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On the Shienar Road Caien was almost comfortable curled in the back of the wagon in a niche made by chained wooden chests. The cream-coloured light which crept through the translucent canvass was starting to fade - perhaps it was near dusk. She was sure she could last for food and water until then. Stowing away on a caravan wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. She heard a drover cry out, and the wagon's jolting came to a halt. Caien stirred, and thought perhaps she could sleep until dark. "Hard rocks ahead, Captain Barin!" shouted a man, and she heard him stamping up along the side of the wagon. "I hear you, Balshazar!" a deeper voice shouted back. The captain of the armsmens' company seemed to be pushing his horse closer, perhaps to talk to one of his men. "Can the lads move them?" Barin shouted again. Rocks ... do they really block this road? she mused, settling into a thirsty doze. The thought could get no further, for at that moment the canvass covering the back of the wagon flew up into the air, and strong arms grabbed her, lifting her from the wagon in spite of her flailing arms and dumping her on her feet on the ground beside it. "A stowaway! What have we here..." said Barin, a large, gruff man, sitting astride his horse, turned side-on to Caien; at first his hand held the hilt of his sword, but on seeing a young girl, rather than an axe-wielding Darkfriend, he let go. "Any daggers?" he asked, as the other man - Balshazar - twisted her arms behind her back. "No, captain" the armsman replied, easily fending off the girl's attempt to jab her fist into his belly. "No! I'm unarmed" Caien gasped out, suddenly anxious to avoid being sliced in two. Barin fixed her with a stern look, though tinged with surprise and recognition. He swung himself down from his horse. "We shall have to search you, miss, to be sure... should there be anything hidden about your person." The man's threatening tone made Caien gulp. "But I think we should see what Lord Montegu says first!" As it should happen, a bearded man dressed in well-made clothes was running towards them, horse at the canter. "What's this then?" he demanded of Barin as he heeled his horse in front of them. "Stowaway, Master a'Camelle!" the armsman shouted back. Montegu a'Camelle's gaze switched back to the girl, and as he recognised her in spite of her tangled hair and dirty blouse his face filled with angry thunderclouds. * * * "Caien a'Camelle, you are a stupid, wilful, disobedient, immature little girl and I am ashamed you are my daugher!" Father thundered. He had grabbed her by the ear and dragged her two dozen paces from the road. The guards and waggoners idled around, the convoy halted, pretending they could not hear. "We talked about this. Many times! And every time we agreed that you should stay at home for your lessons!" We agreed, though Caien, looking at her feet. You and mother agreed. I never did. "And now I find you skulking in the back of a wagon like a thief! I shall send you back to your mother tied to the back of Barin's horse. Well. I should have you strung up to a tree by your thumbs like every other stowaway!" Caien looked up, sensing that there would be a break in his tirade. It was indeed late afternoon, and the sky was starting to redden. Soon, it would be deep enough to match her father's face. "Please, Father. Can I come with you?" Montegu sagged slightly, now the anger had left him. When he spoke again, he was repeating old arguments from the back of his mind, not shouting furiously. "No, Caien. This is not an easy journey. It is a hard journey to Shienar. It might be dangerous. At times, we will run short of food. We are moving fast. We cannot carry any weight. You are only fourteen. You are far too young." "But, father, I can be useful too. You've said it yourself." Sometimes, when Caien really wanted something, she had a knack of getting her way. Don't whine. Don't sulk. Just concentrate she thought. Looking her father in the eye, she went on... "I don't want to learn to be a lady. I want to learn to be a merchant. Like you." She knew it was a good argument. But the argument wasn't all... there was something else, like gently pushing something into place. "You needn't worry about Mother, I left her a note." Her father looked distracted for a moment, and she knew his mind was made up. "Caien, if I agree, you will have a very difficult few weeks. You will see I didn't lie when I told you it would be a tough journey. You know you would be the only woman?" "Yes, father." "You must vow that you will obey my orders whatever should happen until we return to Caemlyn. And that you will never ask for anything anyone else here does not have. And that you will never complain. This you must swear on your heart and the Light." Caien trembled slightly, in anticipation, and also in worry about swearing such a serious oath. "Father, I vow to obey you on this journey, never to complain and never to ask for more than I am given. This swear on my heart and the Light." Thank you, Father she thought. Thank you, Wheel of Time. I can come on the road rather than sit at home and be ladylike. "Good. Then you may come" Monegu said, almost permitting himself a smile, and Caien's heart leapt with joy. "You realise, Caien" he said as they walked back to the wagons together, "that we provisioned for ten men and that another mouth will mean we go short at times." "Yes, Father" she said, though the thought had not really come to her. "Good. To show the men that you understand this, you will eat a slice of soap with a little water after every evening meal." "Yes, Father" she said, and her mood darkened, but lightened again once she stepped up to the front of a wagon and the caravan drove on in the gathering dusk. |
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