Chapter9

AN. Blipblipblipblipblip…..beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeeeeeeeeeeeep. Ah! Brain has been engaged, woz falling asleep there.

Amonsovn was sitting on a very high up branch of on of the taller trees in the wooded area with her back to the trunk. One leg was dangling down the side and the other was bent with her arm resting on it. She had been up there for several hours and had not moved once, but she was not asleep. Slowly Aphei began to struggle up the hard climb. How had Ara managed it so easily? Aphei sat on the branch facing her. It was a very tall tree. Aphei refused to look down. Ara was staring straight up into the sky with her piercing grey-gold eyes.

"Ara?" Aphei said tentatively. Ara's stare moved to her. Aphei flinched. It was as if Ara's eyes were slicing straight through her. "Ara, that man was our brother, me and Mirrendi's. He is now lying in a bed in a critical situation. You nearly killed him!" Aphei finished angrily.

"I wish I had when I had the chance." Ara's mouth twisted in contempt, and showed she had a better grasp of the language then most thought, "Aphei, that man is a murderer." Ara lent forward away from the trunk. Under her terrible gaze Aphei leaned away quivering inside, how could someone harbour so much hate for someone? "Do you know what your precious brother has done?" Ara was throwing the words at her like knifes, and they hurt like them. "Your brother killed all that was left of my family! They came, these strangers. We thought to welcome them and learn of were they came from, but in the darkness the cowards, out numbering us by at least ten to one attacked!" Ara shouted.

Then her voice went deadly low. "One by one I watched as my people were mercilessly slaughtered." Where had she learnt these words? Aphei thought "From ancient grandfathers to babies clutched in their dieing mothers arms. One by one, my people fell." Her voice began to rise again. "And there was nothing I could do to stop it! I fought. I fought with my soul as I had everything to lose!" Well she had had spiritual lectures from the travelling Priests. "And everything I lost except my own life!" Ara stopped and leaned further forward and whispered. "Think of the shame. I am alive yet not one other of my people remains. I was brought down by five arrows. Arrows." She spat. "They saw the damage I was coursing and their leader brought me down with arrows." Ara stopped and flopped back against the trunk. "And he was one of them, your brother. And you stopped me from avenging my people." Aphei stared. It was the most Ara had ever said, most had been monosyllabic or just movements of the head. She was going to get the truth from Jason, invalid or not. Quietly she climbed back down leaving Ara exactly as she had been before, staring up at the sky.

Aphei returned to Ara's tree as the sun was setting and left a basket of food wedged in a branch at her shoulder height. She had been shocked and terrified by Jason's confession but she understood him now. She would speak to Ara tomorrow if she still had not come done.

Later in the darkness Amonsovn came down and took a few things back up to eat. The tree was a relatively easy climb compared to ones she had done at home. Home. That word again. Would she ever be able to forget? Would she ever be free of the guilt? Many people say that time heals wounds of the heart but all it had done for her was dull the pain slightly but now it was rent open again and she needed to be alone till it was closed again even if the pain is no less. She had been prepared to bite Aphei's head off back then, how would she manage if she went back amongst the others now? Aphei's face looked so like her brothers. Amonson shuddered and tried to shut out the memories coming back to her.

The next day Aphei climbed back up the tree with difficulty as the bark was slippery with dew. At the top she found Ara in the same position as when she had left staring straight up at the brightening sky. Aphei sat on the branch opposite her.

"Ara." Again the piecing gaze swept down to her face. "I've been speaking with Jason. He told me everything. He says he will never be going back to that boat again. He says he sent a prayer to the Gods that He would never do anything like that again if they let him live when you were fighting him, and he intends to do so. Please, he is just an ignorant boy really, our younger brother. Forgive him please."

Ara stared at her. "I can never forgive the deaths of my people," she said slowly and Aphei winced, "but perhaps I can try to forget his part in it. I will avenge my people," she said harshly, "but not by killing him. I will try to tolerate him at best. I guess I understand in a way but I scorn him for his weakness in not pulling back from what they must have told him to do."

"Will you come down?" Aphei asked tentatively. "You've been up here for hours and all night. Remember, I have a bet with Dei." Aphei might have been mistaken but she thought she saw Ara smile. Yes, she was smiling.

"See if I can ride the Brute." Ara almost laughed remembering Dei's expression when she had got the Brute into his stable .You know, we will need to find him an actual name. He can't be the Brute forever."

"You sure? He deserves it. It was a cheat way of paying Jason, apparently his breeding makes him worth his weight in gold as you don't get horses like him from these parts, but the original owners were probably glad to get rid of him, they were probably willing to pay you just to take him away." Now both of them were smiling.

"I'll come down." Said Ara. Ara swung herself under the branch in a quick lithe movement and sort of, shifted down the tree. From the bottom Ara called up,

"Come on old lady Aphei! Don't tell me you're afraid of heights!" Aphei leaned over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out.

"I'll come down in my own time." She said primly. They both stared at each other struggling to keep their faces straight. It did not last long. Aphei half fell the rest of the way down doubled up with laughter. Ara grabbed her as she almost fell down on the ground.

"Come on granny Aphei. You've got a bet to win." Said Ara playfully bursting with laughter.

"But first you'd better change, those are still the clothes you wore last night." Aphei said, serious now. Ara looked down at herself. The clingy red shirt and the black trousers had several large red-brown stains on them. Ara pulled a face.

"I guess I'd better."

Mirrendi was in the kitchen when Amonsovn came in. Her clothes were badly blood stained and her swords sheath had more of the curious blotches on its battered leather, she had wondered what they were. Aphei came over to her as Amonsovn went up the stairs.

"She seems to have calmed down somewhat," Aphei began, "but you can't blame her, I told you her story. She said she could not forgive the deaths of her people but perhaps she could forget that Jason was one of them. She seemed sincere but we'd better keep her away from Jason for now, I don't know what his presence might trigger off again."

"I know," answered Mirrendi, "but so many people saw what she did. The butcher came round and told me he did not want any more kills from 'that manic'. Everyone's afraid of her. I think she'd better leave soon." Aphei nodded. She had thought so too.

"I'll take her with me," Aphei decided "that is, if she agrees to. She'll have no problem finding work and I'll help her in the city, I know my way around."

"It's probably for the best." Agreed Mirrendi.

Ara rode with determination. She was getting the hang of trot and had done some cantering and jumps. Cantering was hard but after many hours, some times with Aphei's Arab and sometimes with Dei's Arab-cross stallion, Dann (he could be quite vicious at times but Amonsovn coped well) Aphei judged her good enough to get on the Brute.

Amonsovn went to his stable. She opened the door. The Brute regarded her warily. He knew her, she was the muck shovel girl with the nasty pointy thing and the faint undertone smell of that nasty red stuff. She was danger. She was taking him out of his stable with the horrid rope thing. He thought about biting her but decided against it. Oh, maybe she was going to let him out in a field to eat some grass. He always thought through his stomach which was always hungry. Amonsovn lead him out onto the grass. Impatient, the Brute tried to take a mouthful of the delicious looking green grass. He earned a hard pull around his nose when the rope thing was yanked up sharply. The Brute flattened his ears. Amonsovn raised a threatening hand. The Brute relax though was still grumbling to himself and eying the grass.

Then she took him through a gate into a sanded area. Uhoh, he had been in on of these before. He jumped. Amonsovn had just lowered on of those things onto his back. Oh no! Now she was shoving a cold metal bar into his mouth. He fought against her, unsuccessfully. Oh Gods. Amonsovn sprang lightly onto the Brutes back. The Brute went mad. He started bucking and kicking, he swung his head round to bite but it was pulled back. Hooves flailing he charged around the sanded area.

Then he had an idea. He charged along the length of the area at full gallop. The reins were pulling at his mouth hard but he was pulling back. She thought he was going to crash. Great muscles bunched beneath the Brutes sleek chestnut coat. He leapt. The fence was tall, very tall. It was heading on two meters, but the brute was determined. He was not going to be ridden, ever by the scary muck shovel girl. His front legs lifted clear, he breathed in, his chest and precious stomach housing his brain were clear just though he felt the slight brush of the wood almost imperceptibly with his hair. His back hooves just clipped the top. There was soft turf on the other side at least. He braced for the impact. He stumbled, deliberately accenting the throwing forwards movement.

'Dam!'

All that trouble and she had not even fallen off, in fact she seemed totally unfazed. He did not think that was fair. Well, they have to see about that. The Brute leapt off again in amongst the trees. Deliberately charging under low branches, bucking over large logs. He even splashed across a small stream and tried to dump her in the water. Finally, panting, sides heaving and lathered in sweat he stopped.

Gently she nudged his sides with her feet. He gave a feeble buck and tried to lean around to bit her and was gobbed in the mouth for his pains. Gently she steered him around and back to the sand area. Aphei opened the gate again and shut it firmly behind them. Then they began to walk around the edge slowly. Then they did a trot. Every now and again Amonsovn had to remind him to mind his manners. They even did a bit of canter and some small jumps. The Brute liked those, they were fun. He decided it was more fun doing as he was told for the new leader, muck shovel girl, but he still was not going to do it for anyone else.

Eventually Amonsovn dismounted and put him back in his stable with some nice feed that the Brute dealt with swiftly. Amonsovn was hot, dirty but happy again. Aphei was wearing a very smug expression and had and extra 10 coppers in her purse, they had gone for all or nothing. Aphei had explained to her about the jobs she could get in the capital, Athens, were Aphei worked. That was what she was going to do, Amosovn decided, she could get away from the villagers who were now afraid of her and also it might bring her closer to the person who had ordered her peoples massacre. They would leave as soon as Jason was well so they could travel together, Aphei was worried about being late back from her family time leave from her work and she seemed eager to get back too. Aphei had been very elusive and vague about what exactly she did. Aphei had also said that Jason was wiling to give her the Brute. Amonsovn was now very happy.

Amonsovn bid goodbye to Mirendi, Feirthran and the twins. Maybe she could come back and visit sometime. Pointedly ignoring the tall, but nonetheless not as tall as her, man with the same dark eyes and hair as Mirrendi and Aphei and with the same oval face and delicate nose as Aphei. Amonsovn thought the features looked better on Aphei but Jason was not bad look wise. The three of them saddled their horses. The Brute gave her a bleary eyed look when they came in wondering what they were doing at that hour in the morning but his stomach took over when she provided breakfast for him. They set off.

Much later on when Jason was beginning to complain of saddle sores and Amonsovn's patience was near breaking point she noticed something. She stopped suddenly.

"Aphei?" She called, "Aphei, I think…" An arrow swished over and thudded in the middle of the path.

AN. Slight cliffy here 4 u, yes now I wnt u 2 tk prt in sme rocket science, I wnt u 2 click on the submit review button and tll me wat u think, yes, sooo difficult!