Slave Girl 2: Chapter 133 (Patreon)

The first star of the evening had just begun to twinkle when I stab my torch into the lumber to set Toke’s pyre alight. Built upon the ancient platform on which we fought the pyre had taken nearly every bit of good firewood I’d had set aside in my woodshed along with a dozen or more fallen and dried trees that I’d been able to scavenge from throughout the forest. It was rudimentary but it would do the trick. Laid across the top the northman’s corpse lay with eyes closed and his hands folded across the broken ax that he’d wielded into battle against the copper monstrosity. Sending him into the afterlife with some sort of weapon felt right somehow. With the state of his eviscerated midsection it had not been a pleasant experience getting his body up there, but it needed to be done. It was small comfort but I was grateful that nobody else had to go through that.

Standing back I watch the dry kindling and straw packed among the large pieces of wood take to the crackling flames swiftly. It takes but a few minutes before the pile is ablaze. Crossing my hands in front of me I bow my head and whisper prayers for a swift journey. Toke’s spirit had been unsettled in life. In death I hoped that it might find peace at last.

I stand for a long and solemn time as the inferno grows. The aches and pains from my fight with Toke I focus on and offer them forward as homage to the great warrior. Our contest never got to its finish. Deep down I believed that my victory would have been inevitable, and yet as I remember that wild-eyed berserker charging from out of the darkness…who knows? Either way it did not matter as today I cede the battle to my fallen foe. He’d saved Rosa. My yielding to him now was the least I could do.

With the intense heat of the flames washing over me I reflect on the path I’d taken to lead me to this funerary pyre. Decisions, consequences, alternatives, mistakes, and lessons to carry forward all flow through my mind. Nothing is resolved or even clarified, but it was a necessary beginning.

A rustle from my left breaks me from my reverie. Stepping out of the forest comes Cassie in a clean dress with a large leather satchel slung over one shoulder and her bow and quiver over the other. On seeing me she lets her items tumble to the mossy earth. No words are spoken as we rush into each other’s arms. We hug and we kiss and we allow ourselves a minute to just linger in the relief of reunion.

The first question out of her mouth was the one I expected. “Our Lady?”

“Sleeping.” I answer. “Last I checked anyway. The battle…drained her greatly.”

“But she’s okay?”

“I believe so.” I say. “She complained about the draft when I snuck out of bed.”

With a fleeting grin she nods. “She’s okay.”

“The men?”

“Healing. Recovering. Their season is over. They’ll be getting their full share though. I’ve brought yours with me. They will stop by to say their farewells once they’re ready.”

“I look forward to that.”

“As do they. You’ve changed lives out here, Quin.” She says. “For the better.”

“Hmm.”

“Is Collywaddle here?”

“No. She was taken as a part of Aristocles’ estate.” I say. “We are planning to go see her tomorrow and find out what’s happening with her.”

“Poor woman.”

“Yeah. I did not know Aristocles that well but those two oddballs clicked as soon as they met.” I say as the memory of their first meeting drifts through my mind. “Love is funny thing. Funny…and tragic.”

“As is life.” Turning her attention to the roaring pyre she lays her head on my shoulder. As we watch the rising smoke and embers drift away on a northward wind she whispers. “He’s going home.”

“Yes.” I say softly. “To home and freedom.” My thoughts turn grim as I cast my eyes to the sword that still lay at the edge of the platform where I left it when the investigators departed at noon. “Most of him at least.”

“Mmm?”

“Some of his blood was cast into the metal of that…thing.”

“His spirit will follow his body.” She pats my chest. “We’ve all bled, Quin. A bit of spilled blood will not anchor his soul.”

“I pray you’re right.” I say. “Although…I do not know what to do with it. It was my father’s once.”

“And he passed it to you.” She says. “It is changed but it is still yours by right. Perhaps the gods meant for you to have it.”

“Mrm.” I grumble, not liking that answer in the slightest. Despite my prayers throughout the evening me and the gods were on frosty terms at the moment.

“Besides, for the journey that we’re planning a good sword on your back might not be such a bad thing. Just in wearing it you’ll give bandits some second thoughts.”

“Yes. The journey.” I look to her full satchel laying on the ground beside her bow. “Your family?”

She sighs and lets her weight slump into me. “They will…not be a concern anymore.”

“Cassie?” I lean down to look into her troubled blue eyes.

“Things were said that…” She swallows hard. “…that will need time to heal. Or perhaps they never will.” Looking up into my eyes she says. “Marriage or no, you and Rosa are all I have now.”

“Oh Cassie!” I wrap her in a firm hug. “You do have us.”

“I know.” She clings to me, needing this hug more than mere words could ever convey. “I love my family, Quin. But…I will not obey them. Not anymore. They are so stupid and stubborn and set in their ways. Gods bless them but they simply do not understand me. Not really. I see now that they never did. Never.”

“They love you too.” I stroke her long, thick hair then kiss her head. “Horatius is doing what he thinks is right.”

“As always.” She says, a cauldron of emotions boiling beneath her passive tone. “If there’s one comfort, they were relieved that if I was to throw my future away…it was to a good man like you.”

“They said that?”

“Not in those words, but yes.” She says. “Mom told me that if this was the path that I was set on that I choose it with my whole heart and never regret. She told me to stand by you, no matter what Fortuna throws our way. And she told me that she would miss Rosa. Dad asked me to tell you that you cost him a daughter and that you cost a woman her home and family and that he expects you take that responsibility to heart. He was asking you to stand by me as well.”

“I will.” I swear. “We will.”

I sense her mood brighten, just a bit. “And Granny said we weren’t getting any younger and that we better start working on building our new family. She said that while I might be disowned any kids we might have are still her kin, to hades with what Dad says!”

“That sounds like Granny alright.” I say. “And Lucas?”

“He’s angry at you and I. Furious. He barely spoke to me, though I saw the hurt in his eyes too. He will hold his tongue. For now.” She says. “How long that will last…I cannot say. Now that our fates are bound though I believe he will think twice before bringing hardship onto me and my house.”

“They disowned you because they think that Rosa and I are cursed. Gods. I hope I am never so blinded by fear as to turn on my own daughter.”

She lets out a laugh, a sad humorless laugh. “No, Quin. I was disowned because I would not obey. I would not cede to the pater familias. I broke the one rule you cannot break. I broke the foundational bond of a proper Roman family. Father knows best. Father owns all. Father’s word is the final one. This might have been resolved in time had I simply surrendered my own will and let him do things his way. Pfff, his way!” Hugging me tight she whispers. “From now on I bow only for my Lady.”

“And for a good boy?”

She laughs, this time for real. “For him, well, maybe I can fake it once in awhile.”

I smile and kiss her on her full, soft lips. “Welcome home.”

Arms around each other we stand and watch the flames carry our friend away.

Chapter 134