Silk's Wedding Chapter 4

Rose G

A/N - I promised to update more regularly, so here is chapter 4. No new characters make an appearance in this chapter though - sorry. Advance warning of random craziness and plotlessness.

'Did not!'

'You must have - she told me you did!'

'I never, Sha-dar. Watch who you're talking to. I make it a point never to steal from friends.' Silk smiled a little innocent grin that made him look very young.

'Liar, Silk. I seem to remember you lifting my purse, Belgarath's pack, and one of Polgara's dresses for Velvet before now' the huge red bearded Cherek rumbled.

Eriond, cantering Horse on the edge of the small group looked across at Silk, Hettar and Barak, his immortal face impassive. 'Please, gentleman, do not argue and destroy this peace that hath so recently been granted unto us and our countries.'

Belgarath rolled his eyes. 'At least my Master doesn't talk like you do now, Errand.'

'Eriond.'

'Whatever. Why aren't your disciples along on this trip? Or did you lose them? It must be quite easy to misplace one old Grolim, mustn't it?' Belgarath said waspishly.

Eriond turned Horse's head into the breeze and gave the chestnut his head. The pair where soon out of sight, with Belgarath's light hearted insults following them.

Polgara looked up from the young boy, Makor, who was riding in front of her and sighed. 'Hettar, please. There are hundreds of black mares in Algeria, and I don't understand why you're making such a fuss over this one, even if Silk did steal her from your clansmen.'

'She is the only mare that my clan has, who is bred down from Shetan, Algar fleet-foot's black stallion that he took off the plains three thousand years ago. She is valuable, beyond price to us, and Silk stole her.' The horse lord screamed the last three words, and Adara put her hand on Hettar's arm.

'But, Hettar, you've often said horses can bend the truth. How do you that the mare isn't?'

The Sha-dar cursed and rode over to Silk. The little spy who had spent most of the journey so far keeping away from Belgarath and the green snake, daughter apparently of Zith, that the immortal man had christened Mith, paled. 'Silk, you say that you brought the mare at the Great West Fair.'

'Oh, get stuffed, Hettar. I'll pay you what I paid for her, if you want. That's if you've learnt to use money yet.'

Hettar set his long spurs to the flanks of his bay stallion and rode straight at Silk. The merchant might not have been a warrior or a soldier, but he knew enough about fighting to be aware that he should be running. He clapped the black mare on the neck with the flat of his hand and set her off at a gallop with Hettar close behind him. However, the little mare had been longer on the trail than Hettar's rangy stallion and the Sha-Dar was using his gift to command Silk's mare to slow down.

A few minutes later Belgarath, who had been jolted out of his half doze by the sounds of brawling, walked his horse around the grove of trees and found the Crown Princes of Algeria and Drasnia rolling around in the dirt, pounding on each other to the accompaniment of much swearing and screaming. Neither appeared in immediate danger, so the sorcerer got hold of the two loose horses and led them back to the rest of the group.

'What's happening, father?'

'Silk and Hettar are fighting about that mare of Silk's. Let them argue it out. We might as well make camp; the time they quit neither of them's going to be up to travelling tonight. You want to do the honours of cooking, Pol?'

'Once more won't make any difference, will it, father? Why don't you go and find Eriond? You upset him earlier.'

Durnik took charge of the camp, tethering the horses and building the fires, as Polgara started the cooking. Poledra was somewhere in the woods, in her original form hunting down a deer for that nights dinner, and Barak was drinking heavily from a cask of ale he'd fond in Silk's pack. The twins, whom Belgarath had insisted be named after his two dead brothers Makor and Sembar were listening to the old man tell stories and Eriond was sulking. It was into this chaos that Silk and Hettar stumbled, spitting blood and in Silk's case, sporting a bloody nose.

'Have you t-two figured out who the mare b-belongs to yet?' Barak slurred.

'Yes. She belongs to me, but her first foal belongs to Hettar's clan, which means I won't be able to use her for the best part of a year, so I might as well sell her anyway.' Hettar ears pricked up.

'But I won't.' Hettar looked disappointed.

'Are you going to spend all night talking? Because if you are, and you keep Makor and Sembar from sleeping...' Poledra glared at them, her tawny eyes flashing.

'We were just going to bed, your grace.' Silk bowed his head respectfully and grinned that impudent grin again. Hettar kicked him, and Silk punched him in the face. Then they both quailed under Poledra's glare.

Later, as they lay around the campfire, Silk raised a subject that had been on his mind. 'Where are going next?'

'Down past Ulgoland to pick up Relg and Tabia, then through the mountains to Vo Mimbre, to meet Sadi. Up through Arendia, pick up Belar's children and on though Sendaira. Take the Great North Road through the fens again and go round the Min river into Drasnia. Cut through Cherek, and meet everyone else at the harbour. Greldik's going to ferry us across the Bore and over to Riva. You'll be there in plenty of time for your wedding, so don't worry.' Belgarath yawned. 'I'm going to bed, and no more fighting, children.'

'Sadi? He'll bring Zith, Belgarath. No snakes, I said.'

'Tough. Velvet invited him and arguments over wedding guests are hardly the best way to start off, are they?'

Silk stamped over to his blankets and rolled himself up in one. He fell asleep, muttering 'Snakes' under his breath and nursing his ribs that Hettar had bruised.

Chapter 5 is coming soon - if anyone can suggest in reviews four snake names that rhyme with Zith and Mith, I'd be very grateful.