Chapter ten

Ortia

 

She awoke In Aurelian’s arms. It was lovely to feel his hands on her back and his hair close to her face. She had never felt so warm in bed or felt less willing to get up. It was, she had to admit to herself, wonderful, lying connected together. But despite all those gooey feelings she was not entirely happy. They had a rule – he always went back to his own bed after their time together. She had not wanted it to be too obvious what was going on, and that was made easier by him coming and going by night. By now there would be a host of servants, maids and minor officials milling about downstairs. Aurelian would have to sneak around.

She wriggled out from his embrace, half wanting him to wake and half not wanting to disturb him. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at him.  Distracted, she kissed him experimentally on the ear, then the forehead, then the cheek. After that, the desire to kiss him full on the lips was so extraordinarily powerful, it shocked her. This wasn’t what she had expected at all; it felt like things were getting out of her control. Next time she would insist that he went home – however sleepy he had made her...

He stirred and blinked. She smiled, despite herself. Wasn’t she meant to be cross with him?

‘Stop staring, Marth – it’s unnerving’

‘I’m just wondering what you’re doing here...’

He grinned, rubbing his eyes and wriggling further down under the heavy blankets.

‘Sleeping – and before that... other stuff...’ His eyes glinted from under the blanket, ‘why don’t you join me? We could see if there is some new stuff that we might find to do down here...’

There was that feeling again – the compulsion to kiss and touch. She craved it but there were so many more important things to do. This was why she had resisted him for so long. She’d known in her heart how tempting it would all be.

‘We have work to do’ she said a little feebly. The waver in her voice betrayed her. Desire was a very dangerous thing. She was only just fully realising it.  The analytical, political, part of her mind was storing that insight away for later use. It seemed that nothing was more powerful; and something of such potency could be used.

Aurelian sighed. He threw off the bedclothes and rocked out of bed. His nakedness did nothing to make her more rational. She needed to act fast or they might not get out of her bedroom all day.  

‘Put some clothes on. The maid might well come in at any moment...’

His playful mood evaporated; she was pleased at how effective her words were. He scrambled for his clothes, showing an unexpected ability to dress very rapidly.

‘You’re worryingly good at that’ she teased. He almost looked ashamed.

‘There have been one or two occasions when I had reason to dress quickly...’ he whispered, ‘...but that was a long time ago...’

She hissed ‘I don’t want to know’ and started to dress herself. The wonderful fog that had filled her mind began to dissipate. She glanced at the impression of where their bodies had been in the bed and felt momentarily sad.

Aurelian had his uniform on now. It was hard to say whether she preferred him in it or completely out of it. She smiled inside – first one then as rapidly as possible the other; that was what she liked.  She shook herself; she really must stop that.

‘What have you planned today, darling?’ she asked him.

‘More planning meetings’

‘With General Titanius?’ she asked

‘Yes... we have been discussing various campaign possibilities in considerable detail’

‘Good. I hope that has yielded some useful ideas’

Aurelian smiled a brief, strained smile.

‘Possibly, but I doubt it...’

She frowned. This was not what she wanted to hear.

‘Why is that? You’re the two best generals that the Empire has...’

He nodded, acknowledging the compliment.

‘...because everything will change when you finally speak to the Emperor and tell him what your plans are...’

She looked puzzled.

‘I’m sure that the Emperor is completely uninterested in...’

He interrupted her; his voice was laced with polite scorn.

‘...oh really – you know very well that at the moment, at least, he thinks you are the wisest elf in all his dominions’

Marthian put her palm up to his chest and started to push him towards the door.

‘I think you’re getting too much “sleep” General. Perhaps we should reduce the number of our “private consultations”...’

Aurelian’s face fell instantly; Marthian felt terrible for a second. That was the last thing that she wanted. Her reply came out in a rush.

‘No, no, we won’t... that was just a joke...’

She kissed him. Everything was fine.

He withdrew from the kiss first and then held her at arm’s length, a huge grin on his face.

‘What about you? What are you doing today?’

She screwed up her face as if someone had just wafted a bad smell under her nose. 

‘Visiting the High Priestess’ she said, ‘and I really don’t want to go’

He let go of her hands and turned to the door. He looked back as he opened it.

‘But duty calls; it always does!’ he exclaimed, and then was away, walking out with a steady, instantly assumed, military step. She shut the door behind him. She was intensely irritated to find that some part of her was already counting the minutes before they could be together again.

 

***

‘The Lady is concerned about our guest’ said Aquilegia, sitting back on her plain pine chair, ‘something will have to be done’.

Marthian was surprised; she’d only been in the temple for two minutes and she’d been expecting more of a preamble. High Priestess Julia had been more concerned with protocol.

‘Von Eisen, you mean?’ asked Marthian. 

Aquilegia nodded.

‘His soul has been disrupted in some way. He is beset by spectral monsters and lives as if in another world; in a place of pain and torment.’

She paused, a dark pain spread over her face.   

‘This is beyond the Lady’s skills...’

Marthian frowned.

‘I think he is beyond hope, I’m afraid. It seems that this witch, known to the Hybitor as Kratos, is intent on blighting everything’

‘Yes...’ agreed Aquilegia, ‘but he is not known to me...what can you tell me about him?’

Marthian rested her hands on the dark-stained wood of the table in front of her. She looked across at the High Priestess. They sat there, uneasy. Marthian felt as if the world beyond their white walls had moved too far and fast; and all without them.  

‘Nothing more than Councillor Ismay and Mr Hardacre have told me before. He is alleged to be the most powerful witch in the world; but I couldn’t say if that is true. However, he does seem bent on destruction’

Aquilegia leant forward. Marthian could see her brown-grey eyes very clearly.

‘Whatever he may be, he has destroyed the Baron’s mind, Proconsul, whether directly or indirectly; with malice or carelessness’

Marthian sighed – she could guess what was coming next. She was determined to stop it.

‘I can’t countenance putting him back in prison, and we can’t send him to Visnea at the moment, for obvious reasons’  

The High Priestess stood up, pushing the chair back to give herself room. She turned to look behind. Marthian guessed that it was back to where the Lady lay.

‘I know’ she said, turning back to Marthian, ‘we see only one possible course of action that remains to us’

Marthian tensed. Maybe something even worse was coming.

‘What could that be, High Priestess? I can’t see that many other options are available...’

Aquilegia smiled gently; she looked a little lost. Marthian was always forgetting how young she was.

‘We need to take him to a greater healer than any of the priesthood here’

Marthian was puzzled. Who could that be? There was a moment while she scrabbled around in her mind to find some possible answer. Then she knew – it was the most obvious thing in the world.

‘Rem’ she said, ‘yes – we should send him to Rem; if we can find him’

The High Priestess nodded.

‘Yes, I’m glad that we are agreed. I need you to delegate someone to take von Eisen to the Southern Plains and pass him on to Rem. If anyone can cure him, the Master Healer can’

Marthian knew this was the best plan. But then a thought struck her.

‘Who is Rem?’ she asked

‘What do you mean, Proconsul?’

‘Who is Rem to you, to the Lady? That’s what I mean’

Aquilegia sat back down at the dark table and stared down, as if into a murky mirror. She showed no inclination to speak. Marthian felt the sharp irritation that children feel when they have been persistently kept in the dark by their elders.

‘Something has happened to you – to the Lady. And it has something to do with Rem. The edges of your eyes – they are coloured like his eyes’ 

The High Priestess stared up at the proconsul intently, but she still didn’t speak.

‘Is it some sort of alliance? Between the Lady and Rem’s god? The one that he calls the Grey Wanderer? And who is he anyway – I can’t find him on the List of Canonical Deities’

The High Priestess closed her eyes and opened them again. Any trace of holiness seemed to have fled them.

‘There are some things that cannot be revealed’

Marthian felt a stab of annoyance and her face soured. Her voice was edged with exasperation.

‘Not even to me? Not even to your closest ally and secular leader? Why ever not?’

Aquilegia’s tone dropped to a whisper.

‘I meant to me, Marthian – not all things can be revealed to me’

‘Oh.’ Marthian’s anger fell away. ‘I misunderstood...’

Aquilegia was almost inaudible.

‘I am still very new to my position...’

‘I understand that...’

‘It is not always easy to interpret the eddy and flow of the waters...’

‘I’m sure...’

‘But things are moving everywhere, and I cannot grasp their meaning’

Marthian leant over and took the young priestess’s hands in hers. The high priestess was for the moment gone away, only the uncertain young elf remained.

‘Perhaps that is because the Lady is not sure herself’

‘Perhaps not...’

‘Just tell me one thing; to put my mind at rest’

Aquilegia held on tight to Marthian’s hands. Marthian was sure that there was a tiny tremor in their delicate fingers.

‘What do you need to know, Proconsul?’

‘This Grey Wanderer – is he to be trusted, is he on our side?’

Aquilegia let go. She blinked again, and now her eyes blazed blue and grey. The Lady had returned. Her voice boomed in the austere room.

‘He seeks to save the world and I am trothed to help him. I cannot say that it will be without cost’

Marthian shivered – the fire seemed to have burned very low in the High Priestess’s room. She had a brief, unbidden, memory of the warmth of Aurelian’s lips. She shook herself: there were always so many distractions.

‘I’m quite used to costs’ she said, stubborn but strained. She stood up, ready to leave. ‘I will see to it that von Eisen is taken to Rem. I cannot believe that Rem would mean any harm to anyone and perhaps he can do some good.’

The High Priestess nodded but said nothing more. They embraced in farewell and then Marthian returned to the palace, wondering all the way back who she could ask to take von Eisen on the journey. She wished that she could send Viola, but who knew where she was now? In her absence it would have to be someone less experienced – someone that she didn’t trust as well.

She stopped in the palace plaza and looked around. So many of her citizens were injured, infirm or far too young. Only the western Imperial troops gave the illusion of security, for the time being. Soon, it was inevitable, they would be gone. And beyond this fear lurked another – she was increasingly worried that, when the Emperor returned to the west, that he would order her to go with him. And, of course, she could not refuse him. Who would look after the city then?