Honor-Bound [ Lore of Penrua: Book... - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

"I don't see why I'm supposed to care about these girls," said Diarmán. He had not even bothered to unpack anything. In the midafternoon light, he lay on his back on the grass, gazing up at the swaying canopy of trees. Nearby, Uarria was making messy work of grooming Farra. Spikes of Farra's fur stuck up in all directions; she had one eye closed as Uarria worked on her ear, lying patient and still, but her tail flicked, revealing a hint of impatience. Ealin watched the cats, her gaze unfocused.
"I don't know if we should care about them or not." Uachi flung a water skin to Diarmán. It landed with a slosh on the ground at his right hand, where he left it, ignored. "I'm saying there may be something to it. Don't you think it's odd that Koren would take women into battle?"
"Girls, more like. Too young to marry off—or just old enough, perhaps."
"So what does that make them, then? Children? Children, Diarmán, at the front?"
"What am I, a Lorekeeper?" Diarmán sounded miffed. "I don't know, Uachi. They were part of this world before I was, and I've been out of the forest for thirteen years. Young teenagers, if I had to wager. Sixteen at the outside."
"Children."
"Maybe they're warrior maidens. I've heard you've your share of them among the rebel Arcborn of Penrua."
"Doubtful," Uachi said. He grunted as he slid the saddle off of his horse and let it fall heavily to the earth. Then he knelt to search one of the saddlebags for something to eat. "I can't say I've met many noblewomen in my time, but they're not known for wielding anything more dangerous than a needle. Or a sharp tongue, perhaps."
"Well, what else do you think?" Diarmán asked.
"I think there's a reason he wanted to keep them close, that's all. If he's like his father was, he won't do anything without a good cause. And what cause would he have to keep the daughters of an ally near to hand, Diarmán?"
The lordling gave a frustrated sigh. "I don't know, Uachi! To pinch their softest bits when he's feeling lonely? What does it matter?"
"Think!" Uachi straightened, scowling at Diarmán. "I'm trying to help you!"
"I don't need your help. You've done what was asked of you."
"Goddess above, I'm not used to this bellyaching from you. Did that woman strip away all of your jokes and good humor?"
"You didn't seem to enjoy my jokes while I had the good humor to make them. I'm not obligated to cheer you, Uachi."
"I'm not in the mood to be cheered. I want you to listen to me. I think Koren took those princesses with him to keep their mother in line. Wards of state. Something like that. If she moves against him, her children are as good as dead."
Diarmán didn't speak. After a moment, he rolled onto his side and propped himself up on an elbow. "So?"
"So...I don't know." Uachi tried to tear a hard roll in half, but it was too stale. He tossed it to Diarmán, who caught it out of the air. "Say they are not as strongly allied as we believe. Say he took her daughters so that she would not betray him. Say she's under his thumb, made vulnerable by a mother's love. That would give her a reason not to do the wise thing and turn the Corpsemaker's whelp over to Matei."
"I don't see what this means to either of us. If Koren took the princesses, he has the princesses. Be damned to them, and to Coratse as well. I don't care what becomes of any of them; they care as little, or less, for me and mine. Unless I can get my hands on the ladies and use them to barter for my own good, I've no interest in what you're going on about."
Uachi was silent. He raised his eyebrows at Diarmán, patiently waiting for him to understand. After a few seconds, Diarmán sat up, frowning at him. "You can't be serious."
"Well, no. Not especially serious. Yet. We don't know enough. But say there's more to it than a quick jaunt to the battlefront for two sheltered girls, Diarmán. Mayhap there's a way for you to win her over."
"Gods below, you bloody fool." Diarmán scraped his thumbnail over the crust of his roll, brushing away some speck of dirt. "And if you're right? What then? Am I to seduce my way into the ranks of Koren's army to get my hands on the ladies and bring them home to their weeping mother?"
"I'm surprised you're not excited for the chance."
Narrowing his eyes, Diarmán flung the roll back at Uachi. The move was so unexpected that Uachi barely caught it before it hit him smack in the face. "I don't go in for fighting men," Diarmán snapped. "They're stupid. And they smell."
"I see," Uachi retorted. "Which suggests that you've been close enough to know how they smell."
"I bloody well have, sleeping downwind of you every bloody night." Diarmán got to his feet and went to the saddlebag, rummaging for something more palatable for their meal. Uachi knew he'd find nothing; their rations had lasted them well because they were traveling fare, which offered the dual benefits of being hardy enough to weather the road and tasteless enough to discourage overindulgence.
"It's worth exploring." Uachi took back the water skin he had offered to Diarmán and helped himself to a pull. "We've come all this way."
"To find your princess. One princess is more than enough to handle."
"And she's safe, as long as she keeps this form. We can manage a day or two to suss out the truth."
"Then what? If you're right and Koren's kidnapped the wenches, what will you do, Uachi? Are you going to come princess hunting with me again?"
Uachi had not thought quite this far ahead. Why he wanted to help Diarmán at all was a mystery to him. His first priority had been finding Uarria and now, having her safe was his sole purpose.
Well. It should have been his sole purpose...but he had promised Ealin that they would find the archmage, and hearing that he had gone to the front with Koren gave him more than one reason to want to delay his return to the Holy City. They could be close. So close. That Diarmán might have an alternate route to security was nothing compared to the chance to end the archmage's life forever.
What Uachi had not expected was to feel invested in Diarmán's future. Seeing how Diarmán suffered had affected him, against all odds. Uachi knew better than most the true value of a place to call home, a place where one could feel as if he belonged. It did not sit well with him to see Diarmán so abused for his bloodline; it was something Uachi could understand.
Besides, they had become something like friends. As long as Uarria was safe, the matter of another day or two could not make much of a difference. Another day or two to make good on his word to Ealin. Another day or two to offer a taste of justice on the point of a dagger.
"Uachi?" Diarmán's tone was softer now. Uachi realized that he had been silent for a long time, mulling over their path forward; he caught a look like worry in Diarmán's gaze.
"I don't know," he said. "Neither of us can know what's next until we have more information, so why don't we focus on that?"
"There's more to this than your benevolence. I can tell. I suppose I should have guessed, knowing what I know about you now. You're Emperor Matei's friend. You're bringing your politics into my perfectly comfortable shipwreck of a life."
Uachi snorted. "That's me, the diplomat."
"Hardly. If you and I can win the bitch's friendship, you think she might look more kindly upon your favorite bastard." Diarmán waited a beat. "By which I mean Matei. Of course."
Although he was uneasy, Uachi looked at Diarmán directly. "Can you blame me? This is war, Diarmán. I don't think you've ever raised a blade in real combat, and I would not wish it upon you. Men and women are dying."
"So tell your emperor to pull back his troops. He's the aggressor, isn't he? All she wants—all the Narrian people want—is independence from the imperial crown."
"It isn't so simple as all that. You don't understand what it means to Penrua to have Koren lurking in the shadows."
"Well." Diarmán was clearly annoyed. He waved a hand at Uachi and turned away. "Like you said. We need more information. Why don't we focus on that?"
For all his usual good humor, Diarmán can be quite a grump. Then again, can we blame him? The High Queen was not very nice.