Finding Heathcliff

Sixteen

The food they were offered was different from the more elaborate meals that were served in the castle, but Astrid welcomed the change, appreciating the genuine taste of the simple dinner, and the homemade drinks.

The landlord, Achernar, told Astrid that like the food, both the wine and the sweet honey mead which they were offered after dinner, were of his own produce. Astrid found this man's self-sufficiency impressive; her uncle's castle didn't produce anything, everything that was needed for the regent's court was bought in Starling.

She found the men's talk, which followed the dinner, a lot less intriguing than the taste of Achernar's honey mead.

Izar repeated to Astrid all the things he had already told Orion in several sentences, and she found nothing unexpected nor helpful in them. No one dared to venture outside on the 'Black Night' days, none of those who had tried lived to tell what, or who, they had seen. However, from a mixture of gossip, leftovers of some ancient knowledge and guesswork, it was easy to deduce that the angels, or the 'Black Monsters' as the people called them, were hiding somewhere far south, possibly on the most southern, uninhabited coast of Eurovea, a few weeks' ride from Starling. Rumours had it too, that they could make themselves invisible, read thoughts, and had a powerful sort of magic they used against the people freely to obtain what they wanted. Achernar, the older guards and even the handful of guests that the landlord invited to share their knowledge with the princess and her entourage, agreed with Izar's words.

"Thank you," Astrid said, looking each man who shared his knowledge with her in the eyes, wanting them to know that she appreciated their help, even though they had spoken more to Orion and Izar, than herself. "But... why are they hiding? And why do they kill our people, why did they start the last war?"

It was important to find the angels, but it was equally important to know the reasons behind their behaviour, to understand them. She couldn't believe that they took people's lives month after month simply because they found it amusing. No one could be as cruel as that, even Heathcliff in her book had his reasons for his awful behaviour, and if only someone understood and helped him... loved him enough... he would have never become like that...

Orion's hand squeezing hers under the table pulled Astrid from her reverie, making her realise that Achernar was talking to her.

"No one knows that, Princess. They appear once a month and kill as many of us as they want, like the old treaty permits them. Regent Arcturus is a great man, no queen before him ever thought of trying to stop them."

Astrid frowned, the landlord's logic didn't quite make sense, or maybe it was the mead clouding her mind. If her uncle were a great ruler, and really wanted to stop the Black Nights, he would have gone to find the angels himself, instead of sending her to do it. Or at least he would have prepared her better for the task.

Astrid didn't join the conversation again after that. Refusing another glass of mead, she observed the men gathered at their table in silence. She noticed how Rigel never joined the discussion, but no one but she seemed to notice, or care. Astrid could feel that the young guard... was thinking about something he didn't want to share. She would get him alone the following day and ask what was on his mind, she resolved.

As the evening progressed, Achernar and the guests left their table, and Orion and the guards continued to talk among themselves, planning the journey to Vesper, where the guards would part with them. Astrid watched the five men curiously, she hadn't seen much of them during the day, her anxiety had not permitted her to pay attention to anything but that irrational fear of the world beyond the walls of the castle. Even the thought of how she had felt outside made her shudder now, reminding her that there were many such days in front of her. She banished the unpleasant thought quickly, focusing on the men around her again.

Izar and the three older men were just like all the guards she had met in the castle, well trained and efficient, her uncle's men through and through. But the young Rigel... was different. Astrid could almost perceive... fleeting flashes of disloyalty to Uncle Arcturus around him, when his eyebrows drew together, or his lips pulled into a straight, disapproving line at hearing some of the things that Izar was telling Orion. Maybe disloyalty was too strong a word... but Rigel didn't agree with the regent blindly, unquestioningly like the other men.

And she also noticed how Izar and his guard, Achernar and his guests, tended to speak to Orion, and look right through her even on the rare occasions when they were obliged to speak directly to her, as if she wasn't really there. But she could understand that, she mused, Orion looked so much more like one of them, and always knew what to say to everyone, making even perfect strangers feel as if he was their friend.

Astrid's eyes were beginning to close as she sat leaning into Orion, his arm wrapped around her shoulders keeping her warm and comfortable, when the men finally decided that it was time to retire for the night.

"Let us leave at sunrise again tomorrow," Izar instructed as they walked up the stairs. "Enjoy the comfort of your bed, my princess, we'll spend the next night or two under the tents," he added, smiling at Astrid indulgently, as if he was expecting her to throw a tantrum.

It was true that she had never spent a night under the tent, and she felt anxious outdoors, but it didn't give the man the reason to treat her like a spoiled child... Astrid frowned at him and he seemed to recollect who he was talking to and bowed deeply, before continuing towards his room without another word, looking offended. Right. Once they were married, she would let Orion think about public relations, she was useless.

Their dirty clothes were gone and so was the bathtub, Astrid noticed on entering her and Orion's room, an earthenware ewer and basin stood on a table placed by the room's only, tiny window. The fire had burned low but the place was warm and bright enough.

Astrid dragged herself to the basin to wash her hands and face, and clean her teeth-- the coarse salt and herb paste, and the smoky scent of the towel reminded her of her chamber in the castle. She was only a day's journey away from Starling and she was already feeling homesick.

Sighing, she shed her dress and forced herself to fold it and put it back into one of her saddlebags along with the shoes; she would wear the guards' clothes again in the morning. Orion followed her example, washed, and prepared his bags and clothes for another day's journey.

Astrid collapsed on the bed then, not having the strength to pull the covers over herself despite feeling cold in her thin, long shirt, but she knew that Orion would do it for her. And so he did, just as she was falling asleep, after he wrapped himself around her, making her sigh with contentment, feeling warm and protected.

Surprisingly, their used clothes were washed, dry and folded neatly in a small linen bag when Achernar passed them over to Astrid in the morning after breakfast, while Izar paid for his service. Astrid observed the small pile of gold changing hands, realising that she had no idea if this was too much, or too little. Orion, who must have given the money to Izar looked happy, and that had to be enough for her.

She would take this mission as an opportunity to learn to live the real life, Astrid promised to herself as they said goodbye to the friendly landlord and walked out of the protective walls of the old inn, into the clearing flooded by the early morning's light, where their horses were already waiting, fed, saddled and impatient to move on.