Salix stood up unsteadily, fastening her cloak around her neck. She felt a little dizzy as she looked around the low-ceilinged bed-chamber, but she told herself it was nothing she couldn't handle. Tsuga and Petro looked on doubtfully.
“Are you sure you're well enough, Senior Salix?” Tsuga asked anxiously.
“Of course I am!” Salix snapped.
“You still look pale,” Petro pointed out, “Maybe we should stay here a few more days.” He looked over at Tsuga, his stomach hurting, knowing she hated him. It took him an eternity to get up enough courage to say, “Tsuga won't mind, right Flora Tsuga?”
Tsuga looked over at Petro for a moment, then shook her head, “Of course not. I don't want to do anything until you're well, Senior Salix. Marcus Marius and the baby and Mulberry are all safe, now.”
Petro almost seemed to glow when he realised that Tsuga was agreeing with him. He knew he shouldn't let her little attentions give him any hope, but he couldn't help it.
Salix shook her head, “No, they are not, Junior Tsuga. We're all in danger. I have learned some things while I was convalescing.”
Petro looked doubtful, “What can you learn when you're sick in bed, Flora Salix?”
Salix glared at him, “You can learn a lot, if you are nursed back to health by Mistress Cicuta herself.”
Tsuga gasped, but Petro just looked confused.
“She's the head of the Order,” Tsuga explained, elbowing him.
“So what did she say?” Petro asked, trying to focus on the conversation and not on the fact that Tsuga had allowed herself to touch him.
“A lot. A lot about the baby, and her importance. A lot that I think Marcus Marius should hear,” Salix replied.
“Then let's go tell him,” Petro nodded in agreement.
~*~
Marcus and Mulberry avoided each other the next day. It was easy to do for the morning, though Mulberry was a bit disappointed that Marcus had breakfasted with Aurelia, cutting Mulberry out. In the afternoon, Marcus sent for Mulberry, but she hid in the garden and pretended she didn't hear the servant who had been sent to find her. She only changed her mind when she overheard that a young, fair-haired soldier had showed up at the door, accompanied by a pair of crows that cawed angrily from the house eaves until someone came to open the door. It was Petro, of course, accompanied by the Florae.
Marcus dragged a charcoal brazier into the garden-house, making sure that it was clear of the walls and anything flammable before lighting it. He then sat on the potting bench, while Mulberry perched on a large terra cotta pot that had been turned upside-down, Aurelia on her lap. Petro sat on an old, grey sack of seeds,
The first crow entered, then perched on the window ledge looking thoughtful. The second crow hopped in, standing in the bare space in the middle of the floor. She titled her head to look at the assembled crowd, then lifted up into the air. Her wings clapped together once before the bird seemed to somersault into the air. Suddenly, Flora Salix stood before them.
Mulberry gasped, and Marcus said delightedly, “You’re alright!”
Salix nodded, “Yes. The order knows how to take care of its own. I am quite recovered and ready to do my job again.”
“And she has a lot to tell you,” Petro said.
~*~
Mulberry hugged Aurelia closer as the conversation unfolded. Marcus’s frown deepened as Salix explained what Flora Cicuta had told her. That there were forces, deep, powerful forces, who for some reason wanted him – and his baby daughter - dead. People who knew where Marcus lived, most likely, and knew that he had Aurelia here with him. It took Petro a long time to convince Marcus that the operatives could possibly be dressed in the uniforms of the imperial guard. Mulberry found it endearing that Marcus was naïve and innocent enough that this surprised and horrified him. For herself, she didn’t know much about the imperial guard, but it was exactly the sort of underhanded trick she’d expect of people who would want to harm a mere baby.
Eventually, even Marcus seemed to understand. He put his head in his hands and thought for a long while, while Salix stared at him. Aurelia started to cry, and Mulberry bounced her. Everyone’s eyes were on Marcus, waiting for his reaction.
At long last, he looked up. His hard eyes fell on Aurelia and softened.
“I guess we try to take Aurelia somewhere safe,” he said, “And I go and protect her. “
“You’re going to desert the army?” Mulberry asked in surprise, “Desert the army but still leave home? Marcus, your father will kill you.”
“It sounds like these guys are going to really kill me, and Aurelia, too. I can't stay here”
“Psh,” Petro said helpfully, “I won’t let them, because I’m going to stay right here and help protect you.”
“No, you aren’t,” Marcus said, “I can’t allow you to get yourself into any more trouble because of me. You need to go back to the legion and do your job. You’ve done enough already.”
Petro was about to protest, but Tsuga cawed loudly in his ear.
“She’s right,” Salix explained, “We can get you quickly if we need your help. You saw how little time it took for you and Tsuga to bring me to the temple. And there is no need for you to come to any harm.”
Petro shook his head, “If he’s taking the risk, I want to, too.”
“No,” Marcus said, “I need you to apologise to everyone on my behalf. They’re my comrades; I should have been there for them.”
And as simply as that, it was finally decided.
The packing was hasty, and yet also secret. Marcus did not want his father, or his sister, or even his young nephew to know what they were doing. After all, Marcus was deserting, and he was abandoning his family responsibilities. He was not letting his father buy out his commission, he was not returning to the forces, he was not even just staying home longer than he ought to. He was actively deserting, and it made his stomach ache. Gaius would think him a cowardly traitor. But Gaius didn’t have Aurelia’s life to think of. Marcus was glad, at least, that Petro had been sent on, back to the 47th, to make what excuses could be made, and he was glad that the Florae had military ranks high enough that at least there'd be no court-martial at the end of this.
YOU ARE READING
The Baby and the Battlefield
FantasyA baby? On a battlefield? Marcus is a clerk in the Imperial army. When he finds an abandoned baby on a battlefield, he has no idea what to do with her. His best friend is no help; he thinks Marcus is a sucker for taking the kid in. The slave who end...
