Helliconia Summer - Brian W. Aldiss [167]
Laintal Ay and Oyre waited at the gate to catch a last glimpse of Shay Tal; they stayed close but avoided looking at each other.
Beyond the gate was Aoz Roon himself, standing there in his black furs, arms folded, chin sunk on chest. Behind him was Grey, in the care of Eline Tal, who for once looked no more cheerful than his lord. Several men stood in a huddle behind their silent ruler, faces sober, hands under armpits.
When Shay Tal appeared, Aoz Roon swung himself into his saddle and began to ride slowly, not towards her but rather almost parallel with her path, so that, continuing on undeflected courses, they would collide some way ahead, where trees began.
Before he reached that point, Aoz Roon struck off the track, picking a course parallel with it among the trees. The women’s party, with Amin Lim leading, weeping silently, continued sedately along the path. Neither Aoz Roon nor Shay Tal made any attempt to communicate, or even look at each other.
Freyr was hidden as yet in early cloud, so that the world remained without colour.
The ground rose, the track narrowed, the trees grew closer. They came to a fold in the ground where the trees stopped and the ground was marshy. Frogs splashed to safety as the party approached. The hoxneys picked their way slowly through the wet, flexing their paws in distaste, raising yellow mud that curdled under the water surface.
Trees on the far side of the marsh forced the riders more closely together. As if noticing Aoz Roon for the first time, Shay Tal called in her clear voice, ‘You do not need to follow.’
‘I am leading, ma’am, not following. I will see you safely away from Oldorando. It’s an honour properly owed you.’
No more was said. They proceeded farther, coming at last to rising ground studded with bushes. At the crest, they could pick up a clear traders’ path leading northeast, to Chalce and distant Sibornal – how distant, no one knew. Trees began again on the downward slope. Aoz Roon reached the crest first, and positioned himself there, bleak of visage, pointing Grey along the lie of the ridge as the women went by.
Shay Tal turned Loyalty’s head and approached him, the lines of her face clear and composed.
‘It’s good of you to come this far.’
‘Enjoy a safe journey,’ he said formally, holding himself upright, pulling in his belly. ‘You observe that no attempt is made to stop you leaving us.’
Her voice softened. ‘We shall never see each other again; from this date on, we are extinct to each other. Have we ruined each other’s lives, Aoz Roon?’
‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about.’
‘Yes, you do. Since we were children we have been up against each other. Give me a word, friend, as I go away. Don’t be proud, as I’ve always been proud – not now.’
He firmed up his mouth and regarded her without saying anything.
‘Please, Aoz Roon, a true word on parting. I am well aware I said No to you once too often.’
At that he nodded. ‘There’s your true word.’
She looked about anxiously, then kicked Loyalty one pace nearer, so that the two hoxneys touched each other.
‘Now that I’m leaving for ever, just tell me – that in your heart you still feel for me as once you did, when we were younger.’
He gave a snorting laugh. ‘You’re mad. You never understood reality. You were too wrapped up in yourself. I feel nothing for you now – or you for me, if you but knew it.’
She reached out to clutch him, but he backed away, showing his teeth like a dog. ‘Lies, Aoz Roon, all lies! Give me then a gesture as I go – give me a parting kiss, damn you, I who have suffered so much from you. Gestures are better than words.’
‘Many think not. What’s said always remains.’
Tears burst from her eyes and were gone, falling aslant her lean cheeks.
‘May the fessups feed on you!’
She wrenched round the head of her mare and galloped away, plunging into the trees to catch up with her small procession.
He sat for a moment where he was, drawn up rigid in the saddle, staring ahead with his knuckles white about the reins. Gently, he turned