Hunted (Open - please PM before joining)

[Steiner]

Brinn looked a little startled, maybe this was some sort of test? Like most men he had little actual use for religion - he gave the church its nod, and deferred to priests if he met them, but he didn't really know much about them.

He had trouble meeting her gaze at first, but when he'd finally done so, and spent a little time considering her, he gave his response.

"Well... No, Milady. You just look like a pretty young woman to me. But what do I know? I'm just a daft knave without the brains to be scared in a battle, who kills for money and spends most of the rest of his time in idle pursuits."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"Well... No, Milady. You just look like a pretty young woman to me. But what do I know? I'm just a daft knave without the brains to be scared in a battle, who kills for money and spends most of the rest of his time in idle pursuits."

Alexia shook her head.
How could he understand how bizarre his comment had been.
She could not have been further from religious.
Only now it was too late, did Alexia realise that she could have used his assumption and masqueraded as a sister and thus escaped questioning and discovery.
She frowned annoyed that she had allowed mischief, and, if she did but admit it, a sense of vanity to lead her to act impulsively, but still... the damage was now done.

Now free of the trappings of the cloak and cheered to see the sun cutting in shafts through the trees, Alexia trod with a lighter step, letting her long unruly hair tumble about her shoulders and enjoying the feel of her tresses being captured and toyed with in the breeze...

 

[Steiner]

Brinn was quiet as he walked beside her - his companion on the road was one of those rare women, he saw, who usually managed to confuse the normally quite worldly and charismatic sellsword.

As he paced alongside her he cast the occaisional glance at her, out of the corner of his eye, she was walking along with her hood down, the wind blowing her hair hither and thither whilst she smiled away like a carefree child.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Although feeling liberated by her temporary and false sense of freedom, Alexia soon found she became weary and most importantly that hunger was gnawing at her...

She paused and glanced at the man by her side.

"Is it late do you think... might we eat something and rest awhile ... ?"

Then she remembered that they were not travelling together as such, more... co-existing.

Without further discussion, Alexia crossed to a almost dry tree stump and sat, enjoying the opportunity to get her breath and the chance to draw out her bag of provisions...

 

[Steiner]

"Of course, Lady, I'm a little hungry myself"

Brinn spread his cloak beneath an oak tree, on a bed of leaves that would have been comfortable if they hadn't been damp. Still, his cloak would protect him from the worst of THAT.

Laying out his provisions, he thanked his good fortune for stopping and restocking at that local farm - he now had very good provender, in large quantities. Seen from the perspective of being at the end of a hungry march, the money seemed very well spent.

Brinn selected some cheese, freshly baked bread, well cured ham and a couple of pieces of fresh fruit, all washed down with well water from the farm.

He then removed a black glass bottle from a pouch in his pack and sipped some of the apple brandy he'd plundered from his last battle - this was the stuff for removing aches and pains at the end of a long march! He held the bottle out to his companion.

"Milady? Can I tempt you, it's very good."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"Of course, Lady, I'm a little hungry myself"

Alexia ate sparingly of the goodies that filled her bag.
Like her companion, she ate bread and cheese.
She watched him spreading his cloak and sit down easily.
She concentrated on eating slowly, savouring each mouthful.
She wished that she had the funds and the safe opportunity to sit down to a hot meal, but knew this would not be possible for weeks, maybe months. Indeed she was lucky to have any food provisions at all and had to make them last as long as possible.

She tried to ignore the vast spread her companion seemed to be indulging in. She looked deeply into the woods, wondering how long she would still need to walk.
Weeks of running had made her strong, yet the continual lack of food and real rest made her feel weak...

"Milady? Can I tempt you, it's very good."

Alexia looked over at the man as he held out a bottle.
She eyed it curiously, but did not question.
She smiled and drew the bottle to her.

"Thank you... "

She raised it to her lips and sipped.
The fiery liquid burned her throat.
She coughed and struggled to swallow the strange drink.

"What on earth is that...?"

She gasped in belated enquiry as she held the bottle out to return to its owner...

 

[Steiner]

He grinned at her discomposure - "Tis AppleBrandy, Milady. Good stuff and the best you'll find this side of the capital, I assure you. I was lucky enough to be in on the routing of a headquarters unit in my last battle and I came away with a good five bottles of this. I have two left - they make you proof against wind, rain and even mud!"

He noticed the flush that the alcohol had brought to her cheeks. "Are you sure you're eating enough? You can't march on the few crumbs you've pecked at - and if you've been travelling any distance you'll need at least twice the normal amount of food you eat".

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"Tis AppleBrandy, Milady.
Good stuff and the best you'll find this side of the capital, I assure you. I was lucky enough to be in on the routing of a headquarters unit in my last battle and I came away with a good five bottles of this. I have two left - they make you proof against wind, rain and even mud!"

Alexia gasped.

"Hard liqueur? 'Tis no wonder it will ward off the cold, but I think I will decline any further draught... "

Alexia stared incredulous that he should encourage her to drink such a concoction!

"Are you sure you're eating enough?
You can't march on the few crumbs you've pecked at - and if you've been travelling any distance you'll need at least twice the normal amount of food you eat".

She smiled with false confidence.

"I eat enough for my needs ... besides... I wish to be able to pass on as much provision as possible to my ailing aunt... her need is much the greater... "

She smiled in a freindly manner, but brushed his concern aside.

 

[Steiner]

"Well, your business is your own, Milady I'm neither your Captain nor your mother - but your provender will do your aunt no great good if it lies on the forest floor next to your passed out body."

Brinn punctuated his point by tearing a huge mouthfull out of the new, soft, loaf he'd purchased that morning.

"As for the liquor, well, it's not as hard as some of the stuff you'll find, and it has a most pleasing taste as well as its fire. Not only t hat, but this is uncommonly good stuff, it's probably worth as much as my sword! It's a hollow kind of strength, if you're not eating enough, but it does help melt away those aches and pains"

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"Well, your business is your own, Milady I'm neither your Captain nor your mother - but your provender will do your aunt no great good if it lies on the forest floor next to your passed out body."

Alexia gave a shrug, but knew the wisdom of his words.
As she watched him eat, she allowed herself to delve once more into the bag and draw out another portion of food.
She did not meet his eye, but munched steadily.

"As for the liquor, well, it's not as hard as some of the stuff you'll find, and it has a most pleasing taste as well as its fire.
Not only t hat, but this is uncommonly good stuff, it's probably worth as much as my sword! It's a hollow kind of strength, if you're not eating enough, but it does help melt away those aches and pains"

Alexia looked over at the proffered bottle and though obviously tempted, shook her head.

" I think not,"

Her voice soft and good humoured again.

"I do not wish to be walking in circles, nor do I think being without sensation in my legs would benefit us at all!"

She grinned imagining his horror were she to become inebriated on the fiery brew.

"But... thank you for your kind offer... "

Alexia conceeded graciously.
She felt that it were time to relax slightly, not to let down her guard, but she could at least make an effort to be more.. civil...

 

[cgraven]

The Dark rider

The country was in turmoil, king Henry's forces at odds with Queen Mud’s forces. Civil war raged throughout the land as nobles and churchmen’s alliances changed to suite the times and there interests, and there was always those who took the opportunity to carve out their own fortunes at the expense of both sides, a law unto themselves.


The dark stranger sat his horse. The constable and sergeant went over the scene for the hundredth time. Murder foul and cruel, the struggle, or self defense but the flight. Now the time of pursuit in either case for the law must be served and questions must be answered.

The black stallion paws the ground nervously anxious to be on the move. The chain mail hangs heavy about his shoulders. He pulls the woolen cloak close about himself. The wind damp and chilled..

The forester calls

Me Lord some one went this way, they are young, a lad or lass I think, can’t be sure, much has been washed a way. He brings a shred of wool

He stuffs it in his gauntlet, put the spur to the black daemon he rides, and the pursuit begins.

 

[Steiner]

Brinn shrugged "You know your own mind best" he said, taking another swig from the bottle. He felt the warmth slide down to his toes and gave a heavy sigh of contentment, settling back to eat an apple.

"So... What's up with your aunt, milady?"

 

[cgraven]

The Dark Rider.

Village to barn, bits of straw, clover, all pieces in a puzzle. A scrap of wool caught on a throne bush. Lad or Lass? He was not even sure which he searched for. At first a peasant girl on the run, innocent child or foul witch. Witches where the province of the church.

The Church!

Now as he rode he tried to recall all, the old crusader, turned monk had tried to teach him.

Would his fleeing villain keep to the foot paths solitary a lone or would the culprit try to lose herself in the crowds along the pilgrim’s highway, just another face in the crowd. Traveling from inn to inn, monastery to monastery just another face in a country on the move so desperately fleeing from the war that swept the land.

Yes the more his mind played with it the villain was a lass not a lad

On he rode a solitary figure astride a black daemon steed, his hand resting near the pummel of his sword.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"My aunt?"

Alexia tried to continue to eat casually.

"I am not sure... she has been abed some weeks now... a fever... she is very weak... I go to help and tend her... "

She reseals the bag of provisions she carries, her hunger mainly assuaged.

"'Tis not the time for fever, I am fearful for her, but I trust all will be well if she gets but a little assistance."

Alexia tried not to think of her mother and how she had tended to her, up to her last hours, how she had watched her slip away, finally peaceful. She stared unseeing into the woods as that image once more danced before her eyes.

 

[Steiner]

Brinn watched as her eyes went distant. As a warrior he had seen that look in the eyes of others before - had worn it himself from time to time.

"Aye, fever is a terrible thing lady. I hope your aunt recovers most swiftly under thy care"

He filled the silence by gathering up his own belongings - it seemed she was ready to move on.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"Aye, fever is a terrible thing lady. I hope your aunt recovers most swiftly under thy care"

Alexia’s thoughts were drawn back by his sympathetic voice.

”Yes… so little to do… you sit.. watch.. but… “

She shook herself and remembered she was not supposed to have seen her aunt yet. She grabbed her belongings and strode beside him without further comment.

Alexia surveyed the sky warily.

”Will it rain again do you think?”

Her manner had become more relaxed, if not quite friendly with the stranger who accompanied her on this part of the journey.
She was eager to cover as much ground as possible and strode determinedly, matching his paces easily at first.
Occasionally she threw an assessing glance in his direction, then finally decided to voice her curiosity.

”For where are you heading Sir. You have no.. home.. I imagine.. you travel constantly…?”

She wondered fleetingly if she were not doomed to live like that for the rest of her days. The only difference being that from now on, she would be ever on the run…

 

[Steiner]

”For where are you heading Sir. You have no.. home.. I imagine.. you travel constantly…?”

Brinn smiled, slightly sadly. "No lady, I have no home. I am headed north - there is said to be a great deal of fighting up that way, and I intend to sign on with one of the warbands up there. Winter is always a hard time in war - and no doubt I will find employment".

His voice and eyes had gone hard and cold - remembrances of past winters and old battles. Scores settled, challenges won, wounds borne and dealt in kind.

"I have had a nice easy summer of it south of here, Milady, but with the harvest gathered and safely behind walls, they had no further need of an expensive sellsword like myself. And in truth the bandits had cause to become wary before I left."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"No lady, I have no home. I am headed north - there is said to be a great deal of fighting up that way, and I intend to sign on with one of the warbands up there. Winter is always a hard time in war - and no doubt I will find employment".

Alexia listened sympathetically.

”Winter.. aye.. t’will be hard… hard for those on the road… “

She contemplated, trying to disguise her growing realisation and fear of her own fate.
She tried not to let despair overwhelm her.
One step at a time. Distance was the key!
Surely she could flee far enough, far enough to build a life elsewhere…

Glancing over at her companion, Alexia noticed that he too was lost in past remembrances.

"I have had a nice easy summer of it south of here, Milady, but with the harvest gathered and safely behind walls, they had no further need of an expensive sellsword like myself.
And in truth the bandits had cause to become wary before I left."

Alexia eyed him curiously.

”You are reknowned for your sword? You are an expert killer no doubt, Sir?”

She paused, knowing that she should not enquire, but curious none the less.

”Do you… remember your first killing? … How did it… feel… ?”

She blushed as she saw him eye her curiously before responding.

 

[Steiner]

”You are reknowned for your sword? You are an expert killer no doubt, Sir?”

Brinn's jaw hardened, he'd heard that question asked a hundred times in a hundred different ways during his career. Most people, he reminded himself, went through their whole lives without spilling someone's life at the other end of 32 inches of tempered steel.

"Oh aye, I'm known in some quarters." He took an apple from his knapsack and tossed it into the air. Before the fruit hit the ground his blade had whipped out of its scabbard, and the apple was mere inches from her face, speared by the tip of the blade.

"Sorry, milady, no doubt a woman such as yourself prefers her fruit sliced?"

And with another humming sound, the apple disappeared, flicked into the air. Before it touched the leaf mould of the floor it had been seperated into ragged quarters. Brinn was hardly breathing faster than normal, as he slid the blade back into its worn leather scabbard.

"As for my first killing - I'm afraid it's nothing heroic. I made a crosswise slash at a spearman who'd broken from his unit and was running for it. I wasn't even sure I'd killed him until I found his body after the battle. But yes, I remember him. Him and every one after him, I see them all every winter night around the fire."

He shivered.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"Oh aye, I'm known in some quarters."

The mild mannered response did nothing to warn Alexia of the actions to come.
The apple was casually taken from his knapsack and although she found it strange after they had just eaten, she had no time for comment before the fruit was tossed nonchalantly into the air.

Alexia gasped out loud as the sword came whipping past her face, barely clearing it to attack its target.
She stood shakily as she eyed him with renewed fear.

"Sorry, milady, no doubt a woman such as yourself prefers her fruit sliced?"

There was no true apology in his voice.

Alexia stood back as she watched him slice each piece into quarters as once again the thrown fruit descended onto his sweeping blade.
Alexia could clearly see the ragged edges where the sword had rent the flesh in twain.

He walked on, not missing a footfall as she eyed his back.
She could not help thinking that she had angered him by her enquiry and wished she could bite back the question about his first kill.
The sword was back in its scabbard as she drew level with him again, but she did not dare question why he had chosen to demonstrate his skill so.

If he had meant to frighten her, to intimidate her, to assure her of his prowess, then the demonstration had been successful.

"As for my first killing - I'm afraid it's nothing heroic. “

Alexia wanted to tell him that she did not now wish to know, but he continued smoothly.

”I made a crosswise slash at a spearman who'd broken from his unit and was running for it. I wasn't even sure I'd killed him until I found his body after the battle.
But yes, I remember him. Him and every one after him, I see them all every winter night around the fire."

Alexia drew her cloak around her.
She shivered, unconsciously sharing the emotions that passed through her companion at the same time.

She remembered her victim.
But how could he be called a victim, when she had merely been defending herself?
She remembered his face, his words as he had borne down on her.
She had pleaded to be allowed at least some time more with her mother’s body.
Time to gather the desired remembrances, but he had been unrelenting.
He had hurled abuse at her.
He had dragged her screaming away from the room.
Her mother’s body was to be burned he told her.
The house was to be burned.
The village would thus be cleansed of sickness and witchcraft.
She Alexia, would be made accountable for all the ill fortune her family had caused the village over the years.
Questions were to be asked of her.

Alexia knew then that she was doomed.
Again and again suspicion had blighted her path.
The misfortune had befallen her own family and not been visited on her friends and neighbours!
Yet fear drove them onwards.
Drove them to persecute them.
Even with her parents dead, Alexia knew that it would be the beginning for her and not the end.

She had not intended to take up the blade.
She did not realise what she had done.
Did not realise until he slumped.
Until she found her hand curled about the kitchen knife.
It was in her hand. It was in his chest.
And he was quite dead…


She faltered, stubbing her foot painfully on a stray root.
She gave an exclamation and drew to a halt, falling to the ground to rub the injury.
The injury was mild, but she bent her head to hide the tears now running from her eyes.
Grief, Fear, she had had to repress them all.
It was the image of this man, blood, flames,
The sound of his words, his accusations never leaving her.
His untimely death was on her hands.

It was his image as he pursued her, which now proved more terrifying than any human pursuit.
It was fear of this that finally wrought her emotions and overwhelmed them.

At last, just when she least wanted to, Alexia wept.

 

[Steiner]

Brinn whirled at the hard sound of Alexia's body hitting the ground. She'd tripped - possibly he'd been a little brutal to her, but if there was one word that had chased him through his life it was the one she'd used "Killer". He supposed he'd earned the title - veteran of 10 major battles and hundred smaller skirmishes - so much blood, his, theirs, and also the innocents who always got caught up in the fighting.

He turned back to help her, to see her on her knees, shaking with suppressed sobs. As he sank down beside her, he could see that her injury was not the cause of her tears, just the vehicle that had carried them to the surface - she was crying hard, and he recognised the paleness of fear, shock and remorse. Reacting instinctively, he caught her up in a bear hug, holding her to him. This was a very different embrace from one he normally gave to a woman, this was the embrace he usually gave to a swordbrother, someone who had been overwhelmed by some horror they'd witnessed or even caused, and needed something to cling to, to keep themselves from flying apart. He could hear his voice muttering nonsenses in a calming tone, the same sort of words you might use to quieten a startled horse or a frightened child.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Now she had allowed the horror of her situation to surface, Alexia found that she could not hold back.

She knuckled her eyes and tried to drive away the sights, the sounds, the smells of all she had witnessed.
She saw her home burning.
She smelt the stench of burning flesh and knew what it was.
The prayers for her mother's delivery heavenward, played through her mind, but lodged in her throat.
Once again, she felt the nausea, the horror.

She turned her shaking body into the solid presence that had suddenly enveloped her.
She was not aware of who or where or why.
She merely needed an anchor.
A line to hold onto, as she finally faced the horrors that were her reality.

Sobs wracked her body.
On and on she poured out her fear and grief.
Wept until she was exhausted.
Still he held her.

Her body shook still.
She just wanted to curl up and sleep and sleep.
What did she care now if she were caught?
What was the point of running?
To what? For what?

Finally feeling the tight hold about her loosen Alexia put a staying hand on his arm, raising her eyes to his...

 

[Steiner]

The moment had changed, at first he'd been a rock to her, her body was the sea dashing its grief at him in waves, pounding for almost an hour as she sobbed like a heartbroken child.

Now she was coming back to herself, and so he prepared to step back, recognising the moment as he had before, but this time was different. As he made to release her, a hand grasped his arm, stilling it before it could slide from around her waist. Her eyes raised to his, drenched in tears, and he felt his heart crash against his ribs as his body remembered that this was a beautiful woman in his arms.

Her eyes locked his into place, staying his questions, and causing him to shift his arms into a looser, but more intimate embrace.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia was bereft.
Her eyes were tragic pools.
They searched his, as if looking for the answer, the reason.
It was too much for her to bear, let alone understand.

It was with relief, that she felt him pull her tightly to him.
Her body crushed against his as she trembled.
Though he then relaxed his grip, the warmth of his body seeped into hers.
She pressed her face into his neck, breathing raggedly, the occasional sob still escaping her.

She thought of nothing but the temporary security of his arms.
She cared nothing for what happened to her now...

 

[Steiner]

His hand moved up to her back, patting her gently, then stroking her hair - anything he could think of to take that dreadful tension from her body.

Eventually it eased a little and he whispered to her.

"You don't have to tell me. I know you've seen horror, and believe me when I say that I've seen it too in my time. For now, I think it best if we get off the road, build a good fire and try to pass the night as pleasantly as we can. You're in no state to continue today, and perhaps, over some of that AppleBrandy, you can decide whether you need to talk or not."

He squeezed her a little harder before dropping a kiss onto her head again.

"Whichever you decide, you can relax tonight - I'll be here to keep watch."