Healer proved to be away, assisting a nearby village experiencing snow-fever, Allek's wounds were straightforward enough that the trained Guard assistants were able to manage. Getting the arrow out proved trickier, but it came out cleanly enough.
Within a few days, Allek felt well enough to travel. They left the Guard the problem of ousting the bandits from the waystation and resumed their journey. This time, Jareth was determined to move them as quickly as possible and began moving them cross country when possible, short cutting the wanderings of the track. Within a sennight, they were holed up again, waiting out yet another squall. This time though, the wound on Allek's hip was hot and swollen, and a deep, raspy cough had settled into his chest.
The conference between the two went well into the night. At Companion speed, they were little more than a sennight to Haven. Closer still were at least two good sized towns and several estates. While it was possible that one of the estates might have a Healer, it was certain that at least one of the towns would. The problem, like always, was one of time, space, and resources. In this case, clear weather. To divert for one of the towns risked being trapped there when the next big storm blew in. If there was no Healer, they could possibly run out of time. Back and forth. In the end, although he couldn't have said why, Allek pressed Jareth to head directly to Haven. With no reason to say otherwise, Jareth consented, and nine days later, staggered back into Haven.
Kyminn finished shaving and pulled on a clean uniform. Yesterday the Healers had removed strands of cloth from Allek's hip, forced in when the arrow pierced his skin. Embedded, the strands had festered. The wounds were now healing, but the pneumonia would take longer. Jareth and Allek were not among those assigned Kyminn as patients, although he fully intended to check in on them both. He didn't mind, he had more than enough to do as it was.
Although the Collegium had agreed that Kyminn could be passed into greens, the assessment had identified several areas where he would benefit from further study. As a result, he found himself enrolled in three senior classes for advanced learning and practical experience in surgery, bone setting, and obstetrics. The last was his weakest area – his mother and grandmother had generally handled most of those cases. He had ample training, but most of his practical experience had been with cattle and horses, not humans.
When his knowledge of equine obstetrics came to light, he was promptly informed that as Companion mares did not foal with the same ease as horses, a foal watch was always maintained when a Companion was near her term. While Heraldic trainees took on that duty for unpartnered mares, a Healer was on call for all of them. Kyminn would be added to that roster. He'd simply nodded and factored it into his schedule: classes, clinic duty, two afternoons a week seeing mothers-to-be at the Temple of the Three. Two afternoons at the Temple of Thenoth, developing his skills in animal healing. One evening a week in Ethics with Delassia and the senior review group. Chores in the kitchen and laundry.
Kyminn shook his head ruefully and headed for his shift in the kitchen. Life was certainly no longer boring. The chill winter air seemed to match his mood as he thought on what his Gift had told him in that brush with Jareth, a Foresight he had recorded and passed on to the Heralds the day before.
A Companion charging.
A flashing axe.
Companions and horses screaming.
A flash of white, rearing.
Death.
Jareth, screaming.
Summertime. Coming.
