As A Stranger Or A Friend?

Mariel - 20 First Seed, 1245 A.D.

I cried out as the leather crop struck my bare back with fury, then collapsed into a tearful heap upon the ground. I had finally committed my first transgression against him: dropping a fork on the ground and making too much of a racket trying to retrieve it. He had overlooked my vomiting two days ago thanks to Thea's quick intervention, who told him how she found me that morning and suggested I rest. I could tell he was disgusted by what happened, but I supposed he was not eager to lose a concubine and a fiancée on the same day. Though by now, he considered me recovered enough that I had no excuse to be clumsy, so he didn't let it slide this time.

I received three strikes: one for each tine on the fork I dropped. The pain was one I couldn't even begin to describe, and I was sure I would develop welts and bruises from it. Most people I served in the past never resorted to physical punishment unless thievery had been committed. However, I was not in the habit of stealing, so being beaten was something I had never experienced before. Still, I did my best to cry softly as his personal guard departed my tent, lest they come back for more.

There were ten days now until the wedding. Would I make it? Moreover, would I survive being married to him? He was so quick to anger that I feared I might not. Getting pregnant might be the only way to rein in his violence, but even that was not guaranteed as he still beat the pregnant concubine when she was alive. And then there was the matter of the birth to contend with. Surely the screaming of mother and child would be more than he would be willing to tolerate. I squeezed my eyes shut.

I had to come up with a way to escape on my own. By now, I was fairly certain Oxlo wouldn't make it in time. I wanted to depend on him, but I couldn't just sit here and let the time pass me by. There had to be something that I could do. I got up from the ground and carefully dressed myself for bed, hoping that sleep would provide some reprieve from the pain across my back, but I was uncertain that it would. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see the anger on his face and felt the fear bubble up in my stomach at the prospect of being struck. I sat down at my vanity and brushed my hair slowly, finding a small knot. I looked down and began to remove it gently, then stopped.

That was it. I couldn't stop us from getting back, but I could delay us on the road. The royal company traveled very close to being over-encumbered since His Highness demanded the comforts of home while he moved about his territories. As such, a broken spoke on one of the supply wagons would set us back at least a few days even if we did travel with repairmen. We were in between territories now and far away from any merchants, so they would need to travel to the nearest town to source supplies and return to make the repairs. They would likely work through the night to get us moving as soon as possible, but by then, I could find something else to delay us. Yes, this could work!

I got to my feet and girded my nightdress then quietly searched for a pair of gloves and a bonnet pin. Supplies in hand, I took a deep breath and blinked, stopping time around me. I wasn't sure how long I had, but I needed to make the most of it. I hurried outside towards the camp's outskirts and found the supply wagons. Now I just had to pick the most valuable one and fiddle with the spoke in some way that would make it fail upon moving. Luckily I had practice with this.

My siblings and I took turns messing with the neighbor's wagon after their dog killed a few of our chickens one summer. No one ever figured out who the culprit was, but their wagon became so unreliable that they ended up forgoing it's use and walking their crops into town to sell them. They especially suffered when they had milk or larger things like pumpkins. I hadn't done that sort of tinkering in many years, but I was sure I still had the knack for it. I studied the spokes for a moment, took my bonnet pin, wiggled it into the joint, and shook the spoke. I felt the joint become loose and then repeated the process on two other spokes. A small smile crossed my face, and with that, I returned to my tent, putting everything in its place, including time, and fell asleep with an excited feeling in my belly.