Ch.18

Nearly three weeks of arduous travel had passed as the wagon Erik was traveling in stopped at a small, rural village.

"This will be the last village before we pass into the wilderness. Getting food'll be difficult then... Unless we encounter some natives to trade with." Chester said, whiping his brow of sweat.

"We will stock up on food to last us another week. After that, we will hunt." Erik hopped out of the back of the wagon, shifting through his belongings and taking out his coin pouch.

There were two hens and a rooster they'd procured from a passing town, their clucking overlapping what Chester had said. "Hunt...? I, I can't hunt! I can barely walk straight!"

"You won't need to." Erik spoke up, already walking into the village. The village was extremely small, with about twenty small homes. The locals seemed to be cautious of the stranger who appeared out of nowhere. Erik met with the village's leader, an old man whose grey beard was larger than the sum of his head.

"I ask you, young man, what it is that you need from our humble village?"

"Food for our travels. I will pay in silver for however much you can spare."

"Silver...?" The leader raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "Your coin will help us greatly in paying taxes to the lord, but we truly need all the food we can get."

"I understand. In that case, I ask for a woman."

"...A woman?

"Yes. A concubine, you could say. The youngest you can offer. She will need to require all of her limbs, be mentally sane, and comely. She will also need to a virgin."

"I... Do not know what you mean. Mently sane? What does that mean?"

"Mentally sane. It means, not possessed nor deranged."

"Ah! You will not need to worry about that." The leader raised his hand, telling one of the women next to him: "Go gather the women!! Spread word that a noble wants to take a concubine!"

Before long, three young women stood outside the small home. Each one was dirty and wore old, lightly ragged dresses. "I hope they are to your liking, uh, milord."

"How old are they?"

"Oh... Uhm, they should be sixteen, seventeen, and nineteen. We yet to marry 'em off since the war begun. They are also educated. The local cleric comes to teach often."

"Right. Can they cook and clean?"

"Certainly, sir. They have learned for long, now."

"Virgins?"

"Yes, milord."

"Parents?"

"Uhm... Milord?" He questioned, confused by his words.

"Do they have parents?" Erik clarified.

"Ah... Mothers, fathers. Aside from, her." He raised his finger to one of the girls with light blonde hair and dull grey eyes, akin to the sky. "She lost her parents when she was very young. A tragedy."

"I see." Erik stepped up to the girl and raised her chin with the tip of his finger. "What's your name?"

"Astra..." She spoke quietly and with averted eyes staring at the ground.

"Very well." He turned to the village leader, taking out ten coins and dropping it in the old man's hand.

The village leader seemed to be terrified of dropping them, shakily clasping his held-out hands and jumbling the coins together. "M-M-M-M-Milord!! This is too much!" He stammered excitedly.

"Enough. Consider it a donation by my grace."

He did not bother to introduce himself to her, to flirt, question her, or to even speak at all. It wasn't until nearly half an hour later, upon reaching a small stream, that he spoke for the first time since their departure.

"Stop here and let the horse drink."

"Got it." Chester did as told, reigning back the horse to a stop, while Erik looked to the young woman, sitting modestly, with her hands clasped neatly together.

"Do you know how to wash yourself?"

"Uhm... Yes." The girl muttered.

"Speak clearly."

Her attempt to comply made her raise her voice and firmly speak, though she still took a moment to think ahead before opening her mouth. "...Yes."

"Then how come you are so filthy?"

She didn't seem to know how to answer, hesitating to respond before ultimately staying silent.

"The clergy taught you until now, but I will teach you better. From now on, you will be a priestess, much like a nun within the clergy. You will revoke your previous faith in the father, and worship me. You will serve me, and only me, and you will henceforth refer to me as lord. Your role will be to be clean and prepared to offer your body at a moment's notice, as well as act with dignity and grace. As a priestess of mine, you will be required to wash thoroughly. Sanitation is a virtue." He handed her a bar of soap, simple and made of oil and ash. He could tell she didn't know what it was, having to explain it to her: "It is called soap. It is, basic, but fine enough. Wet it with water and wash everywhere, including your hair. Once you have finished, wash a second time."

Without a word, she took the bar with her head down and hopped out of the carriage.

The stream of flowing water was only a few steps away.

"Milord, where do I bathe?"

"There is fine. There are no eyes to lay upon you out here aside from my own, which you shouldn't worry about. And Chester will surely keep himself occupied in another direction."

"Ah... I surely will, milord."

She was uncomfortable, shy, and nervous, slowly undoing the laces of her dress and stripping down.

She eventually took everything off and began to wash carefully.

Erik looked upon her body, realizing how truly frail and starved she was, able to see the edges of the bones outlined in her skin: her spine, ankles, hips, chest, and wrists.

He looked to the surrounding boxes. There was little food left, aside from the chickens which he was not going to butcher; only some pieces of stale bread, vegetables, and eggs, enough to last another day or two split between the three of them.

He needed to divide the food up, reaching for the leftover bread wrapped in linen. He began to eat it, Astra looking over her shoulder at him the moment she heard the crisp breaking of the crust.

He ate as much as he could before getting off the wagon.

"When you're done, wear this." He placed down a set of clothing on the edge of the wagon. "It's men's clothing, but for now, just wear it." He then grabbed his sword and shield before wandering off into the tallgrass.

He went hunting in the nearby woods, barely stepping into the expanse of trees before stopping.

How easy it was to find an animal to hunt, to discover a deer drinking from a watering hole nearby, an animal with especially keen hearing and craven instincts, yet it victim before it could even react, his blade being driven through its skull out of nowhere.

He returned back to the wagon moments later, holding the buck's corpse over his shoulder, and with a bunch of wood and branches in his arms.

"Where'd ya get that!?" The baffled Chester asked. "You only been gone a few minutes."

"It was nearby. Take the wood and start a fire. We will camp for the night."

"Ah, yes, of course, milord."

By dark, a warm fire was crackling. Erik had butchered the deer masterfully, cooking all of it to eat now, and wrapping the rest in cloth to eat later. Even the pelt was not going to go to waste as a cloak similar to that of a blanket.

The three huddled around the fire, waiting for the meat to finish roasting.

The crickets had begun to chirp in the tall grass, the only bit of sound to the ears. Erik wasn't much for conversation, and though they had been traveling for three weeks, Chester had yet to muster up the courage to get to know him, a fear of stepping over the line between their very different upbringing.

He sighed rather loudly. "I wish I had a drink in meh hand. A nice, big ole pint o'ale."

Moments passed before Astra mustered up a response. "...I have never had ale." She looked to Erik, seeing if he'd be unhappy about her speaking on her own. He didn't seem to mind, or care at all really, only focusing on tanning the deer's hide with his dagger.

"Never? Well, I suppose that only makes sense. A young girl like you probably wouldn't like it anyway. It's not for taste, but for the feelin of happiness it brings." Moments more of silence between them passed. Chester cleared his throat, keeping his head down and glancing to Erik. Finally, he thought to ask him. "...Milord, may I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Ah, well... I have been wondering, where exactly are we going?"

"Tel'vane."

"Tel'vane? The... The land of the huntsmen?"

"Yes."

"Milord..." Chester's expression turned grim. "Would we not have to cross the sea?"

"Perhaps. The maps of Tel'vane all differ from each other."

"Milord... What is Tel'vane?" Asked Astra.

"I'll tell you what it is!" Chester pointed his finger. "It's a land full of barbaric savages, huntsmen warriors. The people are brutes! Pagans! Raiding wherever they go, taking wealth, food, and women to satisfy their urges. If they catch us, they'll surely enslave us."

"Perhaps." Erik nonchalantly said.

"Milord... Why are we going there?"

"Because it is the best option."

"Best option?"

"I plan to build a kingdom, all of my own. I ultimately chose Tel'vane because they are a shattered and wartorn empire of petty kingdoms and clans. Easier to dominate than a united kingdom as large as Highland. You may consider yourself fortunate to be apart of this moment. Refuse if you wish, return by yourself. However, what I am offering you now, is a position you will most certainly never reach in your life, if you were to turn away. A position by my side, as my steward, and as my woman. Know that wealth, intelligence, happiness, will be in store."

The two looked to each other, swayed by Erik's words, yet worried. They ultimately were too enticed to turn back, thus they stayed and ate without another word on the topic.