Hearthglen

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “Actually, she’ll be teaching me how to smith,” Sean replied. “Learning new skills is always worthwhile.”

  Eve’s brow rose. “Interesting. You really don’t care about conventions... There were rumors, but it’s hard to take them at face value.”

  “That’s me,” Sean replied. “How much are we looking at for the coal, and how often do you resupply?”

  “We come through once every three tendays. The coal will run you two large bronze to start.”

  Sean looked to Fiona, who gave a small nod, “Sounds good.”

  “Very well. It’ll be brought around on Oneday when we make all the deliveries,” Eve smiled. “We require half payment up front, and half on delivery.” Sean dug out a large bronze and gave it to her. Turning for the door with her long hair flowing behind her, Eve paused. “You are the same person who is making the new hair clips, right?”

  Sean held back his chuckle, “Yeah.”

  “When do you think you’ll be selling them again?”

  “The wooden ones will be going on sale soon,” Fiona said. “We would be willing to subtract the cost of one from what is owed to you, if that is equitable?”

  “I heard the initial cost was lower than you’ll be selling them for going forward,” Eve said, looking back at Fiona.

  “By half,” Fiona said. “If you wished for a specific design, the price is a little higher.”

  “Not at this time, then,” Eve sighed. “I’d want one to reflect my family, and I can’t afford that right now.”

  “I’ll make one up and set it aside for you,” Fiona said as Eve headed for the door. “I’m sure we can come to an arrangement on the price when you return on Oneday.”

  Stopping with the door open, Eve nodded. “I look forward to it, though I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford it even then.”

  When she was gone, Sean shook his head. “You won’t need me in the future when dealing with her, am I right?”

  “Now that you’ve established me as your wife, it will be fine,” Fiona smiled. “Might I tempt my dear husband with a kiss or three?”

  “Always,” Sean smiled back as he went to her side.

  A humming sound caught Sean’s attention when the kiss ended. Looking toward the noise, he saw Ven and another Fairy hovering just inside the door. Brow furrowed as he tried to figure out how the two Fairies got inside, Sean waved them over.

  “Morning, Ven. Come to give us an answer?”

  “Yes. Venn and I would like to accept your offer,” Ven said.

  “Wait, you’re both Ven?” Sean asked.

  Both Fairies laughed. “No. I’m Venn. They are Ven,” the second Fairy said, stressing the names so Sean could hear the slight difference.

  “Oh, sorry. Your names are so similar, I misheard them.”

  “The offer is still open, yes?” Ven asked.

  “If you both agree, on your lives, to keep all the secrets you learn about myself and my Bonded, I swear to give you a home and to pay you the same as my highest paid Bonded. I will never put either of you in harm's way, nor harm you myself. I will also Bond with you, but only if you want.”

  Ven and Venn looked at each other with understanding. “I, Venn, paired to Ven, agree to the deal and wish to Bond for ten years.”

  “I, Ven, paired to Venn, agree to the deal and wish to Bond for ten years, as well.”

  “Agreed,” Sean said. Twin beams of energy went from him to the two Fairies.

  Both of them wobbled in the air and landed on the counter with soft thumps. Hugging each other, the two nearly identical fairies began to cry. Sean looked worried until Fiona patted his shoulder.

  “You really are a good man, dear. They’re crying tears of happiness. Now, Ven and Venn, where should we house you? How much privacy would you like?”

  Sean coughed once, “I should also point out that Fiona is the person that heads my Bonded. Her words are my words, okay?”

  “Yes,” the Fairies replied in unison.

  “Where can we make our home?” Venn asked.

  “Should we take a walk through the building?” Fiona asked. “Feel free to perch on my shoulders. If we don’t find anything you like, we can see about building you something and attaching it to the house.”

  Ven and Venn quickly perched on her shoulders, “Show us, please.”

  “Fiona, do you know where Ryann went?”

  “Here,” Ryann said, coming into view. “I went out back for a few moments.”

  “Let me check on Ida, and if she’s good, we can go run our errands, okay?”

  “If that’s what you want, Sean. I take it both Fairies are now employed?”

  “Yeah. It will make sending messages easier,” Sean said. “I’m sure they’ll be doing more once I get settled in.”

  Ryann followed him back to the sitting room where Ida was anxiously watching Myna examine the knife she held. Sean paused just inside the doorway, before either woman saw him.

  Myna’s fingers traced the handle with care and she set it down next to the first one. “It is better. The fur on the wolf and its muzzle are definitely improved. Take the original and make it equal to the second.”

  Ida’s face flushed, a beautiful smile blossoming on her lips. “Thank you, Myna.”

  “If Myna says you managed it, then you did. She doesn’t hold back,” Sean said.

  Myna’s lips twitched as she held back a smile. Ida let out a startled yelp, not having noticed Sean enter the room. “I only want those around you to be the best they can be.”

  “You’re very helpful in that regard,” Sean said, moving over to stroke her hair between her ears. “Can you keep Ida company for a bit? I’m going to run errands with Ryann.”

  “I’ll have her improve the first knife, then work on hair clips with me and Fiona,” Myna said.

  “Sounds good, my silly kitty,” Sean murmured, bending to kiss her head.

  Myna went red when he used his nickname for her in front of the other two, but she purred and pushed her head into his hand. Ida and Ryann couldn’t quite keep their shock off their faces.

  “We also have two Messenger Fairies living with us; they are both Bonded. Ven, who you’ve met, and Venn, who is their paired. Fiona is showing them around and trying to figure out where they’d like to make their home inside the house.”

  Ryann licked her lips uncertainly. “Sean, are they going to join us at the table?”

  “Why wouldn’t they?”

  “Fairies are scavengers,” Ida said, still not over Sean’s blatant show of affection for Myna.

  “Probably because they haven’t been treated like people,” Sean retorted sharply. Taking a deep breath, he bit back the anger her words had sparked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you, Ida, but that kind of thinking bothers me.”

  Staring at the floor, Ida nodded. “I’ll work on how I view others, sir. Please give me a chance to improve.”

  Ryann sighed, “I was going to voice the same thoughts, Ida. I will also work to improve myself, Sean.”

  “You’ll both do fine,” Myna said before Sean could reply. “Fiona and I have faith in you.”

  “Myna’s right,” Sean said. “You’ve both been open to reconsidering things before. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

  “Go take care of your errands, Master. Fiona and I will handle things here,” Myna said, though still clearly enjoying his petting.

  “Okay, be back soon,” Sean said, finally pulling his hand away from Myna’s head. Her small whimper made Sean smile, and he kissed her head once more before he moved to the door. “Make sure to welcome Ven and Venn.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ryann walked beside him, scanning the street. Sean was lost in thought, trying to think of things they could make to diversify their output even more.

  When they approached the leatherworking section of the city, Sean’s nose wrinkled as the smell of tanning hides hit him. Two men came out of a nearby alley, and something about them making Sean’s hackles ra
ise. The smirks on the men’s faces told Sean all he needed to know about what was coming. Ryann stepped directly in front of Sean, putting herself between him and the men.

  “Now don’t go doing that,” one of the men snickered. “We won’t have any fun if he doesn’t fight back.”

  Ryann drew two of her throwing knives. “Stop. I do not wish to draw blood.”

  “That’s too bad, ‘cause we do,” the second man chuckled, pulling a cosh from behind him. “You can either step aside or be the first one hurt.”

  Sean looked around the street and saw the few people nearby hurrying away from them. “Figures. Even here, people don’t want to be involved.”

  “Just hand over your coin and items,” the first thug said. “If you do, we’ll only hurt you a little.”

  “Let them be the aggressor,” Sean said softly. “Try to avoid killing them.”

  “What’s that? Telling her to surrender?”

  “Telling her not to kill you,” Sean said louder.

  Laughing, the two men had closed the distance, rushing at Ryann. They were fast for being so large, but Ryann had been waiting; both of her wrists snapped forward, the knives leaving her hands.

  The thugs let out pained grunts right before they tackled Ryann to the ground. Sean stepped forward to grab one of the two by his clothes, yanking him off Ryann and throwing him. The man let out a startled yelp as he flew a several yards away into the street. The second man had his hands around Ryann’s neck, but his startled gaze turned to Sean when his friend was yanked away.

  “Bad choice,” Sean snarled, kicking the man’s elbow.

  The sharp crack of bone made the thug let go of Ryann to cradle his broken arm. She took her chance, slamming the heel of her hand into his diaphragm. As he gasped, Sean grabbed him and pulled him off Ryann.

  “Thanks,” Ryann said, taking the hand Sean offered and getting to her feet.

  “Fucking assholes,” the first thug huffed as he got back to his feet in the middle of the street. He pulled the throwing knife out and threw it onto the cobbled road, covering the wound it had left in his gut with one large hand. Pulling a dagger from his boot, the thug started toward them, scowling murderously.

  A sharp whistle echoed between the buildings, forcing everyone fighting to look up and see two guardsmen running their way. Sean and Ryann held up empty hands and stepped back, away from the attacking men. The two wounded thugs cursed and took off running. More whistles came from all around as more guards converged.

  One of the guards came to a stop near Sean and Ryann, while the other kept chasing the two men, blowing another shrill tweet on his whistle. Panting, the guard held up a hand as he tried to get his breath back.

  “What happened?” he finally managed.

  “We were on our way to Jefferson’s Leathers when those two men accosted us,” Sean said. “They demanded our money and when we refused, they came at us. We defended ourselves. They were about to come back for more when you came to our rescue. Thank you.”

  The guard looked around the area as he listened to Sean’s account. He pointed to the two bloody throwing knives laying on the street, where Sean had thrown the thugs. “Those your knives?”

  “Yes,” Ryann said. “I threw them when they charged us.”

  Going to the nearest knife, the guard picked it up and examined it. “You could have killed them with this.”

  “I’m aware. They were promising to hurt or kill us, so it seemed a good idea to try and stop them.”

  Retrieving the second one, the guard examined it just as thoroughly. The door of the building behind Sean opened, and an older woman came out, looking worried. “Can I help you, ma’am?” the guard asked.

  “I saw the fight, sir,” the woman said. At the guard’s urging, she explained what she had seen. “These two weren’t the aggressors.”

  “It seems your claim of defense is true,” the guard said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll need to go talk to my partner.” As the guard trotted off, the old woman gave Sean and Ryann a nod and went back into her home.

  Sean sighed. “Well, that was not what I expected to happen today. You okay?”

  Ryann touched her neck, brushing lightly over the bruises from the thug’s fingers. “Tender, but okay.”

  Sean focused on her neck, sending a bit more of his energy to heal her. “That should clear up in a moment. Let’s get to the shop before any more idiots decide to try robbing us. You did good, Ry.”

  Ryann smiled and started to walk. “Just doing what you’re paying me for, Sean. No need to thank me.”

  “Maybe not, but I will anyway. Going for wounding throws under that stress was even more impressive.”

  Ryann turned her face away from him, her cheeks heating slightly. “I’ll get even better with Myna’s training.”

  “I look forward to it, Ry.”

  Ryann glanced at Sean a few times as they walked. “Did you… did you call me Ry?”

  “Yeah, I think it suits you,” Sean said. “If it bothers you—”

  “No. No, it’s fine,” Ryann said, cutting him off.

  “This is the place,” Sean said, spotting the sign hanging over the street.

  Ryann went in before him, slowing to look at the leather armor on display. “Sean, is this the right place?”

  “Yeah; going to get you some armor.” Sean gave the man behind the counter a nod. “Jefferson, I’m back, as I said I would be. This is my guard, Ryann. Can you get her suited?”

  Eyeing Ryann critically, the leatherworker sucked on his teeth. “She’s a bit fuller than I expected. Come on into the back, miss, so we can get you sized.”

  “Sean…” Ryann said, clearly uncomfortable with leaving him alone.

  “I’ll be fine, I’ll yell if anything happens,” Sean told her. “Make sure to ask about sheaths for your blades.”

  Nodding nervously, Ryann followed Jefferson into the back. Sean took the time to examine the same piece of armor he had looked at when he’d been there with Myna and Fiona. The jingle of the bell as the shop door opened got Sean’s attention. A non-descript man came in, looking over the shop with apparent displeasure.

  “Are you a customer or staff?” the man asked Sean after a long moment.

  “Customer. He’s measuring someone currently.”

  “Can’t even have a second person to man the counter,” the man huffed, as if unbearably put upon.

  Shaking his head, Sean went back to looking at the display. The sound of impatient tapping behind him made Sean sigh as the seconds seemed to stretch.

  “Well, if he can’t bother to be here to greet customers—”

  “I was busy,” Jefferson said as he came out of the back with Ryann trailing him. “Now, what can I do for you?”

  “He said he’ll have it ready by next Tenday,” Ryann told Sean quietly as soon as she was near him.

  “I need a full set of armor by Fiveday,” the man huffed. “My caravan leaves then, and my newest guard needs the armor.”

  “No,” Jefferson said. “Can’t be done, unless he’s an average build. If he is, I can piecemeal him a set. But a full set from scratch? Not going to happen.”

  Sean led Ryann to the door as the merchant began to argue with Jefferson. Sean was glad to let the door shut behind them. “If that jerk tries to buy anything from me, I’m doubling the prices.”

  “Double?” Ryann asked.

  “An asshole tax. The bigger the asshole, the higher the tax,” Sean grinned.

  Ryann snorted, “Some people in town would beggar themselves if that became commonplace.”

  “Means I wouldn’t have to deal with them. I like my plan.”

  “I commissioned the sheaths,” Ryann said slowly. “It’ll cost me half a silver.”

  “No, it’ll cost me a half silver,” Sean told her. “Gear is supplied by me, remember?”

  Bowing her head in acquiescence, Ryann smiled. “If you care for all of us like this, how can we ever think about leaving your service?”


  “Better money, better terms,” Sean said. “One never knows what might be offered by others, or you might simply grow tired of being with us.”

  Ryann shook her head, “You have no idea. I’m sure Fiona and Myna have tried to explain how unusual you are with your willingness to share Talents and power like you do.”