Two woman came bearing bowls of water and cloths, and from the looks in their eyes, she could tell that they were afraid for Methos. She rolled her eyes--he might be rough with them, but still they looked well on him, for his features were fine and his voice could be gentle. This was the reason they looked ill on herself at times--because she lay beside him each night. That, and because she had helped murder their husbands and brother. That Methos, too, was a killer, they could accept.
"Does he live?" one asked timidly.
"I care not if he lives or dies--prepare him for a funeral or a feast, I care not, just get the blood off him," Anath-Sin said. She did not mind this kind of cruelty, but only hoped to see their faces when he bolted upright.
Caspian touched her shoulder. "The young one stirs. What should we do with him?"
"I shall speak with him. And I shall decide. You, guard these wenches well with my man," she added, but then gave a laughing look at Caspian. He was amused at her ways with these women. She then stood on her toes to whisper in his ear, "Little Brother, be sure to tell the idiot when he wakes that he may have added another to our camp."
With that, she turned to meet the newcomer.
*****
The big man seemed confused and dazed, like a child waking from a dream. She could not help but smile at this. She approached him slowly, however--there was no telling how one might behave after awakening from the first death--it could be quite a surprise, to say the least. She tried to make her voice soothing.
"Greetings, I am Anna."
"Where am I?"
"You are in the camp of the man whom you smote with the axe--do you remember this? That there was a man--"
"Yes, he was rude...and I killed him--but he did not die right away--he..." At this, he looked down at the bloodstain on his tunic and stared in amazement. "What is this he has done? This would have..." And then he looked at her, uncertain.
"Yes, this would have killed you, but we do not die as other men. This is a thing you must know--you are not as other men."
At this, a sad look crossed the man's almost child-like face. He looked down, and sighed.
"I know I am not like other men."
Posted on Oct 6, 1999, 5:09 PM from IP address 216.164.199.14