Felek groggily sat up, the smell of breakfast filling his nose.
Or, rather, he tried to sit up. Something was on his chest. Not something heavy, or really restraining, but it was just enough to require more effort than he was willing to put into moving at that moment. He opened his eyes. Branches, leaves, a lightening but still dark sky. He'd have to lift his head to find out the problem.
God, he really didn't want to move.
"Morning." Anelie's voice helped cut through his fog. Rolling his head to the left a bit, he saw her leaning against a tree, mug in hand. Her bedroll was already tied up, ready to be tied to her saddle. Klocia was beside her, the two obviously in the middle of some conversation. Both were sort of smirking at him. Why...?
A groan came from his right. Ah. He knew that groan. With greater effort, he formed himself up into a sitting position, hands moving to grab the feminine arm thrown over his chest. He placed it beside the sleeping form of Ruta. This was not the first time he had found her beside him, despite her having bedded down over near the other women. She must have come over late, for him not to have noticed earlier. Chuckling, Felek found the energy to disengage completely, standing.
"And good morning to you two, ladies," he said to the two soldiers. Klocia moved to a kettle beside the fire. Staying out of Jaromira's way as the woman stirred a large pot of porridge, she filled a mug with hot coffee. Felek accepted the drink gratefully. "Thank you."
"I want to get an early start," Anelie told him. "We've lost too much time."
"An actual destination would be nice." Felek took a sip. It was more warm than hot. "Maybe now that we have an actual representative of our patron Saint." He looked up in the tree. The bird was still there. "Shit. Has it moved at all?"
"Only enough to prove it's alive."
Ruta sat up with a groan, blonde braid looking more like a twisted mess.
"Morning."
"Any dreams from our friend Zywie?" Felek asked. She shook her head, blinking.
"No. Not that I still remember." She looked up into the tree. "Hello, Zywie. Good morning to you."
The bird didn't answer. Felek didn't know what he would have done if it had.
"Mom?"
There was something in James' voice which caught Felek's attention. His eyes found the boy, nude, standing next to his sister. She, too, looked worried. Zuza was grabbing his right hand with both of hers, as if she could pour all her strength into him, or hold him back from whatever fate awaited. Adanya rose from the cooking fire, swiftly coming to his aid.
"What's the matter, Baby?" She knelt down on one knee before him, eyes level with his.
"I hurt."
Felek found himself walking over, feet moving quickly. Both Anelie and Ruta were with him.
"Where do you hurt?" Adanya ran her hands over her son's flat chest. He grabbed them, moving her hands between his ribs.
"Inside."
Panic flashed across her face, quickly replaced by motherly calm. She smiled.
"It's going to be OK. It's good you told me. We'll make you better. Zuza, could you get the basket, Honey?" Her daughter was off instantly, bare feet ignoring the rocks and twigs as she went to the wagon. Anelie knelt down beside them.
"Can I do anything?"
"Do you know where Bogdi is?" There was worry in Adanya's voice.
"He'll be back in a few minutes. I think he wanted to check to see if one of the plants you might need grew down by the stream before we moved on."
"Ah, yes. We don't need that one now, but..."
Zuza was back, basket in hand. Standing beside her brother, shoulder touching his, she handed it to her mother.
"Can I do anything else? Anything?"
"Not now, Honey." Adanya set the basket on the ground, opening the lid. Anelie reached out, touching the young girl.
"Give your brother a hug."
She did so. Felek felt a twinge of... wrongness at the sight, the two children embracing while nude. He shoved it aside. His Grace had taught him better than that. These were children. More, they were half Kikker, and their mother's people did not feel about nudity as the Polish did. There was nothing immoral, nor sexual. Did he not want these surviving siblings to comfort each other?Embarrassment at his own stupidity flowed through him. Felek cleared his throat, hoping no one noticed.
"What do you need, Adanya? Should we head into the city?"
"I need..." She rooted through the various packets of flowers and leaves. She pulled one out, considering. Carefully written words labeled the white cloth packet.
Felek saw fluttering movement from the corner of his eye.
The blue bird fluttered down from its branch, the black of its under-wings mixing with the brownish orange of their tops in a strange blur. It flew past him, Felek reflexively stepping to his left.
Adanya sat back, startled, as the bird landed gently on the edge of the basket. It looked between her and her son, black eyes regarding the pair. James wet his large lips, face uncertain.
"M-mom?"
The bird fixed its gaze on him. Its head cocked, dark blue beak opening and closing. The boy cocked his own head, as if to keep their eyes locked. Felek saw his face calm.
"Zywie?" Adanya's voice was soft. Almost pleading. The blue bird turned its head to her. "Please. Help him. Help both of them." Its head cocked again.
With a hop, the bird dropped into the basket. Felek stepped closer, as did Ruta and Anelie. A moment later it jumped up, wings extending briefly as it hovered before landing once again on the basket edge. In its mouth, a purple flower.
"Really?" Adanya frowned.
"What is it?" Anelie asked. Adanya shook her head.
"It helps you breathe. Opens the lungs... oh!" Her eyes widened. "Oh! Of course! I never would have thought of that!" She slowly extended her hand towards the bird, palm up. The small flower dropped onto her fingers. "Thank you, Zywie." She bowed. The bird bowed back. "Zuza, bring James a cup of water."
The girl leapt into action. Ruta dropped down onto one knee beside Adanya.
"Thank you, Zywie."
Its head cocked, regarding her. It then seemed to look over at Ofure near the fire. Its gaze swung between the two girls.
"Mom! Here!" Zuza slid to a stop beside her brother, holding a cup. Adanya stood, smiling.
"Thank you, Zuza. Hold it out." Adanya crumbled the dried flower into the cup. "James, drink this down. All of it."
"Yes, Mom." Zuza had the cup at his lips before he could even get his hands on it. "Thanks." Letting her do the work, he closed his eyes as Zuza slowly tipped the cup, its contents flowing into him.
"Will he need anything else?" Adanya asked their benefactor. "I mean, right now? Is he well enough to travel?"
With a flap of its wings, the bird leapt into the sky. Felek's eyes followed it. It landed on a branch at the northern edge of their camp, the tree sitting beside a stretch of flat ground heading north. Anelie let out a groan.
"So much for our nice, flat road."
****
The bird had settled itself on top of the second wagon, yellow talons digging into the wooden support arching over the now uncovered cargo section. Anelie found herself constantly glancing back.
A bird. A bird-god. Or, perhaps, a God-Bird. She wasn't worshiping a bird. No. No way. That was silly.
She looked away. Whatever the hell their feathered friend was, thinking bad thoughts about it probably wasn't a good idea. They needed its help. Needed this Zywie's help. Her eyes looked back. James was sitting under the bird, looking up, his sister behind him. Her arms were wrapped around the boy as he leaned back against her. The bird had picked out medicine. Had set them on this path.
That was all that mattered.
The trail before them was unmarked by any wheel or hoof. It was simply flat, lightly grassed dry land heading northward through the trees. Anelie frowned. It wasn't... natural. Wagon trails, dirt paths, those she expected in the world. This was something else. Was there a road under them, long buried? Or had the forest just... created this?
"This is weird," Felek said as he rode beside her. Anelie nodded.
"I was just thinking that."
"I mean... it FEELS different. You get that? It's like we entered some kind of magical forest."
"Yeah." She could see it, now that he pointed it out. There was an unreality around them. The trees were the same, the plants, the grass. Yet...
"I wonder if we're still in the same place," he said. She looked at him. "I mean, if we turned around, would we end up back at the road? Or did we pass through some magical gate back there?"
"It must have been after we broke camp, if that happened. It would be helpful if we skipped weeks of travel. Don't know how we'd get back, though."
The road curved to the east. Through the trees, Anelie thought she saw the banks of the stream they had camped near.
"It's a magical stream," Felek said, laughing. "That's it."
"Sounds good to me."
****
It was noon when they found themselves in a small clearing. The road had swung yet again towards the stream, fresh water only a minute's walk away. Almost as if it was a planned campsite. Anelie did not know if this made her happy, or wary. She looked again at the bird, now up in a tree branch. Wary it was.
"Sis." She paused before dismounting, her brother riding up. His expression was serious. She straightened in her saddle.
"What is it?"
"Come with me, while they get settled." He turned to Felek. "Both of you."
They rode back past the wagons. Anelie noticed those soldiers who had been in the rearguard seemed a bit more wary than they should be. Her eyes swept the woods. The danger could not be imminent, or Bogdi would have sounded the alarm. Following the grassy road, the three re-entered the forest.
The road vanished.
Anelie reined in, startled. Her mount, too, reared up a bit, a tree suddenly before him. She looked back. The others were there, preparing lunch in a sun drenched circle of greenery. The path continued on, heading northward.
"What...?"
"She's creating it," Felek said, awe in his voice. "The bird. Zywie. She's making the path. Letting us through."
"Is that good or bad?" Anelie asked.
"Better than a God trying to stop us. Obviously, we can't turn around and go home now."
"I would not let you, Sir." Bogdi's voice was more serious than Anelie had ever heard it. He wasn't even looking at Felek. Felek nodded, seeming to not take offense.
"I understand. And so long as there is hope, we go forward." He gave his mount a quick kick, pulling its head to the left. "Come on, let's join the others."
****
Felek wished the King was there.
He sat on the grass, Ruta beside him, her soft body leaning against his. A half eaten apple and a few cheese crumbs lay in his lap.
He was out of his depth.
His Grace would have known what to do. Known how to deal with this... this magical bird. With a quest which was quickly becoming far beyond what Felek could understand.
Felek took a deep breath. He had to think like King James. What would he do?
Not panic, for one. His Grace never panicked. He thought. He considered. The man he almost thought of now as a father, despite him only being around a decade older, would not rush into judgment. So, too, Felek must wait and see. Wait and observe their new guardian. Be prepared to flee, to fight, if need be, but also to accept this unknown being as an ally. A friend.
Issa plopped down on the grass beside Felek, a large beetle in his hand. He tossed it into his mouth, crunching into his lunch. The teen grimaced.
"When are we getting some FRESH food?"
"Got me," Felek shrugged. "If we're too long on this road, we may have to pause and do a day of hunting. Maybe you and Ofure can find some good bugs."
"Ofure." Issa scoffed, swallowing. "She's ignoring me now. Have you noticed?"
"No." Truth was, Felek hadn't paid much attention to the girl.
"One minute she's throwing herself at me, thanks to a certain long-haired blond." He gave Ruta a hard stare. The gaze she returned was just tired. Issa shook his head. "The next, she's as silent as a worm." He pulled another beetle out from somewhere, contemplating the food. It was long dead, Felek saw, dried and preserved. Probably with some seasoning. "At least Cyla's still talking to me. That's something."
Felek glanced over at the female soldiers. They were settled in a small group, with two of the older male guards. Not seeing Klocia, he shifted his gaze. She was with Anelie and the two kids, playing some sort of game it looked like. He was tempted to go over and join them.
"She's saving herself." Ruta's voice was as tired as her face. Felek put an arm around her as Issa frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Ofure told me that Kikker who serve the spirits must be pure. Virgin. She feels now that she was called to serve Zywie, she can't be... tempted by you." Ruta's voice became livelier as she said that, lips curling up in a smile. "You're too much of a male for her to resist, Issa."
Issa let out a scoff, tossing the beetle into his mouth. He spoke as he chewed.
"That's a stupid rule."
"I don't recall any, well, monks or nuns in Visvang," Felek said, trying to think. Issa nodded.
"Nope. There are no holy places on the island, so no need for any of those. Good thing, too. Spirits bring trouble. Stronger clans gather around them, vying for their influence. Chief Ajani keeps us free because there is nothing there that would bring others."
Felek nodded. That made sense.
"Besides," Issa went on, grabbing the flask of water resting between him and Felek, "we can't afford to have females keeping themselves 'pure' due to some spirit. There are few enough pretty ones in the village as it is."
Again, Felek understood. The small Kikker community had grown in the five years since King James had settled the Poles on Nowy Poland, tadpoles seeming to fill more breeding pools every year, but their numbers were still small. The oceans took an annual toll on the brave fishermen. A trickle of Kikker immigrants had started to appear, word of the prosperity the alliance between His Grace and Chief Ajani had created spreading, but that brought its own problems.
Everything, His Grace had told James, seemed to bring problems.
Felek suddenly realized something. He looked at Ruta.
"You can't serve Zywie, can you?'
"Why do you say that?" Her voice was surprised, angry. She freed herself from his arm, turning her body to face him. Years of experience with her coming into play, Felek chose his words carefully.
"Well, if you have to be a virgin to serve Zywie, then..."
"Oh!" He saw her blush. The first he had seen in days. "Well, that doesn't matter for me. Probably doesn't matter for Ofure. She's just being silly. I could still hear her with the necklace after we, you know..." Her eyes made Felek suddenly grow a bit inside his pants. He vowed then and there to find a time and place for the two of them to be alone. "So, I don't think that matters."
"Mind you," Issa quickly said, "I don't mind her leaving me alone. I kind of like it. I just like to know what's going on, that's all."
Felek let out a tired chuckle.
"Don't we all."