The Count of Castle Rock

Chapter XL- Loss and Lost

Leesa helps Luis tend to the wounded, the two sharing their knowledge of field medicine as they clean and bandage. By the time they are done, Juanita and Eric, Sven's brother, have dug a grave for the slain guard. Leesa joins the circle around the man's corpse. Her hand absently finds Hans' while Captain Carlos sings a prayer to the Gods of The Five Pillars.

"Just as Leviathan guided the first settlers across dangerous waters to avoid The End of All Things, may he guide Sven to the Swan's domain. May Sven find rest with the Goddess of Death."

"May he find rest," the Quins all sing in response.

The catkin and the giant stand as silent observers to the ritual.

Eric clears his throat, his eyes red and puffy with sorrow.

"My brother was more than just a guard from Water Cross, you know," Eric begins, his throat cracking. "He was a dreamer. He wanted to live in Dalluvian's Pearl or even Kharrington. We are saving... were saving... we were saving."

His shoulders sag and Alice puts her good arm around his shoulder.

"Sven and I have been friends for a long time." Her cheeks redden. "We've sometimes been more than friends. He will be missed."

They go around the circle, taking turns speaking about the dead in the traditional way. Once everyone speaks their part, Eric claims his brother's daggers. Alice takes Sven's waterskin. Each of the guardsmen solemnly select items from his possessions. Finally they lower Sven's body into the earth. They all take a turn shoveling dirt into the hole, but Eric scoops in the last of it.

As the party prepares to continue their venture north, Leesa can't help watching Eric. Kneeling beside his brother's grave, he weeps. The idea of losing Jessica or Maribelle is a sobering thought that feels like a knife of ice plunged deep into her heart. She can't claim to know his pain, but suddenly Leesa wants nothing more than to sit around their kitchen table eating Father's famous pancakes and chatting with her siblings.

"Are you okay, Leesa?" Hans asks. His notebook sits open in his hands, a sketch of the massive foot sits beside a note recording where Sven is buried.

"I'm okay. I just miss home." She wipes a tear from her eye with a handkerchief.

"Yeah... I hope Heather found her way back."

"We'll check as soon as we get back to Solomon."

He smiles and looks up at the forest canopy. "I'd like that."

The impulse hits her and Leesa kisses him on the cheek.

*

The expedition continues north, eventually leaving the thick forest for a landscape of thinning trees and barren brush. They make camp at the edge of a wide clearing. By Hukk's reckoning, they are little more than a day's March from the Hag's Swamp. Though colder than it's been, this night might be their last comfortable rest for some time. This knowledge makes Hans uneasy.

They pitch their tents and set up a watch schedule before settling in for a meal of trail rations and wild greens. They sit around in relative silence, the recent loss still on everyone's mind. The feliruu sit together, eating and speaking in whispered tones. The guards all cluster, enjoying the quiet of each other's company. Hans, Leesa, Olivia, and the giant all sit together. The outsiders.

"Yuck, this stuff tastes almost as bad as it smells," Olivia whines. "Can't someone cook us a real meal?"

"We'd need to catch something and dress it." Hans takes a bite of his rations and rubs his chin. "Come to think of it, we've barely seen any game this close to the boundaries of the forest."