Page 7 of The Wrath of Ashes
He’d barely sought sleep before a tapping at the bars drew his drowsy eye. Sweet blue eyes and pursed lips met his gaze.
“Lyss?”
She grinned, her plain hair all a tangle, tossed about on her head messily. She held up a length of waxed thread and a needle, and the glassine clink of a bottle of rum settled at her feet. He didn’t know if he’d rather it heal naturally. Frowning, Asha touched his ear, and it stung fiercely.
“Rather might want to clean you up.” Her sad eyes made him concede, approaching the bars to allow her access. He leanedhis head to let the cool iron sink into his flesh. As often after a scourging, the fever set in, and he welcomed the cool relief and the hope that he’d not catch gangrene. He’d near lost a toe to it one winter, but he always came out fine.
Sitting next to the cold bars, Lyss’s comforting fingers turned his head ever so gently. Her rum-soaked rag laved his face, drawing blood away. And as one knew, rum soured, never spoiled, so it stood to reason that his skin wouldn’t either. He bit through the pain, hissing gently as the fiery liquid cleansed his lobe.
“Poor boy. He near clean ripped your ear off.” Lyss cleaned up the rum and lit a candle with a match from her apron, letting the slight warmth and light dance while she heated the needle. The wax thread hung limply, and despite Asha’s hesitancy to receive it, she did have very nice stitches. Her needlepoint was the best in the keep.
“Poor me, poor me. When do I ever get to hear ‘Lucky you!’” Asha sighed.
She glanced about conspiratorially. “I know. And when I heard the ruckus going on upstairs after you were sent down again, I knew I had to come see ya. They’re brokering a deal for you, getting ye married off.”
Asha groaned under his breath. “What slack-jawed viper have they promised me to?”
“Don’t right know. I heard him shouting at the missus, saying you was off gabbing with someone you ought not to be, and had caught her fancy. They’s willing to pay a dowry, I heard.”
“A dowry? What would someone be willing to pay for a bastard with a penchant for flowers?” Asha huffed and hissed when the needle jammed through his skin. “Balthier’s sake, woman. Sharpen your needles!”
“I would, but your beard splitter of a father confiscated every whetstone in the keep. I’d only been using a broken bit o’ one for a while.” She sighed heavily. “Damn dragons. All the treasure in the world and we’re squabbling over broken whetstones.”
“Too right, I guess. Treasure stolen from our lands and our kings. Kidnapping our women—”
“Lads too. I bet there are fair few lady dragons in want of a strapping male.” She winked.
Why couldn’t it be me for a strapping male?
“I can’t fault them there, Lyss, but I can fault them for their refusal to fight. Good people die every day and they sit up in their mountains like gods among the masses and judge us all.” Asha hissed and squirmed. It didn’t matter, though. It wasn’t their war.
“Not like we’re any better…” Lyss paused for a moment at her work. “But things will improve. We’ve nowhere to go but up!”
Silence spread between them like darkness creeping upon dusk, a blanket of the eyes’ quiet. “Lyss?”
She pulled her thread taut and poised her needle once more. “Hmm?”
“What do I do with a woman? How am I to be a husband?”
“Well, if your father and brothers are any indication, you should find the wet spot and thrust your hips until you spend your last.” The vulgar thought made him shiver.
“Do you like it?”
“Gods no! From my mouth to Baltheir’s ear! The many-faced god can be my witness! Having my skirts tossed by them is so boring I’ve contemplated asking for a book to read while they’re at it.”
“Can you even read?” Asha laughed.
“No, but it damn well makes a point! Doesn’t it?”
“I suppose. Then why are the girls so excited about it?” Asha winced as she pushed the needle in.
“Why are you so excited about boys? It could feel good if done right… I mean. I dunno. Never had a man I wanted.” She quieted as the thread ran taut again and her needle dove to flesh.
“That’s a shame. You’re a good woman, Lyss. I wish you could have a man you wanted.”
“You know, in the interest of this woman’s skirt whiskers, I could show you. You know. Not like it means anything to me.”
“I’ve seen a woman naked before. Adrianna spent a lot of time accidentally being indecent in my presence last summer. Why is her left one so much bigger than the right?” Asha cupped his hands at his chest.
