AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sunewildly shook his head, his eyes again flashing with panic, and he again lurched toward the door.Andcurse it, he’d already escaped three full-grown men, he was nearly as tall asLouisawas, and she would be no match for him, would she?Therewas no chance of forcing him to stay, but he still needed help, she needed to think, think…
“Isthere anyone else you know who could help you?” she asked. “Anyoneat — at the camp?Orat your mountain, even?”
Sune’sthroat bobbed, his eyes darting back toLouisa’sface — but then, thank the gods, he nodded.Nodded, and very clearly waved his hand up and south to indicate the mountain, even as he edged toward the door again.Tryingto leave again, to go home again.Towhere he knew he could find help.
But— no.No.Hecouldn’t travel all that way alone.Notlike this.Louisacouldn’t dare risk it.Andshe lurched back toward the door, holding his eyes, drawing herself as tall as she could.
“Right, then, sweetheart,” she said, as firmly as she could. “I’mtaking you home.Now.”
Shedidn’t miss the unmistakable relief inSune’seyes, even as he shot a wary glance toward the cellar door — toward whereEliseandGladyswere now walking in, gods damn it.Andupon catching sight ofSune,Elisegasped, her hands clasping over her mouth, whileGladysput her hands to her hips, and lookedSuneup and down with incredulous disbelief.
“Whatnow, missus?” she demanded. “Where’dthis one come from?Andwhy’s he bleeding on the floor?”
SoLouisamade a quick round of introductions, and then explained the situation as succinctly as she could, as well as her plans to takeSunetoOrcMountain.Which, predictably, led to an impassioned round of protests and arguments, butLouisastood firm throughout it all, truthfully informing them that there was nothing else to be done, and she would return home as soon as she could.
“It’sperfectly safe,” she told them, while desperately hoping that was true. “Ialready know a few women living there, and the orcs wouldn’t hurt me, or trap me there.They’lljust be glad to haveSuneback again.”
Sunehad stood through all this in blank silence, his face looking more drawn with every passing moment — but at that, he jerked a nod, and made a sharp motion with his hand.Speakingin similar-looking signs to whatUlfarrand the other orcs had used at the camp, andLouisasilently cursed herself for not having attempted to learn even a little of it.Butshe gave a grateful smile towardSuneanyway, and a decisive nod toward her staff.
“See?” she said, as lightly as she could. “Nowlet’s hurry this along, so we can get there before nightfall.”
Thankfully, they gave up arguing after that, andEliseeven packed a lunch for them, whileJoanhelpedLouisaget the horses ready, and then guided a shaky-lookingSuneup ontoMay’sback.Andthough it was clearSunehad never ridden a horse before, he also looked reluctantly intrigued, and didn’t protest asMayjolted into motion beneath him.
“SoI’venever been toOrcMountainbefore,”Louisatold him, once they’d ridden out of the paddock. “I’mhoping you can help direct our route?Somethingas easy as possible for the horses would be ideal.”
Toher vague surprise,Sunenodded, and pointed purposefully off to the southeast.EvenasMaykept plodding on down the lane, soLouisashowed him how to use the reins, and explained how to be clear but gentle withMay’smouth.Alesson he seemed to follow easily enough, carefully guidingMaytoward where he’d pointed, and then looking both surprised and pleased when she obliged.
Itwas without question the most promising expressionLouisahad seen on him yet, so she drew in breath, and just kept on talking.Explaininghow best to hold his seat, how to use his thighs and his heels to communicate withMay, how to walk and trot and canter.Allof whichSuneagain seemed to follow with impressive ease, and whenLouisafinally showed him how to gallop, across a large patch of open clearing, he even smiled as he crouched lower overMay, his black hair streaming out of its topknot, whipping around his still-pale face.
Itwas something, at least, and it meant they could travel faster thanLouisahad expected — especially when it turned out thatSune’sdirections led to first a wide path, and then, further along, to an honest-to-gods road.AroadLouisacertainly couldn’t recall being there before — but then again, she hadn’t travelled in this direction in years, either.Andwhen she said this aloud toSune— perhaps just in hopes of distracting him from his still-bloody leg — he signed something back toward her, something again utterly incomprehensible to her eyes.
“I’mso sorry, butIdon’t know any of your sign language at all,” she told him, with a grimace. “Butif you’d be willing to teach me a few words,I’dlove to try to learn.”
Suneshot her a wary, narrow-eyed look, as if he didn’t at all believe her — but then he exhaled, and gave a veryKillik-like whirl of his fingers.Onethat clearly said,Goon, then.
SoLouisadrew in breath, and glanced forward at the still-distant bulk ofOrcMountain, looming over the trees up ahead. “Howabout — the sign for your home, then,” she said. “OrcMountain.”
Sune’sresponse was immediate, a swift upwards slice of his flat hand.ButwhenLouisaattempted to repeat it, he shook his head, and did it again.Andagain, and again, untilLouisaseemed to catch the way of it, speeding up the motion a little toward the top, and holding there for an instant, before dropping again.
“Howabout… your name, then?”Louisaasked next. “Sune?”
Henodded, and this time there were two parts to the sign, one for each syllable of his name, which he mouthed along as he signed.Soowas a brush of his fist to his navel, andnehwas a tap of his fingers to his mouth.
“Soo-neh,”Louisarepeated, mimicking the sign until he seemed satisfied. “It’sa lovely name.”
Sune’sglance toward her was suddenly narrow, suspicious, soLouisadrew in breath, searched for something else. “HowaboutKillikandUlfarr’snames, then?”
Thatearned her another narrow look, but then he pursed his lips, and again obliged.Killik, aptly enough, was a sideways punch ofSune’sfist that looked much like a dagger-strike, whileUlfarrwas an odd rising flare of his hand from his mouth.OneLouisahad to attempt a few times, before realizing it was mimicking a howl.Like… a wolf.
Thethought fluttered low and strange in her belly, and it occurred to her thatSunewas looking wistful too, or maybe even sad.Hiseyes now fixed onMay’shead, his swallow visibly bobbing in his throat.
“So— what’s it like, havingKillikandUlfarras fathers?”Louisaasked, too quickly, into the silence. “IhopeKillikis more careful with his daggers around you than he is with me?ThoughI’msureUlfarrwould keep him in check, at least.”
Shehalf-regretted it even as she spoke — gods, what ifSunethought she was criticizing them — but his expression softened again, and he nodded.Andhis fist slowly rose to his heart, thumping twice against it, before again making that howl sign, that wolf.Ulfarr.Wolf.
AndthoughLouisahadn’t known what the heart-fist sign meant, its meaning was still far too clear, skipping her own heartbeat in her chest.Sune— lovedUlfarr.Verymuch.
“Ican understand that,”Louisasaid now, and gods, maybe that wasn’t appropriate, either. “Ulfarris lovely, isn’t he?Sokind, and patient, and — andsafe.”
