Swordstory, ch. 4

[jesrosewater]

 Here we are! The very first Dreamwidth-exclusive chapter of Swordstory! *pops confetti* I'm excited to post this one. I think it's the best one yet! And it's definitely the longest one to date - the entire work has broken 10k with this one! The word count on this is just over 4.5k, so settle in and get comfy to read what our heroes have gotten up to this time.
I've gotten a lot of feedback on this story that has really encouraged me to keep writing! It makes my heart warm to think of all the people that like these two idiots. Please, Dreamers, if you enjoy this make sure to leave a comment!

Oh, and here's chapter 1.
And here's the 2nd.
And the 3rd.

Warnings for this part: tension, chickens, an anxiety attack, colonialism. Nothing very much. Oh, there is an arrow.


As we got closer to that outcropping of bricks and chimneys, we stowed the boat in some undergrowth, covering it with branches and leaving some of our armor in the boat. The theory was that if we ditched the chestplates, we would pass as mercenaries better. The boat remained down the stream from the little village, and as we walked away I looked back to make sure it was really obscured enough. Perfect. No one would find it unless they were looking for it.

The grass crunched under my boots as we made our way up the hill. Soon grass gave way to dirt, to gravel, to cobblestones. It was a small place, only a handful of houses and establishments. The setting sun bled color through the tree branches and over the tops of the thatched roofs. Due to the time of day, and the season, most no one was out and about. But the village still had an air of liveliness, the well-worn streets and the happy puffs of smoke from every chimney. Wildflowers poked through gaps in the rocks, stubbornly growing despite the foot traffic every day. Though that might have been a help - everyone refused to step on the flower, encouraging it to grow. There was the smell of animals in the air, though they weren't visible, it was clear quite a few families raised livestock here. In the distance, the acrid scent of the tannery could be picked up from the other side of the settlement.

Rafe was looking around quite starry-eyed at it all, as if he had never been in a village before. Elbowing him, I dropped my voice to a murmur. "Have you not ever been to..." I didn't know how to say it, exactly. "...a place like this?"

He blinked, seeming bashful about his curious eye. "Sorry. Um, of course I have. It's just... interesting. The architecture here's different. The way you build houses. And I think little hamlets like this're charming." He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck.

I gave him a friendly pat on the arm. "I did not mean anything by it."

The cobble wound and swirled across the ground, taking turns into scattered by-roads and avenues. Passing by the back wall of a stable that sounded like it had sheep in it, I spotted a light down the street. In the window of a homely little farmhouse was the flicker of a candle, a warm and welcoming yellow glow. Two stories, made of brick, with a sweet herb garden out front and shutters framing every window. It looked cozy. The people who lived here would be able to at least point us in the right direction.

I looked at Rafe, and nodded in that direction. He caught my look and searched for a second to find it, nodding once he had seen what I had. We made our way over and I knocked on the door.

After a few moments of waiting, the rounded door opened with a chorus of squeaking. Peeking out from behind the door was a woman, short in stature but large in smile. Her hair was brown with a few wayward sprigs of grey, and the little spectacles perched on her nose were attached to a chain that slipped around her neck. It was adorned with little crystals, shiny things that had no real value but were pretty all the same. She looked us over curiously. "Hello there, you two young fellows. What might you be looking for this evening?"

I gave her my most agreeable smile. "Hello, ma'am. We two are looking for some lodging for the night and are not familiar with this humble village. Could we ask for some directions?"

Her smile crinkled the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. "Oh, of course. What would be your names?"

"My name is Halcion-" Beside me, I could feel Rafe's intense stare and bewildered expression. That I would give my name to this woman but not him. "-but you might call me Hal, ma'am. And my friend here is Rafe. Thank you, beyond words."

"Well met, yes! I am Retha." She reached out a hand to shake each of ours, taking mine first, then clasping both over Rafe's. "Oh, what a strong grip you have!"

"Yes. Nice meeting you." Rafe's handshake and cadence was stiff, and he was still staring at me. Poor guy must have a shyness problem.

"Well, it would be rude to let you two stand here for so long as I prattle on - come in, come in, take a seat and I will tell you about our quiet little homestead here." She swung the door open wider and waved us in.

After some bashfulness, the two of us shuffled in. The house was lovely and quaint, the tablecloth having faded with age and sunlight through the window. The first floor, as far as I could see, seemed to be designed entirely around a single room. The kitchen bled into the living room bled into the dining room, only separated by the types of furniture in each corner. The wooden tables were battered and well-loved by the years, many scratches and chipped corners from moments one could only imagine. The fabrics were faded, old dusty reds and browns. On the wall ticked a clockwork day-measurer, all brass and glass. My favorite part was these sets of shelves full of knick-knacks, of all kinds, but there seemed to be several little porcelain cats who had been made by the same person. I really enjoyed the one that was laying on its side dozing off.

"Here we are, go ahead and sit. How long have the two of you been traveling for?"

I took the chair with my back to the wall, and Rafe stopped short as he was about to have taken the same seat. He conceded to sit on my right. "About a couple weeks now, ma'am. Just us, on the road, we heard about some jobs in the east."

"Oh, goodness, how exciting. I wish you many lucks. Let's see - well, there is no inn in town any longer. After Carmaan and those territories were conquered by our great Empire, tourism has gone down by a lot. So the inn had to close down - not that there was much tourism beforehand. Not that there are many tourists to be found, what with the war on."

Carmaan was a small but beautiful territory near the east coast of Fillire. They were wealthy due to the money brought in by the natural beauty of their land, but their downfall was their dedication to pacifism. Truly foolish, with all that money they could have bought off enough soldiers to protect themselves, but instead they were absorbed into the Empire. They were one of the last countries to go before the monopoly stalemate.

 As she spoke, she bustled over to a cabinet and got out some biscuits to put on a plate, and as she placed them on the table in front of us, I realized I was fairly hungry. Neither of us had eaten all day, had we? She turned towards the staircase and called, "Colly, dear! We have company!"

From upstairs responded a rumbling voice, "Just a moment, dear!"

"Who'd Colly be, ma'am?" Rafe asked, taking a biscuit as he did.

Retha smiled warmly, and I knew who it was right away. "Colliver is my soulmate, and my husband. We managed to meet right before the war started, and, as we are both business owners, we have managed to escape the draft all these years. It has been hard, I cannot lie, but it is easier together."

Oh - I could not keep the intrigue off my face. Another soulmate pair. Two pairs in the same room was about as rare as seeing a cat swim. "Really? Well, I am glad for you both. It sounds like a wonderful life."

She laughed, "Well, it has good moments."

Then down the stairs came clomping footsteps, and reaching the bottom was a man. He was tall, a wiry frame, and had the same signs of aging as Retha did. Greying hair, a long and worn face, callused hands. The colors of his clothes were faded, the elbows looking especially thin. He dressed in a layered manner, though it seemed he had dressed in a rush and had neglected to bind his chest. Colliver crossed the floor to press a chaste kiss to his wife's cheek, she smiled and returned the favor. He separated from his wife to shake both of our hands, a firm and measured grip. In a gruff, but not aggressive, tone, "Hello, well met. Right, what is your business here, then?"

Rafe started working on another biscuit as I answered, "Well, we are passing through and need a place to stay for tonight. My intention was to merely ask for directions, but your lovely and gracious wife let us in for a moment."

He nodded, looking us over. He seemed to consider something for a moment, tilting his head and rubbing his chin. "Passing through. The two of you have no trouble following you, is that right?"

Rafe almost inhaled the biscuit and started coughing, covering his mouth. I gave him a few concerned pats on the back. Once he had recovered, he shook his head vigorously. "Sorry - er, sorry, no. No, no trouble following us. Everything's all a-okay with us, just need to get, uhh... e-east." Oh, gods, he was hopeless. We would have to have a talk later about letting me handle the lying.

Regardless, Colliver nodded. "That would be do-able, then. We have no spare rooms in the house - but, if you like, we got a hay loft in the barn that is not half shabby. That work out?"

I glanced at Rafe. He didn't notice that I was looking at first, and his glance back was fleeting. As he looked around the room, in some searching way, he nodded.

"Yes, I think that will work out quite well. Thank you for such hospitality, we were not expecting for you to lodge us when we approached, it is very kind of you." I nodded, mostly meaning what I said.

Colliver and Retha shared a look of their own. It was Retha who spoke up, "The two of us, we have already had dinner for tonight, but.. could we- Colly, could we spare some food for them to take..?" She adjusted her glasses, the light frown on her face so soft and pleading.

He mulled it over and vaguely nodded. "Yeah, I suppose. I guess we got an influx since the Porter's backed out of that buy this week..." He kept nodding as he wandered off, back into the kitchen where we could easily see him rummaging through the cupboards from our seats.

I stood in respect, bowing with my hand pressed to my chest. "Thank you beyond words, ma'am, but really, we have no such way to repay this kindness." I was moving through the polite cultural motions, but I meant it far more this time. "I fear you may not see us after this night, and we might have no way to make amends for this inconvenience."

She flapped her hands dismissively. "Worry not about repayment. When one has enough to give, one gives. Please, take, and perhaps in the morning we can share in a meal before you have to keep moving."

Rafe looked over the both of us, brow slightly pinched. He stayed seated and put his hands on his knees, lowering his head until it was nearly between his legs. I resisted cringing, barely. "I agree, you're being very kind to us both and I wish we could give you something for it. Sorry to say, we don't have much, other'n our gratitude."

Retha nodded slowly, seeming confused by his strange display. Colliver walked back over with a bundle of, presumably, food wrapped up in burlap. He also carried a lantern, lit and creaking as it swung. "Your gratitude will be fine enough. Come, the loft needs setting up."

Rafe stood and we both left the house behind Colliver, briefly waving to Retha. He took us around the house, rounding the corner past a small flowerpatch, pretty blooms for prettiness' sake. The barn wasn't far, just out in the yard behind the farmhouse, surrounded by little, white, clucking chickens. "Hope you can sleep through chicken noise," Colliver commented.

He shoved the big barn door out of the way, scraping along the ground and pushing up a small pile of dirt. He handed me the lantern, and Rafe the food. "The ladder is in the back. The chickens will come in to roost after a while, they are well-behaved. I advise closing the door after that. There is hay in the loft, you can sleep on it. Hmm... think that might be all."

I bowed to Colliver as well, ignoring his scoff. "Thank you beyond words. You are very generous."

When I looked up, he was not looking at me, lips screwed up as if he had bitten into a lemon. "No need to bow, I am no royalty. Only a farmer. Out here in the country, people look out for people. If you want to re-pay me, just do something kind for some other stranger you meet. Your obligation is waived."

I sighed, a weight lifted from my chest. We exchanged a nod, and parted ways as Rafe and I headed into the barn and Colliver turned to go back to the house. A few chickens milled around our feet, clucking softly. Their feathers looked soft, but I managed to resist patting them. At the back of the barn was a wooden ladder, leading up to the loft. Wooden slats nailed down just enough to keep the hay from falling, but not exactly meant for human habitation. Rafe climbed the ladder, and then I right behind him.

It took me a moment, as I clambered up and set down the lantern, then started to clear a space. But I realized, Rafe was not looking at me. He barely had since we had gone into the house. "Rafe... um, are you feeling well?"

He still did not look at me, fiddling with the burlap. "So. Halcion, huh?"

I sighed, leaning on a bale of hay. "Yes, that would be my name. Are feeling quite alright?"

"I don't know, I don't think I am." Now he looked at me, turning around with a pout on his face. "I thought we trusted each other! Or, we're supposed to. Were you gonna ever tell me, if we didn't run into anyone? I gave you my polite introduction, and you just brush me off as if I'm nobody-"

I laughed, shrugging. "It is likely I would not have. Oh, Rafe. We only met this morning - in a manner of speaking, you are nobody to me." I straightened my lean, to reach over and pat him on the arm. I quirked a brow at him, unable to see why he would be so put out about something as silly as a name. "You should not be mad. Do calm down, though your reactions are hilarious."

Rafe shrugged my hand off. He stared at me, like I was a war map displaying an unwinnable strategy, nose wrinkling as his frown grew. "Hilarious. You think it's hilarious, to..." He huffed, turning around again. "Nevermind, doesn't matter. I'm gonna sleep."

It obviously did still matter, but I hoped he would forget about it by the morning. For the record, I could have easily given Retha a fake name - I gave her my real one, for his sake. I turned to the hay, and started to try to arrange it in the most comfortable way. A difficult task for an inherently prickly material. I put the lantern between us, letting it burn down in case we needed that small amount of heat in the dead of night. I removed my boots, lining them up neatly off to the side. I glanced at Rafe. He was lying on his side, not seeming to want to remove his boots, or any of the smaller metal pieces. The lantern light flickered yellow across his figure, playing across his dark, bouncy, coiled hair. I did not understand him, but I wanted to.

I laid down, facing his back, beating back the remorse so that I could sleep instead of thinking about everything for the next five hours. My training made it surprisingly easy. I closed my eyes, and felt the energy drain from me. Today had been a very long day.

"Goodnight."

"...Goodnight."

---

A shrill crowing cut through my sleep, and I started hyperventilating before I even remembered which way was up. I sat up and blinked, trying to will the haze from my vision, panic gripping me. I could not recall where I was - why was I in hay, in a dark barn, instead of the barracks where I had spent so many years? Despite the mismatched locale, my mind still registered the crowing as some sort of alarm, until through the grogginess I connected the dots and realized it was the noise of a rooster.

There was a stirring next to me. Drawing my knees closer to my chest, I held my hands over my ears. Entering my vision was a figure, a hand, rich brown skin - Rafe. Right, right, yes. Rafe was here, so was I, because we had met and ran off together. Right, yeah. I took a shaky breath, but I could not look up yet. The panic had sent a lance through my heart, and it would take some time to dislodge it.

"Hey, Halcion..?" Rafe murmured, coming closer. His hand hovered around my shoulder before he tentatively touched me, which I leaned into. 

"Got - scared," I rasped out. And it was about time, too. The previous day had been a whirlwind of adrenaline and treason. It seemed that after sleep, my mind could no longer ignore my transgressions.

The rooster was still crowing.

Rafe sat with me as I attempted to breathe and calm down, hand on my shoulder, hay everywhere. The air was chilly and tired as the chickens started to wake, bukking and milling around. "It's alright," he hummed. "Everything's fine. We're both here and it's all fine."

With time, I removed my hands from my ears, breathing steadier. "We are fine. This is all.. fine."

Rafe adjusted from the crouch he'd taken next to me, to sit on the slats of the loft properly. "Are you fine, though? You're, uh, pale as a cloud..."

I could imagine as much. Looking at my hands, they were quivering, I was unable to still my long fingers. "I will be fine, yes. I was merely - startled awake, by the rooster crowing. I apologize."

He sighed. "Well, alright, there's nothing to apologize for. D'you think you can get down the ladder? We should thank our hosts, and they also said we could breakfast with 'em. I don't like capitalizing on hospitality, but we, well, don't have any money, or supplies, really."

"Yes, I can get down fine enough," I huffed, leaning over to grab my boots to pull them on. "We should thank them, yes. Something to eat would do me well, too. ...Thank you, Rafe."

Rafe nodded, picking up the lantern and tapping some of the soot out of it. "Of course. We're bound together, aren't we?" Was his tone bitter? No, more morose.

"Are you still mad?" May as well be blunt and get this out of the way.

He grimaced, watching the chickens below us. "Yes. But less so. It's just. Well. The culture differences are gonna take a while to get used to. We should try to consider, in the future, that the two of us've grown up under... very different circumstances."

That made sense. A lot of sense, actually. Ever since we had a second to breathe, one or the other of us had been touching nerves. I wondered what it was about names that got Rafe so uppity. Though, I then supposed that we would have more than enough time to figure it out.
"Well, then. Shall we go down?"

This time down, he took the lantern and I took the bundle of rations. We both groaned from the stiffness of our limbs, sleeping unevenly on hay was not good for the body. We waded through a small lake of chickens, and ended up letting them out for the morning, watching them spill out over the yard. The grass crunched under our feet as we made our way around the house.

As we approached, something felt off. That would be expected at this point, but it still gave me pause. Soon, I realized what it must be - I could hear the rumble of speech from nearby, presumably from the front of the house. Perhaps it was just one of our hosts, up early. But to my ears, it did not sound like Retha's voice, or Colliver's either. I held up a hand to signal Rafe, pressing a finger to my lips as my steps slowed and I crept along the side of the house.

"...have reason to believe they are working together, as we found these next to each other. As you can surmise, that would be quite the issue." I was right, this voice was of a stranger, a light brogue that could belong to any of my fellow countrymen. "It is a crime of the highest caliber, and your country would be very grateful for any information you would have to share."

I, very carefully, peeked around the corner of the house. And was taken aback by who I saw. On the porch of the farmhouse, speaking to our kind hosts who appeared to still be in nightclothes, was the archer from the forest. The blue shawl was wrapped proudly around her shoulders, her posture was stiff, her hair pulled back into a neat and formal ponytail. She was in full uniform - she was out on official call. Shit.

In her hand, stretched out to show our gracious hosts, was the banners we had left behind in the woods. Yellow and blue torn fabric, crumpled together in her fist. "Have you seen anyone who might fit that profile, sir and ma'am?"

Retha exchanged a glance with her soulmate, who had his arm around her shoulders. "Well... I am not sure. It is strange to think of anyone I have met as a traitor. But..."

The archer tucked the colors away, no longer needed. "Any information is valuable, ma'am. These are criminals, that need to be caught."

"Well..." Retha chewed her lip. "We did have some visitors last night. Two of them, a tall one that looked like they would be from near the Capital. And a shorter one, dark skin like from the western territories."

The archer nodded, almost eagerly. "Yes, that would fit our timeline. Did they act very strange?"

Retha's chin tilted down a bit, hesitant. Colliver clucked his tongue and scuffed his heel on the ground. I thought she would stop giving the archer information, but then she spoke again, "The tall one, um, was horribly polite the entire time. I had xer pegged as an ex-soldier right away, the way xe bowed, and every move so precise. I guess... it would make sense if xe was the one you are looking for. As well, xer friend seemed, foreign. Had a very thick accent and terrible, terrible manners."

"Thank you for your co-operation, ma'am. Might I ask, that polite, tall one. Did xe give you xer name?" the archer asked, tilted her head.

Retha chewed on her lip, "Oh, um... it started with an H. I uh, hmm. Ha-Halcion..?"

The archer's eyes widened, recognition clicking into place. I could see the realization starkly on her face, if only I could have that moment of my own where I remembered her. "Halcion. I see, yes. That would be our missing operative, where did they say they were going?" she inquired.

Well, that was about enough for me. It seemed Rafe agreed, with the way his fingers were gripping my sleeve, tight enough to almost rip a hole in it. I pointed back towards the yard from whence we had come and he nodded. We tried to keep slow to mask our footfalls, but the hurry could not be abated.

We rounded the back of the house, and once we were far enough that our steps would likely not be heard, we started to run. Weaving around yards, we made our way back through the village, taking an alleyway and finding ourselves on the cobblestone streets again. I was running faster than Rafe, and he grabbed my hand. I assumed it was to make sure we would not be separated, but there was no time to ask.

Darting back through the street we had walked, the rush got us a little lost, but it was a straight-forward little place. Once we reached the main road, I could see the stream already, just down the hill. There was a shout and a series of noises behind us, I tried to ignore them. Just had to keep going.

As we skidded down the hill, Rafe almost pulled us both into the drink, but I used my momentum to pull us away. Frantically, we uncovered the boat - blessedly, still there. I hopped in as Rafe pushed it off, and started rowing the moment we touched water. He hopped in behind me, looked up the hill and gasped. I followed his line of sight, just for a glance.

At the top of the hill was the archer. She took a few steps before stopping, taking her bow and aiming an arrow right at us.

Rafe pulled me by the shoulder to the floor of the boat, where both of us laid as flat as we could. The stream was moving fast enough, but my mind was still screaming at me to sit up and paddle, to get us out of there. My mind also did not want to be shot, so that was an easy argument to win. The trees passed by and overhead as we waited like fish in a barrel.

There was a whish of air, then a thock as something stuck in the side of the boat. Rafe gasped harshly, and I clasped his forearm. Not soon after, the boat floated through a cropping of trees, past the vantage of the hill. I looked up. There, in the side of the boat, just above Rafe's head, was an arrow sticking out. It was so deeply pierced, I was not sure either of us could pull it out. The look on Rafe's face, wide eyes and thin lips, he was scared senseless.

"It went through my hair," he murmured. "I felt it whoosh right through."

I looked over the edge of the boat, and when not seeing any signs of her, I started to row. Very quickly. "Well. Shit. This is a lot more trouble, a lot faster, than I had been anticipating."