Chapter#07

Vadya smiled and raised his own bowl, saying: "My life for yours, my friend." He added: "That ... is a very fine suit."

Tashka lifted his slanted blue eyes with a sparkling grin. "We cannot go and see el Jien wearing a dishcloth and the scrubbing brush," he sniggered. It was true that Pava el Jien van Vail was reputed to be particular about his wardrobe -- if not about his ladyfriends, but Vadya was surprised that a plain Captain Maien should be so familiar as to joke about it. Tashka was tilting his wine to and fro, laughing into it as if remembering ... what? el Jien van Vail had never been known to take a male lover that Vadya had heard of but Tashka was so pretty anyone could be excused casting a speculative eye on him. Except his senior officer, of course.

"Thy time for my allegiance," it was one of Tashka's Lieutenants, one of the two aristocrats entrusted to his tender care. He was very new and stuttered over the appeal to the senior officer, looking at Tashka with adoring brown eyes in his plump brown face. He was still wearing his black cotton uniform with the blue details, tightly buttoned up to his collar, although all the other officers would have changed into casual clothes for the evening.

Tashka straightened up in his chair and nodded. His eyes tightened up at the corners.

"I will hear you, Lieutenant."

Mada el Vaie van Soomara cast an anxious glance quickly at the Commander then looked at Tashka, soft and pleading like a puppy that only wants its ears tickled but it thinks it might get a kick instead. Tashka started to rise in his chair. Vadya had had his fill of the officers of the Second Quarter saying there was nothing wrong and yet always coming running to interrupt his dinners with Tashka, he cut in curtly: "Lieutenant, are you quite sure this is a matter requiring the Captain's attention." Tashka, poised halfway out of the chair, looked at him with that bland attentiveness which came over him when he had to submit to orders against his wishes.

el Vaie blushed and stuttered, shuffling his feet in the shining thigh-length black army boots which Tashka made his juniors keep polished to a standard the ceremonial First troop would have been proud of. "Well ... Hanya ... I mean Lieutenant Lein ... and Volka said,"

"Perhaps Lein and el Darien can help you resolve the matter," Vadya responded before Tashka could say anything. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his man-servant and a trooper standing with the trays of food in their hands. He felt that Tashka had eaten enough cold dinners and that the Lieutenants ought to have learned to manage by now.

"Yes sir," Mada said. He saluted with a crisp flick of the hand, his thigh-length black army boots stamped out the ritual dancing steps of the H'las junior officer leaving his seniors. He turned to walk slowly back towards Second Quarter, scuffing with his boot at tufts of grass as he went. He looked like a puppy that wishes it had had a kick at least.

"el Vaie is a butterfly-wits," Vadya grumbled. "I never should have asked for him."

"He is just new," Tashka said in a careless tone of voice. "You had to ask for him, it was good politics. You wanted to renew the tie with Soomara."

"Politics!" Vadya groaned, "and we are stuck with that butterfly-wits, never mind the letters off his sister demanding to know if we are keeping a sufficiently close eye over his honour. Maive el Vaie is in an affair with Pava el Jien, is she not?" He poured more wine into their bowls, keeping a close eye on Tashka.

Tashka sniggered. "Maive is an honourable slut, of course she broke the affair but Pava is still dangling after her," he said. "She will come after you too if she gets the sniff of a chance. She has had most of the oldest sons, she has a magnificent collection of their favours on her stocking top!"

Vadya blushed.

"Well, things could be worse," he said. "We may yet get the younger el Maien van Sietter placed with us! What a disgusting thought, eh."

Tashka stopped sniggering and gave Vadya a quick look from those slanted blue eyes in the face that had delicate bones and a heartbreaking Northern beauty.

"I'll not put him in your Quarter if we get young el Maien," Vadya said considerately, "although I have heard he is an excellent strategic mind. He was Pava el Jien's baby Lieutenant, is it not? Do you know him?"

"No," Tashka said.

"You have enough trouble with that arrogant horse el Darien and that butterfly-wits! You do not need an el Maien van Sietter to add to your woes," Vadya said.

"Mada is just new," Tashka insisted, "he needs time is all."

"Rather your time than mine," Vadya grunted.

"My time for his allegiance," Tashka said wittily and gave Vadya a suddenly brilliant grin. His blue eyes rolled and sparkled, his whole face lit up with his humour then it suddenly fell into strained lines. There was a haunted look to his eyes and he swung his gaze shyly at Vadya with a pout to his rose-petal mouth as if he feared some tragedy coming his way.

"Time for my allegiance!" A soldier shouted, running up to Tashka. "Sir! Lieutenant-Lord el Vaie and Lieutenant Lein are fighting, sir!"

"Holy Hell!" Tashka chucked his exquisite bowl of fine Athagine wine aside onto the turf, sprang out of his chair and ran off across the camp, leaping over weapons, cooking utensils and seated troopers in his way.

Vadya raced after Tashka across the mud and grass of the encampment, past troopers rising from the meals they were cooking to stare at them in astonishment. His muscular legs stretched out over the ground, he was desperately trying to catch up with the sprinting tall figure flying ahead of him. 'Angels of Hell!' he thought. 'Those stupid young cubs! I should have given him at the least of it one older Lieutenant. Papa said I ought to.'