A/N: Please forgive me guys for writing this and for those of you who were confused by the lack of Enrique and Shannon quotes in the first chapter, well I was really just warning you for future chapters. Sorry I didn't explain myself better. I know I'm kinda ripping off Squire here but please forgive me till my plot kicks in. Oh and I forgot to explain where Ash comes from. Here it is:
Ermengarde is south of Tirragen and east of the great Southern Desert. It sits on the River Drell basically where the Tortallan, Tusain and Tyran boarders meet in hill country and has the typical hill bandits. That's how Ash learnt to fight.
Chapter 2- Actions and their Consequences Late autumn-winter 461HE
They rode east for two days heading for the small town of Korsteel, which was situated between Blue Harbour and Trebond, on the river. Once again it was incredibly hot for the time of year. The sun beat down on them, sweat rolled off their backs and dripped off their foreheads causing them to continually blink as it caught in their eyelashes. The horses, however, didn't seem to notice the heat and ploughed. Dom was riding his other horse Foible, a large chestnut gelding with a white ster which flecked out to roan around the outside and a white sock on his nearside foreleg, while Casco was lead slowly at the back of the ride. Ashla also rode her other horse, Shadow, as it was a requirement of the Riders to have two 'ponies', however as Ash was tall hers were larger then most of the others. This horse was smaller than Toy and was only just larger than a pony. He was a black gelding with a star on his forehead and white socks on opposite front and back legs.
"So what's the deal with Toy?" asked Dom curiously "He looks like a stunted war horse" he joked
"Well, he sort of is" admitted Ash "He's war horse cross thoroughbred, (A/N: Not sure if they had thoroughbreds back then but in the immortals it did say they raced horses) bred for war and speed, but he was born prematurely and his mum died shortly afterwards. We joked when he was born that he looked like a toy war horse, so that's how he got his name" she explained
"Fair enough. Have you looked in a mirror lately? Your turning slightly pink" Dom laughed
Slightly pink was an understatement, though Ash dryly when she finally got a look at herself. Everywhere that was left uncovered during the day was burnt. Her face was the worst. It was red all over except for her eyelids which remained white. It created an interesting an interesting effect when she blinked or looked down. It also provided entertainment for Dom who burst into a fit of giggles whenever he saw her. Just like a silly court lady thought Ash who was not amused. By now they had reached Korsteel and were proceeding to set up their camp.
That night the heatwave broke. The black starless sky was sliced by flashes of lightning, followed by the rolling of thunder which seemed to shake the ground. The rain fell down in sheets, beating on rooves and quickly turning the dry ground into mud. Luckily they had been expecting this, if not in such a large proportion, and had built their camp on high ground so their tents didn't flood.
Despite this, though, even after a large welcome feast given to them by their hosts and hours of friendly chat afterwards, Ash still couldn't manage to get to sleep. She decided to creep down to the stables with her blanket and make sure the horses were alright in the storm. She didn't think it would be hard as it was the middle of the night and the ostler wouldn't be expecting trouble. If she just slipped in, made sure the horses weren't too stressed and slipped out again, she was sure to be able to sleep.
Toy and Shadow whickered when they saw her and struck their heads over their doors. This sparked a change reaction with many of the other horses doing the same. Ash smiled at the sight of them and felt more relaxed already. They were so much easier to understand than humans and didn't ever as to much of you. She checked her two horses first and after a few pats and seeing that they were happily munching their hay she left them to check on the others. Most were relaxed and sleepy like her two but some were upset by the storm. She spent longer with these ones, calming them before she left. A series of bangs erupted from the other end of the stable row, followed by frantic whinnying as thunder growled in the distance.
Ash rushed to see which horse it was and hopefully calm it down before she went back to bed. Walking as quickly as possible without running, as running would just upset the frightened horse more, she reached the other end of the stables where the King's Own horses were stabled for the night. Lord Raoul's mare Amberfire was pacing at her door but after she was given a pat and more hay, she quickly settled down. The sound of banging filled the air once more, this time it was much closer, only two stables up from Amberfire.
"Oh Casco, what have you done?" exclaimed Ash as she reached the stall where the banging was coming from, only to discover Casco dripping with sweat with his stitches in his shoulder undone.
Muttering about incapable stable hands she went and fetched the equipment she would need to restitch his wound and returned to try and sooth the panicking horse. Ash used a bucket of cool water and a sponge to clean and cool him before attempting to begin stitching. He'd obviously gotten himself in such a state that he'd managed to tear the stitches and she had to make sure that he was calm enough that this wouldn't happen again. She stitched the wound quickly and easily before bandaging it once again and settling herself down in the straw with her blanket to keep an eye on him for a while.
Dom slept like a log that night, probably owing to the fact that he'd had slightly too much ale, and woke to a clear, cold morning. He shivered as he quickly stripped off his night shirt and put on his uniform (A/N: Mmm, I would have loved to have seen that) As he poked his head out of his tent and looked around he noticed that everything appeared to be coated in a fine layer of mud already. The tree's, however, sparkled as the first rays of sun hit the droplets of water on their surface making it look as though they were glittering as a breeze played on the leaves.
Dom stood up and took a deep breath. Nothing smelt as clean and fresh as it did after it had rained. The cool air quickly woke him up, reviving him after the night before, as he strode down the hill headed for the stables with all intentions of checking his horses and quickly changing Casco's bandages before breakfast. Even though he could ask one of the stable hands to do it for him, he preferred to do tasks like this himself. After all his horses had bore him through during the years, they deserved that much at least.
Opening Casco's door and sliding himself through, Dom was surprised to see the gelding standing in the corner blowing softly into the hair of, as far as Dom could see, a bundle of blankets. Creeping forward with his hand on the tilt of his sword Dom gently pulled the blanket back.
"Well what a nice surprise" exclaimed Dom loud enough that Ashla jumped and sat up. "I came down here to check on my horsie, but instead found a sleeping lady in his stable. Do you do this often?" he teased raising one eyebrow.
"If it wasn't for me you would have found your 'horsie', as you put it, in a mess this morning. He ripped his stitches out and I had to fix him back up again" she retorted
"Well in that case I must thank you" he said putting on an educated tone "spending the night in a stable just so you could help me. I'm flattered" his eyes gave his play away, they twinkled with mirth
"For your information, I would not spend a night in a stable for you. I did it for you poor horse. I felt sorry for it, stuck with you for an owner" she teased as she got up and strode out of the stable block.
Her long hair, which was usually pulled back in some way, hung loose and fell in waves to just above her waist. It swung slightly as she turned and continued her brisk walk back up to the tents. The early morning light, which was still orange, caught the golden highlights in her hair making it shimmer as she climbed the hill, set against a pale blue sky touched with only a few fluffy whit clouds.
After breakfast Lord Raoul and Evin set up a work roster which included hunting, carpentry, harvesting, and packing and storing, to be started that day. Most of the men, including Dom put their names down for everything to share the tasks out a bit. Hunting was by far the preferred choice but the number of men needed was limited, so they took turns. That day Dom had packing and storing which was definitely not one of his favourites, but he put up with it.
After spending a day up to his armpits in bags of flour, grains, fruit and any other possible food that could be stored for use throughout winter, Dom was extremely sweaty and dirty, but he was nothing compared to the carpenters he had watched slogging through the mud all day with piles of wood, and the harvesters who seemed to bring part of the field back on them. Dom had watched Ash sawing and hammering and was surprised to learn that she was actually quite good. He thought back painfully to when they had been doing a similar job at Bay Cove and Kel had first attempted carpentry, hitting the nail half the time and her fingers the other half, but she had never complained and never given up. He wondered what was happening to her now, or if she was even still alive.
With a sigh he stood stretching his aching muscles and sauntered off towards their camp to clean up before dinner. As he reached the tents he heard a soft curse and turned to see Ash kneeling down over something. Walking closer he realised it was an extremely muddy pair of boots which, by the looks of it, she was attempting to clean. She had tied her long hair in a knot at the base of her neck but already strands of it had escaped and were falling into her eyes. Her jaw was set in stubbornness which accentuated her high cheekbones.
Dom decided to leave her to it as it didn't look like she would welcome interruptions. In fact it looked as though she might just lob one of the boots at anyone who came within range. Dom stifled a laugh, almost having to stuff his fist in his mouth, as he made a hasty retreat. I think we've just found someone to rival Alanna's temper Dom thought, cackling as her entered his tent to quickly was up and dress.
That night as Dom shovelled down his food like the rest of the men and the women who were in the Riders, he noticed that Ash only picked at her food, moving it around her plate so it looked as if she was eating. This made Dom frown. After a hard days work like they had had everyone was always hungry. When most people were finished and the plates were beginning to be cleared away she got up to leave. Dom rose just after her and followed her outside.
"Ash what's wrong?" he asked, full of concern for his friend
"Nothing, I'm fine" she replied fixing a smile on her face before turning to walk away
"No you're not. Talk to me" Dom said as he reached out and grabbed her arm just above the elbow to stop her from walking away
Although she tried to hide it Dom saw her wince at the touch. Keeping a hold of her so she couldn't run away he pulled her sleeve back and looked at the inside of her arm. There was a perfect thumb print just starting to bruise. Turning her arm he saw another four fingerprints just starting to show on the outside of her arm. He looked up questionably at her face but she wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Who did this to you?" he almost growled
"No one. It's none of you're business. I can look after myself" she snapped raising her chin and glaring at him with her flashing eyes.
"I know you can, but they shouldn't get away with this" he tried to reason
"They haven't" and with that she turned on her heel and marched back to her tent
Dom also turned and marched away, but he didn't head for his tent. Instead he went to the town's inn where he knew many of the men met after dinner. Knowing Ash she would have marked her attacker well and Dom was counting on that to find him. Once he actually found him though, Dom wasn't sure what he'd do. He only knew that he couldn't let whoever it was get away with something like this. It wasn't right. It wasn't decent and any man in the Own or the Riders should know that.
Entering the inn, his attention was immediately drawn to the four men in the corner that Dom recognised as Muir of Kincade, Phelan of Esperance, Lincoln of Cadence and Jerome of Kimblewick, all of whom had been in Own for less than a year. They had only joined after the war had unofficially ended (it had stopped but no peace treaty had been signed yet) and more men were needed to replace those that had been lost. As Dom approached them, making his way through the crowded inn, he heard Muir speaking.
"Dumb slut. She struts around here flicking that golden hair of hers and fluttering her eyelashes. Then you go to make a move on her and she gets all defensive when we all know she's just a whore who only joined so she could bed all the soldiers. Look what the stupid wench did to me"
Dom watched as he waled tenderly forward and showed them various nail marks and a broken finger. By the looks of it she had also kneed him in the groin by the way he moved.
"Excuse me" Dom interrupted. All the men turned to look at him "But I believe I just overheard you admitting to assaulting a woman" he didn't want to let on how much he knew just yet by using names "Do you have no honour? Forcing yourself onto a woman like that. You are a disgrace. I should report you" Dom turned to leave
"Just because you wanted to use her as a bed warmer yourself" a voice taunted from behind him "Don't be jealous that I had a go at her first"
Dom wasn't sure what made him do it. He had been accused of similar things before and had just shrugged them off, but something this time got to him. He spun on his heel and smashed his fist into Muir's face.
A/N: I know it's slightly out of character but I don't care. I had to have it! Oh, Dom is so cool. I love Dom and if I had it my way he wouldn't end up with anyone but me!!! lol I know you guy's would fight me for him, but, well, bring it on!!! Ha ha ha. Anyway guy's review!!! Please.
