"Then we are all going to go to the sparring field. Blake and I are going to be sparring with the Folks tribe, so there will be no one to watch over these three." Rafa had included Mirka in his count of women to watch over.
"I have got to see that." When Apolo saw that Mirka was puzzled he explained. "Blake doesn't usually spar with others. As we grow up we are all trained to master the sword but then we also tend to get specialized in certain kinds of combat arms. Rafa is an all over fighter meaning that he is master at the sword and bow but he is also fight with spear. Feli is a Master at spears while his twin Moya is a master at the war ax. Blake, as a blacksmith, is a master at every form of armory you can have. That is because he has to test out ever spear, ax, war hammer, sword and anything else he might make for battle to make sure that the balance is right. He does not feel it is right to spar with any one besides the other blacksmiths because of his knowledge. I wonder why he is sparing now."
"I have a feeling he wants to spar with Markus after how Markus treated Mirka." Rafa replied in an off handed way as the started to make their way to the sparring field.
"I guarantee you that is the reason, both for the insult on our tribe and so he can tell Roger that he protected Mirka the best of his ability."
When they got to the sparing field Mirka noticed that the whole tribe had gathered to watch. Apolo lay down and they watched as Rafa talked with a small group of centaurs, then three of them drew straws. When Rafa drew the short one he came over and lay down at a slight angle so that he and Apolo made a V between them with both Nat and Isabella sitting cross-legged in front of them. "Moya and Feli also wanted to spar so we drew straws to see who got to stay in. I drew the short one so I get to watch."
Mirka watched as Anna sat next to Rafa and leaned into him placing her arm on his back to make her self comfortable. Mirka sat the same way next to Apolo. There was a slight chill in the morning air and she gladly accepted the blanket Isabella offered her, absentmindedly playing with her necklace as she and Anna spoke. The centaurs were talking amongst themselves about who was going to win.
The general consensus was that if Blake was pitted against Markus, Blake would win. The women were also talking to and waving at each other; it gave the day a festival-like feel. A groan of disappointment went though the crowd as the youngest of the three Folks centaurs came forward with Blake. "Apenimon," Rafa told Apolo, "I was told it means trustworthy in his tribe. Of the three, I would trust him the most. He seemed very embarrassed by Markus' treatment of Mirka. I have had the opportunity to talk to him. He does not seem to like how his tribe shares their women."
Every one went quiet as the two men saluted each other to begin the sparring match. They started slowly with simple strikes and blocks; then they began to speed up. While Blake was stronger and more aggressive, Apenimon was lighter and quicker. He landed a hard blow with the hilt of his sword in to the center of Blake's human back. Unfortunately it was at that exact moment that a young centaur came running down the mountain side. Apenimon took in the long hair and the leather vest, but what caught his attention was her voice as she called out to her mother. Blake had not been distracted by Maria. He, like the others in the tribe, had gotten use to her during the six months since her birth, but Apenimon's distractions cost him dearly. Blake swung his sword in a wide arc that should have been very easy to block, but in his distraction, Apenimon did nothing. Too late, Blake realized that Apenimon was distracted. Even as Blake tried to stop his strike, his sword cut deeply into Apenimon's chest. For one heart beat, there was complete silence as Apenimon fell to the ground. Isabella was already up on her feet moving to Apenimon's side as fast as her pregnancy would allow her.
"You have killed a member of my tribe when we came here on friendly terms." Markus started yelling as he stormed out on to the sparing field, "I demand that you hand over the girl as repayment." When he noticed that Isabella was kneeling next to Apenimon, he reached down and grabbed her by her hair. "Get this bitch way from him." He went to shove her away but instead found the tip of Rafa's sword in his shoulder. His hand went slack and Isabella fell to the ground.
A shiver of fear ran down Markus' spine as he looked in to Rafa's eyes; they were black with fury at how Markus had handled Isabella. "My mate can heal him." Rafa ground out between clench teeth. He nodded at Isabella, "Go ahead. We are already in trouble; we might as well be in it all the way to the hilt."
Markus watched as Isabella placed one of her hands on Apenimon close to the wound. She put the other on the ground. The wound started to slowly knit together as the grass touching Isabella's hand began to fall to the ground as if it had been cut.
"Blake, Isabella needs to speed up the process; she needs more skin contact. Can you cut the top of her dress off?"
Blake looked at Rafa for reassurance as he started to gently and slowly cut her dress. Rafa notice a look of desire come in to Markus' eyes as the dress exposed her full breast. "Look away pig or I will kill you." Markus glared at Rafa but did turn his face. Rafa watched as Isabella leaned over and placed her chest against Apenimon. A surge of anger washed though Rafa at the intimacy of the touch but the rage faded quickly as Rafa acknowledged the need for it.
"Rafa, release him to Moya and Feli." Juan Carlos's voice came from Rafa's side, as he put his hand on Rafa's shoulder. Rafa backed up and stood beside Isabella and Apenimon. Blake had moved around to the other side of them as Nat came over with a blanket. She handed one corner of the blanket to Rafa and the other corner to Blake shielding Isabella from view.
"I have another blanket on the way. Make sure that he doesn't move or distract Isabella when he comes to."
"I know that, Nat," Rafa said tensely, "I am sorry..."
"No worry, Rafa, I know we are all tense right now." Nat said with a hint of amusement in her tense voice. Rafa moved aside as a second blanket was brought. Nat wrapped the blanket carefully across Apenimon's back as she took a quick look at how the healing was going. The broken ribs had healed and the muscles knitted together; all that was left was to close the skin.
Nat placed her hand on Apenimon's shoulder as he started to move. "Be still or you will kill the woman who has saved your life." He moved his head to nod but did not move anything else. He was shocked as he watched a small fissure open in the ground under Isabella's hand. When she raised her head, Rafa Immediately wrapped his arms around her. Pulling her close, he covered her with the blanket saying, "Don't move too much, Apenimon, she can only heal the wound; she can't replace the blood you lost."
"Blake and Tony, take Apenimon to Nat's hut and stand guard till I get there." Juan Carlos ordered. He made a gesture that had five centaurs at his side. "Moya and Feli help take Markus and Chua to the visitor hut. They are not allowed anywhere without you. As of right now, I want you to consider them prisoners until Apenimon is healthy enough to make the journey back to their home. Mirka and Anna, I want you to take Maria and go with Rafa and Isabella until I come and talk to you. "Ángel, Guerrero and Tomás I want you to go with them. I want plenty of protection on Isabella, Mirka and Maria."
The Centaurs moved to obey Juan Carlos's commands. Ángel picked up Maria as the other two centaurs came to bring Anna and Mirka to Rafa and Isabella. As they walked, the centaurs made a circle around the women with Rafa taking the lead, carrying Isabella in one arm and his sword in his other hand. Mirka walked silently, talking in the new information on Isabella. It was no wonder that they had wanted to keep Isabella's powers secret. Mirka liked Isabella but she was torn between the Isabella she knew and the fear of Isabella's power. When they got back to the longhouse, a small white lizard sat on the table. It watched silently as Rafa carried Isabella to the back of the hut. Mirka sat down and absentmindedly started to stroke the lizard with one hand and played with her necklace with the other. Rafa was slightly startled by the lizard when he came back. "You like lizards?" he asked.
"What?" Mirka had not realized what she was doing, "I am not afraid of them like most girls; for some reason I have always been drawn to them. Is this Isabella's pet? Maybe she will want him to keep her company."
"Isabella doesn't consider him a pet. To call him a pet would mean Isabella either owns him or controls him; no one could possibly do either of those things. He is considered more of a friend of the village. He tends to show up when there is trouble and we are sure in trouble." Rafa considered her. "You look sick, are you ok?"
"I will be fine. I am just shocked at Isabella. Now I can fully understand why you kept her power a secret. Is there anything else she can do?"
"Yes, she sometimes has visions, and once she hurt someone with just her mind, but she hasn't done that in years. I hope that you understand that Isabella considers you a friend and over time you will see that the last week you have shared with us is pretty much the norm for us; you won't even notice anything different around Isabella unless she does some healing in front of you."
"OK," Mirka considered this, "I think I need a nap."
"That sounds like a great idea; why don't the three of us take a nap while Rafa goes and talks to Juan Carlos about what is going to happen." Anna said.
