"On We Go," performed by Nancy McCallion of The Mollys, can be found of Women of the World: Celtic.
There was an older woman and there was an old man
They lived upon the high road
"Where's my dinner, you little bitch?!"
Lina Inverse Garath looked at her husband, Cirill Garath. He was as close as a human could come to being a troll: pot-bellied and practically hunchbacked, loose folds of skin flapping everywhere, no neck to speak of, voice like glass over gravel, and a stench that his weekly baths never washed away. She loathed him.
"Dinner is still cooking," Lina told her husband mildly.
"Well, speed it up," he grumbled.
Lina had been traded to Cirill like so much cattle when she was forteen. Her mother, gods rest her soul, had been against it, but her father was certain it was a brilliant idea. And since Oneechan hadn't been there to break the tie, so to speak, Lina had been engaged to Cirill.
"It's for your own good," her father had said, almost managing to sound sincere. "Since you've shown signs of having The Mark..."
Her father had been referring to Lina's penchant for magic. He had been - and probably still was - convinced that magic was evil. Never mind that Oneechan was possibly the most powerful sorceress on the planet. Where Lina was concerned, her father had said, such things were unholy.
Well, whatever you called it, magic, 'The Mark,' or what have you, Lina had it. In fact, she had it to such a degree that her aging had slowed, even though she knew relatively few spells. She was twenty-five, and looked no older than seventeen.
Her husband, on the other hand, looked every one of his fifty-eight years. And he never forgave her for keeping her youth.
He once sat as a jockey for his pay
And she was her mother's darlin', oh
"It's ready," she said sweetly.
"'Bout bloody time," Cirill grumbled before attacking the leg of lamb. Lina barely repressed a sneer.
"How is it?" Like she gave a damn.
"Eh," he grunted, which meant there was nothing he could really complain about. So, of course..."I've had better. Back when I was a jockey..."
Lina tuned him out. She'd heard this bit too many times to count. That was Cirill, always harping on the 'old days.' She simply nodded at the appropriate intervals and tried to ignore her grumbling stomach. She could get herself something to eat when he went out. It was Wednesday, after all, and Wednesday was the night he went out to the brothel.
And on we go, and on we go
Can you recall the day we married, oh?
As expected, Sirell rose after devouring dinner and announced, "I'm going out." Lina wasn't sure if he actually knew she knew where he went. Not that it mattered. She was more than grateful not to be the one he was pawing.
"Have fun, dear," she urged with a suitably caring expression.
As soon as the troll had left, Lina's expression melted into one of mingled disgust and relief. "Thank the gods for the brothel," she murmured. She still had nightmares about her wedding night...
No, no, no! She was not going to think of that. She took a deep breath and went back to the kitchen. She got herself odds and ends - jerkey, an apple, and some milk - and went out back.
She sat down on ancient bench in the back yard, not caring about the dampness. This was the closest she came to freedom.
On we go, and on we go
"Good evening, my dear."
Lina started and whirled around - and found herself face-to-face with handsome, smiling man. Oddly, his eyes were closed.
"Who are you?" Lina demanded.
The stranger stood up - had he been floating before? - and bowed. "Xelloss, at your service, m'lady."
"Lina," she introduced herself after a moment.
He gently took her right hand and kissed the sensitive skin of her palm. Lina bit her lip.
"Pleased to make your aquaintance," he said formally, winking at her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, not managing to keep up a facade of anger.
"Why, I came for you, of course."
Wouldn't you be frightened to die alone?
Come a little closer to me, darlin', oh
"Excuse me?!"
"I said 'I came for you.'"
"I know, I heard," Lina said, agitated. "But what do you mean by that?"
"You're trapped here with that poor excuse for a human, ne?"
Lina nodded slowly.
Xelloss' smile widened. "I came to rescue you!"
"Rescue me?" Lina repeated, skeptical.
"Do you wish to remain with him until he finally gives up the ghost? Leaving you a widow?" The unspoken footnote was that widows rarely if ever got remarried in their part of the world.
"I..."
"Do you want to die alone, Lina-chan?"
Lina's anger at being spoken to so familiarly by a near-stranger paled at the sudden fear she felt. She didn't want to be alone! And she definitely did not want to die alone! "No," she whispered.
Xelloss opened his eyes and regarded her. They were a strange, sparkly purple and the pupils were slitted. In the back of her mind, Lina knew that slitted pupils ought to tell her something, but she couldn't seem to remember what...
"You will live a long time as it is, Lina-chan. Even longer if you train in the arts."
Train in the arts...? Learn real magic, not just little spells like Lighting? "You'd teach me?" she asked, unable to keep a hopeful note out of her voice.
"Indeed. It would be my pleasure," he said, sounding terribly sincere.
Xelloss offered her his hand. Lina stared at it a moment before taking it and standing up. "All right," she said quietly, looking at their clasped hands, "what must I do?"
'Come with me, ye silly old man
'Cozy as a codfish, oh
'I never seen anyone sour as you
'At least not after breakfast, oh'
Cirill returned home well before midnight, just as Xelloss had predicted. Am I really going to do this? Lina wondered. An electric shock of nightmare memory made Lina shiver. Yes, she was going to do this, and happily.
"Oh, Cirill, I'm so glad you're back!" she lied flawlessly.
Cirill just grunted.
Lina shook her head, and, trying to keep her voice appropriately fond, said, "Honestly, Cirill, I've never known anyone as sour as you...at least, not after breakfast," she amended.
Her husband just grunted again. The fact that he didn't hit her for the comment meant he was in a good mood.
Okay, Lina thought, here we go...
She grabbed the old man by the hand
She led him 'cross a moonlit night
Lina grabbed Cirill's hand, barely keeping her expression of disgust at bay upon feeling the sweaty hand enclose hers.
"What's this all about?" Cirill demanded. "Have you finally come to your senses and - "
"C'mon," she urged, tugging his arm with a bit more force than was probably necessary. "We never go out together."
Cirill raised his eyebrow - it was one eyebrow; there was no space between what should've been seperate brows - but let Lina lead him. Curious, probably, just like Xelloss had said.
"Where are we going?" he asked, an amused expression on his piggy face.
"You'll see," Lina replied coyly, keeping her eyes on moon in the distance.
She took him to the public house
And filled him full a'whisky, oh
"Red's Pub?" Cirill asked with some incredulity as they finally reached their destination.
"Well, I knew you liked this place, and I do think you should be happy tonight, and..." she giggled girlishly, acting as young as she appeared.
"That's all well and good, but I didn't bring enough money," he said, annoyed.
Of course he didn't, Lina thought darkly, He spent it all on his whores. Though better them than...
"That's all right!" she said brightly. "I've managed to save up a little over the years..." Another lie. He never let her have any money that didn't go to pleasing him. Xelloss had given her the gold pieces she clutched.
"That's m'girl!" Cirill roared boisteriously, already acting as if he'd had a few drinks.
Not yours. Not anymore.
Lina led him to the bar and handed the bartender several gold coins. "The best whiskey you have, please, for my husband!" she requested in the expected vacant-young-girl tone.
"Of course, little lady," the bartender replied, throwing her a leer. Lina surpressed a shiver. Just like Cirill...
Lina had never realised just how quickly her husband could consume alcohol. Fortunately, he wasn't able to hold his liquor all that well - that much she knew from experience, she recalled as she unconciously put a hand protectively on her cheek. It wasn't difficult at all to get him rip-roaring drunk.
"Cirill..." she batted her eyelashes and tried not to gag. "Why don't we go on home?"
The louts close enough to hear what she'd said started hooting and catcalling. Then, suddenly, they all started shivering as if surrounded by ice, and stopped their hollering. Lina would've wondered why had her mind not been completely occupied with the plan...
And on we go, and on we go
Can you recall the day we married, oh?
"Shur took y'long 'nuff," Cirill slurred as they walked - well, Lina walked, Cirill staggered - home.
Lina couldn't repress a wince. He was talking about their wedding night and what happened...Lina bit the inside of her cheek.
On we go, and on we go
Wouldn't you be frightened to die alone?
Come a little closer to me, darlin', oh
Lina-chan, just be strong. It's almost over...
Lina's eyes widened. Was that Xelloss, speaking to her just now? Or simply her own mind?...not that it mattered, she supposed.
I am strong. I can do this. I will do this.
"Look, Cirill! The river! Isn't it pretty in the moonlight?"
Cirill grunted.
"Oh, let's go see our reflection in the water. Please?" Lina gave him her best "I'm-so-cute-and-helpless" expression.
"A'right. Bu'then w'go 'ome," Cirill conceded, leering at her.
And on the way back home from town
Oh, oh, my darlin', oh
She pushed him in the water and she held him down
Can you recall the day we married, oh?
They leaned over, peering into the murky water.
"Too dark. Don' see anythin'," Cirill complained.
A sort of dark glee took hold of Lina. "Maybe you ought to look closer," she suggested, then pushed his head under the water and held it there.
If he had been in total control of his faculties, Cirill probably could've pushed Lina away. Probably - Lina was very strong for a woman, and had the strength of years worth of pain and anger and resentment. Drunk as he was, Cirill didn't have a chance.
Lina waited some time after Cirill quit struggling before pulling him up and checking for breath, for a pulse.
There was nothing. His flesh was clammy and cooler than it should've been.
Lina smiled. I warned you, you bastard. You can't say I didn't warn you...
And on we go, and on we go
Can you recall the day we married, oh?
Lina had not wanted to marry Cirill. And she most certainly had not wanted to be with him. Cirill had not respected this.
"You'll like it," he'd cajoled, practically drooling.
"Don't! I'll kill you, I swear! If you touch me, I'll kill you!" she'd screamed.
Cirill hadn't listened. He'd taken what he'd wanted by force. Violently. Though most of the bruises and such had healed, Lina was still scarred, the most obvious one being the handspan-long scar from where his ring had scraped across her stomach.
Lina had gotten ill, very ill, after that. Even Cirill could tell the cause. To Lina's relief, he'd satisfied himself with whores after that first time.
That didn't change the fact that there had been that first time. That Cirill had raped her.
On we go, and on we go
Wouldn't you be frightened to die alone?
Come a little closer to me, darlin', oh
Just as he'd promised, Xelloss appeared. "Brava, Lina-chan. You've destroyed your captor."
"I have, haven't I? Lina searched herself for some trace of guilt. There was none.
"You have," Xelloss confirmed.
She was free! She could leave this horrible place with its disgusting people. She could learn magic! "Thank you," Lina said quietly, grasping his hand shyly. "You've done so much for me..."
"...and will do more," Xelloss reminded her. He darted forward and kissed her cheek, making her blush hotly. "If you'll excuse me, sweetling, I'll rid us of this garbage."
Xelloss easily lifted Cirill's heavy carcass and threw it in the river. With a loud splash, the troll's corpse disappeared into the dark water.
There was older woman and there was an old man
They lived upon the high road
He once sat as a jockey for his pay
And she was her mother's darlin', oh
"Yes, it's absolutely tragic," Lina agreed, looking at her father. It had been over a week since Cirill Garath had up and disappeared. "Of course, I don't believe those rumours that he ran off with a whore..."
"Yes, well..." her father stammered, obviously not wanting to admit he'd been wrong.
"He has family out in Lupus," Lina continued, "and they've agreed to take me in. I just such a mess..." I'm getting good at this lying stuff.
"You'll be missed," her father said. He was not nearly as good at lying as Lina was.
"I'm sure. Well, if you'll excuse me, I do need to get packed."
"Of course."
"Good-bye, father...."
The door closed shut behind her father, a wonderfully final sound.
"...and good riddance."
And on we go, and on we go
Can you recall the day we married, oh?
"Lupus?" Xelloss asked, fading in, an act that was by now familiar.
Lina shrugged. "It was the first thing that came to mind. You said you lived somewhere with "wolf" in the name, right?"
"That I did. You're so clever, Lina-chan."
Lina smiled.
"Would you like help packing?" he inquired politely.
Lina shook her head. "I only want to keep a few things - just things from Before. The rest can be burned for all I care."
"Ah, that could work out even better than our original plan..."
Lina looked at him, a bit confused.
"Just get those things you wish to keep. I'll take care of the rest."
On we go, and on we go
Lina and Xelloss stood side-by-side, watching Cirill's house burn to the ground. A fierce kind of satisfaction filled her as everything that remained of Cirill and the life she'd led with him was immolated.
"Even better than absconding to fictional relatives is dying in a horrible fire, ne?" Xelloss commented brightly.
Lina nodded, her eyes never leaving the blaze. "So they'll really think I died?"
"I'm certain of it."
"But...there won't be a body..."
"Lina-chan," he chided, opening an eye and regarding her, "Didn't I tell you I'd take care if everything?"
"Oh, you mean you can make them think there was a body?"
"Of course."
He really must be skilled in the arts if he could do something like that! She couldn't wait to learn all he had to teach her.
Wouldn't you be frightened to die alone?
It didn't take that long for others to take note of the burning house. One of the problems with living along the high road was the ease with which one's home could be observed.
Xelloss phased out abruptly, then reappeared just as suddenly. "Everything's been taken care of," he informed her. "Are you ready to leave?"
Lina cast one last glance at the fiery torch atop the hill. "More than ready."
Xelloss offered his hand, just as he had about a week earlier. This time Lina did not hesitate before taking it.
Come a little closer to me, darlin', oh
Xelloss magicked them to an inn. It was totally unfamiliar to Lina, and since she knew every building in her home town, she knew she really had escaped.
"This is a brief stopover," he said, seeming to adjust his cape. "Just for food and a moment to rest." He extricated a package from somewhere and handed it to Lina.
"Wha-what's this?" she stammered, startled.
"It's for you. You do wish to learn magic...?"
"Yes!"
Xelloss smiled. "Those are the appropriate garments. Magi do tend to wear capes."
Lina nodded slowly. "Oh. I guess...I'll go change."
She made her way to the ladies' room, and was rather surprised by how clean it was. With a mental shrug, Lina unwrapped her package, feeling like she had as a little girl on her birthday.
The cape was very nice, sturdy without being unpleasantly textured. It was black. The outfit that came with it, however, was magenta. Very, very magenta.
It wasn't unflattering, Lina noticed as she studied her reflection in the mirror. It was just very different from what she'd worn for the past decade - greys, mostly, and very loose, so Cirill wouldn't get...ideas.
But now Cirill's gone and I can dress however I'd like!
Lina put on her cape, gloves, then finally four pretty red stones that matched her eyes.
Come a little closer to me, darlin', oh
"You look absolutely lovely, Lina-chan," Xelloss greeted as she rejoined him. "Just as I knew you would."
Lina felt herself blush again. He said such nice things to her...! "Thank you," she murmured.
"My pleasure." His eyes were open again, she noticed, and for some reason that made her blush all the more.
"Well, shall we?" he asked after a moment. "The little house I told you about is just waiting for you."
"Right."
This time Lina offered him her hand.
Come a little closer to me, darlin', oh