(Continued from Ch 52, A Night As Dark As Sable)

The Chronicles of Rapina
Chapter 53, Summertime


Her father's knocking roused her from a dream wherein
she rode a floating log down an endless river. "Is that
you daddy?" She said wanly.

Darl Norwit opened the door and softly closed it behind
him. "How's my girl this morning?"

"I feel like something inside me broke loose last
night, daddy. I am hoping it's a good break, but I am
afraid."

Darl stroked the palm of his hand across his forehead
and closed his eyes. He was loosing her all over again.
He came to the bed and sat in the chair next to it. He
reached out and stroked his daughter's hair.

Bellany spoke from a trance of weakness, "I did not
want to depress you and mother, but Grace probably told
you anyway. I have been passing a lot of blood. I think
what broke loose was in my kidney. I know it might not
be a good thing if... it is breaking."

"I am sorry dear. Leech Fraksen said your condition
could be more serious than it might seem. The damage
that made your bruises may have gone clean through your
body including your internal organs. He said there
seemed to be patches where the damage had been healed
to one extent or another. Your heart and lungs were one
of those areas; your eyes and brain were the other. We
were very worried about your other organs," Norwit
said.

"Why didn't he tell me, daddy?" Bellany asked.

"He could tell you were going to fight for life. He did
not want to demoralize you. He gave your mother and I a
more detailed prognosis. Your kidneys have been our
biggest worry. We know the blood in your urine has been
getting worse. I promised your mother you would stay in
bed today, so I am going to steal your crutches," Darl
Norwit said.

Bellany nodded weakly, her voice dreamy," Okay daddy...
Daddy?

"Yes Bellany?" Baronet Norwit asked.

"When I get better, may I ride your fine, black
stallion all around the estate and ride with you and
Darren when you inspect the estate farms? I want to
ride fast daddy, no sidesaddle. I want to feel the wind
in my hair and know that no orc has the slightest
chance of catching me," Bellany said.

Darl wiped a tear from his eye, "When you are better
honey, we will make you a long flowing dress that
covers Starstruck's back and you can ride astride in
the tradition of latin women."

"Do you promise, daddy?" Bellany asked.

"I promise, baby. You get better and I will have
Lieutenant Florin and sergeant Barnes teach you to ride
like the wind on the back of my fine black stallion. No
orc will ever catch my daughter again," Norwit said.

"Thank you daddy. I will mount up on Starstruck's back
in my dreams. He can outrun death's pale horse, I know
he can, daddy, he is so fine." Bellany's voice was
hardly more than a whisper.

Darl Norwit struggled to control his emotions. A tear
rolled down his rugged cheek. "You rest now Bellany.
Grace will bring your breakfast in a little while."

"Yes daddy. Thank you. I will dream now, death is
coming and I have some riding to do," Bellany said.

Lord Norwit nodded and kissed his daughter's cheek,
"Rest well daughter. I will see you this evening."

"Bye daddy." Bellany watched Lord Norwit leave the room
without sitting up. He closed the door softly behind
him and left down the hall, his footsteps heavy with
grief.

Bellany should have felt exactly the way she was
acting, or worse with what she had done last night. She
had expected she would come away more wounded than when
she had arrived, but she had been expecting to die of
kidney failure anyway so it really had not mattered to
her if she had sustained more hurts. The hunger had
been too deep to deny. She plunged a finger into her
wanton cleft to feel for damage but she felt perfectly
fine within, better even than she had before her
adventure the night before.

Something else was strange but it took her a while to
put her finger on it. She felt a familiar throbbing
numbness from her left palm, but that was all. "Where
did all my internal hurts go?" a perplexed Bellany
thought to herself. She tried not to think of the feel
of the power that had rocked her frame the night
before. She tried not to admit to herself that it had
done far more to heal her than all of the Leach's
medicines combined. To do so would have been to admit
she was not a normal woman. Yet, in trying to avoid
that realization, she only succeeded in underscoring
it.
---------

Baron Norwit mounted the stairs to his daughter's camp,
formerly known as the library of Norwit Manor. After a
brief period where he was sure he was going to loose
her all over again, she had started to pull through.
What a fighter she had become. He had been able to
return her crutches to her about a week after he had
taken them.  Now less than a week after he had returned
them, she used them easily whereas previously she had
been able only to drag along at a snail's pace. Once
she had regained her mobility her mother had insisted
that she should not wander too much at first, thus
Bellany had been spending her days in the library of
late.

"Hello daddy, I'm surprised to see you home in the
middle of the day." Bellany slowly stood and hugged her
father.

"Bellany you stood!" Norwit exclaimed.

"Mother won't allow me to wander the keep a lot because
she is afraid it will unhinge my internal organs, but
that does not prevent me from doing leg exercises in
bed and while I sit here reading. Time is wasting and
spring is going to be half over before long. You
promised me Lieutenant Florin and Sergeant Barnes would
train me to ride Starstruck in more than my dreams. I
am going to get well fast or die trying," Bellany said.

"Ho now! Don't die trying," Norwit said.

Bellany giggled, "I have no intention of dying, daddy,
at least not as long as I have so much to look forward
to. Dreams are nice, but no one really rides like the
wind with bad legs."

Darl nodded, "Just hold off standing like that in front
of your mother for a few days. She's going to think
it's a miracle."

"If you discount the hours of work I put in on my
muscles everyday, it is a miracle," Bellany winked.

Baron Norwit chuckled, "You and I know that, but for
her it will be the Vindicator this and the Vindicator
that. Your out-riding death in your dreams seemed
nothing more than the eerie delusion of a feverish
mind, but it seems to have worked for you and it just
keeps on working. I had no idea my Andalusian would
prove such a powerful force in your recovery."

"Perhaps it was the eerie delusion of a feverish mind,
daddy but I was half dead and slipping. Death was
riding me down on his pale horse. Dream or not, I am
positive that were it not for your fine, black stallion
I would be slumbering in my grave," Bellany said.

Lord Norwit grimaced, "I have no doubt that after the
dream ride you seemed to begin progressing rather than
slipping towards the abyss. I am so glad you made it,
Bellany, I am much more hopeful that you will mend now.

"When mommy lets me move around more again, may I get
Dortey to teach me how to groom Startstruck?" Bellany
asked.

"I suppose that would be all right. Stallions can be a
little tricky, but Startstruck has a very good
temperament for a young stallion. Other than being
difficult to bring in from the paddock except at
mealtime, he has no appreciable vices. You know one's
servants normally take care of the grooming chores,"
Baronet Norwit said.

"Yes, I know, but if I am going to learn to ride, I
might as well know horses, and if I did not at least
know horse care, what kind of a horsewoman would I be?
Besides, he has such pretty mane, I'd like to try some
fancy braids," Bellany said.

"It sounds as if you're about to turn my stallion into
an oversized doll," Norwit said.

Bellany grinned, "Maybe so, but it won't hurt him and
it will get him used to me so maybe learning to ride
will be a little easier. Besides, he'll look gorgeous
in braids."

Darl chuckled, "I guess I can put up with braids, beads
and ribbons if it makes you happy, dear. What have you
been reading?"

"Yesterday was catapult day. Today is mathematics day
in the wake of catapult day," Bellany said.

"Hah! The math in those catapult manuals is positively
Greek. I could never make heads nor tails of it.  Yet,
it is necessary to be able to do those formulas in
order to tailor the size of the torsion bundles to the
weight of the projectile in order to maximize range and
efficiency. Lord Avengene has perhaps one or two
engineers who fully understand that math, but he has
not been able to send one to help me create artillery
for the keep. Instead of attempting one of those
intricate torsion-spring ballistae, your brother
Charles and I created the overgrown heavy crossbow we
have on the south tower. Charles is quite knowledgeable
about crossbows, so we were able to build the engine
without help."

Bellany nodded, "Have you any idea how far a giant can
hurl a boulder?"

"It depends on the size of the boulder. If it is a big
one, a giant can hurl it no more than a hundred yards
unless he has something high to stand on. The smaller
rocks can come from two or three hundred yards. If
normal arrows would penetrate giant armor we could
probably down them, but you need something with more
penetrating power. Lord Avengene has a few heavy
ballistae for his larger forts.  Those are quite
effective at bringing down the giants, although if the
giant moves around a lot or uses cover it is difficult
to maneuver the large engines to get a shot. That and
giant shields can be a real problem," Norwit said.

"I have read about the large ballistae. The huge bolts
they fire have great penetrating power. If a girl were
standing behind four ranks of soldiers the bolt would
go through them all and enter her. Even if she only
took the first few inches she would be sent straight to
heaven along with her would-be saviors," Bellany smiled
to herself thinking of an entirely different sort of
penetration by artillery. "With the ranges giants throw
at, I take it a ballista should be built not so much to
maximize range but for penetrating power and ease of
aiming?" Bellany asked.

"Speed and accuracy is the key," Lord Norwit nodded.
"Giants may be unwieldy creatures, but compared to
siege engines they move like ballerinas."
-----

A pale light streamed in through the tall, narrow
window next to Bellany's bed. It was just dawning
outside and one of spring's last mornings found Bellany
on a rug stretching forward and back, one leg flat on
the floor in front of her while the other was flat on
the floor behind. Her mind was sharp and her body
beneath the last fading color of dermal bruises was
vibrant with energy. She was glad that most of her
wardrobe had been altered to fit her after her midnight
adventure a few weeks earlier. She had promised herself
she would not repeat her adventure, but she had not
entirely succeeded. She was so curious she had tried it
again to see if the healing had really come as a
result. She had proven that it had -twice.

She was now a little worried since she was pretty sure
she could not resist the hunger forever. At very least
she would have to find ways to make it nearly
impossible for her parents to discover her scandalous
episodes.  She had already ruled out midnight
excursions.  With the sentries around the keep, that
was much too dangerous.  It was better to confine her
liaisons to locations so far from the keep that she was
as tiny as an ant to the eyes of the sentries, and then
to duck into a hollow or behind a hedge.  She also had
to consider physical evidence and the possibility of
commoners straying onto the estate.  It was a dangerous
pursuit and one she would surely be punished for to no
end if she were caught.  She decided she had better not
be caught.

She could not quite believe how naughty she had been,
but what was even more astounding was how good she
always felt afterwards. Immediately after her very
first time she had fallen to the ground and twitched
around like a marionette on tangled strings and that
had been quite worrisome. For a moment she had been
sure she was about to die, but she had felt too good to
care. In retrospect, her damaged nerves and organs
knitting must have caused the twitching. She tried not
to think about why nearly splitting herself on the last
several inches of such a heroic spar had healed her
rather than wounded her. Actually it had hurt her, but
the hurts had been washed away by the culmination of
the act. It could not be normal. There were things
about herself that she could not remember. They were
dangerous things that would no doubt get her in trouble
with her parents.

Her memory was still sketchy, and the few things she
did remember came primarily from her childhood. These
made her worry that she was not who people said she
was, but rather was a girl with much more humble
beginnings. If her dreams were to be believed, there
had been an evil reverend in her past, and then a
period of time when she had joined Red Jack's crew
after she had escaped the preacher. Presently she
dismissed these dreams as fantasies that she had
formerly used to bring her lusts to fruition, but the
detail that had gone into them was astonishing. She had
used techniques from her pirate fantasy to direct her
energies to heal her entire body except her discolored
skin so that her magic would not be discovered. She
tried not to think about how a supposed fantasy could
provide practical information about strange powers that
she should not have had in the first place. She clung
to the belief that, before she was abducted, she had
taken the faces from the wanted posters at church and
wove them into an incredibly elaborate erotic fantasy.

Bellany pushed up to a handstand repeatedly as sweat
glistened from her naked body. When she was alone for
her workout she did not have to worry about feigning a
bit of weakness to reassure her parents that she was
just a normal girl slowly recovering from hostile
magic. It was the only time of day when she did not
feel like a performer on stage.

There was a soft knock at the door. Four successive
back-flips starting from her handstand took her there.
She grabbed the old robe she had hung on the doorknob
and slipped it on. "Good morning daddy," Bellany smiled
as she opened the door and her day's performance began.


"Good morning, Belle, you've been exercising again?"
Norwit asked.

"Mom would faint dead away if she knew how many
exercises I did in a day," Bellany grinned. "I am sure
I'll be stronger than her within a month's time. Not
that she would care, but I need the strength in my legs
lest I be unhorsed," Bellany said.

Darl, chuckled, I saw Starstruck's mane yesterday. Your
hunter braids are beginning to look quite professional.
Where did you learn to do that?" Norwit asked.

"Well mom said I had to take up a craft as part of the
year of school I'm making up with the tutor," Bellany
shrugged. "I decided on macramé since I could apply
some of the techniques to braiding Starstruck's mane
and tail. Plus Dorety clipped tails the other day and I
stole the horsehair. I had enough horsehair to weave
into twine for a sling. I know mother won't let me have
a rapier, so a girl's got to make do. I can weave
slings from horsehair, wool, plant fiber, anything. I
need never be unarmed. I am saving Starstruck's hair
until I am more skilled. When I have enough Starstruck
hair I'm going to make a fine, black sling."

"You are a naughty girl getting around your mothers
wishes like this," Norwit said.

"Mother doesn't know it but she advocates helplessness
for noblewomen. I just can't get into that anymore. I
enjoy music, especially secular music, but all these
charity things at church. I don't know how I stood
them. I know I am breaking mother's heart, but I can
only humor her so much before it begins to drive me
nutty. I know she does not think I am a lady anymore
and I know it hurts you to hear it daddy, but I am not.
Amongst the orcs, ladies were beaten tender and served
up in the stew pot. I had the choice to be a lady or to
live. I chose to live. I guess that makes me a coward,
but I really don't care anymore," Bellany said.

"No, you are not a coward, Belle. You are a survivor,
and as strong a woman as I've seen. It bothers me
sometimes that there is a cold, rational hardness in
you that was never there before, but you are still a
sweet girl at the same time. You have changed so much.
It is very hard on your mother and I.  I am going to
look the other way on the sling issue since I realize
you are probably telling the truth about being able to
weave one out of just about anything. A sling of
horsehair will be much safer than one woven of grass.
Take care not to hit my stallion if you are slinging
from horseback."

"You spoil me so bad, daddy" Bellany teased. "Don't
worry about Starstruck. You know I will be very careful
with him daddy. He saved my life."

Norwit nodded.

"Oh I know I spoil you, and I pay dearly for it at the
tip of you mother's tongue. She's already protested
about you riding my stallion. She does not want you to
see his maleness."

Bellany rolled her eyes, "Mother's amnesia seems to be
worse than mine. In her mind I think she has replaced
what I actually did in the past year with attending a
very long church retreat where the priests were all as
good at keeping their hands off the girls as reverend
Wright."

"And how would you know the Reverend is good at keeping
his hands off young women?" Norwit asked.

"Er, just a wild guess?" Bellany said.

"Norwit cleared his throat, "You know I have heard you
have been after some of my men," Norwit said.

Bellany blushed, "I suppose, but I'm trying not to
bother them too much anymore. It's not fair for them to
risk so much just to satisfy the girlish desires I'm
not supposed to have in the first place. Actually, I am
surprised I have any desires left after the orcs. I
would have thought the interest would have been abused
right out of me and that you'd be packing me off to a
nunnery since there would be no way I could stomach
having a husband. Have you any ideas about prospective
husbands? With the nobility's preoccupation with heirs,
purity and pedigree, I doubt any barons or baronets
would touch me with a ten foot pole," Bellany smiled as
she thought of a particular pole.

"It's amazing how cheerfully you can say no nobleman
would want you, but I don't necessarily agree. It's
hard to say Bellany; you have turned out to be a very
beautiful woman. There are men who would be so swayed
as to forget the orcs, propriety and just about
anything else," Norwit said.

"And scores more who would want to court me more as a
prospective mistress than as a wife," Bellany said.

Darl grimaced, "Yes I am sure that is the case. The
simple solution is for you to choose the man you fancy,
from those I find acceptable.  Do not under any
circumstances bed him before the wedding night."

Bellany nodded, knowing all the while that asking her
to wait until the wedding night was like asking the
water rushing over a falls to stop a minute and take a
rest.

"I am not happy about the men," Darl said pointedly

"I am sorry daddy, but it is not like I tore my clothes
off and threw myself at them. I was just fishing and
flirting in spite of my better judgment for their
safety. You can beat me if you want." Bellany lifted
her robe, turned and bent over. She pulled on Baron
Norwit's lust just subtly."

Norwit inhaled, "No I don't think that would be proper
now that you're practically a grown woman. Besides I
think you've probably had more than enough beating for
one year at the hands of the orcs," Norwit said.

Bellany nodded, "True." She smiled inwardly. She had
judged him rightly. She felt that he was an honorable
man, and that he would not beat her if he thought he
would enjoy it in an improper way.

"But if I do hear you've been misbehaving towards any
of my men, your penance will be staying off
Starstruck's back," Darl said.

"Well I shan't be bothering your men then. Lieutenant
Florin says I will make a fine horsewoman," Bellany
said.

"Yes, I've seen you ride. You're picking it up rapidly.
I have no complaints from your academic tutor either.
She says you have been able to keep up the pace she has
set for you in spite of the fact that you seem to live
on Starstruck's back during the afternoons," Norwit
said.

"Riding is a bit of a priority right now, but I can
usually get all my homework done in the evenings; if
not I can finish up in the morning. My memory seems to
work quite well for current events anyway. It is a
shame Miss Atkis hasn't a clue about mathematics. She's
absolutely no help with geometry, and she's lost about
equations," Bellany said.

"Are you still trying to learn enough math to design me
a real catapult? You needn't bother you know. I have
some pre-designed plans that Lord Avengene sent me, and
the girls curriculum at the school you missed last year
does not include higher mathematics," Norwit said.

Bellany nodded, "I know, but it's a nice challenge.
That conventional wisdom about girls having minds too
weak to grasp mathematics is nonsense. I suspect you or
one of the boys was going to learn the catapult math
because you seem to have all the requisite math books.
I am just having fun proving all that weak-minded stuff
is a sham. Are you going to build a catapult this
summer?"

"Yes, an onagar," Norwit said.

"But daddy, those are the simplest of the torsion
catapults," Bellany said.

"Exactly, and the easiest to maintain. Do you think my
men and I should start with the most complex?" Norwit
asked.

"I see your point. May I help, or at least watch?"
Bellany asked.

"You may do some of each," Norwit said. "The processing
of the sinews and the wrapping of the torsion bundle
may be something you can help with if you like. I am
going to have the boys help too. It will be a good
addition to their education."

Bellany smiled, "Mother will be thrilled that catapult-
making has become a family project. It is almost as
though you were a frontier warlord whose family
occupation was holding the border," Bellany smirked
because she knew that was the unvarnished truth.

"Bellany!" Norwit exclaimed.

Bellany giggled. "I can't help it daddy.  Some of these
notions Mother's got in her head make me feel like I am
living in a different reality than the one she's in and
to make matters worse, I am sure I used to live in her
reality. The orcs must have thrown me through a looking
glass during one of their beatings. Anyhow, it will be
nice to see a siege engine outside of a book,
especially if I get to help build it. I am also looking
forward to seeing Charles. I am afraid my memory has
not been forthcoming about him. I am still confined to
bits and pieces of orc where memory is concerned,"
Bellany's mouth popped open as particular orc bits came
to mind. Somehow, she had remembered them although the
recollection had come from a more recent time during
which her memory had proven especially impossible to
unlock.
---

It was a few days later at three o'clock in the
afternoon. That was a rare time for Lord Norwit to be
home, but he had business on both sides of the estate
this day and that allowed him to take a break at home
between appointments. It also allowed him to examine
Bellany's desk drawers under the guise of bringing her
the additional scrap parchment she had requested. He
knew she was a considerable distance away from the keep
because she was always to stay within sight of the
watchtower.  Although Starstruck sometimes diminished
to the size of an ant due to distance, she never
strayed so far that the sentries could not tell where
she was.

Norwit carefully went through the drawers. They were
meticulously organized. She had laid out the compass,
ruler and protractor she had borrowed from him in the
top drawer with her quills and penknife. In other
drawers he found, bread recipes, Mathematical notes,
drawings of siege engines, notes on macramé, Latin
(ancient common) grammar and music and various practice
items including an unfinished sling. It appeared to be
an improvement over the one his daughter was currently
using.  No doubt, she would soon be using it to fling
creek stones at tree limbs, from horseback of course.
She seldom left Starstruck's back during her free time.

In her scrap paper drawer he found some old poems and
compared them to Bellany's current writing. The script
was definitely in the same hand but it had changed
subtly. It had grown more compact and precise, more
sophisticated. He examined the remaining scrap paper in
her drawer. Much of it was blanketed in equations. He
had expected elementary mathematical scribbling but
instead was met with math of surprising intricacy, as
if elementary equations and geometric expressions had
been too trivial to require paper. He knew her tutor
was quite satisfied with her progress on other school
subjects.  Yet, what the tutor could not have known was
that it was in those things that she did by choice that
her true excellence shown most brightly. Lieutenant
Florin's report about Bellany's accelerated pace in
learning to ride well only confirmed what her equations
expressed.
----


Summer had begun and the afternoon that Lord Norwit's
eldest son, Charles, was to return home had arrived. As
was his custom, Lord Norwit had decided to ride out to
meet his boy and the five cavalrymen sent earlier in
the week to escort him home. Darl usually took the road
an hour or so South of the keep. Darren was coming with
him as usual, and given Bellany's new craze for riding,
she had said she did not want to miss Charles'
homecoming either. Surprisingly Eleanor had decided to
attend, thus making it a family affair. Dorety was just
now tightening the girth of Eleanor's sidesaddle on a
roan gelding. Lord Norwit's bay charger had already
been saddled and Darren was already mounted on a sorrel
mare. Bellany's cavalry saddle was all polished and had
been placed on a rail.

"Bellany will be coming too, Dorety. Where is
Starstruck?"

"He'd be out in the paddock yonder milord. Miss Bellany
has 'im all polished, ribboned and braided ta the
nines. She just went in ta change. I suppose I could
lure him hither with some grain, but mostly I leave 'im
be. It don't make sense for me to spend time tryin' ta
lure 'im or snag 'im anymore milord.

"It doesn't?" Lord Norwit asked.

"Nay, takes me too long to catch that wily beast. He's
too smart an' fast fer 'is own good, methinks," Dorety
said.

"Yes, I am well aware of his one vice, but how do you
expect we are going get underway without Startstruck?"
Norwit asked.

"Don't worry milord, here comes missy now," Dorety
said.

"Hi daddy," Bellany hugged her father. "It looks like
we're just about ready to go." Bellany let loose a
squealing whistle.

Lord Norwit heard a thundering of hooves and Starstruck
suddenly pranced up to Bellany nuzzling his daughter's
face while nickering to her as though scolding her for
having been away far too long. His jet-black mane was
diamond pleated with tiny white flowers tied into the
junctions between each diamond-shaped space. His tail
was braided as well and sported a white rose near the
dock. The balance of his inky coat had been polished to
an impressive sheen.

"There ya go milord," Dorety observed. "Starstruck
knows who 'is mistress is. When Lady Bellany calls 'e
raises thunder gettin' to 'er. Anyone else calls and
ye'd swear th' horse were deaf."

Norwit smiled wryly, "My you certainly have him dolled
up for the occasion, Bellany. I hope Charles is on time
or I fear Starstruck may begin to wilt."

Bellany Grinned as she saddled the black stallion, "If
worse comes to worse I'll pluck his flowers, but I do
hope Charles is on time in spite of the length of the
trip. How long does it take?"

"He's coming up from Southern Bristol and that takes
three days for the sane or two if Charles Norwit is
leading the party," Norwit said.

Eleanor Norwit, clad in an elaborate green dress
arrived from the manor. "It will be so good to see our
whole family together again and with Bellany stronger
than ever. She hugged Bellany briefly before Dorety
helped her onto mount.

Bellany finished saddling Starstruck and mounted easily
without help. There was no trace of the former weakness
she had suffered in her legs. Now that it was early
summer, she felt quite fit except for a persistent
numbness in the palm of her left hand. "Is Charles
insane?" Bellany asked as she arranged her black dress
over Starstruck's back.

"He is sane, and capable of hard work, but I fear more
prone to play hard and to put off work indefinitely.
Shall we get underway?" Darl heard assent from his
family and nodded to the group of cavalrymen who would
serve as their escort. "Let us go then."

The group left Keep Norwit at a leisurely pace. They
enjoyed the early summer greenery and bits of
spontaneous conversation.

Bellany observed not only the terrain but also the
common people. Their faces usually reflected an
attitude of worship, or at least deference. Often she
saw a bit of fear and occasionally even veiled hatred.
It seemed so odd as if she had not always been a
noblewoman and was not used to being looked on in such
a way by the commoners. Yet here she was a nominal
member of the nobility, and quite important within the
Baronety of Norwit. She saw recognition in the faces of
many of the people and had the realization that every
one of them knew she had been a slave of the orcs.

After traveling on the road for just about an hour,
Baronet Norwit stopped his family near a creak to rest
and water the horses. "It will take us an hour to
return home from here. If Charles is running late, and
that is not totally out of character, then we had
better not let him keep us out past sunset. I have no
reports of orc activity this far south, but I had none
on the day Bellany was abducted either," Lord Norwit
said.

Lieutenant Florin nodded, and spoke to the cavalrymen
"Fan out and secure the area."

Bellany let Starstruck drink his fill but did not
dismount like the other members of her family. She felt
more relaxed on her stallion's back than on the ground.
It was not long before Eleanor began looking at the
sun.

"Darl, it's getting late, mightn't we better return
home?" Eleanor asked.

"Lets give him another five minutes, dear, and then
I'll have Lieutenant Florin blow the horn. If we don't
hear a reply, then I suppose we will have to return,"
Norwit said.

After five minutes Lord Norwit nodded to the
lieutenant. He took up his brazen horn and blasted a
long note.

Lord Norwit listened a while then shook his head. "I
guess we shall return then. I do hope Charles had sense
enough to stop at an Inn if he is running badly behind
shedule," Lord Norwit said.

"Wait daddy," Bellany said.

"Did you hear something Bellany?" Norwit asked.

"No Daddy, but Starstruck did."

"How is it you know what he hears?" Norwit asked.

"I spend a lot of time with Starstruck, daddy. I can
tell by the way his head and ears move. Does the road
meander off in that direction after a while?" Bellany
asked.

"Yes." Norwit said.

"Then Charles' trumpeter blew a reply, but perhaps his
note was not so loud because they are being jostled
around while riding hard," Bellany said.

Lord Norwit raised his eyebrows dubiously, "Wind the
horn again, Lieutenant."

Lieutenant Florin winded the horn, managing slightly
more volume than he had on the previous sounding.
Bellany listened and smiled as she heard the faint
"eewaaa," of a reply.

"Bellany, you are already becoming a stellar
horsewoman! Let us ride!" Norwit turned his horse
around and galloped down the road, grinning proudly as
his daughter pulled ahead of him on her magnificent
stallion.

Charles was a length ahead of his escort and riding
hard as he rounded a bend. In the distance, he saw a
woman mounted on a black stallion practically flying
down the road toward him. As she drew nearer he saw
several other riders begin to round the bend, but they
were minutes behind her. "Ho, slow down men, I think
that's my sister." Charles and his men slowed to a trot
and his suspicions were confirmed as Bellany slowed,
turned and fell in next to him.

Bellany gazed at the young man leading the group of
riders. He was a bit taller and leaner than her father
was and his hair was nearly as red as hers was. He was
easily more handsome than father or Darren. He was
wearing a breastplate and Avengene chainmail and there
was a peculiar looking crossbow slung over his right
shoulder. Since the men with him were dressed in the
livery of cavalrymen of Avengene, she knew it had to be
her brother. "Charles?" Bellany asked.

"Bellany, I thought you were half dead, sister!"
Charles exclaimed.

"Oh it's been over a month since then," Bellany said.

"The last letter I received did say you were making
fine progress, but it said nothing about your riding
astride on dad's finest stallion. Vindicator's ass
sister, what did those orcs feed you? Last time I saw
you, you were only a little girl.

Bellany grinned, "If anything I think I filled out in
spite of the food."

"You've finished out nice. Your hair looks redder too.
You must have been spending a lot of time outdoors in
the sun.  I am going to have the devil's own time
beating off your suitors in the coming school year."
Charles grinned.

Bellany started laughing uncontrollably.

"Damn it! Bellany, those orcs have ruined you. I used
to be able to sail one after another of those right
over your innocent head and you never got a one of
them. It was a scream!"

"The orcs speared my innocence through the heart and
sent it back from whence it came." Bellany pointed down
towards hell rather than in the opposite direction.

"Hah! Welcome to the real world sister and my
condolences on your getting speared. How have people
been treating you since you returned?" Charles asked.

"They treat me well enough, but I am usually with Daddy
or mother, so they can only whisper behind my back. I
have not been allowed to get out to hear abuse or to
take advantage of my new un-chaste-ized reputation."

"Haha! Bellany, It's a miracle you've developed wit!
Are you sure you're my sister?" Charles asked.

Bellany looked a bit uncomfortable. "Uh well to tell
you the truth I have no idea. I lost my memory and
nearly my life to the trauma of a spell from an orc
shaman, and I am having trouble sorting out any
fragments that surface. Some are no doubt from former
fantasies others from former reality. If I am not me I
can't figure out who I am yet, so it's all a bust."

"Yes, that part's obvious even to me," Charles said.

Bellany grinned and blushed.

"What!? Aren't you going to spend the next quarter hour
lecturing me about the repugnance of the sins of the
flesh to the Vindicator?"

"The orcs washed those lectures clean out of my mouth,"
Bellany said.

Charles grimaced, "And I'll bet they didn't use soap
and water either."

Bellany nearly fell out of her saddle laughing.
"Charles you are sooo bad.  My memory for the past is
shot.  I assumed you would be as witheringly proper as
Darren and Daddy."

"Someone in this family has to handle the chores of
irreverence, and being the noble soul that I am, I have
shouldered that mighty burden," Charles smiled
beatifically.

"I share your burden, brother." Bellany aped Charles'
beatific smile. Uhoh, here comes mother. I have to
start acting halfway proper or get Startstruck yanked
straight out from between my legs and any other
vindictive things she or daddy can think up to punish
me with. Mum's the word," Bellany said.

"My lips are sealed." Charles grinned, and then turned
back to his men, "Remember men, hold your tongues on
these small matters for me and my sister Belle, and we
in turn will graciously hold our tongues on other small
matters for you."

Charles' men nodded briskly.

Bellany glanced back and realized by the men's ascent
that Charles must have a few choice indiscretions he
could reveal about each of the men riding with him. He
was indeed an astute politician yet the men seemed to
like him. Perhaps he indulged them in some
indiscretions himself. A round of drinks here, a harlot
there. She could see how he might operate. It certainly
didn't hurt that he would be Lord of the manor when his
father died, and since his father was a warrior, that
could come quite abruptly.

Once their parents arrived, Charles behaved slightly
better, although he still got away with much more than
Bellany ever could have. Part of it was his verbal
agility and charm, but it was also obvious her mother
measured sons using a different yardstick than
daughters.

The ride home and supper afterward were filled with
talk of The Bristol Academy where Charles Norwit went
to school. Bellany noticed Charles steered the
conversation away from grades, especially in geometry
and astronomy. Instead, he talked about the many
tournaments at arms, which seemed to be all the rage at
the school since so many sons of knights and noblemen
attended. Charles was passable at jousting and two-
handed sword and good with the saber and rapier, but he
was the school's undisputed king of the crossbow, and
their secret weapon against the archers of competing
institutions.
---

A few afternoons after Charles returned home, Bellany
saw him adjusting targets on his own archery range in
the field behind the keep. Bellany turned Starstruck
and trotted up to see what her brother was doing.
Bellany's sling whistled and a stone clattered off one
of Charles' targets.

"Hey there, Belle, not bad. It wasn't nearly in the
center ring, but that's one helluva lot better than I
could do with a sling from a moving horse. I have never
had a lot of luck with slings." Charles motioned her to
follow him back to the open-faced hut that he shot
from. It looked as though it might have once been a
chicken house. "Hey that's the first time I think I've
ever seen you wield any kind of weapon. Did something
the orcs do inspire you to start blazing new
territory?" Charles asked.

"Yes they left me feeling quite in-skewer-ed," Bellany
said.

Charles groaned as he entered the hut, "Insecured? Gaw,
Bellany you're completely the opposite of what you used
to be. You get every bawdy remark I try to fling over
your head."

Bellany smiled "I've had to stretch my neck and swallow
a lot since last summer. Possibly my head has gained
some altitude."  Bellany jumped down from her perch on
Starstruck's back so she could see the array of
crossbows better. They sat on a rough-hewn table just
within the old chicken house. The chicken house had
been modified with two new posts and a lintel so that
the front side of the house could then be removed. The
wood of the remaining walls was old and rotted in some
places, and it had largely been replaced down low near
the ground. To be able to shoot from shelter in the
rain was a luxury Bellany would not have even
considered.

"Uuugh! Bellany, you're ruined! I will have to get
Sergeant Lime to teach me some orcish so I can cuss
those porkies out for popping my little sister's
vindicator bubble," Charles said.

"Bubble? I'd say it must have been a cork judging by
the tool they used for the job," Bellany smirked.

"Bad girl! Charles slapped Bellany's rump playfully and
then cocked his head. "Vindicator's ass, Bellany, you
sure did pick all the right spots to fill out in. Orcs
or not, you put that bod in the right dress and you'll
have to rent your own stadium to hold the spectators.
You could be the belle of the after tourney balls at
school this fall."

"Not hardly with the dresses mother's likely to send me
to school with," Bellany snorted."

"Ha! You're right. Mother will send you with dresses
that have necklines to your ears and extra hardware to
make your skirts look like a huge balloon," Charles
said.

Are you going to do some shooting?" Bellany asked.

"Yes, I shoot a lot during the summers. I never get
enough time to practice during the school year even
though everyone counts on me to win at the tourneys.
The professors will tell you that academics are the
most important pursuit at school, but they're lying.
The tournaments are the lifeblood of the academy, and
your popularity and social standing have a lot to do
with whether you're a winner. For the ladies, the
tourneys and the balls afterwards are big dress-up
days."

"Ummph, I wish I could compete instead of strolling
around trying not to look like I'm trying to be
noticed. I suppose girls aren't allowed to do
anything," Bellany said.

"Unless you count poetry readings, and the crafts
fairs," Charles said.

"Most of it is frivolous, no doubt. What do the boys
do?" Bellany asked.

"Hah! The former you would have lived for those poetry
readings. As for the boys, jousting is the main event
so there's a whole lot of competition for that, but I
am too lanky to be a grand jouster, besides jousting is
a dangerous sport. Every year a guy looses an eye or
some other part of his anatomy in a joust. If I'm going
to loose things, I'll be doing it on the battlefield,
not in grammar school. I do a little jousting with my
friends just to keep the skill up, but you can't be as
careful at a tourney. You always have to have an eye
out for winning."

"I am good with the lighter blades because I'm pretty
fast, but archery is my favorite. I think it's the
power. No matter how skilled a swordsman is he is
helpless to stop a bolt. He might possibly realize
one's coming straight at him, but if it was fired from
a decent bow, he won't have enough time to move his
sword an inch before he is transfixed. If you are a
great shot, no one can stand against you. As long as
you have a loaded crossbow you own." Charles smiled as
he continued cocking various crossbows on the rough-
hewn table in front of him with a goat's-foot lever.

"Bellany got a far away look for an instant as a
fragment of memory or fantasy came up from her pirate
setting. This scene involved the half elf Arzeal. She
had seen his wanted poster at church...

"I understand why you favor archery, but why the
crossbow not the longbow?" Bellany said after a
momentary lapse.


"I have longbows, but I don't shoot them much. The
longbow's a fine weapon, and it has a better fire rate
than a crossbow, but with a longbow you are not always
ready to shoot. Sure, a good longbowman can put at
least six arrows in the air for every one of my bolts.
Yet, when the prisoner starts to escape around a
corner, or the rogue races between shadows, the
longbowman is not ready to fire. You can hold a
crossbow on a man for hours. You can hold a longbow on
him for seconds, or minutes at best. Take a look at
this. I had it made at a bowyer's in Bristol."

Bellany looked at the bow her brother was cocking.
Perhaps she should have said the bows because the bow
her brother was cocking was a sandwich of three
crossbows. The goat's foot lever he was using to cock
the strange weapon was wide enough and tall enough that
it could be brought to bear on the string of any of the
three bows in the sandwich. All Charles needed to do
was put the foot's rear ends over the pegs of the
appropriate bow and its hooks on the string of that
same bow and he could straddle any upper bows to cock
it. When he was done he had three bolts and three
triggers in one bow.

The weapon was heavy, but not as heavy as three
separate crossbows. The bows were stuck together above
the limbs and at the rear.  Thus the bowyer who had
made the weapon was able to use relatively thin pieces
of wood to form the groove for each bolt to cut down on
the weight of the composite weapon.

"With this I have three shots. The three finest
swordsmen in the land could not stand against me as
long as I did not miss. With enough practice, you never
miss at close range, so as long as I was too far away
to attack with a sword, I would own. Do you see how it
works? With a crossbow, you're ready to shoot
instantly.

Bellany nodded, "I wish I could learn skills at arms,
but mother won't hear of it, and daddy only lets me
keep a sling because he knows I could weave one out of
grass if I needed to. He thinks my horsehair slings are
safer than slings I might make with other materials I
could come up with. Mother thinks it is appalling that
I took up macramé and now use it for the perverted
purposes of making weapons and braiding Starstruck's
mane."

"Vindicator's nut, Bellany. You sure have changed. You
want to learn skills at arms? That's a big taboo for
girls. Mom would have a heart attack, and dad would
loose it, but if you don't mind owing me a few favors I
will see what I can do. What are you interested in
learning?"

"I just want to learn to handle a sword and bow so I am
not totally helpless," Bellany said.

"That seems reasonable enough," Charles said.  "The bow
won't be a problem. This afternoon you can help me load
my crossbows and I'll teach you to shoot a bit in
exchange for your labor. If you want to learn longbow,
I have several of them that I got at various ages. I'm
sure we can find one you can bend. I favor lighter,
faster blades and that's probably just the thing for a
girl. We can move the table out and spar in here to
start. For swordsmanship there's a book you should read
first..."

"Randal's art of the sword?" Bellany asked.

"That's the one," Charles said.

"I read it, and I have been doing the strengthening and
stretching exercises in it and some others I made up
for over a month now," Bellany said.

"Wow, you're really serious about this Belle," Charles
said.

Bellany nodded, "I was very weak after almost dying.
The leg exercises helped me get the strength to walk,
and then later to stay on Starstruck's back," Bellany
said.

"Good, you're going to need some strength to cock
crossbows. Let me introduce you to a few..."

----

The next morning after her father's visit, Bellany went
to see her brother Charles. Next to the master suite,
his was the largest suite in the manor. He had his own
sitting room in addition to a bedroom and closets. He
ushered her into one of those closets soon after she
arrived.

"I went through and dug out my old longbows," Charles
said. "I even found my old leather fingers and guard.
They ought to be about the right size for you. They fit
me pretty well when I was fourteen. He handed them to
Bellany.

Bellany put them on and nodded, "Thanks."

Charles smiled and strung each of the bows. "No
problem. It's old trash to me. Try this one, like so,"
Charles demonstrated by drawing the bow. "We need to
find one you can bend, but not too easily."

Bellany bent the first bow, "That one was easy."

"I guess you are stronger than I was when I was ten
then. Try this one," Charles said.

Bellany bent the second bow, "Easy."

"Easy? Hmm, I got this next one a couple years ago when
I was fifteen. It has a draw weight of about fifty
pounds, which was pretty stiff for me at the time. It's
fairly comfortable now.

Bellany grunted as she bent the bow, "Well this one's
not easy, but I can do it."

"Vindicator's tit, Bellany, I didn't know girls were
that strong. I have a seventy-five pounder that I can
barely bend. I still like to use the fifty, but if you
can bend it, I had better buck up. It looks like I've
been shooting a girl's bow," Charles shook his head.
"Dad draws a standard one hundred pound longbow, but
he's been training for years. Dad will want me to work
on that seventy-five pounder this summer and now that
you've flattened my manly pride, I will surely do it,"
Charles assured her.

Bellany smirked, "Good, I think I can grow into your
old fifty pounder, and if no one thinks I can bend it,
well I could not possibly be practicing with it, now
could I?"

Charles chuckled, "You have a point there. That'll keep
mom guessing for at least a month or two. It's really
perfect you can bend the fifty because it would not be
surprising for me to have both of them down at the
range since I'm transitioning."

Bellany nodded.

"Now as for swords, I have several of them hanging over
here. Draw a few and see what you think."

Bellany drew the two-handed sword and groaned as she
lifted it, "I don't think so." She put it back and
tried the broadsword. "This one would work fine as a
two-handed sword." She put the broadsword back and took
out a sabre. "The weight isn't bad but the balance
feels all funky." She put the sabre back and drew the
rapier. She moved it through the air as a big grin
began to form her lips. She raised her eyebrows and
nodded to her brother.

"Good choice. The rapier is my best hand weapon. It's
great for wearing out on the town when you aren't
wearing any armor, and it's actually not a bad sword
against heavy plate. You've got speed on your side and
a great point that you can work through the joints in
the heavy armor. I have practice swords and a few
friends I spar with," Charles said.

"Aren't you afraid Daddy's going to beat you to a pulp
if he ever finds out?" Bellany asked.

Charles smiled, If mom or dad finds out, we'll just
make like it was just a lark and you just wanted to try
the weapons out to see what men did. I'll get a slap on
the wrist, you'll get grounded off Startstruck for a
couple weeks and that will be that. With luck, we can
keep them guessing all summer, and then you'll be sent
off to the dungeon opposite the Bristol Academy."

The dungeon? Bellany asked in confusion.

"Vargrend Academy for girls. They call it the dungeon
because it's a hard place to get into. Many boys try
every year, but few succeed, and those who do usually
get caught and wish they hadn't. They let the girls out
for dances and tourneys but only with an army of
chaperones."

"Eew, it sounds like a prison. I had hoped to have a
little fun at school, but I should have realized a
school for noblewomen would be run like a penitentiary
so as to utterly prevent illegitimate children."
Bellany grimaced.

"Of course propriety is a girls best friend," Charles
said.

Bellany flashed a sour expression at her brother.

"Vindicator's nut Bellany, you used to be so into
purity, chastity, and courtly love that I had to make
bawdy cracks to even stand to be around you. You spewed
quotes from The Tome of the Vindicator like sailors
spew profanity. A year later I don't even know you."

Bellany looked disturbed, "What if I'm not even me?
Half of the time I think the bats have come to roost in
my belfry."

"Don't sweat it Belle. The worst case is if you're not
you then you're Bellany's double trouble double. You
can just hang around, soak in three square meals a day,
and then marry off to some filthy rich nobleman from
far away in a couple years. Mom and dad will never know
the difference, and they'll be so happy they got their
daughter back even if they really didn't."

Bellany giggled, "You make it sound so absurd that I
might be someone else."

"Face it Belle, it's not bloody likely. You've been
back for three or four months. I don't know squat about
magic, but I think you'd have to be one helluva
sorceress to keep a glamour going that long, especially
when you really were half dead. At least the leach said
so and Grace kept seeing blood in your urine."

Bellany nodded, "Well I know for sure I was nearly
dead. That doesn't mean I'm me. It just means I was
wounded to within an inch of my life. I wish I knew how
I was wounded. I mean it was magic, obviously, but I
wish I could remember how it happened. Then maybe I
could figure out if I really am me or if I am someone
else entirely. Gods, sorry, you're here teaching me
skills at arms while I'm busily trying to convince you
that I am too batty to be trusted."

"At least you're half bright," Charles laughed. "Listen
Belle, don't tell mother and dad until you're
absolutely sure what's up. They'll turn crazier than
you with the worry of it. On the other hand, if you
really are someone else, then you're going to owe me
big-time for keeping it under my hat. You're getting
free medical care, food, lodging, schooling in academic
subjects and horsemanship and weapons training from a
master," Charles pointed at himself with mock hauteur.
"You'd really have to sweat to work that off," Charles
grinned like a pirate.

"Charles!" Bellany exclaimed.

Charles laughed, "You're an educated woman or the tutor
would be complaining instead of approving, Bellany. If
you're not my sister, then you must be some sort of
gentlewoman, in which case I can help you find a good
husband far away and that'll be the end of it."

"After I work off my debt, no doubt," Bellany retorted
dubiously.

"A business man's got to get his piece of the action,"
Charles said.

Bellany rolled her eyes, "Gods Charles, I'm talking
crazy. I can't figure out which memories are real and
which ones were just fantasies inspired by pent up
lust."

"You with pent up lust? That's impossible. You could
not possibly have had pent up lust. You were always the
paragon of The Vindicator's purity."

"I was what mother wanted me to be," Bellany said.

"Yes, you were, and you believed in it," Charles said.

"I can't be her pious little girl anymore, Charles. I
know I'm killing her but I just can't do it anymore,"
Bellany sniffed.

Charles embraced his sister. "It's okay Belle. She'll
get over it in time. You had to grow up in an instant.
She's just going to have to wake up and realize that
you're still special, just not in the same ways you
used to be."

Bellany nodded, "Thank you Charles, you're really a
sweet man in your own odd way. A woman could do a lot
worse. Have you got a girlfriend in school?"

"Nothing long term, Belle, I'm still trying to find a
girl who's bad enough." Charles grinned.

Bellany giggled, "I'll keep my ears open once we're in
school. Mayhap I can find someone who's a little
naughty for you."

"I'm beginning to see real potential in this brother-
sister back scratching already," Charles grinned. "I'll
see you at the range this afternoon."

Yes, and thank you Charles," Bellany waved as she left.
-----

Later that day Bellany tethered Starstuck at the edge
of the shooter's hut and greeted her brother.

"Good day Charles," Bellany said.

"Bellany, glad you could make it. I need you for some
cocking," Charles said.

Bellany smiled, rolled her eyes and started cocking
crossbows. Charles had four tournament bows plus his
special three-in-one bow. While they were loading he
talked about the parts that made up the crossbow, and
then he went on to talk about longbows in the same way.
While he was shooting he quizzed Bellany on the parts,
but they were not difficult for her to remember. When
she had passed his quizzing, he shot a few more times
and let her shoot one of his crossbows. After that,
they switched to longbow and he taught her how to
string her bow, and how to shoot. She caught on very
quickly.

"I never knew you were this smart Bellany. I guess you
spent all of your brainpower memorizing quotes from The
Tome of The Vindicator. You remembered my crossbow
pointers from yesterday, you've memorized the parts of
the crossbow flawlessly, and for a beginner you've got
a real knack for the longbow. Frankly, my ego is flat
as a sheet of mica. I guess it did not help that I was
just a little kid when I learned this stuff, but it
took me a helluva lot longer to catch on. Want to try
the practice swords?"

"Sure." Bellany smiled.

Charles showed her a number of positions and swings
that she was already familiar with from Randal's Art of
the Sword.

"Okay, now let's just see how good you are unschooled.
Don't hit hard with the practice sword. I don't want to
have to explain to mother why we're all bruised up."

"Okay," Bellany said.

As they began to spar, Bellany heard a little music in
her mind and stopped in mid step to let her jaw drop. A
rap on her rear reawakened her.  "Oh, sorry, I keep
hearing music."

"Music?" Charles asked.

"Yes, you know, sort of like dance music," Bellany
said.

"If it works for you, use it. I hear elves are into
musical swordsmanship. Their system is so complex as to
be worthless as far as I'm concerned, but it obviously
works for them. If I were trying to compose tunes while
fighting, I think I'd be about as fast as you are now."
Charles laughed.

Bellany giggled, "I've been relearning music and I was
just noticing how the placement of the notes in the
octave for my tune relates to the positioning of my
rapier, but you're right. There is too much to think
about and still fight, unless...

"Unless what?" Charles asked.

"Well if you knew your tunes for every sequence of
moves you would not have to think about it really. You
could just dance," Bellany said.

"Oh, I see, like most of your moves went with pre-
written music you already knew, so you weren't
composing on the fly," Charles said.

Bellany nodded, "I guess it's not so different from
just practicing sequences in dance or swordplay, but
you have the music to remind and guide you."

"You go ahead with your music, Bellany. I'm going to
stick with the manly drill and sweat approach."

Bellany giggled, "Okay Charles. I need to make music
for all the moves though, otherwise I'm going to stand
here stupidly trying to drum up tunes."

"Feel free Belle, you've already shown up my humble
beginnings as an archer, this way at least you'll be a
lousy swordswoman." Charles chuckled.

"Charles!" Bellany exclaimed.

Charles laughed and the two sparred for quite a while
with Bellany taking quite a few raps to the rump and
elsewhere as tunes and memories or fantasies of Arzeal
from the wanted poster in church kept invading her
consciousness. When they were done, Charles was
grinning.

"That was truly gratifying, Bellany. I can confidently
say I did far better on my first day of swordsmanship.
At least I didn't keep fading out to listen to the
chirping of the birds while my master slapped my butt."
Charles grinned.

Bellany blushed, "Well fragments of various tunes kept
appearing in my head and I had to try to fill in the
blanks. It was as fascinating as it was distracting.

"Maybe you should take up dance," Charles said.

"No, no, these were sword tunes from my pirate fantasy.
I'll have to cut a switch from a sapling and use it as
a sword for solo practice.  Maybe if I make up tunes
for all the standard moves I won't be so distracted."

"Your pirate fantasy? Bellany, what were you doing with
a bunch of pirates in your imagination?" Charles asked.

Bellany blushed crimson.

"Ha! Getting your brains boffed to the moon I'll bet."
Charles laughed.

"Shshsh, my fantasies are my business," Bellany grinned
sheepishly.

----
The summer with all its secrets passed so rapidly
Bellany could hardly believe it when her tutor informed
her that she was finished with her studies until three
weeks later when she would be attending The Vargrend
Academy for Girls. Her tutor had originally thought to
finish a week or two before school, but Bellany had
proved so apt as to earn herself a third week of
vacation.

During the fleeting season of summer, Bellany had
worked along with her father and brothers and a few of
the men of the garrison to make an onager catapult.
Bellany had supervised the weaving and winding of the
torsion bundle.  She had done much of the work herself
because she had found that the men tended to wander
from the specifications in the manual in an attempt to
finish the work more rapidly.

When it was done, she and her brother Charles had been
allowed to practice firing it. She had worked along
with her brother to create adjustable sights and a
table of distance that told how far a rock of a
standard weight would go if fired with the sight set at
a given height. She had even derived a formula that
would predict the distance their new catapult would
throw a rock based on the weight of the projectile for
any given set of the sights. This last feat was not
lost on Lord Norwit.

There were only three weeks left until school and
Bellany was happy Charles and she had been able to keep
their little secret from their parents. Starstruck had
bailed them out a couple of times by giving a warning
nicker when someone was approaching the archery hut. It
was okay for Bellany to cock crossbows, but had her
parents known she was firing them, and a longbow, they
might have been upset, but probably not nearly as upset
as they would have been if they knew she was practicing
swordsmanship with her brother as well.

She had come to realize that, fantasy or not, her
pirate memories contained valuable information on
combat, and over the course of the summer with practice
in archery and swordsmanship, she had come to remember
nearly her full pirate career up until the time they
entered Grand Lake, and then things got foggy.

She also remembered quite a few fragments concerning
training with a warrior whose name escaped her. She did
not think him a pirate, and he had taught her unarmed
combat and had continued to drill her in rapier and
longbow. The odd thing about those memories was how
they seemed to end so abruptly as if a given reminder
could only illuminate the point at hand rather than
spread to other events, as was the case with her pirate
memories. It seemed almost as if a damper had been
clamped over her more recent past. She did not like it,
but there was not a thing she could do about it.

Bellany took up the on-guard position. Her sword
twinkled in the light of the waning sun. Charles'
practice rapiers were steel, but the edges had never
been ground or honed and the points were rounded
instead of sharpened. Nevertheless both she and Charles
were careful not to hit each other too hard when they
scored because the practice swords could inflict nasty
bruises. Charles was a good trainer and a perfect
gentleman as far as reducing the force of hits so as
not to bruise her, and she in turn reflected the same
consideration back on him. She remembered a number of
dirty tricks from her pirate fantasy, but she practiced
them only on her shadow when she was exercising in the
morning in her room with a sapling switch for her
sword. She did the same with her unarmed moves.

Bellany smiled at Charles and lowered the visor on her
practice helmet. Then they began.

Charles had wanted to return her smile with a grimace,
but he had become rather good at keeping that
expression off his face in the last few weeks. He
suspected that Bellany had been deliberately missing a
few strikes during each practice bout for several weeks
now just to keep from beating him and damaging his male
pride. It was ironic. When she had started, tunes had
been more important to her than sword fighting. Charles
had thought it funny. Only a girl would think
swordsmanship was some kind of dance contest. She still
danced and sometimes hummed tunes while she fought, but
she no longer had to think about them. She no longer
stood there like an idiot trying to compose music while
he scored. "Ah, those were the days," Charles
reminisced to himself.

Now her dance was so beautiful, yet so deadly. Charles
wished he could just watch instead of being the fool
who had to spar with her. She was more supple and
flexible than he would ever be, yet surprisingly
strong. What was worse was that even though she was as
fluid as water, she thought and acted with the speed of
lightning. When he feinted, she knew it was a feint.
When he lunged she would parry, jump and stab him in
the back if he had ruined his balance by lunging with
too much power. She was sweet as sugar but as deceptive
as a rogue with her feints and traps. Charles decided
he had better concentrate on his sparring. He could
already feel the sweat starting to pour off him, yet he
could see Belle was not even breathing hard yet.

For the third time that summer, Baron Norwit was on a
mission to assuage the doubts of his wife Eleanor. It
bothered her to no end that Bellany might be doing more
than cocking her brother's crossbows. Darl could really
care less if Bellany put a few shots into her brother's
targets. She could already fire the catapult as well as
any of his men, and she had a much better idea of where
the stone would land because she was the only one in
the keep smart enough to do the math in her head.

Knowing some archery might make her a little useful
during a siege. To break a charge it was important to
get every available archer firing from the wall facing
the charge, and if enough women could shoot, then maybe
the keep would hold just a little longer and the women
would avoid the rapine that followed a successful enemy
charge. If a woman could even load for a crossbowman or
distribute arrows she could make a difference. Darl
realized his wife did not think about those practical
considerations. She thought only of propriety, even
when propriety was synonymous with foolhardiness.

He and Eleanor, no doubt, had tried to sneak up on the
kids before, but they had only seen Bellany cocking and
loading Charles' bows. Charles had made good progress
with his shooting this summer and had even started
using his new longbow more of the time than his old
one. Darl was about to head straight for the shooting
shed but then he realized that Starstruck was tethered
to the ground on the near side and just forward of the
hut. Darl remembered that Bellany could practically
read the stallion's mind. If he snuck up from that
side, mayhap the stallion would give her warning.
Instead he gave the shed a wide berth until he was on
the side opposite from the stallion. Then he dismounted
and began to slowly sneak towards his target. Some of
the wood high along the walls of the shooting hut had
originated with the original chicken house and was
rotted. With luck he could find a hole and peer
through. That did not mean he had to tell Eleanor, but
it did mean he would know exactly what the children
were doing.

As he approached he began to hear the ring of metal on
metal. His temper began to smolder. Archery was one
thing, but if Charles were teaching Bellany, a girl,
swordsmanship, why they would both be in big trouble.
When at last he made it to the wall he was seething mad
because his ears told the tale even before he brought
his eye up over the new boards, stood on his tiptoes
and peered in through a hole in the rotted upper
boards. There they were hard at it. Bellany had a pair
of Charles' old breeches on and her skirt was draped
over the table. Baronet Norwit did not watch long, only
long enough to see that Bellany was actually engaging
in serious swordplay. His anger caused him to fail to
look deeper. As soon as Charles was near the edge of
the open front of the hut that faced the range Darl
came around behind him.

"Charles!" Darl growled.

Charles froze and before he could snap out of it, his
father had taken his practice sword and was brandishing
it at Bellany who stood on guard. Charles squinted in
shock. He was shaking and Bellany looked... cool.

"You think you can take on a man's role then take it on
now!" Darl charged at Bellany.

Bellany knew that an angry man had greater strength and
speed, but compromised balance and planning. She
suspected her father was a fine swordsman, but she
seriously doubted he specialize in a blade as light as
the rapier. She wanted to cower in the corner, but that
would only get her soundly beaten. Suddenly she started
flashing back. She was in a mead hall surrounded by
drinking knights and men at arms. She was sparring with
someone. It was Daelrath! This was a glimpse into a
time she had never remembered before. She brought her
mind back to the present and just let the memory play
itself out without paying much attention. She needed a
plan.

She needed to handle things rationally like... like a
chess master. Even now her father was going to attempt
to beat her with his practice sword, just as soon as he
disarmed her. Maybe if she scored a practice-sword hit
to an absolutely lethal area he would stop the sword
bout out of habit. She hoped so. She had reserves, and
although she did not like to admit that she had them
and knew how to use them, the pirate fantasies or
memories had seen to that. She released some energy to
banish fatigue and enhance her alertness. The most
efficient way to heal wounds was not to get them in the
first place. She would have to make this look good or
her father would attribute it to luck.

Somewhere deep in a far off desert, Guardian Thane
stared into his pool. He stood abruptly, "Rames?! How
unfortunate, he must have left the lounge and is out of
earshot." Thane jotted down a very quick note: "Come to
my skrying chamber immediately, Run!" and handed it to
a reaving skeleton that served as one of his guards as
he spoke, "Find Karmoz and give him this note. Check
the scarab pit lab first. Run!" Thane sat back down,
this time before his mirror. He did the extra dependent
illusion spells that would allow a non-mage to watch
and listen to the scene with him.

Bellany knew her father expected her to give ground;
instead she parried and lunged, bruising her father's
chest for a hit to the heart and causing him to stop
abruptly and rethink what he was doing. Before he could
strike at her outstretched arm she was back in the on
guard position. Unfortunately, he did not stop. If
anything he just got angrier. They traded thrust and
parry for several minutes before Bellany scored a
cunning parry that brought the blunted point of her
father's weapon into the side of the old table fowling
it for just long enough. She flipped forward and
rotated in mid air to land behind and facing him. Her
sword bruised him on the back directly behind his
heart. That was twice he was hit in the most lethal of
spots but he didn't stop. She needed a better plan.

He turned, his face even redder than before. The anger-
fueled power of his blows was stupendous, but Bellany
kept cool and parried every bone-jarring swing with as
casual a look as she could muster. Twice he tried to
disarm her but she was on guard. The fury of his blows
was tiring her rapidly. Even angry he was a fine
swordsman. She had to be finer. She fainted a dodge
left then sprang right. He lifted a foot to turn and
before he could get his foot down, Bellany had jumped
right and was tugging his left shoulder with her left
arm adding further momentum to his errant turn and
pulling herself around to his side. He raised his
forearm to knock her hand away and she was ready. His
left arm lifted, she struck a third bruise under his
arm at the level of his heart and spun away.

Rames rushed into Thane's skrying room.

"I am not a good judge of Rapina's style of swordplay.
Watch the girl, Bellany," Thane said in a somehow
distracted monotone as he maintained the illusion in
the mirror.

Bellany grimaced; she really needed a better plan. Her
father had not stopped after she scored a third kill.
He was so mad he was raining blows against her guard
with hardly a thought for his own safety. He had
already scored a graze but it was obvious he was out to
bruise her to within an inch of her life. She parried
blow after blow. He would soon overwhelm her guard with
shear strength and endurance. She tangled his blade and
flipped up onto the table and over the other side. Her
father ran around the table and bore down on her like a
rampaging bull. She caught his sword in a circular
parry, snatched her discarded skirt off the table and
threw it over his head as she fell down on her back
before his charge.

The lights abruptly went out as Bellany tossed her
skirt over his face. Darl's shins hit his daughter's
rump. Somehow she'd fallen backwards and was in the
process of rolling out of it. It was too late to jump;
he was falling forward when he felt two sandaled feet
simultaneously slam into his hips.

Charles stared with an open mouth as he saw Bellany
turn her father's tripping charge over her into a
headlong airborne flight right into the... Crash!
Charles grimaced as his father's head broke through the
rotted wall of the hut near the ceiling. His shoulders
followed and part of his upper torso, but then he ran
out of momentum and hung there embedded in the wall.

Bellany rolled back to her feet spun and knocked the
sword from her father's stunned grasp. She snatched it
off the floor and ran around to the other side of the
wall to find her father's head. She sighed with relief
under her breath. She had sent him at one of the most
rotten spots on the wall and he appeared to be still in
one piece.

Bellany prodded her father's neck through the dress
with one of the practice swords. "Are you all right
daddy? Daddy, don't you think it's time we negotiated a
truce? Someone could get hurt."

Before he could answer, Eleanor Norwit ran up,
stumbling somewhat due to the impracticality of her
ladies shoes.

"Bellany, shame on you! What do you think you are doing
with those practice swords? Swordplay is a man's
occupation. If you try to take it up you can't possibly
do anything but get yourself hurt or worse."

"Worse," Bellany stated matter of factly.

Darl was blind beneath the black skirt and imprisoned
in the upper wall of the hut with his arms pinned at
his sides by the size of the aperture he had broken. He
had lost his temper, and his daughter had used his
anger against him like a weapon. He should have known
better. When he heard Bellany's reply to Eleanor he
utterly lost it as anger turned to humor at the shear
impossibility of his predicament.

Eleanor heard her husband laughing. He was laughing so
hard he did not sound entirely sane. Darl? Darl is that
you? Eleanor pushed the skirt around on his head until
she was able to find an opening and push the skirt over
his head to bunch around his neck.

"Dear what happened?"

"heh, heheh, I got in a sword fight with Bellany. She
killed me three times and then sent me to heaven.
HehahahaHAHAAAH!" Darl exclaimed.

"Bellany, whatever is wrong with your father?" Eleanor
asked.

"I have been practicing with the rapier all summer,
mother. Daddy just found out and tried to put a stop to
it, but the rapier is not his best weapon," Bellany
said.

Eleanor looked utterly confused. "Charles, what
happened here?"

"Dad snuck up on us and saw we were sparring with the
practice swords. He popped out behind me and yelled my
name. I froze and he took my practice sword. He and
Bellany got in a bad swordfight. I thought she was
doomed for sure," Charles said.

"You thought?" Eleanor asked.

"Do you remember that dinner with the knights when dad
said no child of his would be a knight until the day
the child bested him at the sword?"

Eleanor nodded.

"Well it ought to be Sir Bellany now," Charles grinned
and lifted his sister's arm skyward.


Eleanor stared at Bellany in disbelief.

Charles spoke to his father, "Dad, do you think you're
good enough to stay up there in heaven?"

Darl laughed for another minute and then replied, "I
think not. My sins are weighty."

"Mmm, I'll get the table under your feet on the other
side. "While I have you there though, dad, did anyone
ever tell you, you looked great in a dress?" Charles
asked.

"Charles!"
---

Rames pinched his chin between his thumb and forefinger
and then shook his head, "Well the problem is you can
never be sure, especially from so brief a sample, but
there is certainly a decent chance that Bellany is
Rapina. Just the fact that she was able to get that
much skill in a single summer says something."

Thane nodded, "Indeed, the girl is still a mystery. The
other day I noticed her collecting the very same herbs
Rapina used to control her fertility. She was out in
the fields and she tied them to tree limbs for drying.
It could be a coincidence, but I doubt a young woman of
Avengene would be familiar with those particular
plants, yet there is always the possibility that she
learned of them in some utterly mundane manner."

----

Bellany had paid for her perfidy learning the art of
the sword by being grounded and doing two weeks of hard
labor, cooking and cleaning. She really missed
Starstruck. Actually she had managed to work her
sentence around to doing a lot of cooking and almost no
cleaning by the end of the first week. Chef Dower was
by this time a good friend of hers as she had been
making various breads with him since spring.

Charles had been punished similarly. He had probably
cleaned and sharpened every weapon in the keep. She
would have to make it up to him somehow. Her plan was
to find him a girlfriend in school as she had promised.


She had recalled the herbs for controlling a woman's
fertility from her pirate days. She was not sure she
really needed them, but it was better to be safe than
sorry. She had already secured a supply in case she was
able to outwit the chaperones at school, but she
decided she had better expand on it so that she could
supply a naughty girlfriend for Charles if she were
able to find one.

Ironically, even though she was being punished for
learning swordplay, her father had decided that since
the cat was out of the bag and she was a fine
swordswoman she should build on the skill since her
temperament seemed far more suited to being the wife of
a warlord rather than that of a more genteel nobleman.
Darl, lieutenant Florin, and Sergeant Lime picked up
where Charles had left off to make sure she did not
know just enough swordplay to get herself into trouble,
but not enough to get herself back out of it. At first
she had an hour's lesson each day, but by impressing
her tutors plus a little flattery and a little subtle
pulling of the lusts of Lime and Florin her time had
been expanded to up to two hours, and then to as long
as any of the three tutors had time to spar with her
that day. Some days she practiced for over three hours.


They were all very impressed with her endurance. She
knew her reserves of power would be utterly exhausted
by the time she finished her two weeks of labor. She
tried not to tap them unless absolutely necessary.
Thanks to her training she was in very good shape, and
she felt sure she could make it through. She dared not
re-supply herself with power if there were any chance
of discovery. She was already in enough trouble for
learning swordplay and she wanted to get away to school
cleanly. The Vargrend Academy for Girls was in Bristol
right next to Charles's school. If her fears that she
was someone other than Bellany Norwit were to come
true, she felt running away in a barony where no one
knew her would be vastly easier than trying to run away
while in Norwit.
-------

This ends, Summertime, chapter 53 of The Chronicles of
Rapina.
The story continues in chapter 54, Misbehavior.

Copyright 2001 by Rapina