Her mind came back to his former parents and more important his tattoo. It couldn’t be covered up forever, and she knew that at some point in time someone would see it and know that there was something off. The tattoo had always elicited comments and questions before, but no one suspected that it had been put there by magic. But now, if anyone saw the purple crest they would know instantly. When her father told her how he found Legon, he had shuddered when he said they found a body. He refused to talk about it more. She really didn’t care to think of what he had found there.
The more Sasha thought about it, the more certain she was that they were looking for Legon and that his mother was hiding in the woods to keep her son safe and out of notice. No matter what the past had been, Legon was in trouble now. He would not be able to go anywhere near a large city and it was probably not a good idea for him to be in the empire at all. He would probably be fine in most small towns; people there seemed to keep to themselves more and there were less government officials. He could always go to the resistance and find sanctuary with them. The resistance was to the south, and if he started that way he would find either them or the Elves in a few months.
But Sasha knew that Legon would not be willing to go that far from Salmont, if for no other reason than for her sake. She knew that he was planning on going to Salkay because he could still help their family with taxes.
She felt his head turn a bit. She looked down at her sleeping brother. She was going to miss him a lot. Tears started to form in her eyes. It was hard for her to think of Legon in trouble, and it was worse because she couldn’t do anything about it. She hoped vainly to herself that perhaps he wasn’t in that much trouble after all, that he had been living in Salmont for seventeen years and nothing had happened thus far. Still, there was a sense of foreboding in her. She felt that something bad was coming, and coming fast. As she thought this a slight breeze from the open window played on the back of her neck as if to enforce the point. The life she had always known was over, and she wasn’t sure what lay ahead. Sasha felt her eyelids getting heavy and felt her mind become fuzzy. She tried to fight the feeling. She had to stay up. She needed to figure this out.
No matter what she tried, sleep was coming for her and there was nothing to do about it. Her head tilted to the side, resting on the top of Legon’s head, and she fell asleep.
Chapter Five
Truths Revealed
“Perspective is one of the strongest dictators of self. How we perceive ourselves is paramount; though this is considered a trite argument to make, it is nevertheless true. Does that mean that we cannot combat our current state, or in some way lessen or increase our standing in the world by merely changing our perspective of ourselves? Perhaps.”
-The Wondering Way (Author Unknown)
Legon awoke leaning against a sleeping Sasha, her head against his. He could feel her breath against the top of his head. “I hope she didn’t drool in her sleep”, he thought. As he started to move his head she woke, and they both sat up. He tilted his head to the side and heard the satisfying sound of his neck pop.
He turned to look at Sasha. “That was a bad one last night. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream like that.”
“I figured as much. You were thrashing in your bed and making all sorts of noise when I came in. What was the dream about?”
He relayed what he remembered of the dream to her. She listened and spoke when he got to the part about the dragon speaking to him. “I remember that you sat up and looked right through me and said ‘You are mine’ in this growling voice.”
“I did? That was the worst part, and then right after that it ate me, or at least I think it did. I woke up.”
He left out what he was feeling right before the dragon spoke. It ran through his head and he felt a twinge of shame. Sasha had stayed with him all night with only the wall for a pillow, and just a few hours ago he had been thinking about leaving her to save his own neck.
She paused “We were talking last night about what your tattoo may mean.”
Of course they were. It wasn’t a new topic of conversation, but changing colors would have added a new wrinkle.
“And?”
“Well I guess Arkin told our parents a few years back that Elves only marked their own. So he thinks you’re part Elf.”
He tensed. “And why didn’t mom tell me this yesterday?”
She looked at him. “Well, we don’t know for sure, and do you think you could have handled it? Was it worth adding more stress to your day over a theory from the town carpenter?”
If he was being honest, the answer was no. He couldn’t have handled it. But how was Arkin an expert on this?
“Do you agree with Arkin?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. Think about it: what do we know about Elves? They are like Iumenta.”
“Yeah, but I don’t see how that connects.”
“You are stronger and faster than anyone your size, Legon. You seem to have an edge at everything. Maybe that has to do with your parents.”
He was about to protest, then thought about walking home in the dark last night. “Maybe you’re right. It just doesn’t seem real to me, you know?”
She laughed. “No, I don’t know, but it’s something to consider. Don’t be mad. We didn’t say anything horrible about you last night. It’s just a theory, and one I don’t think our parents think is possible.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to get ready and help dad for a bit, but after lunch I want to go see Arkin. I need answers and I think he can give them to me.”
She nodded her head in agreement, got up, and walked out of his room, shutting the door behind her. He could tell there was something on her mind. She was normally talkative in the mornings, and he thought that she would want to talk about the news of his adoption and his dream, but she didn’t. She seemed distant.
He knew that his parents had told Sasha about how he came to their family last night; he could see it in her eyes. She knew and it scared her. He wondered what that fear was. He wouldn’t blame her if she was scared of him; after all, if he was marked by an Elf it would be understandable.
He was on his feet and putting on his work clothes. He tried to push everything out of his mind. He could feel another headache coming on and he didn’t want it to get worse. He was getting so many headaches lately; he made a mental note to talk to his mother about it and walked out of his room and down the hall.
It was early, and only Sasha and he were up. Sasha’s door was shut and Legon figured she was getting ready for her day. He walked down to the lower level of the house, went out the door and turned to the shop. Work will be good for me. It will take my mind off things for now, he thought. There wasn’t much to do today, but Legon began to work as if he had a week’s worth to do. After an hour or so his father came in.
“How are you today, son? Sasha told me that she mentioned the Elf thing to you, and you should know that I don’t buy into it.” He looked tired and Legon figured no one in the family had slept well last night.
“I’m fine, I guess. I don’t know, maybe I’m not fine. It just seems like…” He struggled, not sure what to say. It was hard to fathom the news that he had received yesterday and this morning, and he was feeling like his life up to this point had been a lie, but he didn’t want to say this to his father; he knew this would cause unnecessary pain.
“I guess I just don’t know what or who I am now. I mean, before, I was a butcher in Salmont, and in a few months I was going to be a butcher somewhere else, but now…”
“You’re my son, like you have always been and always will be. It’s not your blood that matters; it’s what you make of yourself.” His father spoke with just the right blend of warmth and sternness. Legon began to talk but was cut off. “You are not a trade. You are a person. You are a person, and a good one at that. You cannot look at your life as just the work you do. If you do you will lose your mind. This life is about the relationships you have and
lives you touch. So what if you might be part Elf? That’s nothing to be ashamed of. If anything you should be proud.”
“Yeah, but the queen hates the Elves…”
His father gave a hoarse laugh. “What, and you think she likes humans? We’re animals to the Iumenta, that’s it. The Elves are kind and I wish it was them that we served, not the Iumenta. All they are is a drain on the land.”
Edis walked over to Legon and placed his hands on his shoulders. “You are my son.” His tone had finality in it, a tone that made it clear that there was no greater thing in the world than to be Edis’s son.
Legon felt himself relax a bit. He hadn’t noticed it but his whole body had become rigid.
“What is going to happen to me?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” asked Edis concernedly.
“My body - what’s going to happen to it if I am part Elf? Something will happen, right?” He didn’t say anything about last night, but after that, Arkin’s theory seemed pretty likely to him.
“I don’t know. Elves are much different than humans. Truth be told, I didn’t even know we could have children with each other. Its Arkin’s theory—he has lots of those. He may know, but I doubt it.”
“Dad,” Legon began, “how does Arkin know so much? You have to admit his theories tend to prove accurate.” Edis’s brow furrowed and Legon could almost see his mind working.
“Honestly, I don’t know, and I don’t want to. Some things are better left a mystery, in my mind.”
After that they got on with their day. They didn’t talk much. Legon got the impression that his father was somehow a little embarrassed by the boldness of his speech. Legon spent most of the morning away from the front counter as he wasn’t in a mood to talk to people, but he was happy by the time they went in for lunch. He had gotten a lot done and wouldn’t need to come back after lunch, which freed him to go to Arkin’s. When they got in, Sasha was sitting at the table. She looked surprised to see them back so early. She got up quickly.
“Is everything ok?”
“Yes, we just got a lot done today,” their father said, taking a seat.
“Oh, well are you hungry? Do you want something?” she began to get up and move to the kitchen.
“No Sash, I’m not hungry yet,” Legon said.
His father was looking around the room. “Neither am I. Where is your mother?”
“Shopping. She said she needed something, I didn’t ask what.” She paused and looked at Legon. “Are you still going to see Arkin today?”
“Yeah. Are you still up for going?”
“Yes, if you’re ok with it.”
“You’re more than welcome. I think it would be nice to have you there. Let me change and we can go,” he said as he got up and walked to the stairs.
Soon he was out of sight and Sasha looked at her father. “Is he ok?”
He took his time answering. “I don’t know. I think so, but I think he just needs understanding and answers right now. I can give him the understanding, at least.”
Legon came back downstairs in a pair of brown pants and an off-white shirt. He walked up to the table. “Are you ready?”
She got up and started to walk to the door. He joined her and waved to Edis. When they got outside the air was dank. The previous day’s moisture still clung to the streets and shady part of buildings. There was activity everywhere. They saw Margaret walking, red hair bouncing in time with her strides, holding two large bundles under her arms. They waved at her as she moved along and she nodded her greeting. They made their way down the streets of the town until they reached Arkin’s shop.
Up to this point they hadn’t spoken. As they approached the shop Sasha tugged on his arm. He turned to look at her; she looked apprehensive. He noticed the dark blue dress she was wearing seemed to make her eyes look pale and somber, and she held his gaze for a moment before speaking. “I don’t think you should tell Arkin about your dream.”
He looked surprised. “Why not?”
“Because there is a lot that we and our parents haven’t been told, and I know Arkin is a good person, but still, we don’t really know who we can trust.” As she spoke he could see fear in her eyes. It was obvious that she was planning on taking every precaution. The look also told him what had been on her mind for the last few days. He suspected that she had considered every possibility she could come up with.
“And how will we know if we can trust him?” For some reason he didn’t question her unwillingness to trust others. Sasha was good at reading people and he trusted her judgment.
He also still had the conversation from the other day in his mind, the day when Arkin seemed unwilling to disclose information about his hunting trip. He also knew there had to be something up with the carpenter because of his mother going over to tend to him. Arkin didn’t make mistakes. He never got hurt, not a scratch. There was something going on with him—that was for sure. It could be innocent or it could be bad, but either way it was wise to not divulge information that wasn’t necessary.
“Good thinking Sash. I’ll follow your lead.”
She smiled a bit and walked to the door. Once again Legon was shocked by the lack of sawdust in the air. It was after noon! It should be hard to breathe in the place by now. He also noticed the table that was there from the day before hadn’t been touched. The shop looked exactly the same as it had the last time they were there.
“Arkin? Arkin, are you here?” called Sasha, raising her voice.
“Oh, hello you two. How are you? I suppose you’re here for the tea I promised,” Arkin said, walking into the shop from the back alley.
He smiled tightly at them. He clearly wasn’t happy they were there.
* * * * *
Sasha noted the lack of dust in his hair and face. His clothes and apron would always have dust in them from the previous day’s work, but the lack of it on his face and hair showed that he hadn’t been working at all today. She found this odd. Arkin was a hard worker and he had said the other day that he was busy and needed to get stuff done, but he didn’t look like a carpenter that had been hard at work.
“Yes, we came for tea,” she said. She figured that he would ask them to come back another day but she wanted to play this smoothly.
“Ah… you guys are going to be disappointed, but this is a bad time. Perhaps next week?”
She broke in. “We know about Legon’s mother.” She tried to keep her voice conversational.
“You know… Edis and Laura told you then?” he sputtered.
“We know you were there and we know that you are busy, but we need to talk to you Arkin. What’s wrong? It’s obvious that you haven’t been working in the last few days. The air in the shop and your face are free of dust.” As she spoke she gestured around the room.
Legon was surprised by the tone in her voice and how she went from being sweet and nice to formal without skipping a beat. He could see that she had taken Arkin off guard. He would have to give in to her requests or face interrogation about whatever he was up to.
“Ok, ok I’ll talk about how we found you. Let me close the shop,” Arkin said with resignation. He walked over the main door and clicked the lock and pulled some blinds down over the windows.
“Thank you Arkin. What kind of tea do you have?” asked Sasha sweetly.
Arkin chuckled. “The same as always: mint, or mint.” He smiled.
“Ooo, I think I’ll have the mint,” said Legon.
“I’m going to change it up and go with the mint,” chimed in Sasha.
“Ok you two, let’s go in my house. I don’t have anything for tea out here”
They walked out of the back door and turned right to walk in the back of Arkin’s house. The inside was immaculate. Everything had its place. The wood in the house was a light pine, which was a change from the normal dark color on the inside of most houses. The air smelled of cinnamon despite the lack of candles or incense. The house had the same layout as Legon’s,
with a large table in the center of the main room and a kitchen toward the back. It was in the kitchen that you could see how tidy the house was. The counter was wiped clean, and all of the knives and other cooking articles were grouped together in a neat line. Everything was perfect, and it was obvious that Arkin would see if even one thing was moved. On either side of the fireplace were paintings of landscapes of the mountains. Above the mantelpiece there was nothing. The table at which they sat was made of redwood.
Sasha noticed that the table stuck out in the room. Everything in the house was light in color but the table. It was dark and red, drawing your eye when you entered. You couldn’t help it. The more she thought about the house, the more she realized that it commanded respect and, moreover, action. The room led you through it, making you naturally go where the owner wanted. She had been in this house hundreds of times and never noticed the genius of it. She began to see that Arkin was much more than a carpenter.
“So Legon, you have been told how we found you,” Arkin said, placing cups in front of both of them.
“Yes, and …”
“And you know what your tattoo is, don’t you?” continued Arkin.
“Yes, and …,” he began, but this time was stopped by the look on Arkin’s face. It was somber.
“What color is it?” asked Arkin flatly.
Legon began to sputter, but Sasha silenced him by placing her hand on his. “What color is it supposed to be, Arkin? It’s a tattoo.” She knew that Legon’s reaction had given away the fact that his tattoo had changed colors, but she wasn’t planning on losing control of the conversation that easily.
“Legon, guard your reactions. I don’t know what color it is, but I would venture to guess red, green or purple.” Sasha could hear the change in Arkin’s voice. It was obvious that he had taken control back.
Legon Awakening: Book One in the Legon Series Page 8
