Chapter 27
They didn't stop moving for two days. Thankfully and unfortunately, the next morning found them traveling through a small snow storm. It wasn't quite a blizzard, but it was enough to slow them down. Echo kept pressing on because she was afraid of being caught out on the floes for too long in the storm. There were other hazards that she would gladly face before that.
Echo couldn't understand why she was so determined to help Clarke so completely. She just felt compelled to do it. She didn't want to question it, but she knew that she needed to. Clarke represented things in Azgeda that only those with the knowledge of Wanheda would know. She needed to tell Clarke more about it. She knew that the former-blonde might not want to hear it, but she needed to. Hopefully, they would be near enough to Tawa soon.
In Tawa, they would be out of Azgeda territory and in a more friendly area. They could stay in the town for a while before moving on. She also hoped that they could get some up-to-date news. Echo was worried that they were named as outlaws or something of the like. She had no idea how controlling Nia was with Ontari, and that was a big worry for them both. She knew that Clarke had somehow gotten through to the other natblida, but she didn't know what Ontari was willing to do for Nia now that she was actually Heda. There was also the fact that the only other known natblida, besides Clarke, was Luna. But, Echo doubted that she would leave Floukru now that Ontari was in power. Her life was now even in more danger. Tawa wasn't in Floukru though, but it was one of the largest villages and towns of Delphikru.
Echo still hadn't told Clarke about her side. She knew that she should have, but she didn't want to slow them down. She kept changing out the snow and using a few herbs that she knew of. She made sure that she'd done this outside of Clarke's viewing. Usually, she did it when she sent Clarke out to hunt some of the small game that she'd knew would be out.
Clarke managed to hunt a few winter hares. It was small, but it ate well. She found out that Clarke seemed to really like a hearty rabbit stew. Thankfully the area that they were in gave Echo most of the ingredients that she needed to keep them fed and happy.
As they got closer to Tawa, Echo slowed down. It was the only sign that Clarke got that something could be wrong. She didn't question it though. She kept up their movements. And, they kept sleeping in tandem. Echo just kept her more to her right side and holding her with only her right arm.
Finally, Echo knew that they were close enough to Tawa that she let her guard down. It wasn't a bad thing, but Clarke could tell. It was the first time that she realized how much Echo was favoring her left side. Clarke could tell that something was wrong, but she didn't know how bad it was. At first, she thought it was just a stitch in her side from all their traveling, but she could tell that it was worse than that. Clarke could only wonder if was something that happened after their fight. She realized that Echo had been favoring it since then, but Echo hadn't told her that she was injured. So, Clarke decided that she would have to do something to make Echo show her or tell her what was wrong. She knew that Echo would be angry with her, but she needed to help her.
"Ekou, are we going to stop here for a few days?"
"We are. We'll be safe. I'll go in first and trade the rabbit pelts and some furs for a room at a tavern. I want you to stay here and stay out of sight."
"I will," Clarke answered. "And, should someone find me before you get back?"
"Tell them that you are Shenan kom Madoc."
"Shenan?"
"Sha, kom Madoc."
"Is that a village near here?"
"It is a trading village halfway between Ronto and Tawa. There are a lot of hunters from there. They will believe that you are a hunter. Tell them that you are waiting for your sis, Ash who has gone into Tawa to get some supplies before heading back home."
"Ash?" Clarke questioned. "I am to assume that is you. Should I call you Ash when we get to town?"
"Sha, ai liak Ash."
"Sha, I understand. I'll set a little camp and wait for your return. Do you want me to make something to eat or a fire?"
"No, we will be staying in the village. We can eat at the tavern. Just be ready to go when I get back," Echo replied.
She went back to the sled and pulled some of the furs off. She went through their things until she was happy with what she gathered. She only kept two of the larger furs for them. Clarke didn't question it. As Echo was moving around, Clarke saw her still favoring her left side. She went to her side and helped her pack up the rest. She realized that Echo was taking the sled with her. Clarke knew that it would easier to take all the furs and the rest with her on it. Instead of testing Echo's side like she wanted to, she helped her pack up the sled and her pack for the trip.
As she helped Echo get the pack on her back and grab the rope to the sled, Clarke looked her dead in the eye. She could feel Echo bristle a little at the scrutiny, but neither of them said anything for a few moments. Clarke reached out and shifted the pack on Echo's back until most of the weight was on her right side. Holding Echo's eyes, she cocked her eyebrow and waited for Echo to say something about the move. Echo didn't.
"I know that something is wrong with you, Ash. We will talk about it later and I will be looking at it. Hurry back," Clarke told her.
Echo could see the determination in her eyes. She just nodded. She didn't respond to Clarke's words. Instead, she left her with a few words of what to do should she not return that evening. Echo was trying to prepare her if there was an issue, but she knew that Clarke wouldn't let it go. Clarke would either investigate or she'd look for Echo.
"If I don't make it back before sundown, find a place to stay. If I've not back by midmorning of the morrow, then you continue on with your gear towards Beka's palace. You do not wait for me. You do not look for me. You do not question what happened. You just go. You have things to do as Wanheda that you cannot let me keep you back from. Promise me, Klark that you will go on with me if I am not back," Echo demanded.
"Ai laik Shenan kom Madoc. I am hunter and I am heading towards the coast to trade furs. I was traveling with my sister Ash, but she went to town to trade our furs. We are going to meet up again further in Delphi," Clarke answered.
"That's a fine story. Stick to it. I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay down and stay our of sight."
"Don't hunt?"
"Not with all your gear, no. Just stay here. I'll be as quick as I can be."
"Sha, Sis," Clarke quipped back at her full of sarcasm and a smug smile on her face.
Echo shook her head. She gathered up the rope to the sled and headed away from their little rest area. Clarke wanted something to do, but there was nothing. She went over to her pack and dug through it. She found the little book of paper and the pencils that Echo had stashed there for her. She decided that she would draw a little bit of what she remembered from their adventure. It wasn't exactly a written record, and she certainly wasn't going to put the pictures in the order. She wanted to make sure that if it was found that it wouldn't show their path and help anyone identify them completely.
Clarke found herself enjoying the little bit of alone time. She hadn't had freedom like this since she'd come to Earth. She looked around the area and studied the foliage. She knew that it might help her later. She started drawing the leaves and plants. She knew that she'd have to ask a local if any of them were medicinal or good in food or as food. She was just sitting against a tree trunk and drawing. She felt free, but she knew that she wasn't. She had the world, all of it around her, but she knew that she couldn't just disappear into it. Her hair would give her away as soon as they dye faded enough. Her Trig was good, but it was passable. She would singled out as Skaikru if she stayed anywhere too long.
She was grateful for Echo making her speak in Trig the most. It was helping her pronunciation and diction. She sounded like she grown up in Azgeda for the most part, and what she assumed was the Southern most parts of it. Her lilt wasn't the same as Echo's but it was close. She wondered if Echo's accent could be placed.
The day wore on and Clarke was only marginally worried. It hadn't been the longest she'd been without Echo since she'd been caught, but it was the longest that she'd been without anyone. She moved closer to the little ridge and watched as she sun started to go behind the trees. She sighed. She knew that Echo told her not to look for her and to continue on the journey. She didn't want to leave her behind but she knew that she should. It was starting to be later than Clarke was comfortable. She sighed again as she looked back to the path that Echo had taken towards Tawa. She didn't want to go, but Echo told her that she would have to. She was just about to go back to the little area and pack up her things. She would have them all ready for her to leave around noon the next day. She was a little weary about staying out there by herself in the sparse woods. She knew that she could, but that wasn't the point. She honestly didn't want to be all alone. She sighed again and got up to head back the few feet to their little rest point when she heard something.
"Shenan? Shenan? Where are you?" a voice called out.
Clarke reached down to her knife. She drew it and held it in her left hand. She kept the small sketch book and pencils in her right hand. She moved so that a trunk of tree was between her and the voice. She peeked around the tree and saw that it was Echo.
"Ash?" she questioned, and even then the name seemed foreign to her.
"Sha, striksis," Echo answered.
Clarke smiled. She moved from behind the tree and towards Echo. She could tell that the older woman was in pain, but she was hiding it.
"I got us a room in the village at the tavern."
"That's good. I would much prefer to sleep in a bed than on the ground," Clarke stated. "Let me grab my pack and we can go."
Echo just nodded. She shuffled over slowly to the little clearing. She watched as Clarke sheathed her knife. She wasn't too surprised to see the younger woman pack away the sketch book and pencils. She smiled as she realized that Clarke left them near the top. When Clarke was done, she picked up her pack and settled it on her back. She pointed towards the path and let Echo lead her back to the village of Tawa.
It took them a while to get back to the village. By the time that they entered the gates of the village, the sun had fully gone down. The temperature was dropping, but it was no where as bad as it had been out on the ice floes. Tawa was still icy, but it was no where near the ice fields or Azgeda most of the year. For Clarke it was a welcomed relief. She was also glad to be out of the wilderness for a day or two.
Echo led them across the village to the tavern. Clarke looked at it and laughed when she saw the sign on it. It was written in English and called the Bytown Justice Center. That isn't what made her laugh about it, though. There was painting over most of the outside of the building. It was a picture of bawdy women holding cups of something, being hugged by a tall, muscular, very hairy man with a giant smile on his face.
"Do I even want to know the name of this establishment?" Clarke asked.
"It is just the tavern of Tawa. Why? What's wrong?"
"You're sure that it isn't a brothel?"
"A brothel?"
"A place for people to go have relations for a price," Clarke answered as Echo looked back at the painting around the door.
"I guess you could do that, but most people don't have to be paid to have relations. They just ask," Echo told her and then grabbed Clarke pulling her into the building. "We can talk about this in the room. For now, keep quiet and just follow me."
Clarke just nodded. They walked through what had to be the bar area of the tavern. There were people all around enjoying a drink or a hearty bowl of some sort of stew. It appeared that it wasn't the only meal offered. Clarke couldn't help but stare. She was hungry. The few nuts, berries and the jerky that she'd snacked on was filling her. But, she knew that Echo would take care of it.
Echo stopped on their way through. She walked over to the bar and spoke with the barkeep. The conversation was short, but Clarke saw her exchange a something with the barkeep before returning to her side. Then Echo led them to a stairwell off to the back of the main floor. They went up two flights of stairs and then down the hall to the right of the stairwell to the end of the hall. There was a window of mottled glass at the end of the hall that overlooked what Clarke thought was main strip of the Tawa market. Their room was the left of the window.
When she entered the room, Clarke saw that there was only one bed, but it was big enough for two. There was a small fire place and a window. She saw Echo's pack at the end of the bed. She dropped her pack next to Echo's. She looked longingly at the bed, but there was a knock at the door. Echo gave her a pointed look and then glanced at the small table on the opposite wall of the bed. Clarke took the hint and moved towards it.
Echo answered the door. Someone from downstairs was there with a tray. Echo took it, but her left side was causing her problems. Clarke was up and across the room. She took the tray of two bowls of stew and two large mugs of some kind of ale. Before Clarke could thank the tavern worker, Echo did it for her. Clarke sat the tray down on the table and waited for Echo to join her.
Echo closed the door and crossed the room to join Clarke for dinner. They ate quietly, but Clarke kept staring at her while they ate. Finally, Echo couldn't take her gaze anymore. She dropped her spoon on the table and looked up at Clarke. Their eyes warred for a few moments before Echo finally exploded.
"Chit?"
"You want to tell me what's wrong with your side or are you going to make me fight you for it?" Clarke asked her.
"Eat, then you can look at it," Echo finally relented.
This seemed to make Clarke happy enough. They finished their meals, quietly, with no more discussion. When they were finally finished, Clarke piled everything up on the tray. When Echo pointed to the door, she got the silent command. She crossed the room, opened the door, and left it outside the room. As she turned around, she closed the door. She crossed the room again and went to her pack. In one the side pockets, she pulled out her makeshift med-kit.
As she moved back to the table, she looked at Echo and finally told her, "Pull up your shirt and let me see your side."
Echo gave her a look. She did as Clarke asked, but she wasn't happy about it. She eased the shirt up and finally over her head, leaving her in nothing but her breast band. Clarke grabbed the other chair from the table and moved it closer to Echo. She dropped her med-kit on the table and then turned Echo's chair, with her still in it, to the side so that she could get a better look at Echo's injured left.
"Easy," Clarke stated as she reached out touch Echo's side.
Echo's side was hot and tender. Thankfully, though the wound wasn't that deep. It hadn't gotten infected either.
"I don't know how, but it isn't infected. You are extremely lucky. It has a slight fever. I want to make you some tea."
"Fine," Echo replied as she watched Clarke mix up a paste and smeer it on her side.
"Will you drink it?"
"Sha, I will drink it."
Clarke went back to her pack and pulled out some of the tea mixture that Ontari had given her to help heal after her gladiator fights in the Ice Pits. She quickly made a cup of it in a metal cup and placed it by the fireplace to warm. She went back to Echo's side and helped her get her shirt back on.
"I want to tell you to take it easy for a few days, but we both know that you won't."
"Give me the damn tea."
Clarke went back to the fireplace and got the cup. She wrapped a rag around the handle and brought it over to the table. She set it in front of Echo. The older woman grabbed it and sniffed it. She put it back on the table. She glared up at Clarke.
"If you wanted me dead, there are better ways than poison. You are Wanheda. You could just kill me with your blade and I would probably thank you for it."
"What are you talking about?"
"The tea is poisoned."
"No, it isn't. Ontari gave it to me back in Azgeda. It helped me heal faster."
"She gave you this?"
"Yeah, I drank it with her every morning. I watched her make it and made it, too. We both drank it."
"Clarke, this is an Azgeda poison. She wasn't trying to heal you. She was testing your blood."
"Why do you say that?" Clarke asked her.
"Because only natblida can drink it and not die."
