#24 Women
Spring and summer had flowed into a warm, golden autumn. It was a clear, relatively dry afternoon when Kirra found that she had some time on her hands. Everyone seemed to be in relatively good health which had to be on account of the upcoming harvest. It looked to be a good year, or that is what Kirra had been hearing as she moved about the village. The thought of a comfortable winter put everyone in a good mood and helped them to stay well. A few minor accidents had occurred, but that, she was learning, was nothing out of the ordinary in this era.
The men were back from their latest mission and were happy. The Woad activity was, for the time being, relatively quiet and there had been no word that that was about to change any time soon. Perhaps they needed time to prepare for the upcoming winter as well.
Kirra was ready to relax and spend an afternoon with Gawain and his brothers. It surprised her at how easily she had been accepted into the knight's circle and how lively a group they were -- for men who's lives were not their own. Before, Kirra would have thought that they would be angry with their lot in life, but it seemed that they accepted it, for the most part, and some -- like Tristan, actually enjoyed it.
She made her way to the dusty training arena only to find it empty. A thoughtful frown creased her brow, not one man was present. That was unusual; normally at least one would be out here, doing something, even if it was only a bit of riding. She decided to pass through the stables and found them, too, empty of all human kind and paused to greet her horses. Both Fate and Jin had adjusted well to their new home and though Kirra had been worried about how Jin would be treated, she had learned that almost everyone thought the mare was striking.
One man in particular, who bred horses and sold them in the surrounding areas, had even asked if she would be willing to let his stallion breed the mare and named an astronomical price he would pay for the offspring if it were spotted like it's dam, and an above normal price if it wasn't, reasoning that it would have a bit of it's dam in it and so would perhaps produce spotted young.
Kirra had told him that she would think about it, but more then likely, she would agree to the bargain, if for nothing more then the money. Then perhaps she would have enough to purchase a stud of her own and breed her own horses. That was years away, though, after Gawain had been released from service. For now, Kirra was too busy to even give more then a passing thought to the future.
Giving a last pat to each of the mares and promising she would come back soon, for a ride and with treats, Kirra reluctantly made her way to the tavern. Even though Vanora worked in it, and Kirra usually ate there, and the men congregated there whenever they had a moment to eat and drink, and gamble; Kirra hated the place, simply for the women there.
They looked at her as a usurper of the men's attentions, when in truth their business had suffered very little since Kirra's arrival. The only one who wasn't buying was Gawain, but her presence certainly hadn't stopped the others.
It bothered one woman in particular, Petra. She was tall and striking, with flawless skin, lovely straight hair the color of polished oak, and eyes the bright blue of the sky. Apparently, she had been Gawain's favorite before he had gone away and she was not about to relinquish her position -- not for anyone, especially the small, dark, quiet healer, no matter the relationship between Kirra and Gawain. Tension between the two women was growing and would soon come to a head.
Kirra drew a deep breath, said a silent prayer Petra would not be around and entered the noisy tavern. Even in the middle of the afternoon it was quite full. It amazed Kirra that with so much work to be done men could still just sit around and be lazy, drinking away what little money they had, or didn't have, or wasting it in gambling or on a whore. Her eyes hardened when she saw Petra advancing on Gawain.
She watched as he laughed at what the woman had to say but got up and skirted her before she had a chance to plop herself in his lap. Petra followed him closely, sashaying and doing all in her feminine repertoire to get him interested in her, and leaned over his shoulder when he joined Gareth and Galahad in a game of dice.
Kirra grinned when he glowered at the woman and moved her clinging hands from off his shoulder. Gareth and Galahad were grinning at Gawain's predicament, but doing nothing to help, other then egg Petra on. Kirra rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation and walked over to the group.
Gawain's face lit in relief at the sight of her, while Petra's darkened and twisted into a very unattractive mask of hatred. Gareth exchanged a look with Galahad, that clearly said the following confrontation was going to be good and the two sat back to enjoy the show.
"So, what are we playing today?" Kirra asked the men, ignoring Petra. She casually slipped an arm around Gawain's shoulders and leaned in to examine the dice game.
In truth, she had no interest whatsoever in learning the game, but she would be damned if she would let Petra harass Gawain any longer, seeing that he unwilling to do much more to the woman then push her away.
"Have a free moment, Kirra?" Gawain asked as he wound an arm around her waist and pulled her close for a kiss.
"Yes, so I thought I would come and see where everyone was. When no one was doing any training, I figured you would be here." She glanced at the men, shaking her head and tsking, "Wasting time and money again, are we?"
"That is the general idea," Gareth said with a grin. "Want to waste it with us?"
Petra wrinkled her nose in displeasure at his invitation and positioned herself so that she was on the opposite side of Gawain, "Gawain was just about to teach me the rules of the game, before you so callously interrupted." She purred.
Gawain looked up at her in denial, "I …"
"Hush, love," she placed a finger over Gawain's lips and Kirra stifled a grin when he moved the woman's hand and dropped it. Disregarding the rejection, Petra turned her attention back on Kirra, "With that being the case, I think that you, being the great healer you are, must have something better to do then hang around and be a third wheel."
The gathered men were silent as Kirra snorted, "Third wheel? You apparently have no idea what's going on here, Petra. I have more right to be here then you; so maybe, you should count your losses and go annoy someone else."
Petra's fine eyes hardened into ice, "Annoy?" she sneered. "Why you little, bitch."
"Petra." Gawain growled in warning as he stood next to Kirra. His eyes had narrowed dangerously.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kirra saw that the other knights had stopped what they were doing and were watching with a feigned casual attention. Tristan had drifted closer, as had Dagonet. Bors was talking quietly -- for once, with Vanora, who was watching with worried eyes and Kirra wondered what exactly Petra was capable of. Only Lancelot sat unmoved from his place at a table, but his eyes were alert and his shoulders tense.
She drew away from Gawain and stepped into a relatively open area of the room, to give herself room to move had she the need, Petra took a step towards her, thinking that she had finally run the little healer off.
Kirra folded her arms over her chest and regarded Petra for a long moment before speaking, "I am anything but that, but I will guess that was the reason you called me that. Because you are quite like a bitch in heat and will mate with anything that has male anatomy and a decent price." Petra's mouth hung open in shock, but Kirra pressed on before the woman could come to her senses and interrupt.
"You hope to stain my reputation, when yours is the only one around here that had been blackened and by your own wanton actions. It's really pathetic that you couldn't come up with anything better or more realistic then the name that is better reserved for you. What a small, narrow mind you have, Petra." Kirra stated calmly, all the while hiding her enjoyment at watching the woman's face turn red and her nostrils flare.
"Little Sarmatian whore!" Petra exclaimed in fury. "You are only brave enough to use such words when you have all your men at your back to rescue you. But we all know the truth, you allow them to pass you around, like … like a …"
"A bicycle?" Kirra offered helpfully.
"Yes." Petra hissed, not realizing that she had no notion as to what a bicycle was. "Even your own flesh."
A collective gasp echoed through the now quiet room at her accusation. Gareth and Galahad got to their feet at this and stood staring daggers at Petra while the others drew even closer.
Kirra's eyes darkened at once, "Petra, think hard on what is about to come out of your mouth. I do not need my countrymen or my brother to protect me from the likes of you."
"That is how your people breed, or did you not know?" Petra's fury caused her to push on unthinking of the consequences, "They are just like dogs, meant to be kept under the feet of bet --"
She was silenced when Kirra, unwilling to listen to anymore of her ranting, moved towards her and without a word punched her full in the face. The taller woman went down hard and stayed down, whimpering and holding her bleeding nose.
Kirra bent down and Petra recoiled in fear of another strike. "You can insult me, you can try to take what you know is mine, but you will never, and I repeat, never insult my homeland, my people, and above all my brother. I may be small and quiet and a healer, but know this, I can take you out any time I so desire." She paused and looked around the room, then spoke with a small, malicious grin, "And I think you just lost a whole lot of business." She stood up shaking her left hand.
The room, which had been so silent moments before, slowly increased in noise once everyone had realized the action was over. The patrons returned to their diversions. No one moved to help Petra to her feet. She eventually gained control of herself and pulled herself to her upright. It was the last anyone saw of her. Many thought she had left town, which she should have because with insulting her regulars as she had, she had assured she would starve.
"Whoa," Galahad breathed and grinned at her. "Never thought you had it in you, Kirra."
Kirra winced in pain. She never thought hitting someone bare fisted would hurt as bad as it had. She felt like her hand was broken. Good thing she had been aware enough to use her left hand instead of her right. She managed a weak smile, "Well, I am Sarmatian after all. Ask Gawain about it sometime."
Gawain frowned at her as he gently took her hand and examined it, "Aye, but that does not mean that you should go about hitting everyone who insults you with no protection for you hands." He looked into her eyes, "You had better get Dagonet to look at it."
"Relax. I'm a healer, ow! Quit that." She yelped when Gawain straightened her fingers and snatched her hand back.
"Dagonet," Gawain called, looking for the big man.
Dagonet walked over and Kirra sighed.
"I need you to take Kirra and examine her hand. She will be lucky if it is not broken." Gawain said in a tone that brooked no argument. He slung an arm around her shoulders and smiled, "But I do have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the look of utter shock and amazement on Petra's face as she fell down."
Dagonet nodded in agreement, "That one's had it coming for awhile now."
Kirra looked between the two hovering men and found Tristan staring at her. His eyes were dark and she could tell he was not at all pleased with what she had done. She was sure that there would be a lecture somewhere in her very near future.
Her hand turned out not to be broken, just a bit out of place. She almost passed out when Dag had to put several fingers back. The big man was as gentle as always, but still it hurt.
"I can do that myself, Dag." Kirra protested when he spread a salve over the bruised and swollen knuckles and began to wrap it.
"Aye lovely, you can, but you care for us much of the time; it is my turn to serve you for a change." He stated in his deep, calm voice.
"I think Tristan is upset with me." She said, relaxing and letting the big man finish.
"Aye."
She sighed, "Why?"
"Because you should have walked away," A hard voice called from the entrance of the healing House.
Kirra looked up to see Tristan stride in and Dag take his leave. Gawain, seeing the expression on Tristan's face, kissed Kirra's cheek and stood to leave. As much as he had enjoyed watching Kirra hit Petra, he secretly agreed with Tristan and knew Kirra would listen closer to her brother and do what he asked. And she would not be mad at Gawain for the unwanted advice Tristan gave her.
"Coward," She hissed. He grinned, shrugging, and walked out the door leaving her to her fate.
Kirra slumped against the wall and glowered at her brother, "How do you manage that? Even Gawain won't stay."
Tristan didn't answer and continued to stare at Kirra for a moment or two.
"You can knock that off, it won't work on me," she snapped heatedly. "I am not afraid of you."
His harsh expression didn't fade, "I do not want you to be afraid of me, but you cannot do that again. It is too dangerous."
"Punching a whore who thoroughly insulted me and everyone I love, is dangerous?" Kirra asked with sarcastic incredulity.
Tristan searched her eyes, so like his own, down to the hard look in them. "No, calling such unwanted attention to yourself is dangerous. You never know who might be connected to whom here."
"So this has nothing to do with knocking Petra down, it is merely the fact of the matter."
Tristan's eyes narrowed at the belligerence in Kirra's voice, "You could say that."
"Fine," she snapped, "I get the point. I don't need you, of all people, to lecture me on the subject further." Kirra was getting angrier, without knowing why. Tristan was only looking out for her.
He took her wounded hand gently in his, "I want you to be safe, Kirra."
She brushed the angry tears from her eyes, "I know."
"Then why do you fight me?"
"I don't know. I never had anyone but my parents to tell me what to do. Now I have you -- you follow me all the time and make sure I behave. And there is always someone watching me. Even Gawain acts like some caveman, even to Arthur. It's stifling."
Tristan smiled a small smile and kissed her bruised knuckles. He could be quite charming when he put forth the effort and Kirra was hard-pressed to remain angry when he was like that and Tristan knew it.
"We just want you to be safe. Gawain informed me of the place you came from." Kirra scowled, upset to know that they had been discussing her. "It is much different here, more dangerous and it is less difficult for us to do what we are supposed to if we know you will behave yourself when you are out of our sight. So, do not cry. We don't do it to hurt you."
"I know. I am trying."
Tristan nodded and sat beside her on the cot, "As are we. You are not the only one who has been thrust into a difficult situation."
Kirra looked over, her grey eyes troubled at his words, "I'm sorry."
But Tristan was patient. Kirra was far more innocent then he first thought, "There is no need to be sorry. You were sent to help us and we value you more than you know. Be patient and let us look after you as well we can."
"All right," she sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, taking comfort in him. "Thanks, Tris."
Tristan smiled in contentment and wrapped his arm around his sister. It was surprisingly pleasant to have someone who needed him in a way other then killing.