A Song of Snow and Ashes

before.

  She was highly amused, and encouraged that at least he seemed to be taking her seriously.

  The fighting session was more grueling than previous ones. She was trying harder, hitting harder, and Aidan was hitting harder in retaliation. Her strength was quite an advantage because she could change the direction of her strike easier than he could, allowing her to react faster. But he had skill on his side, and so worked to compensate. Darkness fell, the lamps in the city above were lit bathing the area in a soft glow, and they continued the session until it was half way through dinner.

  "Alright, that's enough," Aidan called, panting heavily. "Gods, I'm thirsty."

  She didn't reply, she merely followed him to the gym to put the weapons and armor away.

  They entered the dining hall. "You were really trying to fight," he commented, sounding puzzled yet pleased. "I mean, you were really hitting me. Even through the armor I think I got bruised."

  "He's not the only one," she thought ruefully, but she wasn't about to say anything out loud. They got their food and she took a seat at a suddenly empty table. She sighed inwardly. To her surprise, Aidan sat across from her.

  "What happened? Why are you suddenly working so hard? And why weren't you working so hard before?" he asked, his voice slightly scolding.

  "I've made up my mind to become a warrior now."

  After a few moments it became clear she wasn't going to expound on her brief statement. "Well, alright," he replied, confused. "I'm going to have to talk to Hialmar about this."

  "Why?" she asked, trying to hide her alarm.

  "If you're serious about learning to become a warrior, I've got to make sure you don't get too used to my style. I'm going to have to find more sparring partners for you."

  "I can understand that."

  "I hope you're prepared to stay so focused. This isn't going to be easy."

  "I didn't expect it to be easy."

  They finished their meal in silence.

  "You want to beat me at chess again?" he asked.

  She glanced over at the others. Most deliberately avoided eye contact, and some excused themselves. "No, thank you," she sighed. "It's been a long day. I think I'll just relax tonight."

  He looked troubled, but didn't argue. "Alright then. But remember, some play is good for you. And the guys tell me that losing is good for me. Keeps me humble, they say."

  She smiled, the politely excused herself. She returned to her cottage, lit the fires, and drew a hot bath. After soaking for a long time, she sat down to study.

  Some time later, she was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "That would be Davin," she thought, and opened the door only a crack.

  "Eliora, can I come in?" he asked.

  Although she could tell he was angry, she gestured to the living room.

  He entered but didn't sit down. Instead he stood with his arms crossed, looking at the fire.

  She took a seat on the couch.

  "Aidan's been telling us that you've decided you want to be a warrior," he started, disdain evident in his voice. "He seems quite pleased. Most of the other young men are sure you're going to give up."

  "Aidan's been going easy on me this past month?" she asked, a little annoyed but not surprised.

  "So it seems." He turned and looked at her sharply. "Why do you want to be a warrior?" he demanded.

  "I don't."

  "You don't? Doesn't sound like it."

  "I do what I must, even if I don't really want to," she replied with a sigh.

  "So you think you must become a warrior?"

  "Yes."

  "For them?"

  "No." Her voice was still gentle, but her eyes were flashing with fire. "When the time comes, I must fight the ShadowWalker, and I'll have to do it alone."

  "As though the Council trusts you that much," he snorted.

  "It's not their decision," she shrugged. "I have been Chosen, whether they like it or not."

  "So you're not trying to fit in anymore?"

  "No."

  "So you've decided to be a warrior all on your own, with no influence from the Council?"

  "No. My meeting with them did influence my decision," she answered.

  "I should have expected that you'd listen to them. You don't really know any of us, but they're the elders, after all," he replied derisively.

  He managed to touch a nerve, and her temper flared. She abruptly stood up and opened the door. "I don't need your approval, and I didn't ask for it. Had I known you were going to behave like this, I wouldn't have let you in. Now get out."

  "What did you expect?" he demanded.

  "An apology."

  "I'm not going to apologize for telling you what I think," he snapped, standing in the doorway.

  "I wouldn't ask you to apologize for that. You spoke your mind. You were honest. I appreciate that." She then gave him a hard shove out the door. He lost his balance and fell on his rear. "But you didn't have to be such a…” Here she switched to her own language as the insult didn’t translate, “camel’s rear end about it!" She slammed the door behind her, and leaned against it, taking calming breaths. "I shouldn't have reacted so violently," she thought, ashamed of herself.

  After a few moments she heard Davin say in a raised voice, "Alright, I guess I deserved that."

  She smiled with relief. "Goodnight," she called back.

  He muttered, "Well, goodnight," and walked off.

  She returned to her studies until midnight. When she went to bed she wasn't sure how she felt about anything that had happened in the city that day, but she was glad that at least the priest was on her side.

  Alain came home the next morning looking wet and tired. "Damn rain," he grumbled, as he changed out of his armor.

  Donnan was occupied in his own thoughts as he cooked breakfast.

  "Hey, little brother, I think you're burnin' the eggs," he called from the bedroom.

  "Oh, damn," he swore, snapping back to the present. He quickly got the eggs off the fire. "At least it's not snowin'," he returned.

  "Not yet." The older man sat down at the table and started to wolf down his food.

  In contrast, the younger man barely ate anything. "Alain."

  "Yeah?"

  "What's Reese been up to? Has he gotten into more trouble?"

  He sighed. "Well, I don't see him much, thank the gods, but from what the guys tell me, he was in trouble 'bout a month ago for fightin'. He seems to have stopped that. He's been all sullen for weeks. You know. Grumpy. Barkin' and snappin' at everyone, but not fightin'." He lowered his voice. "Rumor has it that he has a bit of a problem with his drinkin'."

  "Figures."

  "Yeah. So that's all I know. I don't think he's straightened up, exactly, just bein' more careful. Still not a nice guy, and I'm damn glad I never have to deal with him."

  "But he wasn't punished? And if he's really got a drinkin' problem, shouldn't he be on, what's it, probation or somethin'?"

  "Oh, come on, Donnan. We both know better than that. He's the son of the Commander. There's no way he'd ever get any sort of black mark on his record, no matter how much the bastard deserves it."

  "And I suppose those guys he's always got at his back aren't goin' to say anythin'?"

  "Why should they? They got a good thing goin'."

  "And none of the guards will say anythin'?" he pressed.

  "It won't do any good. First of all, we guards aren't supposed to go tattlin' on other guards. Second of all, if it worked, that guard would have sort of an unofficial black mark on his record. He could forget any chance of promotion. He'd be best off to just finish his service and not re-enlist."

  "So there's no justice," Donnan replied grimly.

  "We do the best we can. Most of the guards are good guys. Real good guys. Trust 'em with my life, I would. But you know how it is. Some of them are spoiled. Some are just doin' the one year so they look good when they get
'real jobs,' as they call 'em. Guards are just people. And some people aren't very good," he sighed.

  "Alain, if you could change things, would you?" he asked cautiously.

  "Change in what way? I'm already a guard."

  "Well, I've got a chance to change things in kind of a big way, but I'm not sure if I should do it."

  The older man frowned. "This isn't illegal, is it?"

  "No."

  "This isn't somethin' through the Order of Darkness, is it?"

  "Sort of."

  "Little brother, you know I don't like you workin' for them. No good can come of it, you mark my words."

  "I just told you, maybe I can change things. Really change things. So good people like you don't have to put up with people like Reese," he replied, angry but not surprised at his brother's reaction.

  "If you've got to work through the Order, it's best left alone. They aren't supposed to change anythin' anyway. We've got politicians and the Order of Light to fix things. You've got to go up the chain of command."

  "But you just said that doesn't work. That's why Reese is still a guard," he snapped.

  "Look, I understand you're still angry. I'm still angry too. But the reports are out there. He'll mess things up again. He keeps messin' things up, and he'll be kicked out, even if his father's the commander."

  "Godsdammit, Alain, he could kill someone before then! Don't you understand that? Do you want that to happen? What in darkness is wrong with you?"

  The older man looked confused more than angry. Then he sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I could do somethin' to help the system along. I should just do it."

  "Like what? Tattle to his father?" he retorted harshly.

  "No. We got ways of dealin' with our own. And I'll do what I can."

  "But it probably won't work. You'll probably get into trouble."

  "This is