Ойкумена / Oikumena: Глава 5

Chapter 5
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Camrad_RIP 21.06.24 в 19:42

A cold, damp wind had risen in the morning. The not-so-distant pass was covered with a whitish haze, and Elena thought Pantocrator was on the fugitives' side in every way. If the company stayed there even a day longer, the day's journey would easily turn into a week. A snowstorm combined with running out of supplies and general fatigue... You can wish it on your enemy, but not on yourself. It seems that the fugitives had skipped just at the last moment before the snowfall that would make the main trails impassable until spring, so if anyone was following their tracks, they weren't now.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 13:19

As she washed her face with cold water, the woman looked up at the frowning sky, as if the all-seeing eye of Pantocrator might be watching her. Her threadbare shirt fluttered in the wind like a sail, but it had been tight a month ago. Well, at least here it is not necessary to watch overweight and diet. In the Ecumene it takes a lot of effort to get fat, not opposite.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 13:20

Wiping herself with the towel, which was as thin and sparse as gauze from wear and tear and time, Elena caught the attentive, albeit fearful, gaze of the Frels' daughter. The girl was looking mostly at her guest's hair. Elena hummed, thinking that she really did seem strange. The black dye was starting to come off, revealing a dark red natural color. The traveler looked like a feather raven, but the appearance was the last thing the healer cared about right now.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 13:21

The girl wasn't overly pretty, but she was surprisingly sweet. Probably, she had never seen independent, short-haired sisters by gender and perceived Elena as a marvel. The healer couldn't resist a little hooliganism and winked at her daughter, who danced, clutched the basket with onions to her chest, which had to be taken to the dry cellar for the winter. She turned around and ran, only to see her mother's boots, which had been worn out to a pale pale color and were probably her mother's.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 13:23

The father, ignoring the woman, was tapping with a tool that looked like an axe with the blade turned ninety degrees. Frels, with two peasants, was chopping cabbage into halves for pickling for the winter. There was not enough salt, so they soured the cabbage by pouring rye flour with a little rock salt over the chopped pieces. Judging by the filling wooden troughs, at least this house would not starve in the spring. The cabbage was oozing with juice and a distinctive odor.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 13:26

Breakfast was heated in a cauldron. For lunch, in honor of the guests (and obviously expecting to get another coin) they prepared a royal dish - yurma - chicken boiled in fish broth, by the standards of local poverty it was equal to a lamb cooked in exquisite gravy. Elena could already feel her stomach rumbling in anticipation of the treat. Then a stab of pain cut into the rumbling.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 13:27

"Damn..." the woman hissed, bending down and putting a palm to her stomach.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 13:27

Such bad timing! Thank God, they were in a settled and moderately warm region, where they could stock up and wash hygienic rags. She wanted to swear, to curse Mother Nature and all the gods in bulk for having designed female anatomy so badly. Or physiology...

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 15:00

She straightened up, picked up a jug of water, and went to wash Artigo. The pain seemed to be easing, but she couldn't walk easily, her knees bent like wood on nails. Nearby, Cadfal was praying, seemingly for the first time since the redeemers had entered the life of Elena, still called Lunna. The square-haired brother spread out a tiny mat and was making bows as if he were a Muslim. Beside him, the Rapist was making strange passes, something subtly reminiscent of Chinese wu-shu, and also of the skeletal breathing techniques of the late Draughtsman. Elena had noticed something like this a couple of times before, and kept forgetting to ask whether it was a cunning prayer or church gymnastics.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 15:01

Artigo was sitting under Grimal's care on a large stone with a blanket carefully placed on it. Ranjan was dragging sawed wood from the shed to the old stump, intending to chop it. The minstrel was haggling fiercely with the peasant, who scratched the back of his head, shuffled from foot to foot, and generally seemed a simple-minded respecter, but judging from the tension of the negotiations, he understood his interest well.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:00

"Lift your head," Elena said to the prince, surprised at how harsh and unfriendly the words sounded. "Please."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:00

The boy obediently carried out the instruction. Grimal realized that Artigo was in the right hands and went about his business.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:01

"Here," the Frels' daughter, who had stealthily approached, shyly held out a tiny curl of soap, clearly cut from a larger bar.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:01

"Thank you," she said sincerely. She only now noticed that the girl had a plentiful scattering of freckles despite the dark hair she'd been born with. A rare combination.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:02

Artigo was silent and squinting as Elena wiped his face with a wet towel. The woman, on impulse, ruffled the boy's hair, and he flinched as if he'd been struck.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:02

"Hey, what are you up to?" Elena didn't understand, staring into the guy's wildly dilated pupils.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:04

Artigo froze, tense as a crossbow and stiffening at the same time. It was as if every muscle in his body had tensed to the limit. His lips trembled and his face paled. Elena looked at the hand, then at the disheveled head, and began to realize something. Apparently, this was some incredibly rude invasion of 'personal space' or a violation of the etiquette that had been hammered into Artigo's head since infancy. Or maybe both at once.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:05

"I'm sorry," Elena muttered, feeling like a fool in the land of the crazy.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:06

The boy looked up at her, unblinking, like a porcelain-faced doll. Elena knelt so that the roles were reversed. The hard ground chilled her joints unpleasantly, her stomach tugged, and the medicine woman refrained from grimacing in pain with great effort. But her gut told her that a very significant moment was coming. Elena had done something important and wrong. Maybe related to etiquette, maybe wrapped up in the personal cockroaches in the prince's head, but if she let everything go to the brakes now, "it" would remain as a nail hammered into the relationship.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:06

"If I put out my hand to you, can you touch it?" She asked, thinking that if it wasn't clear, it was best to take the easiest way.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:06

He was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly, as if overcome by tension. Elena also slowly stretched out her hand, imagining she wanted to pet a street and frightened cat. A calm, very friendly motion, nothing that could be construed as a threat. Artigo's fingers were trembling and cold. After waiting a moment, Elena "made tactile contact", that is, still slowly and gently squeezed her palm. The medic's hand was not large, but Artigo's paw sank almost entirely into it. The axe clattered loudly as the Brether began chopping. The prince flinched, glancing around nervously.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:07

"I am from very far away places," Elena said quietly and slowly. "I have learned some of your rules, but there are many things I don't know yet. If I do something wrong, it's because I don't know how it should be."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:42

He shook his head again, seeming a little more confident and relaxed, but it could have been that. Good, communication seemed to be getting better. Medicine and psychology... that's what she should have learned, but who knew? She doesn't get to choose her destiny. For some reason, she remembered a humorous story about a bookworm who spent his whole life preparing to get to comrade Stalin in the forty-first year, filling his memory with countless knowledge about the preparation for the Great Patriotic War but ended up in the ranks of the French at Austerlitz.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:47

"Where I come from..."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:48

//"...there are no nobles, and children grow up normally...!" - No, of course she can't say that.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:49

"...there were no such noble persons. We keep it simple. I did what I'm used to."

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:35

She thought for a moment and added:

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:49

"Sorry... Yes, I know you should be called. "Your Majesty." But, uh."

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:34

"Highness."

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:34

"What?"

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:07

In fact, she heard perfectly well, but jumped at the seeming opportunity to talk the young autistic man down a little more.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:08

"Your Imperial Majesty, that is the correct address to the emperor," the prince said very clearly, with excellent diction as if he had been practicing for hours. His speech contrasted strikingly with his one-syllable lines, perhaps for the first time in the whole time of his escape the guy said something longer than a couple of words. Elena was ready to smile - there was contact! - but the next phrase threw her into a stupor.

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:35

"But you're from a dirty, lowly background and probably didn't know it."

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:36

Oh, you little scoundrel, Elena thought, feeling herself grow fierce. Dirty origins, huh? You owe me your life twice over. She wanted to slap Artigo, but then the split log cracked particularly loudly, and Helena came to her senses. No, it was necessary to be calm and tolerant...

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:37

"I'm not Emperor... yet," Artigo didn't notice the change in the woman's attitude and continued his reasoning. - I should have been addressed as "Your Grace" before. But that's no good either because my parents have left the world and now I'm the first in the family," the boy swallowed the heavy thought and returned to his businesslike tone. "Therefore, the most correct is 'Your Highness'. Yes..."

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:38

He thought for a moment and finished confidently:

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:38

"Yes, that's the most correct. Address me as "Your Highness." And tell the others to keep proper order. Besides, that ruthier and his servant must no longer dress and undress me so rudely. I'm used to being treated differently. And the food. I want different food. I must be served first, and the others may eat after I have tasted the food."

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:39

"Is that all?" The healer asked stupidly, mechanically counting the number of times the young aristocrat repeated 'must'.

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:40

"Yes. I'll wish for the rest in due course."

Camrad_RIP 23.06.24 в 06:40

Elena stared at the boy, dazed, and saw that there was not a shred of pretension in his demeanor. God knows what the reason was but the prince's noble arrogance and absolute certainty that everyone owed him by nature was like a switch on a switch.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:27

"Why don't you take it easy?" Pantin, who was nearby, suggested. Elena didn't even look at him, staring unkindly into the prince's dark pupils. Perhaps she should have kept silent, softened, corrected, and shown understanding. Perhaps. she should have. But Elena didn't want to, and there were many reasons, all woven together like a bundle of wire under a blacksmith's hammer.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:26

"First of all, we're hiding. We're hiding so you don't get killed, you fool," she said quietly and clearly. "We're passing you off as a common city boy. And calling you 'Your Highness' is a sure way to get everyone killed. You first."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:25

The boy swallowed but didn't look away.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:24

"Second..."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:23

Elena felt like she was getting carried away, but she couldn't stop and didn't really want to. Pantin shook his head reproachfully, refrained from commenting, and left for the Frels' daughter. She, along with Gamilla and the minstrel, was just helping a wounded Highlander to crawl out into the light of day.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:23

"Second, we're the only thing between you and death. Your..."

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:23

She almost said "father" and stumbled at the last moment.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:21

"Your savior sacrificed a lot to keep you alive. And will sacrifice a lot more. That deserves at least a modicum of respect and gratitude. So put the fuse on and act like a human being, not a highborn pig. Do you understand?"

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:22

She was ready for the hysterics, the foot-stomping, the other excesses of a spoiled brat, but nothing happened. Artigo bowed his head and settled down, his eyes faded, his pupils unfocused, staring through Elena into the endless distance. The prince looked like a doll with some of the air drained out of it in a couple of seconds.

Camrad_RIP 22.06.24 в 18:22