Fyskar

Chapter 16

Eoin, bleary-eyed and numb, brought the room into focus. He had never been in it before directly. The rag rug smelled of sheep. He blinked again, his eyes focusing on his left bracer, then the wall of the room. There was sparse decoration in the room save for a box bed, carved trunks, and the myriad-coloured rug.

He pushed himself into a sitting position, his head still throbbing. Rubbing his hands along his face and through his hair, he banished the pain. The physician dragged himself off the warm rug and stumbled to the door. Easing it open, he peered out into the dimly lit main room.

Seonaid and Fearchar sat at the little table, she at some mending, he whittling away at another of his tiny birds. His hired hand glanced at the creak in the door.

Sorry about that. Eoin's shoulders slumped against the door frame. He drew in a ragged breath, willing himself to move beyond the memories nagging at the back of his brain. The trapped man walked into the room and stood near the fireplace, absorbing the warmth.

"Dinnae ye mind, Eoin. We pushed ye to tell us when ye were knackered. Can'nae be 'elped." Fearchar gently set the little statue on the table and picked up another small block.

What are those for? Eoin pointed to the accruing flock of birds.

"Send 'em outta the mainland where's a couple shops like to sell little trinkets ta the sight seein' nobility. Is nae a lot, but is somethin' I enjoy doin' when there's snow and nothin' else up here."

Eoin nodded, accepting the answer. He recalled a different carpenter creating beautifully simple furniture and the telltale scrolls across all his works.

"You all right?" Seonaid asked.

Eoin nodded sluggishly, easing himself onto the bed frame. I was tired. Sorry about that disorientation.

"You're doing better though, aye?" she pressed.

I can journey if that's what you're asking, he offered. Maybe he could keep some of his memories securely locked away with some luck.

"Do you need to eat?" Seonaid nodded to the pot near the low fire.

He shook his head. Eoin wasn't hungry. It had been a few hours, but the sleep had helped him immensely. Shall we? he asked. Seonaid and Fearchar reached out and dove in.

In the darkness of the void, the forest of Ethiopia, Egret's Nest, Eoin paced his firepit. "What you saw back there. I -" He shrugged, unable to put words to it. "Here's what lead up to that."

The room opened to them, revealing the prince sitting on a long bench with other men in court attire, deep in discussion. The black-haired man looked up, a malicious smile scampering across his face.

Eoin shifted under the hawk-like stare. The prince dismissed the men who left, shaking their heads, mumbling between themselves. The Fyskar turned palace property glanced back at the shutting door. The prince approached him, and it took everything in Eoin not to run, to try to hide. The royal appraised his acquisition, pulling at the delicate chain of the bracers. Eoin raised his hands to allow the prince a closer look. The man muttered something. Eoin was becoming more and more frustrated at his lack of understanding the hissing language.

The prince dropped the chain and reached for Eoin's neck. "A pair of jesses for a flighty hawk, though it looks like your prior owner thought to collar you like a dog." He fingered the torc thoughtfully. Eoin pulled away from the man. The prince reached to rest his hand across Eoin's cheek, his thumb brushing the village doctor's lips, intentions swamping his system.

Eoin swallowed. He grabbed the prince's hand that fiddled with his torc. "Take anything you want of me as long as my family is safe and the torc stays." He handed the giant his freedom.