Chapter XLV

“Please...don't bury him,” Galia pleaded with Sahar, the tears of mourning still in her eyes.

“When he betrayed me I considered feeding his body to the dogs,” Sahar said. “But I won't stoop to my enemies' barbaric level.”

“But he wouldn't want to be buried!” Galia said. “These Nihilites, they believe in cremating the dead. Please, he had a good heart, no, a wonderful heart! He deserves at least this!”

“A good heart?” Sahar shook his head at her. “I invited him into my home, took him in in spite of my suspicions, showed him trust and compassion, and he STILL tried to kill me!”

“He may have been mad,” Galia said.

“Mad? What could he possibly be mad about? Did I insult him with my hospitality?”

“No, I mean insane. Several times over the time I've known him I caught him staring off into space, a few times I heard him muttering to himself, sometimes even in an angry tone of voice, or a pleading one. If he was crazy, hearing voices in his head, then maybe that's why he did what he did.”

“You think your friend Ardal was merely insane, not evil?”

“Evil people are those who allow their hearts to be overrun with hatred, Ardal was not such a man. He's the one who...he always taught compassion for one's enemies.”

“Love your enemy, betray your friend. A sound philosophy,” Sahar said.

“Excellency! Please, what harm will it do to cremate his body? It's not as if that would bring him back from the dead or something...”

“What good would it do?” Sahar asked. Then he caught the look in Galia's eyes. His expression softened as she looked up at him. “I see. It's not because it's what he would have wanted, it's because it's what you want. Fine, if it will make you happy I'll have his body cremated rather than buried.

“Thank you so much, your Excellency!” Galia said.

In the old days Nihilites believed that when you burned a dead body the smoke carried the spirit into the air. On rare occasions this smoke would even carry them past the Firmament and into the Void, so their souls would be free of the world the Nihilites hated so much. Galia still believed in the Agalmite God, but she had to admit that she sometimes had her doubts, and, in the off chance that the Nihilites were right, she wanted Ardal to have a chance to reach the paradise he'd longed for his whole life.

As to his actions, Galia wasn't sure how to feel about what he did. She felt betrayed, used. Perhaps he'd truly been playing her this whole time. Maybe he’d gained her trust so that he could use her to get into Duke Sahar's castle. Maybe his whole fight with Val had been a ploy, and the feelings he professed for her were all fake, all part of his scheme to manipulate her.

But no, that couldn't be, that wasn't the Ardal that she knew. Truly, his attempt to kill Sahar must have been motivated by madness. After all, if he was still working with Val and the Nihilite rebels wouldn't it have been far more beneficial to merely spy on Sahar? Yes, that was the only thing that made sense. Ardal's own insanity was what took him in the end.

“Scouts report a large army at the river ahead,” Lila said.

“Banners?” Mahla asked.

“Only one banner, the banner of Muri, but most of the army there is from Sabura, by the looks of them.”

“Reinforcements for the Pretender Queen,” Mahla said. “Did they look like they were about to cross the river?”

“They were repairing boats,” Lila said. “So, probably going to cross soon, yes. Though the scout reported seeing enormous monsters that some of the Saburans were riding on, ones that probably can't cross the river without a more serious bridge.”

“Elephants,” Mahla said. During her few jobs down in Sabura she'd seen elephants used in warfare before. They were powerful, almost unstoppable, but also clumsy, and under the right circumstances could do more harm than good. “I have an idea, Lila, and it will be up to you to carry it out.”

. . .

At the river Morowa and Nerissa oversaw the repair of the boats. They'd recruited a handful of local fishermen and carpenters who hadn't gone off to fight for Queen Aryn, given that this would be their area of expertise.

“I still can't believe the boats were all wrecked when we got here,” Nerissa said.

“Sounds like a good strategy to me,” said Morowa. “If you don't want your enemy to receive reinforcements you cut off those reinforcements. This Jachai probably knew you would be coming soon, and wanted to stop you from reaching the capital. Now the siege might be over by the time we get there.”

“Have your shamans reported anything helpful?” Nerissa asked.

“They consulted the spirits, and the spirits say the battle has begun. So far they're just firing catapults at one another, though.”

“I'm assuming you mean trebuchet.”

“Maybe,” Morowa shrugged. “I've never seen one.”

“Beloved,” Jibri, one of Morowa's husbands, said as he came close. “Some of the scouts have found a stockpile of firewood. We believe we can use it to fix the boats.”

“Good news indeed,” Morowa said and gave Jibri a kiss on the lips. “Go help them bring the wood here.”

“Yes, my love,” Jibri said and then rushed off.

“I've been meaning to ask you...” Nerissa said, “You know...about all your husbands.”

“What about them?”

“Why do you have so many?”

Morowa laughed. “The real question is why do you Arxian women have so few?”

“We only take one husband, he only takes one wife, it's the way God intended it.”

“If that's the way God intended it why did he make men and women so different when it comes to sex?”

“Pardon?” Nerissa gasped and blushed.

“A man takes between two seconds and five minutes to be satisfied,” said Morowa. “A woman takes between fifteen minutes to two hours. What's more, after a man has been satisfied he falls asleep, while a woman can be satisfied over and over again. If God wanted us to marry only one man why would he make it so that it took many men to fully satisfy us?”

There were dozens of things Nerissa wanted to say to that; like how marriage was not all about sex, or that a good man keeps at it until you're satisfied and that's how you know he really cares, or that if you only have one man then you know who your child's father is, but she was far too embarrassed with the image of many men lining up to make love to one woman.

Morowa smiled widely at Nerissa and shook her head. “Blushing now? But you brought the subject up.”

Their conversation was interrupted, though, as they heard several of the elephants squealing and trumpeting, followed by the shaking of the ground as the elephants panicked and ran. Several of the elephants crashed into each other, or trampled Morowa and Nerissa's soldiers. They plowed the soldiers out of the way or crushed them under foot. Ivory cut through steel as the elephants struck Nerissa's troops. Breastplates caved in from the sheer force, and the soldiers suffocated in their own armor. The riders frantically screamed commands at the elephants and yanked on the reins, but the elephants ignored them. The horses, hearing all of this noise, began to panic as well. They reared back, threw their riders, and galloped away. The chaos quickly spread through the ranks of Morowa and Nerissa's armies, and the soldiers scrambled to gain control of the horses.

From the bushes Lila watched the chaos, her short bow still in her hands. Mahla was right, elephants were even more skittish than horses. If they were at peace you simply needed to startle them, fire a few arrows near their feet, and they would panic. She was a little surprised, though, just how much chaos ensued so easily, and how quick the horses were to run.

From the other side of the hill Mahla could hear the elephants trumpeting, as well as feel the ground shaking, and she knew Lila had done her job. She gave her knights the signal and they thundered over the hill. Half of them had crossbows in hand, the other half were armed with lances or swords. Morowa and Nerissa's forces had no time to react as bolts whistled through the air and pierced their armor. The sudden appearance of an enemy force caused even more panic in the elephants and the horses, and ranks were totally broken.

When Mahla's cavalry got close enough to use their lances and swords, the Murians and Saburans were too confused in all the madness to defend themselves. Mahla's cavalry, with her at the center, cut through the Saburan and Murian army and split them up. They had no hope of fighting together as a unit now.

Seeing this Morowa picked up her own lance and ran to her chariot, hoping to make some difference in the battle. Likewise, Nerissa mounted her horse, but as soon as she had she called out, “Retreat! Head east!” and rode off to the east. Her soldiers, those who heard her, ran or rode off after her.

“Coward!” Morowa called out. She felt that with Nerissa's help she could have turned this battle around, but since Nerissa quit the field and her army was in utter chaos there was little hope of that. She shook her head at the sight of all the pandemonium and shouted, “Retreat!” and she cracked her whip and rode after Nerissa. Those of her soldiers who'd heard the call for a retreat followed her, but many couldn't hear her call amidst all of the other noise. Those who hadn’t heard tried to stand and fight in spite of the madness all around them.

Mahla rode past the Saburan and Murian soldiers again and again. She cut them down and blocked with her shield their feeble attempts to fight back. Within half an hour Mahla's knights had taken the area.

Once everything had settled down Lila met Mahla by the side of the river, where her knights gathered the boats.

“Another one-sided battle,” Lila said. “I've seen a lot of those since you've been in charge.”

“The ideas just come to me,” Mahla said. “And I'm certainly glad for that.”

“You're a genius, you know that?” Lila said.

“Thanks.”

“I love you,” said Lila. Mahla looked up at her. At first she wasn't sure if there was more to that statement or if Mahla was supposed to take what she said at face value. It didn't seem like a hyperbole, no, this was truly a confession. “I know,” Lila continued, “I know you prefer men, and when you're Queen you'll have to take a king, so we can never be, but I wanted you to know how I feel.”

“Why?” Mahla asked.

“Why what?”

“Why tell me if you know it's going to be unrequited love? If no good can come of the confession?”

“I just thought...”

“No. No, you didn't think,” Mahla said and shook her head. “We had a great professional relationship going. At my orders you killed my enemies, and we fought side by side. Now...”

“We can still have the same relationship as before,” Lila said.

“No, we can't,” said Mahla. “Think about it, don't you know how that changes everything we do? When you know someone has feelings for you, even if they're unrequited, you have a certain soft-spot in your heart for them, or else utter disdain. I just sent you to do something dangerous, very dangerous, when I sent you here to make the elephants panic. What if one of them had run in your direction instead of away? What if you'd been caught? But I knew you could handle it. It's part of the job. Now, however, if I had a dangerous job for someone to do I'd think twice before I sent you, because of the way you feel!”

“The way I feel is part of why I fight so hard for you, Mahla!” Lila said.

Mahla shook her head, “I want you to exercise some sense when you're doing something that could cost you your life. If your head is clouded with these silly feelings of admiration you're going to get yourself killed! I need you, Lila! You're the best assassin I've got!”

“I...I'm sorry, Mahla,” Lila said.

“Fine! Whatever! Look, I'm not mad that you have these feelings, just keep them to yourself. We'll move on from here as if that conversation never happened, ok? Try to forget it.”

It was a tall order; Mahla had to forget that the person who was the closest thing to a friend she'd ever had just confessed feelings of love for her. Lila had to forget that the woman she'd loved for years not only rejected her but also chastised her for confessing her feelings in the first place. Lila felt so stupid. What did she really think would be the benefit of telling Mahla how she felt? She knew for a long time that Mahla preferred men, and moreover Mahla wasn't the type to get sentimental, to worry about such silly matters as “love” and whatnot.

Tyson had taught Mahla well, taught her not to feel. As a mercenary, feelings were a hindrance one simply could not afford. Each time you went into battle you knew that your comrades, the people you spent your life with, could easily die, and you'd be left with a broken heart if you felt anything for them. No, they were business associates, not friends, not family. Mercenaries had no family, no friends. Good mercenaries only cared about coin, gain, and survival. Lila had always envied and admired Mahla's ability to shut off all her feelings, to be so distant and strong. Now, more than ever, Lila wished she was like Mahla.