Take Me Away Ch. 04

Arilee stared at the magistrate in disbelief.

Christine started toward the man's desk, but Tobair restrained her gently, shaking his head. She sighed, and then turned to glare at the magistrate, "Tobair is not an idiot. He's slow, but he is no idiot. If he hadn't been out late fishing, I don't want to think what would have happened to Arilee. Your guardsmen certainly weren't there to do anything!"

Lillian stepped forward, "Your own town guardsman found the fat bastard's pants lying in her bedroom floor!"

"There is nothing to distinguish to whom those garments may belong," the magistrate countered.

"Besides the fact three people could fit into them, the spilled beer stains, and the stink of his unwashed ass on them, you mean?" Lillian sarcastically fumed, putting her hands on her hips and staring daggers.

"I suggest you modify your tones, young woman, or I shall have the guards put you in a cell for a few hours, until you regain your manners."

"Take me home," Arilee whispered.

Christine heard her and walked over closer so she could distinguish the words, "What did you say, Ari?"

Tears welling up in her eyes, Arilee said, "Just take me home, take me away from here."

Lillian turned and laid a comforting hand on Ari's shoulder. "Okay, Arilee." She then turned back to the magistrate and said, "This is not the end of this," before wheeling on her heels and walking out with all the others.

Once the group left the building, Mazzar walked out of a back room with a wide smile on his face.

Scowling, the magistrate turned to him and said, "This is going to cost you. People will doubt me after this, I stand to lose much."

"I'll pay, fear not," Mazzar answered and chuckled.

"I will not cover up your crimes any longer, you have gone too far this time," the magistrate warned.

Mazzar waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "They will forget as the time to pay their taxes next year draws near. I'm quite sure you would not want me to reveal your indiscretions to your wife, would you?"

The magistrate clenched his teeth and growled, "Get out, Mazzar."

"Pleasure doing business with you," Mazzar responded with a knowing grin, and then returned to his home and the waiting cask of beer.

~~~[---@---]~~~

"Please, I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it any more," Ari said softly to her angry friends, who were still fuming about the magistrate utterly rejecting the obvious evidence of what had happened here the night before.

Lillian sighed, "Okay, Ari. I'm not going to let this rest, though. I'm going to see what I can do when I get back East."

A knock sounded on the door, and Christine indicated to Tobair that he should go answer it. The man on the other side of the portal started a bit when he saw Toby's huge form standing in front of him, but cleared his throat and said, "I wanted to talk to Arilee for a moment."

Ari nodded and Christine said, "Let him in, Toby."

"Okay," Tobair said and stepped out of the way, shutting the door behind the man, a guardsman by his dress, and glaring hard at his back.

The newcomer pulled off his leather helmet and cleared his throat, "I'm sorry to bother you, but some of us in the guard don't like the smell of this. We believe you, and we're going to keep an eye on things around here. We talked about it, and we figure we have enough brothers and cousins to keep an eye on your house and that fat tax collector. He won't get near you again."

Ari smiled weakly and responded, "Thank you, but I don't want to be any trouble."

"It could have been my wife he came after," the guardsman countered, "We'll keep an eye out, and one of my brothers is going to go talk to the governor too. Maybe we can get Mazzar moved somewhere else to extort his blood money, if nothing else."

Ari's smile spread a little wider, "Thank you, it will make me feel better."

The man put back on his helm and nodded, "You're welcome. Like I said, it could have been my wife. I won't let it happen again."

Tobair opened the door to let him out, and then walked back over to where the others were gathered, "Tobe talk about fish big sea, where Amos ride boat."

Ari reached out a hand toward him, the sound of Amos' name raising her spirits a little. "I'd like that."

~~~[---@---]~~~

Another tax collector replaced Mazzar a few months later, much to the relief of everyone, although not much was said as to why. Arilee recovered from her ordeal, although she still awakened in the night screaming sometimes, dreams of the failed assault leaving her panting and sweating for hours afterward.

Lillian returned to her home in the east, but Tobair and Christine visited Ari frequently, a pleasant diversion from her mundane daily routine. Ari was of two minds about their visits, because she enjoyed their company, but she was afraid of the things she thought about Christine.

Shame and desire were constantly at war within her whenever Christine was near, and it almost seemed that Christine encouraged the shameful glances Ari could not resist. Arilee wondered if the other blonde woman felt the same way she did, and quite nearly asked several times, but her natural shyness always prevented her from actually speaking about it, even when Tobair wasn't with them.

Christine was indeed doing everything in her power to attract Arilee's attention, and growing despondent that it was never going to work. Either she was wrong about the glimpses of attraction she saw in her friend, or nothing was going to make Ari act on them. Either way, Christine was resigned to never getting the chance to explore her desires, as she could no more approach another woman than Arilee could.

The leaves started to change, bringing a great deal of new mending into Ari's house. Throughout town, people pulled their winter clothes out of storage, and many thought of Arilee and her careful work when they found those clothes in need of repair.

Ari waved away Tobair and Christine, who were helping with the washing while she tried to keep up with the mountains of mending, when someone knocked on the door. She was quite surprised to find Amos' mate, Zed, waiting outside.

A wide smile spread across Arilee's face, "Hello, Zed isn't it? Did you bring letters from Amos?"

She was so excited to see someone who knew her love that Ari didn't even notice the look on Zed's face. The old sea dog let out a sigh and said, "There ain't no good way to be tellin' this."

He handed something he was carrying to Arilee and she looked down at it, realizing it was Amos' sea bag. She looked back up at him, confused, and Zed sighed again before saying, "We lost him. He jumped inta the sea to save a lad what was between the dock and a ship. He got the boy free, but the ship crushed him against that cruel dock. He said yer name with his last breath. I brought that to his folks, but they said you was the one what should have it."

She refused to believe it at first, of course, but the look on his face and the sea bag in her hands betrayed the cruel reality to her.

Tobair rushed over and caught her up in his powerful arms when she swooned.

~~~[---@---]~~~

Though they did their best, Arilee's friends could not draw her back out of the depression that consumed her that day. She gave up all her work, eating only when necessity demanded it, and taking pleasure from nothing. She spent most of her time simply sitting in a chair, sifting through Amos' drawings for hours on end.

The seasons passed in their natural progression, and soon it was early summer again. As they did nearly every day, Christine and Tobair walked to Arilee's house in hopes of bringing her some cheer. Today, they had especially good news. Christine was pregnant with their first child.

As they approached the house, they saw Arilee talking with a man outside the front door. A sack exchanged hands, and Arilee picked up a large bag at her feet before walking toward her friends, away from the house.

Christine put on a smile, noticing that Arilee's expression had changed. Even determination was an improvement over the slack look of indifference she had worn for so many months. She asked, "Who was that?"

Her lip starting to quiver, Ari answered, "I sold the house, I'm leaving. I can't bear to be here any longer. Everything reminds me of Amos, or of Mazzar."

Christine's eyes misted over, and Tobair's lower lip stuck out. Christine sniffled and said, "I don't want you to go."

"No go, pretty Ari," Toby echoed.

Arilee's eyes were filling with tears as well when she replied, "I have to. I can't stay here, I'm sorry. I'm going now to find someone who will take me somewhere — anywhere."

"But, your things," Christine protested, hoping to persuade her friend to stay.

"Amos' sister is going to bring her husband over and put everything in their storage building, if I ever decide I want them. I'm sorry, I know I'm being selfish, but I just can't bear the memories any more."

Wiping her eyes and nose, Christine pulled Arilee into a hug. "I understand. I don't like it, but I understand. You'll write to us, and try to visit, won't you?"

"I'll try," Ari promised.

Tobair hugged her then, and sobbed, "Miss pretty Ari."

"I'll miss you too, Toby. I need to go, or I'll never leave."

They both stepped back then, Tobair wrapping Christine in his arms as they both sobbed. Arilee waved goodbye with a wan smile, and then turned toward the center of town.

It was only after Arilee vanished in the distance that Christine realized she had never told her friend the news of her pregnancy.

~~~[---@---]~~~

Ari wandered into the wagon yard, intimidated by the merchants and their mercenary guards. Everywhere men's eyes fell upon her with lust, and she started to have second thoughts.

A laugh caught her attention, and she turned toward the jovial sound to find a kindly looking older man sitting atop a wagon, sharing a laugh with one of his guardsmen. The merchant noticed Arilee looking in his direction, and nodded politely to her before returning to his conversation.

Looking around, Ari decided he was at least someone she felt comfortable approaching, so she walked over toward the wagon. She had sold her house, and so she had little choice but to stick to her hastily formed plan now.

"Good day, Miss. Can I do something for you? I have fine copper pots, and surely I can wait a few minutes if you're in need," The merchant said with a smile as Arilee approached.

"I was wondering where you are bound," Ari asked quietly.

"North, through a few rough towns, and then on to Fightershaven. Even bar brawlers and sellswords need good pots," he replied.

"I'm leaving town, and I wonder if I might ask to ride with you. I can pay."

The merchant looked at her, and he could see the pain in her eyes. "Troubles? Well, I'd be glad for the company on the road, but where I'm bound is no place for a woman alone."

Her eyes tearing up, Ari said, "Please, just take me away. I have to leave, and I'm afraid to talk to any of the other men here."

The man sighed, "Well then, come on up. I'll see if I can't find you someplace to go. I can tell you won't stay, no matter what I say, so I'd feel better if you went with me, so I can watch out for you. Some of these men might decide to accept your offer of pay, and not in coin. Wouldn't be nobody out there to dispute them on the road, neither."

Ari shivered, realizing what the man meant. She hadn't even considered that possibility, and it made her blood run cold. "Thank you, Sir."

"Just call me Fannon. Now, what's your name, Miss?"

"Arilee."

He patted the buckboard of his wagon, "Come on up then, Arilee, and I'll tell you a story while we ride."

Ari smiled and took his offered hand to climb up onto the wagon.

~~~[---@---]~~~

The memories slowly faded, just like the dream.

Arilee felt better for having told her story, after waking up in tears from dreaming it, living it all over again. She took a deep breath and finished her tale to Christi, sitting on the bed next to her.

"I stayed in a small town not far away called Rhys, for a while, but my money was running out. Someone said that there was plenty of work in Fightershaven for a woman like me. I thought they meant the mending and washing I did for a few people to stretch my coin. I didn't know they meant that."

Christi hugged her friend tight as Arilee wiped away a stray tear. "So, that's how you ended up here, at the Ogre, then. I'm glad you told me. I know it must have been hard to talk about it, especially after enduring the dream reliving it all."

Arilee sniffled and wiped her nose, "That isn't all, though. I dreamed about Amos at the end. He was telling me to be happy, and that he would be waiting for me. It was so real. It was almost like he was really in my dream."

Christi put a hand under Arilee's chin and held it up as she spoke, "He may have been. The gods have done stranger things, that's for sure. I've heard about things like this before, and you did just visit Joshua's grave, after all. You were thinking that you should just stay away from men, weren't you?"

Arilee's eyes opened wide and she asked, "How did you know?"

Christi sighed and said with uncharacteristic softness, "One day maybe I'll tell you that story. Cerebus doesn't even know — nobody does."

The Duchess then swung her legs over the edge of her bed, holding out her hand to Arilee. "Let's get dressed. You have your magic to study, and I need to get back to getting things ready for us to march out for Dalebord."

Arilee made a worried face, "I'm not ready for this."

Christi made an exaggerated gesture of rolling her eyes, "You didn't think you could learn to fight, or learn magic either, as I remember."

That drew a little laugh from Ari as she stood up from the bed, "I suppose you're right."

Christi twitched her eyebrows and swatted Ari's bare bottom playfully, "Go, or we'll both be back in that bed."

"That's not very discouraging," Arilee replied, and then laughed, as she felt her face grow very warm.

"Maybe we should invite your friend Christine here and see if you are right about her feelings," Christi said suggestively, taking a step closer to Ari, "Well, all of them, but especially Christine. I'll take care of finding out for you, but I promise to share."

"I'd like that, very much," Ari said, her voice dropping in pitch as passion swelled within her for the beautiful Duchess.

A moment later, they were kissing, and a moment after that, they were back in bed.

Arilee got quite a late start on her magical studies.

~~~[---@---]~~~

Obviously, the final scene comes after Blackhawk Hall, and is leading into the sequel. I hope you've liked this story. Remember, without feedback, I don't know what you like and what you don't! The scores tell me next to nothing ( although I do want you to vote! ) as they can be skewed by any number of things.

I felt this story needed to be told, as only the faintest hints of what could bring a shy young woman like Arilee to an overgrown mercenary encampment like Fightershaven were present in Blackhawk.

Never fear, Ari will be taking up her sword ( and her newly learned magic ) in the upcoming sequel to Blackhawk ^_^