Y’kira shivered in the cold night air and slid her gloves under the horse’s mane for warmth. Her stomach loudly groaned and she began to regret not listening to Henrich’s pleas for her to eat before leaving. J’nar leant over to her, handing across a small wooden container bound with a leather strap,
“Tis no longer hot but it’ll be filling enough, we’ll keep walking the horses so you can eat astride. It will be hours till we get to an inn, better you eat now so we can get to shelter afore daybreak.”
Y’kira managed a shy “Thank you” before struggling to get the ties undone whilst in gloves. There was still some steam rising from the roasted meat and the smell made her stomach complain again. Ripping her glove off with her teeth she grabbed some bread and began to scoop up vegetables, ushering them into her mouth. There was a low laugh from beside her, she glared at him.
“I mean no offence; I’ve never seen a lady so... appreciative of her food”
* * * * *
J’nar cocked his head to the side listening to the trees as Y’kira slumped in her saddle, dozing. Strange shadows cast by moonlight drifted around them and he spoke a prayer under his breath. Y’kira’s head shot up at the sound and she seemed disorientated for a moment, J’nar watched her, curious.
“Is something amiss?”
Y’kira narrowed her eyes for a moment as though assessing his character then answered,
“I thought I heard something but I suppose I was dreaming, it matters not”
J’nar seemed satisfied with that and went back to watching the trees. Y’kira sat looking at him for a while before she took a breath and spoke some more,
“You are an odd man J’nar.”
“Oh?”
“You,” She seemed at a loss for words, “you are different to most”
J’nar sat back, “Thank you, I do try to be different.”
Suddenly his horse shied and he turned quickly, drawing a sword to protect Y’kira. Without looking over his shoulder he spoke to her, his voice for her ears alone,
“I’d not suggest going any further, perhaps you’d care to camp out tonight?”
She did not answer, her heart, loud in her ears, seemed to also be in her throat. He looked at her over his shoulder and met her eyes briefly before she turned her head away. Her mind was racing as she told herself that there was nothing to be fluttery about.
As she lay wrapped in her cloak she tried to forget the sound of his voice. It was odd; but she suddenly realized that nobody had spoken just for her since before her marriage. No matter how incidental and irrelevant the words were there was something special about the sound of someone speaking in a way so no one else hears but you. Her mind started to play tricks on her, changing the words to be something she told herself she was not supposed to think about.
* * * * *
It was twilight when J’nar stopped suddenly. Y’kira looked at him in confusion,
“Why have we stopped?”
J’nar looked at the ground for a moment before dismounting and going to one of his saddlebags. He cleared his throat as he took out a carved box and a key,
“Before we left I, ah, I asked Kati to gather a few things.”
He held it out and stared at the ground some more, she took the box, looking at it curiously.
“What’s in it?”
Taking the reigns from her he waited while she slid down.
“It’s, ah, it’s... have you looked at the moon?”
Y’kira raised her eyes to the moon just visible above the trees, it was full. She gasped, looking down at the box,
“But, oh my... you know?”
Looking at him Y’kira wondered for a moment if the ground had grown legs he was staring at it so hard. He furrowed his forehead before speaking,
“I, um, I... well I... ”
Y’kira had never seen him like this before but she wasn’t able to ponder much on his behavior, she could already feel the energy rising. It was a slightly nauseating feeling.
“It doesn’t matter, I’ll... I’ll,” Now she was getting it herself “I’ll find, um, somewhere...”
He looked up, “There’s a clearing through those trees, it’s a little hard to get to but... “
“Perfect, thank you... um, will you be... where will you be?”
He moved his footing a bit to avoid a horse hoof, “I’ll make camp, you’ll, well, you’ll probably want to sleep.”
Y’kira smiled,
“Thank you.” Then turned and walked through to the clearing.
J’nar watched her as she walked away his heart thumping in his chest so loud he was sure that she could hear it as she went. His cheeks flamed as his mind threw images of the first time he stumbled on her at full moon.
He had been walking in the woods, sick of the heat and noise of the quarters when he heard singing, unable to resist he went to investigate. It was when he first saw a flash of skin that he should have turned to go but there was something powerful about the voice, something alluring.
Looking through the trees he had seen her, naked, dancing round a pool of water that sparkled in the light. He was actually rather proud of the fact that after a few minutes he forgot entirely that she was not wearing anything so absorbed he was in watching the ritual but afterward he realized that not all of his mind was so pure. It was luck that the dreams had come after he had a separate sleeping area or he would have had hell to pay. Each full moon he woke sweating, her image burnt into his soul. It took all his strength to avoid walking on those nights, to avoid the place he knew she’d be but never had he strayed from his room, pacing, shadow dancing and hitting things until he saw her shadow slip back through the large kitchen door. It would not be so easy tonight.
She opened the box, the creak of the hinges swept away on the wind. Looking inside she smiled,
“Kati, be blessed J’niah.”
Taking out a light wooden bowl she filled it from the bottle of spring water Kati had packed. Placing it in the center of the clearing she finished unpacking and set the box beneath a low bush. Then she started to meditate.
As he sat by the fire he heard her voice, drifting through the leaves, calling. He stared into the flame, focusing all of his energy on being strong, on staying where he was and respecting her. Summoning strength he called upon J’niah and Domkhet,
“Tsuita J‘niah, Tsukhet Domkhet, Tai lia tsu kah tol khon”
[Strong from calm J’niah, strong from fear D’omkhet, I call power to infuse me]
As Y’kira stared at the bowl of water she chanted,
“Tsuita J’niah. Ti lia pa tain no kia khon”
[Strong from calm J’niah, I call, bring forth?, infuse me]
She rose and began to dance, calling, summoning.
J’nar started suddenly; he felt as though he had drifted to sleep but was more awake now than ever yet there was something dragging at him. He stood and moved over to the horses, they skittered and shied. Confused he waked back to the fire, moving things about and checking again for rocks under the place he had laid out for Y’kira. He crouched by the place, trying to avoid casting a shadow when he felt hands at his back, in a second the offender was on the ground. But it was Y’kira who was looking up at him. He was about to question her when he noticed that she was still undressed. Letting go her arms he cleared his throat and turned away but the laugh that came from Y’kira’s throat was not her own. J’nar turned quickly back, searching her eyes.
“Indeed she was right, you do see more than you should.”
J’nar narrowed his eyes before asking,
“Who are you? Where is Y’kira?”
Un-Y’kira laughed again,
“Oh, she’s here, just sleeping... I might add that you are not quite yourself my boy, or should I say man? Or perhaps you aren’t as pure as the stories say?”
J’nar moved uncomfortably, he was well aware of his predicament. She smiled and J’nar shivered, it was eerie seeing someone else in her eyes,
“Oh, silly boy, you need not be so testy, I’m not here long, I just wanted to say hello and see what she was talking about.” Smiling knowingly she added, “Twill be a good match.”
J’nar was just about to ask what she was talking about when Y’kira slumped forward and J’nar went to catch her. As she looked up J’nar was overjoyed to see the right person in the eyes that he leant forward and kissed her without thinking.