They awoke the next day to the rays of a risen sun spilling into the room.
Eden rose from the bed almost as if she had been shot out of a sling, stretching out her muscles and limbs in both an effort to drive away the rest of her sleep and to check if any of the previous day's events had taken any toll. After putting on her boots and leather armor, she briskly walked over to the wash basin, picked it up and walked out the door. When she came back, it was filled with rainwater taken out of a barrel outside. Eden washed her hands, face, and neck vigorously and then walked to the table. She wrapped the black turban around her head with ease and then fastened her sword belt around her waist, adjusting it a little on her hips until it felt comfortable. She repacked everything, save a piece of bread and a handful of dried figs, into the saddlebags and buckled them closed. She scanned the room to make sure everything was packed and that the hovel didn't betray too many signs of them being there although now, if Eden was to be honest, it didn't matter that much to her. She slung the saddlebags over her shoulder, scooped up the bread and figs, walked over to her bed and sheathed her broadsword. During this whole time, Arielle had managed to sit up.
Eden stood over the blond who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, seemingly oblivious to the entire world around her. Arielle finally noticed the raider waiting there.
"Good morning." she said cheerfully and with a slightly goofy smile on her face.
Eden simply stared at her with a look of puzzled amazement and fought off a fleeting urge to simply just drop everything, sit on the edge of the bed, and cry in disbelief. Yet, the blond read the stare quite well and began to scurry around the bed like a frightened mouse.
"Right, we should get going, shouldn't we?" she said rhetorically and crammed her feet into her shoes after tying her belt.
She noticed that everything had already been gathered up so she nearly ran to the basin, washed her face, and then turned back to the raider still staring at her.
"Right, so, I'm ready to go." she said gleefully, grabbing her bag and then her growling stomach interrupted, making her blush.
Eden rolled her eyes and shoved the bread and figs she had into the blond's hands before she made her way out of the hovel. Arielle followed the raider with her gaze wanting to thank her for the gesture, but the raider was out and gone before she had a chance, so she turned her attention to the food. She stood in the doorway, happily nibbling away until Eden rode up and stopped right next to her on her horse. Holding on to the remaining figs, she put her hands on her hips and marveled at the raider.
"I understand that you probably want to make some sort of a statement, but must you really wear only black?" she asked in cheery innocence.
Eden glared down at her and the blond began to raise her hands in front of her to start apologizing.
"It brings out my feminine side." she said coolly and with a raised eyebrow.
Arielle raised both eyebrows, pleasantly surprised with the comment and the sense of humor the raider had just betrayed she actually had.
"Now can we get going?" Eden asked, her face instantaneously serious and gave Arielle her hand.
Arielle nodded quickly, took her hand, and somewhat clumsily found her way onto the back of the saddle. Eden veered the horse towards their destination.
"Aren't we going to Antioch?" Arielle asked, noticing that they weren't making their way back to the road.
"We are. It's a shortcut." Eden answered and heard the blond swallow hard. "Relax. It really is a shortcut."
Arielle nodded and tried to calm her nerves by reasoning to herself that no one in their right mind would go through so much trouble to kill her. She munched on the two remaining figs in her hands and took in the sight of the desert, which she was frankly getting a little sick of.
"So, your name, what does it mean?" Arielle asked, trying to start a conversation and ignoring the raider's sigh.
"Zauba'a?"
"Yes. Does that mean something special?"
"It's a long story." Eden sighed and Arielle noticed a hint of sadness in it and decided not to press it.
"So..." she continued, looking for a new subject, "are you married?"
Eden snorted so loudly that for a moment Arielle was afraid that both of them might fall off the horse.
"Yes, right, well, I should have, um, guessed that." Arielle babbled out. "So maybe some fair-headed fiancé somewhere, hm?"
Eden pulled on the reins and turned around to glare at Arielle who flashed her a nervous, silly smile. Yet the raider could find nothing to say to the blond's playful innocence so instead she simply shook her head disapprovingly and turned back around, nudging the horse forward. Arielle took a deep, but quiet breath of relief. For a while, she watched the skilled ease with which the raider rode her horse, meandering in and out of the rocks and nooks without almost the slightest move, reins in one hand and her other lying lazily on her leg. She wondered how it was this woman seemed to do the complicated things almost idly, yet a conversation seemed to strain her.
"I don't have a husband either," Arielle decided to continue by focusing on herself, "though I can't say it's through my parents' lack of trying. None of their chosen suitors ever seemed to interest me. They tried to force me once, naturally, but I threw them a fit the size of the Byzantine Empire and they finally let it go. Instead, they pushed me off on this pilgrimage. They said that perhaps God would finally knock some sense into my head. I didn't mind, I welcomed the chance. The Holy Lands, knights, desert bandits, exotic languages and foods; what an adventure! It wasn't exactly something I would experience at home."
"My family generally thinks there might be a little something wrong with me. I exasperate them really." Arielle continued to chatter, in her element and not even noticing if Eden was listening to her or not, "I spend too much time with my head in the clouds, they constantly say, instead of keeping my feet firmly on the ground. My sister, she's their pride and joy; elegant, married... They think I'm a child... a disappointment..."
Eden noticed Arielle's voice grow sad and taper off, but could think of nothing to say. Arielle solemnly shook her head and sighed and was about to ask the raider about her family until she thought better of it. She continued to think of several other questions she would have already asked any other traveling companion, but found to be afraid to ask this particular one. She sighed in small defeat.
"You didn't have any breakfast." Arielle mentioned after a moment thoughtfully.
"Not hungry."
"How is that possible? I'm always hungry, but especially in the morning. You really can't have a good day without a good breakfast in my opinion. You really should eat something." Arielle said with cheery sympathy.
"I said I'm not hungry." Eden muttered coldly.
Arielle's shoulders slumped. She already regretted the morning. She regretted that she somehow hadn't stopped time and the raider right before they rode out to take in that small ray of humanity she had shown. She regretted whatever she had done or said to bring back that frigid marauder though God knew she had tried everything she could think of to pry that marble mask off.
"How far is it to Antioch?"
"Few days."
Arielle nodded and resigned herself to a few more days of going nowhere with the marauder. After that they would part ways although she knew she would regret that she didn't get to know the raider any better. She felt that great stories could be told of her if she would only let them be.
Eden had brought them to a stop and Arielle raised herself a little to see the reason. Eden peered out to see a skirmish going on ahead of them, kicking up dust and bringing shouts floating over the sand towards them. Her trained eye identified those defending themselves as some sort of merchants and those attacking as marauders. One of the merchants on a pale horse broke off from the fight and tried to ride away only to find one of the bandits right on his heels. Both riders kicked up a fierce cloud of dust as they spurred their horses as fast as they could, racing in Eden's direction.
"Damn it all..." Eden growled under her breath.
"What is it?" Arielle asked apprehensively.
"Karas..."
At that moment, Karas gained a little on the merchant and raised his sword as he kept advancing. He let out a bloodcurdling yell the likes of which Arielle had never heard, making her blood run cold and she watched his sword come down in one swift motion, striking the other rider down, leaving only a bloody heap in the sand. Karas noticed Eden watching him, reigned his horse into a more controlled gallop, and approached her.
"Open your mouth duchess and I'll leave you here in a heartbeat." Eden shot at Arielle, turning her head slightly to the side. The blond swallowed, wide-eyed.
"Zauba'a!" Karas called out, raising his right hand in greeting, "what a pleasure seeing you here. Managed the storm?"
"Karas." Eden acknowledged coldly. "Nothing like a little rain to clear the air."
"Or cleanse the earth of...stains." he sneered, baring his teeth and staring at Arielle who Eden could hear swallowing hard.
"I see you're keeping busy." Eden said plainly.
"Oh, that." he commented, turning his head briefly to the corpse and then back to Eden, "A little uncooperative, that one."
An evil grin crossed his lips and Eden knew that as this small talk was only Karas's way of trying to intimidate her and especially Arielle. She demonstrated no emotion or interest towards the bandit, sitting upright in her saddle with a commanding, unwavering presence and a hostile half grin emerging from her mouth. She was simply waiting for what it was he really wanted.
"And how cooperative is that little tart being?" he asked with a little lick of his lips that made Arielle shiver.
"I've dealt with worse."
"That I can believe!" Karas admitted in a booming laugh, "So what do you plan on doing with her?"
"Taking her to town."
"There's no reason to."
"No reason not to."
Karas studied the two women for a moment, resting his gaze on the blond and giving her such a piercing look that Arielle felt as if her clothes were being ripped off her by his eyes and she unconsciously raised one hand and pulled her collar tighter around her neck. He smiled wickedly at her reaction and finally trotted up closer to Eden.
"You know, I think you can give her to me now. She's been enough of a burden to you already."
"You're sweet, truly," Eden responded cynically, knowing that his concern was as heartfelt as a kiss of a viper, "but I wouldn't dream of putting you in such an imposition. You are a busy man after all."
"Damn it, woman! Don't forget that I'm the leader of this band!" he shouted impatiently, his voice thundering across the hills and making Arielle want to hide under a rock.
"And don't you forget that I am Zauba'a." Eden growled in such a low tone that it was barely heard, but carried more threat than a thousand yells.
"I'm not afraid of you."
"Well, that's your first mistake." she hissed through her teeth, narrowing her eyes.
Arielle was afraid her heart was going to explode out of her chest and she fought back the urge to cling to the raider. She watched the two raiders duel in words and icy glares, feeling the tension rise with every passing moment. She secretly hoped that the black raider had come out with the upper hand when Karas grew quiet, but soon saw she was mistaken.
"Give her to me now." he growled menacingly, leaning forward and glaring at Eden as if he was trying to impale her on his gaze.
And then she noticed a strange shift in the black raider, a bizarre relaxed pressure in which she could sense that the black marauder was completely focused on Karas, but also at a knowing peace. Eden had felt that strange feeling before and she felt it clearly now. It was one of many that she had had since she could remember. That feeling of knowing something with absolute certainty. These were always things that had not yet come to pass or sometimes hadn't even yet appeared and through some unknown design, Eden already knew it. When she was younger, she sometimes mentioned these sensations and was belittled and called everything from a daydreamer to a witch. She learned to never speak of it again. And this time, after feeling Karas's demand travel through her and invoke that strange sensation of quiet resolution, she knew that there was something more in all of this. She didn't have the time nor strength to wonder over it now, but past experience had taught her that the sensations should be listened to. Arielle had to be kept away from that man and that was all Eden needed to know.
"Go home Karas. There'll be no bargaining here today." she said icily.
Karas only shot back a cold grin and turned back to his raiding party, trotting quietly away. Eden took a deep breath and felt the blond shaking in back of her, her voice emitting the slightest little mumbles that her sharp hearing was able to pick up.
"We're in a little trouble now." Eden told Arielle hurriedly.
"Why? He's riding away, isn't he?"
"Only to gather up the others."
"Why?" she asked, the fear growing in her voice.
"Because now he knows you're protected."
Arielle didn't have time to ask or even think about the meaning of what the raider had just said. Karas raised his sword in the air and gave a war yell that gained the attention of the rest of his band and sent them bounding in his direction. He turned his horse back in Eden's direction, a cold sneer on his face.
"Remember when you asked what Zauba'a means princess?" Eden asked Arielle, her voice laced with an anxiety mixed with resolve.
"Yes..."
"Well, you're about to find out."
Time seemed to slow down for Arielle as the blood drained from her face and pooled somewhere down in her feet and fear crawled up her spine. She sensed Eden's whole body tense as she clutched the reins with such strength that her knuckles turned white. Eden almost didn't look human, her determination etched now on a face of stone, her every visible muscle rippling in ultimate exertion. And though like a slab of granite, she moved with the flow and grace of a mighty, ancient river, knowing its path and purpose. Not a single movement or breath was wasted or without function and Arielle would have studied the raider for hours in utter fascination if she hadn't been so terrified.
"Arielle, hold on to me and for the love of God, don't let go!" Eden commanded fiercely.
And with that Eden veered the horse off to the side and began to gallop away. Arielle didn't need to be told twice and instinctively grabbed hold of the raider, wrapping her arms around her waist and clinging to her for dear life. She could feel the powerful muscles of both the horse and the woman, working at full force, expelling massive amounts of energy and driving in a practiced unison. She heard the hooves of the advancing raiders and began to pray for any kind of help. Eden leaned forward, close to the horse's neck and they seemed to communicate, exchanging breathless whispers and ghosts of words, working together as one unstoppable force.
"Vola!" she ordered straight over the horse's head in a whisper that seemed to slide out of her lips like thick smoke and pour over the horse in an igniting magic.
The crawling time suddenly accelerated with back-breaking force and the horse sped up into such a run that Arielle was nearly flung off. She almost hysterically dug her fingers into the rider's leathers, clamping her legs around the bounding horse and squeezing her eyes shut so hard that tears began to creep out of them. She was absolutely convinced that she was going to die on that horse that seemed to have just changed into the wind itself. Her senses strained almost to their breaking point in her frenzied fight for survival; the hooves pounded in her ears, the labored breathing of the horse and rider heaved against her skin, dust filled her nose, the raider's angry, fluttering, black fabric brushed against her body assertively. But there was also a part of Arielle that remained eerily calm in the unique feeling of protection she sensed on that blazing horse, holding on to that relentless rider. That part synchronized with the horse and rider and hurled forward with them, knowing that they were right, knowing that they were held in grace.
She was frozen in such terror on that racing steed that she hadn't noticed when they had slowed down to a trot.
"Arielle..." Eden said quietly, trying to gain the blond's attention, "Arielle..."
Eden frowned slightly though understandingly, turning her head to the side to see Arielle clinging to her out of the corner of her eye.
"Arielle." she repeated a little louder and lightly touched one of her arms.
"What? What? What is it?" Arielle asked in a near yell, her eyes flying open.
Eden allowed her some time to notice that the neck-breaking run was over, the raiders were gone, they were safe. Arielle turned her head to one side and then the other and began to calm the breathing she had just noticed was racing.
"It's over. We're going to walk some now." Eden said quietly.
Arielle kept turning her head one way and then the other almost as if she didn't trust her own eyes and judgment.
"Princess, you can let go of me now."
"Oh," she said, seeming to finally break out of her stupor, "right. Sorry. Damn..."
Arielle practically peeled herself off of the raider, the leather armor leaving marks on her skin. She sat up straight, took a deep breath, and looked around her in awe.
"Holy, sweet mother Mary and Joseph, that was...amazing." Arielle admitted somewhat breathlessly.
Eden gave faint nod of agreement and then carefully dismounted. She then raised her hand up to Arielle who took it without question and let herself be eased down to the ground. Eden took the reins of exhausted horse in her hands while Arielle steadied herself, letting the solidity of the ground work its way up through her legs and back. She took a deep breath, glad to be alive and exhilarated to the point of bursting.
"So that was Zauba'a?"
"Pretty much. It's an Arabic word. Zauba'a is believed to be a demon that takes the form a whirlwind. When people saw me ride like that, they thought me a demon and that's what they called me." Eden explained.
Arielle took a long look at the rider in contemplation, clasping her hands around the strap of her bag.
"A demon whirlwind, the black horse and dress...you are making a statement, aren't you?" Arielle judged lightly.
Eden shrugged defenselessly, bringing a grin to the blond's face.
"But then that would also mean that Zauba'a isn't your real name." Arielle noticed.
She then saw the raider's expression change back to her hostile guardedness and her shoulders slumped somewhat.
"Let's go. We still have a long road ahead of us." Eden simply stated and began to walk forward, the horse loyally at her side.
Arielle joined the raider's side and for a time, they walked through the desert, each in their own thoughts, each pretending that what had just happened was really nothing out of the ordinary. Eden was thankful for the clouds that had gathered again, covering the sun every so often and treating them to a light, cool breeze.
"Why do you call me those things?" Arielle suddenly asked in honest curiosity.
"What things?"
"Princess... duchess..."
Eden knew why she did that. It was a course of habit. It kept people at arm's length, heck, at empire's length; it was safer for her that way. She used the terms to belittle, to scoff, to pretend that the people she met meant nothing to her for fear that one day, someone might mean too much. Attachment was a useless and dangerous ballast in these lands, in her life and she had learned to keep herself clear of it.
"Don't know." Eden replied with a shrug.
Arielle gave a single, silent nod and turned her gaze to the ground. Going nowhere. Eden knotted her brows and also drove her eyes into the dirt. She noticed how the young woman kept making her think with the simplest sentences about things she wanted to keep buried or dead. It made her anxious and somewhat bothered by her. But before Eden could ever take the time to wonder about the blond's ability to slip through the minute cracks in her mile-high walls, an exhaustion would overcome her and remind her that it didn't really matter anymore anyway. The tension and tiredness battled within Eden constantly and she sometimes reached a point where she wanted to simply fall onto her knees and scream until her lungs gave out. But there was no one who would listen and she was not one to kneel. The turmoil within her caused her to pull too much on the reins in her hands and the horse whickered in disapproval, tossing its head a little. Eden looked up at him and after a couple of moments loosened the reins and returned her eyes to the ground. Arielle watched this silent exchange between the raider and her horse and found herself wishing that she could communicate with the raider to even half the extent the horse could. The idea of being in envy of a horse brought a smile to her face and she shook her head in amusing disbelief.
"What did you mean by saying I was protected?" she asked timidly, determined not to give up on prying something out of the raider. She's so...stubborn.
She watched the raider suddenly stop and stiffen, visibly unnerved with the question and she automatically regretted having asked.
"It's just that," she added quickly, trying to calm the raider down, "I did feel protected."
Eden gave her a puzzled look, blinking.
"Amidst the flurry of stones, hooves, and men trying to kill us," the blond recounted with ease, adding some gestures for emphasis, but keeping her eyes constantly on the Eden, "I really did feel protected."
Eden felt agitated, as if someone was pounding on her door, trying to knock down her walls, break and crawl through her windows. She knew protecting Arielle at that moment was evident to her, but she never thought that the blond would be able to actually feel it. That small remark again slipped through some tiny crack in her armor and tried to stir up a feeling Eden hadn't felt for much too long. Purpose. Eden had known that Arielle needed to be protected and Arielle felt that protection envelope her. They had actually shared something for those brief, furious moments. Having this gift, this curse that couldn't be spoken of was something she was already accustomed to, but the thought that someone could also sense that gift was something Eden had never given any thought. She looked at those green eyes with the same intensity as they were looking at her and the green eyes noticed her uneasiness. Then the familiar, tired resignation spilled over her again. It's too late now.
"Come on," Eden said shortly, breaking their gaze and turning her eyes back to the ground, "it's getting late."
"Wait." Arielle said and walked over to one of the saddlebags, fiddled with it, and returned to Eden with a handful of dates and figs. "Here, you earned it."
Eden glanced up at her and for a moment gave a look of baffled amazement as if she was just being handed the beating heart of a dragon. Arielle smiled and then Eden's face was again covered in its stone case and her eyes burrowed into the ground.
"Let's go."
Arielle dropped into step beside her and contented herself with the knowledge that this time what she said and did somehow made its way through the twisting passages of the black raider. She watched the her cautiously chew on a fig and already knew that this day would make one of her favorite stories.