You Owe Me

Writers: Estelle, Miriah
Date Posted: 19th January 2020
Series: The Assassin's Story

Characters: Lusilk, Varlin
Description: Lusilk remembers how she really began to know Varlin
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr, Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 2, day 13 of Turn 10
Notes: Takes place 17 turns ago

Lusilk

Lusilk rose from her place on the floor and moved to the window,
watching the shadows from the two moons dance over the ground. She'd
been unable to sleep, worries and memories making her mind race far
too much to allow any rest. She'd pay for it in the morning, but it
wasn't anything she'd not had to suffer through before.

**Varlin, would you really...** She cut that thought off. Yes, he
would. She knew him well enough to know the truth about what she was
facing. Her heart ached and she felt her eyes sting for only a moment
before they were viciously blinked away. They'd started early
together, early for her certainly, for her fascination with the man
had started as a child. She wondered if he remembered what truly
started their odd partnership. She did.

-----

Lusilk watched from the bushes as the guards searched the underbrush.
Young eyes studied them, examining their knots, their faces. Lord
Rorrigraf's guards were always brutish looking and relentless; if they
caught her, they'd only beat her if she was lucky. She slunk back
quietly, moving without sound. They were far too close and she knew
who they were looking for. She'd heard them say _his_ name.

If she was going to learn anything, they couldn't find him. Moving
quickly but quietly away from the assembled guards, Lusilk darted in
the direction she'd seen him go after he'd left their little cothold.
In the past months, the man had become a regular visitor, never
staying long, but always paying. She never tried to pick his pocket
again. Well, maybe once more, but he'd caught her at it, but he hadn't
_been_ at their property at the time, so it hadn't counted against her
promise. At least that time it hadn't been the one with pebbles in it.

She found him a candlemark later, hunkered down against a small hidden
fire. She didn't plunge towards him; she'd seen him use that knife of
his and making too much noise would just bring the guards, so instead
crouched near a bush and softly whistled.

Varlin's head whipped around and his hand went to the knife at his belt,
but he didn't draw it. Someone was there, but the guards wouldn't have
made a sound like that; they'd have crashed their way through the forest
and surrounded him. Another holdless? A hunter, summoning others?

He rose to his feet, keeping the fire between him and the source of the
sound. "Who's there?"

"If I hadn't whistled, you'dve never known I was here." Lusilk rose
from the bushes, a smug little smile on her lips that vanished as
quickly as she had emerged. "You gotta get out of here. Don't know
what you did, but Lord Rorrigraf, he's got his guard out chasing you."
She pointed behind her. "They know your name and they look plenty
angry. They've not reached our cothold yet, but they're comin'. You
gotta run."

The holdless man didn't hesitate. He turned and kicked at the fire,
stamping the burning wood into ash, already considering his route out of
danger. He'd got to know this land well over the last few months and
there was a chance he could slip away, given enough of a start. "Did you
see how many? Any canines?"

She didn't know her numbers, but instead of struggling, closed her
eyes and for each guard she'd seen, held up a finger until she had all
but both thumbs. "This many. And..." she frowned again, silently
remembering the canines. She held up all the fingers of her right
hand." This many canines. "

Varlin swore under his breath. The guards wouldn't be so hard to get
away from, with her warning, but canines were another matter. They could
lead their handlers straight to him, and worse if they caught him
running. He'd seen the scars on other men.

He'd have to head west to the river, so they'd lose his scent. And he'd
leave his pack, it'd only slow him down. He picked it up and carried it
to the overgrown bushes where Lusilk had been hiding, shoved it into the
undergrowth and covered it as best he could with leaves and branches.

"You'd best run back to your mother's cothold," he told the girl. "You
don't want them finding you out here."

Her dark eyes watched him as he stored his pack. "Rub the pack all over
you and under your arms then stick it in a tree," she suggested. "One of
the men that bedded Mama did that and he got away cause it distracted
the canines long enough. I heard him taking her about it. "

He hesitated - then pulled the pack from its hiding place again. "Worth
a try. Hopefully they'll think I'm close by when they find it, too." As
fast as he could, he pulled his shirt up and did as she'd suggested.
"I'm serious, though. Run back to your mama. When we meet again, I'll
teach you something really good."

She nodded briefly. "You better. You owe me one so don't get caught. "
With that, she darted away, bare feet making hardly any sound on the
soft undergrowth of leaves and moss. When the guards went to their
cothold, and there was no doubt that they'd get there, it was likely
that they'd just tear up the place a little, or her mama would do what
she had to in order to keep her home. They'd never been caught once.

He watched her go, then reached up and slung the pack over a nearby
branch before setting off at a run, his mind working ahead, planning the
route he'd take to the river. He couldn't hear the canines yet. The girl
had come to him in time; he had a good chance. He considered what he
should teach her, to repay her for the warning, which he fully intended
to do. She'd been useful, and she might be again. Perhaps he'd show her
how to use that knife. She might need that skill, as she got older, if
the guards kept coming to her mother's cothold...

Then he heard the faint, far-off sound of barking, and quickened his
pace. For the moment, the dark-haired girl was forgotten as he focused
on escape.

---
A canine barked and Lusilk jerked back into the present. It no longer
mattered what began their complicated past. She just knew that the end
of it was coming and she'd never felt more afraid or more grieved at
the thought.

Last updated on the February 1st 2020

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You Owe Me