Rescue

"Care to stop and stretch your legs a bit?" Bronn asked gently, and Rowena realized he must've thought she was asleep. She had been lost in her thoughts, and near tears at the memories of Jon, and how lucky she'd been for the kindness of her Aunt Rosamond and Uncle Bayard. She rubbed at her eyes as if she was sleepy, glad that Bronn didn't notice. He was already off in search of a spot to relieve himself, leaving her alone with the horse.

They had stopped near a stream so she led the horse over to drink, with Kip bounding ahead of her. The red and white dog found a shallow spot and laid down in the cool water, lapping it up with his tongue as he cooled his feet and belly.

When Bronn returned they found a shady spot near the water's edge to sit down and give the horse and dog a rest.

"So tell me about this boy of yours," he said, "Will I get to meet him?"

"His name was Jon, he was the oldest." She replied softly, hoping her emotions would not get the best of her. "He was married off and sent away. We never saw him again. He was my best friend out of all the children."

"More than friends though, eh?" he asked carefully.

"I don't know, I guess we thought so at the time. But I was only thirteen. I did love him, but I don't know if it was the same as when a woman loves a man." She shrugged and looked at him, but she couldn't read his face. "What about you?" She ventured. "Were you ever married? Have any children hidden away somewhere?"

"NO to the wife," he replied emphatically, "and no children that I'm aware of." He gave her a guilty smile.

She returned the smile and studied him as he leaned his head back against a tree and closed his eyes. She knew so little about this man, but she was drawn to him almost as much as she could be frustrated by him. The more time she spent with him, the more his rough looks appealed to her. She liked his strong hands and was even growing fond of his beard, which she never cared for on men. But it was his pale blue eyes that fascinated her the most. They stood in such contrast to the rest of him, his manner and his appearance, which could be dark and menacing.

"What?" he said suddenly, startling her from her observations.

"Nothing," she replied innocently. He opened one eye to look at her suspiciously.

"Just thinking," she said, finally getting a chance to laugh at him for a change.

"Hmm" was his only response and his eyes were closed again. She turned to watch the water instead, smiling to herself.

After a short rest and some water, they were on their way again. Rowena started to recognize familiar landmarks, and that was when she felt her stomach turning. Had she really thought she would get through this so easily? They finally came over a hilltop, and the farmhouse was in view. It was situated high on a hillside, above a green valley, where it was easy to keep an eye on the pastures and livestock below. Behind the house and to the north was a dense forest.

When she saw the house, Rowena felt the first feelings of panic. She reached over Bronn's hands and tugged on the reins to bring the horse to a stop.

"You're not a little girl anymore," he said calmly. "He can't do anything to hurt you. And he won't be the same man you remember. He's old and weak and sick from too much wine. You'll see."

She turned and gave him a half-hearted smile, hoping he read the thank you that she was unable to voice just then.

"Ready?" He asked after a few moments.

"Maybe we should walk the rest of the way?" she suggested nervously.

"Once we reach the bottom of the hill, we'll walk." His voice was gentle and calming, and she took a deep breath and steeled herself.

"Alright, ready." She said, as confidently as she could manage.

"Besides," he said, as he urged the horse to walk on, "you've got me and this vicious beast here to protect you." He looked down at Kip, who looked at him as if he understood, and wagged his tail."

Rowena looked down at the smiling, wagging dog, and she did feel a little calmer.

Impulsively, she put her hand on top of Bronn's, which was at her waist, and whispered, "You won't leave me alone with him?"

"No, love," he assured her. "I have my orders. I go wherever you go." And she kept her hand pressed firmly on his, as he held her tightly against him.

At the bottom of the hill, he dismounted and helped her off, and they continued on foot. She gave up on stilling the sickening twisting of her stomach, and just allowed herself to sit with the anxious feelings, knowing they wouldn't go away until she actually came face to face with Averet.

As they neared the house, a young boy came running down to greet them. Rowena thought he must be about thirteen or fourteen, and wondered if he could be the youngest child, who had been about eight when she'd left. He was the last of Anne's children. She had died shortly after his birth. It had been a difficult birthing, and afterwards, Anne continued to bleed for several days, and the life was literally drained from her body. It had been a horrible time for them all.

Behind him there were two more, much younger children, who she didn't recognize. They had obviously come after she'd gone away, and she wondered who they belonged to. She had no idea if either of the other girls had married.

The first adult she recognized was Metylda, the eldest daughter, who would be a woman of three and twenty now. She greeted Rowena with a sincere smile and a warm hug, and then started the introductions.

"You may not recognize this one," she said, hugging the older boy around the shoulders, "but this is Godefry. He was but a child when you left."

"Godefry! I thought it was you!" Rowena greeted him with a smile. "How you have grown. You are nearly a man now, aren't you?"

"I am." he said proudly, jutting his chin out, "I can tend a flock of fifty sheep and work the dogs all on my own now."

Now a man Rowena didn't know came up behind Metylda and put his hands protectively on her shoulders. "And this is my husband, Dreu," Metylda said, placing a hand on his. They appeared to be a very happy couple, like Bayard and Rosamond. Dreu regarded Rowena very kindly, and nodded politely to Bronn.

"Metylda has told me all about you, Rowena. I'm very glad to meet you." he said. His eyes were kind and his words genuine. "I hope your trip was not too long?" He and Metylda looked from her to Bronn curiously, and she realized she would have to explain his presence.

One of the little boys was now tugging at Metylda's skirt, peeking up shyly at Rowena, and observing Bronn with fear. "And this is our son, Amfrid." Both parents looked down proudly at the little boy, his father mussing his hair and telling him not to be shy.

"Hello, Amfrid," Rowena said, bending down to greet the child, but he hid behind his mother's skirts, staring at Bronn.

"This is Bronn," Rowena began as she stood up. She now wondered why she had not thought to prepare her explanation along the way. "He is a..friend…of Uncle Bayard, who of course insisted I not travel alone."

Dreu smiled and reached his hand out to Bronn, and they began making small talk about the trip from the city. Metylda looked at Rowena knowingly, and could not resist giving her another hug. "I'm so sorry, Rowena," she said, and Rowena thought she sounded near tears. "We missed you so after you left. You look wonderful."

"Thank you, Metylda", Rowena replied. "You have a lovely family. I hope you are truly happy. And please don't be sorry," she added, fearing now she might cry herself, "It was you who saved me after all."

Rowena already felt much better after the reception they received from the young married couple, but they still had Averet to face. She and Metylda walked towards the house, arm in arm, with Bronn and Dreu following behind.

The old man who came hobbling to the door, was not, as Bronn had predicted, the same man she remembered. He had been a big man, like his brother, but the complete opposite in temper, angry and short-tempered. Now he was nothing but a frail and feeble old man, hunched over and shrunken by age. But when he saw her, she could see that age had not tempered his anger or hatred. His eyes were filled with fury, and his face turned bright red.

"How dare you bring a stranger to my house!" He bellowed, or attempted to, for he was immediately gripped with a fit of coughing.

"Was the only way she was coming to your house," Bronn replied for her, stepping up so that he stood just to the side and in front of Rowena. He made no attempt at politeness.

The old man eyed Bronn warily, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He leaned on the doorway for support, and his second eldest daughter, Emelin, rushed to his side to assist him. She gave Rowena an angry look, and barely acknowledged Bronn.

"Please don't upset him, Rowena," she said angrily. "You can see he's not well."

Rowena was surprised by her tone, but held her tongue. This was not what she was here for. "We've only come after the missing sheep and Bet. Just tell us where to look."

Amfrid ran to stand in front of them now. "I can take you, Rowena!" He said excitedly.

"No you won't," the old man argued.

Metylda stepped forward, smiling kindly at Rowena, and spoke to her father. "Let him go, father," she pleaded gently. "He only wants to help. It will be good for him."

The old man grumbled, and shuffling his feet, turned away to disappear back into the house. Emelin gave them all one more angry look, and turned to follow him. The second child, who they had seen in the field, and who Metylda had not introduced, was hanging onto her skirts and mimicked her angry look as he followed her into the house.

Rowena wondered who the child's father was, and then a frightening thought occurred to her, but she dismissed it immediately. She turned to look at Bronn, and thought if ever in her life she would like to be held in a man's arms, it was this moment. As if he could read her mind, he put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently, and she smiled at him gratefully.

"Shall we go and find ourselves this dog of yours?" he said, managing a smile that she knew was for her sake only. She could see the anger he felt for Averet in his eyes still.

As Godefry led them down to the pastures where the sheep grazed, they met Averet's second eldest son, Garit. He was younger than Rowena by two years, but he already looked much older. He was sullen and thin, and looked as if he could use a good meal and some rest. She thought he must have been taking on a great deal of responsibility and was glad he had Metylda's husband to help him. She was sure he wished that he had escaped the farm as his older brother had, but he had remained loyal to his father. Rowena hoped it would not make him bitter over time.

"Rowena, is that you?" he cocked his head as he regarded her, trying to reconcile the little girl he remembered with the young woman who stood before him.

"Yes, Garit, it's me," she smiled. "I hope you are well. It's good to see you again."

He gave her a weak smile, but she could see the sadness in his eyes. "I stay busy, that's for certain."

Then he spotted Kip, and called out the dog's name. Kip ran right to him, and Rowena clasped her hands to her heart, and fought back tears again. Garit was a good man, clearly, just like his older brother. "What a fine dog he's turned out to be!" he exclaimed as he knelt down and ruffled the dog's fur. "You picked a good one, Rowena." he said, smiling up at her.

Rowena returned his smile, and knew he was right. She would be forever grateful to her Uncle Bayard for insisting that she be allowed to take the puppy with her when she left. Averet had resisted at first. But Kip was a red dog, and Averet had been known to cull any puppy with red markings that was born into a litter of his. It was precisely why Rowena had chosen Kip in the first place.

"Since when have you placed any value on a red sheep dog?" Her Uncle Bayard had challenged, knowing his brother just as well as anyone. At that point, Averet yielded, and Kip had escaped the farm along with Rowena.

"So you've come looking for Bet, I suppose?" Garit asked as he got to his feet. Rowena nodded, and he told them to take Amfrid with them, for he knew better than anyone where the ewes might stray from the flock to birth their lambs.

Garit turned out to be right. It took over half an hour, and was a difficult climb over rocks and thru a densely wooded area, but Amfrid knew just where to look. As they came to a clearing, they spotted the ewe and a newborn lamb, and the old dog Bet, laying faithfully beside her. Rowena wondered how on earth the sheep had made it here. Amfrid told them there was an easier path to the clearing, which the sheep would take, but that it took twice as long as the way they'd come. He was immensely proud of himself for leading them to the missing animals, telling them that his grandfather had forbade anyone to come this far.

Bronn patted Amfrid on the back and told him he'd done well. The boy smiled and seemed to bask in the praise, and Rowena was glad to see he was no longer afraid of her dark sellsword.

When Rowena called to Bet as she approached, the old dog wagged his tail slowly. He tried to rise, but she could tell he was weak, and when he finally got to his feet, he staggered. She rushed over to him and urged him to lie down. They had brought a jug of water, which he lapped thirstily from the mouth of the container as they poured it for him.

Amfrid was checking the lamb, who appeared to be perfectly healthy, and they decided they would take the long way back. The young boy insisted on carrying the newborn lamb himself. Rowena went to pick up the dog, but Bronn put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. She was not used to stepping back to allow men and boys to do things for her, except when it came to very heavy things, but this time she did. She watched as he gently lifted the old dog, and cradled him in his arms. She stroked Bet's head gently and let him lick her in the face and told him what a good boy he was. She caught Bronn looking at her, amused, and shaking his head. "He's not a person, you know."

"No," she replied sadly, "He's better than many a person I've met."

He admitted he could not argue with her there, and they set off. With the bleating lamb being carried away, the ewe was quick to follow. Kip fell in behind her, just in case.