Rise (War Witch Book 1) (58 page)

Esteban rubbed his arm. "I think I just said it wasn't something a person could ever really move past."

"Yeah, but you’re a Cat, so hush," she chided.

Giving her a sour look, he sipped his coffee and let the two plot their own demise. He and Ramora hadn't always gotten along, but he knew her well enough to know that if she hadn't brought this matter up herself, or even made a single mention of it over the almost year now she and Chara had been friends, there was a good reason for it. He wasn't about to stick his whiskers in the middle of that.

"So, will you help me organize a party for her?" Leto asked Chara.

"Damn right I will," she said. "Best damn party she's ever had, too!"

Esteban sighed heavily. This was not going to end well.

Bit fell to the floor, gasping for breath. "Bloody Hells, woman. No wonder you've got a Were for a lover. No normal man could keep up with ya."

"Remember that, too," Chara scolded him.

"Can we eat?" Izra whined. "I'm starving!"

Giving the Elf another of her now infamous looks of disapproval, Chara shook her head. "Are you going to want to stop in the middle of the battle to have a snack?"

Chastised, she pouted. "No."

"That aside," Rick cut in before the young woman could upbraid the Elf any more. "I think now's a good time to break for lunch."

"Fine," Chara muttered. "We'll stop to eat."

Blessed and City Guard alike sighed in collective relief, drawing an unhappy look from their taskmaster. Rick just shook his head in wonderment. Never would he have guessed such a young woman capable of driving seasoned veterans to beg for mercy.

"Ramora," Chara called. "Go let the kitchen staff know we'll be taking our lunch out here today."

The warrior gave her a pathetic look from the shady spot where she'd just collapsed.

"Don't give me that," the young woman barked. "Double time, soldier!"

"I'm going to kill you for teaching her that," Flick muttered to Rills.

The Lieutenant sagged. "Please, do, and make it quick."

Giving her friend a snide look, Ramora drug herself up and trudged towards the castle entrance, slapping at one of the heavy hay-filled obstacle course dummies as she went. With their teamwork at an all-time high, Chara had organized the mad, half-mile long affair to help them build stamina, speed, and agility.

The warrior couldn't help but notice the other woman had never run the damn thing. Probably because she knew it was borderline torture. Which made Chara a sadist of sorts. Even if it did get Leto all sweaty. In the sun. Where he took his shirt off.

Picking up the pace, she hurried into the castle.

As soon as she was out of sight, Chara turned, grinning. "Huddle up! Leto has an announcement."

Groaning, the various Blessed and soldiers drug their aching bodies over as the Blessed of Grannax moved to stand beside their tactician. With a thankful smile, he took a deep breath, and set about pitching his idea.

"Okay, so, here we go," he said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "I've learned that tomorrow is Ramora's birthday, and that's she's a bit hesitant to celebrate it. I thought we could throw her a party, get her some gifts, and take the whole afternoon off to celebrate our good fortunes at having her in our lives."

"Sounds good to me," Bit nodded. "Anything to get away from the wee harpy over there and her bloody lash of a tongue."

"Hey, now!" Chara cried, getting a laugh from the gathered group.

"I agree," Izra nodded. "We should take the time to celebrate that she's with us."

"I'm for it," Flick agreed. "Any reason to drink is a good enough one for me."

The guards murmured their assent as well, with Rills quickly volunteering to help in any way possible, before realizing they were all being asked that, and sitting back down, embarrassed.

"Tanna," Leto called. "What of you?"

The Troll hesitated a moment, then nodded slightly. "I suppose. I'm not really one for parties, but for Ramora, I will make an exception."

"Well, you can count me in," Rick chuckled.

"I don't think so," Sabra grunted.

Everyone paused, looking at the gruff Ogre, before Chara asked, "Why not?"

Shaking her head, the Blessed of Verea stepped forward. "If we're making these plans while she isn't present, then I can only assume you mean to surprise her."

"Well, yeah," Leto admitted.

"Did you stop and ask yourself if she wishes such a surprise?" the Ogre asked. "Perhaps she does not wish a party at all. If this isn't something she's requested, then I'm left to wonder if it's a wise course of action."

Esteban scooted away from Chara to join Sabra. "I'm going to be with her on this. After all, you have yet to tell them that she lost her family on her birthday."

"What?" Sabra roared. "This is
not
a good idea. To ask her to celebrate while she carries the memory of that, it should not be done."

"We're hoping to remind her that there are good things in life, too, especially on this day," Leto replied softly. "To help her think of her birthday as more than a tragic event in her life. We're all grateful that she was born, Sabra, and we want her to know it."

"It isn't that I don't understand," she said slowly. "I do. I would wish to toast her myself, for as a warrior, she has lived another year, but we must also respect what she lost on this day, and let her remember her family as she sees fit."

Tanna scowled slightly. "Sabra has a point, Leto. Perhaps we've not thought this through."

"Thought what through?" Untar asked as he sauntered up, waving the guards off before they could even kneel.

"Ramora's birthday is tomorrow, and we want to throw her a party," Chara told him. "But we've got a couple of wet blankets."

"I see," the King said. "I take it there's a good reason for that?"

"Just the tragic massacre of her home and family," Sabra grunted. "No small thing to get past on the anniversary of both one’s birth, and one’s greatest loss."

Untar considered that for a moment. "I'm inclined to agree, however, one of the perks of being a king is that I get to attend, and bear no responsibility if it goes badly. That said, let me know when and where, and I'll be there to toast, eat, and lay blame when it all goes wrong."

Chara glared up at him. "Not helpful, your majesty."

"Leena, clear my calendar for tomorrow, won't you," he said to his aide before tossing Chara a grin. "Sometimes, a wise ruler lets his people make a mistake, just so he can be there to help them up after the fall."

"I'm not sure if I respect you more, or less, for that," she muttered.

To her surprise, he laughed and patted her on the head. "Either will do, as long you're honest about it, my friend."

Spotting Ramora returning, Leto waved them all to silence. "Tomorrow, in the grand ballroom. Bring a gift."

Esteban and Sabra exchanged a look of doubt, while Tanna frowned slightly. They just hoped this didn't go badly and open old wounds the warrior wasn't ready to deal with.

As afternoon crept into evening, Ramora was packing her armor away, double checking the straps in case they needed oiling. Tugging off the heavy cotton shirt, she folded it up, planning to toss it on the armor. Taking a whiff, she decided it could do with a visit to the laundry. Tia was a dear about that, giving the Blessed full service.

"Ramora?"

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Sabra hovering by the doors to the training room, looking a bit nervous. That made her frown. Anything that made an Ogre nervous could only be bad. Giving her a wave, she watched the woman join her, casting about to insure they were alone.

"I don't mean to bother you,” Sabra started. "I know we don't really talk much, but there's something I feel like I need to tell you, so I'm hoping you won't be mad or anything."

Ramora cocked an eyebrow. An Ogre, nervous, and worried about upsetting a human? Had the world ended and no one told her?

"It's about Chara and Leto, actually," the Blessed of Verea said, looking more uncomfortable by the moment, while sending a chill down Ramora's spine. "They're up to something, and I just feel like it isn't right."

No way
, she thought.
It can't be. Chara would never betray Esteban like that.
Whatever Sabra thought, it had to be wrong.

"Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it," the Ogre sighed, rubbing the back of her head in anxiety. "They know tomorrow is your birthday, and they're planning a surprise party."

Relief warred with anger for a moment, until anger won out. Sabra recoiled slightly, seeing the look that crossed her face.

"Hold up now, before you go do something rash," she said. "They're coming from a good place, but I didn't think it right they spring it on you, what with all that happened back when you were a kid."

The look of horror that crossed the Blessed of Ramor's face told Sabra she'd made a mistake. Obviously, that wasn't something the other woman wanted everyone to know about.

"I get that you’re pissed, and you got a right to be," she said quickly, moving to block Ramora as she started to lurch forward. "But I think it was your Ascended who spilled that can of beans, so don't hold that against them."

Fuming silently, Ramora vowed to have a chat with Talbor about personal boundaries. That was not something for him to be sharing with everyone. Scowling, she nodded, and tried to push past Sabra, only to find the Ogre blocking her again.

"Listen, you need to get why they want to do this," she said, holding the smaller human in place easily. "It may be stupid, and clumsy, but they're trying to do something kind."

Ramora waved that off. She didn't care why they were doing it! What difference did that make? They couldn't begin to imagine the horrors she'd seen, the suffering and pain that came with this one damn day! To the Hells with them and their good intentions!

"They just want to say how glad they are you were born," Sabra told her.

Ramora stilled, staring at her in surprise.

"For Chara, especially, I can get why this is important, you know?" Sabra told her slowly as the warrior eased back from her a step. "I mean, from what I've gotten, she'd probably be dead if weren't for you. Esteban, too. They sure wouldn't be together. You may see it as a reminder of all you've lost, but for them, it's about all they've gained, because of you."

Her temper subsiding slightly, Ramora found she hadn't thought of it that way before. While it was traditional among most human cultures to treat a person’s birthday as a celebration not just of their life, but of all the lives they'd touched, she'd long forgotten how to think of herself as human.

"I speak only for myself now," the Ogre said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "But I'm thankful for your life as well. It is not my people’s way to be open with others, but I need you to know, I consider you a friend. Like everyone else, I'm thankful you were born, live, and are a part of my life."

Sagging slightly, her anger fading to nothing, Ramora reached up and clutched the Ogre’s hand, giving it a squeeze. She'd become lost in her own sorrow, the nightmare that was her memory, and had forgotten how to simply be thankful she lived, much less how to take joy in others being glad for the same. Her mother would've been disappointed in her for that.

Still, Talbor was getting his fuzzy tail kicked.

Giving the Ogre a soft smile, Ramora nodded.

"Good," Sabra grinned. "Among Ogres, surprise parties are something you don't do. Someone might get an axe to the face, you know. So, I figured, you kind of act like an Ogre sometimes, you should probably be warned."

She wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment or not, but gave the other woman a nod of thanks and moved to go have a word with her little family. She only got a couple of steps before she paused, and headed back to collect her sword, hefting it with a dark grin.

"Oh, yeah, totally scare the shit out of them," Sabra nodded. "They deserve that."

Laughing silently, Ramora patted her on the shoulder as she headed out, leaving the Ogre feeling somewhat better about the whole thing. It wasn't the way of her people to stick their nose into others’ business, but as well-meaning as their friends were, she couldn't help but see this as an unpleasant surprise for the warrior she'd grown to respect.