Mauraders Vengence.

Chapter 4

The next evening when he entered the cave I was ready. “Hello.” I said sulkily. He glanced briefly at me and nodded. Then I added the next part. “Yarrow.”

He flinched and turned away. But instead of freaking out like he did yesterday he did nothing. I was supremely disappointed. I’d been hoping for a more extreme reaction. So I started to egg him on. “How was your day, Yarrow?” I asked greatly emphasizing the word yarrow.
He flinched again but he shrugged. “It was fine. How was yours?”                                

Photo from pocaagua at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50714845@N08/6433278503/   new cave, a photo by pocaagua on Flickr.

      
I glared at him and muttered “Fine.” He smiled and began to work on his Yarrow tea. I drifted into a half sleep until he woke me up. He handed me the cup of herbal tea and helped me sit up. I sloshed half of it over my chest and could smell the bitterness. I glared at Yarrow. “You did that on purpose.” I accused.


Yarrow shrugged. “I’m sorry.” He said smiling. “Sometimes I don’t think about the consequences of my actions.”


“Like bringing me here?” I growled.


“Yes, like bringing you here.” He was so calm about his answer that it made me angry.


He turned refilled his cup of herbal tea and brought it back. “Thanks Yarrow.” I said sullenly. He only grinned more.

I tipped the liquid into my mouth and sucked it in. I’d begun to swallow it when the impact of what I was tasting hit me. The yarrow’s bitter taste was much more defined and disgusting then normal. In fact I wondered if he hadn’t used anything but yarrow. I spit it back up coughing and chocking. Yarrow moved sideways still grinning. “Taste good doesn’t it?” He asked.

“Why did you do that?” I yelled at him my voice horse with rage.

“What did you give me a name for?” He snapped back and I felt some pleasure at knowing that I had managed to get on his nerves. But I didn’t feel too much because I was paying for my actions.
I laid my head back on wall and moaned. “I’m sorry okay?” I said softly. “I’m just in a lot of pain.”

“I know.” Yarrow said softly. I opened my eyes to stare at him. He gave a rueful smile. “Truth is…” He said quietly, “I always envied you just a little bit for what you had.”

“What?” I asked softly. I didn’t understand what he was talking about. I could swear that I’d never met this man in my life until he’d brought me here.

“We’re not so far from the house you built.” He said looking out the cave exit. “And you see when you first built it I was startled and a little angry that someone had come so close to my hermit dwelling.”
I studied him thoughtfully now. “How long have you been here?” I asked.

Yarrow pursed his lips. “Let’s see I left in the 34 year of King Henry’s reign.”

I stared at him mouth wide. King Henry was King Edwards Father. I did some quick calculations. “You’ve been our here for twenty-one years!” I said in dismay.

Yarrow shrugged. “Sounds about right,” He nodded.
I studied him up and down reevaluation my first impressions of him.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I guess I would be sixty two now.” He said shrugging carelessly. I stared at him.

“Do you even know how old that is?” I asked when he didn’t seem to care.

“Older then you.” He said smirking.

“Well yes, but older then anyone else. In my village the oldest man was fifty-five. I’ve never met anyone older.”

Yarrow chuckled. “That’s cause you don’t know where to look.”

I narrowed my eyes a sudden old fear occurring in my heart. “You’re not that old because of magic are you?” I asked fretfully.

Yarrow threw back his head and laughed loudly. He laughed for a long time until he cried even. When he stopped he was holding his stomach tightly. “Oh that is a good one.” He gasped. “Magic.”

I studied him. “So is that a yes or a no?” I asked. “I couldn’t tell.”
Yarrow smiled the first real friendly smile I’d ever seen. “No Marcos it is not from magic.”

“So what then?” I asked. “Did you find the fountain of youth?”
Yarrow chuckled and pointed to his shelves full of plants. “Those are herbs, they heal everything and anything and I’ve been living off of them since I moved out here.”

“You’re telling me that you eat all these nasty plants and it’s kept you alive for ten more years then normal?” I asked faintly. I wasn’t sure that I believed him.

Yarrow nodded. “You catch on quick.” He said sarcastically.

“Do you just eat one of them every day?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No I just know their uses. Some I eat regularly because I like there taste.”

I raised an eyebrow and Yarrow chuckled. “Not all herbs taste like Yarrow. Some of them taste good.”

I didn’t believe him. Yarrow smiled but didn’t comment on that either. I glanced at my hand full of hot soaped up yarrow and considered it. “Will I live longer if I drink this?” I asked.

“Well yes.” He replied. I pursed my lips and Yarrow chuckled.
“Oh you mean will you live extra-long off of yarrow?” He asked.

“Yes.” I said.

“No.” He said. “Yarrow simply heals infection. You will live longer because you won’t die from your infected sword wound.”

“Ooh. Well what then?”

Yarrow shrugged. “Oh a little bit of this a little bit of that.”

“Specific.” I muttered and Yarrow shrugged.

“They’re my secrets,’ was the only comment he had. I reluctantly finished the rest of the bitter juice but to my dismay Yarrow filled it up again and brought it back.

“I’ve already finished my fill for the day.” I told him.

“No you spit it back up. Besides you’re spiteful you’ll get sicker because of that. You need as much yarrow in your system as you can get.”

I looked at the disgusting brown liquid and gulped. If I was going to drink that I was going to make a deal. “After I drink it I want you to tell me why you’re up here.” I told him.

Yarrow leaned back in surprise. “Why does that matter to you?”

I shrugged. “It just does.”

Yarrow studied me turning his face away slightly before saying. “You drink all that and I will.”

The yarrow tea was even worse this time around. I suspected that was because it had been sitting at the bottom of the pot. I chocked twice but I got it all down. I handed the cup back to him and I could tell he was impressed.

He took the cup back to the fire and lit a lamp bringing it back over to where I was. He sat down and got comfortable.

“Well Marcos prepare yourself for a sob story.”

I shrugged. “I’m living one.”

“True enough.” He replied then pierced his lips. “Let’s see it was the year that King Henry declared the taxes where to be increased.”
His eyes seemed to glaze over and I wasn’t entirely sure he was here anymore. But he kept talking to I didn’t interrupt.
“I was forty then and the announcement didn’t bother me to much. I was well off with a beautiful family. My wife had passed away some time before then. But I had two twins who had both left the house. But they came every day to help with the business. One day a man came. He said he had a matter from the king to discuss with me. I read through an official declaration from the king himself asking if I would be willing to help him swindle out a fellow competitor in my business.”

He paused and I dared to ask a question. “What was your business?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now.”
I bit my lip and waited but he didn’t continue his story so I asked,

“Did you swindle the other man?”

“No.” Yarrow shook his head quickly. “I refused and informed the other man of what the king had been doing. And for a while I thought it was over. Then I went to purchase a present for my granddaughter and found that my funds had run out. It turns out the king had with the help of my competitor run me out of my business.”

I gasped. “Even though you refused to help the king, the other guy still stole from you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s…” I paused trying to find the right words. There were none.

Yarrow nodded smiling sadly. “I’d given my twins enough money to survive on their own. And they both offered and insisted I live with them but I am a stubborn and independent man.” He smiled faintly at some unknown memory then turned to look at me. “King Henry ruined me. Then he killed my children and took their money.”

I felt my heart stop. He was repeating my story. Yarrow continued sadly. “I didn’t know until seven days later when I returned to tell them I’d found a job. They were dead. My grandchildren were dead. My house was burned and everything I had to call my own was gone.”

I gulped. Yarrow understood what I was going through a whole lot better then I thought. In fact the man had lived it. Lived it and survived it. “What did you do?” I rasped softly.

Yarrow gave me a smile. “I left.”

“You came here?” I asked.

“Well I didn’t know I was coming here but I ended up here and stayed here.”

“What about the herbs?” I asked. “Who taught you all that?”

Yarrow shook his head. “No one did. I learned about the herbs because I needed food to eat and I don’t particularly like the taste of meat so I wanted something else to help me live.”

“You learned it all by experimenting?” I asked amazed.

Yarrow nodded faintly looking out at the growing darkness.

“I’m sorry.” I said softly. “About your wife and your house and your children.”

Yarrow smiled at me. “It is okay now Marcos. At first I was out here because I couldn’t bear to go back. But now I am here because I like it.”

“I’m not sure I understand.” I confessed.

Yarrow shrugged. “Perhaps in time you might. Now tell me what is your story?" I felt my throat tighten and I looked away. Yarrow put a hand on my shoulder. “If you are not ready to talk then you do not have too.” I nodded gratefully and didn’t say anything else.
To my surprise I slept better that night then I had since I’d been stabbed. I think it was the yarrow. Both the herb and the person.





                                                  CHAPTER 5



I healed after that, at least on the outside. I’m not sure I would ever heal from the inside though. There was too much sorrow. Yarrow was much kinder after he shared his story with me. And I was less moody. Or I tried to be at least. Some days it was harder.

Yarrow helped me stand again and supported me to the edge of the cave where he helped me sit down against the wall. Then he collected his bag and stepped down the hill side. He stopped after only walking a few steps and began to dig up a plant. I knit my brow. “Wait.” I said confused. “You’ve been out here the entire time?”