Disclaimer: I don't own squat, not a damn thing. Well, I own a rather nice pair of red Converse high-tops, but that's it. As far as Ardeth, Evy, or Rick, no, sorry, not mine. The OC, however, is mine. Flames will be used to light my backyard barbecue pit. Please R&R, unless you want the kittens to suffer.
-Belle
Dalal took the time to ensure Ardeth that the council had agreed that the girl's answers had been quite satisfactory and she was perfectly trustworthy. She personally saw no danger in putting a sword in the girl's hands, especially when she was surrounded by a camp full of armed-to-the-teeth, expertly trained, Med-Jai warriors. Ardeth, on the other hand, held some of his suspicions, especially for the woman's skills with a sword. She couldn't beat one of his warriors, not even one of the rookies most likely, but she could put up a good enough fight to wind a veteran. No doubt Dabir had thought it would only be a small exercise for her to fight off the sheer boredom of being cooped up. Perhaps he even thought she was trying to talk him into lessons. Either way, the man had been clearly surprised. Ardeth worried that perhaps she would be even better once she'd recuperated further.
In any case, he took it upon himself to keep closer tabs on this woman. That night he reviewed the information Dalal had written down about the woman. This same information had been spread out to the twelve tribes. If anyone knew anything, they would receive word of it in a few days and so Ardeth postponed the girl's departure. She seemed in no rush to his surprise. She also seemed little grieved, another thing that raised his suspicions. He now knew that the man, Joshua Marcus Lieger, had been her fiancé, not her husband. Perhaps it had been an arranged marriage. She certainly looked fair enough to be from money. But as Ardeth read on, he saw that she was an orphan of Turkish parents. She'd grown up in an orphanage in Greece, so a marriage of convenience was out of the question. He could only then assume, since it was indicated that this Joshua was of wealthy lineage, that it was a union of love.
Perhaps she was in denial. She was so far separated from the world she knew. There was nothing here to remind her of him and cause her grief. It was as if she too had died and woken up in a brand new world with a fresh start. Upon her return, she would likely be flooded with memories. He was suddenly glad he'd asked Rick and Evy to escort her. By the end of the summary, he wasn't quite satisfied. There was much he wished to question her about, especially regarding her fiancé's history and her own weapons experience. It wasn't odd for orphaned children to be unusually tough, O'Connell was proof of that, but swordsmanship was indeed unusual for any woman. Ardeth went to bed that night, questions flooding his mind, determined to get to the bottom of all of this.
"I'm not so sure this is the best idea." Lira muttered as she was led to where a gray mare was saddled and ready for her.
"You'll be fine. Ardeth can be very intimidating, but I assure you it's all in your head. The title make many folks leery, but my son is a singularly fair and honorable man. He won't hassle you for information." Dalal comforted. Lira didn't seem to be paying attention as she poked and prodded and pulled at the straps.
"What? Oh, no, I meant that I didn't saddle this horse. Your son seems like a very respectable sort, but I never feel safe unless I put the tack on myself." Lira explained. Dalal smiled.
"I did it myself, if that helps." she offered. Lira smiled.
"I suppose it does." It had been two days since Ardeth's return, and Lira felt stronger every minute. Grabbing a scruff of mane, she deftly swung herself up and situated herself in the saddle. It was early in the morning, and Ardeth had requested they have a talk while he did his circuit around the camp. Lira was more than happy to get on a horse again, and so agreed. It would be nice to get something accomplished before the midday heat, and before long, she saw the leader approach on his impressive dark bay.
"Are you ready?" he asked, his horse shaking it's head and chomping down on the bit.
"As I'll ever be." she answered, swinging her mare around expertly beside him, "Lead the way." With that, Ardeth nudged his horse forward and Lira followed. The rode on through camp and out toward one of the many dunes which surrounded the camp. It was clear that they'd be a considerable way out from camp as they topped one dune and then another. Lira was simply happy to be out in the open air. Finally, Ardeth moved his horse to the right and the circuit of the territory began. For awhile, Lira rode behind him, enjoying the quiet and riding with her eyes closed. She wasn't too concerned with getting lost, horses usually followed one another and besides that the enigmatic commander seemed to be keeping a shrewd eye on her.
"Feeling better?" she suddenly heard him right next to her. Her eyes shot open and her head snapped around. She smiled.
"Much." she replied, returning her eyes to the horizon. He'd slowed his horse down to ride beside her. She knew it was inevitable. She prepared herself for a morning of questions and clever diplomacy. After all, his job was to get information, not give it.
"You seem a decent rider." he observed. She smiled. He was going to play it coy.
"I manage." she shrugged, looking around her at the hills of golden sand. The desert really was magnificent.
"You're not bad with your weapons either." Lira had to fight to stifle a laugh. Now we were getting to the juicy stuff.
"And you want to know just how a girl like me came to learn how to hold her own against one of your esteemed warriors." she surmised. Ardeth made to interject, but she continued, "I assure you, it was a sound defeat. I've only really learned what's necessary to defend myself. When I tried to gain an upper hand, he bested me."
"You're very intuitive."
"You're very transparent." Ardeth wasn't sure exactly how to take the last comment, but he felt it best to ignore it.
"So where did you learn to fight?"
"I spent some time in Turkey. A year and a half actually. When Joshua's family stopped visiting I had no reason to stay really. I became obsessed with finding my father. Anyway, I found work with a weapon smith, and having no children of his own, he taught me to fight. I never did find my real father, but the man I met served the same purpose." There was silence for a moment as Ardeth judged the truth of her words. "Still," she continued, "It would be nice to know who they were, my parents. I want to know where I came from, who my ancestors were. Maybe I have a grandfather or an uncle who was valiant warrior or a trusted emissary to a king." Lira smiled, "I suppose all orphans dream of greatness. We have to compensate."
"I was quite curious, actually, how you came to know your full name." he ventured, looking at her for once with some interest and maybe just a little more belief.
"I don't. Akasma is what the weapon smith called me. He'd always wanted to name his daughter Akasma. Onen was his last name and while I was there, everyone just started calling me by it, so I kept it."
"I see. And your first name?"
"Written in the note pinned to my blanket." she answered, "At least I have that from my parents." Ardeth smiled at her now, and found it hard to imagine that she was making this all up.
"What about your fiancé. Who was he?" Ardeth asked, and he found the word 'fiancé' distasteful as he spoke. Lira looked up at the blue sky for a moment and thought.
"We'd known each other since we were thirteen." she began. Suddenly she stopped. She looked around and down at her horse and then at her left hand around the reins.
"Is something the matter?"
"I don't miss him." she said simply. Some may have thought it cold, but Ardeth detected the sadness she felt at the fact. "I'm very sad he's dead, but I don't miss him the way that I should, and that scares me."
"Because you feel guilty?"
"Because I've come to realize that I never really knew him. It's horrible that he died. It should never have happened, but I'm not heartbroken about it. It terrifies me that I was about to marry a man with whom I'd only had superficial conversations with simply because he was familiar to me. He was the only familiar face in my life. I was going to marry a man I didn't love, and that is the worst tragedy in life." she responded. It was a heartfelt confession, and he respected her for that. They rode for awhile in silence, and after many long minutes, he took the time to study her more closely.
The woman beside him was reasonably tall. He'd noticed when he found her that the top of her head came up to the bridge of his nose. She had short auburn hair, no more than four inches long, that swept outward. Her eyes were green with long lashes that reminded him almost of a camel. It was all he could do not to laugh as he continued on. She held herself with strong posture. She had a small but pleasantly curved form and a long neck. She had a brilliant smile and a small nose. Her face was constructed of pleasantly soft, yet defined features. Her skin, though much lighter than theirs, was relatively tan. She did not posses the olive complexion of those goddesses of the Mediterranean. Her looks were somehow exotically Slavic European and familiarly Middle Eastern at the same time.
"So how did a Turk who grew up in Greece learn English?" Ardeth inquired.
"Joshua's family taught me. They spoke Greek like natives, but they thought it was proper for a young woman to learn two languages. I suppose they were right. I also learned Turkish" she spoke with a certain pride in the fact. Ardeth couldn't help but note, though, that she'd not yet mastered his tongue.
"Perhaps one day you will learn Arabic." He commented. She blushed slightly and a frown pulled at the corner of her mouth. "I'm sorry, that was sounded more accusatory than it was intended."
"Don't worry about it. I'd only had a few lessons before Joshua brought me here. Besides, I was clearly out of my mind. You're quite lucky I didn't just start spouting off in Greek." she defended. Ardeth smiled and looked on ahead at the miles of sand that stretched before them.
"Not that it would have made any less sense."
A/N: Hooray for my new reviewer. I haven't heard a peep from the other two, but YAY! Thanks so much to Elrowen Tinuviel. Yeah, I do tend to have a lot of typos, which was why I was asking at the end of the first chapter if anyone out there was or knew a good beta who'd want to work with me. It's hard for me to catch my own mistakes when I wrote it and I know how it's SUPPOSED to read. LOL. Anyway, thanks again and I hope more people turn up and review. Not that I should complain much, this corner of the fanfic universe seems a lot quieter all over than it used to be. We need to liven this party up! Whose with me!
