I'm uploading this without really having read through it, so apologies for any glaring errors!
I'm also afraid that might be the last of the speedy updates for a while - but it's a nice long chapter for you. Hope you're all still enjoying!
52
Ella barely had time to register what she was seeing, as the pitchfork clanged against her chainmail, forcing her back against the wall.
"You!" snarled her Uncle. "Of all the people in the world who had to turn up here, it had to be you? You're the reason we've been forced to live in this hovel, the reason our family has shunned us! I ought to run you through right now!"
Her hand found the hilt of her sword as Lorette cried in a small voice, "Aldren! No!"
He flinched slightly, just enough for Ella to draw her sword and knock the pitchfork aside. "Damn it Uncle!" she hissed. "You know as well as I do that none of that was my doing! And now isn't the time! Now get out of my way!"
Though her mind was reeling still from this discovery, upmost in Ella's thoughts was to get back outside and find some more of Third Company. Find Lady Kel. She needed to know what the situation was. She needed back up. She needed…
Ella blinked and looked again at the scene before her. Her mother was huddled against the wall, looking smaller than ever and terrified – not at all like the arrogant, strident woman from Ella's memory. Lorette had a bruise across one of her cheekbones. It could easily have been done by a Scanran warrior, forcing them to stay in the house, but a familiarity about the bruising told Ella someone closer to home might have done it.
Her gaze swung to Aldren, still grasping the pitchfork, but looking lost now as he stared back at his niece. As much as Ella despised the man with every fibre of her being, she suddenly saw him for what he was; a man fallen on bad times and not sure how to handle it.
"Look," Ella said, wincing as her left ear popped as well, making her own voice seem incredibly loud. She started again. "Look, is there a window in that room through there?" She had realised quickly that the three of them were squashed into some sort of store room. "Can I see out onto the street?"
Aldren frowned and twisted the pitchfork in his grip, but Lorette nodded. "Yes. There's a window that looks out onto the village green. But…the Scanrans…"
"I'll be careful, don't worry," said Ella shortly. Not waiting to see her uncle's reaction, she strode as purposely as she could into the other room. She had a brief glimpse of complete poverty – a single room with a sooty fireplace, a rickety wooden table and two beds separated by a ragged curtain.
Emotions leaping, Ella forced herself to concentrate on the small window in front of her, covered also by a ratty piece of material. Ducking below the sill, she pulled the fabric back an infinitesimal bit and peered out.
Nothing. The green was remarkably quiet, given how many men Ella knew were currently in the village. The sun was almost up now, its weak light allowing her to scan the area.
Rocking back on her heels, Ella went to chew her lip in thought and then thought better of it. She stuck her tongue again in the gap where her tooth had been, distantly wondering whether it would be noticeable when she smiled.
Focus. Ella fingered the griffin feather band under her helmet. If the mage reappeared, whether she was able to see him or not, there might not be any way she would be able to take him out before he used his magic on her. She could probably take one normal Scanran warrior – maybe, if he was smaller or over cocky – but if she ran up against a whole group of them…
She squeezed the hilt of her sword in frustration. The only other option was to sit here and wait it out. But that plan carried its own problems. If –
"Well?" Aldren's voice broke through her thoughts. He and Lorette had followed Ella into the room. "What are you going to do?" He still carried the pitchfork.
Ella rose to her feet and turned to face her uncle squarely. Somehow, he seemed smaller as well, or was it just that he had lost weight? "It seems quiet out there for now. I think the best thing is for me to find some of the others. I don't know what happened to the rest of my group after the mage…" She swallowed, remembering the ownerless limbs scattering the ground. "I don't know what happened to them," she continued, more firmly, "but I do know roughly where some of the other groups might be and I'm going to go and find them. Failing that, I'm going to try and get back to Third Company's camp."
"What…what should we do?" asked her mother, in a timid voice.
Ella stared. Lorette had never once asked Ella's opinion on anything, let alone something as serious as this. "Stay here. Both of you. You'll be safer."
"Not a chance!" growled Aldren. "I know your game. Abandoning us again! Leaving us to the mercy of these savage curs! We're coming with you!"
"You are not!" snapped Ella. "It's too dangerous. It'll be hard enough for me to get through on my own, let alone with the two of you in tow. As much as you might not believe this, Uncle, I don't want either of your deaths on my hands. You are to stay here!"
"I don't take orders from a brat! I'd rather take my chances with the Scanrans!" And without warning, Aldren had stormed over to the door and, before Ella could stop him, flung it open.
"No, wait, you – "
The words died in Ella's mouth as through the open door, she spotted two armed Scanrans. The men looked up at the sound and their eyes met. Cursing, Ella leapt towards the door and went to shut it.
Aldren tried to block her. "Get out of the way, girl! This is still my house and I –"
"You idiot, can't you see – "
The door was suddenly thrust backwards with enough force to send the two of them flying. Ella tumbled, her feet going backwards over her head and her sword spinning out of her grip.
The scene before her was confusing, until Ella basically realised she was looking at it from upside down at the side of the room. The two Scanrans had entered the small cottage, one of them, holding a war-axe, facing down Aldren, who was waving the pitchfork around like a madman – knocking things of the shelves and walls left right and centre. The other…
The other Scanran was advancing on Lorette, a terrible leer on his face.
Rolling, Ella scrambled to her feet, put her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. The man attacking her uncle did not take his eyes off the pitchfork, but the other turned at the sound.
"Oi! Leave her alone!" cried Ella.
Whether because the man thought she'd be easily dispatched – or because Ella's Scanran had been as awful as her language master always told her it was – he merely grinned even more, turning from Lorette and moving towards Ella instead. This one carried a broadsword, which looked to be at least twice as large as Ella's own weapon.
Which was now lying on the floor between them.
In a couple of strides, the Scanran had reached Ella. She watched closely as he swung at her with his blade, timing it just right to dive underneath the stroke. She slid across the floor and grabbed her sword, turning onto her back and bringing it up just in time to block his next stroke. On his third, Ella took the opportunity to roll to the side and to her feet. She feinted at him, making him think she was aiming for his shoulder, when in reality she went for his knee – a trick that Lady Kel had taught her. The man fell for it, yelling as her blade sliced into the muscles above his kneecap. Still, he managed to keep his footing, his next swing catching her on the upper arm. The blow could have been the end of her if it wasn't for the chainmail. As it was, there was enough force behind it that some of the metal links bent and dug into her arm. Grimacing, Ella managed to dodge his next move, sliding her sword into the unprotected flesh of his belly.
As the man crumpled to the floor, Ella stepped back and looked up just in time to see the other Scanran bodily pull the pitchfork out of Aldren's hand, decapitating him with the war axe on the next stroke.
There was an ear piercing scream from besides one of the upturned beds. Ella glanced quickly round to see Lorette huddled there, her eyes huge at the sight of her brother's headless body collapsing on the ground.
Moving so she was in front of her mother, Ella steadied herself for the oncoming warrior. The man had suddenly noticed his comrade dying on the floor and looked up at Ella with hatred burning in his eyes. He was a lot bigger than the man she had just beaten and the enormous blood spattered axe he carried looked like a child's toy in his hand.
Ella realised at that moment she stood no chance, but she still stood over Lorette and raised her sword, teeth gritted for what she knew could be her final moments.
The Scanran growled and took the couple of steps across the room, axe raised for the blow that would surely break Ella's sword in half.
And he stopped, a shocked look on his face. His gaze, and Ella's, travelled to the blade now sticking out of his chest.
Without warning, the blade vanished backwards and the Scanran seemed to deflate. In his place stood another warrior, slightly smaller, chainmail and tunic covered in blood and ash, a gore-spattered glaive gripped in their hands.
All Ella's Midwinters had come at once. "Lady Kel!"
"Ella, thank Mithros!" the Lady Knight's stern expression melted into relief. "The blazebalm…we thought…"
"The mage!" Ella cried suddenly. "He might still be – "
"He's not," broke in another, also familiar voice. Captain Domitan, looking more than a little worse for wear, stepped into the cottage. "We made sure of that. And I do believe that these two were the last of the Scanrans – though we still need a full report from all the groups."
All the adrenaline leaked out of Ella at that. Her arms suddenly lost all their strength, the tip of her sword hitting the stone floor. "Oh…Goddess…you're ok. What about the others from our group?"
"We lost two," Domitan's face was grim. "Tulric and Emin. Renner was badly wounded, but Sir Nealan was seeing to him the last I saw."
"Ro? Wyl?"
"Both fine. But we thought we'd lost you for a while there, little one."
"I'm sorry," said Ella. "I ran in the other direction and then couldn't find anyone and then I came in here to hide for a bit before trying to look for everyone else, but..." The full realisation of what had just happened hit her like a battering ram. She swayed and Lady Kel put a steadying arm out.
"Easy there Squire. You did the right thing. And saved this lady's life as well by the look of it." Before Ella could say anything, Lady Kel had knelt down in front of the huddled woman on the floor and held out a hand. "You're safe now mistress, we're assembling all the villagers on the green. Our healers are there to ensure everyone is alright. You should come with us now, we'll look after…we'll…" the Knight's voice trailed off as recognition kicked in. "Lady Brightleigh?"
Lorette glared back at the Lady Kel. "Lady Nothing now, knight," she replied, sounding a little more like her old self. "Look around. See what I'm lady of. See…" Her voice broke. "Even my brother…even…" Hoarse sobs broke from the woman.
Seemingly lost for words, Lady Kel looked up at Ella, her mouth hanging open.
Unable to come up with an answer, Ella stared around at the carnage in the small cottage. Captain Domitan, looking extremely confused. The two dead Scarans on the floor. And her uncle…what was left of her uncle…dimly Ella realised that sight would probably come back to haunt her later, when she was capable of any emotion other than numbness.
"I found them," she heard herself saying, distantly. "I just found them in here. I just…"
She was vaguely aware of both the Captain and Lady Kel saying her name. Ella felt her sword slip completely from her grip and her knees buckle, as the walls started to melt around her.
xxx
"Follow my finger now. That's right."
Kel watched anxiously as Ella's blue eyes focused on Neal's bony finger as he waved it back and forth in front of her face. He grunted and put his hand on the squire's brow, letting a little of his Gift flow into her.
"A bit of concussion. Hairline fracture on the cheekbone. A wonderful bruise on your arm here. Nothing that can't be fixed. Well, except the tooth of course. I can't magic that back I'm afraid."
"I think I swallowed it," croaked Ella between swollen lips.
"Lovely. Well, that'll come out the other end in due course, so no harm done there." Neal straightened. "I'm afraid you're not going to win any beauty contests for the next week or so, as the swelling goes down and the bruising comes out, but there should be no ill effects otherwise. I've done all the healing I can do at the moment."
Kel caught her friend's eye and knew he wanted to move onto those with more serious wounds. "Thanks Neal. She went a little wobbly on us back there. I just wanted everything checked out."
"That's what I'm here for," he grinned at her tiredly and loped off. Kel watched him, making a mental note to check on him later to make sure he hadn't exhausted himself too much. For now, she turned back to her errant squire.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been kicked in the head by a horse," said Ella, touching her face with her fingertips and wincing.
Kel winced with her in sympathy. The girl looked almost unrecognisable. The entire left side of her face was swollen, her eye a slit. Her lower lip was split and dried blood covered her chin. Her blonde hair was stiff with sweat and had been flattened against her head by both the griffin band and the helmet.
"I'm really very proud of you, Ella," said Kel quietly. The squire looked up from where she was sat on an overturned barrel in the middle of the village green. All around them, members of the King's Own milled, moving dead Scanrans and assembling villagers who had survived the attack. "Two warriors down and facing off against your third. That's not a bad first battle by anyone's standards."
"But if you hadn't come when you did…"
"I had the element of surprise. To be honest, I think I would have struggled against someone that big face to face," remarked Kel.
"You're a bad liar, My Lady," Ella said, managing half a smile. "We've all heard the story of Stenmun Kinslayer. But thanks."
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Well that aside, you fought very well today in difficult circumstances." She paused, unsure how to continue. "I'm sorry about your Uncle."
"Me too." Ella's expression – the half of it that could still move – darkened. "It's like some sort of bad joke by the gods…by the way, where's my mother?"
"We sent her off to be checked over by one of the Own's healers. I think she was in shock." Kel squinted at the girl. "We'll need to discuss this, at a later point, you and I. You need to have a think about what you want to do about this situation." Ella just looked back at her with confused and exhausted eyes. "But that can wait. I see a certain godsdaughter of mine rushing this way. I think she can take you back to camp and keep an eye on you for the rest of the day."
"Yes, My Lady," muttered Ella. As Kel helped the girl to her feet, a shadow passed over them and a foul stench reached their nostrils.
The two of them glanced up to see Stormwings, gathering on the roofs of the nearby houses, waiting eagerly for their feast.
xxx
"Tell it again!"
Ella groaned. "Wyl, no. I've already told it twice. I just want to go to sleep!"
"But you're not allowed to go to sleep, Sir Nealan said, not for another few hours, on account of your concussion and it's such a jolly story, what with you facing down Scanrans and finding your mother and all. All I got to do was sit up on the ridge and keep watch, it wasn't nearly so jolly!"
"Wyl," said Ro, glaring at the boy. "Haven't you got something useful to be doing? Grooming the horses? Cleaning weapons? Sticking your head in a bucket of manure?"
"No, I've done all my chores and we're not moving out until the day after tomorrow at the very latest and – "
"Listen," interrupted Ella, cupping a hand to her ear. "I thought I heard your father calling you."
Wyl cocked his head. "Really? I don't hear anything."
"No, I'm pretty sure I heard it too. He did say he had a perfectly jolly story to tell you about his own part in the fight," added Ro.
"Oh super!" cried Wyl, bouncing his way out of the tent.
Ella slumped back against her pack with a sigh and shut her eyes. "Thank Mithros for that!"
"Hey! No sleeping, remember?" Ro gave her a poke in the side and looked at her friend with worry in her green eyes. "Are you alright? I still can't believe what happened!"
"Me neither," sighed Ella. She hadn't seen her mother since they had gotten back to the Own's campsite. She had no idea what she would say or what, indeed, would happen. Shaking her head, Ella realised that she didn't really want to think about it at that moment. "Something will get sorted out I suppose. What about you? You've heard all about what happened to me – "
"Twice."
" – twice," conceded Ella. "What did you get up to on your first time in proper combat?" She had noticed a bandage wrapped around Ro's sword arm.
"Oh, it wasn't nearly as exciting as yours! We had the East side, so we got the first of the daylight. We took a small group of Scanrans by surprise – it was all by the book really." But Ro's light tone seemed strained and her hands were shaking.
"Ro? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I…I just…" Suddenly tears were falling from Ro's eyes. "Ella, I don't think I can do this! I mean…I was scared when I went out there but…but not so scared that I couldn't…and then I didn't really think about any of it while we were fighting, it was only…only afterwards when I realised…I realised I had killed someone and…" The rest of the sentence vanished as Ro wept in earnest.
Ella leant forward and gathered her friend into a hug. She asked a question she already knew the answer to. "It was the first time you'd killed someone?"
She felt Ro nod against her shoulder. "Well, except the Spidren, but that was…"
"Different," finished Ella. She pushed Ro away and held her firmly by the upper arms. "I know how you feel. And I'll tell you what Lady Kel told me. It's good you feel bad about it. It means you'll be a good knight, because you care. And you will be a knight, because I still want to be one and I won't do it without my best friend at my side. Understand?"
Taking a deep breath, Ro nodded and swiped at her tear stained face. "Th-thanks. I just…I suppose I didn't really think about how hard it would actually be."
"I don't think any of us really did," replied Ella, her mind wandering to the puzzle that was still her mother. She forced a smile. "But we're doing it all together. And that's what counts."
Later that night – when the rest of the camp slept around her – Ella lay awake in her bedroll. She had been given the all clear to go to sleep, but as soon as she shut her eyes, images of her mother, her uncle's headless body, the limbs on the floor, the dead Scanrans and the circling Stormwings appeared in her mind's eye. All images that would add themselves to her nightmares of the bandit. And the Chamber.
That night, Ella tried her best to stifle her sobs, as a member of the Own cried out the midnight watch, not realising that many others in the camp around her were doing the same.
