Episode 27 -- Escape?

"‘Twas most elegantly done, worthy of a scauld’s lay," Gundar said, covertly gloating over Lexa’s magnificent breasts, which bobbed ever so slightly with the motion of their vehicle. It was a simple cart, a far cry from Eric’s magnificent rig, but that worked in his favour, since there were no passenger seats in the cargo area and the driver’s seat was confined enough to force the two of them to sit thigh to thigh. "When that guardsman wanted to peer under my hood," Gundar continued, "I thought we were undone, but you came to my rescue without a moment’s hesitation. I will never forget how you beguiled that slobbering swine with your fluttering eyelashes! I had no idea that you were so schooled in feminine wiles!"

"I do what I must," Lexa said curtly, looking straight ahead as she urged the horses to quicken their pace. Her lower lip trembled as she fought to master herself.

"Patience, patience, my snorting stallion! I needs must deliver my cousin Grisella to my dying auntie’s bedside, but I will soon come sweeping back like a hot summer wind and test your mettle!" Gundar mimicked Lexa’s coquettish voice. She burst out laughing, and Gundar joined in whole-heartedly. The rays of the sun danced on Lexa’s hair. A gentle breeze was blowing, the birds were singing, and the road to adventure lay open before them. He was hale and healthy and unfettered, journeying with the most beautiful female warrior in the universe. Truly, his life had taken a distinct turn for the better.

A third voice joined their duet of merriment. Gundar glowered over his shoulder, his heart sinking. He recognized that twittering chortle only too well.

"Scaramouche! What are you doing here?"

The mannikin had popped open the lid of the storage chest on the back of the cart and was clambering out, clutching a half-full bottle of wine.

"Your liege lord, Archmentor Arestasis Lightwielder, thought it prudent to send me along to aid you on your journey," Scaramouche said, making a cushion for himself out of the two cloaks which Lexa and Gundar had tossed into the back as soon as they were out of sight of the city. The mannikin settled himself comfortably and took a long, contented drink from his bottle. "Would you like some?" he asked Gundar.

Gundar ignored the question and turned to face forward. "Why must this pest come along?" he muttered, half to himself, half to Lexa. "He will only slow our progress."

"You may find me useful enough," Scaramouche said placidly, seemingly oblivious to Gundar’s resentment. "If I become a bear or a tiger, I can fight; if I become a flea or a wasp, I can hide and hear what others cannot."

Gundar looked inquiringly at Lexa. "Full moon tomorrow," she said. "Tantalos always has his execution days on the full moon."

"So – you will be transformed?" Gundar asked Scaramouche, forgetting his annoyance. "Was the archmage not able to break the curse?"

"Alas, no," Scaramouche said. "But he was able to give me a gift to ease my plight." The mannikin held up a cat’s eye amulet. "Whoever wears this will be able to understand my speech, no matter what form I take. Basilea, would you be kind enough to put it on?"

"Why not me?" Gundar demanded. "I was the one who found you."

"She is level-headed, more likely to survive than you are," Scaramouche informed him. "However, if something were to happen to her, you are my next choice."

Gundar yanked the amulet from Scaramouche’s grasp. "I should throw this away," he said darkly.

Lexa gathered the reins in her left hand and put her free hand over Gundar’s. "I will wear it," she said with quiet decision. She took the amulet from him, worked its leather thong over her head, and deposited the cat’s eye in her cleavage. "You know he speaks the truth," she said in a conversational tone. "I am the better-trained warrior, and more experienced in diplomacy."

Gundar sat in silence, ruminating bitterly on Lexa’s words. Would he ever be anything but a foolish child in her eyes? Why had she bothered to coax him from his rat’s body, if she had no respect for him? Had she forgotten that he was a warrior and a prince?

"How did you find your sojourn as a rat?" Scaramouche asked. "It is a form I have never taken."

"I remember almost nothing of the experience," Gundar said. "You spoke of hearing what others cannot. Can you understand human speech when you are transformed?"

"Indeed I can," Scaramouche said.

"It was not so for me," Gundar said. "By the time Lexa came to rescue me, I could not even remember ever being human."

"Ah!" said Scaramouche. "That is the most tormenting part of my curse. I never cease to have full awareness of myself as the man I once was. I understand the speech of every creature whose form I have inhabited, but I cannot make myself understood. It is a lonely business."

"So it must be," Gundar said, his heart melting. He marvelled at Scaramouche’s good humour in the face of the unknown future. It might be years before he could enjoy wine and human conversation again. "Is there no way to lift the curse?"

"According to the venerable archmage, this spell was conjured of the primal elements. None can remove it but the one who cast it."

"Have you searched for her?" Gundar asked. "Perhaps if you threw yourself on her mercy, she would forgive you."

"There’s little chance of that, unless I can restore her magic boots to her possession," Scaramouche said mournfully. "I can’t say that I blame her."

"That might be a quest for us," Gundar said to Lexa. "If we could find the boots and persuade the witch to break her curse–"

"You flatter yourself," Lexa said. "Do you really consider yourself worthy to be sent on a quest? You are a fugitive who has disgraced his liege lord. You are lucky Stasi did not leave you in your rat’s form. That is all you deserve."

Gundar flinched, and considered leaping from the carriage and throwing himself into the path of the horses.

"Pay her no heed," Scaramouche said. "She was the one who hounded the archmage day and night to make you a man again and help you escape. He stands to lose everything he cannot carry with him, and to bear the burden of being thought a coward until the end of his days. You are fortunate indeed that he has a father’s tender heart towards her and cannot bear to refuse her whatever she begs of him."

Lexa’s knuckles were white as she grasped the reins, but she kept her silence. Gundar’s heart sank even lower.

"What will become of me?" he said at last. His voice was trembling. Lexa looked at him sharply and averted her eyes while Gundar knuckled the tears from his.

"Have no fear," she said, leaning lightly against his shoulder as she turned into a narrow lane which led into a stand of trees a short distance from the highroad. "We will keep you out of sight until all this is forgotten. By the time your bond service is completed, it will be safe for you to go home."

"Home!" Gundar cried out, his chest almost bursting with grief. "How can I go home without boar or crew? How can I face the families of the dead, who were the flower of my nation? What will I tell them of my adventures? Gundar the Swineherd! Gundar the Rat! What sort of matter is that for a prince’s lay?"

"One step at a time," Lexa said soothingly. "You are still young, and will no doubt live through many fine adventures in the years to come." She pulled the horses to a halt. "We will leave the cart behind here. Let us saddle the horses and be on our way." She leaped down from the cart and began to undo the buckles on the leather harness straps. Gundar sat on the seat without moving.

"Gundar!" Lexa said. "Help me unharness the horses!"

"No need," Gundar said. "We are going back."

"What?" Lexa and Scaramouche said together.

"We are going back," Gundar repeated. "It is the only way I can redeem myself."

"Death is not easily reversed," Scaramouche pointed out.

"Neither is disgrace," Gundar said. "I cannot run from what I have done."

"But you are innocent!" Lexa protested. "In time, Tantalos will come to understand that."

"I may be innocent of the crime for which I was condemned," Gundar said, "but nonetheless, my own actions brought me here. I will not let my liege lord bear the burden for me."

"Are you sure?" Lexa asked, her eyes soft.

"Yes." Gundar took a deep breath. For the first time in a long while, he felt free. .