Part 1

DISCLAIMER: Needlessly violent and foul. You know, same old, same old phair.

FEEDBACK: Tell me you love it, hate it, or could not care any less… p.phair@comcast.net

PROMISE: As long as the ancient Celt haunting my dreams continues to tell me this story, I'll keep writing it down. This is what any generation would call a…

# Fair Trade

## by phair

Chapter 12

Ainninn made a hasty departure from the meadow to join her father in the parapet. Together, in silence, they watched the Roman ship sail toward their shores. The vessel hugged the coast as it traveled south to the safe harbor not two days journey by foot from Ainninn's village. Once it passed from view, they briefly discussed their plan to lead the Romans on the trade mission. Then they headed to their own rooms to pack.

Ainninn noticed the leather curtain over her doorway was moved aside. She could see movement beyond it and doubled her steps to see who the intruder was. Before crossing the threshold, she saw Dru's head bobbing slightly with her efforts to pack Ainninn's travel sack. The woman appeared satisfied it was as full and as closed as she could get it and began to tie it off.

“Are you in that much of a hurry to be rid of me?” Ainninn asked feigning annoyance.

“No,” Dru was startled by the sudden arrival and the question. “I'm sorry. I thought I could help you. I didn't mean to overextend myself into your affairs, Mistress.”

Ainninn entered the room to close the physical distance between them. She tried to give a reassuring smile but saw it was misunderstood. Dru reacted by dropping her eyes and straightening her shoulders preparing to be disciplined.

“It's alright. I was teasing you, 'tis all. Thank you for helping me. My father and I will be off at once. We don't want our hot headed guests roaming around the countryside unescorted. Who knows what trouble they'd cause?”

Dru grimaced and whispered, “I know the destruction they can wreck upon an innocent land better than any.”

Ainninn heard the remark. She understood the depths of Dru's grief. She, herself, had mourned her mother's fated capture and untimely death much the same. Ainninn could not help but to reach out and caress Dru's chilled cheek. Dru turned toward the warmth and kissed the palm.

“Sleep in my bedding while I'm gone. I'll feel better knowing you are warm under my pelts,” Ainninn instructed. “Perhaps you'll like it well enough to forgo the kitchen floor to sleep by my side upon my return.”

“I think you'll expect more than sleeping under your pelts when you come home,” Dru countered.

Ainninn smiled before kissing the top of Dru's head. “I thought we settled the matter of my expectations out on the meadow. Didn't I say, I treasure the gift of your captive heart?”

“We did. I'm sorry. These changes are quick for me. Years of training are being shattered under the deliciously burdensome weight of sweet kisses from your lips. My heart is healing with your attention.”

Ainninn tweaked Dru's nose before pulling away and grabbing her sack. “Don't forget, Aten's warm embrace is at work as well. By the time I'm home again, you'll be the soft, sweet, loving woman you were always meant to be.”

“From your lips to your God's ears,” Dru whispered but Ainninn still heard her.

“Our God's ears, Lass. Aten has claimed you for me.”

Dru watched Ainninn walk away. “Aten, she has faith in you. I will follow her lead, I suppose.”

The grudging rendering her small prayer was met with neither acceptance or rejection, so Dru made her way out of the room to, in the most literal sense, follow Ainninn.

* * *

A half dozen or so well armed men were gathered around Loich in the field behind his home. They were dressed for travel and prepared for trouble should it find them along trip. Finntan was there as well but he had not readied himself to leave anytime soon. Dru saw Ainninn's carriage change with each pace closer to the group. Her shoulders were stiff and her back was straight. There was a confidence in her stride Dru had not witnessed since their days in Rome. Ainninn was not just joining her neighbors in their combined task. She had arrived to lead them. Loich was the only man before her to grin. His pride in his offspring was plain to see from one whisker to the next on his beaming face.

“I sent Elv on ahead to rouse the horses,” Loich announced for all to hear but it was directed to Ainninn.

Ainninn merely nodded.

“We're off then,” Loich said and turned to go further down the meadow and not back to the fortress entrance.

Ainninn paused a moment to motion Dru to her side. “We leave in secret by another path. You'll go no farther. This man here,” Ainninn pointed to a scarecrow like bean stalk of a man standing next to Finntan. The man smiled at Dru revealing spaces where teeth should sit. “This is big Noe. He stands in my father's stead whenever we are away. If something is amiss go to him.”

Dru was puzzled that Finntan was not charged with keeping the peace but she knew better than to question Ainninn with a stranger nearby.

“I must catch up with the others. Be well, see to your chores, and I'll be home before you'll have chance to be grateful for my absences,” Ainninn said before turning her attention to Finntan. “Be careful on the hunt. I worry for you without me at your side.”

Finntan raised both his fuzzy eyebrows in surprise. “You fear for my safety?”

Ainninn laughed as she trotted after her comrades already half way across the meadow. “I fear for your skills. I want you to catch a huge boar to feed my appetite on my return. I just worry you'll not land the beast without me at your elbow.”

“Phah!” Finntan blew out his exclamation. “I'll land two boars and a suckling piglet without you under my feet. Try not to fall off your horse, girl!”

Laughter rung across the field. Dru listened to the merry sound but felt her heart beat slow. Ainninn was leaving her behind. They'd been in close company for so long that Dru worried what life would feel like without Ainninn's scent lingering around her.

“As for you,” Finntan's voice was stern when he addressed Dru. “We have a few details to see to before I take my leave for the hunt.”

In spite of her fear of the man, Dru looked at him clearly confused.

“I will speak simple in my words so even you can understand,” Finntan carefully produced each word trying to rise above his own accent. “Loich and I have started the hunt for the festival precisely three days before Samhain since we first were able to hold our blades and walk as well. That is two dawns from this morning. He insists I keep the tradition as to not anger the gods.”

“You'll go with another then,” Dru stated certain of the words but still unclear of Finntan's worries. He was obviously worried with a drawn brow and frequent scrubs to his bearded chin.

“We have a few lads who always go with us. That is not the problem. My reluctance to leave is because there are yapping mouths brewing resentment around the village. They will just be getting wind of Loich's departure as I make my own.”

“You think they will make louder noise with no sane voice to shush them,” Dru was beginning to understand and share the man's misgivings about the timing of the hunt.

Finntan said, “More even than talk perhaps. These louts are as reckless as they are dumb. Who knows how far they'll push this rare event of lax governing. None in the village heed Noe,” he tossed a negligent thumb over his shoulder at the smiling fool. “He's a figure head and a blabber mouth. Noe's able to keep temporary control because he has the chief's blessing and his nose is buried so deep in his neighbors' asses they might sneeze him out their mouths should they take a chill. Few would risk acting out with such a gadfly in our midst.”

“The perfect bureaucrat,” Dru observed and Noe nodded in happy agreement.

“Yes, you see it as it is,” Finntan gave a defeated sigh. “Here's the meat of it. My greatest problem is my greatest joy.”

“Mery,” Dru said for him.

“You know what I'll ask of you then?”

“You want me to look after her,” Dru said.

“Exactly. I'm moving her back to Loich's home this evening. We'll spend the night there. None will think much of it as they know the hunt begins soon.” Finntan shook his great head in a gesture that reminded Dru of the beasts she fought in the games. “Noe, leaves us.”

The young man scrambled to get away. He quickly disappeared from view in a dead run back to the village.

“What I show you next could cost me my life but it is worth breathing no more if Mery's safety is at any risk at all.” Finntan said in a low voice, “Follow me and keep your mouth shut!”

They trailed the unmarked, long grassed meadow which Loich, his men, and Ainninn walked not long before. It was treacherous in places with outcroppings of stones and slippery moss covering the rocks under foot. Slopping hills, always descending, as if sinking into the horizon. When it looked as if all land ended and nothing but sea lay ahead, Finntan hopped down a good four hand spans to a narrow path hacked out of the stone cliff. Dru followed. Her gut flipped with the sight of the fall awaiting her first misstep. She stayed close to Finntan and kept her eyes on his heels. After a blind, sharp turn to the sea, the path widened and a gaping opening greeted them. Dru peered into the space and was surprised to see light at the end of the tunnel.

“This runs under the fortress walls. It is how we come and go unseen by most of the villagers. Only Loich's true followers know the route. On the other side, we house our horses. There are several villagers farming lands and herding sheep outside the walls as well,” Finntan explained.

“And, if under siege you can sneak out and get behind your opponent to slaughter them,” Dru added.

“Exactly. This is the secret of Loich's power,” Finntan bit his lip. “And, I've betrayed it to an unknown foreigner enslaved first by the Romans and now my best friend's daughter. I must be mad.”

Dru shook her head in objection. “You lost your heart to a good woman and you would see to her safety above all else. It is love, I think, to do such a thing and not betrayal. But, rest easy. It would be poor reward to a noble warrior for me to share your secret. Regardless of my lowly status, the Roman's forged a warrior out of my skin and I'll be stay true to that code. We are brothers in arms.”

Finntan turned on her with a sour pucker of his lips. “We are not! Make no mistake here, Slave! I show you this for Mery's safety and not because I trust you. If you so much as glance in this direction, I'll remove your eyeballs from your face and shove them down your throat.”

Dru stepped back digging in her heels. She dropped her eyes to the ground. If he struck her, there would be pain but she would not fall. She steeled her emotions to ensure her tears would not fall either.

“Understood, sir,” she mumbled.

“You'll protect Mery or your reward will be unspeakable agony. I know many ways to break bones and remove skin without ending my victim's suffering. Do what you must to protect her at all costs or you will answer to me,” Finntan gave the ultimatum.

“Yes, sir,” Dru answered sullenly.

“Get back to your duties and remember these things I've shown you only if you need to.”

Dru returned the way she came without glancing back once at Finntan. She did not want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her hatred.

* * *

Even though his threat was harsh, Finntan was pleasant during his short stay in Loich's home. Dru continued to serve as she had when Ainninn was home. Nothing changed about her days but the people in the house.

Mery, however, was quite blue. She was more than unhappy to be moved from her newly erected house. The fact that Finntan would be gone for several days only added to her misery. His departure at the front door was a mix of exchanges; kisses, talismans, and tears. When she finally let him go, she trudged back to the hearth to feed the fire. Dru let her mope until the sun moved a little higher in the sky. Then she approached to offer her a mug.

“Cider?” Mery asked as she took the warm pot.

Dru smiled slightly, “Mead.”

Mery took a long drink. She swallowed hard and savored the burn before replying, “Thank you for it. I might just sleep the days away under its tippy influence.”

“No, don't sleep. There is much to do for your lonely self,” Dru encouraged. “We must prepare for the feast these locals plan to welcome.”

Mery stood and gave a full shudder at the thought. “A festival of death? No, I'd rather sleep until they are done with their waking of the dead.”

Dru strolled off to the kitchens with a taunt, “It is less about dying and more about the lust for the pleasures of life but suit yourself and sleep.”

“No, you lie? Really?”

“Bria tells me it is the beginning of the dark side of the year when men and women huddle together for warmth and comfort. It is the season of coupling,” Dru chuckled and dissappeared into the kitchen.

Mery's footsteps bounded behind her. “Wait, is this true? Or are you making me a fool with half tales from a crone?”

Dru was emptying the remains of their breakfast and food scraps into the slop pail but stopped long enough to answer. “I don't know their ways, it's a fact. But, Bria seems kind enough not to tell stories to me. She is genuinely happy when I get things right. A nice change in custom for me, I might add.”

“Are you well, Dru?” Mery asked and placed her hand on Dru's wrist, over the manacle still locked there. “It can't be easy for you seeing my freedom.”

“You earned it. I'd never wish you suffer more like me,” Dru said but did not look up from the slop.

“You should have earned more than your freedom when you saved Ainninn's life. I thought, I was sure, when she woke on the ship she would free you,” Mery's voice hinted on contempt but Dru just shrugged.

“It is my lot to see to my Mistress' needs. There's no rewards for doing what you're commanded,” Dru grumbled bitterly with the fresh taste of Finntan's threat on her lips.

Dru looked at Mery and saw sadness. They both had shared this kind of conversation before with other slaves who found their freedom first. While they were not friends under the Roman roof, they certainly were peers.

“Come on, help me with the slop pails,” Dru ended the moment by gently tugging her wrist out from under Mery's hold.

The air was cool when they exited the house. Dru would be more than happy to return to the fire. Even with the long leggings and sleeved wool tunic Ainninn provided her, Dru shivered with the cold wind blown up from the sea.

“Your skirts aren't warm enough, Mery,” Dru noted. “Let me take your pails and you go back.”

Before she could answer, Bria rushed toward them from the pig pen. The old woman seemed to age with each step. Any color her cheeks held before had all drained to white.

“Hide yourselves. Madness is afoot,” she hissed as she barreled along.

Dru dropped her pail and grabbed the woman, holding her still. “What madness? Tell me quick!”

“Maida, Oldren, they seized the idiot and are slaughtering him now. They mean to feed his carcass to the piggies.”

“Dru, we have to help him,” Mery lurched forward but Dru snagged her arm as she released the old woman.

Dru focused on Mery and let Bria flee. “No, he's gone or will be soon. I've got to worry after you. Come now, without words, hurry.”

Dru kept hold of Mery's hand and dashed toward the meadow. Screams began to rise from the village. Shouts and curses and begging filled the air. But, Dru remained single minded on escape and raced to the path marked only in her mind. Mery was good and quiet. She kept pace with Dru but panted heavily with the effort. When they approached the cliff, Dru skidded to a stop.

“This is harder here but keep a hold on my shirt. If you slip, I'll pull you back.”

Mery looked over the side and swayed a bit while Dru hopped down to the trail. She looked at the Slave's raised hands and a glint of sunlight reflected off the cuffs.

“Aten, help me,” Mery mumbled as she entrusted her body to Dru's outstretched arms.

“We are fine in this. No gods need to lend us help yet. There is time still for their concern in our affairs but not in this easy thing we do,” Dru tried to calm Mery's trembling with confident words. “Hold my shirttail and you'll be safe and sound.”

“So says you,” Mery might have laughed if her teeth were not chattering so badly.

The pair moved as one. Dru was sure in her footing which gave Mery unreasonable faith in their journey. However, the unexpected sharp turn made her gasp but Dru pressed onward. At the tunnel's mouth, Mery threw herself into Dru's arms.

“Thank you, thank you,” she wept her fear now that she was safe.

“Here now,” Dru instructed. “There are farmers and shepherd loyal to Loich at the other end. A stable boy might be close by as well. Tell them Loich or Finntan must return at once.”

“Wait, why does this sound like I'll go on alone?”

Dru winked. “Because, you go on alone. I must go back and distract Maida's boys from the path. They are stupid but even so, one or the other or Maida herself will see the clear trail we left behind. The tunnel is a secret and a means for the return of Loich's protectors. If it is found by these insurgents then Loich will not regain his control without a bloodbath.”

Mery wrapped her arms around Dru and pulled her close to hush in her ear, “Who cares about these Celts? This is their fight. Come with me. We'll hide until Finntan and Ainninn can find us and then we'll convince them to sail to Egypt. It is warmer there anyway. We should flee this green and angry land.”

Dru gave Mery a light squeeze before pushing her back. “You must go and I must return. Egypt is not an option.”

Mery hung her head but gave a slight nod. “Be careful in fighting Loich's battle.”

Dru frowned and replied, “Be fast in finding Loich's friends.”

They parted without uttering goodbye. Dru did not wait for Mery to travel the length of the tunnel before she climbed back up the path. She got to a point where she could pull herself onto the meadow without much risk of falling but well away from the beginning point of the path. Dru stayed low so the grass would be higher than her head.

Once she was on firm ground, Dru listened. Below the screams and anguish of the chaos in the village, Dru heard the voices of several men following the steps Mery and she ran. They were still a good distance from finding the beginning of the escape route. Dru decided to act and ensure they would not find the means to Loich's secret.

She rose out of the grass quiet as smoke. Maida's youngest son was two boot prints in front of her. He stood stunned by her sudden appearance. It would be his last mistake ever. Dru punched him dead in the throat. The hard bone which stood proudly pronounced was knocked backward. For a moment, the ruffian seemed trying to swallow the loosened bone but his cheeks quickly went to red then purple and he crumbled to his knees without even a whimper of protest. Dru caught his body by the shoulders to keep it from thumping the ground and alerting his brothers and friends searching the meadow. She lowered him down and took the short blade from his dead fingers. It wasn't a quality weapon but it would do to even the odds in the field before her.

Dru stood again. None of the searchers noticed their friend's demise and Dru's rising. She needed to change that. She darted headlong for the young man leading the search. He was a bully who traveled with Maida's middle son, Ro. Dru's deliberately loud footfalls did nothing to make him turn toward her so she screamed.

Just as he turned she brought the blade up and removed his head from his neck. His hands flailed as his head was knocked up in the air. Frightened shouts rose behind her at the grisly scene of the new corpse walking several paces before stumbling to the ground.

“You bitch!” Ro shrieked and ran at her.

Dru kicked out and connect her boot to his chest. He gasped and fell back clutching at his heart. She knew he'd be dead in several moments and left him to his agony. The shouts in the meadow brought a mass of men and boys. It was nearly a third of the town. Dru saw their numbers were plentiful but they lacked direction. There were many holes in their offensive. Looking directly opposite of where she wished to be, she spotted another of Maida's brood. His hair flamed red and his eyes were a sickly puke green. Dru turned toward him as if to attack. The gang around her anticipated the action and surged as one in that direction. Instead, Dru launched her blade and it connect perfectly in the middle of his face. His body fell forward revealing the weapon's tip exited the back of his head.

The mishmash of men panicked at the sight. Dru used their fear and confusion to her advantage. She sprinted after a pack of boys running away from the carnage. She tackled one of the boys trying to run home. The club he carried was nearly as long as his legs and almost as heavy. Dru rolled to her feet, pulling the club free of his hold. She was aiming for his head when he looked up at her. He was one of the boys who marveled at her gymnastics each morning.

“Just a babe,” she hushed at the senseless corruption of innocence.

The lost moment was her undoing. Several bodies slammed into her as one force. She was driven down to the ground beneath their combined weight. They were snarling with contempt for her and with their winning of the upper hand.

“Still, I halfed the number of sons Maida counted on only this morning,” Dru thought as the men punched and pulled her. “Ripping me limb from limb should keep the rest of them distracted long enough for Mery to find help.”

“Get her on her feet!” Oldren screamed. “Where's Finntan? Where's his dark whore?”

Dru was dragged up and held with her arms twisted behind her back to face the questions. “Who care?” The slap he delivered was laughable.

“I'm not going to ask again.”

Dru stared at him mutely. The men holding her stood waiting. Oldren began to sweat with the uncertainty of what to do next.

“I'll kill you,” he said out loud as if he was telling himself.

“Oldren,” Bocha, one of his two remaining brothers, spoke, “Mother will want to deal directly with the cunt who killed her boys.”

Oldren shook his head and sneered at Dru, “You are spared only briefly.”

Dru shrugged. “Of course, it would be only briefly. Eventually, you had no choice but to catch me. After all, we are trapped behind that wall together.”

“What?” Oldren questioned her logic.

“The way out is one way, as I saw it. The way in is the same way. If Loich blocks the other end, we are all trapped within.”

Oldren stared at her with disbelief, “Trapped? We'd be trapped?”

“This seems to surprise you. You must have planned for his obvious offensive tactic, right?” Oldren shook his head no so Dru continued. “Too bad. You'll have starvation to face instead of the blade.”

“Starvation?” Oldren questioned and his pot belly growled.

“Well, sure we'll starve. The food stores will run out sooner than you'd think. Unless, of course, you stocked up for a long siege.”

Oldren struck her again. His fear put more muscle into the blow. She was dazed by it. Her feet lost their purchase and she slumped. The men holding her pulled on her arms to continue holding her. It felt like her shoulders would snap from their efforts. Her breath was caught in her chest by the angle they held her. Dru struggled for each breath while her feet searched for footing.

“Bring her back to the village common. I'll fetch Ma,” Oldren instructed.

The men were quick to obey. They dragged Dru out of the meadow. Each stumble put sickening pressure on her bent arms. She didn't struggle much. Only enough to make them think she was reluctant to be with them.

Bodies of dead and dying villagers were scattered around the common. Dru looked to where they were walking and saw a scaffolding with a man already dangling at the end of a rope by his broken neck. He was an older gent. Dru's anger flared.

“Butchers,” she hissed.

The reply from her captors was a kick to her kidneys. She almost pissed herself. But, Dru was determined not to cry out in pain. Unsatisfied by her stoicism, the kicker kicked again. Dru couldn't not hold back a groan. The men congratulated each other with their triumph in hurting the slave.

“Cut him down and let's get her chained. I don't want to spend the rest of the day chasing what we managed to catch once,” Bocha directed.

Dru's legs were grabbed and pulled in opposite directions. Chains rattled as they were connect to the rings in her cuffs. Somebody behind her wrapped an arm around her neck and bent her back. The men holding her arms spread them wide to reach for waiting chains. When to the locks were clicked closed, her head was released and the holder planted solid punch between her shoulder blades.

Dru was held helplessly open with her arms and legs stretched far and wide. The men around her eyed her with a mixture of hate and desire that sent a revolted shiver down her back. She knew what they wanted to do next but she could not tell if they had the guts to try it.

“Strip her!” Maide screamed from across the common. “Make her pay for my sons' blood!”

“Bria warned me it was the season of lust,” Dru thought grimly as her clothes were ripped from her back.

Chapter 13

Mery stumbled the last few steps out of the tunnel. She was momentarily blinded by the brilliant sunlight and fell to her knees in the grass. The shadow that fell over her stole the breath from her lips. She looked up but saw little more than an outstretched hand and the silhouette of a man offering her help.

"What are you about?" his voice was youthful.

Mery was so distraught she could form only a one word reply, "Riot!"

"Sons of a fat whore!" The curse was uttered first and then the young man helped Mery to her feet. "Do I even need to ask the trouble makers' names?"

Mery shook her head and answered, "The malcontents are known by all. But, we waste time. I must find Finntan. He only left with the dawn."

"You'd have better luck finding elf tears on your apron. Finntan's on the hunt. No tracker among us could find his foot prints."

"Then all is lost," Mery was dejected with thoughts of the failed cause Dru was battling alone.

The young man seems confident, "Not if you can sit a horse."

"I can but I've no ideas how that could help."

"You'll ride out to meet Loich's party. They will pass the way you first arrived very soon. I'll gather more strong backs from the farms and fields around the keep. We'll meet back here. Whoever is first will wait for the other."

Mery listened as the young man lead her to the horses but objected to his final directive. "You mustn't wait. Ainninn's slave stayed behind to keep them from finding the tunnel. You have to help her."

He gave her two hands up to the horse's back before answering. "They surely have killed her already. Us men out here have orders to follow and those are still sound. We wait to retake the village on Loich's order. Now, you hold on as best you can. This beast is Ainninn's fastest. She'll find them. You just need to be with her when she does."

The young man cracked the horse's rump with the final word. Mery had little choice but to hold on as the beast vaulted forward at a break neck pace.

* * *

Dru hated Oldren more than any of the others. Each man leading the revolt was granted a go at her. Some chose only to beat her. Two took her down from the scaffold to fight hand to hand. They were braggarts but lacked confidence. They left her chained by the left ankle which hindered her offensive maneuvers. Still, Dru managed to shatter one man's kneecap.

But, Oldren was a different matter. He was a tall and heavy man with a cock longer than Dru ever saw on a human. Most of the horses in her Roman Master's stable were bigger than Oldren but not by much. When he hardened with arousal, the penis became rock like and angry red, drooling froth. His leggings were no match for the little fiend. It would rise up, rearing an ugly head, searching for tight confines to torment to its own eruption. The vicious war club napped lightly and recovered quickly from one belching orgasm to the next.

But, Dru found Oldren's preference for plowing into her ass with his grotesque manhood to be nearly unbearable. His endowment brought her to a level of suffering she had never experienced before. All Oldren needed to do to make Dru whimper with a childish fear was stand up from the feast of stolen goods he and his cohorts claimed and let his erection point in her direction.

He growled someplace close behind her and dug his cock in deeper than any violation before. Dru screamed as blood oozed out around her stretched hole. He laughed. Others echoed the sound as Dru sobbed hanging helpless in her chains.

"I could do this for days," Oldren snorted after his juice spat into Dru's redly raw puckered hole.

The thought of such misery turned Dru's stomach making her gag again. Her anguish brought more merriment to the gathering. The louts around her bellowed with amusement.

"She's not pleased with your claim, Oldren!" Maida shouted from her spot in the center of the band.

"Good! I wouldn't want her to enjoy my pleasure," Oldren snarled but it sounded more disappointed than vengeful.

* * *

Mery screamed when she saw the trotting group of horseback riders dotting the horizon. It was more from fear that her steed would bolt passed the group than her relief at finding Ainninn. They still needed a great deal of good fortune to save Dru. That is if there was still a Dru left to save. The thought of that loss made it hard for Mery to catch her breath.

The riders immediately turned in her direction. Ainninn and Loich broke away from the group to reach her first. Much to Mery's relief her horse stopped on Ainninn's signal.

"What has happened?" Loich questioned.

Mery blurted the reply, "Maida and her thugs."

Ainninn needed only one more piece of information about the situation, "Dru?"

"She lead me to safety," again Ainninn interrupted.

"She's safe as well then?" Ainninn's hope was unmistakable but Mery dashed it with a shake of her head. "Why not?"

"She worried the brutes would find the tunnel so she went back to distract them from our trail."

Ainninn's horse was kicked into motion before Mery could finish the thought. Mery looked at Loich expectantly.

"Nothing can save them if they touched what my daughter calls her own," Loich looked very old suddenly.

Mery was furious with his bravado. "The odds are stacked to high. You must do something."

"I will," Loich was grim. "I'll bury each of her victims by my own hand."

* * *

Ainninn reigned her horse to a stop at the mouth of the tunnel. Loich's lads were gathered and waiting for her. She wondered how they managed to follow that order while watching the smoke billowing up from behind the fortress walls.

"We're ready then?" She skipped pleasantries.

A low whistle from not too far off stopped the group from entering the tunnel. Ainninn waited until it sounded again. She looked toward the tree line and the half naked shadow hurrying out of the forest. Finntan ran like a man half his age. He wore leggings and boots and carried a heavy axe. The bare skin of his chest was painted in mud and animal blood.

"Have those fools set themselves alight?" He questioned but knew better. His half hearted hope it was little more than a scuffle vanished under Ainninn dark glare. "Tell me quick who you want dead and I will make it so."

Ainninn could barely speak above her fury. "If they harmed her, they must cease to breathe in the most grisly manner we can deliver."

"Who? If they hurt who? Surely, your slave lead Mery to safety?"

"She did. Mery is safe and brought word of the troubles to Loich and me.”

"Then who are we rescuing?"

"After leading Mery to safety, Dru returned to the thick of it to keep our secret our own."

"No!" Finntan was horrified. "I charged her with Mery's care. I meant for her to save her neck as well."

Ainninn looked grief-stricken as she spoke, "Then you should have ordered her to save herself."

Finntan's horror soured quickly to a wild anger he would use to fuel his fight. "You and the lads go this way. I'll go my own. I owe the little Viking more than I can repay. I'll get to her faster than you can."

"If you live to make the climb," the young man who guarded the horses warned. “A cold wet fate awaits one misstep.”

"Liam, if the gods let me fall then Ainninn's one God will catch me and lift me over the walls to do what I must. Dru will be saved by this hand," he lifted the axe high. "I swear it as my oath!"

"The wind at your back, friend," Ainninn's voice was a hoarse whisper.

* * *

Dru kept her eyes down. She found the strength not to weep while the upstarts were distracted elsewhere. At the moment, they were arguing over which keg of mead to crack open next.

"As long as they are not trying to crack me open for a time," Dru thought to herself. "Let them argue until all the kegs are tapped and emptied."

Her small wish was summarily rejected when Maida walked toward the scaffold from Loich's home. Following her was her sickly son, Mark. He straggled behind weighted down with a booty of stolen goods. Dru watched them approach from behind half closed eye lids. Maida's smile was repulsive and her son smirked with the same thin lips.

"Well, it seems you still live. I can't decide if that is good or not," Maida said. "My preference, initially, was to skin you alive but Oldren persuaded me that you would not suffer enough."

Maida stepped closer to Dru. She made a grand sure of inspecting the damage done by the thugs her son lead. She stopped as if distracted by something wonderful. Reaching out her hand, she let her fingers stroke the old brand burned into the meat of Dru ' s left hip.

"Those Romans really know what they're doing when it comes to branding slaves. But, the design lacks style," Maida said loudly as if trying to impress the drunken clods nearby.

Dru raised her head and snarled back, "You don ' t know your letters. The brand is a gift from the Greek wholesalers who auctioned me after the Romans captured my village. The Romans didn't bother to label me when I was shipped back for being too wild. I was bound for the games; the Romans had no need to mark a certain corpse. But, I suppose it is too much to expect a country girl like you to know Greek as well as I do."

Maida scowled and struck Dru hard across the face. "Silence! I don't want to hear your voice except when it wails in agony."

“ Then don ' t talk to me, ” Dru growled and spat a wad of blood in the woman ' s face.

Maida struck out from her wounded pride. She landed two or three heavy blows to Dru ' s battered face. A smug, taunting grin from Dru ' s lips brought another onslaught of blows. None were strong enough to knock Dru out. But, they did manage to grab the attention of every conscious drunk in the common.

“ No luck at all, ” Dru thought ruefully.

“Mark, get me that iron,” Maida stopped swinging when her knuckles split from skin on skin contact. “You, lads, stoke up the fire. I want Ainninn to see we've watched over her property well and good.”

Mark dropped most of his arm load of stuffs. He squatted down to picked over it, looking for what his mother requested. It was not in the pile. His mother's tapping foot made him start to sweat.

“I, I don't see it,” he finally squawked.

She kicked out at him. The scrawny boy sprawled in the mud. He scrambled to put distance between them. His feet were flying and he managed to connect with the irons head sending the handle skyward. The shaft cracked him hard between the legs bending him over with a gasp. Men all around them howled with laughter.

“Shut up the lot of you!” Maida screamed before tramping over to seize the iron. “If you want something done you must always do it yourself,” she grumbled and plunged the iron into the fire.

* * *

Finntan hurried through the thicket to the southern edge of the fortress wall. The smooth surface was broken by a gaping hole which was the open doorway to oblivion in the passage way. A narrow stone bridge wide enough for one foot step at a time connected to the wall over a crevasse filled with jagged stones and a raging sea. To fall was certain death.

Finntan pulled two long lengths of leather around his waist. Kicking off his boots, he then dropped his leggings and stood as proud as his birthing day. Tearing a pant leg free, he wrapped the axe head carefully. He tied the leather tethers around the base of the axe head and handle. He slipped the axe on his back using the leather straps like sleeves.

Without losing a instant more, he took three big steps backward before sprinting for the foot bridge. His left foot hit first then his right. He pushed up with all his might and reached for a small beam of wood sticking out between two heavy stones. He caught it with his left hand but his left foot missed the large crack three stones down from it.

“Should have practiced more,” he muttered as he stabbed with his toes for purchase on the slick stones.

A gust a wind at his back worked to his advantage. He got his foot in the crack and then shoved his right foot into another space between the rocks two stones up. His right hand reached for another gap in the masonry and found it.

“Now, for step seven of the twelve,” he grumbled. “Why did I make this so hard?”

He continued to inch his way up the stones toward the open doorway. A slip or two got his heart pounding but the winds were strong enough to press him into the stones and not rip him off to the sea.

“Last step's the worst,” he groaned as he moved just below the threshold.

Holding on with both hands to the notch in the threshold, he had to let his feet abandon their secure spots in the wall. Only one foot could fit in the final hole. He shoved his left foot in and hoisted himself bodily into the tunnel. His hands had to let go to grab for the soft dirt of the slooping passage way. He designed the path so any invader would be unable to stop their descent even if they became aware the passage lead only to doom.

“Come on, boy, dig in,” he snarled as he tried to drive his fingers as deep into the dirt as he could.

He shoved his right knee onto the ledge and followed with the left even though he was not entirely settled with a strong grip. Clawing and hurling his body forward, Finntan inched up the narrow passage until he was on level ground. Finntan took two deep breaths to calm his heart.

“Ready,” he mumbled and stood in one fluid motion. “Now, they all die.”

* * *

Dru watched the iron glow an evil red. A crowd had gathered to watch Maida's handiwork. They busied themselves inspecting the iron and searching for heavy mitts to hold it and finish the deed. Muttering and suggestions were shared as if they were doing little more than preparing for a holiday feast.

The boy, who lost his club to Dru which caused her to lose any chance of fighting back, approached the bound woman. He had a full skin in his hands. He took a swig from it and wiped his mouth. None of the adults paid him any attention. He stopped in front of Dru and stood much closer than any unarmed grown man would have dared. Lifting the skin to her lips, he dribbled several splashes into her mouth.

Dru savored the taste. It was wine and then some. She knew there was a root in the brew but could not place it. When it was offered again, she took to it like a newborn to a nipple and suckled.

“Ry! What are you doing?” Maida screamed.

The incensed woman crossed the grass with purpose. She knocked the skin from the boy's hands. Without missing a beat, she backhanded the lad. He was flung into Dru with the force. He buried his wounded face in her chest. Dru felt his hot tears against her nearly frozen skin but had no way to comfort him.

“Leave him be!” Dru warned. “He meant no harm to your game. He's just a child.”

Maida grabbed the boy and tossed him to the ground. “Stop crying! You're a man now! Your father is dead. You have to stand up and be the man of your hearth.”

“Leave him alone!” Dru tugged on her chains as she shouted at Maida.

The boy was huddled on the ground begging, “Don't hit me, Granny, please. I'm sorry.”

“Sorry? You pathetic sop.”

Maida kicked the boy making him cry harder for mercy. The crowd laughed and Oldren wandered over grinning like a fool. Maida directed her oldest to help her.

“Get him on his feet. I'll make him a man this day or we'll bury him with his father,” Maida announced and watched her orders followed. “Ry, you'll brand the slave.”

“No, no, please, don't make me,” the boy struggled against his uncle's hold but it did no good. “I'll hurt her.”

Oldren chuckled, “Yep, you will. Then we'll let you fuck her before we have you kill her. Your first fuck and your first kill all on the same day.”

Dru leveled her glare on Maida as the older woman tugged on the mitts to remove the iron from the flames. When the woman turned toward Dru, their eyes met. The unmasked hatred burned deep into Maida. It was like a physical blow. Maida was the one who looked away first.
“Oldren, hold him and I'll guide his hand,” Maida instructed but she sounded less confident.

“No, please, no,” the boy was trying to fight them.

“Ry,” Dru spoke directly to him worried about the three of them fighting with a red hot iron between them. “Do what she says or you'll get burned worse than me.”

The boy turned ghastly pale as he looked from Dru's face to the artful swirl of Ainninn's metal brand approaching Dru's thigh. “I'm sorry.”

“I know,” Dru whispered back, truly afraid as she felt the heat from the hot iron draw closer.

Dru shrieked as her skin seared and burned to red with the mark of her Mistress.

* * *

The sound of the scream was a mixed blessing for Ainninn. She and her men were just ready to pull themselves into the meadow. The scream distracted the scattering of men searching the meadow for Mery. Their inattention gave Ainninn's forces a chance to get in good positions to strike. But, the scream belong to Dru. Ainninn was sure of it. That meant her stoic slave was being savagely abused.

“They will all die before another sun rises,” Ainninn promised herself as she leapt on the man closest to her and slit his throat.

* * *

Dru's scream echoed in the passage way of the the fortress. Finntan quickened his pace. One of Maida's insurgents rounded the hall ahead of him and missed the chance to end his life. Finntan grabbed the man's hair at the back of his head while putting his free hand to the man's back. He pushed and pulled in a quick motion, snapping the man's neck.

The body was heavier dead. Pushing it through the passage was more work. But, Finntan was pleased to make a kill. His hands had been itching for action since he first saw smoke rising over the fortress' walls.

The body dropped into the opening at the mouth of passage way. Nobody questioned the dangling feet. Finntan lowered the corpse to let the boots hit the ground but still nothing was said to the man.

“Unguarded,” Finntan rolled his eyes at the buffoons and he let the body fall in a heap.

Still, no cry of warning. Finntan hopped down and saw what distracted the upstarts. Oldren was behind Dru and pounding her backside with his cock. Another of Maida's son's, the wimp Finntan could not name, was stuffing Dru from the front. A crowd of no more than twenty stood shouting encouragement.

Finntan loosed his axe and took a deep breath. His battle cry lifted every head on the village common in his direction. The reply cry from the meadow got Maida's insurgents turning toward the sea. The echo from the homes of Loich's loyalists who kept the prime directive to wait for a counter attach sent the Maida's men running for cover.

Finntan would leave most of the rebels to Ainninn. He wanted only one of the group and ran right for him. As others tried to intercept him, Finntan thwarted them with his axe. Oldren, who was having trouble pulling out of his prisoner, saw death running straight for him. Finntan swung on the run and tore Oldren's arm from his body. His erection lost, Oldren was able to pull free of Dru. But, Finntan had turned by then and swung his blade up taking Oldren's left arm off at the elbow.

“Shit! Was aiming for the other shoulder,” Finntan cursed and grabbed a screaming Oldren by the stump.

He dumped the wounded man in front of Dru. “I'll leave you bound for a moment more, only,” Finntan reassured her. “I don't want his blood on your hands in case you carry his seed.”

Finntan slammed the blunted top of the axe into Oldren's hip, shattering the bone. He repeated the action with the opposite hip. Dru watched but said nothing. Finntan didn't need the weapon to destroy Oldren's kneecaps. A well placed stomp did that. He stood a moment to watch the man writher in agony. Finntan sighed before inflicting dozens half hearted hits across Oldren's belly. Intestines and gore splashed up but none of the cuts were enough to kill him quick.

“Say you're sorry,” Finntan spoke in soothing tones to Oldren.

When the man did not answer, Finntan pulled his short blade and began sawing at Oldren's oversized cock.

“Sorry, sorry, please, sorry,” Oldren babbled but the sawing did not stop until the member was freed.

“Good, I'm all finished with you,” Finntan said.

He patted Oldren's cheek like a father might with a well scolded boy. However, Finntan was not entirely done. He grabbed Oldren's jaw and forced it open. Slowly, he stuffed the engorged, grisly organ into Oldren's own mouth. He pushed and pushed until Oldren's face went red and eyes rolled back.

“You get to be dead now,” Finntan whispered in the man's hot pink ear.

Finntan did not wait for the body to stop shaking. He stood and went to Dru. The woman was near the end of her strength. Her face was paler than any Finntan had seen before and her lips were bluing. He swung his axe and cut the chains holding her feet to the scaffolding. He stepped closer to her and she cringed. Still, he wrapped his free arm about her battered body.

“I've got to hold you up, tis all,” he hushed in her ear. “My business is sleeping and would not think to bother you.”

With another swing of the axe, Finntan cut the chain binding one arm and then the other. Dru slumped against him. She whimpered weakly and tried to stand on her own.

“No, lass, I've got you. No more fears and no more worry for you with me. You're safe with a warrior; a brother in arms,” Finntan hushed.

Dru had no strength left even if she wanted to pull away. She let her body relax and he cradled her. She was losing her battle to stay conscious with the comfort of his warm body. Someplace in the distance a battle cry lifted again signaling victory.

“Ainninn?” Dru mumbled as she faded off to a place her pain would not follow.

“Yes, Ainninn,” Finntan grinned watching his friend walk toward him through billowing smoke. “Ainninn has come for you.”

Chapter 14

Ainninn could see the pair of them. Finntan standing, his naked body drenched in mud, blood, and gore. He held Dru in his arms as if she were little more than a child; her head propped on his shoulder and feet dangling over his arm. But, Dru was visibly injured. Bruises and blood were clearly evident even at a distance. However, it was the ghastly white hue of her skin that got Ainninn to quicken her steps.

She pulled her cloak from her shoulders as she approached. Ainninn hesitated a moment before covering the beaten woman. Dru looked so fragile, Ainninn worried the thick cloth would cause her additional pain.

“Better warm her,” Finntan noted Ainninn's pause and encouraged her to continue.

Dru whimpered when the cloak settled on her. Her eyes fluttered open and her vision cleared when she recognized Ainninn. Ainninn gave a gentle nod to her but had no voice to offer comfort.

“Shall we go to Loich's?” Finntan asked.

Ainninn was about to agree but a sudden thought seized her, “No, take her to the forge.”

A shudder ran through Dru with the direction. Finntan assumed she was merely cold and bundled her better in the cloak. Dru was beyond cold from her long hours chained to the scaffold. Her shiver had little to do with physical needs. Dru was shaking with fear.

“Why to the forge?” She questioned silently. “Am I so ruined, Ainninn wants nothing more to do with me? Will she leave me there? For what purpose? Didn't I try to help her cause?”

Ainninn shoved the door open. The place was in upheaval. Oldren and his cohorts seemed wont to damage just to for damage sake.

“Bring her here by the tools,” Ainninn said.

Dru shuddered again giving Finntan a moments worry. “What you mean to do, do quick. We need to warm her before she chills completely.”

“I'll work fast,” Ainninn promised as she retrieved inverted tongs from the floor. “It may pinch a little but I won't hurt you, Dru,” Ainninn hushed the words as she took Dru's arm out from under the cloak.

Ainninn pushed the sharp prongs of the tong heads between the tines of the metal cuff around Dru's wrist. She squeezed the handle to force the tong open. The rivet welded so long again snapped in two. Without hesitating over her success, Ainninn rested Dru's arm back across her belly and took the other arm to work the tool's magic again. Her next success was followed twice more with the cuffs around Dru's ankles.

Finntan shifted Dru in his arms to give Ainninn room to work the final metal ring. The collar around Dru's neck was wider and thicker than the cuffs. The rivet was hammered down from both sides. Ainninn worked the same as before but her success was slower.

“Need my strength?” Finntan asked.

“No, just your patience,” Ainninn grunted.

She gave a hard snort as she squeezed the tongs with both hands. Rivet cracked in two and shot off in either direction. Ainninn dropped the tool and it thudded at her feet. Her hands trembled as she reach up and carefully removed the collar from Dru's throat. Dru let out a gasp of surprise as if she'd been sleeping through the entire process.

“Bring her to my father's home. We'll care for her in the room Mery used until her own home was finished.”

“Finished then burned to ashes by the villains who lurked in our midst,” Finntan grumbled as he strode away.

Ainninn followed him in silence. She had no answer to the destruction around them. The sheer fact it was rendered by their own neighbors bewildered her. Foodstuffs for winter were squandered with petty pilfering and burning of the storehouses. Homes were destroyed and women and children murdered.

Ainninn lingered at the edge of the path to her father's home. Surveying the damage around her was enough to sicken her. They had prepared for invaders to try to ruin their lives but never dreamed their downfall would be from within the fortress' walls. Ainninn spotted her father marching toward the village common. He was grimfaced but shouting orders to his men and survivors alike. She'd leave him to sort the carnage out. Ainninn had a more important task to see to.

Ainninn caught up to Finntan as he was placing Dru on the bedding. The room never served for more than sleeping so furnishing were minimal. This might be why it was spared significant damage. The rest of the home was less fortunate.

“I'll get her water and find linen for bandages. Mery may be back as well, I'll bring her here to help,” Finntan said to Ainninn. He looked down at Dru who was eyeing him. “Rest, girl, your fighting days are done. My hand will tend any trouble that wanders to your door. You saved my heart's choice. My debt can not be repaid in this lifetime.”

“Not for you,” Dru's voice was hoarse and she flinched as she spoke. “Mery deserved saving for her own sake.”

Finntan grinned. “I agree but still, I'll benefit from your act. So, my hand is at the ready to back your cause.”

“Even if her cause was waged against me?” Ainninn asked as she stepped closer to the pair.

“That,” Finntan laughed as he made good an escape from the room, “that could never happen. You are a matched set. Like the tongs, you act with one purpose.”

Ainninn frowned as he left. The statement may have been in jest but she knew it was true. She stepped next to the bedding where Dru huddled. The wounds were too plentiful to fully comprehend. Ainninn was uncertain how Dru managed to survive the ordeal.

“Mistress, why did you remove my fetters?” Dru asked weakly.

Ainninn sighed a little before saying, “You've more than earned their removal. You lay here near death because of my people. The Romans were not as foul as these fools I did call neighbor.”

“You'll not bind me again?” Dru asked with worry. “I don't think I would like those cuffs returned to me.”

“I wouldn't like it either,” Ainninn gave a gentle smile.

Dru shifted to look down at her branded thigh. It was red raw with blackened skin already forming.

“Perhaps, the brand is enough to bind me to you, Mistress,” Dru offered weakly.

Ainninn knelt next to the bedding. Her vibrant eyes had gone nearly black. Smoke and soot had darkened her already dark tanned skin. She looked like a barbarian raider inspecting her booty. Except for the quiver in her chin and slight shake to her head.

“I did not now that done to you. Never! Brands are for livestock not fine horses and women. It was done to my mother. I hated that scar more than you could know.”

“If it this sight of it offends, I can cover it always in your presense, Mistress,” Dru felt any home Ainninn would still want her slipping away.

“I think,” Ainninn said softly as she leaned over and kissed a patch of undamaged skin close to the mark, “you should do as you see fit, always. If Mery bought her freedom with gold then you, without any doubt, purchased your release with blood and honor.”

“Are you certain you wish to do this, Mistress?”

“Yes. And, I'm fairly sure I don't like my title any longer. I owe you much more than just freedom. I'm more in debt to you than Finntan.”

Dru grimaced, “Because I saw Mery to safety and gave her a chance to rally help for the village?”

Ainninn grinned. “No, that is not my concern. I'm only half a Celt. If they burn themselves to cinders, I'd care a bit but not much more than that. I'm in debt to you for not running from me the first chance your got.” Ainninn crawled up into the bedding and brushed a stray, sweat soaked lock of hair back from Dru's battered face. “You could have gotten far from me. I doubt I'd ever find you if you lit out on your own. But, you stayed and were tormented and still you do not curse me aloud.”

"I think what I said before you left is still true," Dru admitted. "My feelings for you are mixed between love and hate just as my time with you has tilted between pain and joy. Still, I've not felt for another as I do for you. I'd like to stay with you."

"I'd like that too," Ainninn hushed and placed a soft kiss to Dru's chilled brow. "I'll start a fire. You need warming."

Dru grabbed hold of Ainninn's hand to pull her back. "Don't walk away. Stay next to me and warm me with you presence."

Ainninn nodded. She shrugged off her clothes and boots then stretched out next to Dru. She wrapped her own overheated body around Dru's nearly frozen skin before tugging the blanket over them. In spite of her obvious wounds, Dru snuggled deeper into Ainninn's embrace.

"Rest now," Ainninn said. "When you wake again, you'll be clean and mended and ready for your first taste of freedom."

Dru was sleepy but managed to mumble before drifting off, "Free with you or free alone?"

"With me, if you want me."

"I do want you, as Mistress or lover or both. I want you, Ainninn."

"You have me, Dru. Now sleep a little before we start to rebuild."

"The village?"

Ainninn chuckled and kissed Dru's split and bloodied lips. "Our lives. We'll rebuild our lives...together."

"Good," Dru whispered.

Dru ' s body relaxed and she began to lightly snore in the safety of her lover's arms. Ainninn felt the woman ' s muscles ease as the tension faded.

“ She ' s softening, ” Ainninn thought to herself. “ Aten has healed her soul to the softness of a woman once more. ” A broad smile spread across Ainninn ' s lips, “ He ' s blessed her then and we ' ll be together in this life and the next; forever. ”

With that thought, both women sighed as one.

The End

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