Strange Bedfellows Chapter 2.b

Kalus ate a hurried and silent breakfast with Katia, though the silence was because of her.  He tried to initiate a conversation once or twice, but she would give only terse, one-word replies.  He wouldn't force it and so let it lie.

It took longer than usual for the camp to be broken down this morning.  His men were usually the first to be ready so they had to wait while the rest of the army finished.  Most seemed in excellent spirits and he understood why; it had been a long campaign but the end was in sight and they had recently won a stunning victory.

Further, they were embarking on the final leg of the campaign.

Thanks in no small part to Kalus's tactical skills, there was only one unconquered castle left in the kingdom: the king's castle in the capital city.  King Bracken's commanders were wily, but severely outnumbered at this point and not a match for Kalus's portion of the army, to say nothing of the rest of it.

If only his marriage was that easy.

He charged his herald to keep an eye on Katia while he directed the breakdown.  He wanted to make sure she didn't wander off into anyone else's region of camp.  His own men would keep their urges to themselves, but he didn't trust the men under other commanders to be so restrained.

It wasn't until five minutes before marching time as he was saddling up his warhorse that he realized Katia didn't have a horse.  The horse she had borrowed the previous day belonged to one of his subordinates who would need it today.

He frowned.

It wouldn't do for the former handmaiden to walk all day.  She surely wasn't used to it and it would cause painful blisters on her feet.  He rode his horse to the portion of his legion where they kept the spare horses.

There weren't any.

He frowned, suspecting what had happened since there had been several dozen the previous day.  He rode up to the man charged with watching them.

"What happened?"  He asked the fellow.

"The king."  The man replied.  "Apparently, several of his other legions were short on horses so he told them to requisition our extra horses. All of them."  The man spat on the ground.  "I would've come and told you but it just happened."

"Very well."  Kalus nodded, his suspicion confirmed.

There was only one real solution to this problem since he couldn't force his wife to walk all day.  He highly doubted her feet and legs were up to the task, whereas his most certainly were.  He sighed as he realized his legs would be killing him at the end of the day.  He led his horse over to where Katia was standing.  She seemed unsure of what to do with herself and looked like a child in the kitchen worried about getting in the way of the cooks.

"Katia."  He called.

She jumped and turned towards him.

"You will ride my horse today."  He said offering her the reins.

She looked up at the massive horse, which was nearly large enough for her to walk under without bending over.

Her eyes got slightly wide.  "I...  I can walk."

"You may if you insist.  However, you aren't wearing the right shoes for it and you aren't used to it.  Your feet will develop blisters in an hour or two and will be bloody and raw by the day's end."

Her shoulder slumped as she looked at her shoes and frowned.

"Katia, I will not make you ride."  He clarified.  "However, I do think you would much prefer to ride for the sake of your feet."

"Okay."  She said after a moment.  "I'm not sure I can mount him though."

"I can help with that."  He walked up to her and put his hands on her waist.  Before she could object -- because he knew she surely would object -- he lifted her into the air.  She yelped, but quickly reached out and grabbed the saddle, one of her feet finding the stirrup.  Moments later, she somewhat awkwardly swung her other leg over the horse and was seated in the saddle.

"You could've warned me."  She said with a glare.

He raised his eyebrow.

"Sir."  She corrected herself.

He stepped closer and spoke in a low tone so only she could hear.  "I have been lenient with you because I understand your situation and predicament.  However, I will not have that luxury in front of the men.  I must maintain order in this army to protect you and thus cannot tolerate insubordination from anyone, especially you -- my own wife -- in front of the men.  If you treat me disrespectfully in front of anyone else, the consequences will be severe."

She grimaced.

"I say this so you might avoid those consequences, as I would not wish to dole them out."  He clarified.  "Please take this warning to heart, for your own sake if nothing else."

She nodded.

"Good, now Tornado is an excellent horse with a smooth gait; you should enjoy riding him."  He smiled at her, but she didn't return it.

* * *

Shara -- who by now was getting used to answering to 'Katia' -- wasn't sure what to make of her situation.  Her husband had just volunteered to walk for nearly the entire day to spare her feet.

They departed ten minutes later with Kalus leading her horse -- which was actually his horse -- by the reins.  Like all war horses, Kalus's horse was high-strung and a bit wild, but he seemed much tamer and calmer with Kalus holding the reins.  She felt that she was safe because her husband was holding the reins, and very much doubted that another man could control the large war horse.

After perhaps an hour on the road, the sun finally started to poke above the treetops.  It felt good in contrast to the chill morning air, especially since she was still wearing the handmaiden's dress that she had been taken in.  It was very comfortable, but not thick or warm.

Kalus glanced up at her as the sun hit him and frowned.

"What?"  She asked.

He turned around so that he was walking backward, pulled the horse's head down to him, and in a very stern voice spoke a single word:  "Shalavo."

The horse seemed to glare at him.

Kalus turned to his herald.  "Keep the reins, I shall return soon."

His herald, who was riding nearby, nudged his horse forward and took the reins.  That's when Shara realized that Kalus was still walking, even though he had hundreds -- probably thousands -- of men under his command from whom he could've taken a horse.

She cocked her head to one side.

Why?

Kalus gave her a respectful nod of the head, then turned and started walking toward the rear of the line.

"Where is he going?"  She asked his herald.

"I do not know my lady."  He replied in a respectful tone.

"And why doesn't he simply get another horse?  I'm sure he could get one from his men."

"He could ma'am, but he wouldn't."

"Why?"

"Because they aren't his horses."

"But he's the commander of the army, or at least a large part of it."  She countered.

"That's why he won't."  The herald replied.  "Commander Kalus is a singular man.  I've never met his like.  He requires the men to be served food before the officers, and the officers to be served before the commanders.  If there is a food shortage, it's the commanders on restricted rations first, then the officers, then the men."

"But..."  She trailed off.  She'd never heard of anyone doing that in an army.  It was usually the reverse.

"The commander would never ask one of his men for a horse that man was using unless it was a dire situation.  The men know this and love him for it."

"But if they love him so much, wouldn't they volunteer to let him ride?"

"They probably would; he wouldn't accept it."  The herald replied with much admiration in his voice.  "He might allow the commanders and officers to sacrifice for the men, but he doesn't ask the men to sacrifice for the commanders and officers.  Ever."

Shara nodded, though still didn't understand.  "What about on the battlefield?"

"The commander is a good man."  The herald said.  "He takes the lives of his men seriously and never takes unnecessary risks.  He started this campaign in command of a fifth of the forces.  With all the men the other commanders have lost and with the few he's lost, he now commands over a quarter of the men; close to a third actually."

"That's impressive."  She admitted.  "Is he just that careful?"

"No my lady.  He's fearless and bold, but not foolhardy.  He makes the men drill far more than the other commanders and he drills with them every moment.  He doesn't ever expect more from the men than he does from himself."

"Hmm."  She mused.

She kept hearing all these wonderful things about him, but it was hard to forget what happened in that field yesterday.  She understood why Kalus did it, but she still hated him for it.  She hated herself a little for not fighting harder too.

Several minutes later, her horse started getting antsy.

The herald tried to calm him down, but he didn't possess the same strength of will and forcefulness as the horse's owner, so the animal got slowly antsier.  He started to hop his front legs off the ground, and she began to fear that he might go further and start to rear.  She leaned forward and grabbed the saddle horn, wishing she was on a smaller, calmer steed.

The horse neighed, then hopped up on its front legs even more.  It bucked slightly and Shara realized that if this horse wanted her off, it could throw her easily.  She held on for dear life, ready to be thrown.

"SHALAVO!"  A powerful voice rang out from behind her.

It was Kalus.

Instantly, the horse stopped bucking and pretended like he was being perfectly behaved.

"My apologies Katia, I shouldn't have left for that long."  Kalus said as he jogged up to her.  He was carrying a large straw hat and a pair of leather gloves, which he offered to her.  "For the sun."

She nodded and took them mutely.

She hadn't thought about it, but riding in the sun for the whole day would've resulted in a terrible sunburn on her skin which wasn't used to it.  He had thought of that and provided for it before she even knew she needed it.

"Thank you."  She said quietly.

He smiled at her.  "My pleasure."

* * *

Kalus's feet and legs were killing him by the time they broke for lunch.  The road wasn't rough, but he wasn't used to walking the whole time.

Katia had been fairly quiet all morning, saying very little in response to his attempts to make conversation.  After several tries, he figured he'd leave her in peace.  Shame; she was a nice girl and would've been wonderful company if he had married her properly instead of King Tyso forcing them to wed.

As usual, he made sure the men and officers had their food before he began to eat.  As instructed, his wife had been served at the same time as the men.  She seemed to be watching him out of the corner of her eye and yet pretending not to when he looked at her.

They mostly ate in silence.

"Did you get enough to eat?"  He asked as the army rose to travel again.

"Yes."  She said with a nod, but she said nothing else.

"Commander Kalus."  His herald called.  After hurriedly scarfing down his lunch, the man had asked permission to take his leave, which Kalus had granted.  Now he returned leading what looked like a very stubborn mule.  The only thing keeping it moving was a long switch the herald had to continually make use of to get the beast moving.  The beast had a saddle, but it clearly wasn't comfortable with the arrangement.

"Commander."  He said with a bow as he tried to keep the stubborn animal from going its own way.

"Commander, I told a few of the baggage managers of your predicament, with not having a horse because you lent it to your wife.  They rearranged some of the baggage after the rations were served and there is one animal that--"  The mule jerked slightly, pulling the herald off balance.  He took a moment to right himself and then gave the mule's bit a sharp jerk.

Katia had an amused smile on her face.

She had a beautiful smile.

"If you wished to fight this stubborn ass, you could ride him."  The herald finished.

"I'm touched; thank you."  Kalus said, rising and taking the reins.

"And just so you know, dozens of men volunteered their mounts when they heard."  The herald said.  "I turned them down as I know your policy, but I thought you should know."

"Again, thank you."  Kalus said with a respectful bow.  "You're a good friend Kyselius."

"As are you Commander."  The herald -- Kyselius -- saluted him.

Kalus pulled the reins and brought the animal close enough to look at it properly.  It looked at him defiantly.  This mule was surely a stubborn ass, there was no doubt about it.

"Kyselius, please be so kind as to fetch my riding crop from the tent's baggage when you are finished, would you?"  He asked, realizing that he was in for a long afternoon.

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