The Woman in the Garden

Chapter IV. Innocence

"So, let me see if I understand this correctly," Ah'zuli said. "This girl's home was attacked by iron orcs, and she ran all the way down the mountain on her own, and ran into you in the woods?"

Shaniera gulped. They had hoped the story would have been less difficult to explain than the vampires. "Yes, you tell it true," Leanne chimed in, and at that point her father entered from the adjoining room where he'd tended to their guest. The Breton had some minor healing talents, both magical and mundane, and when the girls brought Ella to the manse, his paternal nature took over and he had seen to her immediately. Given that the girl had clearly been in the words with an open wound for some time, he expended his meager magicka on purifying the injury to stave off infection, then applied a tourniquet around her forearm.

"The girl is shaken, but she looks to be in good health otherwise," he reported, wiping drops of blood from his hands.

Shani's mother pinched the bridge of her nose. "If she has any family left, they must be beside themselves with worry. I wish I could help her get back to her kin, but I cannot spare anyone to go looking. Mikhael and Boros still haven't returned from searching for Renoa, and they took our only mountain ponies with them."

"So don't spare anyone," Shani said. "Let her stay. Once she's rested, she can earn her keep on the farm."

"Without Renoa, we're down a pair of hands," Leanne added. "And there are tasks that need to be done. You said it yourself, Madam."

Ah'zuli looked between the servant and her daughter, then to Toren, as if seeking help. The man shrugged. "I should agree, my lady. The girls are right, another pair of hands can only help."

She sighed, and conceded. "Alright. Tomorrow, we shall see if the girl has any useful talents. Give her an hour's rest for now, then run her a bath. We should certainly have the fresh water to spare, since you decided to bathe in the river." It was an accusation, not an acknowledgement, but it made Shani and Leanne tense all the same. They had returned wrapped in towels and with wet hair, and it was all they could do to avoid their mother seeing them—but Gro'shuba had passed them outside, and Toren was in the hall when they snuck in. He must have told her, Shani knew. "Well?" Her mother looked at them, demanding an explanation.

"It's peaceful there," Leanne said. "And there's plenty more room for two people to bathe than in a tub."

"Yes, it certainly is peaceful under normal circumstances," Ah'zuli said. "But just yesterday we had those Ash'abah speaking of dead things that walk, and now I am hearing about the iron orcs raiding villages. This coming winter seems intent on bringing ample danger with it, and I do not like the idea of my daughter far out in the woods, with gods know what lurking out there."

"Mother, please. It is only as you said: I have Father's spirit."

Ah'zuli looked at her daughter. Something in Shani's face must have touched her, because she did not forbid them from going to the river, as Shani feared she might. "Until further notice, no one is to go beyond the garden alone. Continue practicing your dances, but focus on the martial ones... and the next time your father's ghost compels you on some adventure, borrow some of his sense and bring a sword."

Ella's integration into the household went rather smoothly. The next few days, she tended to the tasks available without any difficulty, and soon Ah'zuli seemed thankful for her presence. Before long, her timidity was cast away, and she was cordial to everyone who crossed paths with her. She only attempted to socialize with Leanne and Shaniera, it seemed, but they hardly could complain. She proved to be good company, and she was just a few years older than they were, it turned out.

On the third night since they'd taken Ella in, a knock came at Shaniera's door. Leanne stood outside with a book under one arm and a candle in the other. Ella had the look of a guilty child on her face.

"The girl woke me," Leanne explained. "Nightmares. We're joining you for the night."

Shani looked at the book they'd picked up from the manse's library. "These are horror stories, Leanne!"

"She picked them, I swear it." Ella didn't seem bothered by the stories, not even the one about the blood-sucking monster locked in a coffin. They read the book together late into the morning, until the candle burned out, and after that they fell asleep packed tightly in Shaniera's bed. She wanted to kiss Leanne, and wasn't sure why Leanne didn't seem to want to as well. They weren't alone, to be sure, but the other girl had already seen just about everything, and she felt rather comfortable around Ella... more than Leanne did, it seemed.

The next morning, the Ash'abah returned. A lattice of rope had been tied between two of their horses, fastened to the carcass of a dead pony which they dragged behind them. The creature's head was completely gone, torn halfway up the neck, and what remained of its throat hanging from the ruptured flesh was desiccated. The one-eyed leader Xadoran rode his horse up to the garden's low wall and waved, and waited until someone came out to see him. He said he needed to speak with Ah'zuli, and would come to her if she desired, but wanted to respect her wishes for he and his people to stay out of the garden. Ah'zuli came to him irritable and tired, demanding why they had returned, and then she saw the dead pony they had dragged with them. It was one of the mountain ponies that Mikhael and Boros took with them when they left to search the mountains for Renoa. Without so much as a word, Xadoran tossed a piece of jewelry at her feet. Shaniera approached as her mother picked it up, and saw the red ruby on the gold chain. The gold had been stained with blood.