The Anialwch Connection
Chapter 20
Celyn watched Donte with a mixture of awe and fear. He was shaking with pain and fatigue, but he wouldn’t give up. He was so determined to get well in a hurry that he was pushing himself too hard.
Rianne had been gone for almost thirty minutes and he had worked every minute of it. Celyn had tried to get him to stop. She was afraid to leave him long enough to get reinforcement. All she could do was tell him that the doctors said he should rest.
Rianne came through the door holding Andras in her arms and Petra by the hand. She took one look at Donte and gasped. “Donte!” She let go of Petra’s hand and shoved Andras into Celyn’s arms.
Celyn felt relieved. She couldn’t make Donte do anything, but she could take care of Andras.
Rianne grabbed Donte’s arm. “That’s enough now, Donte. You need to get back into bed.”
Kenyon walked into the room, his expression startled and confused. “What’s going on?”
Celyn felt relieved. Maybe Kenyon could talk some sense into Donte. “He’s determined to get well and he’s working himself to death.”
Kenyon helped Rianne get Donte back into bed. Donte’s face was red and he was sweating. Rianne got a cool wet rag and began wiping Donte’s face.
Kenyon placed both his hands on the bed and leaned over Donte. “I want you to listen to me.” His voice and expression were stern. “If you keep this up, you’re going to tear something inside. Getting you back together again will be much more difficult and it will take that much longer for you to heal – if you ever do. We’ve put too much effort into this to have you destroy it all with impatience. It will take a while for you to get better and no amount of pushing yourself is going to change that. You’ve been making a nuisance of yourself.”
Donte didn’t say anything, but the determined expression had left his face. He looked at Rianne as though she had betrayed him.
Rianne lifted her brows as she lowered the rag. “Don’t look at me as though I tattled on you. I could hardly stand back while you killed yourself. You wouldn’t listen to anyone else. I thought you might listen to Kenyon.”
Donte’s troubled gaze went back to Kenyon. “I’m sorry I caused you so much work.”
“I am too,” Kenyon said. “I had better things to do.”
Celyn cringed. She had never heard anyone talk to Donte that way. He deserved it, though. Rianne was right. He wouldn’t listen to anyone.
Kenyon sat on the edge of the bed. “Since I’m already here, I might as well tell you what I’ve been up to.”
He had Donte’s full attention. In fact, he had the attention of everyone in the room – even Andras.
“You had a young girl named Nieke in your command. Do you remember her?”
Donte frowned. “Of course I do.”
“Do you know she is the commander of the Vlaktes militia?”
“No, but I’m not surprised.”
“Why? Was she an officer in your command?”
Donte looked uncomfortable. “No.”
“Why not?” Kenyon looked like he wanted to laugh.
Donte gave him a sour look. “You know why.”
“Go ahead and tell me.”
Donte looked uncomfortable and glanced at Rianne. She rolled her eyes. “Oh Donte. I’m not blind. Do you think she is the first young girl to fall in love with her commander?”
Kenyon laughed and patted Donte on the leg. “She’ll get over it, brother.”
Apparently, Kenyon was teasing Donte to lighten the mood. He had reprimanded Donte and it was over. He was drifting to another subject. The only other person Celyn had seen do that was her father.
Kenyon sobered. “Nieke came to me with a great idea. She said she wanted to combine Vlaktes militia with others and get rid of those raiders.”
Donte tried to sit up and winced. “They’ll be slaughtered!”
Kenyon gently pushed him back down on the bed, his voice sarcastic. “You’re probably going to be shocked, but I was smart enough to figure that out on my own.”
Donte’s gave him a chagrinned smile. “So, what did you tell her?”
“I took her and Anouk and Bram to Anialwch to talk to King Neirin.” He looked at Celyn. “By the way, he told me to tell you he misses you.” He looked at Donte. “King Neirin thought it would be a good idea if her militia trained with his for two weeks before they went in there together.”
Donte’s gaze traveled over Kenyon’s face, coming to rest on his eyes. “What did she say?”
“She thought it was a good idea. So, we have two militias committed. Nieke went back to Vlaktes to see how many people she could get. I was thinking that if I could convince the ruler of Bergen to commit a militia, and maybe if he could convince Bosvrouwen, maybe we could all convince Adriaan to let the colonist handle their own problems.”
Donte watched him.
Kenyon sighed. “Donte, you are the ruler of Bergen now. You can’t go running off to different colonies all the time to settle things that could be handled by a militia. Show your officers that you have faith in them.”
Donte looked at Rianne. He wasn’t looking for confirmation. He knew Kenyon was right. He was looking for reassurance. As usual, he got it.”
She smiled down at him. “I know you are a good commander. That’s why Adriaan wanted you so badly. You have found the location of the raiders. Now you have the opportunity to practice leadership in a different way. You’ll need that practice later when you and Celyn lead all the colonies to freedom. I would love to have you home for a few years.
He looked at Kenyon. “I’ll send a message to Beier. Gerritt will command the Bergen militia.” He looked back at Rianne. “Do you think you could talk to Isis?”
Rianne took his hand. “Saskia and I will take care of that.”
Donte looked at Kenyon again. “I assume you will do the same with Libertad?”
Kenyon nodded. “Thanks for the help. I knew I could count on you.” He offered a palm to Donte.
Donte grabbed his forearm and squeezed it. “Thank you for setting me straight, Monomi.”
Kenyon released his arm and stood. “I’ve got to get back. I need to talk to Halisi and Kafil for the last part of this deal. I’ll keep you informed about what’s going on.” He turned to leave and then turned back to Donte, pulling something from his pocket. “I forgot to return this.” He handed the laser weapon to Donte.
Donte shook his head. “Keep it. You need the protection more than I do.”
Kenyon tucked the weapon back into his pocket and turned to the door again. Celyn handed Andras to Rianne and followed Kenyon out the door. She looked up at him.
“Can I go?”
Kenyon stopped and took her chin in his hand. “I think we have frightened your father enough for now. If I could communicate with you, it would be beneficial, but I can’t, so it would be putting you at risk for no reason.”
She shook her head. “I could tell you what I see.”
He gazed down at her, obviously considering her statement. “We’ll see. It will be at least two weeks before we go – probably more like four. We’ve got to coordinate all the militias. By then you’ll be back home and you can discuss it with your father.” He looked back at Donte’s room. “Having these different militias should take the threat away from you and Donte. Killing either of you will not solve their problem once they know we all have united. Once Donte is back on his feet, things will look different. If he will do what they say, he should be on his feet soon.”
She sighed. “I want to go home. Would you take me home?”
He stood looking down at her for a while. Finally, he put an arm around her shoulders and they turned back to Donte’s room. “Let’s get Donte’s permission.”
Actually, it wasn’t Donte who asked her to come with them. She came of her own will and at the invitation of Adriaan. Still, she would have to let someone know she was leaving, and it would make Donte feel better to believe he had control over something. Donica and Saskia would be there to help Rianne.
***
Donica stared at the message in her hand; a smile growing on her lips. It was from Chait. He was now president and he wanted her to come home. He missed her. He was done traveling and ready to be a full-time husband and father.
It wasn’t like Chait to apologize, but he was trying to tell her in his own way that he was sorry. Donte had been right about the time away from each other, but the time certainly hadn’t been stress-free. She was ready to go back and get some rest. She felt bad about leaving Rianne, but she had Celyn and Saskia to assist her.
The door opened and Celyn came in, a smile on her face. “I’m going back with Kenyon. He’s going to take me home.”
Donica held up the message. “Maybe I could travel with you.”
Celyn grabbed the message and read it. She grinned. “Let’s get our things together.”
It didn’t take them long to get their few things together and Kenyon escorted them back to the airfield. They stayed at Quade’s home that night and started out the next morning for Cuna. Donica felt bad about the fact that Celyn and Kenyon went out of their way to see that she got safely on the tram from Cuna to Lochfowk. They stayed all night with her and she left them on the morning tram. Celyn was as excited about getting back home as she was. The tram ride from Cuna to Lochfowk was uneventful and Chait met her at the station.
He looked handsome in a new uniform. He would get tired of that after a while, but for now he was obviously enjoying the attention it drew. He lifted Tavin from her arms and hugged him.
“Welcome back, little man.”
Tavin hugged him and Chait turned to Donica. “Let’s get back to the cottage. I want to talk to you.”
He didn’t touch her and his tone lacked the welcome he gave Tavin. Donica had a bad feeling about her return. Maybe he was only concerned about the return of Tavin. She followed him home, stopping with him as he greeted people. She was not included in the greetings. He was probably angry that she had left him at a critical time in his campaign. She probably shouldn’t have.
They barely got inside the cottage before he turned to her with a stern expression. “Sima is no longer president. I am. I will not tolerate my mate running off to another colony with my son. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me?
His hostile stare made her cringe inside. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
He continued to glare at her. “Your sudden absence after the attempted assassination made it look like I had something to do with it.”
“I’m sorry. I was so upset that I didn’t think about that possibility.”
His expression softened a little. “I’ll be home more now.”
He stood Tavin on the floor and reached for Donica. “It’s been a long time.”
She moved into his arms. He had a right to be upset with her. She had deserted him when he needed her most.
He kissed her lips and held her close. “Don’t leave me again.” He was silent a moment. “Why did you go to the Moeder? Did you think I was going to harm you? I had nothing to do with the assassination attempt or what happened to Donte in Nyumbani. Why did you go to Nyumbani?”
She leaned back and looked up at him. “Donte is my brother. He needed blood.” She sighed. “I didn’t have much choice about going to the Moeder. It was either that or stay in Nyumbani until the boats could get to the docks. Adriaan wanted us all to go with him.”
He frowned. “Why? You weren’t in any danger.”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, you’re here now. I suppose that’s all that matters. I wish you had returned without my having to request it, though.”
Of course he would feel that way. Why hadn’t she thought of it? She hugged him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me. I’ll try to be a better mate.” She looked up at him. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too. I hope you’ll be happier now that I’m home more.”
She gazed up at him. “I don’t know if I ever told you how proud I am of you.” She stepped back and surveyed him. “You look so handsome in that uniform.”
He looked uncertain. “Why are you proud of me?”
She shrugged. “Because you work so hard to get what you want; because you care what happens to your colony - lots of reasons.”
His expression was skeptical. “Not because I’m a good father or husband?”
She hadn’t thought about that part, but now that he brought it to her attention, she wasn’t proud of him for either of those things, because he had not been a good husband and father. She met his gaze. “I understand that you had to be away campaigning. I’m sure things will be different now.”
He grimaced. “That was blunt.” He shook his head. “I guess I had it coming, though.”
She looked around the cottage. “It’s good to be home. I’ll fix us something to eat.”
Neither of them would get any points for being a good spouse. Granted, he had been self centered, but she hadn’t helped the situation by withdrawing and feeling sorry for herself. The only way they could salvage their union now was to make a concentrated effort to support each other. She intended to do her part.
Soft Science Fiction
