Engraved - The Hunted Warrior

Chapter 13.1 - Preparations

The horses were ready. The carts were packed. Empa Clan was ready to travel. The last ten days the Clan had worked hard. The palisades were now strong; they had been packed with mud and had raised platforms behind them built for archers to stand on; a front gate had been built that could be propped from the rear making it almost as strong as the walls; a ditch had been dug in front of the palisades to make it more difficult for attackers to reach the walls. The Clan had done much in a short time.

As Shaleh gazed at it from the family cart, with all her worldly possessions bundled behind her, she wondered if it had been a waste of time. They were to leave it empty as the entire Clan traveled to the Meet. Yes, the clan would return after Clan Meet, but if someone else had claimed it in their absence what would her father do? Try to take it back? Or move on again to find another camp? Either way she would not see it again. By the end of the Clan Meet she would be promised in marriage to a stranger. She knew that it was her duty, and that it would help bring safety to her friends and family, but the sacrifice was enormous. She would leave behind everything and everyone she had known. And for what? A strange clan and a strange home. She might get a good husband who would treat her well, but what if he were a tyrant? What would she do if he was violent? Everyday since Alam had been banished and the Clan had moved camp she had tried to fight rising waves of misery. At nights she would tell herself to be strong, that it must be done, but in the morning she would see her family and friends again and the misery would rise up and overwhelm her.

"Shaleh, you look unhappy," her mother said softly. Her eyes were full of concern. Shaleh had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she had not even been aware that her mother had approached the cart. "It's understandable to still be sad about Gultan's death. That was a horrible night."

"Yes, I am still really sad about losing her, and I feel sorry that her little girl will grow up without her, but it's not just that." 

"What then? Are you worried about leaving? Or about joining another clan?" her mother asked.

"Both."

Pim nodded her head. "It was the same for me when I was to come and live with your father."

"Were you nervous?" asked Shaleh.

"I was terrified! Luckily for me your father is the best man on the Plains."

"What if my husband isn't a good man?"

Shaleh's mother looked directly into her eyes. "We will do our utmost to find you the best man we can. We won't accept a bad husband for you, even if he is the chieftain of a powerful clan."

"Thank you, Ma," she said relieved. "Are you sure Father feels that way? Lately he hasn't been talking much to me."

"Of course he feels that way too. It's just that he is worried about many things like the clan's safety, his decision to banish Alam, the upcoming Clan Meet, and most of all, you."

"He doesn't seem worried about me," said Shaleh.

"That is just because he doesn't know how to show it. He is afraid that if you knew he was worried you would start being afraid of what is in front of you."

"Too late," Shaleh laughed. "I'm terrified." Her mother took her hand and squeezed it. "So Ma, if you were scared of marrying father, what did you do to steady yourself before you got to know him?"

"I went to bed with a big, sharp knife," she smiled.

Shaleh's mother climbed onto the cart and put her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"Ma?" Shaleh said after they had been silent for a while.

"Yes?"

"I keep thinking about Alam and Tajar, and wondering if they are safe." She spoke softly.