Chapter Two

Amy stood in front of her rundown excuse for a house. It was a small, single story hut, basically, built by her grandfather many years ago. There were only three rooms within the house – the largest was where Amy made their food and was the warmest house, due to the cooking fire, the second room was their father’s, and the smallest was where Amy, Hope and Ash huddled together to try and keep warm. The house was made completely out of wood – which always made Amy worry. If the cooking fire ever got out of control…

“Amy!” The sound of her name drew Amy from her paranoid thoughts, and she focussed back to reality… back to her little sister running towards her with open arms. With a slightly forced smile, she put down her basket so that she could receive Hope’s hug. Beyond her sister’s dark blonde curls, she saw Ash standing by the fire, his face quite pale. He had been awake for most of last night with a horrible cough, but hopefully, their father would come home with some sort of meat so that Amy could cook him a substantial meal. She really hoped that they wouldn’t have to send for the doctor – she wasn’t sure they could afford it.

“How you feeling Ash?” She asked as they approached him. He shrugged, strands of chestnut hair falling into solemn, grown-up eyes. It pained Amy to think that Ash had had to grow up so quickly – he’d lost his entire childhood the day he’d lost his mother. Amy hadn’t had a lot of hers left, but with their father out all the time; Ash had suddenly become the ‘man’ of the house, having the new responsibility of looking after Hope whenever Amy had to go out. Normally, a boy of twelve would be finding a hobby… turning that hobby into a job… or working under his father. Sadly, Ash could do none of these. Hope, meanwhile, remained innocent and accepting, swinging her arms and letting out a girlish giggle. If it weren’t for her, who knew where they’d be?

Probably down the tavern with their father.

Amy knew that Ash couldn’t stay at home forever and she’d been looking around to see if there was anyone who could train Ash up, give him a job… something worth doing. He couldn’t stay with his sisters… he needed to grow up and get a house, a wife, kids…

“Father not home?”

Ash shook his head, not bothering to answer the question with words. Was he ever at home? Amy sighed and stepped beyond the leather sheet they had for a door, handing her basket to Hope, who gazed happily down at the bread, before skipping off to put the food away. Amy then turned to Ash and gently ruffled his hair, managing to tease a small smile from. “Why don’t you go out back for a bit?” She suggested, with a smile of her own. Maybe some fresh air would do him good. “Just don’t wander too far.”

He seemed to think this idea over for a moment, wondering whether he even wanted to go outside, but then beamed widely, showing straight teeth. “I’ll take Hope with me!” He exclaimed, before running off to get his younger sister. Amy sighed gently. She’d hoped that he would see the other boys his age and join in with their games, but he just wouldn’t leave Hope. She was very grateful for that, but felt guilty over the fact that Ash didn’t have any friends his own age…

She turned towards the entrance, watching as Hope ran out, laughing her sweet laugh. Ash was right behind her, trying to be the solemn babysitter, but laughing just as much as his sister was. If Father heard them laughing, he’d get so angry… that was one of the many things Amy didn’t understand about him. It was as though he didn’t want them to have fun, as though he didn’t want children anymore. Well… if Amy could gather enough money, he wouldn’t have his children, she’d take Hope and Ash further into the city, where they could start again. Unfortunately, Amy had nowhere near enough money. She’d saved coins here and there, which were stored under her pillow, but that was just spare change.

Maybe she could go and get help as a maid- request that Hope and Ash are given somewhere to live. Or maybe someone would like to adopt them. They were cute kids – more than one woman had commented on Ash’s eyes and Hope’s curls. Amy grabbed onto the back of a broken chair – could she really be separated from her siblings? No one would want to adopt three kids…

“Amy! Amy!”

Amy’s eyes widened when she heard Hope’s panicked tones. She rushed to the entrance, meeting the breathless little girl outside. Ash wasn’t with her… when this fact registered with Amy, her heart nearly stopped. “Hope? Where’s Ash?”

“He’s down by the river. We found this man… he’s hurt!”

She frowned – and Ash had been left with this man? Hope began running back the way she’d come and Amy immediately followed her, getting ready to tell Ash off as soon as she saw him. Hope rushed across the small field that separated the river from their house, and quickly disappeared down the slope that they all knew was there. The river was perhaps the only bonus about living this far from the city – they had somewhere free to clean themselves, and there were many areas that were completely surrounded by foliage, giving perfect privacy. It was one of these many areas that Hope was now leading Amy to, and Amy soon realised that her heart was racing – even more so when Hope disappeared through the circle of trees. Amy finally reached the river, breathlessly, and stepped through the foliage. As she did so, a strange sight caught her eyes.

Standing beside a large oak tree was Ash, looking rather stern as he kept his arms folded and his eyes on his prisoner, though looking quite proud at the same time. Hope had now reached them and was bending over, trying to catch her breath, though she was looking quite concernedly at the leg in front of her, which was covered in dark blood. But it was their prisoner that caught Amy’s eye. He was sitting up against the tree, looking very pale, and his breathing was ragged, similar to Hope’s was after running to get Amy. His head was hung low, but Amy didn’t need to look at him to see who it was. The elegant clothing, lined in golden thread, told her exactly who this man was. It was the man from the market… though; he didn’t look as though he could run any longer even if he could stand up. At least it looked as though he’d managed to lose the guards.

But should they help him? Amy knew they’d get into trouble if they did… this man was probably wanted for something, or suspected or something, and if they helped him, whilst knowing that the guards had been chasing him…

Well, she couldn’t just let him lay here and bleed to death, could she? “Okay you two. I need to fetch me containers of water, any containers you can find… and one of you fetch the blanket from my bed.”