‘You’ve been out hunting Kraal!’
She took his arm and steered him towards the privacy of the wood store.
‘Mac, listen, I was just out for a stroll,’ she said. She shrugged, ‘I bumped into this teensy little baby Kraal.’
‘Don’t come it with me, you’re lying,’ he said angrily. ‘You’re playing with the stones in your ears, you always play with the stones in your ears when you lie to me.’ Kimba wrenched her treacherous hand away and stared at it accusingly, she couldn’t think of anything to say.
‘It’s totally against all the rules even going out alone, you know that. You could step in a Tessaa never mind the Kraal.’
‘I can look after myself,’ she said losing her temper, ‘and you should remember that I’m a leader,’ she touched the sword over her shoulder that proclaimed her rank, ‘I don’t answer to you.’ He took her by both shoulders and shook her:
‘I don’t care what you are, you are my wife and you will do as I say,’ he said.
‘Yeah, that’s going to happen,’ she said.
‘Yes, it’s going to happen,’ he said, losing his temper in turn. ‘I absolutely forbid you to go off after the Kraal on your own.’
‘And what are you going to do?’ She shook herself free from his arms but he grabbed her and slammed her back against the wall of the wood store.
‘Kimba, you’ll obey me on this one,’ he said as angry as she had ever seen him before. ‘Or I’ll borrow the damned belt from the committee and use it on you myself.’
Kimba flinched and her arm reacted by reaching for her sword, then she took a deep breath and made herself relax. After a minute she put both her arms around him and held him closely. They stood there for a long moment the other Vadors steering clear of the romantic scene.
‘Mac,’ she said quietly after quite a time, ‘every morning I come awake very suddenly thinking I’m back with the Kraal again, away from you that horrible, horrible time. Then I reach out and you’re there and a wave of happiness comes over me.’ She pushed him back so she could look into his eyes but still held onto him. She stroked his arms with her fingers. ‘I love you so much I can’t tell you in words, my big strong man. And, I will defer to you as my husband when I can, and I understand why you are so cross with me and you could use your strength and no doubt use the belt on me…give me the hiding of my life if you want but you have to know that if you lay one finger on me then you’ll never be able to close your eyes in safety again.’
‘I don’t want to lose you again,’ he said almost desperately.
‘I’ll try and see that doesn’t happen,’ she said. She went up on her tip toes to kiss him, a nice kiss. ‘But we are warriors Mac…and it’s the risk we take.’
