This is what happens when you procrastinate too much. It ends up being 3 am in the morning and you still haven't started any of the homework due in nine hours or studied for the test that is in six hours or read up on the stuff for a job interview in 10 hours. Instead, you produce a chapter and a half of fanfic. One of these days, I will actually go to bed on time before a test…
As for some responses to some reviews in my previous fanfic, "Mercenaries Don't Die"…
Hellphyre: if I remember correctly, there is a scene after Kero makes it back to Bolthaven when she is sitting in her office with the officers of the Bolts and a member of the Mercenaries Guild when they are filling her in on what happened. I remember someone (Shallan? Gies?) saying that after Kero took her rights and left, they called a vote and voted Ardana out. That's how Kero ended up as Captain. She was the only person they could all agree on. Please correct me if I'm wrong. My copy is now 2300 miles away from me, so I can't look it up to verify it.
Lady Ealisaid and Jerry: I didn't kill her! I didn't kill her!
Everybody: You guys are awesome! Your help and reviews kept me going when the story bogged down and actually inspired some portions of the plot. I hope you all like this story as much as you did the previous one. And now, with only a disclaimer and no other ado, I present to you Acacia's story. Enjoy!
Almost forgot to review name pronunciation: Acacia Uh-KAY-see-uh; IantheEE-an-tee; CaiaKY-uh; AikoEYE-ko; DaminiDAY-min-ee; Sariah suh-RYE-uh. If I missed any, let me know.
Disclaimer: Yeah. They're not mine and I'm not making a profit from them. They belong to Mercedes Lackey.
Rated for language and adult themes!
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Chapter 1
The peace and quiet was enough to make her bones melt in relaxation. It was a glorious spring day and a quiet breeze whispered through her window, sliding over her face and easing the warmth of the sunlight that turned her mound of blankets into a pleasant cocoon. The man tucked in with her murmured in his sleep and tucked himself in tighter to her, a hand sliding along her ribs to tuck underneath her opposite side. He began to drowsily nibble his way from her earlobe down along her jaw, and she smiled in contentment. The sloppy line of saliva that drooled along her cheek, however, was not quite what she was hoping for.
"What the-" Acacia opened her eyes to a leering grin on a face that could charitably be called vaguely mutt-like. "Rex! Get off of me!"
The huge dog lumbered off of her and cast a look that plainly said he was sorry.
"Don't look at me like that!"
The hulk of a dog lowered his shaggy head to peer out at her through the fringe of shaggy grey fur covering his face. He quietly whined and Acacia felt her resolve thinning.
"No. I am not falling for that." Nodding decisively, she tossed back the blankets of her bedroll and reached for her boots. Then she swore and pulled the blankets back around her, snuggling down as far as she could, shivering all the while. The cold was so intense as to be almost painful, and her bones sent up an instant protest. She turned back to Rex and held up the blanket an inch.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Get in here and get me warm!"
Whining in happiness, the dog bounded back over and did his best to wriggle under the blankets. He was easily bigger than she was, and the blankets were not quite big enough for the both of them, but there was reason Acacia brought Rex with her wherever she went. He radiated heat better than any coal brazier she had ever found. A few moments of wriggling and Rex was snoring loud enough to wake the camp, if there had been a camp. Acacia was traveling by herself this day, save the company of Rex. Even he was not good company on occasion. Still, Acacia found herself infused with almost unnatural happiness today. Today, she would be home.
Almost makes me wish I were still with the Bolts, she mused.
The Skybolts were one of the best mercenary Companies around. Unfortunately for Acacia, they were no longer quite as mobile as she would like. The Bolts guarded their town and did the odd job for the Queen of Valdemar, but they did not leave their winter quarters in the spring to go campaigning nearly as often as they once had. As a young mercenary, Acacia needed all the experience she could get. Now, however, it was the off-season, and she was determined to spend it at home with her family. The latest batch of fosterlings had finally been housebroken, so it was going to be a relatively quite winter, or as quiet as a house with a mercenary captain, her husband, three hellions and five grown daughters popping in and out gets.
"Cacie! Stop being a wimp and get your arse out of that tent!"
"Aiko?"
Unwillingly, Acacia dragged her cold bones from her blankets and popped her head out of her tent. Aiko shena Talesedrin, the baby of the family, calmly sat upon her Companion's back, completely swathed in furs and cloaks. Her Companion was likewise swathed in a thick horse-blanket.
"You idiot, you're supposed to take the blanket off while you're riding her."
"You try to get a blanket off a cold Companion and see what happens!"
Miri, Aiko's Companion snorted and glowered at Acacia. The Companion, also like her Chosen, preferred to indulge her love of bright colors every chance she could. Aiko and Miri sported bright beads and even brighter braids. How do you dye a Companion's mane? I thought all dyes bleached out right away?
"Let's go! Miri wants to make an impression on Kantor, so we have to move before the dye fades."
"Well, that answers my question."
Aiko's ice-blue eyes glittered in humor. Her dark hair was also completely covered by a fur lined cloak, but two braids on either side of her face had been artistically allowed to escape from the cloak. These braids had been dyed a bright blue to match Miri's braids. Miri's saddle was also no longer the standard blue and white of traditional Heraldic tack, but a colorful splash of blues, purples, reds, yellows and greens shaped to show the personalized designs of her tack. Aiko, however, had partially acquiesced to the wishes of the Heraldic Circle. She wore Whites, but she wore Shin'a'in Whites instead of the Palace-issued Whites most Heralds wore. When combined with her darkly exotic Shin'a'in complexion and willowy body, Aiko attracted more male attention than even Ianthe with her flame red hair.
Acacia pulled her head back in her tent with a muttered, "Hold on, I'll be ready soon." Rex soon came barreling out of the tent, barking his head off and whining in excitement as he danced around Miri and sniffed at Aiko's feet. Hellsbane wandered back to the camp from the stream as Acacia emerged, fully dressed and bundled up, and began to break down her tent. This particular Hellsbane was multiple-great granddaughter of Kero's original Hellsbane and had quite a few quirks to her personality, mainly her love of stealing objects from Acacia and making Acacia chase her in order to get them back. Today, it was one of Acacia's blankets that got pilfered from her bedroll, causing another delay as Acacia had to remake her bedroll. By the time Acacia was ready to go, Rex had finally managed to settle down and was sitting calmly, trading sniffs with Miri.
"Are you ready yet? I can Hear Ianthe now, and she says we're the last ones."
Acacia mounted and grinned at Aiko. "Let's go. Is she saying how everyone is?"
Aiko paused while she Asked Ianthe. "She says Caia is ready to strangle her husband and she is so sleep deprived she is hallucinating. Auntie Kero is worried Caia will hallucinate Trevor is mouse and try to kill him."
Acacia grinned. Caia had given birth to her first child, a baby boy named Bram, a few moons ago. He had already been tagged as the third of the Terrible Trio by two of the new fosterlings, twin boys by the names of Merrick and Graham, in spite of the fact that Bram could not even sit up yet, much less walk. Sariah, their older sister, stoutly refused to be a part of their romps and spent most of her free time in Companions' Field, "communing with the gods know what", as Kero put it. Unfortunately for Sariah, she had to go to school, unlike Merrick and Graham. They were too young to start school, so they spent most of their days following Kero, Alberich or Daren around. Sariah, interestingly enough, had attached herself to Eldan and often spent her evenings reading books with him or playing a game of chess while Kero wrestled the boys into submission and bed. Acacia was looking forward to this, to evenings in the common area or with her Heraldic friends out on the town. This past campaign season had been rough. She needed to recover.
"Cacie?" Aiko's voice drew her out of her reverie. "Are you all right?"
Acacia forced a smile. "Just a bit tired. I need to get home."
To her surprise, Aiko met Acacia's eyes, and Acacia saw the same darkness there. "Me, too." Aiko drew in a deep breath. "Come on. Let's get home so Auntie Kero can growl at us and Uncle Eldan can spoil us."
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"About damn time!"
Kerowyn shena Talesedrin, Herald of Valdemar and Captain of the Skybolts, swooped in on Acacia as she stepped through the door of the blessedly warm cottage. Acacia did not have time to put down her saddle bags before she was gathered up in a hard hug. Then Kero stepped back from the hug and gripped Acacia by the shoulders.
"I was worried about you! Where's your little sister?"
Acacia felt the familiar warmth begin to creep into her body and her heart. "She's putting her bags in her room. She'll be down in a bit."
Kero examined Acacia minutely as Acacia did the same to her. Acacia's Auntie Kero was just as beautiful and ageless as ever. Her white-blonde hair was gathered back in a no-nonsense braid and even now she wore her standard dark grey leathers. The leathers clung to a body that made Eldan, her husband, the envy of every man at Court. Her crystalline blue eyes missed nothing, and Acacia knew they were taking in every change and analyzing them.
"You've lost weight," Kero commented quietly, meeting Acacia's eyes. "I heard through the Guild that the Hunters had a rough season."
Acacia felt her shoulders sag a bit. The understanding in Kero's eyes was close to her undoing, but she kept the weight of her grief back.
"We lost our Captain. The new Captain is good, but he's different."
Kero nodded. "The toughest lesson of life as a mercenary: life goes on."
Acacia pulled in a deep breath. "Well, I'm home now. I'm here for the rest of the off-season. Captain gave me leave papers and everything."
"Good! Your new foster-siblings have been anxious to meet you and Aiko. And it'll be nice to have your room filled. The twins sleep together in the nursery. Can't keep those two separated. Sariah insists that pink is the only color a girl's room should be, so she took over Caia and Ianthe's old room. Talia stopped over yesterday and made me put clean bedclothes on your bed and all of that nonsense that women are supposed to do. Don't know why. Always made you change your own bedclothes before…"
Acacia let Kero's old and familiar mutterings wash over her like balm on a wound. She had been missing this: Kero muttering about "woman things", tripping over toys, cracking her shin on the table in front of the common room hearth again, the sounds of Companions romping through the trees outside her window, the familiar sights and smells of life at home. She dumped her bags at the foot of her narrow bed and almost wept at the thought of sleeping in a real bed. Rex had wandered in behind her and was now investigating the various corners of the room.
"You remember the rules about dogs?"
Acacia rolled her eyes. "Yes, Auntie Kero. I'll take care of him."
"Is he housebroken? I just got the twins housebroken and I refuse to clean up any more shi-"
"Auntie Kero!" Aiko's yell from outside of the cottage interrupted Kero in mid curse. "Are you in there?"
"You know I am, Rotten Wench!" Kero bellowed back. "Stop yelling!"
Aiko bounced into the room. There was no other word for it. Her energy level had obviously been revived by being home, and she now bounced into a hug from Kero. A quick glance from Kero confirmed what Acacia had been thinking.
"Stop faking it, Baby Girl. I'm not falling for it. Sit down before you fall down."
Aiko grimaced and sank down on the end of Acacia's bed as Acacia settled down against the headboard, fluffing a pillow and stuffing it behind her head. Kero shook her head forlornly.
"When I sent you two off in the spring, I was expecting you both back in relatively decent shape. What do I get back?" She did not wait for an answer. "A pair of skeletons that stole the skin of two of my daughters. Caia is going to fret herself into another hallucination over the two of you, Dami is going to get into one of her moods and come up with some strange magical weapon she is convinced will protect the two of you from some strange happenstance, and Ianthe is going to… I don't know, but she'll do something to annoy me because the two of you couldn't take care of yourselves for one campaign season. Not even you, Aiko! And you spent the summer with the Clans!"
Acacia vaguely realized that she should have been insulted by the implication that Aiko was more capable of taking care of herself than Acacia was, but decided she was too tired to care. Both she and Aiko nodded gamely.
"You two have no idea what I am talking about, do you?"
They both nodded.
"Rex has two tails."
They nodded again. Kero rolled her eyes. Acacia's eyes were mostly closed and Aiko was staring off into space in a way Kero recognized from babyhood.
"Come on, Aiko." Kero strode to the foot of the bed, grabbed Aiko's left arm and slung it across her shoulders so she could grab Aiko's wrist in her own left hand. Kero's right arm went around Aiko's waist. With a heave, Kero got Aiko up and moving. She quickly tucked Aiko into the big bed she shared with Eldan, then returned to Acacia's room to get her settled in. Acacia was already asleep, still fully dressed and propped against the headboard. With a few muttered curses, Kero got her lying flat, pulled off Acacia's boots and got her tucked under the blankets. She was rising from her seat on the side of the bed, when Acacia lightly grabbed at her wrist.
"Auntie Kero?"
"I'm right here." Kero sat back down on the side of the bed.
"No dreams tonight."
"No." She smoothed back a stray lock of blonde hair from Acacia's forehead. "No dreams tonight."