The Warrior Quirina

   As the warrior guided her horse back home, she pondered what the future might hold. Quirina of Ravenbrook was quite tired of living in a wilderness or rough camps.  But she wasn’t quite sure she was ready to become someone’s Lady.    
    “Lady Quirina. Lady Quirina.” She said aloud to herself. “It doesn’t sound too bad does it Ebony?” She patted her black horse and continued in silence.
    Birds twittered in the trees. Bugs buzzed and chirped. Quirina looked around her at the trees.  She wondered if she could give this up for stone walls and people.  But first she would visit her parents, then the king.  The king may have other ideas.
    Quirina heard a soft moan.  She stopped and listened. A sniff.  Quirina looked behind some brush and found a small naked girl curled in a fetal position.   Quirina took a blanket from the back of her horse and covered the girl. “Come, let’s find you some clothing.”
    The child scurried away from Quirina. “No, I have to wait for the man.”
    “What man?”
    “The man who took care of me after pa died of the ague.”
    “We’ll wait for the man together.  Are you hungry?”
    Her small cherubic face grinned nodding.  She had light brown curls that bobbed when she nodded.  She looked about five or six seasons.  
    Quirina gave her a piece of black bread and a small wedge of white cheese. She watched the girl gobble the bread and cheese hungrily. “What is your name?”
    She spoke with her mouth full of bread. “Whenie.”
    Quirina laughed. “Repeat that without food, please.”
    The girl swallowed. “Jeanie.”
    “Hello, Jeanie.  My name is Quirina.”
    “Quirina the whip? I heard stories about you.”
    Quirina smiled. “Eat while I get a tunic out for you to wear.”
    Quirina dug into her saddlebags.  “This is too big for you, but, it will cover you for now.”   Quirina took the blanket,  Then she helped Jeanie into the tunic.  She tied a strip of leather around her waist and cut off the extra with a dirk.  She pulled the tunic up over the waist enough to see Jeanie’s feet and rolled up the sleeves several times.
    “So, does the man have a name?”
    “He makes us call him father.”
    “Us, there are others who live with you and the man?”
    “Oh, the man we call father doesn’t live with us.  I live in a house with Emma, Greta, Lace, Mercy, and baby Dell.”
    “You have quite the family.”
    “We’re not really a family.  We all work for the man.”
    Quirina heard a twig snap and turned around.  A large man stepped out of the trees.  His sandy hair hung to his shoulders.  He wore a small braid down the left side.  He was clad in dark brown leather.
    Jeanie whimpered quietly and hid behind Quirina.  “Is this the man you’ve been waiting for Jeanie?” Quirina asked.
    “yes.”
    The man leered at Quirina as if she were something to eat.  She wore her ebony hair in a tail that was braided in nine braids. At the end of each braid was a bone spike.  She
was dressed in black leather and chain mail.  At her waist she wore a whip and a dirk.  In her hands she held a staff.
    “What you doing with my property.”
    Quirina quirked her eyebrow. “It’s my understanding that property is bought or traded. Orphan’s found at their parents deathbed can not be property.”
    “I feed and clothe them.”
    “And they perform certain tasks for you to earn their keep.  I’m sure this little one’s more than earned her keep just today.  Isn’t that right?  She isn’t in your debt she’s your cash cow.”
    The man charged at Quirina.  Quirina ran to meet him.  She struck him in the stomach with the end of her staff.  While he was bent forward she struck his back. Then she swung her staff and took his feet out from under him.  She pulled out her dirk and held it at his throat. “You will leave town today.  Without the girls and the baby.” Then she delivered a knee to his temple, knocking him out.
    Quirina returned to Jeanie.  She lifted the girl up onto her horse.
    “Who will take care of us if the man leaves?”
    “I’m sure we’ll find a solution.  Now, can you show me the way home?”
    Jeanie nodded and pointed east.  Quirina lead Ebony the direction Jeanie pointed.

    The house where Jeanie lived was on the edge of a very small village.  It was missing half it’s shutters.  The whitewash was peeling.  The thatch roof sagged. Diapers lay in the back yard to dry.  Chickens pecked at the front yard.
Quirina tied Ebony to the fence post of the broken fence.
    As they approached the open door, Mercy was seen at a small badly damaged table with only one chair.  She was crying.  Baby Dell lay on a fraying blanket on the floor beside her.
    Jeanie hugged Mercy’s waist. “What’s a matter Mercy?”
    Mercy sniffed rubbing her eyes quickly.  She took a deep breath. “Sometimes father doesn’t take very good care of us.”
    “It’s okay Mercy, I brought Quirina the Whip home.”
    Mercy looked up realizing for the first time a warrior stood inside the house. “My lady, how may I help you?”
    “Jeanie, go and get the other girls.” Quirina looked at Mercy.  Her sable hair was coming out of her ponytail.  Her baby blue eyes were rimmed red. “Pack everything Mercy, you’re coming with me.”
    Quirina opened the cupboard.  She found a handful of flour, a pat of butter, and an onion.  She put them into her saddlebags.     
    Then she gathered up the diapers in the yard. Jeanie ran up to Quirina with a girl holding each hand and another following behind.  “This is Emma,” She held up her left hand. “This is Greta.” She held up her right hand. “And behind us is Lace. Meet my new friend, Lady Quirina.”  The girls curtsied.
    Quirina smiled. “Pack your things.  We’ll be leaving as soon as you’re ready.”
    Inside the house Mercy had a blanket draped over the table.  On it she stacked two dresses for Dell, a nightgown, a tunic, and an apron.  Each of the girls brought to the table their one nightgown and one tunic.  Jeanie changed into her last tunic, then returned Quirina’s to her.  Mercy then tied the blanket to make a bag.
    Quirina tied the bag to her saddlebags.  She placed Jeanie on Ebony.  Dell was tied in a cloth like a papoose to Mercy’s back.
    They walked through the village.  Quirina stopped twice.  Once to buy cheese at the dairy and again to buy bread at the bakery.

    Their first evening together, they made camp along a stream.  They ate a dinner of cheese and black bread. 
    Baby Dell, Jeanie and Lace slept on Quirina’s bedroll.  Greta was curled around Dell.  Emma lay in the grass staring up at the stars.  Mercy was washing out diapers.  Quirina leaned against a tree near Mercy.
    Mercy squeezed out a diaper and hung it on a tree branch.  “Thank-you for showing me what to use for washing these.”
    Quirina shrugged. “No problem.”
    Mercy washed out another diaper. “Why’d you do this?”
    “Show you the plant? You needed it.”
    “Drag us out here.”
    “I found this little girl behind a bush.  She was naked and moaning in pain.  I’m not so naïve that I don’t know what happened to her.  I clothed her, fed her, and when the man came for her I beat him up.  I felt I should at least take Jeanie home.  Then, when I saw that barn you were living in, I felt I owed it to you to change the situation.  Since I sent the cur you call father away. You were crying when we arrived, mind telling me why?”
    “I asked father for money: for food and soap.  He told me to eat the chickens.”  Mercy hung the last diaper in the tree and wiped her forehead with her apron.
    “Get some sleep, I’ll keep watch.”
    Mercy curled up between Greta and Emma.  Quirina rested her head against the tree.

    Breakfast was again cheese and bread.  Jeanie and Lace gobbled their breakfast then ran off to play, while Mercy fed Dell breast milk.  Quirina and Greta packed everything.  
    “It’s mine!” Lace cried.
    “I saw it first!” yelled Jeanie.
    Quirina gripped each girl’s shoulder pulling them apart.  Then she thrust her hand between them. “Give it to me.”
    Jeanie pouted. “I saw it first.”
    The prize was a half rotten apple.  Quirina cut the apple with her dirk.  The other half apple was good.  Quirina peeled the good half, then sliced it into five portions.  She gave a portion of apple to each girl.  Quirina wanted to shake her head in disbelief that a half rotten apple could be a fought over treasure.
    Jeanie and Lace rode ebony.  Dell was again wrapped and tied to Mercy like a papoose.  
    Quirina patted Ebony as she took the reigns.  They followed the stream north.  “We should arrive  at my parents home by mid-morning. Mercy, how old are you?”
    “Fourteen new seasons. Why?”
    “Just wondering.  How old are you Jeanie?”
    “Six.”
    Lace squirmed. Ebony huffed.  “I’m eight and Greta’s nine.”
    “I think I could have told her myself.”
    “How old are you Emma?”
    “Eleven new seasons.  Will I get a baby like Mercy did?”          
    “Do you have a moon flow yet?”
    “No.”
    “No, not yet.”
    “Good.” Emma sighed, relieved.
    Quirina looked at Emma.  Her blond hair was raggedly chopped short.

    Ravenbrook was beautiful to Quirina’s homesick heart.  The keep sat on a hill surrounded by orchards.  Ravenbrook is famous for it’s yellow apple.  The Fields to the east were wheat this year.  The fields to the west were corn.  Merchants waved and called “Hello.” to Quirina as they walked through town.
    Only one young guard dared asked, “Who goes there?” as they  crossed the drawbridge.  The guard beside him thunked  his helmet. “It’s the Lady Quirina.”
    Lord Quinn and Lady Katya were waiting in the courtyard.  Quirina gave Ebony’s reigns to a stable boy.  Then Quirina greeted her parents with bone crunching hugs.
    Lord Quinn wasn’t exactly crunchable. The muscles on his husky frame were like stone.  His ash brown hair was streaked with gray.  His dove gray eyes twinkled with joy.
    Lady Katya was shorter than her daughter.  She wore her long sable hair in a braid with a bone spike on the end.  Her eyes were blue.  She was dressed in dark leather trousers and tunic. “We heard you coming long before you got to Ravenbrook.”
    Lord Quinn looked at the ragged group that Quirina had brought with her. “Introduce us to your guests, Lady Q.”
    Quirina blushed at her father’s pet name for her.  She turned to Ebony and lifted a cherub with dark curls down from the horse. “This is Jeanie.” Jeanie curtsied clumsily. Quirina lifted down a doll with blond curls. “This is Lace.” She pointed to a freckled red head. “This is Greta.”  She pointed to a boyish girl with ruggedly chopped blond hair. “This is Emma.”  Finally she pointed to the sable pony tailed girl with a baby. “This is Mercy and the baby is Dell.” The girls curtsied. “I thought they might stay in the guest house.”
    Lord Quinn Smiled. “That might be interesting, but not a good thing for your guests.  Your Aunt Matilda is visiting.”
    Lady Katya frowned at Lord Quinn.  Her way of saying “Behave.” to him. “The east tower suite should be comfortable enough.  They’ll want to be closer to you anyway.”
    “You’re right Mother.”
    Lord Quinn put his arm around Quirina. “Get everyone settled and fed then we’ll talk.”
    “Yes sir.  Come with me girls.”
    Quirina settled the girls and Dell into their rooms. Their meal arrived shortly after them.
      Quirina met her parents in the library. Lady Katya sat on a settee sipping tea.  Lord Quinn sat on the edge of his desk when she walked into the room.  “Still bringing home strays Lady Q?”
    “They’re all orphans.  Since I was the one who chased away their care giver, such that he was, I owed it to them to teach them to take care of themselves.”
    “The baby is also an orphan?”
    “The baby is Mercy’s. If things had stayed the way it was, all the girls would eventually have babies.”
    Lady Katya nodded. “So, you’ve adopted five girls. You’d better get them clothed appropriately.”
    Quirina nodded. “Do you have any extra bolts Mom?”
    “I think I can come up with something.”
    “I think I’ll ask Auntie Matt to teach the girls to sew while I’m gone.”
    “You’re leaving?”
    “I haven’t called on the king yet.”
    Lady Katya patted the settee next to her. “Have some tea. Then you can see Auntie Matt.”

    Quirina knocked then entered the guesthouse. “Auntie Matt!”
    “Come in girl!”
    Auntie Matt, not as slender as she once was, could crush the breath out of anyone she hugged.  She wore her sable hair in a bun, held in place by long bone spikes, which she could pull out and use as weapons.  She wore a blue silk tunic that matched her eyes.  She wore white and gold embroidered over apron.
    “Sit down girl, tell me about your new family.  I wouldn’t mind keeping the little cherub.”
    “The cherub is Jeanie.  She and the others are orphans.  From what I’ve been able to piece together, the man, they were to call him father, set them up in a house: then in order to earn their keep they would meet a man, he would do as he pleases, then they would wait for this “Father” to show up and take them home.  They lived in a hovel.”
    “And you couldn’t let that continue. And now you’ve come to ask me something.  Ask.”
    “How do you do that? Yes, I came to ask if you would teach the girls how to sew while I visit the King.”
    “Of course I will.  But, domestic skills aren’t the only skills they’ll be needing.”
    “Aye, We’ll start on the self defense when I get back. Thank-you Auntie Matt, here’s a little gold for supplies.”
    “Now don’t you insult me by giving me gold! I’ve got all I need and then some.  I can pay for a little thread and cloth.”
    Quirina ceased digging for her gold purse. “Yes ma’am.”
    “Send those girls down in the morning. Then you get yourself to the King.  You’re in for a surprise.”
    “What?”
    “You just wait and see. Now get out of here. I haven’t had my tea and I know you have.”
    Quirina opened her mouth then closed it again.  As she rose from the chair and walked out the door, she shook her head. “How does she do that?”

    Quirina let Ebony set the pace as she rode to the castle.  Jeanie had cried and carried on terribly when she learned that Quirina was leaving.  But Auntie Matt rescued Quirina by distracting Jeanie with a mysterious project.  What could Auntie Matt have meant when she said that the King had a surprise for her.  Quirina unfolded her family flag and mounted it on her staff as she neared the castle.
    The guards announced “Quirina of Ravenbrook.” as Ebony walked onto the drawbridge.  In the court yard Quirina handed Ebony’s reigns to the stable boy.   A page waited in the courtyard. “Lady Quirina, I’m Garrett.  If you’ll follow me we’ll go directly to the throne room.” Quirina followed the page.  “I saw you in the Arena Lady Quirina.  You were awesome.”
    “Thank-you.”
    At the throne room the page bowed to the guard. “Lady Quirina of Ravenbrook.”
    The doors were opened.  She was announced.  Then she was let into the room.  Quirina walked to the throne then bowed: one knee on the floor, one knee up, and her head on her knee.
    King Phillip grabbed an apple from his fruit bowl and pitched it at her.  Quirina caught the apple without lifting her head.
    King Phillip smiled. “Come with me to the map room.”
    Spread across the map room table was a map of the northern regions of the kingdom.  King Phillip walked around the table. “Lady Quirina, I don’t know if you’ll consider this a promotion or hate me, but, I need someone here at Canar Estates. This lands borders are adjacent to Mamant, which is the region run by a matriarchy.  Lords do not fare well here because of the ideas from across the border.  The land has been without a ruler for about a season.  I expect there will be many repairs necessary. The Manor is of wood.  If it still stands you may need carpenters.  I will send them to you before the snow falls.  
    This land is rich in forests, but also has orchards.  It’s main laity is wheat, wood, corn, apples, potatoes, and beef. Also furs, gold, silver and iron.  I need you to take control immediately.  I won’t ask a laity until the next harvest.  Well? Have you anything to say?”
    Quirina smiled. “I didn’t dream I could have an estate without being someone’s bride.”
    “So, You’ll take the challenge?”
    “Yes sir.”

    As the warrior guided her horse back home, she pondered what the future might hold and smiled at all the possibilities.            
         
      
    

      

                          

Reviews

[Red Raven]

“Who will take care of us if the man leaves?”
“I’m sure we’ll find a solution. Now, can you show me the way home?”
- Thats a clever answer. Seems you know well the lifestyle of lady Q. it's a nice read. would love to read her next adventure. but i felt that the girls father and their story were a bit abrupt. would have been more magnetic if you could describe about their past more. Rescuing them just like that seems coming out from any super hero novel. much intense fight may bring in more fire...just my thought.
Thank you for sharing.