Encounter1

It started as a feeling, like a cold breeze that went past her. A tremble went over her whole body and she looked up into the woods. There was nothing to see apart from the path she was standing on and the many trees with their rustling leaves. The coldness that had gone through her was gone again, yet she didn’t feel quite at ease. Despite her tensed muscles she got lost in her thoughts again. Only for a short moment, because she was startled by a noise. It was a noise that wouldn’t have caught anyone’s attention but hers, sounding like the call of a ordinary bird. But this particular sound meant so much more to Bryseia. It was an ingeniously found sign that did exactly what it was meant for: to catch her attention.
By now she was sure that somebody was there with them in the woods and that someone was calling her. Though she would want to be mistaken, though she would want to ignore that sound, she could not. She mumbled an excuse to Mandera and got to her feet. The coldness had come back in her body when she followed the path, her heart was pounding loudly. She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone of the group was looking and then quickly left the path and dissapaered into the woods.
Again the sound, this time much closer. She took a few steps, constantly looking around, but suddenly he was there in front of her.
Underneath his heavy black cloak, with the hood pulled far over his head, he looked like just a ordinary traveller, cloth in simple earthy coloured fabrics. He’d always been good in disguises.
Now that Bryseia stood in front of him, he pulled off his hood in a smooth and quick movement and she was looking into eyes that she remembered as being cold and treacherous, but now they where gleaming. She reckognised this look , he used to have it when he’d made up a new plan, when he felt confident again and nothing could stop him in his thoughts and deeds.

He grinned at her, as if it hadn’t been years ago when they had never said goodbye. She would almost believe he was just happy to see her, but she knew him better than that.

So she hit him, with the palm of her hand hard in his face and only a hint of the anger she felt towards him was displayed in that hit.
He was surprised and not fast enough to avoid her hand, but the grin on his face didn’t go away.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t reckognise me!” He said, rubbing a hand in a black leather glove over his red cheek. Bryseia noticed he had gotten older, significantly, even though he was only a few years older than her.
The expression on his face got more serious and he said: “come on, I have to talk to you..” He turned around and walked away but soon enough noticed she hadn’t moved a bit. “Well, come one! Follow me!”
Bryseia’s voice was trembling of the caught up anger she felt now she stood there with him. “You have no right to speak to me like that!”
“Yes, I do.” He said, sounding arrogant.
“No, you don’t.” She said, trying to stay calm.
“You are my wife!”
Bryseia couldn’t believe he had just said that. “I am not. It was a false promise.”
“False? We had a priest!” He looked amused.
“He was no priest!” She yelled into his face, frustrated by his tone. She swallowed and tried to remain standing. “You haven’t come here to claim me back as your wife. Just say whatever you have to say.”
“Why couldn’t I be here for that?” He said, still with his annoying confident tone and amused look in his eyes.
“Because you care about nothing but yourself.” She said coldly. He somehow looked dumb for a moment but then took a step towards her.
“You insult me, my dear.”
“Don’t call me that!” She snapped. His eyes turned colder at that.
“Oh sorry, I forgot. You were never really good in that… intimacy. Were you? I would never have expected such a cold welcome though.”
“You deceived me!”
“We have deceived dozens of people, Bry, what did you expect?”
“Some loyalty!”
“Loyalty? We don’t do… loyalties, remember?” She looked him into the eyes. Oh yes, she did remember, she thought, taking a while to reply.
“And thus, I have no bond with you, whatsoever. You’re the past. You’re dead.”
“I am sorry lass, but I’m standing right here.” His eyes looked serious but he had a faint smile on his face. Bryseia looked at him as if she just realised that it was really him standing in front of her. She pressed her hands unto her face for a second.
“Just leave, then.” She finally said, facing him again.
“Don’t you even want to know why I’m here?” He asked. She didn’t answer. Did she want to know? Of course there always was this… damned curiosity. And if he’d come all this way, it really had to be something special. But she could guess what it was, it could never be good. Well, she didn’t even have to decide what she wanted, because he said it anyways.
“I need to ask you a favour.” He said. She chuckled. “You have some guts!” She yelled, then realising where she was and with who and she lowered her voice. “After everything you’ve done to me, you are here to ask me a favour?” She laughed.
“We’ve had a good life once, you and I.”
“One built on lies! I’ve had enough of that.” The anger that caused this by him turned him to cunning.
“Oh have you? So you’ve stopped lying now? To your little friends her, for example. You’re all openness and honesty now?”
“Those are not my friends.”
“They are the only friends you’ve got!”
“Yeah? And what would you know about that. You needed me, a little innocent girl, because you had no one else to turn to. No one else that would help you.”
“I turned to you, because you were my best shot. You were exactly what I needed.”
She laughed again, out of despair. “Yes and I trusted you.”
“Ah, I’m touched. But you should have known better than that. You knew exactly who I was, what I did. I am sorry that you had to learn it the harsh way.”
“You used me!”
“We used each other…” He said, diplomatically.

Bryseia was kicking some the earth underneath her feet and looked over his shoulder into the woods, not able to face him. His expression grew softer again, as if he remembered what the whole discussion was really about. He almost looked full of hope, but then she would have seen a weakness in him and that was impossible. Her curiosity won over her anger.
“What kind of favour? No games, no excuses or long stories. Just come straight to me.” And he did and he came straighter than she’d expected.
“I need you to introducé me to your friends, your travelcompany. I want you to ask if I can join you.” He paused for a second. “I want to join you, to the bards.”
It was nothing like she had expected him to say. She’d thought he would ask her help for one of his cunning plans, perhaps even that she would return with him. Not this. And she didn’t trust him at all.
“So you’re not even here to ask forgiveness.” She said.
“Would there be any point? I know you won’t forgive me.” She had forgotten; he knew her well. His judgement in human characters had always been well.
“And why would I do this for you? What’s in this for me?”
“Nothing. Except for my company of course.” He grinned. “No… You would do this…” He continued slowly. “Because you’ve done it before. Because it was me who gave you your freedom. Have you ever thought of where you would be if I hadn’t saved you?”
Saved her, she would have gotten angry of his choice of words, crediting all the honour to himself again, would it have any use. But he would just laugh at her.
“Not there, I can assure you.”
He narrowed the opening of his eyes, looking at her piercingly. “No… perhaps not.” He said. “Maybe you would have been… herding sheep somewhere.”
“There’s nothing wrong with herding sheep.”
“There is if that’s the only thing you were able to do.” He was right, he was always right. But there are other sides of the story.
“May I remind you that… your so-called saving, was also the cause of my family banning my name and my existence?” He smiled, unharmed by her words.
“We win and we loose. That’s life.”
“Yes.” She said, coldly and looked him straight into his eyes. “And there will be a day, soon, that will end your constant winning.”
“And I do not fear that day. I have nothing to loose.”
“No, indeed, you don’t.” She replied, wanting to hurt him. But he couldn’t be harmed by words like that, reminding him of the fact that he had no one, only his skills. His deceit.
“So, will you help me?” He asked. That glimp of hope she’d thought of seeing before had gone. If she would say no, he would probably just shrug and go over to plan B. It wouldn’t matter to him.
But it would to her.
“I will not make the same mistake again.” She said and walked away. Why had she waited so long before she had cut off their conversation? Why hadn’t she walked away from him earlier? Some things had to be said, and now that they had, maybe she would finally forget him. Maybe.