The Robin And The Kestrel

not remember him wearing before. It was made of iron, black wroughtiron, in a lacy filigree design in the form of a double circle or an orb. That was all Kestrel could see of it_but something about it made his stomach twist, and he suddenly did not want to look any closer.

Padrik put the pendant around Orlina's neck, removing the chain that held her Masters badge_and that rigid, unyielding back went limp; she sagged forward in her bonds, bowing her head before him.

Padrik's smug smile of triumph made the hair on the back of Jonny's neck rise, and he forced back a snarl. 'Here then, is your only sentence. You must make a pilgrimage, alone and unaided, on your own two feet, without benefit of carriage or beast. You must go to Carthell Abbey, place this token of your obedience on the altar with your own two hands. Only then can you return, and resume the proper duties of a true woman and a daughter of the Church.'

He expected the woman to fight_or at least to defy the High Bishop. So Orlina's submissive nod made Kestrel's mouth fall open with surprise.

The mob, however, was not going to give her any opportunity to display that submission on her own.

The same two men hauled her to her feet and half-dragged, half-carried her along the street of the inns to the city gates. Once again, Jonny was forced by the press of bodies to go along, and so it was that he saw the end of the incident.

Once the mob reached the city gates, the two men who had carried her all this way cut her bonds and set her free, shoving her out of the gates and onto the road leading downward.

She stood up, shook off the bits of rope, and brushed her hands absentmindedly across her hair. And without so much as a glance behind her, as if she was setting off on a stroll across the street, she strode down the road that led eventually to Carthell Abbey.

Robin's stance, not in the least submissive, gave her away, even though she wore the same drab clothing as every other woman in the square. When Jonny saw that familiar figure waiting for him beside the wagon, he was torn between giddy relief and wanting to strangle her with his bare hands.

Relief won easily. He shoved his way through the crowd towards her. At the very last moment, though, he remembered that Robin was 'supposed' to have been a little ill, not missing, and kept himself from running towards her and flinging his arms around her as if she had been gone since last night.

That did not, however, stop her from doing the same.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you were right, I shouldn't have _' she babbled_and before she could say anything that might betray them to listeners, he stopped her the only way he could think of. With a kiss, and a hug that squeezed the breath out of her.

'Inside,' he whispered into her ear, quickly. 'Preachers.'

She started, and took a quick glance around, her eyes widening at the sight of all the street preachers around. She nodded, and followed him inside the wagon.

She waited until he closed the door before finishing her sentence. 'I'm so sorry'_she babbled, as they threw their arms around each other and hung on as if they would never let go again_'I'll never be that stupid again, I was an idiot, you were right _'

'But n-not r-right to act as if I c-could order y-you about,' he interrupted, caressing her hair in the soft semidarkness. 'Y-you w-were r-right, t-too. I'm s-s-sorry.'

'Not half as much as I am,' she replied, ruefully, calming down and chuckling a little. 'I was a little too convincing. They thought I was a real Patsono, all right_and they put me up in the dormitory for their unattached women! I couldn't get out all night, and in the morning I had a self-appointed guide that glued herself to my elbow right up until that mob broke loose to go after that poor Woolwright woman!'

He shuddered; he couldn't help himself. He could all too easily imagine the same thing happening to himself, or any of the Free Bards. 'I s-s-saw it all,' he said, locking both his arms around her to stop her sudden shivering. 'Th-the d-demon and everything. S-s-someone w-was using m-magic in th-there, of c-course. How d-did you g-get away?'

She put her head against his shoulder, until her shaking died down. 'The girl who was watching me couldn't resist a chance at the loot, and she left me as soon as those brutes broke down the door,' Robin told him, after a moment. She put her head back a little, so that she could see his face. 'I didn't get any good looks at the demon- show _'

He smiled, wanly. 'W-well, I d-did,' he said, and proceeded to describe everything he had seen and heard, in as much detail as he could remember. She shook her head in disbelief several times, and her lips and chin tightened in anger long before he was done with his narrative.

She hugged him hard, then pushed him away gently when he had finished. 'That's it,' she said firmly. 'That's