by Jill Cooper
They stood on top of a mountain, and when they gazed down on me in the valley, I turned and ran, but they took off like lightning, charging after me, and I’d never be able to get away. She felt me as much as I felt her.
No matter where I went, we were both racing toward each other and a fight neither of us wished to wage.
Chapter Eighteen
The Richardsons
The citizens of Rottenwood gathered in the town square. They kneeled elbow to elbow, their foreheads to the cobblestone in front of them. They whispered and chanted like they had been doing all morning since the crack of dawn.
Fatigue overtook Dani, and she moaned with pain in her lower back, but she kept repeating the words because there could be no break.
“We worship the great Lord Creighton on high. He is mighty in his protection, mighty in his knowledge. We worship the great Lord Creighton. His worship….” Dani messed up. Damnit, no. Timothy elbowed her in the side hard.
Of course she had made a mistake. Who wouldn’t? She was so nervous and upset about what was happening.
The bells gonged four times, announcing a slight reprieve from their chanting. Dani sat back on her heels, swaying slightly. Hungry and fatigued, it had been nearly twenty-hours since there was time to eat. She had a quick glass of brown water in the morning. Mrs. Richardson, so angry with Dani’s betrayal, kept her busy.
There was no time, and Mitchell would never speak up for her. Dani hadn’t been angry with him before. She feared Evelyn, too, but now she was so thirsty… her mind started to play mean tricks on her.
Timothy steadied Dani with his hand, even if he did look annoyed. “Hang in there, would you? We’re almost through. I need you to be strong. To survive.”
Dani nodded and folded her hands onto her lap. “I’m sorry, sir.” She hung her head in shame because anything was better than looking at the minister’s city hall.
When the bells gonged again, Dani didn’t have a choice but to look up with the others. She bit her lip at the sight of the minister and the dark lord making their way down the main steps. Creighton didn’t walk so much as float. A medallion swung from his neck, and a long broadsword grasped in his bony hand.
It was time for the first sacrifice.
Terrified, Dani’s heart beat wildly as her eyes fell to the Misses, Sandra Taylor. Standing on an elevated platform by the front steps, there was a thick noose around her neck, and her arms were strung up overhead to keep her from grabbing at the rope.
Her family had been nice. Dani didn’t think she deserved the fate she was dealt. She didn’t want to watch Creighton murder Sandra.
The Dark Lord Creighton faced front as he stood beside Sandra Taylor. His voice broadcast directly into her head, and Dani was sure he could see her sins, her lies. He’d know exactly whose baby it was swelling in her womb. If she lied to him, it’d be the end.
The end!
“The Taylors have betrayed your lord and protector. Sandra Taylor’s fate is death on the third day of worship. Let her be a reminder for all who oppose Creighton.”
The minister cut each of Sandra’s cheeks, and blood glided from each small cut. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut, but the ropes extended her arms so far above her head, it arched her back. She’d never move.
Instead she only gasped for breath.
“Bring forth the first gift. Bring forth Timothy Richardson.”
This was it. Her time was up. Timothy rose to his feet and dusted off his knees. His parents on either side of him, he extended his hand to Dani. She only shook her head, fear controlling her heart. “I can’t,” she whispered. “Sir, please don’t make me. He’ll know. He’ll know.”
Timothy only extended his hand further, his fingers splaying. “You’re the only choice I have. Please, Dani. Please.”
“Get up, house slave.” Evelyn kicked Dani’s legs to get her moving.
Dani cringed as she took Timothy’s hand as he helped her up. Together they walked down toward the front, and the crowd parted to let them through. Most watched with curiosity while others held their noses up to see the spinster Dani breathing the same air they did.
She stood in front of the minister with her eyes on the ground, too embarrassed and ashamed for what she was. Still, her hand lay flat on Timothy’s arm as he was presented to the minister by his parents.
“What is this?” the minister gruffed. “I told you, no third chances, Mr. Richardson. Do you take me as a man who goes back on his word?”
“Please,” Mitchell implored him. “Hear me out. My son, young Timothy, has taken up relations with our house servant, Dani. They’ve laid together, and we’ve only just discovered they made a child.”
“A child?” the minister said hotly. “Your son made a child with a house slave who has no rights in this town? You think that will excuse your son from a life of servitude?”
“We ask you spare the child’s life and our sons,” Evelyn said with conviction. Sternly. “Towns need families. Children. We only ask you consider the life of my son not forfeit.”
The minister’s eyes widened. “How dare you take that tone with me! My word is final in all matters. Final!”
Dani squeezed her eyes shut. It wouldn’t work, she knew it. Now, she’d be sentenced to death with her baby. She might as well be hung beside Sandra Taylor.
The Dark Lord Creighton glided past the minister and down to where the Richardsons stood. Dani shook in his presence as his skeleton hand waved in front of her face. She felt faint, as if he cast a spell over her, the ring on his finger gleaming.
He whispered in her mind, “Show me.”
Dani carefully gathered up the fabric of her dress, showing Creighton the bump in her stomach. Round and high, it was evident a baby grew.
Creighton screeched loudly, and the sound made Dani’s ears want to bleed, but she couldn’t cover them. Something in her compelled her not to make a false move. Instead, the Dark Lord Creighton returned to stand behind the minister, and the minister spoke for him. It was as if the dark lord spoke without words. Dani’s knees quaked together.
“We accept this union. I will marry the new couple tomorrow, and immediately thereafter they will be escorted to Beantown. There they will start their new life together.”
Beantown. Dani closed her eyes as hot tears immediately sprung. Her own grief was quiet, but Evelyn shrieked out in pain. “You condemn my boy to a life of hard labor? A farmer? A factory worker? Please!” Evelyn cried and fell down to her knees, her hands together in prayer. “Please!”
The minister’s eyes widened with fury, and he sucked on his bottom lip. “Be happy we don’t execute the lot of you right here! Your badges, you’ll no longer be needing them.” He snapped his fingers.
Mitchell and Evelyn were helpless as two hunters approached and ripped the seal of the minister’s office from their robes. Evelyn gave a guttural, emotional cry. “Stitching is my life. I beg of you, Minister.”
“You are hereby reduced to basket weavers. I implore you, Mrs. Richardson, to learn your new task well. You will start once the worship ceremony is over and your son is wed. Now, before I lose my appetite, the four of you will resume your place and bend on your knees.”
Dani cried. She sobbed and cried for what would become of her and her unborn child. Timothy shuffled backward into the crowd with her. There was kindness in him because he never strayed, he only held her arm, but his eyes were lost. Dani was heartbroken to see sadness in his eyes.
“What are we going to do?” Timothy whispered to her as he took his spot down on his knees.
Dani didn’t know, she had no notion other than that their lives were over. It ended the very moment she made a baby with Mr. Richardson. The Dark Lord Creighton was just prolonging her obvious death.
“Bring forth the next gift and sacrifice!”
****
It was nearly curfew by the time the townsfolk were allowed to return home after a long day of worship and sacrifice. Tired and meek, everyone
shuffled toward their homes slowly, except for Sandra Richardson; she’d remain strung up all night.
Let the elements take her. Evelyn wouldn’t care. It’d serve her right for what her family had done. Sandra might as well have signed the Richardsons’ death sentence herself!
Dani moaned on the walk back, fatigued and overwrought with hunger and dehydration. Evelyn didn’t much care and gave her a kick as they approached home. “Keep going! I don’t want to hear another word out of you!”
“Mother!” Timothy scolded, his eyes narrow as he put his arms around Dani’s back. She was in so much pain, she could barely stand upright. “You’ll leave her alone. She’s in no condition for you to treat her so poorly.”
Evelyn was taken back by her son’s words and the disgust in his voice. “Now you choose to grow a backbone? And for her?” She stormed into their home, slamming her palm against the table repeatedly. “She carries your bastard sibling, you’ll be forced to raise it, and you defend her over me?”
Timothy moved to answer, but Evelyn didn’t give him a chance. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and gave him a shake. “I gave you life, boy. Life! You’ve brought me nothing but grief. This entire house has brought me nothing.”
Her lip trembling, she hurried away down the hall toward her bedroom. When she got there, she slammed the door.
As she left, Dani felt much relief, leaning against the wall. “I’m so thirsty.”
“I’ll get you a drink, Dani. As much as you want.” Timothy hurried into the kitchen, leaving Mitchell and Dani alone for the first time in days.
“I’ll help you to lay down in Tim’s bed if you’ll allow me to help you.” Mitchell’s eyes were kind, but Dani felt much disappointment. He might have hated his wife, might have hated everything about his life, but he never stuck up for her out loud. Evelyn hurt her over and over again, yet Mitchell remained silent.
Maybe Dani had been a fool to give in to their passion. The baby growing in her, Dani couldn’t regret it, but maybe she should’ve regretted who its father was.
“Thank you, sir,” Dani said simply and allowed Mitchell to slip his arms around her and help her down the hall.
Sir Timothy’s room was bigger than even those of his parents, and the bed was so soft. Dani enjoyed lying against his pillows, and her body breathed with relief. She smiled and stroked Mitchell’s face, handsome as it was.
“Thank you, sir.”
“I promise I will come for you,” Mitchell whispered and kissed her hands. “I’ll figure a way out of this house, a way to come to Beantown to help you and Tim. Our relationship may never be conventional, but I will at least try to be there for the birth of the child.”
And then return to Evelyn? Here Dani thought one day she’d be his wife. What a fool to believe…
“Thank you, sir,” she whispered because she didn’t know what else to say. She was trapped in this family. When she heard Timothy enter, she lifted her head. Michell stepped out of the way and ducked under the doorway as he left.
“Here you go,” Timothy said with a bright smile as he handed her the cup of water.
It was wet and cool. Dani thought nothing had ever tasted so good before. She finished it off before handing it back to Tim. “Thank you, Sir Tim.”
“We’re going to be married tomorrow. I guess you should just call me Tim.”
Dani nodded. Timothy was nearly seven years her junior, but maybe it wasn’t the end of the world. “Nervous?”
Timothy laughed. “Just us now. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a farmer. Or whatever it is they do in Beantown.”
“We’ll have each other,” Dani said but felt the hollowness of her words. Their situation was desperate. Everyone heard the rumors of Beantown. The water supply was dwindling, the plague ravaged the city, and they struggled yearly for food.
Beantown was no future. It was a death sentence for them and her baby.
Chapter Nineteen
Tarnish Rose
By mid-day, we reached the farmstead Sebastian had told me so much about. It lay in part of a valley nestled into the landscape as if it had always been there. It was surrounded by tall walls where men stood guard, to keep away the looters and the scavengers. When they saw us, Sebastian raised his hand and the guard waved us through the large doors before they were slammed shut again.
I was becoming accustomed to life traveling through the Unforgiving Lands and took in the sight of the oasis before me. Gardens, green and lush, growing fruits and vegetables in amounts I had never seen before. They stretched out like roads, and a small pasture of animals twisted behind them, leading to stables and a farmhouse surrounded by chickens, actual chickens that moved and clucked.
This wasn’t a farm. Instead it was a bustling town with rows of homes, a school house, a barn, and a city hall. In the center was a playground with a slide and a swing. It was such a sight, I let out a gasp of laughter and smiled at Sebastian.
Three children, two boys and a girl, rushed toward us, their parents not far behind them. Everyone wore little more than rags, the children’s cheeks dirty, but there was so much happiness in their faces, I couldn’t help hurrying toward them. The kids reached for my robes, happy to investigate them, and I touched the tops of their little heads.
“Hello,” I whispered. “My name is Tarnish Rose.” So badly I wanted to tell them what my real name was, but I feared saying it out loud.
Sebastian nodded his head past them at their parents. “Claire and Henry McRow. I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. A good friend.” He gestured to me with his gloved hands.
I couldn’t keep the joy in my heart still. I smiled widely at him.
Henry lifted his black hat. “Any friend of Sebastian’s is a friend of ours. I’m guessing you’re hungry? Thirsty?” His eyes twinkled in a way that suggested he knew exactly how thirsty we were. He'd made the journey out here once, so maybe he remembered how hard it was.
“Henry is the leader here. Most call him the mayor.”
I curtsied briefly. “It’s a pleasure, sir.”
He laughed at the gesture. “Haven’t seen one of those around these parts, I can tell you that much, but I appreciate it, young thing. You’re welcome here.”
His wife, Claire, was a beautiful woman. She had wild red hair and sparkling blue eyes. Just the sight of those colors was enough to cause me to stare at her. A child with red hair surely would’ve been killed by the ministers back home. Here she was just another person, but what a striking vision she was.
Dressed in a long blue dress, she kept warm under a large orange sweater jacket. It barely hid her overextended stomach. She couldn’t have been far off from giving birth, and she held it like it was a precious treasure.
Three children, and ready to have another almost any day? I was surprised to see someone with more than one child but having another in such harsh conditions, I admired her bravery. I wasn’t sure I’d be as brave as she.
She took my hand and shook it warmly. Claire held my hand longer than she needed to and offered me a friendly smile. “Dinner’s already cooking. It won’t be hard to set a table for a few more mouths.” I had never met anyone who looked like her before. Her hair was tightly curled but messy, and her cheeks were pink, as if the walk from the farmhouse had been a chore for her.
I had to imagine it was in her condition, but she welcomed me with open arms. She had no problem sharing her food with strangers, and that made her special.
“Thank you,” I said. “I can’t tell you how much it means to us. To me. Please, let me help you.”
Henry offered me a wink as he held his hands open to his children. “Sebastian doesn’t bring just anyone here. You’re either working for the cause or there’s wedding bells chiming in the air.”
I snorted and Sebastian laughed as we gazed at each other. I don’t know why I blushed as I did; maybe it was because the idea was so preposterous. “Henry, Claire, Tarnish here is the one we’ve been looking for our entire lives.
”
They all stopped to look at me, and I felt some embarrassment flush my cheeks. I wanted to tell them I wasn’t special, but I knew that wasn’t the case. I was special, and I had been chosen for something greater than me, even if it was by blood. Still carrying that mantel I struggled with.
“Well, then,” Claire said with a shaking voice, “I think tonight we’ll have to make a special dessert. Maybe even spare a few eggs for it.”
“Cake, Momma?” one of the boys asked with excitement. “Cake?”
Claire nodded, and the children erupted into wild applause and a bit of celebration. It filled me with a warm feeling to be part of something so wonderful. We headed toward the farmhouse, and I walked behind the group with Sebastian at my side. His finger nudged mine.
“This is the beginning of something wonderful. This could be the beginning of the end.”
It’d be wonderful if it was true. I missed my family and really wanted to return home; just being with these people reminded me of that. First, I had to complete my mission, which might mean never going home again.
As we headed toward the front steps, a patch of brown and brittle grass caught my attention. I bent down and peeled it back, feeling Sebastian’s hand upon my shoulder.
“What is it?” he asked, but I couldn’t answer. My heart was beating too quickly.
Beneath the dead grass, I found thriving green grass, and beneath its soft blades was a flower with soft petals pushing up between the stem. I swiped it gently with my thumb and was overcome with happiness.
“What is it?” Henry asked from behind me. “Why does it look that way?”
“It’s purple,” I whispered with happiness and gazed back at Sebastian, taking in the dumbfounded expression he wore. “It’s the color purple.”
