Disclaimer: Does this really have to be done for every chapter?? OK. Just checking!
A Legend's Journey
Chapter 22
Raine discovered that riding the Chocobo was not as difficult as she had feared. Daisy had a rhythmic stride that was easy to adjust to. She and Marin said little, just letting the birds eat up miles with their long, strong legs.
Unfortunately that freed her mind to dwell on the reason for this desperate race against time. 'Live, Auron! Live!! You have to live! I'm coming. I'm coming. Live!'
Marin kept a close check on her, watching her face. Her thoughts were plainly written there. She was willing Sir Auron to live with every ounce of energy within her.
Marin thought that he had now seen the gold-standard in what to look for in a wife: Soft, gentle, kind, loving but with an inner strength that defied measure.
The town was now many miles behind them and it was time to give the birds a rest. He began reining Dan in and Daisy began to slow her pace, as well. The change in the rhythm finally made Raine aware of her surroundings again.
She looked at Marin questioningly. "We have to rest the birds." She nodded.
He guided the birds off the narrow road to a large grassy area where the Chocobos could forage. Dan knelt and Marin dismounted, removed the supply pack and turned the bird loose.
He gently approached Daisy, took her reins and gave her the signal to kneel. He helped Raine dismount, removed the second pack and Daisy moved off to join Dan in looking for the certain grasses they loved.
He had spotted a cove of trees off to the side that would afford them some shelter and protection in which they too could rest. Unloading a few things from one of the packs, Marin took a little of the food and some juice and placed it before Raine. She was still in her own world of pain and wasn't capable of real thought. She looked at the food as if she wasn't really sure what to do with it. "You have to eat, Lady Raine. Just eat a little."
Numbly, she nodded and began to place a little of it in her mouth, though he was sure she couldn't have told him what it was. When most of the food was gone, he knelt beside where she was sitting, put the small bottle of juice in her hand and guided it to her mouth. She drank without protest – or any reaction at all. It could have been sour vinegar or water for all the notice she gave it.
Finally, she turned blue eyes to him. "Marin, what will I do?" He froze as he returned her look. "What will I do without him?"
Kneeling there, he pondered his answer. "Lady Raine, he's strong. Very strong! He loves you beyond all measure and he has tremendous determination. Don't give up on him. Just don't give up! Remember who he is!"
She studied his eyes for a time, then nodded. Glancing around, she asked, "Can we go now? Have they rested enough?"
Marin looked out at the Chocobos who had finished eating and were now just sitting. "Yes, I think they're ready. We can cover some more miles before dark."
Raine's eyes shot to his, "We have to stop at night? We don't have time, Marin! We can't stop!" The distress in her eyes was enough to melt any heart, especially when tears threatened to spill over.
He quietly said, "It just isn't safe to travel at night. Not only is it harder to spot fiends, but there are highwaymen on these roads. We must be very careful or we'll not reach Cortland at all."
Her eyes dropped. Her voice was so low he had to strain to hear. "We don't have time, Marin. We just don't have time. I have to get there."
Then her chin came up and her voice was stronger as she looked directly into the brown eyes above her. "Dale made it through, Marin. If he did, we can. We'll rest the birds as they need and ride straight through."
Marin thought of Sir Auron's words, "She can be stubborn..." and sighed. How to handle this?
"I'll compromise with you. We'll stop at dark and find a sheltered place where we'll be safe. Both highwaymen and fiends are most active during the first two-thirds of the night. Very early morning hours should be relatively safe. We'll rest during the first part of the night and resume travel the last part."
She thought about that. He could see that she didn't want to agree but could see the logic of his proposal. Finally she reluctantly nodded. He hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath until he exhaled at her response.
"But if we don't see any trouble, we'll keep going, right?"
Marin sighed. The Lady was going to Cortland as fast as possible and Sin itself wasn't going to stop her, much less one man. Well, he had been warned!
He collected the bags, helped Raine to her feet and his eyes scoured the road and surrounding area before leading her out of the protective trees. As soon as Dan and Daisy saw the humans, they rose and trotted over to them.
Raine found that she actually liked the feel of the soft feathers around their faces and they were quite vocal in their delight in having her pet them. Marin watched as he settled the pack-bags on each bird. Who ever would have believed that Lady Raine would not only be riding but petting Chocobos! It would take a powerful force to bring that to pass: love. If Sir Auron died, the people of the town would be losing two, not one, because she would never survive his loss.
Mounted again, Dan and Daisy resumed their steady, miles-eating pace. Marin and Raine were left to their own thoughts.
When they next stopped to rest the birds, the sun was all but gone. Marin had spotted a secure-looking place where they could all rest, Dan and Daisy included. He led them into it, turned the birds loose and seated Raine on a large broken tree limb where she could lean back against the trunk of the tree it had come from. He again placed food before her and she sighed. Blue eyes looked at him, "Thank you, Marin. You've been very kind to me."
He gave her a small smile, nodded and dropped his eyes. Later, their food eaten and juice consumed, Marin closed up the pack-bags, stood and stretched. "I'm going to make a short patrol of the area. Won't be gone long. Just stay here, OK? I'll be close by."
She nodded and he vanished into the darkness. She listened but could hear nothing but what seemed to be ordinary night noises. Dan snorted and she jumped. It seemed she heard other sounds but didn't know what they were. This was the first time she had ever been outside of the town at night. What was that?! That didn't sound right....
She stood, trying to see into the blackness. Her heart was now pounding, her breath a little faster. Where was Marin? He should be back now. She could see nothing; it was just too dark!
Then something moved and brushed up beside her. A yelp escaped her as a scream formed in her throat. Large hands took her arms as a voice said, "It's me, Lady Raine. Marin!"
Shaking, weak in the legs, Raine's breath left her in a rush. "Marin! You scared the daylights out of me!"
"I'm sorry. Are you okay? I didn't mean to frighten you."
Catching her breath, Raine nodded her head, not thinking that he couldn't see it in the darkness that surrounded them. "Raine? Are you all right?"
"Oh! Y-yes. Sorry, it was quite a start! I've never been outside at night in this world. And Au – Auron - has always been with me when I've been out late in town." The sadness in her voice was beyond description.
It was quiet for a time. "We'll get there, Raine. I promise you that we will get there."
She didn't respond.
"It's quiet out there. Why don't you try to get some rest for a while. We'll get a very early start, OK?"
Her low voice, "I'll try. Where will you be, Marin?"
"I'll be right here. The grass is thick so it should be fairly soft. Maybe you can doze a bit." He gave her a steadying hand as she wrapped her cloak about herself and settled onto the grass in the pitch blackness of the night.
He moved several feet away, found himself a semi-comfortable place and settled in to keep watch for a while. The night stayed quiet and a late moon rose sometime after midnight. 'Good! That will provide some light for an early start.' Marin finally entered a fitful doze.
A few hours later, he awoke. The moon was well up and casting sharp shadows. There was light enough to see that Lady Raine was where he had left her. He sighed, stretched and stood.
"Is it time, Marin? Can we go now?" She probably hadn't slept at all.
"Yes. Let me wake the birds. They probably won't be real happy about this." And he moved to quietly wake them and bring them up to where Raine waited. Loaded, mounted, they set out, miles passing beneath the feet of the birds.
They followed the same pattern until dark the second night. This time it was easier to convince Raine to wait until the early hours to resume their journey. With luck, they would reach Cortland sometime tomorrow. A knot formed in Marin's stomach as he thought about it. He greatly feared what they would find but he tried to hide it from Raine.
The next day they only had to rest the birds once. They reached the walls of Cortland before the next rest was required and Marin was a bit surprised. They had made better time than he had thought!
As the two entered the town, people stopped and silently watched them. Marin asked a citizen for directions to Mandy's Inn and the man just pointed. Giving the man an odd look, he led the way for Raine and quickly found the small inn. He had no idea that his appearance in his uniform was somewhat intimidating to those unaccustomed to see them, especially as he was escorting the wife of The Guardian to his deathbed.
Raine's tears, held in check for so long, began to course down her face. Marin halted Dan and Daisy and dismounted. As he was assisting Raine from Daisy, a young man existed the inn, looking from one to the other. Seeing Raine's face, he said, "Lady D'Auron?"
She nodded, her eyes not leaving his face. "I'm Lan. I was with Sir Auron – when..." Raine broke in sharply, "Take me to him!" Lan nodded and gestured for her to follow him.
A man who identified himself as Janson, the local wrangler, told Marin that he would look after the birds for him. Marin nodded his thanks and said, "We may not be here very long." Then he followed Raine into the Inn.
Raine entered the small anteroom where her husband lay so still, swathed in bandages and towels. Taking a deep breath, she slowly approached his side and took in the gray look of his face, the many wounds. She bent over the bed, took his hand in hers and kissed him. He never moved.
She knelt beside him and talked to him in her soft, low voice. "I'm here, Auron. I'm here. I love you! Oh, how I love you!" Repeated over and over. Nothing. She didn't think he could even hear her. He seemed to be barely breathing, his heart beat so weak.
Her stricken eyes looked at Marin's. She shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes. "He doesn't even hear me, Marin." A sob broke through.
"We don't know that, Lady Raine. We don't know that!" Marin looked at Lan, "Where is your Healer? Why isn't he here?!"
Lan told him what had happened. The only help Sir Auron had had were the two elderly owners of the inn and himself. He described what they had done in keeping him alive and had kept the infection from spreading by use of strong spirits.
Marin's eyes turned hard as stone. "Bring that man here. Bring him to me." Lan's mouth quirked upward a little and said, "It will be my pleasure!"
A crowd had gathered in the streets outside. Word of the arrival of Lady D'Auron and her uniformed escort had spread quickly. Indeed, the Mayor and other officials were present, as well, waiting to try to ingratiate themselves with her.
Raine was studying Auron carefully. Clearly he would get no help from the Healer here. She had to get him home. Somehow she had to get him to Julan. That was his only chance.
She went to the door of the inn seeking Marin. "Marin, we have to get him to Julan. That's his only chance! Is there a way to rig a litter for him between Dan and Daisy? They can carry him and we'll walk." Her voice broke, "That's the only way, Marin. He'll die if he stays here."
Marin looked into her blue eyes. He suspected she was right. "I need to see the local wrangler and see what we can devise. I don't even know if Dan and Daisy will accept such an arrangement; Chocobos always work independent of each other."
He paused, holding her hands, speaking very gently, "Lady Raine, you do know that he may not make it back home, don't you?" His brown eyes showing his own hurt, worries and fears.
She nodded. Barely audible, "I know, Marin. But we have to try. We have to try."
He thoughtfully nodded. He was about to turn to find the Chocobo wrangler when Lan broke through the crowd, roughly holding a terrified looking man by the elbow, shoving him before him.
"Here he is. This is the Healer who refused treatment for Sir Auron." The crowd gasped.
It had been Marin's intent to lay the man out in small pieces but he didn't get the chance. A flash in a blue cloak darted in front of him.
"YOU! You denied treatment to my husband?! You let him lay there for all these days and REFUSED to help him?!! YOU left his care to two elderly people and a man? You're nothing but a charlatan and deserve to be drawn and quartered!"
The terrified Healer was eying the sword she carried on her back.
She turned to the Mayor and the dignitaries. "How did you allow this?! You stood by and did nothing? YOU called him to come HELP you! He left his home and came to help YOU. What did YOU do to help HIM?! NOTHING!!!"
She was in full fury. "Know this! I'm going to do everything in my power to get my husband home where he can get real treatment – if he lives that long. If he doesn't, I will make it my personal crusade, as Lady D'Auron, to see that every person in Spira knows of the town of Cortland and of it's lily-livered, weak-kneed, sniveling excuse of a Town Council and especially of its pencil-necked, social-climbing, lying, coward of a charlatan 'healer' and the role each of you had in his death!"
"And if you don't think that the rest of Spira won't care about that, you are totally delusional!"
Turning to the Town Councilmen, "You were too cheap to pay the cost of security for your own town! You were willing to put your own people in jeopardy – because you were too cheap! What do you want your defenders to do? Swat at enemies with sticks?!"
Her voice dropping, "Do you know what the price of your cheapness is? My husband. Go in there and look at his body. Go see the price HE paid for your cheapness. That's his blood out there on the ground and soaking through all those bandages. His. He came because you asked. And you tried to kill him with your negligence."
Turning back to the Healer in a low voice that dripped with venom, "Get out of my sight, you useless worm! May you rot in Hell!"
Fury spent, her shoulders began to sag. Marin moved to her and spoke very quietly, "Are you all right?"
Equally low, she responded, "No, Marin, I'm not. I won't be all right until I get Auron home and restored to health again. I simply won't let him die!" Tears were sparkling in her eyes.
There was total silence in the crowd.
Raine returned to Auron's side and Marin went with Lan to Janson's corral. Marin explained what he wanted to attempt and asked Janson if he would help him devise a way for Dan and Daisy to carry a litter between them.
Janson rubbed his chin, then the side of his face, and finally his red hair as he thought.
"Well, to begin with, Chocobos don't work like that. They'll carry riders and independent pieces of cargo, but they won't work in tandem."
Marin's hopes dropped. Then he thought of very blue eyes. "Well, we'll just have to make it work. My thought was if we make a soft harness for each bird and then rest the litter length-wise between the two birds, neither bird would be overstressed as the load would be evenly distributed between the two. The litter wouldn't interfere with their movement. Lady Raine and I will lead the two of them."
He waited while Janson thought some more. At last he said, "That might work but you will have to find a way to get them to rise and kneel at the same time." He looked at Marin, eyebrows raised.
"I'll deal with that part if I come to it. Do you have something we can make the harnesses out of?"
"Yeah, I think so. Let me have a look back here."
Shortly he reappeared with lengths of soft material which he began to fit on Dan and Daisy. When he had finished looping, tying, fitting, and adjusting, he had the device Marin needed. The two Chocobos would travel beside each other, the litter between them. The ends of the litter would fit into special loops which would tighten as the weight of the litter was positioned, holding it securely. Marin paid Janson for his care of the birds and for the harness he had created. Thanking him again, he led Dan and Daisy back to the inn.
He and Lan discussed how to make a litter to carry Sir Auron. One of the men in the crowd, overhearing the discussion, tentatively interrupted and said, "I think I have something that may work for you. It'll take me a few minutes, but I'll go get it."
True to his word, the man appeared with a pair of strong railings, a heavy canvas stretched between the two. Marin thanked him and reached to put gil in his hand but it was quickly withdrawn. "Oh, no, sir. It's little we people of Cortland can to do make up for our leaders. But as little as it is, you are more than welcome to it!"
Marin nodded his thanks. A boy from the crowd offered to hold the reins of Dan and Daisy while Marin went into the inn.
Raine was still holding Sir Auron's hand, still talking to him. Marin caught her eye and he took her out to show her the arrangement they had rigged. She looked at the hard canvass of the litter. "We'll need to pad that with something."
The padding of the small bed upon which Auron now lay! It was narrow and would fit. Raine spoke with Mandy and asked for permission to take the thin mattress. It was gladly given. Raine hugged both Mandy and Jon, thanking them for their untiring efforts to save her husband. "There's no way I can adequately say 'Thank you' for that, but, from my heart, I do thank you. May you both be blessed!" She pressed a large amount of gil into Jon's hand over his protests.
Marin, Lan and several other strong men lifted the mattress and carried it out to the litter. Dan and Daisy looked a little skittish. Raine went to them, talking to them softly, gently stroking their feathers the way they liked and they settled readily.
Raine's eyes never left her husband as he was placed on the litter between the two birds, his head toward the front, feet to the rear.
The sight of the bloody bandages wrapping his many, grievous wounds drew gasps from the large crowd of onlookers. Raine looked at them, pointed at her husband and said, "That is the price he paid! Remember it!"
Marin accepted Auron's massive blade from Lan and placed it beside him on the litter. Raine carefully and gently covered him with his great red coat. She bent over him, caressing his ashen face, brushing that lock from his forehead, and kissed him gently.
Walking to stand in front of Dan and Daisy, she looked up at them with tears flowing down her cheeks, "Please help me get him home. Please help me one more time."
Daisy lowered her face to Raine's, Dan rested his head on her head for a moment. When Raine stepped back, she shook Lan's hand and thanked him profusely for his help, his thoughtfulness, and especially for his efforts in keeping Auron alive.
She looked at Marin and nodded. They turned to the birds, gently pulled the reins, and the two Chocobo carefully stepped out almost in unison, carrying their very precious cargo between them.
The crowds parted silently as the party made their way to the western gate of the town. A handsome young man in a unique uniform, a beautiful young wife in a blue cloak taking her husband home, and two Chocobo carrying a Legend. Going home.