Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 5)

She didn't like the idea of her life being a story. But, then, she supposed she'd heard his life story -- all the shame that made him out to be a monster when he really didn't seem like one at all -- so it was only fair that she told him hers.

"I'm a farmer by birth," she murmured. "From that South. My father and I lived there together until I was twelve." She rearranged the sticks for no apparent reason. "And then I got taken and made a slave because I didn't fight hard enough."

Because she couldn't fight hard enough, no matter how hard she'd tried.

The Marrow Man brought the last bundle of sticks and crouched before the cone, building a little square around it. He watched her as she spoke; his floppy goat's ears were angled toward her now at full attention.

"I was meant to be a sex slave." Why shouldn't she admit it outright to him? She usually didn't mention that part -- or at the very least danced around it -- but it was true. And she didn't have to soften her tale for the Marrow Man. He could run her off if he didn't like it. "But someone helped me and made my master believe I was a stableboy. And everything was fine for two years, and then Aleth..." She sighed. 'And then Aleth' felt like a full sentence in and of itself. "Aleth found me. And things got worse."

The Marrow Man didn't ask who Aleth was, but he didn't take his eyes off her as he produced a set of flint and steel from beneath his manes of hair and began to strike it near the base of the cone. Sparks flew a few times; the sticks were a bit damp. Then hesitantly, the bottom of the stack ignited.

She felt awkward under his gaze, getting a flashback to how it was like to recount an account to Aleth when something had happened away from him. The way he'd force her to repeat it again and again and again to test her story.

"He did all kinds of horrible things, and made me do horrible things," she said vaguely. "And I hated him and he hated me and he didn't want me to be able to get away from him, ever, so he set up assassins to come kill me if anything ever happened to him. And then something happened to him. And then the assassins came." She gestured vaguely at her arm, not sure if he'd been paying attention when she unwrapped the bandage. "And I got stabbed. And now more are going to come because those ones failed."

His pale, flat eyes flickered to her arm, and his tongue flicked out to lick the blood from his whiskers. "But you with Ash. How that happen?"

She hesitated, feeling very strongly that she shouldn't tell him that. He'd likely try to ransom her if he knew that she was a Lord's daughter and therefore profitable if kidnapped. And that would make things worse.

"They didn't believe me that the assassins were coming," she said, deciding to leave the where out of it for now. "They thought I was being melodramatic so they weren't prepared in time."

(Ha, Marrow Man caring about money!)

"Why they care? You not daughter. You farmer child from South. No business in North now that master die." He rose and stepped over to the bear, ripping out two handfuls of flesh. He began to eat one and set the other on the fire, pointing to it. "You want?"

(haha Ky has no idea what's going on anymore)

Ky's stomach growled at that, hunger-reflex coming back now that the self-loathing had -- ever so slightly -- shifted away from her. She nodded. She thought back to a fairytale from her childhood involving poisoned apples -- or maybe it was that one where you got trapped in the underworld if you ate while you were down there, she couldn't remember -- then decided she didn't care. Then a horrifying thought struck her: would eating his food turn her into the Marrow Woman? She didn't want that. That would be even worse than her current curse. "... er... is it--?"

"It made of bear," the Marrow Man said, brow furrowing. "Stupid bear, but just bear. Cook in a few minutes, then can eat. Tell me more of story."

She considered claiming she wasn't hungry, but her stomach growl had voiced the truth, and she didn't want to be caught in a lie. At least not one this blatant.

"I mean, that happened a week ago." She shrugged. "Not much more after that, just trying to make my body replace its blood and then we've just been traveling."

"Travel to Serpent Keep from where?" He finished his hunk of flesh, ripped off another. The piece in the fire was beginning to turn reddish-white as it cooked.

"Caracal Keep," she answered softly.

"Tomhas Loquitur Keep. What he want with you? He being too nice?" He removed his cloak and set it down under him as a cushion, splaying his hairy legs out in front of him.

"Yes," she agreed with a nod and a sigh. "Yes, he was too nice, and now he's paying for it. He..." She hesitated, eyeing him as she tried to assess the risk of telling him what Tomhas had done. "...adopted me. Made me his problem, even though he shouldn't have. I shouldn't have let him."