Luck of the Wheels

‘No, you didn’t,’ she contradicted. She watched over his shoulder as he fed twigs and bits of dry grass to the infant flame. Idly she twined one of his damp curls around her finger. It bared the birthmark on the back of his neck, an odd patch shaped vaguely like spread wings. She traced it with a fingertip. ‘Vandien?’ she began cautiously.

‘Sshh!’ he warned suddenly, but she had already heard it. Hoofbeats; a horse being ridden hard. As one they moved to the end of the wagon, to peer down the road. Goat’s comments on how the Duke felt about Romni had put Ki’s nerves on edge.

A great roan horse with a thick mane and tail galloped heavily toward them. The pale grey of the evening sky and the wide empty plain was behind it; it was the only moving thing on the face of the world. Its hooves were falling clumsily, as if it were too weary for grace, and lather outlined the planes of the animal’s muscles, but for all that it had beauty. Atop it were two girls, their heavy hair spilling black and red and moving with the horse’s stride. Their faces were flushed and bright beneath a haze of road dust. Their loose robes had been hiked up so they could straddle the big roan, and their bare legs and sandaled feet gripped the barrel of his body. Ki watched them come silently, seized by their beauty and vitality.

‘It looks like the two girls from the hiring mart,’ Vandien murmured by her ear. She could hear the smile in his voice. ‘I guess the red-haired one is running off to her sweetheart after all.’

Then: ‘Halloo, the wagon!’ A clear voice rose in the twilight. Vandien stepped out from the wagon and lifted a hand in greeting. The two girls flashed wide grins as they saw him, and then the sweating horse was pulled from the road, and came toward them over the coarse turf. The girl in front pulled in on the reins. The roan tucked his head stubbornly, and then perked his ears to her voice. He halted obediently, but tossed his head as if to show her he obeyed only because he wanted to.

‘Lovely,’ Ki muttered to herself, caught up in his clean lines and proud head.

‘Aren’t they?’ Vandien said as the girls slid from the roan’s back.

She had to nod to that, too. She guessed their ages fell somewhere between fifteen and eighteen years, but could not say which was the older. They were like enough in height and limb to be twins, but there the resemblance ended. The dark-haired girl with the startlingly blue eyes would have been a beauty anywhere, but her beauty would not have been enough to keep anyone’s eyes from her sister. The other girl’s hair gleamed between bright copper and rust. Her mismatched eyes, set wide above a straight nose, met Ki’s frankly; it made what might have been a fault into a flashing attraction. Where her sister was olive, she was pale. Freckles bridged her nose irresistibly. When she smiled, her teeth were very white. She glanced from Ki to her sister, and then to Vandien. ‘I’m so glad we caught up with you!’ she said breathlessly. ‘We didn’t hear you’d left until after noon. If Elyssen hadn’t been able to borrow this horse, I’d never have been able to catch you!’

‘Borrow!’ Elyssen exclaimed. ‘And I’d better have Rud back before morning, or Tomi’s master will have hard words for him.’

‘Ssh!’ the red-haired girl chided her sister, but amusement leaped between them like sparks. They both turned hopeful faces to Vandien. Silence hovered.

‘Come to the fire and tell us why you needed to catch us,’ Vandien suggested. ‘We can offer you a cup of tea after your long ride, if nothing else,’ he added.

Dark was falling rapidly on the open plain. The tiny fire was like a beacon now as Ki and Vandien led the way to it. The girls came behind them, whispering to one another.

‘Did you notice the bundle tied to Rud’s saddle-cloth?’ Ki asked him softly.

Vandien nodded. ‘I told them we couldn’t take passengers.’

‘But then you did!’ It was the red-haired girl, stretching her legs to catch up with them. ‘We heard in Keddi that you were taking Goat to Villena. So we knew you’d changed your mind, and because Tekum’s right on your road …’ Her hand settled on Vandien’s arm, forcing him to meet her hopeful eyes.

‘We don’t take passengers,’ Ki said gently. Going to the fire, she set the kettle of water to simmer.

‘But if you’re taking Goat to Villena, why can’t you take Willow to Tekum?’ Elyssen objected. ‘If he’s a passenger, why can’t she be one? We’ve money to pay for her passage.’

‘Because no angry father is going to come tracking him down. Brin sent Gotheris with us.’ Vandien’s voice was firm, but Ki heard the reluctance that tinged it. Willow’s wide eyes suddenly brightened.

‘But that isn’t how it is! You can ask Elyssen if you don’t believe me. Papa doesn’t mind me marrying Kellich. It’s only that Papa hasn’t much money right now.’

‘Yes, and too much pride to tell Kellich so,’ Elyssen cut in. ‘So when Kellich asked Willow to come away with him, Papa forbade her. Because he couldn’t give her those things that every woman should take with her when she goes with a man.’

‘Perhaps a cup of tea would make all this clearer,’ Vandien suggested. Ki gestured that they should seat themselves on the quilt near the fire. As she moved to take mugs from the dish-chest strapped to the wagon, she wondered what she was going to say. She had never taken passengers before. She hadn’t been enthused about taking Goat. She did not adapt easily to the pressures of sharing her life with other folk. Even Vandien had at first seemed more of a nuisance and an intrusion than a companion. She had saddled herself with Gotheris for two weeks, and already regretted it. Now this Willow was asking to ride along as far as Tekum. The worst part was that Ki could not think of any excuse to say no. Could two riders be any worse than one? And there was the money to think of, at a time when money was hard to come by. She glanced back at them, at Vandien nodding intently to the girl’s story. She didn’t have to ask his opinion. She added tea herbs to the kettle.

‘… so it happens all the time. When the girl’s family has no joining gifts to give her, or the boy’s family cannot afford to start him in a home, they run away together. Then both families say what wretched scamps their children are. But as soon as the first grandchild is born, the couple comes back and asks for forgiveness, and of course they’re forgiven, and everything is fine again.’ Willow spoke fervently, while Elyssen nodded eagerly.

‘It’s so, Vandien! I swear it! Papa won’t be angry. When Kellich went away, Willow cried for days and days, and Papa was horribly upset.’

‘You needn’t tell him I cried!’ Willow broke in, nettled.

‘But you did! And Papa was angry, just as he always is when one of us is sad and he cannot change it.’

‘Are you sure he isn’t angry because Willow won’t give way to his will?’ Ki asked. She passed out mugs, and then took the tea from the embers where it had been brewing. She filled the mugs they held out.

Elyssen dimpled with merriment. ‘Then why would he give her coins, all he could spare, and tell her to forget that worthless Kellich and buy the horse she’s always wanted?’

‘He knew that if I had owned a horse, I would have followed Kellich as soon as he left. But the money wasn’t enough for a horse. I know, for I tried to buy one. But I thought it might be enough for my passage. See?’ Willow untied the little cloth pocket from her sash, and before Ki could speak, she had upended it onto the quilt. A heavy crescent coin and a brief shower of copper and silver bits spilled from it. She looked up from Ki to Vandien, her mismatched eyes innocent and hopeful. ‘Is it enough to pay for my passage to Tekum?’

‘It’s enough to get your throat cut, if you’re foolish enough to show it to strangers on the road,’ Vandien growled.

Willow’s eyes grew wide, and Elyssen leaped to her feet.

‘Oh, sit down,’ Ki told them both. ‘Vandien was trying to warn you, not threaten you.’

Ki met Vandien’s eyes, read his silent comment. ‘They’d only try to buy passage with someone else if we told them no,’ she said.

His dark eyes lit. ‘I suppose,’ he agreed. He turned to Willow, who still stared at him anxiously. ‘That’s Ki’s way of saying you can ride with us.’

‘Oh, Willow!’ Elyssen sighed, while Willow began to scoop up the money and thrust it at Vandien, as if she feared he would change his mind at any instant.

‘Thank you. Oh, thank you. I promise I won’t be any trouble to you. I promise. Oh, I can’t believe I’m really going. Elyssen said I’d never get older people like you to understand how much I need to be with Kellich and how much he needs me!’

Willow looked into her sister’s face, and saw Elyssen’s dark eyes mirroring her own joy. She flung herself at her sister, hugged her wildly. ‘I’ll never forget how you helped me, Elyssen, never! And when your time comes …’

Elyssen squeezed her tight, her eyes near closed, her face between laughter and tears. Suddenly her dark eyes flew open. ‘Goat,’ breathed Elyssen.

Willow broke from her arms. She followed her sister’s stare, and a strange silence fell. Ki and Vandien exchanged glances, puzzled at the sudden dampening of the girls’ spirits. They were poised as if a wild beast threatened them.

Goat stood at the outer edge of the fire’s light. His arms were laden with something. His expression was something between delight and disbelief. He came on haltingly, as if uncertain of his footing. He glanced from face to face, searching for an answer to whatever question was in his mind.

‘Oh, Willow,’ Elyssen breathed in dismay.

‘I’ll be all right,’ Willow said in a soft, fierce voice. ‘I told you I would. I know how to take care of myself, Elyssen.’

‘Be careful anyway!’ Elyssen whispered. She stood, saying hastily, ‘Well, all is settled, except for Rud and me. I promised Tomi I’d have him back in plenty of time to be rubbed down and rested before morning. Good-bye, all!’

‘Wait, Elyssen!’ Willow called, and hurried off after her sister into the darkness.

Goat came on, first glancing after the girls and then back to Ki. His arms were heavy with small, fuzzy brown objects. He carried them to the edge of the quilt, where Vandien and Ki sat. Stooping down, he asked in a hoarse whisper, ‘What did she say about me?’

Ki met Vandien’s puzzled glance. ‘Nothing, Goat. Only that she had heard you were going with us to Villena, and she wanted to know if we’d mind another passenger.’

Goat’s eyes widened. ‘She wants to go to Villena with me?’

‘No. Only as far as Tekum. I understand her lover is there, and she goes to join him.’

‘Kellich.’ A wealth of disdain was in his voice. And disappointment? Ki couldn’t be sure.

‘What’s that you have?’ Vandien asked the boy.

‘Burr-fruit. From the Gwigi trees. You know.’ Goat seemed subdued, almost shy. He glanced to where the two girls stood, heads bowed together. Willow had taken her bundle from Rud’s back. The two sisters hugged suddenly, tightly.

‘No, I don’t.’ Vandien reached and took one from the boy’s armload. He turned it curiously in his hands. ‘I’ve never seen one before. Are they edible?’

Goat started at Vandien’s question, as if he didn’t remember they had been talking. He glanced at the burr-fruit in Vandien’s hands. ‘After you singe them in a fire, you can crack them open. They’re sweet inside. I picked them to share.’ Rud’s retreating hoofbeats drew his attention away again. He stared at Willow, who stood in the semi-darkness watching her sister ride away.

‘One might almost guess you were trying to make up for the way you behaved earlier,’ Vandien observed heartlessly.

The boy’s eyes jerked back to Vandien. ‘I suppose,’ he muttered. He glanced from the approaching Willow back to Vandien’s set face. He didn’t want to be rebuked in front of her.

‘Good. I was afraid I’d have to reason with you about it later tonight.’ Vandien’s tone made it clear to Ki that his ‘reasoning’ might not be conversational, but the inference went right past Goat. Worry furrowed his brow as his eyes darted surreptitiously toward Willow and then veered away. Vandien looked at the approaching girl. ‘We won’t say anything more about it now. But I’m better impressed with you. A boy who can apologize when he’s been wrong isn’t that far from being a man.’

The note of approval in Vandien’s voice suddenly had Goat’s full attention. His face lit up, not into his fool’s grin, but a tentative smile. ‘There’s enough here for all of us. Even Willow,’ he added cautiously. ‘I’ll show you how to cook them,’ he offered, speaking more to the girl than to Ki and Vandien.

She stared at him across the fire. Her eyes were as unreadable as a cat’s. Then she came smoothly into the circle of the firelight, flowing like water. She resumed her place on the quilt, took up her mug of tea and sipped from it. The slight was obvious, and Ki winced at it. Goat blushed deeply.

‘So how do you cook them?’ Vandien asked curiously, as if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss. But he had, Ki would wager. Probably only she could detect the sympathy in his voice.

‘You just … put them close to the embers of … the fire and leave them in there awhile.’ The boy’s voice kept hitching.

‘Well, while you two are doing that, I’ll get the main part of the meal going.’ Ki filled in the silence with her voice.

‘Let me help,’ Willow volunteered instantly, her voice as disarming as her smile.

‘I can manage,’ Ki told her coolly.

‘Please let me, I love to cook,’ she begged, her face so innocent that Ki wondered if she was unaware of how she had humiliated Goat. Willow’s fingers were quick and her smile easy as she sliced dried meat into chunks that simmered separately from the pot of vegetables and roots that Ki prepared. She exclaimed about the tidiness of the wagon when she put her bundle inside, and was generally so charmed and charming that Ki could not hold a grudge against her. Together they set out bowls and travelling bread while Willow told her ingenuously of her Kellich. He was, Ki heard, an excellent trainer and handler of horses, and had been offered a fine position with a wealthy man in Tekum. He was, she told Ki, a young man who was handsome, witty, chivalrous, and merry, a graceful dancer and a skilled swordsman. He was also, Ki surmised from the way she spoke, a bit of a dandy and apt to be quick-tempered. But Willow plainly considered those facets of his character as virtues. Ki smiled to herself.

‘Food’s done!’ Vandien announced, taking the pots from the fire. The savory smell filled the night. Ki poured more tea while he ladled out a generous serving into each bowl. Conversation lagged as the four became aware of their hunger. They ate, spoons rapping softly against bowls. ‘Tastes funny,’ Goat said once, and then hastily amended his words to, ‘I mean different from what I’m used to.’ Vandien dipped his head to hide a small smile, and Ki nodded. But Willow stopped eating and stared at him for a long moment.

They were wiping the gravy out of their bowls with travelling bread when Goat suddenly stood. ‘These should be done,’ he told Vandien, and, picking up a small stick, he coaxed each burr fruit from the fire. Small cracks showed in their furry rinds. After a moment of cooling, Goat picked one up and broke it open. The exposed pulp was between pink and red. Juice ran over his fingers, and a sweet smell filled the air. Vandien tossed one to Ki, who tasted it gingerly. The texture was like a baked apple, the flavor not quite peaches nor strawberries.

‘No.’ Willow spoke flatly, then softened it with a ‘Thank you’ to Vandien.

‘If you’re sure.’ He shrugged, withdrawing the offered fruit. ‘Goat gathered plenty of these things.’

‘They’re good,’ Goat added timidly.

She shifted her gaze to him, and her face lost its charming smile. Her eyes hardened with an unreadable emotion. With disdain in her voice she said, ‘You know I wouldn’t eat anything you’d touched, Goat. You know that.’

A long silence fell over the group. The boy, embarrassed, knelt by the fire. He looked at Vandien. Ki raked Willow with her eyes, shocked by the casual cruelty of the girl’s voice and words.

‘These grow on Gwigi trees?’ Vandien asked. His tone suggested that Willow’s words were unworthy of notice. He knelt by the boy, only interest in his face, but Ki sensed his annoyance with Willow.

Goat’s hand shook slightly as he batted another burr-fruit from the fire’s embers. He nodded silently, his head down.

‘And if you’re smart, you won’t eat them either.’ Willow pushed, her voice cold. Her sudden anger grew. ‘Nor sleep too careless around him. Because while you’re dreaming, he’ll sneak and steal …’

‘That’s not true, Willow!’ Goat flared. But his voice was more scared than threatening.

‘Isn’t it?’ Her words cut savagely. ‘I know better. But they don’t, do they, little sneak-thief? I didn’t think Brin would admit what cargo he’d given them.’

‘Enough!’ Vandien’s low voice cut through the argument. ‘I don’t know what grudge you two share. But whatever it is, leave it behind, or keep it private.’

Willow stared at him, her eyes as wide as if he’d slapped her. ‘Vandien’s right,’ Ki cut in before she could speak. ‘We four will be travelling together for a while. If you two have old differences, forget them. Or ignore them and be civil to one another. The wagon is too small a place for bickering.’

‘But you don’t understand,’ Willow began earnestly.

‘Nor do I want to,’ Ki interjected firmly. ‘I don’t want to hear charges of thief or liar thrown about. It matters little enough in the short time we shall be together. If something of yours is stolen on this trip, Willow, I shall make good its value for you. And that is all I wish to say about it.’

Ki felt her heart hammering. Gods, how she hated a scene like this. This was why she and Vandien moved alone and apart from others. The bickering and quarrels, the useless anger, and always, always, people seeking someone to blame.

Willow stared at her. Her cheeks were reddened with more than the fire’s heat, her eyes bright. The girl was either very angry, or on the verge of tears. Both, Ki suspected. She did not look as if she were accustomed to not getting her own way. When she spoke again, her voice was tight. ‘Very well, Ki the teamster. Had I any other way to Kellich, I would have taken it, as you well know. I had thought you would wish to know what all the village knows about Goat. But as you do not, I will say no more about it. But I shall not sleep at night. And you will regret, very soon, that you did not let me say what I know is true.’

‘Goat. Time for us to check the horses.’ Vandien rose hastily, threatened by the possibility of Willow’s tears.

‘I don’t want to …’ Goat began, obviously fascinated and unsettled by the scene between Ki and Willow.

‘Time to check the horses,’ Vandien repeated firmly, catching the boy by the collar and tugging him to his feet. They disappeared into the darkness. Ki smiled at his use of the Romni euphemism. Going to check the horses meant a man was going to relieve himself, or wanted a little privacy. Goat would soon learn it, she supposed. At any rate, Vandien had decided the boy was worth an effort. Leaving her with Willow.

Ki cast a sideways glance at her. Her cheeks still glowed. ‘Well, we’d better tidy up for the night,’ Ki suggested in a neutral voice. Willow met Ki’s look with a sullen stare, but began gathering the dishes. She pointedly ignored Goat’s bowl. With a sigh, Ki picked it up herself.

The awkward silence held as the dishes were cleaned and packed away. When Willow broke it, it was with another dilemma. ‘Where am I supposed to rest tonight?’ she asked coldly.

‘Wherever you wish,’ Ki replied politely. She would not rise to the girl’s avoidance of the word ‘sleep’.

‘Where’s Goat going to sleep?’ she demanded next.

Ki sighed. ‘I hadn’t thought about it. By the fire, I suppose.’

‘Then I’ll sleep in the wagon.’

‘Vandien and I usually sleep in the wagon,’ Ki pointed out. She could feel her control slip and wondered with a sudden anger just where the hell Vandien was. Let him come back and manage his wonderfully charming young girl.

‘I don’t mind,’ Willow said smoothly.

‘Did you ever consider that I might?’ Ki asked, dropping all pretense of civility.

‘No. I didn’t. You couldn’t possibly expect me to sleep near Goat, even if he weren’t … what he is. Among my people that isn’t done,’ she added primly.

Ki closed her eyes for an instant, got a grip on her rising anger. ‘I see.’ She gave a sigh, tried to breathe her irritation away. ‘Then why don’t you sleep in the wagon, and Vandien and I will sleep outside? That should keep everyone’s propriety intact.’

‘Near Goat? You’re going to sleep near Goat?’ The distaste in the girl’s voice was not feigned. For whatever reason she disliked Goat, it was not a pretense.

‘Vandien will protect my virtue,’ Ki assured her with heavy sarcasm, but the girl considered her words gravely. Her eyes were wide as she met Ki’s gaze.

‘I do not think even he could protect you from one such as Goat. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather sleep in the wagon also?’

‘Quite sure,’ Ki assured her. Willow’s eyes darted to a rustling in the thicket that presaged Vandien and Goat’s return.

‘I’m going to bed now. Good night. And take care!’

The last she whispered as she turned and fled to the shelter of the wagon.

When Goat and Vandien appeared, their arms were laden with dead branches for firewood. Ki nodded her approval. Already the night was cool, denying the heat of the day. ‘Where’s Willow?’ Goat demanded of her.

‘Gone to bed,’ Ki told him smoothly. ‘As we all should, if we are to get an early start tomorrow.’

‘Where?’ he repeated.

‘Where what?’ she asked, feigning puzzlement.

‘Where is Willow sleeping?’ Goat demanded. Vandien winced at the boy’s unconcealed interest.

‘In the wagon.’ Ki kept her voice unconcerned. ‘Where the night insects will not bother her.’

‘We’re all going to sleep in the wagon?’ Goat asked eagerly. Without waiting for an answer, he started toward the steps.

‘No, it would be far too crowded and stuffy. Ki and I will sleep under the wagon, and you can sleep by the fire.’

‘But …’ Goat began, and then caught Vandien’s look. Ki could not imagine what he had said to the boy, but Goat suddenly closed his lips. He kept his words in check, but not the sulky look that claimed his face. Snatching up a good portion of the scattered quilts and blankets, he began to make up a bed by the fire.

Vandien refused to acknowledge his pique. ‘Good night, Goat,’ he told the boy affably. He gathered the remaining quilts and cushions and made up their bed beneath the wagon while Ki belatedly washed the road dust from her face and smoothed her tangled hair. He was already settled when she came to join him.

‘Why under the wagon instead of next to the fire?’ she demanded as she crawled in beside him. She knew the answer, and he knew it, but he spoke anyway. His voice was sleepy. ‘Feeling of shelter, keeps the rain off. And makes it harder for anyone to attack while we’re sleeping.’

‘Like sleeping in a coffin,’ Ki grumbled. She dragged off her boots, blouse and trousers so that she was clad in loose cotton drawers and chemise. Shivering, she burrowed into the quilts and settled against Vandien. He was warm. She curled her body around his, her belly to his back. She could smell his hair and the warm skin of his neck.

‘These children,’ he said softly, ‘make me feel old.’

‘Um,’ Ki agreed. She kissed the nape of his neck experimentally.

He sighed. ‘Very old. Ki, did you hear me earlier? Dictating, chastising, directing, warning. I sounded just like my uncle when I was a child.’

‘Your guardian?’ she asked. With the tip of one finger, she wrote her name on the warm skin of his back.

‘Yes. He was always directing me, never letting me do anything on my own. Not even choose which women I’d bed.’ Vandien’s voice trailed off as his mind went back to those painful times, to his futile efforts to sire an heir for his line. He moved slightly apart from Ki, and she, knowing his old pain, let him. He wouldn’t want to be touched just now. Damn. Well, that’s how it was, then. She closed her eyes, sought sleep. ‘I’d hate to think I had grown to be just like him,’ Vandien said suddenly. ‘Ki, did you hear what Willow said earlier? That she didn’t think any one as old as I am could understand why she’d run away to her lover? Do I look that old to you? Old enough to be her father?’