Fraul, 11

In the morning the sun shone like a jewel. They made preparations to get back to camp. Raru picked up Fraul, moving slowly, afraid to say anything, afraid of what would come out if he did.

They took the long way back to camp. Snow filled Raru’s boots; he set Fraul in the abandoned wheelchair and exhaled before pushing it to Heath’s cabin.

“Bout time,” Heath observed, one eyebrow up.

“Research,” was what Raru said, and Heath shook his head.

“Send my regards to Ashin,” Fraul called to Raru, who was already halfway out the door; Raru tossed a half-smile over his shoulder as he closed it.

“So,” Heath drawled, putting down the pencil. “Research.”

“Look, Heath.” Fraul twisted to look over his shoulder, both directions. “Maybe the river helped.”

“Huh,” Heath said, falling back to his notes and flipping pages. “Look, I’ve been thinking about something–look at this.” He turned the notebook around. “An old friend of Crowe’s–couldn’t use his legs. And he was Bazairi. You know them and their dancing.”

“Of course.”

“He made braces for himself.” Heath tapped the notebook with his pencil, a sketch of a hinged brace. “Now, this would not be comfortable for you. You might prefer to stay in the chair.”

“I spit on comfort,” said Fraul. Heath drained a cold cup of coffee.

“Good,” he said. “I need to work on this.”

Fraul’s cheeks were hollow with his smile. He rolled to the fire and picked up the kettle, pouring himself the first hot cup of coffee in days; he took a piece of paper off Heath’s table and set to writing a letter in his first language.

Sandrine, Tali,

I miss you both. I hope the business is doing well.

He wasn’t sure what else to say. He missed them, but he wouldn’t have gone home for a king’s ransom. He skirted that topic.

Raru is well, and so is Heath. A blizzard came in a few nights ago. Imagine–a blizzard. If I could send the snow back to you I would. I hope the heat is treating you well.

Tali, listen to your mother. I love you very much, my dearest.

Fraul

He sealed it and put it by the door for the next time he went out. He rolled the chair in front of the fire. Despite the coffee, he put his chin in his hands and fell asleep.

*

“Ashin!” Raru called for him in the Bazairi den as soon as he arrived, looking around. Raia stuck her head out of an alcove to greet him.

“I haven’t seen him,” she said with a cloud of smoke. She coughed around the words.

“Since when?”

“Since the storm ended. Check his house. Selene’s anniversary is coming up–he isolates.”

Raru nodded. “Thanks, isa.”

She raised the pipe to bid him goodbye. He shouldered out the door and jogged through the snowbanks, his feet crunching.

“Ashin?” he called as he reached the little shack at the edge of town. He knocked hard. “S’me.”

Ashin’s footsteps came from behind the door as he pulled it a centimeter open. His ragged gaze ranged over Raru’s face. “Did you find Fraul?” he asked.

“Yes. Why aren’t you at the den?”

“Not today. I’m tired.” He opened the door wider and Raru stepped in, over the piles of old army books and dishes scattered here and there. Ashin opened a hand for him to sit on the cot and he did so, kicking off his boots. The darker man dropped his weight into the cot, rolling onto his back with one ankle over his knee. “Shouldn’t you be at camp?” he asked, lighting a pipe that stayed at his bedside and speaking around it.

“Wilde has it covered.” Raru put a hand on Ashin’s knee. “You look bad.”

“You look well.”

“Never mind that.” Raru couldn’t help but smile.

Ashin eyes brightened, sitting up on one elbow, putting the pipe aside. “Fraul,” he guessed.

“Fraul…” Raru made a vague gesture with his hand and trailed off.

Ashin puffed the pipe with heavy lids as his brightness faded. “Be careful, brother,” he sighed. “Fraul is no fool.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that he keeps his heart in check. He may decide this isn’t a good path and leave us again. Go back home.”

Raru shook his head. “He loves me,” he said.

“He loved Sandrine too. What makes you different from her?”

“A good deal. And you never liked him.”

Ashin shrugged bitterly. “No,” he said. “I didn’t.”

Raru sighed. He rubbed his face and they dropped the topic. Ashin passed the pipe to his friend, who went cross-eyed as he drew on it.

Raru spent the day there though he didn’t mean to, and when darkness fell he roused himself from his stupor and muttered, “Gonna go back to…camp.”

Ashin rolled his eyes. “Guard yourself, era,” he said. “Fraul is no fool.”

“He’s a fool for me.”

“Out of my house.” Ashin tossed a pair of pants at him and Raru dodged them like a boy, ducking out of the little cabin grinning.

When he got back to camp he found his lieutenant, who folded his arms and looked his captain up and down. Raru ducked his head a little under the younger man's stern gaze.

"Where have you been all this time?" he asked. “I almost sent a search party.”

“I weathered the blizzard in town,” said Raru. “I decided not to risk the travel to camp.”

“Well. General wants to see you.”

“For what?”

Wilde shook his head. “Don’t know, sir.”

Raru huffed, saluted, and jogged to the tent. He ducked inside where Crowe was bent over a map. The dark-haired general’s cloudy face did not clear when he saw the other man; if possible, it darkened.

“General?” Raru asked, and thumped his forehead with the knife of his fingers. Crowe touched his brow absent-mindedly.

“Captain,” he said placidly. “I think we’re going back to war.”

Raru wanted to say thank the lord. “How do you know?” he asked. Crowe came around the table to his side, leaning with an elbow on the wood.

“I just got the letter from out east,” he said. “The Areidans have a new leader.”

Raru had never been much for politics and he stared at Crowe for a little longer. Then his face cleared. “Oreia,” he said.

“This woman, Aldrani, she is bringing the Areidan cavalry back together. In her correspondence with them, she writes of taking us to task.”

“Someone ought to be brought to task,” Raru said. “What happened wasn’t right.”

Crowe looked at him hard. “So you think that person is me?”

“Beg pardon, sir. I forgot you were the one who made that agreement.”

“I didn’t think Oreia would commit war crimes on them. I feel that is obvious.”

“Obvious to me, sir.” Raru drummed his fingers on the table and stood. “But you’re right. I’ll make sure my company is ready.”

“And Captain,” Crowe said as he turned to leave. “Where were you today?”

“Healing duty, sir.”

“Heath and his experiments will have to wait. Your energies are best spent directed into your company.” The general’s gaze pierced him. Raru saluted as his anger bubbled up.

“Yes, sir.”

He spent the evening checking on the company, making sure they were fortified, fixing tents. He wanted to go to Heath’s cabin, but he made himself go from the evening meeting to his and Tere’s tent. They lay in the dark and listened to each others’ breathing.

“Leonard,” Raru said. At the same time, the younger man asked, “Are you awake?”

Both were silent. Tere said finally, “Yes?”

Raru lowered his voice. “General thinks we might go back to war.” He heard the rustle of blankets below as Tere shifted.

“What does that mean for Fraul?” he asked, which was exactly what Raru was thinking.

“I don’t know. What does it mean for Heath?”

“I don’t know. He’ll probably stay here, knowing him. Do you think Crowe will call Ashin back?”

Raru hadn’t even thought of it. He razed a hand over his face. “I don’t know.”

Tere was silent. “I can’t do this on my own,” he muttered. “I can’t be one healer for a thousand people.”

“Maybe we can convince Heath to go.” Raru turned onto his side, his arm tucked beneath the pillow. “You’re a good healer, Leonard.” Sleep was coming over him and he wasn’t sure if Tere heard him. “You’ve been our healer…for five years…” He yawned and was gone.

*

Crowe was right. In the rising dawn they heard a long trumpet. Raru bolted upright and leapt to the ground, grabbing his sword belt and shoving his feet into boots. He was among the first outside, hitching his belt as he ran, rapping on tent frames, bellowing, “Men! War!”

Wilde was at his shoulder in a second. Raru grinned, but he wasn’t sure why, and clapped the man on the shoulder as they jogged.

“Little early morning battle, Rufus?” he asked, and Wilde gave him a confused look.

“And you’re–excited about that?” he panted.

“Aren’t you?” Raru whipped out the blade with a slither of metal.

Men flooded from tents and towards the forest. Even Crowe wasn’t out yet. Leonard hung back, watching, waiting for anyone who needed him, as a horseman burst out of the forest.

A yell boiled up from Raru’s belly and out of his throat. He ducked the first swipe of a cavalry spear and caught her ankle in his hand, which was snug in the stirrup so he couldn’t pull her down. Something primal told him to pivot around, and he barely missed the head of the spear. This gave him the opening he needed; with a well-placed stab, keeping his elbow tucked to his side, he took the woman out of commission.

Raru didn’t look back. On foot, the Ezurans would have been at a disadvantage; but the horses were caught in the thicket of the woods and the soldiers descended upon them screaming. They turned tail before the sun had even cleared the trees.

Raru let out a whoop as he cleaned his sword on someone’s saddle. He grabbed leather, swords, shook corpses for the jingle of money. Tere wandered up behind him.

“Gods, Raru,” he said, looking down on him, “Have some sportsmanship.”

“An ambush at dawn isn’t very sportsmanlike, wouldn’t you say?” Raru came up with a coin purse and dumped the coins into his pocket, reflecting how much he sounded like Fraul. “And someone’s going to have to clean up,” he added. He clapped the other man on the shoulder and went on his way.

The body count was low; the horsemen had disappeared quickly. Crowe walked among them, looking for bodies of their own.

“Good, good,” he murmured, and his eyes went to Raru. “Captain Ire, give me the account.”

“It was too easy, sir,” Raru said as he touched his brow. He felt his heart thumping in his neck, felt his aliveness. “I don’t think they’ll try again.”

“Good. Then we’re safe, for now. Gather some men to clean this up.”

“Gen’ral,” Raru drawled, and lifted a hand to Wilde. “Captain Raile?” he asked.

“I haven’t seen her,” Crowe said.

“I’m going to find her, make sure she’s all right.” Raru nodded to Wilde as he passed, and jogged off to check her tent.

She wasn’t there, nor the battlefield. Raru found her lieutenant and said, “Sir. Where’s your captain?”

“Don’t know.” He saluted. “She ran off to fight and then I lost track of her. Somewhere in the woods, probably. She usually goes there after a raid.”

Raru frowned and crossed the field again, where men were dragging bodies and others were digging a hole at the edge of the forest. He followed the river into the brush, calling, “Erica?”

He heard a crunch of gravel from far off, and though this might have been a deer he followed it. He found himself at the overhang of rock they used for bouldering, where he often climbed with his lieutenant. He saw a rounded silhouette against a rock. “Raile,” he said gently. Her head came up and she scrambled to her feet. She saluted automatically, and then remembered they were the same rank and her hand went to the back of her neck.

“Sir.” Her voice shook. Like Raru with Fraul, Erica had a hard time calling her former superior by his first name. He folded his arms.

“Where did you go?”

She was silent. His eyes traveled to the rock face across the river from him, and he stepped up to the water and looked into it. Fish swam near the bottom, oblivious to them and their warfare. Erica stepped up beside him, and he saw her turn away from him and wipe her eyes on her sleeve. His voice was gentle. “Is it the horses, Captain?”

She was still shaking, and he saw it when she sat slowly down. Her voice was husky.

“It’s the horses, sir,” she rumbled.

“Raile,” he said, squatting next to her. Her jaw was clenched and her face was pale.

“I’m not scared of anything else, Raru. I’m not, ask anyone.”

“I know.” He couldn’t help a toothy grin. “Believe me, I know.”

This seemed to cheer her a little. She met his gaze. Then she turned away to wipe her eyes, and he frowned, thinking of what he might do to help her.

“You need to go see Ashin,” he said. “Ask him how he went back after the fire with Captain Wood.”

“All right,” she breathed.

“Come on.” He stood, offering a hand, into which she slapped her own. Raru just barely pulled her to her feet.

He grunted, scowling. “You’re like a damned stone wall. Jesus, Erica.”

A little smile broke through the clouds of her face. She wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand and huffed, setting her shoulders, following him out of the forest.

She saluted and peeled off for the Blue Hawk, the dancer’s den where her old captain spent his days.

Raru, ignoring Crowe’s command to clean up the carnage, departed for Heath’s house.

“Thank god,” said Fraul when he entered.

“Oh, god, Fraul, you think a little skirmish would take me out?” Raru clocked the other man on the arm. “I was talking to Erica.”

“And how is Miss Raile?”

“Got the shakes.”

Fraul nodded, fingers steepled. “So do I,” he said.

“Well, I’m just glad they’re raiding again. I have too much on my mind lately.” Raru’s stone-blue eyes slid to the other man, whose mouth had curved halfway. Raru gently took the back of his chair and rolled it into the street.

For a moment they went along in companionable silence.

“So…” Raru said, and at his tone Fraul turned his head. “If we have to break camp, to get on the move…”

“Perhaps I’ll go back home,” Fraul sighed. “At present there’s no reason or way for me to accompany the armies.” They rattled onto the street and towards the bath house. Raru pushed open the door with his foot and rolled Fraul inside, tossing a coin on the bar.

“What are you and Heath working on?” His voice lowered, finding them a tub in the big bathing room. He held the chair still while Fraul undressed, lifted himself with his arms, and lowered himself into the bath. Raru stripped with a low sigh and sank into the water of his own tub, already warm.

“He wants to make me walk,” said Fraul, lips pinched in a smile. “Now that the pain is less.”

“How?” Raru sat up a little, their hands brushing.

“Something like the braces we use for the tents. A hinge for the knees. Would take practice.” He sighed. “I’m wondering what I got myself into by coming here.”

“Heath is loving it, I’ll bet,” Raru said, smirking.

“I believe he is.”

The hum of the bathhouse lulled them both into silence, and both their arms hung over the sides of their tubs. Raru was overly conscious of how close their hands were. He reached out and hooked Fraul’s forefinger with his own, and then at last he was comfortable.