A week after I took Tilly, the woman from Akoni Farrin, under my roof I realized how full my hands had become. She was as fiery and complicated as I thought she’d be but not as difficult as that first night by the ship yard. Dealing with Broehain took some quick thinking and use of my superiority to diffuse him.
When I first heard Broehain call out, demanding to know what was going on, I was certain that I’d be forced to kill the Apolake Warrior. I saw relief in Tilly’s eyes at the sight of him and it infuriated me. The old familiar jealousy rose up like a monster. She cared too much for Broehain and I was determined to force him from her mind.
I stepped in front of Tilly, cutting off any chatter between them, and faced Broehain. “She’s mine.”
“I don’t belong to anyone!” she screamed from behind me.
I ignored her and kept talking. “Umiko and I made a deal before you ever set sail for Akoni Farrin. I was the one who made it possible for her to be brought this quickly and I will be the one who will enjoy this fine wench.”
Broehain’s face filled with fury. “No you will not! I’ve wanted her and waited for her for years! Do not deny me my heart’s desire!”
“But I hear that you don’t even have the High Ruler’s permission.”
“I will get it. My ten years of service was completed a few weeks back. I haven’t been home long enough to get the parchment request completed.”
“And yet, by comparison, I no longer need the High Ruler’s consent. I can choose any maiden I so desire.”
Broehain spat out, “Don’t do this, Donagh! You will live to regret it!”
“Are you threatening me?”
He looked uncertain but desperate. He knew he was overstepping his line of authority. His position was well beneath me. Although I was not his direct superior, I’m a high ranking ship captain and he a low-bred warrior beneath an inferior captain.
Broehain appeared like a man at war between his ears, although other parts of his body were surely protesting this turn of events. The fury in his eyes was enough to make a lesser man cringe but I’d dealt with many conflicts and I’d always won.
“You can’t do this,” yelled Tilly. “I demand that you release me to Broehain.”
I half turned toward her. “He doesn’t have the jurisdiction to take you anywhere. In fact he could be thrown into the dungeons for stepping beyond the High Ruler’s consent or even have his head cut clean off.”
There was fear in her eyes but she scowled and said, “I’d cut your head off given the chance.”
I started laughing. I realized it would be good fun having her under my roof.
She didn’t find my amusement amusing at all and answered my joviality with a grimace.
“Release me. I demand it!” Tilly fumed.
“You, my fair maiden, will be locked up for a good long time until you can be trusted not to run or do anything foolish.”
Her anger gave way to devastation. “Please, please don’t do this. I’m in love with Broehain. Please release me to him and allow our union.”
I turned away from her and faced Broehain again. “For your trouble in losing the woman you truly want I will pay you handsomely to provide a dowry to the finest eligible maiden on Dwarkaa. Marrying up into status will assure you of a better placing in Dwarkaa’s hierarchy. Surely that will be acceptable to you, no?”
Broehain looked suddenly torn and his anger subsided some, the lines standing guard on his forehead calming slightly.
Tilly spoke from behind me again. “Don’t do it Broehain. We belong together.”
Broehain asked, “How much would you give me?”
“Broehain, no,” Tilly moaned.
I said, “I’ll give you fifty onan.”
“Fifty?” Broehain looked shocked.
Umiko chuckled and then whistled from somewhere behind me. I’d forgotten he was still around and listening.
“Yes, fifty.” I could afford it. Although my father was cruel and heartless, he was generous with his money and consistently gave me a yearly gift from his lucrative position in Casimer’s regime. Fifty onan would be enough for Broehain to buy himself into one of the higher bred families of Dwarkaa.
Broehain still looked hesitant and asked, “You are determined to keep the woman? You won’t change your mind?”
“As of this day, she’s mine and if you come near her again, I will kill you.”
Broehain slowly nodded. “All right, I’ll take your offer.”
Tilly protested, “Broehain, Broehain. You are a horrid piece of useless manhood. Where is your honor? Where is your courage? You disgust me.”
I walked toward him and led him away from Umiko and Tilly to discuss the terms of when the money transaction would occur. He seemed appeased with the arrangement and I was glad I didn’t have to resort to killing a fellow warrior.
What a whirlwind my life became. My quiet lonely life was stirred into a mass of female emotion, which fluctuated between utter fury and pathetic whining. I didn’t know which was harder to stomach. Both would send me stumbling from my home in search of a good tavern and fellow camaraderie with other soldiers.
I bought another slave, a beggarly man willing to sell himself to provide for his family. I put him in charge of Tilly and instructed him that at no time was she ever to be released from her chains. Two chains held her by the ankles and were anchored to the floor. She could walk about the house, cook and eat but that’s about all I allowed her to do. Her level of fury made her impossible to trust. Her ranting over Broehain was constant. That he let her go so easily galled her and she demanded that she was worth more than fifty onan. I always reminded her of the great privilege of living on Dwarkaa which she would return with expressive verbiage of her own, none of it befitting a fine lady. Although I never considered anyone from the far south eastern farrins possessing any class and so I didn’t expect her to behave as a Dwarkaa-born.
The hate I continually saw in her eyes concerned me but I was determined to win her over. I was certain that with time she would soften toward me. I needed to show her that I did care for her. Care might be too strong a word, I desired her. There were many things I did for her to further my cause.
After three days I realized she would not fall for me if I did not put in some effort. Simply to sit across from each other at meal time was not enough. Words failed me and she completely ignored me, her mind purposely on other things. As soon as she would finish eating, she would stand and return to her favorite chair in the corner and read. She’s favored some of Tethys’ writings and read two full volumes. I have found the writings airy and useless but they have given Tilly something to do while she’s restrained.
I purchased her some cloth from the market and brought it to her on the fourth day. There were two different dyes of silk, one of a cotton blend and one of fine lamb’s wool for a coat. She stared at the fabric and then at me and said, “What is this for?”
“It’s for you. You can sew yourself some lovely garments.”
“I don’t sew lovely garments. I know how to make warrior clothing from rough leather. I know how to repair rips from the slash of knives, the blades of swords and the tips of arrows but I don’t sew lovely garments.”
“When you see what the fine women on Dwarkaa wear, you will learn to sew appropriate apparel. You will never last here wearing that.” I moved my head to indicate her rough leather coat and pants. She hadn’t bathed once since arriving and by the smell of her she desperately needed to.
“What’s wrong with my warrior’s garb?”
“It looks like base farrin wear. You will stand out like a scraggly tree in the middle of an orchard on this land mass.”
She glared at me. “So I’m not good enough for Dwarkaa? Is that what you’re implying?”
“Your clothes are not and neither is your smell. I suggest you take a bath in the large basin in the disposal room.”
Tilly glared at me in anger. “Don’t tell me what to do. Isn’t it enough that you’ve chained me like a criminal? And put a slave in charge of me?”
“It won’t be this way forever. If you can learn to behave yourself and watch your tongue, just perhaps the day will come when you will be loosed.”
“I demand you release me now,” she declared with a scowl.
“Never. I don’t have time to chase you down and haul your stinking carcass back here.”
“Things were better for me on Akoni. I wish I could return.”
Her statement drew my curiosity. This is what I’d been waiting to hear, for her to open up about her farrin. “What is it like on Akoni?”
She met my eyes and glared at me. “I was a respected warrior, a close confidant and friend of the High Clan Leader and part of the clan leadership. I’ve never been treated so horrifically in all my days.”
“This leader of yours, what is he like?” I thought to trick her into not knowing that a woman led the clan. Perhaps it would encourage her to share more.
“You don’t deserve to know about my farrin. No man that treats me this way is worth my time.” Her look held fury.
It made me chuckle.
“What’s so funny?”
“You look quite fetching when you’re angry.”
“Then remind me to look cheerful,” she said, her lips turning upward mockingly.
The fabric I bought for her stayed lying in a heap on a side table where she initially dropped it. I also bought Tilly some underwear from a lady two doors down who is an excellent seamstress. Her quality lingerie items were known throughout Dwarkaa as the finest. When I returned home and gave the gift to Tilly, she actually held them in her hands and studied them as if she’d never seen such items before. She didn’t say a word but took the underwear to her room. What she did with them I’m not sure. I allowed my mind to imagine her wearing the items but it didn’t help my dilemma of her constant hatred.
She did take my advice and have a bath a few days later and I was glad of it. The tart smell of dusty hair, body odor and filthy leather was getting to me. By her stench, I wasn’t sure if she’d bathed on her journey in the hull of the ship on her way to Dwarkaa.
When we had dinner that night, her hair shining and her skin rubbed clean of dirt and grime, I couldn’t help but stare at her. She was even more beautiful than I realized and wanted more than anything for her to soften toward me. Although she was still wearing her rough, leather warrior garb, she smelled better.
I brought some lamb meat home from the market and gave it to my cook to prepare. I also went to the bother of purchasing some fresh vegetables from one of the local farmers and instructed my cook to bake a fresh loaf of bread. Between the sweet smell of Tilly and the aroma of dinner floating around us, I thought I was in Efa, the land of eternal peace, although I didn’t truly believe such a place existed. My elated stated ended as we finished our meal and she opened her mouth.
“You really think this meal impressed me?”
I stared at her and wondered where she was going with her question.
“We have sheep on Akoni you know?”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“I eat lamb meat often. The food you presented was nothing special.”
“You also have fresh vegetables and bread?”
“Not as often as I would like but we do have it on occasion.”
“Where do you get all your goods and where do the sheep come from?”
Most land masses and their clans are starving. Our ruler, Casimer, likes to keep it this way. Having the farrins in a beggarly state ensures they remain subservient and to starve them renders them weak. The soil on the endless farrins consists mostly of sand, clay and mountains. The treacherous weather and constant wind doesn’t allow much to thrive even if plants do manage to grow.
Tilly stared at me, a mocking twist to her lips. “What does it matter? We find a way to survive despite Dwarkaa’s ruthless rule.”
Her words infuriated me. No one speaks of Casimer’s rule in such vulgarity here. If those words were heard by the wraiths we’d both be dead soon. It drove me out of my seat, to her side and my hand was around her throat before I could think. “How dare you!”
The sound of her wheezing and choking brought me back to what I was doing. I quickly released my grip and stepped back, horrified at what I’d done.
Tilly coughed and coughed between deep gulps of air until she finally recovered enough to turn accusing eyes to mine. “What is wrong with you?” she screamed.
“I should not have done that.” Responding with violence comes so naturally even though I’d promised myself I wouldn’t be cruel to her. How would she ever fall for me if I couldn’t control myself?
Her eyes glazed with mistrust as she said, “You know what you should do?”
“What?” I asked numbly.
She pointed to the pole I’d erected before she came. “At the very least, take that down and get it out of here. I’ll never trust you with that staring at me every day.”
I nodded. She had a good point. Having my previous wife’s head on a spike was maybe not the best setting to win Tilly’s heart.
“And why did you respond that way?” Tilly looked confused.
“Perhaps on your farrin you speak of Casimer and Dwarkaa Farrin however you wish, but here those words would be taken as treason. If any of Casimer’s guards hears you or if one of the Tonrar happened to be around, we’re dead.”
“Both of us?”
“Yes. Both of us. When Casimer cleans up dissension he does it thoroughly.”
“But I’m in chains. You could say that I’m your prisoner and that I was solely at fault.”
“It would matter little to Casimer what I’d say at that point. He deserves respect. He is after all the God of our world, the High Ruler of Dwarkaa and the Sovereign of the farrins.”
The look on Tilly’s face pricked at me. She didn’t respond but I could tell she didn’t believe my words. I also knew then that she held little to no respect for Casimer and suddenly I felt afraid. Her brashness and uncouth mouth could be my undoing.
I couldn’t stay, so I grabbed my coat, placed my pistol into my boot and opened the door.
“You can’t handle a strong-willed woman?” Tilly asked as I was about to leave. “I’ve always spoken my mind and I won’t stop now.”
“I’ll kill you before I allow you to put my life in danger.”
“By taking me as your wife you’ve already put your life in danger.”
That Tilly declared openly what I already suspected galled me. That’s the first time I regretted what I’d done.
