It was as dark in the hallway as it had been outside. For Hadjar and Elaine, two strong practitioners whose bodies had gone through several transformations, this wasn’t a problem. But Omarik tripped on a bench and swore several times.
“Dear, is that you?” a soft, warm voice asked.
“Yes, honey, it’s me.”
The hostess, wearing her night clothes, came out of a room. She was as strongly built as her house. She had a curvaceous shape and was quite feminine, as well as seeming quite pleasant and welcoming.
“And who are these people with you?”
She moved an already burning torch forward and lit the lamp that hung on the doorjamb. Dim light lit up the hallway, dispersing the darkness and turning it into a theater of shadows.
“I picked them up in the forest...” Omarik turned around and froze.
He was only now able to examine these travelers. He first spotted the handsome young man. If his daughter had been older, he would’ve never dared bring him to his own house. Then his gaze turned toward the traveler’s sister and his heart missed several beats. He admired her golden hair, blue eyes, satiny skin, her gorgeous face, and even her ideal proportions and figure. The girl was both as beautiful and amazing as a goddess, and as dangerous and alluring as a true predator.
“Well, why are you keeping them in the hallway then?” the hostess frowned. “Forgive my husband’s ignorance. I suspect that he was raised by bears. Come in, dear guests.”
“Thank you, honorable...” Hadjar paused.
“Nela,” the hostess introduced herself. “My name is Nela.”
***
A topless Hadjar was chopping wood. It was simple, pleasant work, the likes of which he hadn’t done since he’d left the village in the Valley of Streams.
Behind him, on the porch, sat Elaine. She was making dolls for children from the neighboring houses. For girls, she made ‘princesses’ in beautiful dresses made from rags, grass, and all kinds of junk. For boys, she made equally silly ‘knights’. They’d gathered around her, looking like chaos incarnate. Some of the children were playing pretend and having ‘balls’, having their princesses dance around. The others were playing ‘war’, damaging their rag dolls in the process. They would then run back to Elaine, who, laughing all the while, would repair their knights.
Young people sometimes passed by the fence, pretending to be going about their business. The young men were frightened by the scarred, sinewy, and lean body of Hadjar. Nevertheless, they couldn’t deny themselves the pleasure of staring at Elaine. The girls wanted to look at the warrior, but were afraid of rumors. No one would want to marry an impure, wild girl. The customs in the villages of Lidus were fairly traditional and, more often than not, incomprehensible to city dwellers.
“You have a knack with children,” Nela said as she came out onto the porch.
Elaine smiled at the woman. During the two days that they’d spent resting in Omarik’s house, Elaine and Nela had managed to find common ground and had even become friends. Hadjar suspected that their lovely hostess was Elaine’s first true friend, someone who wasn’t trying to gain something from the friendship.
“I like children,” Elaine replied, ruffling a boy’s hair. “They are like wildflowers — simple and very beautiful. Not like flowers grown in a garden — swaggering and arrogant, loving only their own beauty.”
Smiling, Nela raised her voluminous skirts a bit and sat down beside the Princess. Her husband, like many others, had gone out to the fields. Only the artisans, youngsters, and women had been left behind in the village.
“Omarik told me your story, Elaine,” Nela’s tone was warm, but at the same time, slightly playful. “Your comparisons are too poetic for a girl who grew up in a village.”
“You too, honorable Nela, speak much more eloquently than your fellow villagers.”
Nela nodded, sighed, and looked at the clear sky. Dark clouds floated there, promising that rain would soon fall and probably bring a storm with it.
“I lived in the city once.”
“Why did you move out here? People usually try to move to the cities. Villages get smaller because of this. Our agriculture suffers for it.”
“Agriculture?” Nela asked and laughed. “My dear, naive girl. What agriculture? Every second man is forced to go to the mine. The land in Lidus is heavy, capricious, it’s not easy to cultivate. If not for the trade caravans from the Empire, we would’ve all starved long ago. You can’t eat the ore, after all.”
“What mine are you talking about?” Elaine snapped and scared the kids.
Nela looked at the girl with surprise, but didn’t manage to say anything in response.
The alarm bell rang. The children dropped their dolls. Everyone in the village began to panic, and Nela turned pale.
“Soldiers!” came the shout from the watchtower. “Soldiers from the mine!”
Hadjar left the ax embedded in a log.
Elaine had to finally see everything with her own eyes…
Chapter 219
There was no expression on Elaine’s face. The girl couldn’t understand what was happening. Shocked, she just sat on the porch.
The bell ringer sounded the alarm a few more times, and then fell from the tower with a loud scream. A heavy weight had struck him in the head. Blood splattered in different directions and the wounded guy landed in a haystack standing at the foot of the tower.
Some of the young men who hadn’t gone into the field rushed to the gate. Psyching each other up, they tried to hold the wooden doors.
Realizing what would happen next, Hadjar grabbed Elaine by the hand and rushed into the house. They watched everything from behind a window. The former General was as still as a statue. The Princess looked horrified, her face pale.
The men at the gate groaned and bit their lips with exertion,
