Chapter 4
Four
AMbrOSE
I ’d expected the worst when the barbarians took me away.
My father fought tooth and nail against it—sending his only son away could ruin our family—but the mayor overrode him.
I’d volunteered, and they wouldn’t send someone unwilling when there was a volunteer to go.
He’d always been a fair man, even sending his own daughter when the lottery picked her.
He didn’t enjoy sending frightened women away, so if someone volunteered to take their place, he wasn’t going to argue.
The barbarians showed up the following morning, and I was in a caravan with the other tributes before the sun had set, on our way to a barbarian clan in the middle of nowhere.
Thus far, they’d been kind. They fed us on the journey and gave us blankets to keep warm at night.
It took a few days to get to the clan, but in that time, no one was mistreated or assaulted in any way.
I half expected to have to put up a fight to protect the women who couldn’t protect themselves.
But aside from helping them on and off the carriage to relieve themselves and sit around the fire, none of the barbarians touched them.
My suspicions that they were just waiting until we were surrounded by the clan and therefore unable to run away grew as the women were taken away one by one from the tent we’d been ushered into upon our arrival.
By the time it was my turn, I was poised for a fight.
One of the barbarians who’d accompanied us on the journey introduced me to a new barbarian who he called my protector and told me to follow him.
The new barbarian led me away from the village center and to a tent near the field of horses.
A part of me balked about going in there with him, but I’d volunteered for this.
I was worried if I put up too much of a fight, they’d send me back and demand my sister instead.
So I ducked my head to enter and moved out of the way for the barbarian to join me.
The tent wasn’t very big. There was a pallet of blankets that made up the bed, a small table off to one side, and a trunk that had clothes spilling out of it.
There were also clothes on the rug-covered floor that he hastily picked up and tossed in the trunk with a sheepish grin.
The small act of normalcy lowered my guard just a little.
Sebastian was just as messy and gave me that same grin whenever I went into his room.
My heart sank when I thought about my son.
I missed him so much already. I’d thought to bring him with me, but I was too afraid of where I might end up.
I didn’t want to put him in danger just because I selfishly wanted him with me.
He was being cared for by Evelyn, and I hoped he’d forgive me one day for this.
Doing the right thing to protect my sister didn’t make the ache in my chest any easier to bear.
Once I had a better understanding of this place, I’d figure out a way to contact him.
Maybe I could write him a letter to apologize, if the barbarians allowed it.
While I was lost in thought, the barbarian who was supposed to be my protector studied me with a frown.
I’d seen the way he sized me up when he first arrived.
I’d done the same thing to him. Like most of the barbarians, he was shirtless, showing off his impressive torso.
He wasn’t as wide as the other barbarians, more trim, but still stacked with muscles, especially his legs.
I wasn’t na?ve enough to think he wasn’t a threat.
His hair was shaved on the sides and long on top and in back, twisted into twin braids that fell down his back.
He seemed young—younger than me at least—with smooth, tanned skin that said he spent a lot of time out in the sun.
He didn’t scowl or glower like I’d expected from him once we were alone.
He actually looked a little out of sorts, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, like he wasn’t sure what to do with me. It was confusing, to say the least.
A voice called out from outside and the barbarian jumped, huffing a laugh and shaking his head at himself as he edged around me to poke his head out. He pulled the flap aside and allowed someone new to enter, his demeanor a lot more relaxed around the newcomer.
The man who joined us was a redhead with a heavier build at odds with the other barbarians. He was dressed the same, but he didn’t fit in with thoseI’d seen during my journey. He also had a cane, which made me frown.
“Are you injured?”
The man blinked and looked at me in surprise before smiling.
“It’s an old injury. I only use this when I’ve had a long day.
Arrival day is always busy,” he explained, gesturing to his cane.
He had a basket with him that he handed to the barbarian, leaning a little on his cane as he introduced himself.
“I’m Patrick. I’m one of the clan cooks. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask for me. And if you have any food intolerances, let me know.”
My brow furrowed. “You speak really well.”
The only barbarians who’d spoken the common tongue in my hearing so far had heavy accents that were sometimes hard to understand. But this guy spoke like he’d been raised in one of the towns.
Patrick chuckled and nodded. “That’s because I’m not from here. I’m bonded to one of the men in the clan. He found me hurt and alone in the forest and saved me. I’ve been here ever since.”
He noticed the barbarian watching us and switched languages, probably to explain what was being said. That’s what I assumed based on the expression of understanding that flashed across the barbarian’s face before he nodded and sat down by the small table, pulling bowls of food out of the basket.
“I know you’re probably freaked out, but try not to worry. They’re really nice people. You’ll stay here for tonight, and tomorrow you’ll start learning the language. I promise you’ll understand better after that. You’ve got nothing to worry about here.”
He said his goodbyes and ducked back out, leaving me alone again with the barbarian who seemed more interested in his food than me.
He glanced up at me and patted the ground beside him, gesturing to the bowl and saying something in his language.
I was hungry, so I followed directions and sat beside him, pulling the bowl closer and examining the contents.
I didn’t recognize most of the food. That wasn’t totally surprising; I wasn’t a very good cook and tended to stick with what I was familiar with.
The barbarian noticed and pointed at the meat, saying something else in his gruff language.
When I only stared at him blankly, he made horns with his fingers and grunted out an animalistic sound.
He was trying to tell me what kind of animal it was, but he only succeeded in looking like a fool.
I pressed my lips together to stop myself from smiling and nodded.
I still didn’t know what animal he was referring to, but that was fine.
As long as it wasn’t a smart animal like a horse or a dog, I was open-minded.
The meal itself wasn’t anything fancy: bread and meat with steamed vegetables on the side.
It surprised me how well rounded it was.
I’d expected vegetables to be scarce in a barbarian village, but apparently not.
There were even nuts in the bread for extra protein.
Then again, given the muscle mass on most of the residents here, they needed a lot of protein to keep up bodies like that.
I thought of Sebastian again, wondering what he’d think of the meal.
He’d always hated eating his vegetables, but maybe the way the barbarians prepared them would open his mind to the idea.
The barbarian cleared his throat, catching my attention. When I turned to him, he pointed at his chest. “Godr.”
I assumed he was telling me his name, so I did the same, putting a hand on my chest, and said, “Ambrose.”
His brow furrowed. “Am—brows…”
I shook my head, slowing the sounds down a little. “Ambrose.”
It took a few attempts for him to reproduce it without it sounding a little silly with his accent, but he seemed proud of himself when he finally got it.
Once the introductions were made, he started touching things and saying their names, lifting his eyebrows expectantly until I repeated him.
It wasn’t the worst way to learn a language, though I thought Patrick had mentioned language lessons the following morning.
Maybe Godr was the type to get a head start on things.
That would make us similar in that regard.
We kept up with the language lesson until the exhaustion from the trip started to get to me.
I was used to nights without sleep, but after days of stress and traveling, I was worn out.
I rubbed my face under my glasses, removing them for a moment to pinch the bridge of my nose.
I always got a headache when I was overtired.
Godr noticed and the next word he taught me was what I assumed was bed.
He patted it, then repeated the word and pointed at me, cocking his head in question.
I got the picture and nodded. I could use some sleep.
He seemed fine with this, but didn’t immediately let me lie down.
Instead, he led me out of the tent and to a trench to relieve myself, then to a shallow river to clean up a little before leading me back to his tent and shooing me toward the bed.
I kicked off my boots and set them aside, dropping onto the bed.
My glasses I tucked out of the way between the edge of the pallet of blankets and the tent wall so I wouldn’t lose them.
I figured Godr would leave for his own tent since this one wasn’t that big, but he surprised me when he turned down the lamp and nudged me so he could lie down next to me.
Maybe the word he’d taught me wasn’t bed. Or maybe it was, but the expectation of what we would do there was just assumed? What in the world had I agreed to?