Chapter 27: The Rebels Camp

"Home!" Rodrian suddenly said. Marcia looked up. How anyone ever could call this home was to her a mystery. Infront of her, a field was. The field was full with tents. Really big tents, about as big as a usual room. In the middle of all the tents was some kind of house. Marcia bit her lip. She didn't like this at all. Rodrian jumped of the horse, and helped her to do the same. He smiled, and dragged her with him. Somebody took his horse away for him. He shuffed her against the house in the center. Now she could see it closer. It looked boring in contrast to all the houses in Capriolium. It was, like the houses in the city, white-washed, but it was stained from mud and blood, and who knew what. It had a very, very boring square-shape and a flar roof. But there was, Marcia noted, a chimney from which it erupted smoke. Food, it promised her. At least she hoped it did.

The inside did, just as Marcia had thought, not look any better than the outside. It was rather empty, exept for a red and yellow, worn mat and on the wall, somebody had written "For the people"- the rebels motto- rather clumsily. The funny thing was that Marcia could read it. It wasn't written in lupanian, or latin. Nor her own language, the one she spoke usually. Weird. "Do you like it?" her brother looked proud, as though he had built it all with his own hands.

"Mmh." No.

"Let's get you something to eat." he said, and walked towards a door on the right side of the wall, just beside the inscription on the wall. "Are you coming?"

"Yes." Marcia hurried to get into the room after him. The room they entered was darke and rather tiny. The only source of light was the tiny little fireplace in the middle, and a few lit candles that stood on the table. Four women stood by the fireplace, but, when they saw Rodrian they hurried out of the room without even saying anything. Marcia watched them, puzzled. They all wore long, grey dresses with long sleeves and high collars. Orange ribbons were wrapped around their hips. "Runa!" Rodrian called out, and one of the women stopped. She turned around, and blushed.

"Yes, dear?" she asked. Marcia noted that she had the same accent as a northenr trader.

"Come and say hello to my sister." he replied, and so the girl did. She looked down. Her hair was red as copper, and the eyes were blue. She was very pale. "Marcia, this is my fiancée." Rodrian said.

"Hello." Fiancée?

"Hello." Runa said. She looked away.

"She's from the Land of Long Nights." Rodrian told Marcia.

"Oh." Marcia said, and tried to catch Runa's gaze. She didn't succed. The girl seemed very shy.

"Runa," Rodrian said, "Can't you get my sister some food?"

"Of course." Runa replied, and hurried of to get some food. Rodrian settled down, and signed to Marcia to do the same. Rodrian smiled at her.

"So, Marcia." he said to her, when Runa had left. "I must ask you to do one thing for me. It's really, really important to me."

"Go ahead and ask." Marcia looked at him. He was not the one he once had been. He was... changed. What had happend to him? Rodrian took her hand into his, and held it firmly. He sighed.

"Where's Joseph?" he asked. Marcia blinked. Why did he ask her... oh. He wanted to know where Joseph was, because where Joseph was- Rodrian and the rebells assumed- Cashmére also was. Cashmére was the heiress, and the Emperor's daughter. They could blackmail Tantibus and the Seven, using her. If they got her, and if they knew where she was. Marcia was, whatever they did to her, not going to tell them. "Why do you wonder?" she asked, already knowing why.

"He's my brother!" Rodrian answered, "I just want to know if he's alright."

"He's with his wife, Cashmére, at the royal palace." Marcia lied. Rodrian narrowed his eyes.

"Just tell me the truth already." he said.

"I told you the truth!" Marcia protested. Rodrian sighed.

"Mar, you're my sister." he replied, "I know when you're lying."

"Why would I really tell you, anyways?" Marcia snapped, "You're with the rebels."

"Joseph won't get hurt." Rodrian said.

"But Cashmére will." Marcia replied.

"Not more than necessary." Rodrian promised. Marcia snorted.

"She'll still get hurt!"

"Not if she keeps calm, and stays quiet." her brother said.

"You think she would stay quiet and calm?" Marcia asked, "Would you?"

"Marcia, why do you even care?" Rodrian wondered.

"Because Cashmére is carrying Joseph's child!" Marcia hissed, "And she's... my friend."

"You... you must be lying." Rodrian said, unsure if Marcia lied or not. But she seemed serious.

"I'm not." Marcia replied. Her brother sighed, again, and decided to play foul. He rose up, and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" his sister asked, and he turned around, while he tried to look let down.

"Well, there's no use in trying to make you tell me. Loyality is really one of your virtues, isn't it?" he answered, and smiled. But then, the smile faded. "I should have understood that you wouldn't tell me. Joseph has, after all, always been your favourite brother, hasn't he?"

"Rod-"

"No more words." Rodrian said, "Please."

"You're going to let them torture me, aren't you?" Marcia asked. She looked slightly nerveous.

"Of course not!" Rodrian answered, "Please, Mar, you're my sister. You think I would do that to my own family?"

"You seem willing to do that to your brother's unborn child." Marcia replied, dryly. She didn't sound so nerveous anymore.

"There's a difference-"

"No, there is not!"

"Yes, there is." Rodrian said, "You are alive, you are my sister. That child- unborn or not- is the daughter of the heiress, our enemy."

"Our enemy?" Marcia wondered, "She is not my enemy!"

"Oh, yeah, she's your friend." Rodrian's voice was now mockful, "Of course you stay loyal to her! She's your only friend, isn't she?"

"You're acting like a child, Rod." Marcia said, her voice trembling with anger. "Like always."

"Who's the child, really?" Rodrian snapped, "You ran away from home because of a tiny dissagrement with mother!"

"It was not a tiny dissagrement!" Marcia snapped back.

"It was." Rodrian replied, "It was just about a silly dream. Do you really think that you ever can become ExtraOrdinary Wizard? Do you really think that a woman can make a good one?"

Marcia felt furious. He just used her to get what he wanted. He was just being selfish, and rude, and just horrable. She slapped him. Marcia slapped him straight in the face. Somebody chuckled behind them, Marcia turned around. Also Rodrian looked up, and he turned red in embarassment. "Beaten up by your little sister, Overstrand?" Eroll Nolan wondered, still chuckling. Marcia gaped. Little, fat, bold, whiny, piggy-eyed Errol Nolan? A rebel? She could have stood there all day, watching the man, if Rodrian hadn't grabbed her arm and twisted it, hard. Marcia grimaced. "Rod, stop." she said. Her brother didn't care. "Rodrian!"

Rodrian held both of her arms behind her back- it felt rather unpleasant- and shuffed her against the door they had came from. He led her outside, leading her somewhere. A few times she stumbled, and was close to fall onto the muddy ground. There were no snow there, just mud. Rodrian finally pushed her into a tent- one of the bigger ones. This time, she fell onto the ground. Luckily, there was something soft there. Fur. A several mats of fur from different animals covered the floor of the tent. Marcia rose up, but then Rodrian hit her. In the eye with his fist. She let out a sob. Never had he hit her. Both Rodrian and Maximilian had been nasty to her when they were younger, but it all had just been harmless pranks. This was something else. This was worse. "You have no idea about how much you've embarassed me!" he hissed at her. "Slapped me! Infront of the leader."

Marcia wiped away a tear. "Am I embarassing?" she wondered, not knowing why she was so... not scared of him. "You are the rebel."

"At least I am something to be proud over!" Rodrian spat, and bared his teeth. He took a few deep breathes, to calm himself down. The punch hadn't been intended, but it had showed Marcia that he was serious. He sighed. "I'll tell Runa to take the foodin in here." he said, and went of, leaving her alone. Marcia settled down on the floor of furs, and tried to calm down. But it was hard. Suddenly, she felt like crying. Who was this man, and what had he done to her brother? Rodrian had never been mean! He had always had a sense of humor, and had been easy to make laugh and smile. A few tears roled down her cheeks, but she furiosly wiped them away. If he thought that he could make her tell him where Joseph and Cashmére was, he was wrong. She leant back onto the furs. How long had he been gone? She felt really tired, but she tried not to close her eyes. But after another five, six minutes, she fell asleep.

When she awoke, somebody leant over her and stroke some kind of ointment over her eye. Marcia let out a brief shriek, but then realized that it just was Runa. Runa stopped at once, and looked away. "Sorry." she said. The girl couldn't be very old. She was not a child, but...

"S'alright." Marcia replied, still feeling sleepy. "Runa, right?"

The girl nodded. "That's my name." she said, with the sing-song accent of the people from the Land with Low Nights.

"Excuse me, but how old are you?" Marcia asked.

"Twenty." Runa answered, "Or rather nineteen. My birthday is tomorrow." Marcia widened her eyes. That was quite an age-gap. Rodrian was twentyfive, five years older than Marcia. This girl was nineteen (soon to be twenty) almost six years younger than him. Both went silent. Marcia started wondering how she would get away from this place. She could go by horse, of course, but she didn't know how to ride one. Her biggest hope was that there was some kind of sled somewhere. Maybe she could make Runa tell her... "So, Runa." Marcia said, "You're from the Land with Long Nights?"

"Yes." Runa smiled briefly, "Yes I am."

"How did you end up here?" Marcia asked. Runa's smile faded.

"They took me here." she answered, shortly.

"Oh." Marcia said. Runa shook her head.

"Why do you ask?" Runa wondered.

"Just wondered." Marcia replied. Runa gave a quick nod. She understood that it wasn't the whole truth, but what could she do?

Rodrian came back later on, when Runa had left. He settled down. "Still not going to tell me, are you?" he asked. Marcia shook her head.

"Nope."

Rodrian sighed. "Of course not." he said, and leant back. "He's always been your favourite brother, hasn't he?"

"No." Marcia replied, "I have no favourite brother."

"Ah, but you were always with him. Not with me and Max."

"Yeah, but that was because you and Max always played pranks on me."

Rodrian tilted his head to one side, and smiled. "But Mar, that is what brother's do."

"Joseph didn't."

"You're not still angry, are you?"

"Of course not." Marcia said, "I just stated that I was more with Joseph than with you because you played pranks on me."

Rodrian roled his eyes. "However," he replied, "It doesn't matter now, does it?"

"Hm." Marcia doubted that. Both were silent for a long, long time.

"Marcia-"

"No!" Marcia said, "No, I won't tell you where they are."

"It wasn't about that." Rodrian replied, "I was wondering if you need any help to get home."