Rain Glade (3 page)

It was nighttime when she stepped outside,
but the moons were both full. Siahray cast its bluish-green light,
which mixed with the smaller Piohray’s red light. It made the sky
glow bright lavender, one of Rain’s favorite colors. She did a
twirl as she walked away from the house.

***

Rain was lost deep in thought as she walked
through the village. As a result, she wasn’t paying attention and
ran straight into the Mayor’s back while he was talking to the
blacksmith and a couple of farmers.

“What the . . .” The mayor was a stout man
who owned the inn. His hair was balding and his face ruddy. He
grabbed Rain and shook her by the arm. What’s wrong with you,
stupid girl?” Spittle flew from his mouth into Rain’s face. “You
shouldn’t be out at night. Get back to your home and stay there.”
He threw her to the ground. As she got to her hands and knees, he
kicked her in the gut.

Pain exploded throughout her body and she
fell to her side wheezing for breath. The men walked away toward
the inn, their callous laughter filling the air.

Rain finally sucked in a breath as spots
floated in her vision. She got to her knees and planted her
forehead on the cool grass as she clutched her arms around her
waist and sobbed. Her stomach twisted and she retched, making the
agony even worse.

A quarter of an hour passed before she could
get to her feet. She clutched her stomach as she made her way home.
A few times, she stumbled to her knees as dizziness threatened to
overcome her.

When Rain finally made it home, she struggled
up the ladder and fell asleep in her dress.

***

Morning peeked through the bottom of the
eaves. Rain groaned as she rolled over. Her belly was in agony and
she felt like throwing up again. She slid across the straw to her
ladder and clung to it as she made her way down. Her father was
passed out in a corner, a wineskin in his hand and wine stains down
his filthy shirt.

Rain slipped through the door, vainly
shushing the squeaky hinges. She walked to a creek-fed pool at the
base of a small waterfall where she liked to bathe. It was off the
path and up a hill halfway to Ulga’s house. Once there, she plunged
her face into the ice-cold water.

It was a mistake. The shock made her retch
what few contents her stomach still contained. She held her
strained tummy and wept for a few minutes before splashing water
over her head and rinsing out her mouth. A little more cleaned the
front of her neck and dress. It would have to do. She lurched to
her feet and made her way down the path.

Ulga Tumo waved as Rain passed. “Hello, Rain.
So lovely to see you.” The old woman made her way down the step of
the porch when Rain didn’t stop to chat. She was much too slow to
catch up though, so she called out in a worried tone. “Rain dear,
what’s wrong?”

Rain waved a hand over her head, but didn’t
have the strength to talk.

By the time she reached Tonia’s house, Rain
forced herself to walk normally and put on a brave face, but it was
difficult.

Tonia came down her front walk to the gate
with Rober following behind. Her black hair was bedraggled and her
green eyes bloodshot. “Thank you for coming. They hardly slept at
all last night and they’ve been cranky.” Tonia handed the infant
over, smiling at the pleased coo it made upon seeing Rain. “Tia
just ate, so she should be fine for a while. There’s a bottle of
milk in the shade for later. I should be home before she needs
more.”

Rain lifted Tia to her shoulder, hiding the
grimace of pain she felt. She nodded, not trusting herself to
speak.

“There’s some porridge left for breakfast. I
put a leaf of mint in. It gives it a surprisingly pleasant taste.
If you gather eggs from the coop, you can make yourself and Rober a
couple for lunch.”

“Egg,” Rober said, pointing a stubby finger
to the side of the house where the chicken coop was.

Tonia leaned down and kissed the top of
Rober’s curly black hair. “Yes, egg. You be good for Rain now.
Mommy will be back in a little while.” Tonia turned and quickly
walked away.

It took a moment for Rober to realize what
was happening. He cried pitifully after his mother until she was
out of sight. Then he stopped and turned to Rain. “Egg?”

“Yes, let’s gather eggs.” Rain held out her
hand and led him to the chicken coop.

A little while later, Tia and Rober were both
asleep, much to Rain’s relief. She lifted her dress and looked at
her stomach. Her side and belly were bruised ugly black and blue.
Rain curled up on the deer pelt next to the children and buried her
face in her hands as she cried, each sob making the pain worse. She
just couldn’t help it. Eventually she fell asleep.

The baby woke her up with a wail of
displeasure. It also woke up Rober, but Rain was able to get them
both calmed down quickly after she changed their soiled bottoms.
Tia took the bottle and Rober drank some water while Rain washed
the diapers. The rest of the day went fairly well even though Rain
didn’t get any cleaning done as she had hoped.

“Rain? Rain, are you alright?” Tonia’s voice
seemed far away. Rain looked up from where she was sitting on a
chair next to the empty hearth. She had been staring at the floor
with Tia in her arms while Rober played quietly nearby. Tonia was
kneeling in front of her with an expression of worry.

“Yes. You’re back early.”

“No. It’s late afternoon. You look terrible,
Rain. Here, let me take Tia.” Tonia took the sleeping baby out of
Rain’s arms. “The children behave so well for you.”

Rain stood slowly, hiding her pain. “I’m
going to go home now. Let me know when you need me again.”

“I will.” Tonia put a hand on Rain’s
shoulder. “
Are
you alright?”

“Yes, just tired.” Rain gave a feeble smile
and left, ignoring the concerned gaze following her out the
door.

***

Even though she moved slowly, Rain was
determined to take a proper bath when she reached the pool. Soap
was one of the treasures in her pouch and she put it on a rock
before climbing into the water. Shivering made the pain worse, but
it lessened as her body became accustomed to the cold water.

After a while, she took her dress off and
began scrubbing it with the soap. When she was done, she left it on
a rock in the sun to dry. She sat on another rock with her feet in
the water and studied the bruise.

“Whoever did that should be put in stocks,” a
deep voice said from nearby.

Rain yipped in surprise and slid into the
water until it was up to her chin. She turned and saw a young man
in the red leather jacket and pants of Lord Greffen’s personal
guard.

He ran fingers through curly black hair that
nearly reached his shoulders. His other hand rested on the hilt of
a sword at his waist. “I saw you walking down the road from that
woman’s house and it looked like you were in pain. I promised the
woman, Tonia I think her name was, that I would check on you and
make certain you were safe.”

Rain continued to hide in the water, covering
her body the best she could. She noticed that his eyes were pink,
common in most lands, but something she had never seen in
Cothbern.

“I didn’t mean to watch you.” He looked at
the trees around the pool for a moment. “It’s just that you’re so
pretty, I couldn’t stop staring.” The soldier looked at her
again.

Pretty?
No one’s ever called me
pretty,
Rain thought to herself.
Why would he say I’m
pretty?

“I was going to slip away, but then I saw
that bruise. It’s bad. I don’t know anything about healing though.”
He moved to the edge of the pool and squatted. “I’m worried about
you.”

Rain stared without knowing what to say. He
was handsome, with a stubbled chin and strong cheekbones. His
uniform was clean, bright and looked as though it had been made to
fit him.
Why did he call me pretty?
she wondered.

“I’ve scared you, haven’t I?” The soldier
stood and dusted off his knees even though there was no dirt on
them. “My name is Jacob Miner. I’m in Lord Greffen’s personal
guard. My dad’s a copper miner in Tilbern, north of Seyten, which
is why my last name is Miner. Lord Greffen recruited me before
winter because I’m strong. I’ve been training all winter.” Jacob
sat on a rock near the small waterfall and crossed one leg over the
other. He tugged at a leaf of a bush growing nearby.

Rain dashed to grab her soap off the rock
where she had been sitting. She went back into the deep part of the
pool and began washing her hair while she listened.

“My sergeant and three of us new guys have
been ordered to visit all the villages. We’re only here for the
night and then we’re headed off to Lithbern.” He unbuckled his
jacket, revealing a cream-colored shirt underneath. “This village
is smaller than mine. My ma says one day all this fighting will end
and people can get back to living their lives.”

“My ma used to say that the fighting in
Paruth will never end.” Rain dipped her head in the water to rinse
it.

“She may be right. Is that who you live
with?”

“No. She died a few years ago.” Rain had no
desire to talk about it. She was finished bathing, but it didn’t
appear as though the soldier was going to go away, so she got out
of the water and put her dress back on, ignoring the fact that he
was staring at her. Normally she would have spent some time in the
sun drying off, but didn’t feel comfortable doing that with him
there. “So what will you do now?”

Jacob stood and moved next to her. “I was
thinking about seeing where this stream comes from, but I want to
make sure you’re going to be alright. That bruise on your stomach
looks bad. You wince every time you move.”

Rain didn’t know how to feel with him
standing so close. The sun warmed his leather uniform, releasing
the scent of it along with the pleasantly musky smell of his skin.
He wasn’t a great deal taller than her, but no man had ever truly
paid attention to her. “I should probably go home, but . . . I’ve
always wanted to find the beginning of the stream too.”

“Let’s go then! It sounds like an adventure.”
He put a hand on her shoulder.

Rain froze. His touch sent little bolts of
sensation through her body, and she didn’t know what that
meant.

He removed the hand. “I’m being too familiar,
aren’t I?” Jacob ran fingers through his hair. “I’m clumsy when it
comes to talking to people. No one likes me back home.” He
shrugged. “I’ll just go away and stop scaring you.”

“No.” Rain put a hand on his arm. The leather
was softer than she imagined and the muscles underneath were solid.
“Let’s explore. If you’re allowed?”

“Yeah, I get to do whatever I want until noon
tomorrow when we leave.” He held his arm out like a nobleman would
do for a lady.

Rain instinctively took it, even though she
didn’t know what the gesture meant. He guided her up the hill by
the waterfall and from there, took her hand, much as Verna had done
the day before.

***

“My sister likes being married to the
fletcher. She spends a lot of time in the woods collecting
feathers, although with the baby coming she’ll slow down a little.”
Jacob helped Rain up some rocks along the creek. Most of the
terrain had been easy to travel, but there were a few tricky
spots.

She gasped as a bolt of pain shot through her
side. He put hands under her arms and lifted her the rest of the
way. She didn’t protest and even rested her head against his
shoulder when he wrapped his arms around her. The walking and
climbing had taken their toll on her. Rain tried to resist the
tears, but they burst past her defenses and she began sobbing and
clutching his jacket. She felt surprisingly safe in Jacob’s arms,
even though she had just met him.

“We need to get you someplace where we can
sit and rest awhile,” Jacob said when Rain’s tears stopped. “You
still haven’t told me what happened.” He let go with one arm and
pointed up the creek. “That looks promising.”

Rain followed the gesture. An animal path led
parallel to the creek through thick trees, creating a dark tunnel.
“I’ve never been this far before. We must have walked for almost an
hour.”

“That sounds about right,” Jacob agreed. “Why
haven’t you followed the stream before?”

“I’ve been afraid of getting lost all alone.
There are dangerous creatures out here too.” Rain thought of the
wyvern from the day before. “Perhaps we should turn back.”

Jacob lifted his chin and puffed his chest.
“I can handle anything. Part of my training has been how to battle
dangerous beasts that threaten villages.”

Rain couldn’t help but be impressed. Verna
was the only one she ever felt safe with in the forest. Rain didn’t
like the idea that Jacob might hurt anything though, especially
since Verna had taught her that the life of all creatures was
sacred. “Do you kill animals for fun then?”

He took her by the arms. “I only kill what’s
necessary for food and survival. I thank the Gods for providing for
my parents and me. Please believe that I have
never
enjoyed
killing anything living.”

“I believe you.” Rain rested her forehead on
his shoulder for a moment and then smiled at him. He smiled back
and took her hand again.

They made their way through the tunnel.
Leaves blocked the light, making it nearly as dark as night without
moons. Just when Rain was wondering if the darkness would ever end,
they came into a glade.

Both of them gasped in amazement. The creek
flowed from a rise on the other side, its sparkling water tumbling
merrily down rocks. Soft, green grass bordered the creek along with
flowers unlike any Rain had ever seen. Magnificent trees bordered
the glade, their enormous trunks covered in verdant moss. The
uppermost branches were lost to sight, allowing only a small circle
of evening sunlight in. Birds and squirrels played among the
branches, while flop-eared bunnies hopped away from the
intruders.