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LJI F&R 5: I can't even...
Jan. 22nd, 2016 03:46 pmPart 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Were we not fleeing for our lives, the progress that Usha and I were making back toward town might have been a nice, if somewhat rushed, afternoon's gambol through the countryside.
We didn't speak at all, saving our breath for the more important task of putting as much distance as possible between us and our pursuers, and I put aside all the questions that had occurred to me—about who Usha was and how I had ended up in this situation, and so on—to concentrate on my surroundings and where I was putting my feet, as Lescaux had taught me.
The last time I had passed this way, it was dark, I was going in the opposite direction, and frankly, I was paying more attention to the thugs that were, I thought, merely seeing to it that Lascaux and I were leaving town. It was daylight now, and the area of the uneven and twisty forest track where Lascaux had been beaten to death had given way to much flatter terrain with many fewer trees, and Usha and I were now moving along something that was more of a country road. From time to time, I spied what appeared to be farmsteads to either side of our route.
Usha and I stayed fairly close together as we ran, with her leading the way whenever it occurred to me that it was she who knew where we were headed. Finally, at a point where the forest again came up to the road, Usha came to a halt and raised her hand so I would do the same.
“Come, this way!” she said, and grasping my hand in hers, she led me away from the road into the woods. After a few minutes of picking our way through brush and stepping over fallen tree limbs, we came upon a glade, in which stood what at first glance appeared to be a ramshackle cabin. However, as we approached the structure, I noticed that, despite its appearance, the structure was solidly built, and when Usha opened the front door, it swung open on well-oiled hinges. She motioned me inside, shut the door behind us, and let out a great deep breath.
Then she smiled a smile that I could see was tinged with a great deal of sadness, but still, I could have sworn the interior of the cabin got a bit brighter.
“Please,” she said, pointing at a table with chairs around it, “rest yourself. You must be tired.” I thanked her and dropped into the nearest chair.
“I would offer to brew us a nice cup of hot tea and perhaps even cook some porridge,” she continued, taking a seat on the other side of the table, “but I do not want to risk starting a fire, for the smoke and the smell of burning wood might give us away.”
“That's okay,” I said, smiling, “I think I'm too tired to eat right now, anyway.” Usha smiled that same sad smile. A few moments passed.
“It occurs to me,” she said finally, “that we've not been properly introduced. You already know my name. What's yours?”
“Lescaux—he was my master—he called me...,” and I stopped, as Usha's face had paled and her eyes had opened wide at my words. 'What's the matter?” I asked.
“This—Lescaux,” said Usha, “is he the old man who thwarted Malon's little scheme to steal me from my parents?”
“Yes,” I said.
“You just said he 'was', as if he were no longer among us,” she continued. “What happened to him?”
“He's, uh, dead,” I said.
“So I feared,” said Usha with just a hint of something hard and unyielding in her voice. “How did he die?”
“Three of Malon's gang—well, last night, they took Lascaux and me out to not far from where you and I ran into each other, and then beat him to death and almost me, too,” I said, wincing as I touched the bruise under the hair on the side of my head.” Usha burst into tears.
I quickly found myself kneeling on one knee next to her chair, trying to put a comforting arm around her shoulder, but she rose and stepped away from me, sniffling and breathing hard as she struggled to bring her tears under control. “I'm... sorry for your loss,” she said. “Your master did my family a great kindness and paid a dear price for it.”
“Yeah, well... thank you,” I said, sitting back down on my chair. Usha remained standing. “My master knew a bully when he saw one, and despised them all.” Which was true, but I felt compelled to add, “And he always wanted to do the right thing,” mentally adding for him and me. “Anyway, he called me 'Feather' for as long as I can remember—on account of my size, you see—so that's the name I answer to."
I sought to change the subject. "So anyway, how did you come to be running down that track this morning?” I asked. “And why did that man Fremd—he's one of Malon's men, right?—why did he help us?”
“Many years ago,” began Usha, after a few moments, and then used a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, “Fremd and my father were in service together as conscripts in the king's army. When their service was finished, Fremd accompanied my father back to our town, where he got married and settled down. Fremd and his wife, Veri, had a son, named Branch, who was exactly one year older than me.” Usha's voice softened. “Then the town was struck by a plague. Veri was among the first to fall ill, and she died soon after. Fremd took to drink, heartbroken over the loss of his wife. Then Branch caught the plague just as Fremd fell afoul of the law in a drunken brawl. So, my parents took Branch in and took care of him, but the plague had sunk its talons too deeply into him and, despite everything, he died too. When Fremd got out of prison, he fell in with Malon's gang, but despite that, he was always grateful for what my parents did to try to save his son, and he and my father quietly remained good friends." Usha fell silent again, then said, "Fremd is always welcome at our table, and he treats me as he would have Branch's sister. He would never betray my father, or mother, or me.”
Usha's posture then stiffened. “As far as our meeting this morning is concerned, well—Malon and his ruffians showed up at our farmstead last night, where Malon and my father exchanged heated words. One of his lackeys locked me in my room, but I could hear them yelling. I can't even relate to you what was said, but the exchange was vile, and it ended in a scream that terrified me, so I climbed out the window and ran around to the front of the house. Through the open front door, I saw...” Usha's voice broke and she was on the verge of tears. “Malon... striking down my mother... with a hatchet... as she knelt down the lifeless form of my father! So I ran...” Usha could hold back no longer and began sobbing uncontrollably, collapsing onto the floor as she did so.
I quickly sprang to her side and put my arm around her. She turned and buried her face in my chest and continued to cry, and we stayed that way for a long time, until we fell asleep.
When I next opened my eyes, the sky through the window was dark, Usha was still in my arms, but the cabin interior was illuminated by a lamp. I turned my head and there, at the table, sat Malon, using a long, thin knife to cut a loaf of bread.
His eyes brightened when he saw me looking at him, whereupon he flicked his wrist to reverse the knife in his hand and brought his arm down to bury the knife tip in the tabletop.
“Rise and shine, kiddoes,” he said. “It's play time!”
[To: Part 6. When you live for someone...]
Were we not fleeing for our lives, the progress that Usha and I were making back toward town might have been a nice, if somewhat rushed, afternoon's gambol through the countryside.
We didn't speak at all, saving our breath for the more important task of putting as much distance as possible between us and our pursuers, and I put aside all the questions that had occurred to me—about who Usha was and how I had ended up in this situation, and so on—to concentrate on my surroundings and where I was putting my feet, as Lescaux had taught me.
The last time I had passed this way, it was dark, I was going in the opposite direction, and frankly, I was paying more attention to the thugs that were, I thought, merely seeing to it that Lascaux and I were leaving town. It was daylight now, and the area of the uneven and twisty forest track where Lascaux had been beaten to death had given way to much flatter terrain with many fewer trees, and Usha and I were now moving along something that was more of a country road. From time to time, I spied what appeared to be farmsteads to either side of our route.
Usha and I stayed fairly close together as we ran, with her leading the way whenever it occurred to me that it was she who knew where we were headed. Finally, at a point where the forest again came up to the road, Usha came to a halt and raised her hand so I would do the same.
“Come, this way!” she said, and grasping my hand in hers, she led me away from the road into the woods. After a few minutes of picking our way through brush and stepping over fallen tree limbs, we came upon a glade, in which stood what at first glance appeared to be a ramshackle cabin. However, as we approached the structure, I noticed that, despite its appearance, the structure was solidly built, and when Usha opened the front door, it swung open on well-oiled hinges. She motioned me inside, shut the door behind us, and let out a great deep breath.
Then she smiled a smile that I could see was tinged with a great deal of sadness, but still, I could have sworn the interior of the cabin got a bit brighter.
“Please,” she said, pointing at a table with chairs around it, “rest yourself. You must be tired.” I thanked her and dropped into the nearest chair.
“I would offer to brew us a nice cup of hot tea and perhaps even cook some porridge,” she continued, taking a seat on the other side of the table, “but I do not want to risk starting a fire, for the smoke and the smell of burning wood might give us away.”
“That's okay,” I said, smiling, “I think I'm too tired to eat right now, anyway.” Usha smiled that same sad smile. A few moments passed.
“It occurs to me,” she said finally, “that we've not been properly introduced. You already know my name. What's yours?”
“Lescaux—he was my master—he called me...,” and I stopped, as Usha's face had paled and her eyes had opened wide at my words. 'What's the matter?” I asked.
“This—Lescaux,” said Usha, “is he the old man who thwarted Malon's little scheme to steal me from my parents?”
“Yes,” I said.
“You just said he 'was', as if he were no longer among us,” she continued. “What happened to him?”
“He's, uh, dead,” I said.
“So I feared,” said Usha with just a hint of something hard and unyielding in her voice. “How did he die?”
“Three of Malon's gang—well, last night, they took Lascaux and me out to not far from where you and I ran into each other, and then beat him to death and almost me, too,” I said, wincing as I touched the bruise under the hair on the side of my head.” Usha burst into tears.
I quickly found myself kneeling on one knee next to her chair, trying to put a comforting arm around her shoulder, but she rose and stepped away from me, sniffling and breathing hard as she struggled to bring her tears under control. “I'm... sorry for your loss,” she said. “Your master did my family a great kindness and paid a dear price for it.”
“Yeah, well... thank you,” I said, sitting back down on my chair. Usha remained standing. “My master knew a bully when he saw one, and despised them all.” Which was true, but I felt compelled to add, “And he always wanted to do the right thing,” mentally adding for him and me. “Anyway, he called me 'Feather' for as long as I can remember—on account of my size, you see—so that's the name I answer to."
I sought to change the subject. "So anyway, how did you come to be running down that track this morning?” I asked. “And why did that man Fremd—he's one of Malon's men, right?—why did he help us?”
“Many years ago,” began Usha, after a few moments, and then used a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, “Fremd and my father were in service together as conscripts in the king's army. When their service was finished, Fremd accompanied my father back to our town, where he got married and settled down. Fremd and his wife, Veri, had a son, named Branch, who was exactly one year older than me.” Usha's voice softened. “Then the town was struck by a plague. Veri was among the first to fall ill, and she died soon after. Fremd took to drink, heartbroken over the loss of his wife. Then Branch caught the plague just as Fremd fell afoul of the law in a drunken brawl. So, my parents took Branch in and took care of him, but the plague had sunk its talons too deeply into him and, despite everything, he died too. When Fremd got out of prison, he fell in with Malon's gang, but despite that, he was always grateful for what my parents did to try to save his son, and he and my father quietly remained good friends." Usha fell silent again, then said, "Fremd is always welcome at our table, and he treats me as he would have Branch's sister. He would never betray my father, or mother, or me.”
Usha's posture then stiffened. “As far as our meeting this morning is concerned, well—Malon and his ruffians showed up at our farmstead last night, where Malon and my father exchanged heated words. One of his lackeys locked me in my room, but I could hear them yelling. I can't even relate to you what was said, but the exchange was vile, and it ended in a scream that terrified me, so I climbed out the window and ran around to the front of the house. Through the open front door, I saw...” Usha's voice broke and she was on the verge of tears. “Malon... striking down my mother... with a hatchet... as she knelt down the lifeless form of my father! So I ran...” Usha could hold back no longer and began sobbing uncontrollably, collapsing onto the floor as she did so.
I quickly sprang to her side and put my arm around her. She turned and buried her face in my chest and continued to cry, and we stayed that way for a long time, until we fell asleep.
When I next opened my eyes, the sky through the window was dark, Usha was still in my arms, but the cabin interior was illuminated by a lamp. I turned my head and there, at the table, sat Malon, using a long, thin knife to cut a loaf of bread.
His eyes brightened when he saw me looking at him, whereupon he flicked his wrist to reverse the knife in his hand and brought his arm down to bury the knife tip in the tabletop.
“Rise and shine, kiddoes,” he said. “It's play time!”
[To: Part 6. When you live for someone...]
