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A breeze kisses Kai’s face. Even so long after dark, it’s pleasantly warm: the kind of night he likes to go walking under the stars with Arthur; find some mossy glade, and –well … But Arthur’s dead asleep, exhausted after the day’s trying events. Still, perhaps by tomorrow, he will have some resolution to the matter.
A Jute’s ears always listen out for hoof-beats, so when Kai nears Yorath’s village, he dismounts, tethers his horse to a tree, and creeps on foot towards the outlying huts.
Then someone steps into his path, and Kai’s heart nearly stops. He jumps back, draws his knife, then recognises the boyish figure.
“Rowena …” He speaks softly, trying to sound unruffled, despite the sudden pounding in his chest. “Yorath making you stand watch in the dead of night, now, is he?”
“Of course not …” She stares past Kai into the dark. “Where’s Arthur?”
“Asleep in bed ... er … I hope.”
“Isn’t he coming to help?” Rowena’s voice rises.
Kai puts a finger to his lips. “Help, what?”
“To free the women! What else?”
Kai frowns. “Did he say he would?”
“No.”
Seeing Rowena’s shoulders slump, Kai feels somewhat offended. He’s just as capable as Arthur! But then, it’s not really Arthur’s help she wants, is it? His jaw clenches.
“Arthur knows nothing of this,” he says sharply.
“Of course.” Rowena nods. “But I know he sent you.”
“No! Do not say so!”
Does she think he has no will of his own?
But then, in every real sense, she’s correct. His chief gave no command, but Kai knows Arthur wants these women freed, even though he cannot, and will not, make open war with Yorath over them.
“I told you – Arthur doesn’t know.”
“Then why –?”
Kai meets her gaze. “I would not see my countrywomen on the auction block.”
That alone would not have got him here. Nevertheless, Rowena nods, as if she understands him perfectly. She beckons; murmurs, “Come”, and leads him through a back way into Yorath’s camp.
“There’s just one guard,” she whispers. “Don’t kill him. He is a good man. He brought the women food and drink.”
Kai nods, almost trips over someone lying on the ground, then – seeing more of them – looks questioningly at Rowena.
The whites of her eyes show briefly. “Drunken louts!”
They pick their way quietly among the sleeping revellers, take the guard, and leave him bound and gagged, but otherwise unharmed. He does not see their faces.
Kai draws a metal rod from his belt, pulls a length of cloth from round his neck, and hands it to her. “Here – put this round each chain, to stop the noise.”
Rowena wraps and holds each chain, and while the Saxon women watch, wide-eyed with hope, Kai sets to, levering their metal cuffs open.
At last, all stand free, rubbing their wrists, and glancing nervously about.
“Now, go!” Kai tells Rowena. “Give them horses. Take them as far away from Jute or Celtic lands as may be.”
Rowena’s eyes widen. “Kai! I cannot steal my Father’s horses! Anything else – not that. He would never forgive me.”
“Oh.” Kai shrugs. “Well, I don’t suppose they can ride anyway. Just get them away from here by dawn. Find somewhere they can hide, until the trader leaves, or Yorath sets aside this foolishness.”
One of the women taps Kai’s shoulder, then quickly draws back. “Will you not come with us?”
He’d like to … help this beauty; and it would ensure their safety. But he must get back, before Arthur and Llud wake. Shaking his head, he turns away.
“No, I must leave you. Let’s get out of here, while we still can.”
Rowena leads the way, the women follow; Kai brings up the rear. At least he can make certain they get clear of Yorath’s village. Where they go after – well, that’s none of his concern.
~~
The first grey light of dawn tips the trees on the horizon as Kai sneaks back into camp. He can just make out the forms of Llud and Arthur, wrapped in their blankets.
He shivers, and starts coaxing the fire back to life, and as the kindling crackles, Arthur stirs, blinks, opens his eyes, and says, “Up already?”
“A stone was sticking in my back.” Kai tries not to look at Arthur, for his face always betrays him when he tells a lie. He hunches his shoulders. “If we hadn’t quarrelled with Yorath over those damned women, we could have slept in warm beds last night, in the old goat’s settlement, instead of out here in the open.”
Llud opens one eye. “Did I truly raise such a delicate flower?”
Arthur laughs, and Kai laughs with him.
Still, he can’t relax. As they ride home, he keeps looking behind him: listening for sounds of angry pursuit. But everything goes smoothly, and, though Arthur gives him a suspicious look now and again, no one says anything about it.
~~
It takes until mid-afternoon for Yorath to roll up at the village gate, puffing, and snorting, and accusing Arthur of rescuing the women; claiming that Rowena could not have done it on her own.
Kai feels a warm glow of satisfaction, knowing that Arthur can hold his head up, and – with total honesty – deny all knowledge. But when Yorath accuses Arthur of lying, Kai’s heart sinks. His word matters to Arthur a great deal; to have it doubted ...
As Yorath angrily departs, Kai starts to regret what he has done – to curse Rowena, and himself. What if Arthur had his own plan, to win the freedom of the Saxon women? And what if Arthur learns that he, Kai, helped them to escape? This, close on the heels of the trouble over Roland, might destroy Arthur’s trust in him for good.
Kai squares his shoulders. “We should find those Saxon women – return them to Yorath.”
“And make me party to his depravation? Have the old fool think it an admission of my guilt?”
Kai can’t see a way out of this.
~~
But – as so often – Arthur’s powers of reasoning, and judgement win the day. The women go free, and all turns out much better than it might.
All through the negotiations, Kai and Rowena try desperately not to catch each other’s eye, and Kai resolves, next time, to have more faith in Arthur’s cunning.
Keen to avoid talking to Rowena, lest their secret should slip out, Kai rides ahead with Llud. He glances back, and sees Arthur taking his leave, no doubt enjoying having the last word over the princess. Then he and Llud ride on a mile or more.
But Arthur doesn’t catch them up, and – with a sinking feeling – Kai remembers Rowena’s anxious, ‘Where’s Arthur? … Isn’t he coming to help?’
Llud turns in the saddle, and looks back at Kai. “What’s eating you?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You’re puffing and snorting like an angry bull!”
Kai purses his lips. “I’m just worried something has befallen Arthur.” He turns his horse around. “I’m going to find him.”
“Oh, come on, Kai – I’m sure he’s doing just fine.”
The smirk Llud gives him just makes Kai more certain that he must, he must go back.
~~
Even as Arthur feels Rowena’s strength, she cleaves to him, and yields to him. So unexpected – all his life, he has known only Kai. He has wanted no other – yet his body responds as if this were perfectly natural. And now he has Rowena’s slight frame in his arms, he thinks, ‘why not?’
Kai sometimes beds a woman, if the fancy takes him; makes no secret of it. Why else – if not to let him take this chance – did Kai ride on ahead?
And what of Rowena?
Arthur feels no love for her – just friendship. Still, what harm could come of it? Kai’s been quite distant since his Saxon friend was killed, and Arthur’s minded to surrender to his body’s whim. Rowena’s grateful for his help … wouldn’t it be ill-bred to turn her down? Why let the chance go begging? Kai would not.
So Arthur takes Rowena’s hand, and walks with her into the woods until they find a clearing. Then, curious, and hard, just with anticipation, he turns, and kisses her on the lips.
With eager mouth, she kisses back, and lets her dress slip off her shoulders, baring her small breasts.
Arthur swallows. He stoops to kiss the taut fawn skin round one stiff nipple, then he takes it in his mouth, feels it yield between his teeth, and flicks it with his tongue.
Rowena gasps, and draws him to the ground, hitching up her skirts; he pushes down his breeches.
Her eyes widen; she looks … defenceless: an innocent doe, at the mercy of his spear. Though she’s tight, he needs nothing to ease his entry. She gives a little cry – half pain, half something else. It’s all so new – already Arthur’s aching for release. He works his hips, and hears Rowena moan his name.
Then he hear something else – a choking sound. Rowena stills, and stares over his shoulder. Following her gaze, he sees Kai, standing not far off – one hand over his mouth, the other, clutched around his ribs.
Arthur’s throat tightens; he tries to speak Kai’s name, but nothing comes, and Kai backs away, and disappears among the trees. Arthur feels like he’s falling. He swallows, hard, looks down at Rowena, and sees comprehension dawn.
Her upper lip trembles. She gives him a weak shove.
“Rowena … I’m …” He bites his lip, pulls out, and drags up his breeches.
She shakes her head, and shuffles back, pulls down her skirts, then crosses her arms over her chest. “You should have told me.”
Arthur nods. His face feels hot. “I have to …”
He scrambles to his feet, and follows Kai.
~~
He finds him leaning against an oak: not far away, and yet so very far. Kai holds up a hand, palm out, to keep Arthur at bay. He says, in a hoarse voice, “Do you love her?”
“No!”
“You embraced her as a lover might. Even before I left. Embraced her, where anyone might see …” Kai hugs himself.
“As a friend!” Arthur grips Kai’s shoulders, willing him to believe.
Kai stares at him, stone-faced. “And as a friend, you made love to her?”
Arthur lets his hands drop to his sides. “I’m not proud of … what you saw.” He hangs his head. “But she was willing, and my curiosity got the better of me.”
“Your curiosity, or your cock?”
“Well, both,” Arthur admits.
Kai sniffs. “So you thought to find out whether you could like a woman better than your Kai?”
“No, I swear it.” Arthur’s heart aches for him. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking.” He kicks a tree trunk. “But … you sometimes take a woman. I bite my tongue, and say nothing.”
“I bed the village wenches ¬– when the gossips start to tattle, or when you have no need of me, and yet I am in need. But you … you do not give yourself so easily. For you, it has great meaning. Or so I thought.” Kai’s mouth twists, as if he has eaten bitter poison. “Months, years it was before you gave yourself to me. And yet Rowena …”
“Kai, I was using her.” He grips Kai’s arm. “Rowena means less to me than your village girls, to you.”
Kai lifts his chin. “If you say so, I must believe it. But future queens are not so easy to discard.” He turns away. “What if Rowena were to fall pregnant with your child? Perhaps that’s what you wanted ...”
Kai drags a hand across his face, and plunges off into the undergrowth.
Arthur sits down on a log, and puts his head in his hands.
~~
Rowena stands beside Kai’s horse’s head, and knits the reins between her fingers, while the beast regards her with dispassionate horse-eyes. Kai may be less sanguine. She shifts from foot to foot, and brushes herself down.
After what seems like a long time, Kai emerges from the woods. With barely a glance in her direction, he snatches the reins. “Is this is how Jutish princesses show their gratitude?”
“Kai … I swear, I did not know …”
Kai mounts his horse, and sits looking straight ahead of him. “What does it matter? If this is Arthur’s choice, he would have made it. If not today, the next time he sees you, or the next.” He turns a defeated glance upon her. “Nothing I could do, or say, would change his mind.”
He kicks his horse, and leaves her in his dust.
She turns to see Arthur watching, as Kai gallops off, with not a glance behind him. He swallows, squares his shoulders, and turns to her.
“Now, I have apologies to make.”
Rowena stares at his handsome face – so pompous, even when he’s in the wrong – and punches it. “You need not bother with mine!”
He blinks, stares at her, then rubs his nose. “Ow.”
“Go after him.” She waves her hand towards the track. “And get out of my sight!”
~~
When Arthur arrives back at the longhouse, he finds Kai stuffing favoured possessions into a saddlebag.
He tries to rip the hateful thing out of Kai’s grasp. “You’re not leaving!”
Kai hauls back on it. “Who are you, to tell me where I may, or may not go?”
Arthur never pulls rank at a time like this – but there’s never been a time like this before. He draws himself up. “I am your leader, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Then perhaps I should follow where you lead. Into Rowena’s –”
Arthur swings a fist, and fells Kai like a tree.
Kai lies there for a moment. He rubs his cheek, props himself on his elbows, and shakes his head, trying to regain his senses. Slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on Arthur the whole time, he gets to his feet. Then softly, though he shakes with rage, Kai says, “What was that for?”
He stands there, his chin raised, daring Arthur to strike him again for no good reason. A trickle of blood runs down his chin from his split lip.
Arthur gasps. “Kai! I’m sorry, forgive me – please forgive me.”
He grasps Kai’s hand, but Kai takes a step backwards – pulls away.
A void opens in Arthur’s insides. “Please. I have done wrong, been wrong – most wrongfully wrong.” He drops to his knees. Again, he tries to grab Kai’s hand, and this time, Kai allows it, though he looks on Arthur as he would a dog, who has just bitten, and now fawns upon him.
“You’re very quick to defend one who means so little to you.”
“I was not defending Rowena.”
“Then what …?”
Arthur bows his head. “Kai … my only love … please don’t sleep with Rowena.”
Then Kai, too, falls to his knees, and looks into his face. “Why? If she means so little to you – why?”
Arthur sniffs. He keeps his eyes averted. “I don’t want to lose you to her.”
Kai takes Arthur’s chin, and forces him to face him. A muscle twitches in Kai’s jaw. “That good, was she?”
“No. I don’t know. We didn’t … get that far.” Arthur heaves in a breath. “When we were …. When I was … in her … what I felt …”
“And what was that?”
Kai’s gaze seems to pierce his soul. Only the truth will do.
“I felt that … she was mine. That I wanted to take care of her.” He looks Kai in the eye. “And I … I don’t want you to feel like that about anyone but me.”
Kai blinks; his expression softens, then he takes Arthur’s face between his hands, and so very gently kisses him.
~~
“So.” Kai clears his throat. “What did you think?”
Arthur rolls onto his side so he can look at Kai. “That was …” A shiver runs through him, as he considers the past hour. Kai took care of him alright … and he is Kai’s, alone. He shakes his head. “Indescribable.”
Kai snorts. “Not that! I meant, what did you think of Rowena? Of ‘taking a woman’? Truly?”
Arthur frowns. “She felt too small. Though she was willing – it seemed to me that I was doing her a wrong.”
Kai considers this; he nods gravely.
“And perhaps …” Arthur bites his lip. “Perhaps, next time we need some Jutish horses, what we could give them in exchange, is soap.”
Kai stares at him.
Then they both break out in peals of laughter.
~~