Anelie sat impatiently at the head of the column, Fort Buffalo's parade ground still shrouded in the pre-morning twilight.
She had, she knew, no reason to be impatient. The goodbyes between young James, Zuza, and their Grandpa, could very well be their last. Who was she to try to rush them? Certainly she had been raised better than that. Adanya, too, was hugging her Father as if this really were goodbye. In spite of herself, Anelie felt tears in her eyes. It was all on her. Whether those two kids came back, whether ANY of them came back to family and friends, was on her.
The sooner they moved out, the sooner her mind could push those thoughts aside. Focus on what she was good at.
Anelie gave her arrangement of the column another appraisal. The two wagons were simple affairs, low sided rectangular boxes with thin wooden rods arching over the cargo area which could support a canvas roof. She had placed both in the middle of their group, the better to protect them. The Kikker teen Issa drove the first, Ruta with him. Anelie would have preferred to have the girl on horseback beside her, constantly checking to keep on course, but Shanna's advice to keep the magical necklace close to the kids was a good one. They, and their mother Adanya, were in the second wagon, along with Lewy's wife Jaromira. The stocky woman drove, Anelie pitying anything that got in her team's way. Issa had better not dawdle.
Around the wagons, her four recruits formed the inner screen. She had put Bogdi in charge of them, much to his amusement. Hers, too. Her brother had never been under her command. He probably wasn't now, if they were honest about it. He knew more, was more experienced. Bogdi should, in fact, be their leader. It might even come to that. If he yelled a command, Anelie for sure would be the first to obey it.
She glanced beside her. Felek sat on a grey stallion, silver armor polished and new. Whether she took an order from him or not when given remained to be seen. He did have the King's trust, though, and Shanna's. As much as Anelie still thought of him as the small serving boy, he did match her in size.
He noticed her attention on him.
"Don't worry," he smiled, "I plan on being quiet and letting you do your thing."
"Good." She said it with humor. At least, she hoped so. Felek glanced back behind them.
"Besides, if I'm up here Ruta won't have evil jealous thoughts regarding those girls."
Anelie glanced back as well, past the six Hussars she had picked to lead the column (the other four pulling rearguard). Her eyes found themselves, almost against her will, on the blonde Klocia. What had Shanna said? That this one was attracted to her? As she watched, Klocia straightened in the saddle, form almost perfect.
Whatever.
"Goodbye, Grandpa!"
The kids were now in the wagon, waving. Adanya climbed up as well, taking her place next to Jaromira. She caught Anelie's eye.
"I think we're ready, Lady Anelie!"
"Good!" Anelie looked to Shanna, standing beside the Kikker Chief. She saluted. "Lady Shanna! Permission to depart!"
"Do it," Shanna replied, her own salute crisp, sharp.
Movement caught Anelie's eye. Her mother, goodbyes given the night before, stood back from the others.
"She sees what I am", Anelie thought. "She sees the soldier that I truly am." Did she finally understand, now? Accept? Well, that was a question for the future. Anelie looked towards the open gate, arm raised.
"Move out!"
****
The road was well traveled, the dirt well packed and relatively rut-free. It cut a wide path through the forest, trees and brush cut back a few yards on either side. This, Felek felt, created an illusion of safety if not the reality. Ambush would still certainly be possible, but you'd see them a half second earlier.
Not that there would be thieves here, and certainly not this early in the morning. Felek had always paid close attention to the reports from Shanna's outpost, fascinated by what she was doing. Expanding on an emergency fort put up during the Refugee Crisis, she had created a protected safe zone, patrolling in an ever widening arc. Kikker settlers had slowly moved into this land, as had a few of the furry Watu. King James had not laid claim to the land, nor had he made himself ruler of these people. It was all very strange. The town of Puln DID send a delegate to the Council, though. Whether they represented all those living in this area, or just the Kikker residing beside Fort Buffalo, was an open question. Most likely, the majority of residents didn't even know about the Council.
To be fair, most on the Council probably didn't know about them.
They passed a trail, heading off north into the trees. Felek nodded his head towards it.
"What's down there?"
"Couple Watu huts," Anelie said, eyes staying on the road ahead. "It was a robbers den, but we cleared them out as soon as the Fort walls were up."
Felek nodded.
"I assume we'll be relatively safe for at least a couple days."
"Longer, if we stay on well traveled roads. We're too well armed to be bothered by the smarter breed of bandit, and we've killed the stupid ones."
"Should have gotten the smart ones first."
Anelie shot him a glance. She shrugged as her attention went back to the road.
"A thief who doesn't bother anyone is not a thief I'm worried about."
He nodded again. Felek could hear Shanna in her voice. Ewa had told him once that he was becoming more and more like King James. The same seemed to have happened to Anelie. You became your idols.
He glanced behind him. Luckily, Ruta did not seem to idolize his sister in the slightest. She waved to him from her seat next to Issa, cheerful and bubbly. They'd see how long that mood lasted, wagon springs being what they were.
Anelie's voice brought his attention back to her.
"Has Ruta traveled before?"
Felek shook his head.
"Not much. My sister stays around the Palace, so Ruta does the same. This may be her first time in a wagon since the Exodus."
"Great." She let out a long sigh. Part of Felek wanted to defend his wife to be. The other wanted to be honest. Honesty won out.
"We just have to ease her, and Issa, into things. And me," he admitted. Anelie looked at him, eyebrow raised. "I may have trained, but it's not like I've slept on the ground since then either. Palace beds are very soft and comfy."
Anelie let out a snort. Felek grinned.
"I promise no bitching. From me, at least. Feel free to smack down Issa when he complains."
****
The village was small, a half-dozen homes scattered randomly on the left side of the road. They were not on the road itself, but rather set a dozen or two yards away. Almost, Felek thought, as if the forest was trusted more than travelers. A trading post did sit beside the roadway, its wood frame long and squat. Anelie raised her arm.
"We'll stop here. Lewy, put some pickets out. Klocia!" The girl almost jumped in her saddle.
"Lady!"
"See that all the horses are watered."
"Yes, Lady!"
Felek chuckled. It was like deja vu. All he could see as he looked at those two was Shanna with young Anelie. It was too bad he did not have a young boy to serve him, to mirror his first months with His Grace. Ah, well. Maybe Ruta would serve him. That's what a good wife did, after all, wasn't it?
He chuckled again. Probably best not to mention that to her.
Felek dismounted, eyes staying on the buildings. He did not see anyone. They could be off working, doing whatever the residents did to survive. The silence itself was not suspicious. Handing his reins to one of the soldiers, he walked back to the first wagon.
"Ow." Ruta let out a groan as she stood up from her seat, hands going to her bottom. Felek put his arms out to her. Bending down, she let him help her onto the ground. She took the opportunity to give him a quick kiss.
"Thank you, Sir," she said, grinning.
"Thank YOU, Lady. Should I kiss your bum to make it better?"
"Can I watch?" Issa said, jumping down beside them. Ruta wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Ew, no."
Felek saw Anelie waiting, amusement warring with annoyance. Figuring, if she was like Shanna, annoyed amusement was the likely outcome, he took Ruta's arm.
"Come on," he said. "We won't be stopping here long."
"This isn't our camp?" Felek hoped she was joking. From her tone, he did guess she at least wished it was true. He contented himself with chuckling.
"I think not."
Anelie led them to the long building's door. It was well built, sturdy. The windows, now open, had thick shutters. A small fort, trusting in the fact no attackers who wanted its contents would set the place ablaze. Or have axes. A painted sign hung over the door, a red lily pad. What name that would translate to, he didn't know. It did identify the race of the owners.
Felek's eyes swept the shop as they entered. Food, mostly, it looked like. Insects, dried and smoked, pickled or preserved. Some fruits and vegetables. Farming and hunting tools as well. A counter spanned the length of the store to the left, dividing the building in half. The wall behind it probably concealed storage space, or the more... special goods. A male Kikker stood behind the counter.
"Greetings," he said, the accent on his Polish very bad. His eyes seemed wary. Anelie nodded to him.
"Good morning to you, Shopkeeper." She spoke Kikker, her accent almost nonexistent. She took off her helmet, a hand going up to run through what red hair was not constrained by her braid. "We are just passing through. Any problems?"
"No, Lady," he said, again in Polish. "No... problems." His mouth broke into a wide grin. "Buy. Please. Low price!"
Felek could not help but scoff at that. This was the type of place to have one price for locals, another for travelers. Given they had not yet touched their supplies, he suspected this was mostly just a friendly stop. Remind the locals that...
"What are THOSE!?" The Kikker shouted the words, forgetting to use Polish. Shaking, he pointed past Felek. The teen turned.
James and Zuza stood in the doorway, sunlight shining in on their brown and red hair.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck. Felek unconsciously put a hand on his sword, moving in front of Ruta. Adanya, standing behind her children, let out a growl. Felek had not even considered this. Had not even thought of how the children would be seen outside of the world His Grace had created for them. Damn it all, how the hell...
Anelie put a hand on his shoulder. She was smiling at the shopkeeper. A dangerous smile.
"They are with us," she said, voice sweet. "We will be leaving once we have tended to our mounts, stretched our legs. I suggest you just ignore them."
Felek looked back, past Ruta's frightened face. The kids were gone, replaced by the hulking form of Bogdi in the doorway. Hand leaving his sword pommel, Felek grabbed Ruta's arm.
"Let's go."
****
"We can't just hide them. Not for the entire trip."
That, Anelie thought, was fucking obvious. Why did people insist on saying the obvious? It did nobody any good. She glared at Issa. The teen just shrugged.
"Well, we can't," he said. "I'm just saying."
She shook her head, glancing around. They stood in a circle off away from the others. The kids were back in the wagon, upset. Anelie was upset, too. Not at the idiots here. No. It was the Kikker around the fort who now pissed her off. For almost five years those children had lived next to them. Played on the river's shore. Played, at times, with the other Kikker children, although to be sure not that often. Apparently, at no time in all those years had any who traveled spread the word of these half Polish children. Had not told of how they were happy, loving, as good as any full Kikker child. They had kept them secret. Ashamed. That had not been the King's wish. Not been Shanna's wish.
Damn them.
"We could," Bogdi said, voice heavy with emotion, "shave their heads. Despite their eyes, most will not give them a second look."
"No," Adanya said, arms crossed over her bare chest. "I will not give them the satisfaction. Our children are who they are. I will not force them to be something else."
"Hair grows back, My Love. Tell the children it's a game. I'll shave mine, too."
Anelie raised her eyebrows at that. Bogdi, bald? That would be worth seeing!
"Does it matter?" Ruta asked. Anelie glanced at her. She was playing with her bird necklace. "I mean, so some of the Kikker get upset. So what? We're moving on. Who cares what those behind us think?"
"You tell us how long we'll be in Kikker lands," Anelie said, "and I'll tell you how important this is."
Ruta dropped her head, cheeks reddening.
"We can't upset the locals," Felek said.
"Why not?" Adanya asked. "Who cares what some narrow-minded freaks think of my children?"
The teen ran a hand through his hair.
"The King."
Anelie blinked. Felek looked at Adanya, crossing his own arms.
"Look. Here's the deal. We are here to save your children. Yes. That's the whole point. But I'm also charged by His Grace with trying to find friends in the places we travel through. Make allies. Now, those who would hate your children for being what they are probably aren't the sort His Grace wants for allies, but we still have to tread softly. Not make enemies of those right on our border."
"We are not cutting their hair. Or hiding them under blankets."
"OK," Felek nodded. "But neither are we going to give the evil eye to every fool who sees them and reacts. Rumor can outrace us, Adanya. If we are forced to abandon the roads because the villages before us are wary of our... well, half-breeds..."
"It's not going to come to that," Issa protested. "We're not that bad."
"Yes," Adanya said, "we are." She let her arms fall to her side. "We're no better than the Polish, Issa. Or the Elves."
"Like hell we're not."
Anelie turned to look at Issa. She hoped he was joking. He had better be joking. She was developing a strong urge to give the guy a good slap. Felek, though seemed to be ignoring him. Probably a good idea. She made a mental note to ignore the Kikker for the rest of the trip.
****
They passed two groups of wagons heading west, back towards Fort Buffalo. Each gave the Polish soldiers a wide berth. Neither group seemed to react to the children. Felek prayed it stayed that way.
It was not even the evening of the first day, and they were already in crisis mode. Should they turn back? No. What good would that do? His Grace surely had considered this. Trusted them enough to deal with whatever they encountered. This was just a... complication. The first of many. What was it His Grace said? No plan survives contact with reality? Felek definitely agreed with that.
The road forked ahead of them. Anelie moved her mount a little closer to his.
"I'm betting we're taking the northern road. South would take us back towards the sea, meaning our journey will be a short one." She glanced at him. "And we know that's not happening."
"Oh, I agree." Moving his mount off to the side, he reined in, letting the soldiers ride past. He matched his speed to the wagon as it moved beside him.
"Ruta. We need to know which road to take."
She nodded. He watched as she took the necklace in her hand. Saw her lips silently speak. Of all the necklaces he had looked at while in Saribit, what were the odds that he would find one filled with magic? The Watu merchant had treated it like any other piece of jewelry. She had even tried to get him to buy something more expensive. He now understood what the King had meant. They should have tracked the merchant down before going on this mission. Discovered all they could about the necklace, it's origin. But, no. There was no time. No time...
"That way."
He followed Ruta's outstretched finger.
"I can't tell which way you're pointing from this angle. North or south, Ruta?"
"Oh. North! Sorry!"
"No problem." He smiled at her, giving a sloppy salute. Kicking his heels into his mount, he moved back up to Anelie.
"North, she said."
"Told you."
"Didn't doubt you."
"North it is then.”