Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Ally

Two drops of blood dripped from the tip of the sword onto Skye’s dress. Indignation was written all over the nomad’s face. He looked at the sword protruding from his chest, then down at Skye. Shock and fear lit up his features before he fell to the side; dead upon impact. Skye watched as he dropped; grateful in too many ways, for too many reasons. When she looked up to see her savior; she was beyond shocked to see that it had been the other nomad.

He was breathing so hard, Skye was surprised that he was able to stand. He took a step back, and plopped down into the mud as the thought crossed her mind. Still on her guard; Skye sat up, and scooted over by the water. When the young man saw her put her hand in it, he instantly straightened his back, and put his hands up in a defensive manner.

“For the love of the Gods! PLEASE don’t drown me again! I just saved ye! I may be slow, but Ima Not suicidal!” the young man scooted back another two feet as he’d spoken.

“Why did ye save me?!” Skye yelled; her suspicion plain on her face.

“Why did ye spare Me?!” the young man shot back.

“The carving... I saw yer carving. Is- is that yer family?” Skye asked hesitantly.

“No, I just like to carry a random piece of wood in me pocket at all times-” the man cut his sarcasm when Skye lifted her other hand; “Yes! It’s me mother and lil’ sister! Don’t shoot!”

.....

“Why did ye save me?!” Skye asked again, losing patience.

“Cause I owe you three life debts now! Well, now two, technically. Rickon was always a nutter, and cruel. No one will miss him, or the others, for that matter.. I only came with’em because me family hasn’t got enough supplies to last the winter. If ye would’ve killed me, ye would’ve been killin’ all three of us. Hence, the three life debts,” the man reclined comfortably as he finished his conclusions, still catching his breath.

“But I was the one tryin to kill ye! How could ye give a life debt to someone who was trying to take it in the first place?!” Skye asked incredulously.

“As ye may recall, this all started because we tried to kill and rob ye first, remember? But ye spared me life over.. What? A carving?! Ha! Who’s the real odd one here? As far as ye knew, I was gonna have me way with you as well,” he smiled handsomely at Skye as he finished.

As Skye readied a water bubble the size of his head, the young nomad hastily added; “Swear to the Gods, I wasn’t gonna, though! Me mother raised me better than that! And besides, ye kinda...” the nomad finished under his breath.

“Ima kinda What?!” the young nomad shuddered at Skye’s tone.

“Ye look like me wee sister, alright?! Geez! Ima startin’ to feel sorry for yer prince,” the nomad muttered.

“Are ye always this rude?!” Skye snapped at him.

“Well, it’s been a bizarre day! Petrie is my name, by the way..” he stood up and waved his arms as he recapped; “Rickon stole me bacon this mornin’, I missed the damn rabbit for lunch, I watched a man disappear in the blink of an eye, a wall of water tried to drown me, and I just watched a wee woman, or-fairy; whichever! Take down the four, Very scary men I was with.. Believe you me, sister: I know better than to cross ye. All I ask for is to be left a free man... And maybe some food for me family. Since, obviously yer a noblewoman.”

Skye openly gawked at Petrie before lowering her head in defeat with a sigh. He was just; too much. He talked a mile a minute, had no decorum, and flung mud as he’d waved his hands about during his rant, like an animal. Skye lifted herself to her feet, smoothed her shredded dress out, and began looking for her shoes. She was still barefoot, and her toes felt like they would fall off if they weren’t warmed soon.

After finding her shoes, Skye thought a moment about how to get Tidas home. He was far too injured to ride, but also to be left behind to go and get help. Skye argued inwardly with herself before it dawned on her: enlist the Nomad.

Skye turned to Petrie with an exhausted smile and said, “Ye may have yer freedom and food, if ye can help me with a couple of things..”

Petrie quirked up an eyebrow in suspicion. This woman was trouble, and he knew it. She was very beautiful; that was his first warning sign. The second was the fact that her man was none other than Prince freakin Tidas! He had to be the same one that took out Murdoc’s Raiders. He was happy Rickon didn’t piece it together beforehand. That was a mess that Petrie preferred to avoid stepping in..

‘If Murdoc finds out that I not only helped to save That prince, but killed one of me own to do it; gulp. Ima dead man! I need a plan!’ Petrie suddenly looked to Skye with trepidation.

“Things? What things? I need to start heading back, before it gets too dark,” Petrie replied as he racked his brain.

“Ima need ye to stay put and watch over the prince. Me horse won’t allow anyone to ride him But me. And he would crush ye under his hooves like dried leaves for tryin’. Tidas can’t be left alone..” Skye’s words trailed off as she walked over to a large tree, then around.

Petrie was on his feet and following the petite woman now. When he came around and saw her pull back the branches, a smile lit his face. He had figured that the prince must’ve been close by. But he was surprised the woman had left him so close to the action. He looked back to her; a worried expression on her face. Because she resembled his younger sister so, the sight tweaked at his heart strings. She obviously cared very much for her prince.

Letting out a long sigh of dejection, Petrie asked; “What’s yer name, Lassie? Ye never gave it..And it’d be ill-mannered of me to speak any further with ye without it.”

“Skye Moonstone,” she replied.

“Isn’t that the name of the lord who owns, ye know; Everything around here?!” Petrie almost yelled at her in his astonishment.

Skye had been surprised to learn that the Nomads of the Highlands weren’t as brutish and ignorant as she was led to believe. Based off of Petrie, anyways. He was quick-witted and mostly friendly.

His appearance was similar to that of the others, aside from the man-bear. His long dark hair was braided back, and he had a short beard that matched his head in color. Tall and broad, but lean in his waist. He was handsome, comparatively speaking. He was no Tidas, but attractive.

“Aye, that be me father that owns it. Although with me impending marriage, it’ll all belong to Tidas some day. Maybe if ye play nice and be helpful, he might give ye permission to hunt our grounds,” Skye beamed at her own sudden brilliance.

A temporary aide of food might not sway Petrie to keep his mouth shut about her powers in the long run. He could sell the information if he got desperate enough down the road. So Skye would assail his most common problem: a stable food source.

Having the lord’s permission to hunt on his grounds was a dream come true for most commoners. She could only imagine what it would mean to someone who was forced to move around due to constant food shortages and harsh weather.

As Petrie studied Skye, the gleam in her eye made him feel uneasy.. ‘Why would she offer something like that to a Nomad?! I know I saved her, but bloody hell! Only the favorites of the nobles are allowed to hunt their lands. She doesn’t even know my last name! Is it a trick of some kind? What would be her purpose? Does she plan to kill me later? Would the prince even allow me to hunt? Can I bring a friend?’

Seeing Petrie’s eyes cloud over in thought, Skye stipulated; “Ye can hunt our lands mostly free of worry. If I catch ye over hunting to turn a profit, I’ll skin ye me self. When yer sister is of a proper age, ye may teach her to hunt on our lands. It’ll be much safer for her that way. I will attempt to gain my father’s permission for ye as well, but do not hold yer breath on it. And ye must NEVER hunt in yer Highland skins. Those are a dead giveaway of who ye really are..”

Skye paused to make sure Petrie was keeping up before she continued; “Only three people on this earth know of my powers; now four. Ima free spirit as much as you are, and I Don’t want to lose it. If people found out, The king would indoctrinate me into the military without a second thought. And ye would lose yer means of easily gaining food.”

“Ima no fool! I understand how rare yer power is.. Believe it or not we do have a few Mystics of our own,” Petrie replied with a smug face.

“Keepin’ yer mouth shut is only a part of it. The others are keepin’ an eye on Tidas while I get me horse, and helping me figure out a way to take him back home. He doesn’t look good,” Skye finished with sadness in her voice.

“Oh, he was gonna die no matter what. But luckily ye spared me,” Petrie said jovially as he turned to walk away from Skye.

“What?! Why? How?! Hey! Get yer Nomadic arse back here!” Skye sputtered in dismay as she followed behind him.

Petrie walked over to the corpse of Rickon. He lifted up a flap on it’s outer jacket, reached in, a pulled out a small pouch. He dangled it in front of Skye as he said, “Tis yer lucky day, me lady. I happen to have the cure to what ails yer prince..”