'You said you'd seen it done before,' Jayna said, handing Auric a bowl of soup.
He had propped himself up against the wall, Mouse asleep in his lap. Jayna had offered him some food, after Auric had told her the full account of what had happened, but had said he wouldn't be able to stay for too much longer. Their father would be back soon for his lunch, and they'd be in enough trouble if he found out they had talked to a stranger, let alone let one into the flat. Flynn had fallen asleep on a cot in the corner of the room, and spent the rest of the morning snoring loudly.
'What's that?' Auric asked.
'The stitching. You said you'd seen it done on people.'
Auric took the bowl, slurped at the rim. Suddenly, his hunger hit him, and he realised it had been longer than a full day since he last ate. He poured some into Mouse's mouth, then tilted his head, working his throat from the outside until the dog swallowed.
'Aye. Saw it back in the war, before Vallendred overran us and took all that was rightly ours, put his empire's name over it all.'
Jayna sat down beside him, reached out to stroke Mouse. 'You fought then? Fought for the resistance?'
'Aye. I fought. I was young and stupid. Thought maybe I could do some good. But no good comes of war. All I ended up doing was watch a lot of good men die for naught.'
'Do you really believe that? That it was all for nothing?'
'We lost, didn't we? So, it doesn't really matter much now.'
'But we couldn't just let Vallendred take all of Nothstrum without a fight.'
'Why not? Would've had the same result, only there'd be less corpses lying unmarked in the fields out there.'
'Maybe, but we still have our freedoms, for the most part anyway. Vallendred could've made us all slaves, but he didn't, cause he knew how strong we were, knew we wouldn't take that lying down. That's because of men who fought, men like you.'
Auric scowled. 'Our freedoms, eh? You are too young. We did terrible things, truly terrible things, in the name of our freedoms. Those types of things leave a wound, one that can't be stitched closed. Those wounds leave ugly scars' Auric looked down at his hands. The shakes again. He rubbed them together, tried to hide the quivering. 'What is freedom worth when you throw away your soul, when you throw away all goodness?'
'I don't think you've done that. You're good to him.' Jayna nodded at Mouse.
A hot feeling rose at the back of Auric's throat. He blinked hard, his eyes stinging. 'Might be the only good thing I've done.' He took a big swallow of the soup. It burned the back of his throat, somehow felt right. It occurred to Auric then that he knew very little about these people who had let him into their home. 'You said your father would be back soon. What about your mother? Where is she?'
Jayna looked down at her hands. 'Gone. Dead. I don't know. Our da works the fields outside of town all day. Most of the time it's just me and Flynn.'
'And you do all the cooking? All the cleaning?'
Jayna shrugged. 'Someone has to. Flynn helps a bit, where he can.'
'You have your aunty, though? Flynn said that's where you learned your sowing.'
'Well, sort of. We see her now and then. She showed me a few things, but I mostly figured it out by myself. That's the way it usually goes around here.'
A silence fell between them. Auric finished his soup, handed Jayna the bowl. 'Thank you again for what you did. That was…very brave.'
'Well, my da always says, "you got a thing needs doing, you do it. You can always worry about the what-fors later."'
'Hmm. Sounds like someone I could agree with.' Auric pushed himself to his feet, hauling Mouse up with him. The dog's breathing had steadied, but there was still no sign of consciousness. 'I'd better leave you and your brother be. Pass my thanks along to him as well.'
Auric walked to the door and Jayna held it open for him. 'Will you go home? Do you have somewhere to stay?'
Auric chewed at his lip for a moment. 'I have some coin on me,' he lied. 'I'll find something.'
A concerned smile passed over Jayna. 'There's a decent inn back near the gates. I worked in the kitchens for a while. Tell Halford I sent you. Big man, round face. He's kind.'
'I will. Good luck to you.'
'And you both.'
Auric walked away, and the door closed behind him. The sun shone hot, and the mud in the street had mostly dried to a cracked top. Auric wandered south, not knowing where he was going, but knowing he would eventually make it back to the gate. He felt a lump form in his throat as he walked through the quiet streets. His vision blurred behind watery eyes.
'Cmon, boy. Wake up. I just need you to wake up,' he said, dripping snot from his nose. But no licks came, no concerned eyes. Mouse just flopped about, drooped like rags.
Auric didn't know how long he wandered, but he found himself outside the inn near the town gates. He looked up at the sign. It showed a mug of ale dripping with condensation, frothy head overflowing. Auric stood there for a moment, then shoved the door open with his shoulder.
It was quiet inside, other than the tinkle of the bell above the door. The only people were the large man behind the bar who must've been Halford, a woman, a young girl and a soldier dressed in the dark colours of Vallendred's imperial army—a captain, by the stripes on his shoulder. They sat at a table, eating bread and stew, and turned to look when he entered. The girl dropped her spoon, put a hand to her forehead like she was in pain. Auric narrowed his eyes at the captain, then walked up to the bar.
'I've had a shitty day, I've got no money and my dog might die. I don't suppose I could work off a drink or two. I'm handy with an axe and I don't mind cleanin'.'
The barman took it all in with timid apprehension. He looked down at Mouse, saw the wounds, the skin stretched tight across his flank. 'Look, I—'
Auric cut him off. 'Jayna said you were kind.'
Halford ran a hand over his bald head, sighed. 'Alright. One drink. But you'd better put him down. It's bad enough having animals inside, let alone at the bar.'
'Thank you,' Auric said.
He carried Mouse over to one of the tables, set him down underneath it, gave him a pat. 'I won't be long. You just sit tight.'
He went back to the bar. Halford had his back turned, stood at a barrel, filling a mug with ale. 'Don't think I know you, friend. But Jayna's got a good head on her shoulders. If she vouches for you, then I guess I do too.' He turned and set the mug down in front of Auric.
Auric took it, pressed the rim to his mouth, felt the cool, bubbly liquid slide down his throat, felt his hands settle. 'Auric. I live a few miles out of town. Keep to myself mostly.'
'Nothin' wrong with that. I presume you know me as Halford.'
Auric swallowed. Let out a satisfied sound. 'Aye. Jayna said as much. Do you know if she's okay? Does her father treat her and her brother well?'
Halford puffed out his cheeks. 'Can't say as I know much about that. Haven't spoken to her in months. Seems you'd know more than me.'
A chair scraped behind Auric. Boots stepped across the inn, up to the bar. Auric took another swallow of ale, set his mug down carefully. A hand clasped around his forearm. Auric turned slowly, looked down at the hand, looked up into the dark eyes of the captain as he frowned back at him.
'Did you say your name was Auric?'
He could've lied, could've finished his drink and walked away, no trouble. But at this stage, he didn't think he even cared to, and with the drink in him, the notion of a little trouble was starting to sound appealing.
'That's right.'
'As in, "The Blackhand?"'
He nodded. 'I've been called that before.'
The captain stared for a moment. His jaw trembled. 'I should gut you where you sit, cut your head off and deliver it to the Emperor.'
Auric smiled. 'You should take your hand off me, is what you should do.'
There was another scraping sound from behind him, and the woman shouted, 'Liandra, no.'
Auric turned to see the young girl dart across the inn. She crouched under that table where he had lain Mouse and put her hands on him. Auric shook the captain's hand off his arm and rose from his stool. 'What are you doing? Leave him alone.'
The woman, too, was running across the inn. She grasped the girl by the shoulders and pulled her away from Mouse. 'I told you to leave it. Why won't you listen to me, child?' she berated the girl.
'What'd you do?' Auric shouted. He rushed to the table, bent down, reached out for Mouse. Wetness, warm and slimy on his hand, Mouse's tongue licking him. Auric stuck his head under the table. Mouse's big, dark eyes looked up at him, shining with a look somewhere between joyful and exhausted.
The tears flowed then. Auric grabbed Mouse around the shoulders, pulled him into his arms, squeezed him tight. 'I thought you were gone, boy. I thought I'd lost you.'
He sat there, on the floor of the inn, blubbing away, probably looking a right madman. But he didn't care. Mouse was awake. The dog licked his face, gave a yap, and he put him down. Mouse stood on his own, weakly, but he managed.
Auric wiped his face, gave a little chuckle and turned around. The girl stood there, shrouded in her mother's arms. The captain still frowned from the bar. 'What did you do?' Auric said, his voice small, catching in his throat.
The girl stared at him. Her lip quivered a little. She blinked hard, wiped her own tears. 'Mouse just needed some help finding his way back, is all.'
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