Chapter 2

Aislin didn’t stop until they arrived at the edge of the forest. She halted and glanced back at the village. It lay quiet; they had escaped unscathed. The small girl wasn’t far behind, running as fast as her little legs could carry her. She halted as she came up to Aislin, panting, and then glanced back at her home. Aislin thought she saw tears falling down her cheek, but the girl wiped them off and then turned back to the forest. She still hadn’t said a word, and now only glared into the woods.

What would she do with a girl? She would only slow her down. But it was too late for that now, and Aislin cast one last glance at the deserted village and then gestured for the girl to follow her. It was getting dark, and they needed to find somewhere to stay for the night, but they still had to get further away from the village before other raiders found it. She glanced at the girl pressing along next to her. She was staring intently ahead of her with her small legs fiercely pushing through the brushwood. She should say something, give the girl comfort, but nothing came to mind, and she continued in silence.

They stopped when the sun was almost down, and they were far enough from the village to be safe for the night. Aislin slumped down against a tree and took out the food they’d found in the girl’s hut. She handed her a piece of bread, and the girl snatched it without a word and gobbled it down.

“What’s your name?”, Aislin signed to her, but the girl only glared at her.

Aislin sighed. Maybe she would regret taking the girl with her, but she would have to deal with that later.

When half of the loaf was eaten, she put it away in the backpack and unfastened her cloak. The girl was poorly dressed, and she wouldn’t survive long without new garments. They would have to find another raided village and hope for luck to be on their side. She gestured for the girl to come closer, and to her surprise, she did so without a word and lay down next to her. Her small body pressed against her, and Aislin wrapped her cloak around her and lay down.

She woke up the next morning to the sound of metal clashing. She bolted up and glanced around. Someone was close by, and she hurriedly woke up the girl, signing for her that they needed to go. The girl leapt up, staring furiously around her with her fists raised before her. Aislin packed her cloak and then gestured for her to follow her. They ran through the forest, Aislin glancing behind them, but they seem to have gone unnoticed. She only stopped as they came to a lake, and she could no longer hear the battle. The girl halted next to her and leaned over to rest her hands on her knees, breathing hard.

“We’re safe here”, Aislin signed to her.

The girl nodded, the first reaction to her words that Aislin had seen.

“Are you hungry?”, she signed again.

The girl shook her head, and Aislin walked over and sat down by a tree. She had to find them somewhere safe to stay today, the girl couldn’t walk as far as she could. She glanced up at the sky. And shelter… The winter was almost upon them, and if they didn’t find anything in the coming weeks, it might be too late. The girl wouldn’t survive the cold. The girl suddenly got up and, without a sign or word, walked into the forest.

“Hey, come back!”, Aislin called out.

She scrambled up. What was she doing? The girl ignored her and continued walking, scanning the ground. After a while, she stopped and squatted down, and Aislin halted next to her.

“We need to go back”, she signed. “It’s not safe here.”

The girl picked up a fallen branch, weighed it in her hand, and then nodded to herself. What was she…? Another glance and she picked up a smaller branch, and held it out to examine. When she was satisfied, she turned to Aislin and mimicked, rather than signed, how she was throwing it.

“You… are making a spear?”, Aislin asked, surprised.

The girl nodded and then stuck out her hand, palm up.

“What do you need?”, Aislin signed.

The girl once again mimicked throwing the spear, then pointed at the end of the stick and held out her hand.

“You… need a knife to sharpen it?”, Aislin asked.

The girl nodded, and Aislin took her knife from her belt and handed it to her. The girl made the quickest of signs for “thank you” and then ran back to the lake. Aislin stared at her, then shook her head and followed.

The girl was sitting on the ground, the knife in her hand, and carving the stick as she came back. Aislin sat down against the tree, watching her. What a strange girl. She still hadn’t voiced a word in their time together, not even a complaint, but she seemed just as crafty as you would have expected of the Kareshi’s. When the girl was finished, she put the end of the stick into a notch she’d carved in the smaller stick and launched it into the air. It flew wide and landed tip-first in the soil with a thump. Satisfied, the girl ran to pick it up and then returned and sat down on the ground, staring out over the lake.

Who had she picked up in that village?