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LJF&R 4: Void...
[Part 1. Unfinished business.]
[Part 2. Second thoughts.]
[Part 3. Fremdschämen.]
I took a good look at the big man, Fremd, that our pursuers had left behind. He had seated himself in such a place that we could not move without being seen, although after a bit, I concluded that he was so big and ungainly that I could probably rise to my feet, walk up to just out of his arm's reach, and recite the first canto of Belle-a-wee An'doo before he could gain his feet.
Advantage to me, there, I thought, but then what? If I got close enough for his massive hands to get hold of me... I shuddered at the thought and tried to again focus on the problem at hand: how could I disable him so that I and the girl lying next to me could make our escape?
And then the voice of my late master Lascaux voice boomed its way to the forefront of my consciousness—What horse do you have in this race, boy? Walk away... while you still can!—and I recollected briefly to the many times in the past, in other places, that he and I had done exactly that. Lascaux was not a man who stuck his neck out casually.
But something—a feeling I had never felt before, as if a void in my life was on the verge of being filled—told me the girl lying on the forest floor next to me was worth sticking my neck out for, and as I tried to again refocus my mind on the problem at hand, the girl stirred and gathered her arms beneath her, preparing to get up. I took hold of her shoulders and brought my lips close to her ears in an attempt to warn her of our peril, but she easily slipped free of my grasp and stood up straight, in full view of her pursuer. I myself was on my knees next to her, my eyes wide with horror as I watched what happened next.
“Hallo-o! Fremd!” said the girl, waving her arm, in which she held the doublet I had used to cover her red hair as we hid from pursuit.
“Not so loud, young mistress Usha,” said Fremd, without turning his head in our direction. “There are places where sound carries quite well in this forest, particularly along this track. In any event, you must leave, and quickly.”
The girl took a step in Fremd's direction, and then turned to me and handed my doublet back to me.
“Thank you, sir, for the use of your doublet,” said the girl. “Will you come with me to a place of safety? I should like to repay you for your aid and your quick thinking.”
“No such payment is necessary, young mistress... Usha,” I said. I liked the way the name came off my tongue.
“You lovebirds can flirt later,” said Fremd's voice, and Usha's cheeks started to redden. “You need to flee now, while I do what I can to misdirect the hounds.”
I took Usha's hand and turned away from the track, prepared to flee into the woods.
“Not that way,” snapped Fremd, who seemed not to have moved a muscle since sitting down. He raised an arm with difficulty and pointed. “That way,” he said, pointing back toward the town. “And without delay!”
Whereupon Usha took my hand and led me past Fremd, over the tree roots that crossed the track, whereupon we hurried as quickly as we could along the track back toward the town.
As we did so, my mind was busy asking one question after another about my comely red-haired companion: Who was she? Why was Malon after her? And how did she and her pursuer Fremd know each other? Suddenly, my train of questions was derailed by Lascaux's strident voice, booming—More to the point, Feather, has Fremd just sent you into a trap?
With that question in my mind, I picked up the pace, passing Usha, whereupon the two of us started almost running toward the town.
[To: Part 5. I can't even...]
[Part 2. Second thoughts.]
[Part 3. Fremdschämen.]
I took a good look at the big man, Fremd, that our pursuers had left behind. He had seated himself in such a place that we could not move without being seen, although after a bit, I concluded that he was so big and ungainly that I could probably rise to my feet, walk up to just out of his arm's reach, and recite the first canto of Belle-a-wee An'doo before he could gain his feet.
Advantage to me, there, I thought, but then what? If I got close enough for his massive hands to get hold of me... I shuddered at the thought and tried to again focus on the problem at hand: how could I disable him so that I and the girl lying next to me could make our escape?
And then the voice of my late master Lascaux voice boomed its way to the forefront of my consciousness—What horse do you have in this race, boy? Walk away... while you still can!—and I recollected briefly to the many times in the past, in other places, that he and I had done exactly that. Lascaux was not a man who stuck his neck out casually.
But something—a feeling I had never felt before, as if a void in my life was on the verge of being filled—told me the girl lying on the forest floor next to me was worth sticking my neck out for, and as I tried to again refocus my mind on the problem at hand, the girl stirred and gathered her arms beneath her, preparing to get up. I took hold of her shoulders and brought my lips close to her ears in an attempt to warn her of our peril, but she easily slipped free of my grasp and stood up straight, in full view of her pursuer. I myself was on my knees next to her, my eyes wide with horror as I watched what happened next.
“Hallo-o! Fremd!” said the girl, waving her arm, in which she held the doublet I had used to cover her red hair as we hid from pursuit.
“Not so loud, young mistress Usha,” said Fremd, without turning his head in our direction. “There are places where sound carries quite well in this forest, particularly along this track. In any event, you must leave, and quickly.”
The girl took a step in Fremd's direction, and then turned to me and handed my doublet back to me.
“Thank you, sir, for the use of your doublet,” said the girl. “Will you come with me to a place of safety? I should like to repay you for your aid and your quick thinking.”
“No such payment is necessary, young mistress... Usha,” I said. I liked the way the name came off my tongue.
“You lovebirds can flirt later,” said Fremd's voice, and Usha's cheeks started to redden. “You need to flee now, while I do what I can to misdirect the hounds.”
I took Usha's hand and turned away from the track, prepared to flee into the woods.
“Not that way,” snapped Fremd, who seemed not to have moved a muscle since sitting down. He raised an arm with difficulty and pointed. “That way,” he said, pointing back toward the town. “And without delay!”
Whereupon Usha took my hand and led me past Fremd, over the tree roots that crossed the track, whereupon we hurried as quickly as we could along the track back toward the town.
As we did so, my mind was busy asking one question after another about my comely red-haired companion: Who was she? Why was Malon after her? And how did she and her pursuer Fremd know each other? Suddenly, my train of questions was derailed by Lascaux's strident voice, booming—More to the point, Feather, has Fremd just sent you into a trap?
With that question in my mind, I picked up the pace, passing Usha, whereupon the two of us started almost running toward the town.
[To: Part 5. I can't even...]