Stone King - Chapter 10 - You Reap What You Sow

"Did you listen to the wind this morning, mother?"  Hella lifted her eyes.  She had concentrated her eyes on the snow covered ground, and tried to imagine what kind of power could break that ground, rip stone from its icy grip, and make a stable foundation for a fortified wall.

"I....well, I did, but I'm not sure what I heard.  It sounded sad, angry, and forlorn all at the same time.  There was a darkness there as well.  Unfocused.  And fear."  He nodded.

"You heard what I felt then.  The king in the southeast, with his keep on the eastern sea, has sent his soldiers to the farm directly to our south."  She frowned.

"How can you know this, son?"

"The stone tells me."  She shook her head, but decided not to ask him the obvious.  How could he hear the stone speak?  She knew the answer.  He didn't know how he could hear the stone, but he could.

"So, does that mean the people there have been driven out?"  She asked, a bit concerned for a family that has to travel in the snow.

"Yes, the ones who drove out my wives have also been driven out."  He spoke coldly.  It wasn't a simple detail.  That family had wronged his family horribly, and it angered him.  "But something tells me that it isn't as simple as I would like to believe."  She looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"What is it that you believe about them?"

"They hated the Mirri, and saw Gita and Thea as easy prey.  The emotions that I sense say different things though.  Fear and anger.  The fear bothers me.  Its not directed randomly, but they are too far away for me to get anything other then general emotions."  Hella smiled slightly.

"You would not have taken the time to consider all the details in the past.  You would have reacted.  Especially when it concerned danger to Mena."  He nodded, and didn't try to deny it.

"She was my family, mother.  The first girl I knew.  You were my mother, so you were the first woman, and Banus the first man.  Cornerstones of my life.  I reacted because no one could shake my life and not pay for it."  She could hear a deep anger in his voice, something she didn't expect.  She thought he was finished with Mena completely.

"Is that why you're not reacting to the danger you sense?  You're not as close to Gita and Thea?"  He shook his head.

"That is the only reason I'm not reacting, because I can get no closer.  We are two families, and melded together like no one else I know."  She frowned at his words.

"I don't understand.  If there might be danger...."  She left the obvious unsaid again.

"Thea is tenderhearted.  What would she think if that family needs help and we turn them away?  What if they had no choice?  Its their actions now that will determine their fate."  His mother smiled a bit.

"You reap what you sow.  Remember that, Kivi.  Their actions of the last few years also show how they will react in the future.  It also writes their fates upon their souls."  He cocked his head.  "Think about it.  The Creator has specific requirements of us.  Live well, and hurt no innocent person.  If they harmed the innocent, like your family, who else have they harmed?  And if it was only aimed at Gita and Thea, how would you feel if you saw a strong man, with a child and wife, drive another mother and child away, one without a husband or father?"  He closed his eyes.

"I would be livid.  They picked their target because of perceived weakness."

"And that is what the Creator would perceive.  They reap what they sow.  If they sow weeds, they should expect weeds.  If they sow good things, like wheat, they should expect wheat to grow."  She turned away.  "I think I'll do a bit of hunting."  He turned towards her.

"Thank you, mother.  I will consider your words."  She picked up her bow, and heard something low in the wind.  A threat left hanging in the wind.

"If they harm my family...."  And the whisper was gone.





"Why do you want us to hide, son?"  Banus asked him.

"They are almost within sight.  They will see the land, the improvements, but I want them to only see Thea and Gita.  I want everyone to hide as they approach, but keep your weapons easy."  He pinned Jaana with a firm hard stare.  "I want an arrow locked onto that man though.  If he raises a bow, or a sword, put it in his heart."  She nodded, her eyes blank, but her emotions ran ragged.

"Doesn't he trust me anymore?"  She asked herself.  Her answer came quite quickly.

"Love, please, do not look at her like that!  She will not fail you!"  He relaxed as Thea took his hand.

"I know, little one.  She never has."  Gita laid an arm over Jaana's shoulders, and whispered in her ear.

"He trusts you with our lives, and so will we."  Jaana's eyes filled with fire again.

"I will not let you down, Kivi!"  His eyes flared to life again, without the cold chill of the stone in them, and a smile sprang to his lips.

"Watch them closely.  There are things here I don't understand, but they have the information I need.  The king's plans, why he pushed them north, and how much of an army he has stationed at their...our farm."  Gita turned and looked at him.  "Those are still Mirri lands, and will once again feel the gentle touch of Mirri farmers and traders upon her soil!"  She chose to say nothing more, unsure if the cost of retaking the farm was even worth the price anymore.

He could read her though, of that she was certain.  Then his eyes turned cold again.

"They are here."




"Rotten ingrates!  After all I did to make that farm a success, and they steal it from me!"  The woman looked at her fat and lazy man.  Her anger at him grew.  There were no blisters on his hands.  Those who only raised a mug to their lips, or a hand to bully those he was supposed to protect, seldom lost the softness of a child's flesh.

"But we took that farm from that mother and child!  It was growing good when we got there!"  He turned back and quickly struck the girl.

"Be silent!  Children are to be seen, not heard!"  She huddled into the woman's skirts, but she moved to the side to see what was ahead of them.  The older woman voiced her own thoughts.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?  This looks like a castle being built!"  He frowned, but his greasy face smiled such an evil smile when he saw the two female Mirri women he chased off from the farm they had been forced to flee.

"Its the right one, alright.  Look."  She looked up the hill, but this woman was a cautious person.  She had to be with a man like him.

"Its them alright, but....where are the builders?"  He sneered.

"Its just the Mirri whore and her brat!  Who would....."  A hard eyed man stepped out of the shadows between the man and the women.

"I would."




The sight of this man sickened him.  The fear was from the child, and the anger from the woman.  The fear was directed at the fat thing who stood in front of him, but the anger was unfocused, and strange.  Kivi needed no more information about his character.  He did need to know what drove them north though.

He would tolerate his presence only as long as it was necessary to get that information.  He almost had to laugh at the false bravado when the bloated pig puffed up and tried to intimidate him.  Kivi was a few inches taller, and far more muscular.

"Get off our land, boy!  The king has seen fit to cede this land to us!"  Steel grey eyes pinned him to his spot.  Even though the pig wanted to move forward to make a show of strength, his own cowardice betrayed him.  This man showed no fear whatsoever.

"Just as he stole the land from my wives, and has now stolen from you?  Your king is not my king, and he holds no sway over MY land!"  The woman chose now to speak up.

"Please sir!"  She said quickly.  "Its winter!  We have no place to go!"  Almost as an afterthought, she turned to the girl.  "My girl will freeze to death!"  The girl went back to her mother's skirt, though she looked around her to keep him in sight.  He was a powerful sight to a young girl who had never seen such a man.  She shrank back in fear as her father turned on her mother.

"Silence, I said!"  He lifted his hand to backhand her again, only to feel it caught in a grip that felt like a steel trap.  "Arrgghhh!"  He screeched, then was thrown as though he were only a toy.  He looked up from his place, but he didn't see the hard eyed man standing over him.  It was a much larger bear of a man, and the steel sword he now drew from its sheathe put more fear into his cowardly heart.

"Father, I could have....."

"I know, son, but you know I couldn't stand and watch!"  The woman and child watched as others came within sight.  A giant of a woman with her bow at her side, an archer with her bow trained on the fallen pig, and another archer, an arrow notched but at her side.  These were experienced warriors.

"Momma?"  The woman hissed in displeasure as she heard the girl call her mother.  The hard eyed man caught the anger, so she quickly cleared her face.  The girl still hid behind her, only to see the two Mirri women come towards them.  "Momma!  Its them!"  She said innocently.  "The cat people!"  Thea giggled, while her mother smiled.

"Come.  The fire is warm inside, and after such a trip, I think you could use some warmth."  Thea took the girl's hand.

"I'm going to take her to the river to get some ice for this bruise on her cheek."  Thea said sadly.  "What is your name?"  The girl smiled, as she now understood that these two women meant her no harm.

"Please, don't hurt my girl!"  The woman tried to pull her away from Thea, but Gita's hand intercepted hers.  Gita felt something strange from the woman, a slew of dark emotions, but they felt disconnected, and some were focused on the young girl.

"Go on, Thea.  I'll explain things to her.  Just be sure to hurry back.  That girl looks starved."  She turned a sour gaze to the slob on the ground.  "Unlike some people."

"Why you Mirri whore!"  He scrambled to his feet, his courage restored in his anger, only to find the hard eyed man between him and his family.  He tried to puff himself up again but he was lifted as though he were nothing but a pebble, and the rage within his eyes made him wish he had fought to keep his farm, instead of running as soon as the soldiers told him to leave, or fight.

"That is my wife you're calling a whore!"






"He really cares for you."  Jaana said to Gita when she got back inside the house.  Gita smiled up at her from the table.

"Of course he does."  She shivered slightly.  "His anger towards those who try to harm us is...."  Jaana nodded.

"Frightening.  I've known him for years, and seldom seen him show anger, but when he does show it, he almost scares me."  Gita sighed, but smiled when she saw Thea enter the house, with the girl in tow.

"How is she, Thea?"  Thea smiled.

"Hungry.  The bruise will fade, but I think she has a few more bruises that she won't show me."  The woman lowered her eyes, but again, Gita could feel something strange from the woman.  Even darker emotions directed at the girl.

"She's a good girl, but girls....."  Gita put her hand on her shoulder, and felt it again.

"He won't hurt her again."  The woman lifted her eyes.

"How can you be so sure?  We've lived with that foul man for so long, that it almost felt like it was normal!  How can anything or anyone like that be normal?"  She lifted her hand and felt like she wanted to wash it.  She looked back to the girl, and to the woman, who fairly bristled with barely held in check anger.  Now she understood.  It was plain cruel jealousy.

"Hella, can I speak with you for a moment?"  Hella lifted her eyes, and did a few finger twists, along with a few hand movements.  It was the unspoken language of the Mirri.  Gita's eyes almost bulged.

I see it.  Jealousy.  Don't scare the girl.

"I see."  She looked at the girl, and smiled softly.  "What is your name, child?"  She looked up at her and smiled.

"Cally."  She looked so innocent, though Gita could feel that something dark rested within the child's heart and mind.  It was not just the pig her husband was about to slaughter.

"Cally, we have a house just down the hill a bit.  We can make you a hot bath, so you can wash up and feel clean.  Does that sound nice?"  The girl smiled brightly.

"Really?"  The woman looked ready to speak, but felt a point press against the nape of her neck, and decided to stay quiet.

"Yes, really.  Thea, why don't you come with me and help her get clean?  She needs a few friendly faces around her."  Jaana kept the dagger hidden until the girl left the room.  Hella sat at the table right across from her, and she kept her hands folded loosely in front of her.

"Now then, why don't you tell me who you are to this girl, and who that pig is?  If I find any lies within the words you speak, and I can feel the lies as they are spoken, then I will have my daughter over there,"  She pointed to Mena, "put an arrow through you.  Don't worry.  It won't kill you.  She's very good with her bow.  She could put ten into your body, never miss, and you would not die.  But living through that would be quite painful."

And as the filth poured forth from that woman's mouth, Hella realized that some monsters looked human, but were anything but.





"Oh no.  Momma?"  Thea turned to her mother in horror.  The girl stood there before them, and she tried to cover her ravaged flesh.  She looked ready to cry, but so did Thea and Gita.

"I didn't think anyone could treat a child this way!"  The girl let her tears fall.

"Did I do something wrong again?  Is he going to...."  Gita folded her into her arms and held her lightly.  She didn't know if she should even do that as the skin on her slender frame looked far too thin for a girl her age.

"My husband would never allow him to hurt you again!"  She turned to her daughter.  "Thea, get some food, please.  And make some tea as well.  Use the dried herbs along with the barks to get something stronger."

"Food?  I can eat?  Have I been good enough now?"  And Gita knew what it felt like to have her heart ripped out with that plaintive voice in her ear.

Thea stepped out of the house, saw Kivi clench his hands, then walked towards him.

"Husband."  He turned towards her.  "Make his death painful."  Banus watched the girl walk away, and put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"You reap what you sow, son.  Time to teach this foul beast that lesson."  Kivi knew it would be a death well deserved, especially if the soft heart of his wife would pronounce such a judgement on him.

"Aye, Father.  Its time for this thing to learn just how hard the stone can be when it has innocent blood spilled upon it." The slob began to crawl away, desperately trying to get to his feet so he could run.

The monster that followed him had eyes that turned from a dark brown to steel grey, and the stone in his hands shattered to dust from his grip alone.  The soldiers would have run him through, but this man looked ready to crush him with his bare hands.  How he wished he had stayed and fought the soldiers instead.