Chapter 35
Two days later, the stench was indeed nigh unbearable. Zechariah rode in the heat of the afternoon sun, sweating uncomfortably as he breathed through a thick cloth. Wrapped up inside the cloth were many crushed flowers, helping to mask the stench of festering flesh and feces as the deceased relieved their bowels in death. Already the bodies were beginning to swell and bloat and the occasional release of desiccated flatulence was so intense that the rear guards refused to ride at their post. Not that Zechariah could blame them. The dead stank worse than he'd have thought possible, even through his makeshift plague doctor's mask.
As the caravan had drawn closer to Uthar, Zechariah was pleased by the brief distraction as they spotted several ships sailing past peakward, flying the Norgraithian flags and Zechariah wondered if King Aurvan was aboard one of the vessels. Perhaps this was only a preliminary force, as the fleet seemed smaller in size than the whole armada that he had sailed past Hyran. Sending supplies to the front line? Sending reinforcements? Why not all the troops? It was a destraction at least, long enough till one of the dead released more gas and made Zechariah retch. The horse whinnied in protest and Zechariah leaned forward patting it on the rear, trying to comfort the beast. But by Gorgoth and all that is dead, even all that is unholy, this was becoming unbearable.
Finally one of the guards raised a cry, 'Uthar ahead!' and some cheered. Many found it too difficult to properly muster the enthusiasm as they mourned the dead, but others still tried to help lift their spirits. Zechariah was torn. On the one hand, he wouldn't have to ride with the dead any further. On the other hand, it was Uthar. Uthar. The fucking capital city. He had used to dream about visiting the place once upon a time. Yet he had never envisioned that he would approach the city walls of the most magnificent city in all the nations, bound and a slave. Then again, he had never dreamed that he would have demons haunting and ruining his life either so, he figured, all things considered this wasn't the greatest unexpected thing that had happened to him.
He handed off the reigns to a poor servant who gagged and coughed violently, before Zechariah took a deep breath, and gave his mask to the man before leaping off the cart and dashing as far away as he could before letting out his breath and panting heavily for fresh air. Even this far away, he could smell the stench of death. Or was that just the stench having stained his nose? He shuddered, and sniffed his clothes, hoping they didn't also smell of death. He couldn't tell. Sighing, he jogged up to the front of the caravan and approached Lelia's carriage. He hopped up on to the foot board, and quickly found out that yes, the smell was on his clothes, as Lelia gagged and shoed him away.
"By the divines!" She coughed. "Get some water and at least try to wash yourself off! And make the servants get you some new cloths and....leave those one's behind! I'll not have you in here smelling like that."
"S-sorry Mistress." Zechariah said ashamed, and hopped off the carriage. Of course he stank. He'd been driving the dead for hours. He stripped off his cloths till he was naked, only mildly ashamed of his public nudity, and called for some water and cloths, both of which were thrown at him from a safe distance. Followed quickly by a pumice stone and a hard ball of soap. He sniffed the soap, and scoffed at himself as he couldn't smell it either. Taking the large water skin he doused himself, soaped up and scrubbed down, then rinsed off with the rest of the water. He picked up the items and left his old cloths and ran to catch up with the caravan. He had fallen behind, and gave it a wide berth so as to avoid the cart. Jogging naked, he dried off, though some sweat did glisten, but that was to be expected. He threw the items back to the servants save for the cloths, and dressed himself, before finally returning to Lelia.
"Is that better Mistress? May I enter?" He asked hopping up once again upon the foot board, and nodded to the captain as he saw him siting within opposite Lelia.
Lelia nodded her head. "Yes, you may enter. Sit there please." She said gesturing to the place next to the captain. "Your hands please." Lelia said offering her own. Zechariah extended his and let Lelia take hold of his. She held them a short ways apart, and allowed the captain of the guard to begin wrapping a length of rope around his wrists. Zechariah's heart skipped in fear as he willingly submit himself to being bound. It wasn't the first time he'd been captive but, any time freedom is removed, whether willingly or otherwise, it is an intense moment. The captain measured out the rest of the length and then pulled Zechariah's hands down and begun to tie the tail of the rope to Zechariah's ankles.
"As soon as we get into the grounds of my residence, we can remove the bindings. Until then, you'll remain in here with me and the captain as our 'prisoner'. Is that amenable to you?" Lelia asked as the captain finished tying Zecharaih up rather expertly. Enough slack to shuffle around if needed, but tight enough he couldn't slip out. It wasn't perfect, with some effort and time Zechariah figured he could escape the bonds but not while under a watchful eye. Not that escaping was part of the plan but, Zechariah couldn't help but think about escaping, just in case something horrible went wrong. They had, after all, developed a rather bad habit of going horribly wrong at every opportunity. Whatever 'they' were.
"Yes Mistress." Zechariah's eyes flittered back and forth, looking everywhere at once. He felt there was more that expected for him to say but he knew not what. So, to his regret he ventured, "I am at your disposal."
The captain gave him a flat look, and Lelia smirked lightly, trying to suppress a grin. She deftly flipped out a small fan and under the guise of fanning herself, covered her mouth as she laughed a single silent shrug of the shoulders. "You are a slave Zechariah, not a mindless automaton. Whilst it is frequent that slaves and owners have such a degrading dynamic, it is not one that I desire with my slaves. Speak respectfully, but answer my questions truly and fairly. And you are not without your own will. You may also ask things of me should you need or desire them. Within reason of course."
"I beg your pardon Mistress. I'm...I'm just very new to all of this. But I do agree with your plan. I think it the best course of action."
"It's okay Zechariah. I'm new to this also. It will take time but Gerb, yourself and I will find the right groove for your new relationship eventually. Defer on the side of silent respect when in public, but in my private company, you can speak more freely. Remember?" Lelia asked.
Zechariah looked confused, glancing form her to the captain the back again quickly. "Is...this in public? Or in the privacy of your own company?" Zechariah asked.
"Oh...well...my guards and servants are like family to me. But, I suppose it's a fair question. With the captain here, you can speak freely. He may look at you with such darkened scowls but he will not gossip or betray me." Lelia said reassuring Zechariah with some levity, an in turn receiving one of those darkened scowls.
"V-very well Mistress." Zechariah said sitting back and twisting his wrists in his bondage. The rope itched and bit into his skin uncomfortably. "What if something goes wrong? I'm unable to defend myself like this." Zechariah asked worriedly.
Lelia frowned thinking. "Well, I don't anticipate that we should have a repeat of earlier. But you do raise a good point. Captain?" She asked turning towards him for advice.
The captain grunted in response, stroking his beard. "I can cut you free pretty quick I think. But...every second does count in combat." He shrugged. "I could tie them looser if you like My Lady, but it might be apparent upon close inspection."
November 17th, 2021
November 17th, 2021
"No, I don't believe that is wise." Lelia said. "If we do fall under scrutiny, it would be safer to pass inspection. It is risky either way but I believe that we will be safer conducting ourselves as proper captors. However, we should be vigilant and prudent. Captain, might you provide me with your dagger lest we need to cut Zechariah free and you are preoccupied?"
"Certainly My Lady." the captain replied unbuckling the sheath from his thigh. Lelia hiked up her skirt and twisted, exposing her leg to him and bunching up her dress between her legs to try and maintain her modesty. Zechariah blushed, looking upon the fine smooth skin of her leg, and tried to look away innocently but failed miserably. Seeing this, Lelia blushed in kind. The captain at least maintained professionalism as without hesitation the captain strapped the blade to her inner thigh. "I doubt they would dare to search your person but even if they should," the captain said fastening it tightly, "I doubt any soldier who values his life would dare frisk you there."
"I should hope not. I may not have a husband or be betrothed to another but you shouldn't need the protection of a man to avoid molestation. If someone tries anything like that they'll quickly find themselves a eunuch." Lelia answered confidently with a firm nod as she dropped her dress and petticoats back down over her leg.
"That is a terrifying though." Zechariah said slowly and jumped in surprise as the captain barked a laugh.
"Didn't know your new Mistress had a violent streak in her did ya?" The captain asked ruefully.
"I do not!" Lelia protested, kicking him in the shin weakly with her good foot. "At least, it's not a streak. I'll defend myself and my own, but that hardly equates to sadism thank you very much." She said turning her nose up at him.
"Of course My Lady." the Captain said smirking, but the smile faded as he glanced again at Zechariah.
Trying to keep light and get on his good side, Zechariah asked, "You speak with such familiarity with each other? May I ask why this is?"
"The Captain and I have a rather significant history together. It is merely a matter of shared experience that has led him to such inappropriate speech." Lelia explained vaguely.
Zechariah inquired further, "And, why is it that you only ever call him Captain?"
"That's cause that's our business." The Captain stated flatly.
"Oh come now Captain, you needn't be so prickly." Lelia said scoffing and waving a dismissing hand towards him. "I apologize for his demeanor Zechariah. He doesn't like people very much."
"That's not..." The Captain began to protest, but Lelia continued on cutting him off.
"But the reason I simply call him Captain is, because that's who he is or has been to me for a very long time. Captain was one of the first men I met when I moved to Uthar to wed. Captain had be a recent successor to his Father who had retired from his position due to an injury. So from the first day, it was, "This is my Captain. Your safety is his responsibility. He'll protect you, and keep you safe for as long as he is alive."" Lelia said, giving herself a gruff voice to imitate a more elderly man. She smiled looking at the Captain. "Of course, he does have a real name. But he's always been Captain to me. Always kept me safe. Almost never let me out of his sight."
"You two sound very close." Zechariah said, surprising himself with a slight jolt of jealousy. "To have such a close friend and companion with you all your life. Tis an admirable thing."
"Indeed." The Captain said crossing his arms leaning back. "My Lady was determined to get me fired I tell you. Every day and more constantly, she would run off over there, steal this little bauble here, a right terror in the castle."
"As I recall," Lelia said sharing her piece, "It was also I who saved you more than few times, waking you up while you slept on the job? And later, protecting you from arrows and the claws of your foes?"
"Asleep?" Zechariah asked looking at the captain first in shock, then in smiling mockery.
"Not sleeping. Merely resting one's eyes in the bright day. And I am willing to concede that you may have saved my ass from death on occasion, but I saved your life more. Which is ultimately meaningless when considering the number of losses that our foes suffered."
"Indeed. If there is one thing we can agree on, is that we understand each other well, which has led to us being a rather formidable force. Which I suppose you witnessed first hand. The horses on fire trick which, though gruesome and horrible, is one such force that we've used before. It gives an almost assured victory to the Captain. Though, sadly, it is rare to have a violent conflict and not have casualties on both sides." Lelia finished frowning in sorrow some.
"Indeed." The Captain said solemnly. "They were good men. They will be missed."
"I am sorry for my part in that." Zechariah said. "I see why you resent me so, and will not blame you or the others for it. I would be resentful of mine-self to."
Lelia sat in silence, observing the two talk. Her heart beat hard for she valued her Captain's opinion on almost all things, and she wished he to come to agreement with Zechariah for she knew not how long Zechariah might be in her company. The cart jostled, and Lelia closed the window to the outside sounds as the road as people talked beyond.
"Shalzar's black heart." The Captain grunted as he sat back and folded his arms. "You fought well, and you seem to want to serve My Lady. I'll not bear you ill will."
Zechariah smiled, and he reached forward to shake the Captains hand. He forgot however, that his hands were bound, and soon tugged himself forward and a little off balance. "I uh...My apologies Captain. I'd shake your hand but it seems a little difficult at the moment. So I will say instead, thank you, and I shall endeavor to bring her only success."
The Captain sat forward and clasp one of Zechariah's hands in his. "For a farm-boy slave, you're fairly well spoken." He said shaking Zechariah's hand. "He may even do well in the courts. As a slave of course." The Captain said turning to Lelia as he mocked Zechariah.
"Captain," Lelia said rolling her eyes. "Must you always try to conceal a compliment? Are you incapable of saying anything encouraging to another being without throwing something more insulting along with it?"
"Impossible I'm afraid." The Captain said reclining once again. "It's in my blood. Required by the laws of these wonderful lands: 'No Captain or leader of men may express gratitude nor encouragement to another lest they become apathetic and greedy. These may only be expressed if under the guise of a greater insult.'" The Captain said with sarcastically dramatic 'quoting' of decree. Lelia rolled her eyes and the Captain laughed again eyes sparkling. It was clear to Zechariah that he loved Lelia dearly, and perhaps not as a lover, but as a friend might. Or even a Father.
Zechariah sat back watching them bicker at one another with great envy. That was a friendship he had never seen, and it pained him deeply to witness a connection of that level shared so freely for all to see. It baffled him, that such a powerful expression was even possible for not even in the company of his brother had he ever felt like he could laugh and argue so freely. Once again, he sat in the corner at the table with only shadows to accompany him, as he watched others partake in life that he had never tasted. Once again, though he sat not inches from people, he was alone. The ache radiated deeper than within. Through him, beyond him, to every forgotten star that cried out unheard, there was only isolation.
Then the laughter of a deep voice, the scornful mockery, and Zechariah looked out the window to see Gerb shouting something to the wagons behind. He kept pace with the caravan, hoping along with his crutch, and as he watched him fight on and on, Zechariah saw that, at least in part, he wasn't truly alone. Though he had not the long term friendship and unity that The Captain and Lelia shared, he did have friendship, and companionship. And perhaps, if he started trying to prepare those friendships to last a life time, then though he may never catch up fully with others who have known friends since birth, he at least could share many memories with these people, and that was something that he wanted nurture.
Zechariah turned back to Lelia and the Captain and went to speak once again, but was interrupted by a loud call "HALT!". The Carriage crawled to a stop and Zechariah knew that they were at the walls.
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