They moved away from the house in the direction of the sheep pen. Verican, slightly surprised, followed her across the village. When the two reached the pen in which the sheep were kept, Akorsa ran into yet another familiar face. This one belonged to Fionn, whom she embraced with a fierce hug.
�How is it that you have come back to us so soon?� Fionn asked his lifetime friend. �Who is this?�
�This is the Captain-General of the Proctorial Army, Fionn. I have called upon him for assistance, as I will find none among the politicians that dwell within the city. I have brought him here in hopes of convincing him to lead the army to our aide,� she said by way of explanation. �I wish to take the flock out today to demonstrate to him how I do my job as shepherdess.�
�Very well, then,� nodded Fionn, eyeing the Captain-General suspiciously the whole while. �Shall I see you before you depart again?�
�It ought to be a few days hence before we return to the cities, so, aye, you shall see me within that time. We will get a chance to catch up, I swear it,� she assured her best friend as she opened the pen and lead the sheep out, waving to him as she walked away towards the pastures with Verican.
- - - -
Eventually Akorsa found a spot to let the sheep graze in which pleased her. Feeling rather worn out from all the walking of that day, she decided to lie down on the soft green grass and ignore the man in her company altogether. She was watching the clouds silently while the Captain-General paced about nervously.
�Are you worried about something?� she asked, glancing at him.
�We are very out in the open here; we are highly vulnerable to attack,� he said, clinching his hand around the hilt of his sword and then moving it to his side over and over again.
�I have been doing this for years, my lord. I ask that you would trust my instincts,� she told him, sitting up on the grass. His sudden irritation made her feel rather uncomfortable, as it was uncharacteristically odd a thing for him to do; something had to be terribly wrong. �You worry far too much; sit and calm yourself before you frighten the sheep.�
He looked at her for a moment with an indescribable expression in his yes. He turned, paced back in forth a few more times before finally sitting down on the grass next to Akorsa. Feeling relaxed that he was not pacing about like a madman, she lay back on the grass with her hands behind her head and her eyes closed. After several moments she felt as though she were being watched, so she opened her eyes to find the Uljayan man staring at her intently.
�If I were to require a price for my assistance, would you pay it?� he asked, entirely out of the blue. She looked at him, perplexed, wondering what he was thinking at that very moment.
�That would depend on the price you required for my people to pay,� she replied.
�Not your people, but you, and you alone. Were I to, say, require your hand in marriage, would you agree to marry me?� he asked. She sat up and stared at him.
�I would not wish to, but I would do what I deemed necessary to see my people live safely; I am willing to sacrifice my life for them, so why not give away all of my happiness as well?� she told him, sounding more earnest than he would have expected, yet still harboring a great and evident sadness. �I would wish to know why you would want such a thing before I were to agree, of course.�
�Your little brother touched my very heart,� he said, raising a hand to his chest. �I have not met all of your people, and yet I have reason enough to agree to aide you. I see now why the change you have spoken of is so greatly needed, and I wish to do as you have asked of me. However,� he said, �it is a dangerous task, one during which I will more than likely lose my life to. Were I to die against the Maseriff, a new Captain-General would be appointed, this one picked by the Proctors.�
�Were you not chosen by them yourself?� she asked, confused.
�No, my father and his sires before him were the Captain-Generals of the Proctorial Army; it is the one position granted by birth within our society. Unlike my fathers before me, I have no son to take my place,� he told her.
�That is where I come in, is it not? I bear you a child and you go off and die nobly in war, leaving me a widow and a mother?� she asked bitterly.
�That would be the way of things, but I would be hard pressed to find nobler blood to run through the veins of my child,� said Verican. �What say you, Akorsa of Arimythia?�
Akorsa just stared at him, slightly overwhelmed at the moment. She harbored no love for this man, let alone many good feelings towards him. Agreeing to plight her troth to a man she did not care for would be something dreadful. Though the marriage might only last for a small while, for they both knew he would more than likely die, it was not something that she wished to do. Were it fully necessary, and there was no clear alternative, she may have said yes, but the situation she found herself in was not yet dire enough for her to agree to this.
�I say nay to you, Captain-General, for I am convinced that you are not yourself at his moment. Perhaps it is the sudden freedom you feel or the open air, but I know marriage or an heir are no true concerns of yours, or you would have already found a bride. If you persist in having your way, however, I encourage you to inquire this upon my father, my lord, and whatever his answer may be, and then perhaps I shall reconsider,� she told him, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible about the situation. He nodded in agreement.
�Perhaps I shall inquire upon your father. After all, a father always has the final say,� he said.
�He generally has the final say in my life, as I trust his judgment more than my own,� she said, pausing for a moment then to think a moment on something. �However, my lord, you speak of an heir. If I were to agree to this, and by some bit of chance, carry a daughter, what then would happen?�
�If there were good and present time, we would try once more in hopes of a son. If this is not possible, and I am already passed on, then I would have you choose an orphaned boy, proclaim that he is ours and raise him properly. It would not be entirely honest, but it would be far better then allowing the Proctors to appoint whomever they saw fit,� he told her.
�Is it even allowed for a Proctor to wed the Captain-General?� she asked him, curious to find out if the law even permitted what the man was suggesting.
�The law says nothing prohibiting a marriage between one of the Proctors and the Captain-General, no. But, it is law within the Walled Cities declares that a wife live under her husband�s roof, no matter where that is. Therefore, you would move into my home and stay with me, as married people do,� he said, hoping to persuade her to agree. He knew how much she hated living near the other Proctors and he was trying to use this to his advantage, a fact Akorsa did note.
She was greatly disturbed by all of this, for she could not determine what had truly inspired the Captain-General to behave in such a manner as he was now. He was a gruff and chauvinistic man who everyone knew had no desire to marry, as he clearly thought of a woman as a nuisance. Akorsa was truly beginning to think that there was something about being outside the city that was actually making him act in such a different frame of mind. She decided she did not want to discuss the matter further, and leave the actual deciding to her father, who would most likely say no to the man�s proposal.
�Very well, my lord. We shall see what my father�s verdict is,� she commented solemnly. The Captain-General reached forward to take hold of her hand.
�I know you do not love me, nor do I love you, but believe full heartedly that we can learn to get along well enough. I feel terribly asking this of you, truly I do, but I have no other choice. I am responsible for giving my people someone to lead them who is fit for the duty just as you claim to be responsible for the fate of your people,� he told her, squeezing her hand gently. She nodded in understanding.
�Promise me that if this by some chance my father wishes for me to marry you that you shall in fact treat me properly? Not just as a woman and a wife to be owned and to be used to suit your purpose?� she queried.
�I shall try to amend some of my views, for the sake of making your life easier. Will this suffice?� he asked.
�Only time shall tell that, my lord. Come now; let us return to my home. It shall soon grow dark and the sheep have a great fear of the darkness,� she said, rising up from her spot on the grass and moving about the calmly grazing flock. She whistled several times, the sheep hearing it and pricking up their fleecy ears and moving towards the direction that she pointed her staff in. When she knew that all one hundred and fifty-seven of them were accounted for, she started moving them back to the village, and back towards the dread of her what her father�s decision might be.
