Nothing you recognize belongs to me.
Chapter 4
The ground crunched rhythmically under Gawain's boots. Sometime in the early morning Railen's birthing pains had started. It was now nearly mid day and it didn't seem like things were going very easy. A hand on his arm made him jump higher than he ever had before.
"Peace, nephew." Tatiana's gentle face probed his. "Night is coming; you must know what it means for her to have the pains for this long."
Gawains face fell and he dropped to his knees.
"There must be some small hope aunt. Some way to help her? A healer in another camp? I will ride out."
A scream broke into the hard silence, earning a heartbreaking groan from Gawain.
Tatiana drew a deep breath and put her hands on the side of his face.
"Earlier this morning she began bleeding. Now it's so heavy, we're not sure if the baby is still alive. She is beginning to push and it won't be long after that before her blood flows freely."
Tears streamed freely down his cheeks as Galahad approached the sad group. His mother turned to him and pulled him into a tight embrace, instinctively he knew if he let her go she would fall apart.
Gawain nodded and gathered his strength, he hadn't let anyone die alone the entire time he was sworn to Rome and he wasn't going to start now.
The familiar scent of blood filled his nose as he stepped into the tent. His sisters blond hair pasted to the bed as rivets of sweat poured down her face.
He looked over to the elderly woman worrying over her knees and gestured for her to leave.
"Gawain" The name was breathed so soft he wasn't sure he heard her.
"Rae"
"I'm so scared….I can feel the baby trying to be free but the blood…"
Gawain went over to her and poured a fresh cup of water into her mouth and over her hair. Smoothing her face he kissed her forehead.
"I'll be here until it's over, love. I'll never leave you."
Aanya watched the brothers from her place weaving with one of the elders. As she shuttled another gray thread through the loom she caught what she didn't know was a rare smile from this man her brother had fought besides for fifteen years.
"Tristan" she breathed almost silently, but not silently enough. She soon found she had garnered the attention of the elderly matchmaker spinning thread.
"Keep dreaming girl."
Aanya's cheeks reddened and she focused intently on her loom.
"I won't pretend to know what you are speaking of."
The old woman tisked beside her and pointed to their differing tattoo's.
"You may have weaseled your way into our tribe while we were under attack. Seduced that there man's brother, but you were no wife. There will never be a match made between our tribes."
The old woman pointed at her cheeks and her forearms.
"There will never be a child with both of our markings. The gods looked favorably upon us when they washed that child out of you."
"You mean old hag!"
A high shrill scream sounded from behind them and Aanya looked into the young girl's eyes sharply shaking her head.
Sonia walked up quickly and kissed Aanya on both cheeks, ignoring her pleading looks.
"She was more of a family to me when my brothers were taken than any of my own tribe! Least of all you! My brother loved her, your kinsman gave his life for her and you best not forget that."
The old woman began puttering and standing dropping the roving to the ground.
"You mind your manners young lady."
Sonia stepped between the woman and Aanya raising a finger to the woman's face.
"I am neither young or a lady, and you will show respect to one who took in a small child and his sister even though she sees her dead husband in our eyes every time she looks at us. This woman has suffered through more than you can ever imagine and still she takes care of anyone who needs help, no matter their tribe. You should be honored that such a woman deems you a help."
"That's enough Sonia, I am not without fault."
Aanya pulled the young girl to her chest and kissed her cheek.
"I don't think I need anymore help, Sonia and I will finish up."
The old woman harrumphed and gathered up her skirts. As she stomped away Sonia stuck out a tongue at her.
"Stop now." Aanya chided her as they sat down to finish the fabric. "If you're not careful she'll match you with Loudin."
"That's not funny!" Sonia looked at her in horrified astonishment. "He has so much hair you hardly notice if he takes his shirt off, and his stink is so great no one can keep a tent within any reach of his!"
After a moment of mock seriousness they burst into laughter, doubling over at the waist and rolling on the soft grass.
Across the camp the little confrontation did not go unnoticed.
"See?" Raif said looking up at his brother "Aanya is too forgiving; Sonia puts them in their place when they talk down to her."
Tristan nodded silently and motioned for him to follow over to the log being used for target practice right outside the camp. He pulled out an ornately carved bow and caressed it, smelling the wood he tested it and handed it to the young man.
"This was fathers bow. He gave it to me when I left, and its twin to Jeriah. Now you have this one and I will take the one meant for the eldest male. When you marry we will carve another for you to pass to your sons."
Raif nodded seriously and took the arrow Tristan handed to him. After a moment of concentration he loosed the bow and the arrow flew straight into the top right portion of the log. Tristan nodded thoughtfully and took an arrow for himself, nodding for Raif to watch his form. He emphasized each slight adjustment of the bow, his fingers, and the arrow and then loosed it. The arrow pierced Raif's splitting it in two.
After a moment of head shaking Raif began again, making the small adjustments like his brother showed him. After a few tries he got the arrow's so close they were touching.
Tristan nodded. "Keep practicing and it will become second nature, adjusting to the wind and the movement of the target will be almost imperceptible to anyone watching."
Raif smiled and walked with him to the log, slowly they began taking out arrows.
"Will you take Aanya as your wife?"
Tristan sighed heavily and pulled two knives out of his boot showing Raif how to smooth the arrows back out.
"Tell me about her."
Raif kept silent for a moment and then nodded as if he had decided Tristan was worthy of this knowledge.
"I was so young I didn't know what was happening at the time. All I knew was there were people from the Fenni coming to stay with us. A crazy man came and Jeriah would take him in when no one else would. The man would tell stories about a woman. Or, that's what I thought they were. After the meal we would sit in the tent and he would tell us about Aanya's dark hair, Aanya's happy smile, Aanya's kind heart. Sometimes he would leave for awhile, but whenever he would come back he would tell us another story.
"It got to where Jeriah or I would ask him how she was, who was caring for her back in his village. He would always say that Aanya cared for all and that the only one's left to look after her where the gods. Eventually he told us they were bringing the village to stay with us and that Aanya would be with them."
Raif smiled a little and shook his head.
"For the whole week Jeriah barely slept, he and Sonia and the others would argue all night about Aanya. Sonia thought she would be just as wonderful as the crazy man said, and I agreed with her, but the others said that certainly a girl with a crazy father would be crazy as well.
"The day she came was bad, her father had been killed on the way back and she had watched him die in the field. Sonia and I had to help prepare the pyres so I didn't see what the elders had done but when we came back to tell them they could bring the bodies Jeriah was screaming over the mans body at our elders and Aanya was being held back by a couple older men from her tribe.
"I guess our elders didn't want him to be burnt with our dead and they had arranged for her to be housed with the elder men of her own tribe since she had no kin."
Tristan looked up at his brother sharply
"She had kin."
"That's what Jeriah said but they ignored him. Eventually they sat down for a council and agreed to burn him in the proper tradition, but they were still going to give her to the elder men. I didn't understand why that was so bad at the time, why Jeriah was so angry. But now I see that they wanted her as a play thing.
"It almost came to a fight, swords were drawn but Aanya stopped it. She insisted they all back down, she said she would be placed where the tribe saw fit and that she would not see any fighting done on her behalf. Then she began to cry, it was as if something had broken inside her. I remember it so clearly because I wanted to go to her. I was so young it should have made me want comfort myself but I wanted to sooth her as Sonia did to me some nights when I thought of father. I think they were all so shocked, they all were just then realizing what fate they had given her that they didn't know what to do next.
"Jeriah came to her slowly; he walked through all the men looking at her as if she had sprouted wings. Sonia followed him and soon Jeriah had picked her up and Sonia and I and the others were surrounding them. He looked at the elders of both of the tribes and told them that she was his wife now, and she was under our protection."
Tristan bundled all the arrows they had straightened and motioned for his brother to continue with the story.
"I don't remember the wedding or the funeral pyres that day either, but from then on she lived in the tent with us. She slept on the roll with Jeriah and sometimes the other brothers would take Sonia and me on watch with them."
Raif lifted his eye brows at Tristan to show that he knew just what his brother and his wife were doing on those nights. Tristan chuckled a little and nodded sagely.
After a breath Raif's face smoothed into a blank mask, something that told Tristan the rest of the story would not have the same bit of goodness in it.
"Then the fighting started. One day one of the brothers came to camp and told all the women and children to leave. Aanya put Sonia and me on a horse but it took two of the brothers to get her to go too. That night after everyone was asleep I heard Jariah whispering to Aanya in the tent. She left to speak with him and I listened in.
"I don't remember all of it, just little pieces. Jariah and the brother along with a couple other men were going to be made examples so that the rest of the tribe would live. Aanya kept whispering that she wouldn't let him that she would kill all the Romans that ever lived. Once she said she would kill herself and he yelled. He said that Sonia's fate would be like hers would have been, he asked her to care for us. She sobbed and then."
Raif looked up, a little embarrassed.
"Then they, you know, took off their clothes and…"
Tristan nodded his head furiously.
"Yes, yes, I understand."
After a long silence Tristan took a deep breath.
"So she stayed with you? Cared for you?"
"Yes, for a little I thought she really would die without Jariah. For a few weeks Sonia would feed her and make her drink water and then Aanya snapped out of it and has cared for us ever since."
Raif looked at his thumbs for a little and huffed a sigh.
"I thought I was going to be an uncle for a little too, but one night Aanya bled all over. I thought for sure she was going to die, but after a while she called for Sonia and me and we all slept together that night in the healers tent. We are family."
Raif looked up at Tristan furiously, conviction deep in his eyes.
"The elders would never let her but she deserves our marks. And Sonia and I should have hers as well. If you take her, you will be good to her. Or I will slit your throat."
There was such a certainty in the young boys eyes Tristan did not dare doubt a word out of his mouth. He gave himself a moment to think and then nodded.
"If Aanya wants me, I will marry her. And we will give her our markings."
Raif's smiled wide and stood to walk back to the camp. Turning around and rising Tristan saw Aanya and Sonia walking towards the edge of the camp to meet them, skipping backwards Raif called out to his big brother.
"It will not take long, you will love her well."
Tristan furrowed his brow a bit at that but as the boy approached her and gave her a true greeting, two kisses on her cheeks, and began describing their day he found himself hoping that was true.
Hoping desperately there was enough love left in him for this girl.
The flames leapt into the night air as Gawain rocked the baby girl in his arms. It had taken almost four more hours but eventually the baby came out and with it the rest of his sisters' life. With her last breath she made him vow to raise her child himself.
"Etta, Etta" he crooned as the last of the ashes flew in the air.
Galahad came up next to him and stroked the small babe's head.
"One of the midwives found a small skein to feed the baby with, and they found us a goat since there are no mothers with milk in the village."
Gawain nodded and bent down to kiss the baby forehead. Passing her over to Galahads mothers waiting arms he turned to Galahad.
"We need to go find Dagonet's family. Then we need to get all of our family back to Briton where we can keep them safe. Well, as safe as one can ever be in this world."
Galahad nodded sagely and Gawain elbowed him in the ribs with a little grin.
"Will we be taking that woman of your dreams?"
Galahad turned beet red and sighed dramatically.
"Apparently I never spoke to her when I was younger; she is quite possibly the most idiotic annoying woman I have ever encountered. The sooner we head back to Briton the better."
Hope you liked it!