The Land of Painted Caves - Jean M. Auel [314]
“Oh, Danug. She’s just beautiful. It’s Whinney, isn’t it?” Ayla smiled, but her eyes glistened with tears.
“Yes, of course. He started carving this horse right after you left.”
“I think the hardest thing I ever did in my life was to tell Ranec that I was leaving to go with Jondalar. How is he, Danug?”
“He’s fine, Ayla. He mated Tricie later that summer. You know, the woman who had the baby that probably came from his spirit? She has three children now. She’s feisty, but she’s good for him. She’ll start raving about something, and he just smiles. He says he loves her spirit. She can’t really resist his smile, and she really does love him. I don’t think he will ever get over you completely, though. It caused a bit of trouble between them at first.”
Ayla frowned. “What kind of trouble?”
“Well, he lets her have her way in almost everything, and I think in the beginning, she thought he was weak because he gave in so easily. She started pushing him, seeing how far she could go. Then she began demanding things, wanted him to get her this or that. He seemed to make a game out of it. No matter how outrageous, he would somehow manage to get whatever she asked for, and present it with one of those smiles of his. You know.”
“Yes, I know,” Ayla said, smiling through wet eyes as she remembered. “So pleased with himself, as though he had just won a competition, and was all full of his own cleverness.”
“Then she started changing everything around,” Danug continued. “His work space, his tools, all the special things he collected and arranged. He just let her. I think he was just seeing what she would do. But I happened to be in the lodge the day she decided to move this horse. I’ve never seen him so angry. He didn’t raise his voice or anything—he just told her to put it back. She was surprised. I don’t think she really believed him. He’d always given in to her. He told her again to put it back, and when she didn’t, he grabbed her wrist, pretty hard, and took it from her. He told her never to touch that horse again. He said if she did, he would break the mating bond and pay the price. He said he loved her, but there was one piece of him she could never have. If she couldn’t accept that she could leave.
“Tricie ran out of the lodge crying, but Ranec just put the horse back, then sat down and started carving. When she finally came back in, it was night. I couldn’t help but overhear—their hearth is right next to ours—and well, I suppose I wanted to hear. She told him she wanted to stay with him. She said she loved him, had always loved him, and wanted to stay with him even if he did still love you. She promised never to touch the horse again. She didn’t either. I think it gave her respect for him, and made her realize how she really felt about him. He’s happy, Ayla. I don’t think he’ll ever forget you, but he’s happy.”
“I’ll never forget him, either. I still think about him sometimes. If it hadn’t been for Jondalar, I could have been happy with him. I did love him, I just loved Jondalar more. Tell me about Tricie’s children,” she said.
“That blending of spirits has produced an interesting mixture,” Danug said. “The oldest is a boy—you saw him, didn’t you? Tricie brought him to that Summer Meeting.”
“Yes, I saw him. He was very fair. Is he still so fair?”
“His skin is the whitest I’ve ever seen, except where it’s covered with freckles. Tricie has red hair and she’s fair, but not as