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“I found her tending his wound!” Pethik throws Lenni to the ground at Arthur’s feet.
Sometimes one’s allies seem almost as troublesome as one’s enemies.
“So you decided to manhandle one of my people –” Arthur raises the trembling Lenni to her feet: “my Healer, no less! A woman who cannot speak for herself. And in my own village?”
“That’s beside the point!” Mark blusters. “She was tending –”
“To the sick, as is her duty,” Arthur cuts in. “Go on, Lenni.”
She slips away, around the back of her hut.
“I remind you that you’re my guests here, and as such, you will treat all this village’s inhabitants with respect.”
To be sure they all understand him, he glares at Mark, and each of Mark’s men, in turn.
Mark pounds his fist into the palm of his hand. “What about the Saxon? Is he under your protection too?”
Arthur turns towards Lenni’s hut, where Kai stands in the doorway, axe at the ready.
“He’s my prisoner,” Kai says, his chin raised, though he sounds far from certain.
What the devil does Kai think he’s playing at?
“He’s mine,” Mark says, in a low growl, taking a menacing step towards Kai. “He’s mine, and I’ll have him.”
“He was yours.” Arthur blocks Mark’s way. “You opened the cage-door – can you reclaim a bird from the sky?”
Mark bristles. “Surrender him to me, or I will send word to every Celtic tribe that Arthur shelters Saxons. Where’s your alliance then?”
Arthur looks back at him, stone-faced. “And how would that profit you? If not for our alliance, we would all be overrun by Saxons, one by one, and you know it. If my territory falls, Cornwall will not be far behind.”
Arthur meets Kai’s gaze, still trying, vainly, to divine his motivation – but Kai quickly looks away.
“What is this?” Mark’s face shows blank incomprehension. “Yesterday, both you and Kai were hunting this Saxon, by my side.”
“To kill him quickly – yes. Not to have him stoned to death in front of all your people. If we start publicly executing Saxons by this vile means, how long before Cerdig thinks of a worse punishment, for any Celt who falls into his hands?”
“Gearrgh!” Mark clearly takes Arthur’s point, but – to make himself feel better – he boots one of his own men up the backside. “Doesn’t mean you should tend to this one like a newborn babe. What does Kai want with him anyway?”
“Well, Kai? Why should we keep this man alive?”
“Information,” Kai blurts. “He’s a member of … Cerdig’s advance party. When he recovers, we can question him. Find out the number and disposition of Cerdig’s forces.”
“There you are, Mark.” Arthur slaps Mark of Cornwall on the chest with the back of his hand. “It makes sense – even you must see that. And of course, any information will be shared with you.”
Mark fingers the hilt of his sword. “And then you’ll kill him?”
Arthur can’t think of a good reason not to. “Before we worry about that, let’s just see whether he survives the interrogation.”
Mark chuckles; so do some of his men. Mark looks around at them, making sure he has their attention, then smiles sweetly at Arthur. “Nevertheless, I’m sure that if he does survive, your allies will be invited to the execution?”
A worried expression flits across Kai’s face; his hand clenches on his axe haft.
Not knowing what to make of it, Arthur turns back to Mark. “He was taken prisoner in my lands, by my man. What happens to him now, is up to me.”
Mark cocks his head. “I hope you’re not even thinking about letting him go …”
Arthur purses his lips. “He’s seen too much for that. But if you no longer trust your allies, you may leave two of your own men here, to help stand guard over him.” As if the matter no longer holds his interest, Arthur stares into the middle distance. “Will that satisfy you?”
“Alright. Have it your way.” Mark gestures to Pethik and another of his men. “You two.”
“Not him. Arthur points at Pethik. “He mistreated Lenni. I’ll not have him on watch outside her hut.”
“Gaaargh! You then!” Mark singles out another to take Pethik’s place. “But understand this, Arthur. You have cheated me of my revenge. In doing so, you have forfeited any good will there was between us. Next time you come running to me – whether it’s extra cavalry you need, to fight your Saxon enemies, or a Saxon longboat to rescue your Saxon friend – you won’t find me so helpful.”
Mark turns away, muttering something about people who don’t know where their loyalties lie. Then he mounts up, signals his men, and the party clatters out of the village.
~~
Kai tries to hold his ground in Lenni’s doorway, but the glance Arthur scythes in his direction makes him stand aside.
“Let’s take a look at this prisoner of ours, then.” Arthur flicks the curtain back, and stalks inside; Kai follows in his wake.
Lenni looks up, wide-eyed, from her jars and concoctions.
“Leave us, Lenni.” Arthur points towards the door.
Casting an anxious glance at her patient, Lenni scurries out.
Roland cowers against the wall, as high up the bed as he can get; as far away from Arthur as he can get. The air seems to thicken with each step that Arthur takes towards him. Kai can see no spark of mercy in his leader’s eyes.
“What’s your name, Saxon?”
Roland looks to Kai; Kai gives the very slightest nod, but it doesn’t escape Arthur’s notice, for his posture stiffens even more.
“My name is Roland.”
“Well then, Roland.” Arthur holds out the pendant to him. “I believe this belongs to you.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Roland leans forward to accept it.
“You don’t look so terribly wounded to me.” Arthur drops the object into Roland’s shaking palm; turns eyes like beads of jet towards Kai. “I think he’s well enough to be questioned now. Don’t you?”
Kai’s throat closes up. He hadn’t thought –
“Well, Kai? This was your idea.”
Certain that his dread shows in his face, Kai swallows. “Erm … Lenni does seem to have pulled him through, but –”
“Then tell the blacksmith to bring a brazier in here. And a couple of irons.”
Kai shoots a worried glance at Roland; sees his friend’s eyes widen. Then he ducks out of the hut, and trudges to the forge, on leaden feet.
~~
The coals glow fiercely; Arthur turns the iron, heating the tip to the same angry orange.
“Now then, Roland.” He pokes the coals, making sparks fly. “Let’s see what you can tell us about Cerdig’s plans.”
“I … I don’t know anything, I swear.”
“But Kai said you had valuable intelligence. Are you calling him a liar?”
“No!” Roland casts a desperate glance in Kai’s direction.
“I may have been mistaken,” Kai says, his voice hollow.
“Well, we’ll never know until we try, will we?” Arthur takes the iron from the fire, and walks slowly towards the bed.
“I don’t know anything.” Roland’s voice rises. “I’m no warrior. You must see that!” He gestures at his paunch. “My leader sent me to join Cerdig’s forces in payment for a debt. I’ve no fighting skills.”
“Mark of Cornwall said you killed his battle leader, Agdor.” Arthur brandishes the iron. “Are you calling Mark a liar, too?”
“No! But – there’s been some mistake!” Roland is taking shallow breaths; sweat breaks out on his brow. “I don’t know. I don’t know any Agdor. Three of us were fighting off one man, and he was winning. Someone got in a lucky hit. It might have been me, but I don’t know. I swear –”
“What if I don’t believe you? What if I think you’re one of Cerdig’s top men, just playing the innocent?”
As Arthur thrusts the iron within an inch of Roland’s face, Kai snatches at his arm.
“Please, Arthur …”
Arthur puffs out a breath. What can this mean? He isn’t sure he wants to find out, but he must. He sets the iron back in the brazier.
“Kai. With me.” Fist clenched behind his back, he leaves the hut without another word.
~~
Baffled, Kai glances at Roland, then he follows Arthur out.
He finds his leader sitting on the ground, his back against the wall, turning a small dagger over and over in his hands. He can’t see Arthur’s face – it’s hidden behind his hair – but he looks … sad.
“Did you really think I was going to torture a prisoner for information, Kai? To use that hot iron on this … Roland?”
Kai wouldn’t have believed it – until Arthur sent him off to fetch the brazier, shocking any rational thought to flight. “Then … what –?”
“You tell me, Kai. What’s going on? Who is this man, that you would put my alliance in jeopardy, to save his life?”
Kai heaves a sigh. “Roland is … was … a friend of my childhood.”
He will not say that Roland was as a brother to him. That would only hurt Arthur more. “The pendant – it was a gift from me, to thank him, when he saved me from drowning. I could have done no less than save his life, in return.”
“Then why did you not come to me with this?” Arthur lifts his head and faces Kai, at last. “Am I such a tyrant? If he saved your life, my debt to him equals yours.”
Kai sinks to his haunches beside Arthur. He picks up a pebble, and tosses it from hand to hand. “You are no tyrant. But you seemed so friendly with Mark. I thought –”
Arthur barks out a laugh. “Then I’m a better actor than I know. Kai, this alliance matters a great deal to me. Otherwise I wouldn’t treat with oafs like Mark. But you …” He shakes his head.
“What will you do? With Roland?”
Arthur sighs. “When he says he’s no fighter, I believe him. And if you had told me all this before Mark found out he was here, perhaps, under the circumstances, I could have let him go. But now Mark does know. I can’t just send Roland back to his people – not if I want the alliance to survive.”
Kai frowns. “So … we keep him here? A prisoner?”
“To be a constant bone of contention between Cornwall and ourselves?”
“Then what?” A chill of fear runs down Kai’s spine. “Will you …” Kai swallows. He places his pebble carefully on the ground between his feet. “Must Roland be put to death?”
Arthur shakes his head. “I haven’t yet decided what to do. I need to sleep on it. For the present, you will organise the watch over Roland – one of our men, and one of Mark’s, to guard him overnight.”
“May I speak with him first?”
“You must do as you see fit.” Arthur gets to his feet. “As you have done from the start of this business.”
Kai watches Arthur walk away, his head bowed, yet another burden on his shoulders, and this time it is Kai who put it there. With all his heart, he wishes he’d done things differently.
But he can’t stand by – see Roland put to death.
He organises the watch as Arthur told him.
He doesn’t go back inside.
~~
In the late afternoon, Kai goes down to the river to bathe.
He has wronged Arthur, and will do so again before this night ends – maybe more than once. Can a man make amends, in advance of the offence? Afterwards, he might not get the chance.
So he washes with care, pokes and prods at his hair until it looks its best, and asks Llud whether he will kindly sleep elsewhere tonight.
Llud gives him a penetrating look. “I don’t know what your game is, Kai, but don’t make me ashamed to call you, ‘son’.”
Kai flinches; turns away.
When evening comes, while Arthur’s eating with the men, Kai stays in the sleeping quarters, listening at the door, until it sounds like they’re all stuck into their meal. Then he opens the wooden trunk in the corner, and rummages around, until he finds the Herbs of Sleep that the Wood People gave Arthur. He tips half into a leather pouch, and stows it beneath the sheepskin on his bed.
Then he perfumes himself with fragrant oil, and waits.
He waits a very long time.
From the other room, he can hear voices raised in anger. He tries not to listen; he can imagine well enough what they are saying. Arthur’s voice, calm and decisive, dominates the rest, defending him. Again.
Kai feels sick of himself; he feels torn apart.
When the others finally depart, Arthur slams open the door, but stops in the doorway, sniffing the air. His expression turns icy. “Have you had a woman in here this evening?”
“No … I ...”
Will nothing go right for him?
Arthur sniffs again. He comes inside and closes the door. “So this is for my benefit. To influence me –”
“No!”
“If you think that by perfuming yourself like a harlot, you can cover the stench of mistrust and betrayal that hangs about you, you’re mistaken.”
“Mistrust, yes.” Kai can barely speak. “I feared … to tell you of Roland, because you seemed so tight with Mark. But I have not betrayed you. Roland was my friend, and nothing more, I swear it.”
As Arthur turns away, unbuckling his sword, Kai thinks he sees some of the tension drain from Arthur’s stance.
“You made me look weak and ill-informed. Now, Mark and all his men will noise it abroad that I don’t even command in my own village, and it’s not far from the truth.” Arthur sounds more tired than angry. “If you were intending to give Mark the whip-hand, you might have had the decency to warn me.”
“I’m sorry.”
Arthur makes no reply. Perhaps he didn’t hear the quiet apology. Perhaps it would make no difference if he had. Kai sits on his bed with his head in his hands.
When Arthur speaks again, his voice seems to come from some cold land, far to the north. “And if you’re intending to sleep in here, do me the kindness of washing off that vile smell.”
Kai drags breath into his lungs. He stares across at Arthur, lying on his side, facing the wall. He takes a few tentative steps towards him; puts a hand on his shoulder. “Arthur, please –”
“No more pleading.” Arthur doesn’t turn around. “You made your decision without consulting me. Now leave me alone, to make mine.”
Kai’s heart breaks, just a little more. He squeezes his eyes shut, to keep the tears from falling, but it does no good. So he goes out and washes, as Arthur told him to.
When he returns, he finds Arthur asleep.
~~
When Arthur feels Kai’s hand upon him, he lies very still. Kai smells like heaven. Desire surges through him, but he can’t give in.
Kai started this alone. He must do what he must to save his friend, but Arthur cannot give him aid or comfort till it’s done. Circumstance has made prisoners of them all, but Arthur has to push Kai further into the corner – because there’s no snare or tether Kai cannot escape; no trap he cannot spring.
When Kai has left the room, Arthur heaves a deep sigh, and tries to sleep, despite the throb in his loins, and the ache in his heart.
~~
Kai takes the pouch from beneath the sheepskin, and slips quietly out of the longhouse, and down to the hut next to Lenni’s. Then he creeps between the two huts, and peers around the corner.
For shame! The two guards are already snoring at their posts!
Still, Kai takes no chances; coming out of hiding, he dumps the Herbs of Sleep into the brazier that stands between the dozing sentries.
He holds his nose, and – as the smoke begins to billow ¬– enters the hut.
Lenni looks up at him, wide-eyed.
The pendant sits on the pillow at the top of Roland’s empty bed, and Kai hears a horse, pounding away from the village.
He stares at Lenni, one eyebrow raised, then points at her shelves of potions, and mimes, ‘sleep?’
She shakes her head firmly, but her eyes say ‘yes.’
Kai draws Lenni to him, and hugs her, hard. Then he finds a piece of bandaging cloth, and loops it loosely around her wrists. She grins, puts her hands behind her back, and lets Kai tie her up.
Leaving her lying on her bed, Kai returns quietly to his own.
Arthur sleeps on.
~~
“He’s gone! The Saxon’s gone!”
Arthur leaps from his bed. “Kai?”
Kai rubs his eyes, and blinks at Arthur. He couldn’t look more innocent if he tried.
Arthur quickly turns away, to hide a smile.
~~
Mark arrives like a thunderstorm, blows himself out, and then swiftly departs. His own man, one of those asleep outside the hut, can expect a severe arse-kicking when they arrive back in Cornwall. Mark might even boot him all the way.
~~
Kai avoids Arthur all day, but when evening comes, he can’t make any more excuses. After all, he has to eat.
Taking a bite from a chicken leg, Arthur says blandly, “It seems that both Mark’s men, and mine, need to be taught how to man their posts without dozing off.”
Equally expressionless, Kai replies, “It does seem that way, doesn’t it?” He picks up his knife to peel an apple.
“And it also seems that you are in need of a new horse.”
Kai grins, a little ruefully. “That Saxon blackguard. If I ever catch him …”
“You’ll give him your axe and spear as well?” A smile dances in Arthur’s eyes.
“Arthur –”
Arthur puts a finger to Kai’s lips. “There are some things I’m better off not knowing. How Roland managed his escape, is one of them. But next time you bring a Saxon friend to stay, please have a bit more faith in me.”
Kai nods soberly. “I will, I promise.”
“And Kai?”
“Yes, Arthur?”
“Do you have any of that perfume left?”
~~
Kai’s heart speeds up. “Wait for me here a while. Then come.”
~~
Arthur doesn’t know how long he’s spent pacing the floor, but if he waits any longer, he will come, just with anticipation. As he lays his palm against the chamber door, his own breathing sounds loud in his ears; his heart hammers in his throat.
He slips inside. “Oh!”
“Arthur?”
“Yes,” Arthur says softly, as a fire licks through him.
“I thought you had forgotten me.” Kai’s voice drips thick, dark honey.
“Kai … no – never! But you don’t have to –”
“I robbed you of your prisoner. Here, I offer myself in his place. Do with me as you will.”
Kai must have pulled the second thong tight with his teeth, because he has somehow contrived to tie both his own hands to the posts at the foot of Arthur’s bed.
Arthur’s chest feels tight, as do his breeches. For a moment, he considers taking what Kai is offering: himself, bare arse presented. Every taut, swelling muscle gleams, with the fragrant oil Kai has lavished upon his body.
But Kai doesn’t like to be taken this way – bent over, so he can’t see Arthur’s face – and Arthur knows it. He sees Kai’s hamstrings tighten, as he strains to keep from pulling his legs together; his arms and back quiver with tension, from holding his position. This will be more pain, for Kai, than pleasure ...
“I thank you … for your offer. But I will not take you as a prisoner – not even in play.” Arthur goes to the end of the bed, and unties Kai’s left hand.
Kai straightway brings it beneath him – takes his weight upon it – making Arthur wish he hadn’t kept Kai waiting for so long. For the first time in two days, he touches Kai – rests a hand on his shoulder, and caresses with his thumb.
Kai makes the smallest sound, of need, or of relief; he keeps his head lowered.
Last night’s separation was as much as either of them could bear, so Arthur lets his palm lie between Kai’s shoulders, as he goes to free the other hand. He can’t wait to feel Kai’s skin, warm and slippery, thigh to thigh, against his own.
The leather thong comes loose, and Arthur rubs Kai’s wrist. “Now, let us go to bed as we were before. As friends.”
Kai climbs onto the bed, but still, he offers himself, on his knees, his face and chest pressed down against the blanket. He reaches back with either hand; holds himself open, like a sacrifice.
Arthur feels hot enough to burst his skin. His vision blurs. He shoves his breeches down – can’t help himself – kneels behind Kai, prick in hand, and sets his other hand on Kai’s left buttock.
Kai has made ready for him …
Arthur growls deep in his throat, and clutches himself. He takes a deep breath, gets into position, and slips in, like a sword into its sheath.
Kai moans, rocks forward a little, and then back, taking him in further.
Arthur flexes – gives a gentle thrust – and sees the sinews in Kai’s shoulders tense and strain. He takes one of Kai’s hands from where he is still gripping his own buttock.
“Come on, Kai – support your weight.”
Kai slaps the hand down in front of him, and rests his forehead on it. ‘Do with me as you will,’ Kai said, and he has spoken no word since. Even now, he’s doing Arthur’s bidding, to the letter.
Arthur sways, closing his eyes, and clenching his jaw; clenching everything, to stop himself from coming. Kai stays still and quiet, waiting upon him.
It shouldn’t be like this between them.
“Please, Kai – be yourself with me. All’s well. Be comforted.”
“I cannot.” Kai’s arm muffles his voice. “All your life, you have stood up for me, and fought for me, so I would be accepted here. And I have repaid you with grief and trouble.”
“No … do not say so.” Arthur strokes Kai’s flank. “You have repaid me with love and loyalty – more than I deserve. I do not know what I would do, without you by my side.”
Kai shakes his head. “I am your man – no one else’s. Take me. Use me. Please, let me make amends for what I’ve done.”
Arthur feels rather than hears him sob; his own eyes fill with tears. “Ssshh. You did what a man should do – repaid a debt, and helped a friend. It is I who was at fault, for putting my duties as leader before those as your friend and brother.” He reaches around to take Kai in hand. “I yearn to put that right. Please, Kai – will you allow me?”
~~
Kai nudges into Arthur’s hand.
Can it be true? Is he forgiven?
As Arthur’s hand slides in gentle strokes around his prick; as Arthur moves inside him, he dares hope.
He can’t speak. He can only move in time with Arthur; their cries mingle, and Arthur banishes his fears with loving hands, and lets him fly.
~~