THE CHILDREN OF THE SPIDER, Part 2
Like most Elves, Lady Anna is short and slender, with midnight black hair, shadowy blue coloration, and eyes that are a solid and piercing yellow. She has a way of dealing with people that's strangely canny. Lady Anna used to be a travelling bard and I suppose her long years of wandering has given her insight into how others think.
When her husband isn't around, Lady Anna administers his holding, and she's pretty good at it. Any problem the local Blood might have with heeding the words of an Elf have long-since vanished. It's worth noting that Lady Anna did that with a combination of natural charm and good decisions, not by beating people into submission. That's not really very Blood-like, but she still made it work.
The Lady has come a long way since we first met. She teleported into the middle of a Dark Elf camp where Faye and I were being held prisoner, and then teleported us out. It was an impulsive and reckless act, done because she doesn't like the sight of people in cages. Back then, she was an impetuous wildcat. Now she's a responsible woman of grace and good judgement.
Having responsibilities does things to people.
At that moment, Lady Anna was sitting in Lord Ashe's chair in his great hall. Gant - a huge troll who's one of Lord Ashe's swarm of untraditional samurai - was standing next to Lady Anna. Like me, he was recovering from a particularly bad fight. Unlike me, bruises, gashes, and general battering looks right on him.
After Jonah and I entered the hall, we had to wait as Lady Anna settled a dispute between two farmers. Both farmers were Blood, and their wives were keeping them from using their claws to settle a disagreement concerning a shared pasture. The menfolk stood irritably off to the side, studiously ignoring each other, as their women described the situation to Lady Anna.
Lady Anna heard them all out. Then she shook her head in dismay.
"For the Old One's sake," she growled at the two farmers. "Donald - Henry, you have been neighbors for years. I've seen you cooperate many times, to the benefit of both you and your families. You've fought at each other's side when my husband called on the militia. And now, at the first sign of a disagreement, you're willing to kill each other? Thank the goddesses that your women have more sense than you do!"
The two farmers managed not to react, but they obviously didn't like what they were hearing.
"Let me guess, the pasture isn't what this is really about?" Lady Anna added resignedly.
Remember what I said about how canny she can be?
Then Gant suddenly spoke up in a deep rumble. "Don's eldest boy is sniffing around Hank's eldest girl," he matter-of-factly told Lady Anna. "Don and Hank don't like that. A bunch of stuff about properties, lineages, and inheritances will go tits-up if those youngsters don't marry the right people."
The stunned expressions on the faces of all involved was a sight to see.
"How in the name of weaponex do you know that?" Henry asked Gant with a slow and astounded shake of his head. Donald was just staring at Gant in wide-eyed amazement.
"Roy is after Cindy?" Henry's eldest wife - a slender Wilder woman - sputtered in amazed outrage. "I'll have no such thing! Why... that boy's an idiot and a wastrel who thinks the world revolves around his prick!"
"Why in the names of the three goddesses didn't you tell me about this!?" Donald's senior wife - a handsome Blood matriarch - gasped out. The look she gave her husband was deadly.
A babble of angry feminine voices erupted around Donald and Henry.
"Why does a Troll know this, but not me!?"
"Roy and Cindy!? The very thought makes me ill!"
"Old One damn you, Gant! Do you hear everything said in this damned village!? I swear, one of these days I'm going to cut off your ears and make you wear them as a necklace!"
"How far has this gone!? Oh, goddesses, is that little trollop actually spreading her legs for Roy!? What if she's pregnant!"
Donald was resignedly staring up at the ceiling. Henry's arms were crossed over his brawny chest and his eyes were closed. Frankly, I thought it was pretty obvious why both men had tried to keep the matter of Cindy and Roy a secret.
Henry held up a hand - that bought him some peace - and then addressed his eldest wife. "I saw them kissing. I know how you feel about Roy and I didn't want you to get upset. Cindy will see through that boy. She's too smart to take up with someone like him, and she just needs some time of figure it out."
"And what in the name of weaponex do you think is wrong with my boy?" Donald asked dangerously.
"He's a fool," Henry replied coldly. "Unfortunately, he's also a good-looking fool. He just wants fast conquests - then he moves on to the next girl. He'll be a disaster as a husband and I feel sorry for whoever he weds."
Both men were now facing each other, but now their wives were squaring up behind them. Everyone was talking at once. No claws were out yet, but...
Gant took a step forward. That would make it easier for him to get between Lady Anna and the crowd. I made an urgent gesture to the samurai who were guarding the hall and they also pressed forward. When Blood disagree, the situation can quickly become very violent. I've helped break up more than one blood-soaked brawl in Lord Ashe's hall.
"STOP!" Lady Anna roared. Her years as a bard gave her impressive projection. That's useful for keeping the peace.
That made everyone shut up. All eyes were now on Lady Anna.
"Let's talk this over," Lady Anna said in a quieter tone. "There will be plenty of time for a fight later on."
Henry, Donald, and their respective wives were gone. It had been decided that whatever was going on between Cindy and Roy was just teenaged body-heat, rather than a calculated attempt to sabotage carefully arranged marriage plans. Henry and Donald had both given their word that if they came to claws-point, it would only be in a duel formally sanctioned by Lord Ashe. That put the most likely possibility of bloodshed on hold. Meanwhile, the various wives were obviously hell-bent on getting home and asking some pointed questions of their children.
I felt sorry for Cindy and Roy. Having multiple mothers simultaneously interrogating you must be a miserable experience.
"Lady Anna," I announced formally, "allow me to introduce my nephew - Jonah Anthony Parker. He's an Ensign-Herald of the Spider Legion and ninth in line to the mastery of House Parker."
Lady Anna's eyes flickered from Jonah to me. She's never asked me about my family or where I stood in the line of inheritance of my House. In fact, she'd never asked me anything about home. On the other hand, I was willing to bet that Lady Emma knew everything. That woman has no compunctions about wandering through the minds of others.
Jonah performed the appropriate cross-armed bow. I saw approval in Lady Anna's eyes. Heralds like Jonah are trained to be diplomats as well as soldiers, and it looked like the lessons hadn't been wasted. A former bard would appreciate that sort of thing.
"Ensign Parker, welcome to my husband's holding," Lord Anna said with obvious interest. "What brings you here?"
"My lady, I come on the business of House Parker," Jonah began respectfully. "My grand-father is the leader of both the house legion and the full Spider-Folk legion. He sends his greetings. At his request, I seek permission to speak with a Spider who is a member of your husband's household. Her name is Jessica."
"'Grand-father'..." Lady Anna repeated as she glanced at me. "Would he happen to be Benjamin's father?"
"Yes, milady."
Maybe Lady Anna knew more about me than I knew...
"That's what I thought," Lady Anna said thoughtfully. "Has Benjamin told you that Jessica's not here? And you do understand that Jessica is my husband's senior concubine?"
Jonah nodded. "Yes, my lady, I'm aware of her absence. However, I thought it only right to notify you of my intent. And, of course, speaking with Jessica will be on any terms that your lord-husband requires."
Damn. Little Jonah was pretty good at formal parley. Well... he wasn't exactly "little Jonah" any longer.
"Do you intend to wait until my husband returns?" Lady Anna asked.
"No, my lady. I hope to visit your husband's party. I understand he is meeting with other lords over a matter of some importance and that Jessica has accompanied him. However, my instructions are to contact Jessica as soon as possible."
Lady Anna looked at me. "Can you travel, Ben?"
"Yes, my lady," I said. I already felt better than I had that morning. Spiders don't heal as quickly as Blood, but we do recover from injuries far faster than most.
Lady Anna paused and gave me a long and worried look.
"I am your husband's senior samurai," I added. "I've been away from his side for too long."
Lady Anna nodded her head.
"Go with your nephew," she told me.
I bowed.
Then she gave Jonah a stern look. "Make damn sure that you speak to my husband before you talk with Jessica."
Jonah bowed as well.
I notified the samurai who was next in seniority that I would be leaving. I had no problems with that - Raven is a smart and efficient soldier. Frankly, I wouldn't be offended or surprised if Lord Ashe eventually asked me to step down and made her the senior samurai instead. In fact, you could argue that it had been a mistake in the first place to give me the job instead of her.
But then again, Lord Ashe wasn't given to making mistakes.
"Any idea how long you'll be gone?" Raven asked. She was a tall and broad-shouldered Blood with tawny hair and dark eyes.
We were standing just outside of Lord Ashe's stables. Jonah wasn't with us. He was picking up some provisions for the trip.
"Hopefully not long," I told her, "but you know how crazy things can get when you're with Lord Ashe."
Raven let out an amused grunt. Our lord often moved in rare company, and it wasn't unusual for his vassals to be caught up in that.
Then Sophie led a pair of horses out of the stables. She's one of the two half-Creed girls that Lord Ashe recently took into his household. Sophie has a way with horses and she liked to help the stable-master.
I tousled Sophie's hair and mounted one of the horses. Then Sophie handed me the reins to the other.
Raven said nothing as she watched us. She had a habit of never looking directly at Sophie or Samantha, but she always seemed to know exactly where they were. Like most Blood - hell, like most people of all races - she hates the Creed. All too often, half-Creed are seen as just more of the same.
While Raven's suspicions were obvious, I'd never seen her mistreat Samantha or Sophie. Actually, I suspected Raven also has some Creed blood. I could see it in her build and her eyes. I'd never said anything to her about that, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one who suspected. However, nobody was stupid enough to bring the subject up with her.
So one of Lord Ashe's best samurai was uncomfortable - and perhaps even ashamed - of who she was.
I knew the feeling.
I said my goodbyes to Raven and Sophie. Raven pressed her fist to her breast and I returned the gesture. Sophie just smiled - she's doesn't talk much - and waved as we rode off.
As we'd agreed, Jonah caught up to me at the village gate. He had a full traveling-pack over one shoulder.
"Let's go," I told him. Maybe my voice was a little distant. Talking with Raven had reminded me of how our lives are bound by things over which we have no choice.
Like family.
We stashed the supplies. Then Jonah mounted the other horse and we rode through the gate.