I didn't miss the back of my horse at all. No, we would never be real friends. The horse was a good natured animal but I was in no way enjoying the ride. Not, if it turned out to be hours of pure torture. My back hurt like I've been trampled by elephants. I thought my spine would jump out of my skin. 

We were on our way to the City of Nefaria, a two days ride from the Immaniters'. Even the name "Nefaria" wasn't very inviting. It was Latin and meant "infamy". Indeed the name fit - a lot of stories circulated around the repuation the city held: to be notorious in its way of living.  

The name was given to the city because its first baillif was known for his ways with women. He reigned upon the "chiad oidhche". It was a disgusting law only a sick and lecherous man could deploy. The baillif had the right of the first night with a bride, any bride he wanted. He could use her body on her own wedding-night. And the husband had to endure this showcase of power. It was a lawful rape and utterly against any morals, even in our world of strength!

Seems like the reputation ran in the family because the actual baillif Keallach was a direct descendant of the first infamous name generator. Keallach's harama was the biggest in Desa. But he had only fathered two children with the woman he once loved.

Desa was founded on strength and mutual benefit. Gaisgeil's father was known as a smart ruler, calculating his decisions on his gain. There was no room for feelings or emotions. He knew how to win the loyalty of his supporters by bonding and bribing. If that didn't work he would use blackmail. And if this intimidation failed than he'd use force until his opponents bent their knees to his will. 

The actual baillif's loyalty was won by bonding. I didn't know the exact details but Gordan and Nefaria never had any problems with each other. Nefaria was a big city and Keallach was a fox,  smart and ambitious. Too ambitious for his own good?

Keallach, baillif of Nefaria

His daughter was also well-known in Desa. Legends and tales were told about her. It was said that Ceallach was a wild, dark beauty, passionate, self-confident and a fierce warrior. Like her father she was a Creachadair, favoured by Keallach for her fierceness and leadership skills. 

In contrast her twin brother Ainmire was a reclusive character. At least, that's what Ai told me about him. His name meant "great lord" but he was more of a withdrawn intellectual than a ruler who would reign by a strong will. Ceallach's and his mother was a human, loved and treasured by Keallach ...although this love didn't stop him from enjoying his harama. 

While Ceallach gave in to her creature, Ainmire was born a human. It was clear as day, that his sister would become the next baillif. 

Ceallach

I was curious about Ainmire. If Ai was right about him than he surely would be interesting to talk to. I turned in my saddle to Ai, who rode next to me. Groaning I straightened my back. 

"If this journey is over, I'll never mount the back of a damn horse", I whimpered.

Ai laughed. "It's all a question of technique, Callida. You rely too much on the rains for balance, swinging by force forward and back. When you lay down tonight your back will hurt like Gehena."

 My eyes turned to slits watching her speak. I mimicked her speaking. She snorted laughing.

 "Yes, laugh all you want, Miss-know-it-all", I murmured. 

Gaisgeil turned in his saddle around to watch me. Of course he heard what we were talking about. He observed my movements shaking his head, muttering something.

Ronan and Yrina turned also around curiously. Ronan had a sympathetic expression on his face while Yrina watched me unimpressed and rather annoyed.

"Thea, I always told Callida how to hold the rains, how to move on horseback, what to do with her legs and knees." She shook her head frustrated. "In vain, riding is still a mystery to her." But than her face turned into a playfull smirk.

"BUT, I heard, that lately she got better in ... riding. Though I also heard, she likes to ride only one special stallion", slapping her tigh with her hand, laughing out loud about her own dirty joke.

My eyes bulged out of their sockets. Ronan, the child that he was, broke out in a roar of laughter. Gaisgeil tried to surpress his laugh ....failling miserably with a somehow proud expression. That dog!

Ai watched me with a small smile of her own. I blushed and lowered my eyes. "Yes, laugh, we'll see, where you'll sleep tonight, Mylord", I muttered, knowing that my friends could hear with their creature senses.

Satisfied I watched how Gaisgeil's face sombered up immediately. Ronan slapped his friend's back. "I'll leave the light on for you, if you search for a bed."

Gaisgeil send him a gaze that would have made another man shake to the bones, but not Ronan. He high-fived Yrina.

"Come on, oaf, let us leave the two to talk it out", Yrina said amused. They rode in front of the troop.

Gaisgeil waited until Ai and I reached him. He observed my face pleadingly, to see if I was still angry - which I wasn't, because I knew my friend Yrina. She had a rough humour. I'd waited to hear her first dirty joke about me and Gaisgeil. I must say, it had taken her a long time...

When my destined saw my smile he relaxed, riding very close next to me, touching my tigh with his. "So, I don't have to sleep on the floor?", he whispered in my ear. I blushed again.

"Aw, you are so cute together. I'd like that too one day."

I saw the longing in Ai's eyes. I wanted to say something, but held back. She had to find out on her own that Ronan liked her. Like really liked her. If Ronan failed to tell her, I would interfere.

"Ai, you lived in Nefaria, you know the whole baillif family. What do you think about them?", Gaisgeil asked her with a strange undertone. 

Ai bit her lips in thought. "They are just like what you have heard about them. Keallach and his daughter live unrestrained without any boundaries. They do as they please. Ainmire is a human. He is intelligent, compassionate and he is repulsed by this fathers's and sister's ways. But although they are very different they love each other."

I furrowed my eyebrows. My destined kept something clearly a secret. I trailed his face. He saw the question in my gaze, but he just turned his head without answering. My mind was telling me to be careful. I had to face something in Nefaria that I wouldn't like at all. He sure has another child there ....or a lover?, my mind was mocking me. I huffed, annoyed about my mental self-torture.

Gaisgeil must have felt my emotions, because his head whipped to mine, scanning my features with caution. His eyes widened, shaking his head frantically. 

"I think, I know, what you have in mind, and it's a clear NO, Callida."

Ai watched our interaction surprised. "You are so connected, your Creachadair commited and adjusted to Callida, Mylord. I never saw two beings so attuned to each other." 

This got my attention back to the subject that was my first priority. "You know, Ai, we talked about your family, about healing, but never about where you came from before you lived in Nefaria. I think you know a lot about the past, about all the subjects, I am interested in. This quest in a search for answers and I think, you could help."

She only nodded glumly. "The answers you are searching for are hidden in our human past, as you well know."

Gaisgeil remained silent. He just listened and held back his own questions.

"I know somebody, who knows a lot about the world humans once lived in. Perhaps he has some answers to your questions?", Ai emphasized.

My excitement skyrocketed. I cleared my throat. "Who?"

Ai watched me closely. "Ainmire."

Ainmire

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Chiad oidhche=Gaelic= first night

Keallach= Gaelic= War, strife

Ceallach= Gaelic= warrior maid

Ainmire: great lord

Gehena= old Hebrew= hell

Thea= Old Greek= goddess

Tonight Richard Armitage sang for me "The misty mountains". I love "Lord of the rings" and "Hobbit". Лаку ноћ, Србија - Спокойной ночи, Россия.