Chapter 34
The ugly man stepped out from the dark surroundings of the woods to stand beside Sid. In a soft voice, the man said, "You wanted to see me."
"That's right, Badger," Sid replied. He knew that Badger was not a man to make small talk so it was necessary for him to continue the conversation. He asked, "What are your plans now that the war is over?"
Badger shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'll probably become a hunter. Why?"
"I had a slightly different idea in mind for you," Sid answered.
"What?"
"I need a scout," Sid answered. He looked over at Badger and said, "I need a special kind of scout. I need someone who will travel around my kingdom watching for any problems that might develop."
While thinking over what Sid had suggested, Badger ran his hand over his face. His fingers traced out the scars that contributed to his ugly appearance. He grunted and said, "You mean you need a spy."
"If you prefer that term, yes. There is an element of watching and reporting to the job. What I really need is someone who I trust to set up an unofficial conduit of information between the Lords and myself," Sid answered.
"What does that mean?" Badger asked out of confusion.
"Look, we just conquered a territory filled with individuals who I wouldn't trust with a rock, must less the future of my kingdom. I've put men in positions of power that I do trust, but they are surrounded by sharks. When one of them gets into trouble, they have to have someone to talk with that can get the message back to me. It has to be someone that I can trust and that the lord can trust. Most importantly, they have to be men that you trust. They need to occupy positions away from the lord, where they won't be watched," Sid said.
"I see what you mean except for the part about them having positions where they won't be watched," Badger said.
"Suppose there is a farmer of a medium sized farm next to a city. He's trustworthy, but because he's a farmer nobody really watches what he does. The lord knows that if he needs to talk to the man all he has to do is go riding for a day and stop by the farm for a little water or to find out how the crops are growing. While he is there, he can slip a message to the man without anyone being the wiser," Sid explained.
"Smart. I can see how that would work," Badger said thinking about it. The job that Sid was giving him was big. It was also important; far more important than he felt he deserved. He asked, "Why me?"
"I trust you," Sid said looking the man in the eye.
Badger turned away to hide the tears that welled up in his eyes. Most people never saw beyond the ugliness of his face. The idea that a King saw more than that and trusted him with the welfare of his kingdom was more than he knew how to accept. He rubbed his eyes to wipe away the trace of wetness that had appeared. He sniffed and said, "I'll serve you until the day I die."
Sid handed him a small bag and said, "There are five hundred conches in there. Deposit them in a bank and draw money as you need it. When you need more, let Barson know and he'll get you as much as you need."
"Five hundred conches?" Badger said shocked at the amount of money that he held in his hand. When Sid had said that he trusted him, the man hadn't been lying. That was enough money to disappear forever in Chaos.
"You'll need every bit of it and more," Sid answered.
"Yes, sir," Badger said.
"Good. Now I want you to find honest trustworthy men. Don't get their loyalty through money because men like that can be bought to serve the other side. I want them loyal to me first, you second, and the lord third," Sid said.
"You want them loyal to me above the lord?"
"Your life depends on their loyalty. Make sure that your trust is well placed," Sid answered.
"Yes, sir," Badger said standing up straighter.
"This is a big kingdom. You'll need to hire men to help you cover that much territory," Sid said.
"I know a few men who might be good at this sort of thing," Badger said. Being ugly did have some benefits; the character of the men he encountered was demonstrated by the way they treated him. He would always be viewed with suspicion, but the men who laughed or made fun of his appearance had major character flaws. He preferred the company of those who treated him with just the right touch of suspicion while remaining respectful long enough to know him.
"Good enough. I'll let you get to work," Sid said with a short nod of his head.
"Thank you," Badger said swearing to himself that he'd give his life for Sid if it was necessary to protect the man.
"You're welcome."
The hour between dinner and sunset was usually a quiet time in camp. The bright light of midday had faded to a softer illumination. The sky turned red as the sun made its way below the horizon. The birds usually gave forth their last announcements of their territories before making their way to their nests.
When marching, it was the time of day that every man and woman in the army anticipated. Folks took advantage of the fading light to get their campsite ready for the night. People sat in front of their tents patiently mending whatever equipment might have been damaged during the day. It was also the time of day when people could visit with others and talk of things important to them.
Bored, Alice sat around the campfire watching the men and women still with Sid's army interact with each other. The women flirted and the men responded with grand gestures intended to impress. It was the dance of life in action; a dance in which she wasn't participating. She knew that Sid was interested in her, but it seemed that he was nowhere near as driven to mate as she was. Just the thought of him between her legs was enough to get her juices running.
With the quiet time in the camp, she had time to consider why her feelings for Sid were so strong. It was more than the fact that he was good looking. He was a Hero from Earth who had become a King in Chaos! Talking aloud to no one, she said, "Is there any wonder why I'm crazy about him?"
She thought about her life in Chaos before Sid had come to her rescue. Life as a slave in a whorehouse had not been pleasant. Men would come into her room and basically have their way with her. It seemed that every so often one of them would choose not to wear a sheath and her private parts would burn for three days.
She had been miserable there. The men who came to her bed were typically wealthy men; older, fatter, and less attractive men than any whom she would have chosen on her own. As disgusting as they were physically, it was their attitude towards her that was truly ugly. They treated her like meat with absolutely no regard for her pleasure.
Day after day and night after night, Alice had lain in bed dreaming of her rescue. Whenever one of those fat bastards had mounted her, she dreamed of what it would be like when her Hero took her. In her mind, the fat greasy hand that mauled her bruised tits was contrasted with how the Hero would lovingly caress her breasts. Her fixation on how great it would be was all that kept her alive.
She realized that her feelings were based on that fixation rather than on a real respect for Sid. Thinking about it, Alice realized that Fred's comments about her behavior had been accurate. She hadn't been dancing the dance of life, but had been stomping around on the dance floor like some sort of enraged gorilla.
It was not an easy realization to accept about herself. Feeling a thousand years old, she stared at the fire and said, "I'm a Damsel from Cassandra. I came here to be rescued and to bear a child. I'm not acting like a lady. I'm not acting like a mother-to-be. Fred was right. I'm a disgrace to all of the Damsels."
Thinking about Fred made her wonder where Sid had gone. She looked around the camp to see if she could spot him. When she glanced in the direction of the kitchen, she noticed one of the women there watching someone with a sad expression of longing on her face. Following her look, Alice spotted Fred watching as Sid talked to a group of men gathered in front of the tent. She looked back at the women and found that she was still watching Fred.
She stared at the woman for a full minute before making up her mind. Rising from her seat, she walked over to where the woman was standing. It took the woman almost a minute to realize that Alice was standing beside her. Embarrassed at having been caught, the woman turned to Alice and said, "I'm sorry. I was just wool gathering there for a minute."
"No problem," Alice replied with a smile. She looked over in the direction of Fred and said, "He doesn't know that you care for him, does he?"
"No, he doesn't," the woman answered believing her love was a hopeless cause. No matter what she did to attract his attention, Fred never noticed. She would set aside something special for Fred only to see him deliver it to Sid.
Alice examined the woman with a little more attention to details. She wasn't exactly a beautiful woman. Too many years in the sun had given her skin that was dark tan with a leathery texture. The damage of a hard life outdoors was most obvious on her face. There were the diamond-shaped wrinkles around the eyes that spoke of too much sun. Despite that, she had a friendly looking face with laugh lines. Her dark hair was streaked with a few strands of gray hair that made her look older than her age. She wasn't a great beauty, but she remained a pretty woman with a shapely body.
"I think that all men are born blind," Alice said with a sigh.
"They are men. What can you do?" the woman answered with a chuckle.
"I'll talk to Fred when he returns to our campfire," Alice said.
The woman looked worried and asked, "What will you tell him?"
"I'll tell him to come over here because I don't want to be bothered by his dirty looks all evening," Alice said with a laugh. She added, "You better be over here to keep him company. I'm sure that he'll say all kinds of unflattering things about me."
"I'll box his ears if he says something nasty about you," the woman said indignant.
Shaking her head, Alice said, "Don't. I deserve a lot of the bad things that he'll say about me. Too much of it will be true."
"Still, it is not right for a man to be talking bad about a woman."
Sid and Fred returned from their visits with men around the camp. Sid sat down next to Alice and said, "Sorry about taking so long. A couple of men will be staying behind tomorrow. They found places where they want to settle down."
"That's nice," Alice said. She turned and looked at Fred. In a sharp voice, she said, "I'm tired of having you glare at me all evening. Go over to the mess tent and stay there for a while."
"What did I do?" Fred asked surprised by the harsh tone of voice. He looked over at Sid seeking an explanation from the man.
"I don't know," Sid answered looking over at Alice.
"Leave! Now!" Alice said. She pointed in the direction of the mess tent.
Fred snorted and stomped away from the campfire. Concerned by her rather abrupt treatment of Fred, Sid asked, "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Alice answered watching Fred approach the mess tent. The woman she had talked with met him there with a cup of tea. She looked into the fire and said, "I'd like to apologize to you for my behavior the past few weeks. I haven't been myself."
"I thank you for your apology, but I think you owe Fred one," Sid said staring at her. He hadn't liked how she had treated him.
Alice said, "He'll probably thank me tomorrow."
"What do you mean?"
Alice gestured towards the mess tent and said, "There's a woman his age over there that was waiting to comfort him. I imagine that about thirty minutes after dark, there's going to be a lot of comforting going on."
"What?" Sid asked turning to look over at the mess tent. It was getting dark and difficult to make out what was happening inside the tent. He could just barely make out a woman talking with Fred. He asked, "Who is she?"
"Fred will introduce you to her in the morning. Don't worry about him," Alice said.
It was a rather subdued group that rode at the head of the marching troops. There were close to four thousand men marching or riding behind them. Three thousand of them were Gregor's clan. A thousand were men and women who had joined Sid's army. Wanting to break the silence, Gregor said, "Your army is evaporating."
"Yes, it is," Sid said turning back in his saddle to look at the people following him. With the footmen marching three to a row, the column stretched out close to a sixth of a mile. The horsemen behind them were riding in a more flexible column that stretched close to half a mile behind. There were two dozen horsemen and scouts ahead making sure that the road was clear.
"You don't seem too disappointed by that," Gregor said.
"I'm not. I hope that by the time we reach the original Jones Citadel that I'll have a dozen men with me," Sid said.
"At the rate you're losing them, I'd say you have a pretty good chance of that happening," Derek said.
"There are still more men stationed at River's Crossing," Sid said. He had close to five hundred men there to protect the three Damsels. That didn't include the wounded men who were recovering there.
Looking over at Gregor, Derek said, "If you don't mind, I think I'll take in a little fishing while I'm at River's Crossing."
"You and three thousand of our kin," Gregor said gesturing towards the back of the column.
Fred yawned and rubbed his face trying to wake up. It was a struggle to stay awake that morning. He found that kept trying to nod off despite the fact that he was on horseback.
Sid looked over at him and asked, "Why are you so quiet this morning?"
"No reason," the man answered sounding a little grumpy. He glanced over at Alice and shook his head trying to figure out if she had really arranged for Millie to meet him at the mess hall. That is what Millie had said, but it didn't sound like the Alice he knew.
Grinning at the haggard appearance of the unflappable Fred, Alice said, "Sounds to me like you didn't get much sleep last night."
Fred grunted but didn't say a word. He had talked with Millie late into the night. Too many cups of tea had made it very difficult to fall asleep when he returned to his tent. It seemed that about the time he was nearly asleep that his bladder demanded to be relieved. He wandered back to his tent in time to hear Sid waking.
Smiling, Sid asked, "Did you have problems sleeping last night?"
"I drank too much tea," Fred admitted.
"Sid says that I owe you an apology for my treatment of you last night. I'm sorry," Alice said smiling at Fred.
"Apology accepted," Fred said.
"That's great," Alice said.
The group rode along the road for five minutes without talking. Alice glanced over at Fred and saw that he had nodded off on his horse. She laughed and turned to Sid. She said, "Looks like Fred fell asleep."
"It does look that way to me," Sid said thinking it was the first time that he'd seen Fred fall asleep in the saddle. At least the horse was smart enough to keep moving with the rest of the horses. He hoped that Fred didn't fall out of the saddle and break his neck.
Alice spotted some flowers by the side of the road. She rode over and climbed off her horse. Sid went over to her and asked, "What are you doing?"
She answered, "Fred might want to deliver some flowers to his lady friend. I thought I'd pick some for him to take to her."
"Oh, that's nice," Sid said. He looked over at Fred for a second thinking that the man had no idea of the forces that were at play in his life. The poor guy was sound asleep and the love smith was busy forging another link in the chain. Alice would have him married by the time he woke.
Alice gathered together a small bouquet of wild flowers. She looked around for a minute before finding a long grass stem. She used the stem to tie the flowers into a bouquet. Satisfied with her effort, she held up the bouquet and examined it. She said, "That should make her happy."
"What about him?" Sid asked with a grin.
"When she gets happy, he'll get happy," Alice answered with a curt nod of her head.
"Is that the way it works?" Sid asked.
Looking up at him, she batted her eyelashes and answered, "That's the way it has worked since men and women began."
"Ah," Sid said.
Alice was quiet for a moment and then added, "At least that's how it was on Cassandra a long time ago. We lost that in the last war. The women here don't realize how lucky they are to have men who pay attention to them."
"Everyone takes some things about their life for granted and never realize what they had until they lose it," Sid said thinking about how frustrated she must feel.
Alice nodded her head and handed the flowers to Sid. Grinning over at him, she said, "Let's catch up to the others. I'm sure that Fred will wake up soon and you should give those flowers to him."
"Me?" Sid asked holding the flowers. He took them assuming that he would hold them until she had mounted her horse.
"Of course, I can't be seen contributing to the downfall of a lady," Alice said with a laugh.
Sid said, "Somehow I don't think you are contributing to the downfall of a lady so much as that of a man."
"It is just a matter of perspective," Alice said with a wink. She climbed onto the horse and together they rode up to where Gregor and Derek were discussing different ways of being lazy. Fred was still sleeping; his head rolling with each step of the horse.
Their arrival startled the horse a little and it did a little half step. Fred woke up with a snort and looked around confused for a moment. He couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep on his horse. His hopes that no one had noticed were dashed when Alice asked, "Did you have a nice nap?"
"Yes," he answered with a frown.
Alice nudged Sid and gestured to the flowers with her nose. Shaking his head, Sid held out the flowers and said, "Alice thought you should give your lady friend these."
"Huh?" Fred said looking at the small bouquet of flowers in confusion. Trying to look innocent, he asked, "What lady friend?"
"I would think it would be the lady friend you were talking to half of the night," Alice said.
"Oh, that lady friend," Fred said feeling a little uncomfortable about having his social life the subject of discussion.
"That lady friend," Alice said with a knowing nod of her head.
"I'll see her tonight."
"The flowers will be wilted by then. Ride on back to the wagons and give them to her," Alice said.
"I can't do that," Fred protested. He looked at Alice in horror and said, "Every woman in camp will be talking about me."
"That's the whole reason for giving her flowers," Alice said.
"Huh?" Fred asked.
Shaking his head, Sid said, "Don't fight it, Fred. Just deliver the
flowers."