Chapter 22 - Smuggled

Barid was much like I remembered him to be, but he’d become an older, sturdier version of himself. He’d gone from being an apprentice blacksmith to being a successful craftsman in his own right. He was also older than last I saw him, seeing as I’d been at the Kennel and serving as a soldier for several years. He was a grown man now, the sort that should have been married and starting a family. Somehow, that hadn’t happened yet – surprising for a successful craftsman of growing fame.
 
“I don’t want to include more people in this, Adish. He’ll be putting his life and business at risk for us.” I’d argued.
 
Adish had insisted. “He is like a son to me, and he would no more let me risk my family alone than he would cut his own hands off.”
 
“But if you love him, why would you expose him to this danger?” I’d countered.
 
“Go, he loves my children as if they were his own. He would do anything to help keep us safe, and we need his help.”
 
Despite his closeness to Adish’s family, I still wasn’t sold on the idea. “Why do we need him?”
 
“A shop such as mine would draw unwanted attention if we suddenly packed up two wagons and traveled to a neighboring city to sell goods. I have no way to get you out of the city without gaining the type of attention that we want to avoid. Barid is known in these parts for his craft, and he ships his product as far as Epim.”
 
And so, Barid had become part of our escape plan. Adish’s eldest boy, Jahan, had been made to peel himself away from watching Nokomi and Halina with puppy dog eyes to deliver the news to his father’s old apprentice. The boy was of an age that he had started taking notice of pretty faces, and those two were certainly worth looking at. It didn’t help that Halina liked catching the boy staring at her, and was quite good at making the kid blush with something as simple as a smile or a wink. There was one thing that Jahan liked more than pretty girls, and that was being part of secrets and doing grownup things, so he went without complaint to fetch his Uncle Barid, as they referred to him.
 
Barely an hour later, before the sun had fully come up over the buildings of the neighborhood, I’d watched as Barid came rolling up with two wagons full of product, each pulled by a pair of sturdy desert ponies. Crates and careful stacks of his metalwork had been covered with heavy canvases to protect them from the wind, sand, thieves, and prying eyes. Barid entered Adish’s home, leaving Jahan to tend to the wagons. He’d driven the second one anyway, and seemed to have a good manner about the animals.
 
Adish and I met Barid at the door. Barid had grown taller than me, and he had a firm grip and a smith’s build about him, even if he was not so large a man as Adish. I clasped arms with him, and we eyed each other. He wore a beard along his jaw, kept short to keep it away from sparks and hot metal. He also wore fashionable, if sensible clothes. He was clearly doing well for himself.
 
What did he see when he looked at me? My eyes still had no gone fully back to their human colors after my last change, but I knew from looking at my face in a glass that some of the green and brown of my hazel eyes had returned. I’d been unable to shave after splitting the corners of my mouth wide, and I knew I looked even wilder for the growth of beard on my face and the sharper teeth that hid beneath my lips. Dangerous, predatory even, I imagined is what he thought. If he felt any fear of me, he hid it well under a warm smile. That surprised me.
 
“Jahan told me about you, Go. No matter how you look now, you’ll still be the boy from the alleys who loved rat meat and could hardly speak a word.” Barid said with a laugh, patting my hand companionably, as if we were old friends.
 
I grinned at that, feeling the gashes on my face tug uncomfortably. Thanks to our shared bond, I healed faster than normal, but these were not wounds to heal in a day. Still, in the presence of a handsome fellow like Barid, I felt strangely self-conscious about my face.
 
Dog surged forward to greet Barid, recalling him well and deciding that this was no foe. As Dog was a great judge of character, I felt myself accept this at face value. Sardar might have turned on me, or at least withheld his aide, but Barid was genuinely here to help.
 
After offering his affection to Dog, Barid swept into the home with a familiarity of the layout and lack of pause that showed he was still a frequent guest. He hugged Sherine, spinning her around as he affectionately kissed her cheek and then he darted off to find little Jaleh, who he put on his hip and carried around.
 
Nokomi and the Empress watched the charismatic, young man with amused looks on their faces.  He was still carrying Jaleh when he sobered and remembered why he was there. He bowed to each of the three ladies as best he could with the little girl in his arms.
 
“Empress. Princess. Mistress.” He said to each in turn, his eyes lingering longest on Halina’s brilliant blue eyes. “Your coaches await, though they are not as fine as comfortable as you might be used to.”
 
An appraising look crossed Halina’s features, and I knew from the lurch in her heart rate that she’d found him very acceptable. Nokomi noticed, too, and a look passed between us.
 
“Master Barid, I’m told that you are risking your life and livelihood for my family, and I cannot thank you enough. True friends of our family are not forgotten.” The Empress offered, bowing her head slightly in thanks. She rocked Shapur gently.
 
“Adish’s family is my family. Go is an old friend I am glad to be reacquainted with, and any friends of theirs, no matter their station or plight, are friends of mine. I am pleased to be able to offer my assistance.” Barid replied.
 
Then Barid bowed a second time so deeply that Jaleh had to cling on for dear life and started laughing. He grinned at the little dark-haired girl, made as if to drop her, and then straightened back up.
 
“Thank you, Master Barid.” Halina offered a curtsy, then she made a face at Jaleh, who giggled.
 
Adish’s youngest was a little charmer, and had quickly become a favorite of all the new visitors, much to Radwan’s chagrin. He’d been the youngest and cutest for a few years before his baby sister’s arrival, and he’d never quite been able to regain that status. The little boy milled around at the edges of the conversation, watching closely.
 
Nokomi, now being a middle child, sensed his feelings, and moved to give the boy some attention while Barid explained the plan. Jaleh climbed down from Barid’s hip and hopped over to try to steal Nokomi’s attention as well, but she was not so easily fooled by that ploy.
 
Barid looked to the three women and frowned slightly. “You three ladies are much too distractingly beautiful to hide in plain sight. I’ve brought some simple clothes – nothing as fine as you deserve – that you can switch into. We will have to cover and bind your luxurious hair and hide those regal faces. Face covers might be best. Then we can get you into the wagons.”
 
“Are we to ride out in plain sight?” Nokomi asked, alarmed. Clothes alone would not hide the three ladies’ identities.
 
Barid shook his head. “The Empress will have to hide, as will you, Princess. Adish’s family will ride in one wagon, with the Empress hidden between crates along with the baby.”
 
“And I will be hidden in the other wagon with you?” Nokomi surmised.
 
“Yes.” Barid nodded.
 
“And what of me?” Halina inquired.
 
“They will not be looking for you, not without the Princess beside you. Therefore, you have two choices: go separately and meet us outside the city… I have a pony you can borrow.”
 
Halina’s eyebrow rose. Clearly, she didn’t like separating from Nokomi. Her hidden knives would do no good if she wasn’t there to use them. “Or?”
 
Barid colored, clearing his throat. “Travel as my wife, sitting beside me on the driver’s bench.” His hand scrubbed through his hair, and he offered a roguish smile.
 
Halina slid to his side gracefully, putting on a smile that made Barid blush more deeply. “That sounds much better, husband of mine. I would not want to leave the Princess’ side. I need to see her safely outside the city. One can never be too careful in these trying times.” A knife quickly appeared in her hand, which she used to playfully poke at the underside of Barid’s chin.
 
Barid cleared his throat again, put his hand on her dainty but dangerous wrist, and met her gaze. “You have nothing to fear from me, Mistress Halina. My intentions are honest.”
 
A little bit of hidden tension melted out of Halina then. She took the knife with her other hand, hiding it once more in the hidden sheath inside her skirts. “Then we should be off, Master Barid. The longer we wait, the greater danger there is of discovery, danger to this family and the royal one.” She said, still not taking her eyes off of his.
 
Barid released her wrist reluctantly. Then, as dramatically as he’d entered, he swept from the room, returning moments later with simple travel clothes he’d brought with him. The muslin fabric was simple and coarse. The cuts would not flatter any of the women’s figures, but they certainly did not look as if they belonged to any woman who lived in a palace.
 
Within minutes, with Sherine’s help, the women were disguised as best they could be. They’d even seen to some makeup, painting both Nokomi and the Empress in a way that declared them to be locals, hiding their rich skin tones and dramatic eyes. With their hair bound and covered, it was almost hard to see who they were. Only someone who truly knew them well would be able to identify them.
 
After that, Adish and Barid loaded up the children. Sherine cast a worried look back at her home, and then mounted the coach, sitting beside Adish. Radwan sat between them, and Jaleh sat on her mother’s lap.
 
Barid and I made a show of loading goods and supplies in the wagon, which was really just a distraction to allow the Empress to settle in the open space between crates. When she was as comfortable as she could be on the small straw mats with the babe huddled against her, we cinched the wagon cover back down.
 
Next came Nokomi. We repeated the process with her, allowing her to settle in before covering her. Halina climbed up on the bench beside Jahan, who was still seated as the driver. He was pleased to have her beside him, even dressed in simple garb that hid much of her beauty.
 
Jahan started to grumble when Barid made him scoot over, taking the driver’s reins, at least until he realized that he would have to sit even closer to Halina. He grew very quiet and very red in the face. Halina made it worse by taking his hand in hers companionably. I shook my head at her, but she just grinned. It was good that she could find some levity in such a bad situation.
 
Barid looked to me then from the driver’s seat and motioned me over. I stepped over and he spoke to me in low tones. “I will see them safely from the city. You will meet up with us outside the city?”
 
I nodded. “They’ll be looking more for me than any of you. I’d give you all away.”
 
He offered me a hand. “Be careful, Go.”
 
I seized it and gave him a firm shake. “Get them there safely.”
 
Halina cast a questioning gaze my way, but understood when I did not board either of the coaches. She knew what it might mean to be seen with me, and there was not enough room in the coaches for Dog and I to hide.
 
Barid turned his gaze back forward and snapped the reins, kicking the ponies into action. He led the way, with Adish’s family following on the second wagon. Adish nodded to me as they passed. He did his best to appear calm and collected, but I could smell the apprehension on him.
 
Sherine started singing softly as she went, a traveling song for children that carried over the clop of hooves and the clatter of wagon wheels on the street cobbles. I watched them leave, feeling a piece of my heart go with them.
 
Dog and I sprang into action then, shadowing the convoy from a block or more away. We would see them to safety, no matter the cost.