Chapter 2

It had been three days since Kest had last spoken to the boy. She was waiting, waiting for the right moment to ask her mother about him. She picked her time carefully, waiting until they were in town as the more people there were the less likely her mother was to kick up a fuss. Kest had been lucky. It was very busy at the market that day. Hundreds of people bustled about, moving to and from stalls in the large market square. Kest watched them with curious eyes as she sat on the fountain waiting for her mother to return. She liked to wonder where they were going, what was so important that they had to hurry to get there. The stalls were open from sunrise to sunset. The whole town locked its windows and doors as soon as the sun descended behind the distant hills. Even the church locked its entrances including the wrought iron gates at the front. No one said why they did, perhaps no one actually knew why.

“Having fun?” her mother asked, handing Kest half a small loaf of bread.

“Surprisingly, yes,” Kest said as she sunk her teeth into the still warm bread.

Kest ate hungrily before she summoning the courage to speak to her mother She took a deep breath and let out a long calming sigh.

“I met someone the other day who said they knew my father -”

Kest watched closely as her mother’s body tightened at the mere mention of him but Kest had chosen her place wisely. There were too many people here for her to start yelling and not be noticed.

“- He said his name was Drake and he looked familiar. Do you know him?”

“Yes I do. He was just nineteen when your father first brought him to our house. He used to watch you while - while we argued. You always liked him, Emiline didn’t, I guessed it was because he was like your father.”

Kest did not know what to say. Drake had looked nineteen when she had seen him just three days ago. It couldn’t have been the same person.

“He used to help me - even after your father left. I had to tell him to go - told him I never wanted to see him ever again,” her mother hissed, her eyes burning with fury.

“What? Why?” Kest said astounded.

“You got too attached to him. You stopped listening to me, just like you had with your father.”

Kest rose to her feet and stormed off into the crowd. She could hear her mother calling her name but she did not turn back and soon her voice drowned in a sea of noise. Kest didn’t care about the consequences of what she had done; she was just so angry. Her mother had pushed away Kest’s only link with her father, just like everything else that was his. Kest kept on walking until she had reached the edge of the crowd. She stopped by the stairs that led to the richer part of town and sat on the bottom step. Her hands shook with anger. She wanted to lash out, break something like she always did when she was angry. She breathed slowly, pushing the pounding blood away from her ears where it drummed fiercely.

Kest slowly turned as she heard a voice from the alleyway beside the stairs. It was low and thrilling and something about it drew Kest to it. A second, more feminine voice joined the first. Her voice was just as thrilling but something in it spoke danger. Kest listened carefully as the voice that she knew belonged to a shopkeeper, who sold weird and wonderful things, began to argue with the other two. They were arguing about some old book. Kest warily gazed into the alley.

“Naquita said you definitely had it and you know she’s never wrong,” the girl stated.

Kest watched as the shopkeeper cringed. He fell silent before disappearing into his shop. He swiftly returned and gave the pair a large leather-bound book and vanished inside. The two spoke for a moment in hushed voices. They were both about the same height with delicate features and brown hair. The girl was very thin and her shoulder length brown hair framed a porcelain face. The boy was more muscular than the girl was; his hair was scruffy and barely reached his ears. The girl stuffed the book inside the satchel that bounced against her long navy skirt she wore. The boy wore a grey tunic, fastened around the waist by a leather belt. The girl pulled her cardigan across her and turned to walk away but the boy pulled her back.

“Come on,” she complained, “This is the worst place to be when you are hungry!”

“Do you smell that?” the boy enquired.

The girl whined, “Smell it - I can taste it. It’s nothing to do with us.”

The boy marched forward, toward the entrance of the alley. He stopped and breathed in deeply. His head slowly turned until he was gazing straight at Kest. His eyes widened with fear and confusion. Kest glanced downwards. She was in the shadows. The shadow of the building had crept forward as she had sat there until she was completely engulfed by it. Drake’s words echoed in her mind, urging her to move, but she was captivated by the boy.

Then something within her shifted. She found herself marching out into the sunlight quicker than the boy could move. He stared from the shadows as she moved amongst the sunlit stalls. She could feel his icy blue eyes moving up and down her body. She swiftly left the street and headed back to the stall where she knew her mother would be. As she walked, she was aware that someone was following her. She didn’t dare turn around.

Kest did not look where she was going. She just kept on walking with her head down so she could make sure she did not venture into the shadows. A part of her that she had never met before longed to turn around and fight whatever was stalking her, but she suppressed this feral instinct and kept on walking. She dodged people with ease, spotting their feet and swerving to avoid them. Kest listened as she walked, searching for her mothers voice.

“Sorry,” she apologised as she bumped into someone.

“I should bloody think so - where do you think you are going?”

Kest groaned and spun around. She knew without looking who had spoken to her. It was no mystery. This voice was just like her mother’s but the underlying tone was more poisonous and hate filled. Unhappily she lifted her gaze. A woman about the same height as Kest stood before her. She was thin and wiry with long sandy brown hair. Her eyes were a pale brown that sparkled in the sunlight. Kest’s eyes slowly fell to the swell at her stomach. Noticing where her eyes had fallen to the woman pulled her wrap across her to hide the bump.

“What are you doing here?” Kest hissed.

“I would ask you the same but I would guess you’re still living off mam.”

Kest growled. The only person she had ever hit stood two feet in front of her. They may have been sisters but no two people had ever hated each other more. Kest clenched her fists, sorely tempted to hit Emiline again but her promise two her mother bound her.

“At least I work and do not expect her to pay me and let me live there,” Kest retorted.

Emiline’s face twisted in anger. Kest knew that this was her sore spot and would keep opening this wound until it really hurt. Her moment of glory was cut short as their mother and Emiline’s husband Jason came striding around the corner. Kest cursed and Emiline turned to see what was behind her. A huge fake grin consumed her face as she spotted their mother. Emiline went to speak but was interrupted as her mother marched past her and squeezed Kest tightly. Kest sighed with relief, wrapping her arms around her mother.

“I promised myself that when the time came I would tell you what you wanted to hear. Just come - we’ll get something to ear and talk,” her mother sobbed.

Kest stared at her mother without saying a word. Her mother seemed different. Emiline was her favourite, everyone knew that, and in the end that is why they had fought. She had called Emiline spoilt and selfish - it had not went down well.

Kest still refused speak as her mother grabbed her wrist and pulled her down the street. They walked for ages. Emiline and her husband marched behind them like two predators. Kest kept glancing over her shoulder just to see her sister’s envious glare. Her mother led them to a small tavern on the corner of a small, dismal street.

The tavern was big and poorly lit but cosy. Over a dozen tables filled the floor space with more tables and benches against three walls. One wall was dominated by a fireplace in which a large fire blazed. A small back door led to the kitchens and rooms to rent. The four of them headed towards a table in the far corner, on the opposite side of the room from the prying eyes of the bartender. Kest and Emiline sat at either side of the table glaring at each other. Jason squirmed in the awkward atmosphere, unsure what to do.

“I’ll get the drinks. Girls?” their mother asked.

“No thanks,” they hissed in unison.

Jason leapt at his chance to leave, “I’ll help!”

Kest watched as Jason and their mother headed to the bar. Emiline tapped her fingers impatiently thought they had only been gone a moment. The reason the two sisters had fallen out danced around the edges of Kest’s mind but she forced it back. She wouldn’t bring it up unless Emiline did. It had hurt her mother too much the first time and every time Kest looked at Emiline all she saw was her mother. She eyed her sister curiously. People had always commented on Emiline’s beauty from her golden curls to her pale skin that somehow retained a healthy sheen. No one commented on Kest’s looks. They never had. She was too ordinary - dark hair, tanned skin - the only thing that stood out were her eyes and they certainly weren’t her mothers.

“So…” Kest began, trying to start a civilised conversation, “How long ago did the bump appear?”

“About seven months ago. It could be more than that though,” Emiline whispered.

“You don’t know? Why haven’t you told mam?”

“Promise you won’t tell anyone. She could be born in months, weeks or even days but you must not tell a soul. It is to be a surprise,” Emiline said painfully.

“Okay - I promise.”

Emiline gulped, “There’s something wrong. I went to see the healer and she can’t hear a heartbeat. I can’t feel anything but I know she’s there.”

“She? How can you tell - it could be a boy.”

“I just know!”

The two fell silent once again. Emiline wrung her hands nervously. Swallowing her pride, Kest reached out an placed her hand over her sister’s. Neither of them moved. They just sat there. Kest couldn’t be angry with her when she was like this. Then for no reason Kest felt the urge to comfort her sister. To make her feel better. She rose to her feet and walked around the table.

“Have you got a name for her yet?” Kest asked.

“No,” Emiline whispered.

Kest wrapped her arm around her sister and Emiline leaned into her shoulder, “I’m sure she’ll be fine. Just look at us and mam, we are fighters.”

“I don’t think the fact that you are an argumentative brat had anything to do with it,” Emiline chuckled through her tears.

Kest grinned and her sister grinned back.

“May I?” Kest asked, holding her hand in front of her sister’s swollen belly.

“Of course - but you won’t feel anything.”

Kest shrugged and delicately placed a hand on Emiline’s stomach. It was cold, colder than ice, a sure sign something was wrong. Kest ignored this and instead concentrated on the fact that a tiny untouched life was just under her hand, waiting to begin. Kest swiftly withdrew her hand as something moved underneath it. Kest backed along the bench away from her sister. She had said it hadn’t moved, there was no heartbeat, it could not have moved.

Emiline gazed at Kest open mouthed, “She moved. She moved when you touched her. Jason and I have been trying to fell for her for ages and you touch her once and she moves!”

Kest returned to her original seat as she watched her sister’s usual cold self return. The only difference was now her sister wouldn’t look at her, not even a glare. Neither of them reacted as the mother and Jason sat back down with four drinks in hand as well as four bowls of soup. Emiline pushed hers to the centre of the table repeating that she had said she didn’t want anything. Kest ran her finger around the rim of her tankard, staring into the amber nectar that resided within.

They did not speak as they ate. Kest silently sipped her drink as her sister chinked her spoon off bowl. Jason and their mother ate hungrily, barely noticing the awkward air between the two sisters. Kest slowly lifted her gaze and glanced around the room. There was hardly anyone else there. A woman in rags sat in a corner near the fire drowning her sorrows pint by pint, a boy no older than Kest swept the floor half-heartedly and…

A shady figure occupied the darkest corner in the place, his face hidden by his matted brown hair. Kest hadn’t noticed his before now. It was as though he had just suddenly appeared.

“So…” her mother began, breaking the silence, “Ask away.”

Emiline and Jason paused and glanced up at Kest. She didn’t move. She had been waiting for this day for so long and know that it had come she wasn’t sure what to ask.

“Well - Kest?”

“Why did he leave?” Kest blurted out.

Her mother swallowed nervously, “Some men in the village grew angry at him. Started spreading rumours. They tried to hurt you and he killed one of them - so he left. To protect you,”

“Is that why he left the dogs - why they only answer to me?”

“Even I can’t answer that one,” her mother sighed.

“What was his name?” Kest enquired.

“I don’t know. He told me his name was Hathril - it wasn’t his real name. Sometimes I would call him and he wouldn’t reply until I’d shouted several times.”

Kest nodded and gulped down more mead. Everything she had ever know was still the same. No one knew his name and nobody could explain the things he had left for her. All she had of his were two dogs, a shawl and a false name.

“Did he say where he was going?”

Her mother shook her head, “He never told me - but he told you. You were too young to remember where but he must have told you for a reason.”

Kest didn’t lift her head but she could tell Emiline was glaring at her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that the strange boy in the corner had suddenly straightened up and was looking more alert.

“He had a sister, she visited once, he maybe went to live with her,” her mother continued, “A very beautiful woman, very delicate but she seemed odd. She was very detached from everything…”

Her mother finished there. In the silence that followed Kest saw the stranger leave hurriedly. He paused at the door and pulled up the hood of his coat before disappearing outside.

“I’m going for a walk,” Kest said, rising to her feet, “I’ll see you later. Bye Jason, Emiline.”

Before they could object Kest was already outside.

It was growing dark as the sun raced to meet the distant hills. The sky had gone from brilliant blue to a vibrant orange and pink. A cool autumn breeze swept through the streets lifting the leaves that had begun to fall and swirling them gracefully along the streets before Kest. Winters blank canvas would not be long in arriving. These were her favourite seasons, she didn’t know why, perhaps because this was when she was born. Between seasons…

She continued to wander through the streets, not really sure where she was headed. Something was drawing her forwards. She glanced around looking for the guy from the tavern. He was close, she could feel it. It was the same thrilling fear that had gripped her when the boy in the alley had spoken. A shadow moved at the edge of her vision and she spun around.

“Good evening,” the stranger said.

Kest gazed at him, “I saw you earlier. You were with a girl. She looked like you.”

“You saw us?” he whispered, “That was my sister. When did you see us?”

“When you were in the alley arguing over a book,” Kest paused and gazed at the boys puzzled expression, “You’ve been following me all day.”

“No I haven-”

“Don’t lie, I can tell, I know it was you. So what do you want with me?”

“I heard you talking about your father - I just wanted to know who he was,” the boy said, tensing as someone walked past.

Kest eyed him warily, “I’m going now. Goodbye,” she slowly turned and began to head in the direction of where her mother had left the cart.

“Goodbye. Make sure you’re inside well before dark tonight. Oh, and for tomorrow, happy birthday Kest,” he called to her.

Kest spun around, her eyes wide with fear, but the boy was gone…