[Ealasaide]

Kaldir

"I am searching for a dangerous criminal and your wife hidden under her veils drew my suspicion. I have no interest in a woman from the South, but I need proof that she is not the woman I seek," the stranger, Dulrain, sighed regretfully. Kaldir noticed that the man's hand moved subtly to the hilt of his sword, but the gesture seemed less a threat than a precaution.

"I can understand your suspicions," answered Kaldir. "But you may rest assured that they are groundless. You may have a peek at her, if you wish." He turned his horse and began to ride back in the direction of Benia and Gilly, keeping an peripheral eye on the stranger. Dulrain, his sword still sheathed, cautiously followed.

"Amongst some of the more remote tribes of Harad it is a sin punishable by death to look upon the face of another man's wife," Kaldir continued pleasantly. "Fortunately, I am not a tribesman, myself." He glanced back at the Ranger behind him. He had felt a surge of possessiveness flash through him at the thought of actually showing Benia's face to the man, the strength of which surprised him. Nonetheless, it amused him that the Ranger suspected him of harboring Naiore, when he, too, sought to capture her. As for Benia, Kaldir was rather enjoying the charade of calling her his wife. It had been a convenient lie, but finding the actual words on his tongue, he found it clarified a great deal for him about why he had been unable to harm Benia, when his initial intention had been to kill her. He wanted to keep her with him.

With that thought in mind, Kaldir casually shifted his hand to the hilt of his sword. If this man wanted to take her from him, he would have to fight for her.

"Mrs. Tunnelly of Archet," he said to Gilly, as his horse and the horse of the stranger drew up to the place where the two women waited. "May I present Dulrain of Westernesse." Kaldir gave her a stern gaze that dared her to defy him in his lie.

Gilly smiled nervously. "Mrs.-Mrs. Tunnelly, that's me," she stammered, casting a sideways glance at Benia. She was no good at lying, let alone lying to cover up a lie. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Dulrain. I'm from Archet, myself..."

Dulrain delivered a polite nod in her direction. "- and Lady Ailayla, my wife," finished Kaldir, cutting Gilly off before she had the chance to babble her way into a blunder.

"Greetings, Dulrain of Westernesse," came Benia's soft voice through her veil. She bowed to her horse's neck.

"This gentleman is seeking a dangerous criminal, my dear," Kaldir continued, addressing Benia. "He wishes to look upon your face to satisfy himself that you are not she. Would you be so kind as to raise your veil?"

"As you wish. Husband." Benia bowed again. Holding the reins of her horse in one tattooed hand, she used the other hand to raise the dark fabric of her veil far enough that the stranger could get a clear look at her face. Once he had seen her and nodded, she lowered it again.

"Satisfied?" Kaldir began to ask, but the question died on his lips. He had caught sight of a second sword that the Ranger wore at his side. Instantly, he recognized the pattern of interlace that decorated curve of the distinctive double hand guard, the crest of the leaping stag at the base of the blade. He looked hard at the sword, then again at the face of the Ranger. Dulrain. Suddenly the name seemed more than familiar to him. He knew it. He knew him. Or he had known this man in what he now thought of as his previous life.

Involuntarily, Kaldir closed his eyes, lowering his head. He flinched under the onslaught of disconnected images that suddenly flooded his mind. His father. Smiling, handing him the sword. Too heavy. Can't lift it. Another boy. Smaller than him, younger, with black hair and gray eyes. Dulrain. As brothers we live...never defeated...Older now. Strong. One will always find the other...Orcs. Alone. Surrounded by them, a crushing blow. Pain. Where is the sword? Ripping pain... Instinctively, he raised a hand to his face, but stopped the motion halfway there, clinching his fist, digging the nails into his palm. He had to regain control. Taking a deep breath, he forced the memories away, pushing them back down into the darkness. As brothers we live...

"No," he growled deep in his throat. When he raised his head again, his eyes burned with a savage determination. That is not the sword. This is not the same Dulrain. One will always find the other. No. He gave his head a sharp shake to jar loose the memories that struggled to retain a toehold in his mind. Recovering, he looked quickly toward his companions, only to find all of them staring at him, Gilly looking frightened and the Ranger Dulrain, looking surprised and concerned. Benia was turned toward him, but he was unable to see anything of her expression through the veils. The Ranger spoke first.

"Are you all right?" he asked, leaning forward.

Kaldir nodded. "A lingering illness," he responded harshly. "Are you satisfied that my wife is not the one you seek?"

"Yes," answered Dulrain cautiously. "I see now I was mistaken." He paused. "If you are not well..." he began, but Kaldir cut him off abruptly.

"It is nothing."

"Then, I will leave you good people to your own affairs," concluded Dulrain, but Kaldir recognized a trace of doubt and misgiving in his voice. He cursed himself for his own weakness, yet found his gaze returning again to the sword. Just as the Ranger was turning his horse to go, Kaldir called after him:

"The second sword you wear at your side... how came you by it?"



********************************

Benia

Benia hated the veil Kaldir had selected for her to wear. It was stiflingly hot to wear, with the additional discomfort of being hard to see through. Communicating was a near impossibility, as well, unless she wanted to shout her comments to Gilly. Between the increasing street noise and the muffling effect of the fabric, Benia felt cut off. She wished she had thrown the thing away months ago. She had never worn it voluntarily, and had only kept it out of sentimentality for the customs of the desert, preferring instead the shorter, lighter veils that only covered the lower portion of her face. For keeping her isolated, the heavy fabric was almost as effective as shackles. The bounty hunter had known what he was doing in selecting it, but she decided that if she ever got away, she would take the thing and burn it.

She rode along behind him, fuming to herself. She barely paid attention as the three of them, herself, Gilly, and the bounty hunter, made the turn into the side street. She would do as she was told. Follow the bounty hunter. Ask no questions. At least for the moment. The time would come when she - no, they - could either move against the bounty hunter or elude him.

"Stay here!" ordered the bounty hunter and, turning, rode back in the direction they had come. She turned her horse and watched through the mesh of her veil as Kaldir approached another man who had followed them on to the side street. She could hear the sound of voices as the two men spoke to one another, but was unable to distinguish the words.

"If only we'd had some oleander or belladonna..." she sighed.

"What?" asked Gilly furtively. "Oleander and what?"

"Belladonna," answered Benia, loud enough where Gilly could hear her and, hopefully, the bounty hunter could not. "Nightshade. Like my last name. They're poisons. If only we'd poisoned the stew..."

"Oh, Benia..." Gilly sounded upset. "Not poison. A sleeping draught, yes, if only we'd done that, we'd be free now and on our way back to the Shire, but poison! I don't know that I could live with that."

Benia turned to look at Gilly through the mesh of her veil. Smiling, she said, "I don't know that I could live with it either, in the long run, but I would like to be alive to find out."

"You don't still think he means to kill us, do you?" asked Gilly, furrowing her brow. "I mean, he's had ample opportunity, but he hasn't done a thing to us other than a bit of rope burn." She glanced down at the raw red bands on her wrists. "What do you suppose he's up to now?" she added, nodding in the direction of the bounty hunter and the other man.

Benia shook her head. "I don't know. But I imagine we are about to find out," she concluded as Kaldir turned his horse and the two men rode in their direction. She listened as the bounty hunter introduced her and Gilly to the stranger as Mrs. Tunnelly and Lady Ailayla.

"Greetings, Dulrain of Westernesse," she said softly and bowed to her horse's neck when it came her time to speak. A Ranger. She studied his face through the mesh of her veil. He had a kind face, handsome in a well-traveled sort of way. If only she or Gilly could communicate with him, perhaps he could help them.

"This gentleman is seeking a dangerous criminal, my dear," continued the bounty hunter. "He wishes to look upon your face to satisfy himself that you are not she. Would you be so kind as to raise your veil?"

Benia bowed again in her best imitation of the submissive women of the deep desert. "As you wish," she answered. "Husband." Holding her reins in one hand, she raised her veil with the other, being sure to keep a fold of fabric between herself and the bounty hunter. When the Ranger bent forward to see her face, she decided to take a risk.

"Please," she mouthed the word. She had intended to add, help us, but hesitated as her eyes met the gray eyes of the Ranger. She felt her face flush under his frank stare, and, surprised, dropped her eyes. By the time she recovered herself and moved to speak again, she saw that the bounty hunter had repositioned himself to where he could see her as well. Her opportunity gone, she realized she would have to let it go with a mere please. The Ranger nodded, and, disappointed, she lowered her veil back into place.

Glancing at the bounty hunter, she was startled to see he had gone suddenly pale, seeming to retreat somewhere inside of himself. She watched as he lowered his head and fought some inner battle, finally clinching his fist, almost physically wrenching himself back to the present. Glancing to either side, she saw that Gilly and the Ranger watched him as well, the Ranger looking decidedly troubled. There was another brief exchange of words between the two men, and Benia's heart sank as the Ranger turned to go. He had not understood.

Then, Kaldir called out to him: "The second sword that you carry...how came you by it?"

She looked and saw that the Ranger did indeed carry two swords. Her hands clinched in her lap as he turned his horse and came back.

[ October 19, 2003: Message edited by: Ealasaide ]