Fiction: Son's Blood - Chapter Two (Part 2)

Remembering, how down on her luck she'd been at their first meeting, Bracer rubbed her wrists. She'd still had the silver bracers then, though she thought she might have to sell them to live. They'd cost a lot when she bought them, for the smith who'd made them was reluctant to separate the wrist guards from their set of matching greaves. The shin guards' weight around her ankles would have slowed her down, but she needed the bracers. Little did she realize, when she bought them to cover the bindings that strengthened her wrists, that they would do more than hide her one weakness. She'd paid an exorbitant price forher vanity, but the bracers earned her a nickname that stuck.

The shining wrist guards were what first brought Kinsa to Bracers' attention. The girl crept around her campsite, eyeing them with such interest that Bracer took her for a thief. Finally, the girl's respect and interest convinced Bracer that her claim of wanting to learn soldiering was sincere.

Bracer was glad for the company, and for the small amount of money the young woman could pay for lessons. They eventually earned enough to move on together. Though she'd been approached by women before, Bracer had never been attracted to another member of her own sex. She took her affection for Kinsa as friendship at first, but eventually began to admit to her feelings for the other woman and accept the comfort Kinsa had been offering all along.

Once she accepted her feelings for Kinsa, Bracer found her life began to change. She no longer changed companions as often as she did employers. The two women hired on as a team, or not at all.

Kinsa was the only person, besides Alonder, that Bracer ever truly loved. She'd had bedmates over the years, but never any emotional attachment. Part of her wanted to stay faithful to Alonder, but, truthfully, there were few men she felt attracted to.

What she felt for Kinsa was different from what she had shared with Alonder. Perhaps it was because the women were equals. Though they began as pupil and teacher, Kinsa's natural abilities helped her learn quickly. They were soon partners, indulging in a career of friendly rivalry. At the end of a battle, each would tally her kills, bragging to the other about having done the most damage, then they'd end up sleeping in each other's arms.

Bracer now regretted not seeing the destructive side of their rivalry. It was a playful thing at first, with the student trying to best the teacher, but always falling short. After nearly seven years together, though, Bracer began to see that Kinsa's skill was beginning to surpass her own. Kinsa, being much younger, was just reaching her peak, honing her abilities to perfection. Bracer remained a good soldier, using her years of experience to compensate for losing her edge in the battle with time.

Their competitiveness lead to quarrels. One petty squabble ended with Bracer stamping off in a huff. She joined a group of gamblers, hoping an evening with the dice would take her mind off Kinsa. Instead, Bracer was so preoccupied with their argument that she lost heavily before she realized what was happening. In a desperate attempt to win back her money, she wagered the silver bracers, losing them, too.

When Bracer returned to their tent, Kinsa noticed immediately that the wrist guards were missing.

"Where are your bracers?" she asked, not bothering to disguise the surprise in her voice.

"I lost them."

"You gambled away your prize possessions? Why would you do such a thing?" Kinsa paused, then, apparently guessed what had happened. "Did you lose all your money as well?"

In answer, Bracer threw her flat, empty purse onto the floor.

"How could you do such a stupid thing? A whole month's wages gone in one night. You old fool!" Kinsa stormed out of the tent. Only later did Bracer find out that she'd gone to try to buy back the bracers.

The swordmates did not fight side by side that following morning. Bracer was still hurt and angry about Kinsa's words, so she volunteered to ride ahead with a scouting party. While the party was away, the camp was attacked. When the scouts returned, the enemy had already been driven off, but not without great cost to her company. Bracer first looked for Kinsa in what remained of their tent.

When she did not find her there, Bracer looked among the lines of still able fighters who had formed a protective border about the camp. Then she looked among the injured who had gathered for treatment in one of the larger tents that survived the attack. When she could not find her friend anywhere else, Bracer began a grisly search of the battlefield. It took an hour for her to locate Kinsa. At first glance, the woman seemed dead already. Her eyes were closed, her chest was covered with blood that had dried in the mid-morning sun.

"Kinsa," Bracer whispered as she knelt beside her fallen friend. "Forgive me."

"Brace..." Kinsa rasped through cracked lips. Her eyelids parted almost imperceptively.

"I shouldn't have left you," Bracer's throat tightened, but she refused to let herself cry.

"Shhh..." Kinsa hissed. "Don't mourn. This is how a swordswoman should die." Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she forced the words out.

Bracer wiped the red trail away with her fingers.

Kinsa's eyes opened a little wider. She looked at Bracer's hands and the ragged wrist wrappings that the silver bracers had once concealed.

"I couldn't get them back," she said softly. Bracer did not realize at first what she was talking about, but watched the wounded woman take a deep breath and grimace. "Tear up my scarlet tunic," Kinsa went on, though Bracer could tell that each syllable pained her. "At least your wrists will have more flash than they do in those rags."

Kinsa even managed to force her sun-chafed lips into a faint smile.

"Let me go find you some water."

"Don't bother. Stay here." Kinsa's voice became weaker. "Hold me."

Carefully, Bracer slid her arm under Kinsa's shoulders. The ground was damp with what Bracer knew was her friend's blood. She gently lifted the woman till Kinsa's head rested against her own shoulder.

"I love you, Kinsa," Bracer whispered. "I love you better than I have ever loved anyone."

Kinsa never responded.

Later, Bracer saw to her burial and claimed Kinsa's belongings. No one challenged her right to do so. As Kinsa wished, Bracer tore the red linen tunic into strips to be used as wrist bindings. All Kinsa's other belongings were disposed of at one time or another, for only the scraps of scarlet which now bound her bundled sword, held any real meaning. Kinsa had always liked colorful clothing.

And here I sit in drab rags, Bracer thought once more.

Determined that Kinsa would not be shamed by her appearance before the chancellor, Bracer rose and brushed the straw from her clothing. Selling the cart should bring enough to buy decent garments in the city, but she would keep the horse. Once she'd listened to Alonder's job offer, she'd ride out of Vastall and off to whatever the future held.

As she hitched up the horse, she kept herself from worrying about whether Alonder would recognize her, by wondering what sort of work he might think appropriate for a woman he so obviously disdained.