Chapter 12

Lex and Ebony said their goodbyes early the next morning, while Slade and Ruby waved them off and Skye glowered from the doorway. The young barmaid had never quite got used to the idea that Slade and Ruby were a couple and that her dreamy, mysterious, biker-guy was off limits; now that she was left alone with the happy couple, life seemed decidedly dire. She watched the three Mall Rats wind their way out of the small town and up the road to the city, then slunk back inside and resumed her usual position behind the bar. Life was so boring now, she thought as she polished the inside of a glass, perhaps it was time that she moved on too. But not before she'd given Ruby the time to find some more help, a voice in her head reminded her, it wasn't like the saloon was always this quiet.

Outside, Slade and Ruby turned, Slade's arm around Ruby's waist, and began walking back towards the door of the saloon. Just before they reached the doorway, Slade stopped.

"You know," he said, looking up at the hotel, then down at the young woman beside him. "I'm getting quite used to this place. What do you say we make this a bit more permanent?"

"Permanent?" Ruby replied, feigning puzzlement. "Well, I guess that all depends on what you mean by 'this', now doesn't it?"

"You know what I mean," Slade grinned. "But if it'll make you happy to hear me say it, I guess I'll say it," he knelt down, on one knee, his hand slipping easily from Ruby's waist to her hand. "Ruby, my rock, the centre of my universe, my one true love: will you marry me?"

****

Ebony, Paul and Lex made their way back to the city with mixed emotions playing on their faces. Paul's was a mixture of excitement, apprehension and frustration as he tried to teach Lex some signs while they walked. Lex's face showed a mixture of confusion and concentration, with the occasional spark of sudden, joyful understanding and relief. Ebony's face showed little and that, in itself, said a lot.

As they passed by the places she hadn't seen since she had left the city, Ebony's mind flew back to Jack. All around her were memories of one argument or another, the awkward, tender moments that had usually sparked the arguments in the first place, and the occasional snake. Sometimes she laughed to herself as she recollected something particularly stupid she had said or done, only to have the blindingly obvious pointed out by Jack, but most of the time her face was a dull, blank wall of detached reminiscences.

****

Jack had woken early, but had done little more than lie on his bed and think for most of the morning. Alice had gone off fuming the day before. Jetta had come to take Hope back that evening and had said hardly anything to him, regardless of the questions he asked. He had been left alone on the outskirts of the Amazon village with nothing to do but wait until someone next came to him.

As the sun began to creep through the north-facing window of his hut, he finally heard a knock at the door. Walking over, hoping that whoever was on the other side would be carrying his daughter, he opened the wood-panelled door and stepped aside to let the person enter. It was Jewel. She was alone.

At once, Jack's heart fell. Wordlessly, he offered the Amazon general one of the three-legged stools sitting by the small table in the hut. There were few furnishings in the one-room building. The low bed, a battered chair by the bed, two stools and the table were Jack's only furniture. A battered wooden box, a small, clay-set shard of mirror, a jug of water, a bowl and a carved wooden cup were his only accoutrements besides those he had brought with him. Jewel sat down at the table and laid upon it the platter of food she had brought Jack.

"My apologies," she began. "Someone should have brought you food earlier."

"It doesn't matter," Jack replied sitting down on the other stool. "I barely noticed the time passing anyway."

"Asleep?"

"No, just thinking."

"Of anything in particular?"

"A number of things."

"Anything I can help with?"

"Some, I suppose. I was thinking about when I would next see my daughter. A-and why, when she came to collect her last night, Jetta wouldn't say anything to me. Barely a word."

"The first I can answer: you will, most likely, see your daughter again today, though I do not know when today. The second is more difficult. I too have noticed something amiss with Jetta, but she has said nothing to me about it either and it is not my place to speculate. I will try and talk to her though, if you would like."

"I would appreciate that." Jack murmured thoughtfully. "S-something in her manner worried me more than just the silence. I wish I knew what it was: maybe I could help, o-or perhaps put her mind at ease about something, if only I knew what was wrong."

"I will speak with her then. In the meantime, however, I would like to bring Leila, our healer, to speak with you. You seem much better now that you are rested, but I would prefer to have her opinion. You certainly were not well when first we met."

"If you bring her to me, I'll speak to her, but I can assure you: I feel fine now. I'd been walking for a very long time, with very little rest, before I reached here. That's probably all it was."

"Nevertheless, I will bring her to you," Jewel rose to go. "Enjoy your meal. I will leave you in peace now while I fetch Leila."

As she left the hut, Jack turned to the platter. On it there was another wooden cup filled with milk, some fruit, some bread and a bowl of chunky meat and vegetable soup. The Amazons were fairly self-reliant in their valley: they had a good, clean water supply, they tended crops of vegetables and cereals and even an orchard. Jack hadn't seen any animals yet, but from the meal before him and the food he had already received, he guessed they must also keep pigs and chickens at least, and that there were fish in the river and lake. If they could keep out invaders, there was no reason why they could not go on living peaceful, healthy lives here indefinitely.

It seemed like a paradise. It was certainly a safe and welcoming place for Hope to grow up in. The feeling nagged at Jack, though, that this was not the right place for his daughter. Perhaps he was just being selfish, though, he told himself. He could not stay here indefinitely and so he did not want his daughter to stay here indefinitely. Yet something inside him argued that it was more than that: there was another reason why Hope should not be brought up here. If only he could figure out what it was.

****

Jetta sat in the sunlight by the river, playing with her daughter. If both she and Leila were right, and most likely they were, this would be the last summer she would have with her daughter and she wanted to make the most of it. She watched Hope laugh as one of the piglets from the youngest litter tripped over its feet and crashed into one of its brothers or sisters. Now was a time for life to begin. It made it all the more difficult for Jetta to accept that now was also the time for her life to end.

****

There were movements in the city. Not huge lurches noticeable by anyone, but tiny, hesitating, tiptoeing movements. Lots of them. Strangers were seen in the city. Traders. Wanderers. Nobody in particular. No large groups of people. Just occasional, isolated strangers who seemed to have nothing to do with one another. The only odd thing about them, were how many there were of them; but then, the city was at peace and people would start coming back about now. That's all it was. Wasn't it?