True Warriors Sing by Rowan Erlking (classic book list .TXT) 📕

The woman blinked. Then pulled out her ledger, flipping the pages. Her voice trembled in a higher creaky tone. “No have two. One only.”

Blinking with a glance over her shoulder at Ljev, LjuBa pulled out her coin purse. “Fine. I’ll take the one. My squire can sleep in the stables.”

“How many days?” the woman asked, her neck going rigid.

LjuBa gave her a nod. “One night only.”

Almost as if those words were magic, the woman relaxed, smiling. With a bow, the woman then wordlessly offered to show LjuBa to her room.

LjuBa said, glancing at Ljev. “He will require use of the bath, though.”

The woman cast Ljev a glance and nodded, agreeing with a hidden chuckle. Ljev did not smile. He exhaled then turned, walking back outside to get the rest of their travel things.

The room the woman led LjuBa to was moderate in size. The bedding was already rolled out and fluffed, a down mattress and a down comforter. It wasn’t as nice as the silk LjuBa was used to, but it was much better than a bedroll on muddy ground. The woman left LjuBa her key then walked out, perhaps with a slight haste as if she feared LjuBa would harm her if they were alone together. Ljev came to the door, halting at it without going in.

“You should put something in front of the door when you sleep tonight,” he said.

That earned him a huff from Ljuba who looked once more to the ceiling.

“A glass jar or something that would make noise when knocked over,” he added, yet he still did not enter as if there were a magic ward on the doorway keeping him out. His eyes were imploring. “And we should leave early tomorrow. I’ll watch the horse.”

“Why are you so paranoid?” she asked.

He frowned. “You cannot afford to be naive about your safety, Miss. I don’t think the people here are happy to see us.”

What a thought. LjuBa just blinked at it, thinking: The locals were barbarians. They needed the KiTai. Why wouldn’t they be happy to see the warriors around actively protecting them?

She walked to the door and shoved him out with her flat hand. “Go wash. Then get some dinner down below. We’ll discuss after breakfast our plans.”

Sighing, Ljev let her shut the door in his face. He turned with a pivot on his heel and walked back down the stairs to the main floor. LjuBa did not see the man until after her own bath.

The bathing room was not as nice as the bathroom in her home, but sufficient. She missed the hot stones and steamy water that usually filled their spacious wooden tub. And the towels; here they were simple cotton things. At home they were large long and soft, able to wrap her body twice over if necessary. But…the water was clean and fresh, and it felt so good against her skin, rinsing away two days worth of travel dirt. When she came out, dressed in her usual long sleeved slip dress, wrapping her striped robe over it, she blinked at the now-washed squire who was lacing up the front of his leather jerkin while emerging from the men’s bath. 

Ljev lifted his cool gray eyes automatically, his long wet hair flopping back. He may have been a coward, but those eyes had soul—and LjuBa felt her heart jump in her chest. LjuBa clenched her hand to it.

He immediately leapt to her, reaching out. “Are you all right?”

Catching her breath, LjuBa felt like kicking herself for losing control like that. She lifted her head, shaking him off. “I’m fine.”

She stepped back.

Those soulful eyes gazed up at her with concern, frowning. “Are you sure? I can stay up all night outside your door if you need me to.”

Shaking her head, LjuBa said, “No. You need rest as much as I do. Tomorrow we’ll be going about to find those bandits. I need you awake for that.”

With a nod, he stepped back. LjuBa watched him go, wringing out the last bit of water from the ends of his hair though his face remained contorted with worry. She half wanted to go after him, but propriety had to be honored, and a warriess had to maintain her dignity. Besides, he had to learn how to be a man, and so far he was proving to be the same old sniveling coward.

LjuBa did not go into the eating hall. It had that all-men atmosphere that she didn’t like. And despite being a warriess trained to take on any foe, it was unwise to tempt the barbaric natures of the locals by offending their sensibilities. Besides, Ljev would most likely do as requested and eat there on his own, keeping his ears open if he were wise. Of course, if a fight did start up because of him it would also provide him the opportunity to prove he was a man. And in the morning she would be ready to hear the tale and offer him criticism.

At least that was what she thought as she munched on the packed bread and meat, trying to ignore the wonderful wafting odors of sweet baked fruit in cinnamon spiced sauce and rich roasted lamb while rationing her portions. And she was about to tuck in for bed, trying to block out the laughter below that matched the raucous singing in local language, when a light knock rapped on her door.

LjuBa grabbed her sword, pulling it from her sheath. Creeping over to the door where she had set her saddlebag to stop it, just in case, she listened.

The knock came again, with a voice. “Miss!”

She stiffened, the sound of the partying downstairs overwhelming all other sound.

“Miss!” the voice called again in a louder whisper, rapping on the door just a little harder. “MiKial’s daughter!”

At once at ease, LjuBa opened the door.

Ljev stood in it with a tray of food in his hands. One of the servants stood behind him, frowning. Ljev held the tray out. “I thought you would get hungry.”

A shiver went down her arms, even as LjuBa took the tray from his hands. Ljev bowed to her then turned to go. The inn servant’s eyes were still fixed on him, grumbling unintelligibly under his breath. However, the servant then turned with a glare cast at her food tray and stomped off.

LjuBa had to bump the door closed with her hip, listening for the catch. She set the tray on the floor, just peering at the steaming food. It was perfect.

She ate her fill.

As LjuBa lay down a second time to rest, she pulled the comforter up to her chin, letting her thoughts float off. She had hardly thought through dinner. It was hard to, everything around her now so foreign to her understanding. The music in the air was more offensive, yet giddy. The peace she normally felt day in and out with the song on the wind was not there. In its place was emptiness. The uncivilized world was so empty.

So she filled it with a song to help her sleep and drifted off until morning.

Cocks crew. No morning songs, but the animal sounds were the same. LjuBa lay in bed blinking at the ceiling, wondering for a moment where she was. Then she sat up.

The third day and they still had to find her father.

LjuBa dressed, singing the song of luck as she buckled her belt, clasping it at the right time. Her eyes flickered onto the stitching in the leather, written in ancient writing of an earlier era when KiTai was the superpower of the world. Musing on that, she wondered what the world would have been like had not the demons come from the Eastern Sea and driven the KiTai warriors out of western and southern lands. The entire world would have been civilized, that’s what.

She pulled on her sword, which she had leaned against the door to alert her as Ljev had suggested, though she felt somewhat sheepish that she had given in to that fear of his, calling it caution. Grabbing her coat, her saddlebags, her things in general, LjuBa walked to the door, opening it.

Guests were coming down, several staring at her as she descended the stairs to the entrance. The open room across from the innkeeper’s desk was empty except for a few eating at the tables. Ljev was not there. So she went to the desk, turned in her key and paid for the night’s meal, trotting outside through the doors immediately after. The road was mostly empty, vendors pulling their carts over the hardening mud-caked thoroughfare.

The stables. LjuBa nodded to herself in search of them. Ljev and the horse ought to be there. If not, she would have to fulfill a warriess’s duty and teach those barbarians a lesson for thieving.

To the right, she turned, listening for the sound of animals as she followed to the side of the inn. The ground looked more perforated here; hoof prints and footprints pocking what ought to be a flat path, lumped occasionally with animal droppings. She was glad she was wearing boots.

Marching over the muck, LjuBa made her way behind the inn for a few yards where the spacious stables stood, open-doored with Ljev sitting on a bale of hay, his head down and his arms crossed around the hilt of his sword, the blade stabbed into the ground in front of him. The stable hands were giving the sleeping man a wide berth.

LjuBa cleared her throat in front of him, setting her hands onto her hips.

Ljev’s head popped up. He blinked at her, bleary-eyed.

“You were supposed to be sleeping,” she said, reaching out for the sword to yank it from the ground.

He hurried to his feet, wiping his eyes and taking the sword before she could. “I was sleeping.”

“Sitting up?” LjuBa then walked into the stables to find their horse.

Ljev followed her. “Yes.”

She shook her head, glancing back at him. It was very unlikely that he got any sleep at all. His fear clearly kept him awake all night.

The horse was well, fed and watered. LjuBa walked over to it, greeting her father’s animal with a pat on its nose. It made a throaty noise in return, clearly happy she was back. But now it was time to put it to work again. LjuBa gathered up the blankets and saddle to place it back on for the day’s ride.

“I made some inquiries last night about the bandits,” Ljev whispered as she snugly buckled the saddle on. “The locals here say that the bandits stick to the high roads to waylay merchants. We’ve already traveled far into the Eastern Provenance. They say we ought to head south to FeiGo Village. But I was looking at the map, thinking if I were a bandit I wouldn’t go to FeiGo. The land itself is surrounded by forest with nowhere to sell their spoils.”

LjuBa just stared at him as he continued to talk, his words making lots of sense, but it was more than he had ever said in one setting to her. It was strange, in fact, listening to him just talk. Warriors didn’t do much talking. Their actions proved their worth. And though this man had a lot to learn about being a warrior, he made sense.

“…To the east is the Barbarian Fence, but I think it is unlikely they would attempt to cross that. The only conclusion I can make is that they headed north. What do you think?”

Blinking, LjuBa exhaled. It was a lot of information. Of course, she had only one plan in mind anyway. So she said it. “I intend to go to the tower.”

Ljev cringed, looking out the door. “And I was hoping we could avoid that.”

“Why?” LjuBa stared at him.

But Ljev just shook his head. “No. You’re right. If we want to know about bandits we should go to the tower. The warriors here would know best. But…whatever happens, don’t get mad at me.”

She stared, setting a hand to her hip. “Why?