by G S Santos
She wished to defend himself without having to hide anymore. She wanted to be able to distribute justice. But how could a skinny, skilless girl do it?
The waitress was back at her side, interrupting her thoughts. "I think I've seen you before."
And her words made her lose the sense of security that had just filled her. "Me?" Adelphine hid her face even more behind the teacup. "I do not think so. I do not usually come to the city."
Adelphine let out a silent prayer.
"Oh, you're from outside," the girl said, her voice soft and sharp.
"Yes." Adelphine cleared her throat. Did she know who she was?
"From far away?"
"From the outskirts, but not really that far."
"That’s good. My name is Sura."
"Ad... Adela," Adelphine said.
"Pleasure. And what brings you to the city at this time?"
"I'm looking for my aunt."
"Your aunt? What’s her name?"
"Talia," said Adelphine, and she looked up without thinking. Suddenly she remembered that she ran the risk of being recognized and hid her pupils again, looking away.
"Wait." Sura approached her and bowed. Adelphine hid her eyes behind her reddish mane. She didn’t answer. "Let me see your eyes!"
Adelphine felt her heart sink into an abyss. She swallowed.
"Let's go, let me see you. Is everything alright?" Sura insisted.
Adelphine raised her head.
"Those eyes... One blue and one green."
Adelphine was ready to run.
"They're very pretty." Saura smiled. “I have never seen eyes like that."
Adelphine sighed and felt so foolish that she thought she deserved to be devoured by the earth. "Thanks," she whispered.
"And... You told me. Her name is Talia. I know a Talia, Talia of Miljonukaz."
"Yes." Adelphine raised her head, eyes wide open. "Do you know her?"
"Of course. We buy her beer."
"You do not know how long I was looking for her! Does she live nearby?"
"She lives in a very old neighborhood, but yes, it is nearby."
Adelphine took another sip and put the mug down.
"Could you help me find her?"
"It would be a pleasure! I can help you tomorrow morning."
"I cannot waste time, my brother is alone at home."
"Your younger brother?"
"He’s my elder brother, but... Something happened to him. He is very hurt at home, and I am taking care of him."
"Wow, you are definitely a good sister. And you do not have more family?"
"No," Adelphine said with a sigh.
"I'm so sorry," Sura said, laying her hand on Adelphine's shoulder. Behind her, the waiter's voice was heard calling her, and Sura turned with disenchantment in her eyes. "Sorry, I’ll be back with you in a minute." She sighed and smiled at Adelphine. "If you want to take something else, let me know."
Adelphine spoke instinctively. "Could I please have some?"
Sura's smile did not change, but her gaze did; her eyebrows sank like a mountain and her eyes shone with mercy.
"Of course, just give me a few minutes." She turned and walked toward the kitchen.
Adelphine leaned her head back and stretched her arms. Fate had smiled at her this time, and she was happy despite the hunger and pain in her feet. She leaned forward, finished her tea in one gulp, and placed it on the edge of the table. At that moment, with her eyes toward the entrance, she saw a thin man walk across the threshold, wearing a rough coat that clung to his thin skin. He looked familiar.
But as soon as she saw the necklace with the icon of a horse hanging from his neck, she felt her skin turn pale. She swallowed.
It was the scrawny man who had tried to stone her that morning. She hastened to lower her head and hide it behind her hair. But her pumpking colored hair would surely stand out She glanced sideways, at the other end of the bar; and saw the young man order and sit on her side, one arm on the bar; looking around, as if scanning for old acquaintances or new pretty faces to talk to. It could not be. Adelphine wished she could use the book's invisibility spell. Yes. Maybe it worked the previous time and she did not notice! Everene navarara. And badum, make me invisible, please.
Suddenly, Sura appeared at the side of the bar and served the boy a jar of black beer. He smiled at her, and spoke as if they knew each other since childhood. She laughed and shook her head. Then, Sura locked her eyes with Adelphine's, and she lifted her hand with a raised index finger, pointing to her.
Adelphine felt that the world fell on top of her, with mountains, sky, and even the wall that held the stars. The boy rolled his eyes at her and smiled wickedly. He made a comment, with an even wider smile, and the waitress chuckled.
Adelphine blinked in surprise. Who was that? Was that Sura's boyfriend? Surely, he was going to ruin her reputation in front of Sura and start another scene. Adelphine looked around. She felt trapped. That mob was surely going to lynch her. They were going to humiliate her, or worse.
Sura's gesture changed, the smile faded and became pure surprise. Adelphine tried to read her lips, but she did not understand a word.
Adelphine knew what to do immediately, what she had done every time she encountered deadly dangers. She stood up and started walking between the tables, toward the door, avoiding eye contact with them.
"Adel," Sura's voice echoed behind her, amidst the murmurings of the people, but she marched toward the darkness of the exit, avoiding the tables and the strange looks. Until she collided with someone, she looked up and found the scrawny guy, with his crooked smile and dark hair glowing under the lanterns on the wall.
Adelphine took a step back. She wanted to break his face. The bruise on her head from that morning still hurt.
"Hello, there," said the scrawny guy, his green eyes shining like jade.
"Adel, let me introduce you to my brother, Wil," Sura smiled and narrowed her eyes.
Adelphine's tongue was stuck like a mechanical toy.
"I see she's a little shy!" Wil smiled at his sister.
"I’m glad you too can get to know each other. Wil! Make her feel at home!"
Adelphine smiled but hoped that Sura would notice that something was wrong with her smile. Sura tapped on her shoulder.
"Wil will help you find your aunt's house! He delivers packages of grain and brings beer barrels from there every week."
Adelphine's tongue did not respond.
"Let's not waste time." Wil turned and walked toward the door.
What to do? Should she tell Sura what had happened and cause a scene? Or should she act as if nothing had happened in the morning? Yes, who says she did not believe in giving second chances?
Or maybe the best option was to get out of there as soon as possible... No, she was not going to run away again. She had made a promise to herself. Besides, how would she find her aunt like that?
It was time to prove herself. She was going to face the situation make things clear.
She cleared her throat. "A pleasure." Adelphine extended her hand. Wil did not seem surprised and gave her a firm handshake.
"Are we going now?" he said.
"You are in good hands." Sura tapped on Adelphine's shoulder. "My brother is a very responsible man who always helps us in everything."
"I can imagine. I guess they've never had problems with him." She laughed uncomfortably, and Wil showed more teeth.
Adelphine looked at Sura as if something was missing.
"Ah! You're right," Sura said. "I’ll be back shortly." And she turned around to go back to the kitchen.
Suddenly Adelphine's smile faded.
"What do you think you're doing?" Adelphine lowered her voice and looked at Wil with disdain. "Do you think I forgot what you did to me? You chased me a block and threw me a stone? Do you think it's funny?"
"Listen! Things happen, you understand, sometimes emotion take over us, and here there is not only one person with a reputation to prote
ct. Forget about it!"
Adelphine frowned.
"Adel, come sit!" Sura was calling from the table where minutes ago she had proposed to hide, in the corner next to the bar. She had served them two buttered pieces of bread and two beer mugs, one for Adelphine and one for Wil. The two forced a smile and sat down to eat without looking away from each other.
Adelphine thought about the power she had to destroy that boy who had given her the fright of her life in the morning. Maybe it was a service to the community. Yes, now she was in control; she cleared her throat and looked him in the eye.
"You know, I let you come with me, but you'll behave. Is it understood?"
"Who are you to tell me what to do? I do what I do because my sister asks me to. It's a business, and I'm part of it."
"What does it have to do with business? Do not you have a bit of honor in you?"
"What’s wrong?"
"Ah, but stoning people for no reason is a nice hobby, isn’t it?"
"You threw a rock at that woman. What did she do to you?"
"That was an accident! I did it because you wanted to stone me!"
"Who says I threw the stone?"
"I would trust you when it came to throwing stones at people who have not done anything to you."
"How can you say you have done nothing? You know what they say! I saw the play, Summer with the Varunas! And The Scammers of Ladania. My sister does not like to see those shows, but I told her all about them. I can break your reputation in a second, too! I have not done it because I do not like to see my sister cry. But I would do it for the good of the community."
"And everything is a lie. I have not done anything like that at all in my life! It’s all a bunch of lies! Do you want to know what really happened? We had financed a ship that never arrived. We know it went to the Eastern Sea, and then it disappeared. We do not know what happened, if they were pirates, or who, but we were left without profit. He said he would pay for security. I don’t know if he did. We can’t even find records. At the end, neither Siwelzac acquired his merchandise nor got any of the money. Much less me."
"So you say it’s Siwelzac’s fault?"
"How can I not accuse him if he is at fault? I mean, we both invested, and none of us got anything back. Who could we ask for the money if the ship just vanished in midair? You do not know what he did in our castle. My brother went out to bargain, and his part was to get three horses to dance on top of him and a beating. Just for trying to be civilized with that hero of yours, Count Siwelzac."
Wil did not change his expression, but kept silent.
Adelphine bit into the bread without thinking and chewed slowly.
"Are you going to drink the beer or not?" said Wil.
"Let's go now, and let's get this over with once and for all."
"Whatever you want," Wil said again and forced a smile so that his sister thought she had made a match. Adelphine jumped to her feet. She had lost her appetite.
Behind the bar, Sura winked at Wil, and Wil agreed to encircle Adelphine's arm with his. Adelphine would not allow it, so she took it out immediately.
"Thank you, Sura," Adelphine said as she went out into the cold street, and the smiles faded from their faces again. She looked at Wil with a frown.
"I hope that at this point you have enough honor to apologize for what you did this morning."
Wil stepped forward and guided Adelphine. "Yeah, you’re right. That’s over."
"You deserve to get a rock thrown at you."
"It’s all over, Adelphine!"
"I think all you wanted to do was to impress your thug friends."
Wil took a deep breath and stopped at the crossroad, then pointed at the street before them. "You see that path? The only house with a violet roof is that of your aunt."
"Good. Thank you."
"Now, Adel, before you leave… Just one more thing."
"What?"
"I deserve something because I helped you, don’t I? Otherwise, you could not have made it."
Adelphine raised an eyebrow. She was ready to run and hit him.
"What?"
"Come on, just a kiss. On the lips. A nice one."
Adelphine slapped him with all her might. Wil stood, his head turned, speechless.
She gritted her teeth, then shouted, "You chase me around and then try to stone me with your friends. And now you ask me for a kiss. I thought you had at least a little common sense!"
"It's the least I deserve for how I helped you! Also, remember, I can tell you who you are to my sister!"
"What do I care? The only ones who care about that gossip are the people who have nothing better to do, like you."
"Now you can say nothing to my sister! Let's go!" Wil approached and held Adelphine's hand.
Adelphine felt the sun burn in her heart and made her blood burn like molten iron, locked her fingers between Wil's and pulled upward. Wil let out a scream so loud that lanterns were lit in three houses, and an old woman came out to see what strange thing was going on.
"I've had enough with you! I hope you learned the lesson, little brother Wil!"
"Stop now!" Wil growled.
Adelphine released him immediately and sighed. "Thank you for bringing me here," she said and ran to her aunt's house.
Chapter IV:
Tara
Adelphine knocked and waited attentively. A wooden peephole opened from side to side and revealed two tired eyes, green as leaves in summer, with broad, black eyebrows, and eyelids hidden behind elegant makeup. The knob closed, the door opened, and a woman appeared, her hair dark and wavy like a rough sea, black as night, with some gray hair sticking out and faint wrinkles kissing her eyelids. The woman opened her mouth as if to greet her, but Adelphine had already wrapped her arms around her, and rested her head between her shoulders.
"I'm so happy to see you." Adelphine could not hold her tears. "You won’t believe what happened to us."
The woman patted her on the shoulder.
"Well… Just let me know how I can help you," the woman muttered.
Adelphine released her and stared at her with a broad smile and moist eyes.
"What brings you here?" the woman asked.
"Aunt, you won’t believe what happened."
"Aunt?" The woman raised an eyebrow. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "It cannot be! Adelphine? Is it really you?"
"Yes, Aunt."
"Well, come in!" Talia ordered, and Adelphine stepped inside. Inside, dozens of small candles burned, half of the walls were painted white, and the other half were wood with a deep varnish scent. A wide cauldron was smoking next to the door, with a fireplace on the wall, and in the pantry were countless transparent jars filled with grains and spices.
"Thank you so much, Aunt Talia," Adelphine said.
Talia locked the door behind them and sighed. Talia's gaze grew wider with every second. "Sit down, my dear. Would you like some tea?"
"I've had tea, thank you," Adelphine said and leaned back in a comfortable, cushioned chair, throwing her head back and sighing. "Aunt Talia, you have no idea what happened."
"I heard many rumors. How is your father?" Talia sat down in front of her and held her hand.
Adelphine swallowed. "He is dead."
Talia’s expression changed into a mixture of surprise and sadness. "By the gods! Adelphine, why did not you tell me earlier?" she said in a sad voice.
"You do not know how hard it has been to come here. Kaunas is also very hurt, the only thing I got accomplished was that someone operated his leg earlier this week. By the gods he had a bad time. I could not leave the house. His leg was getting infected, and he was burning with fever. Now he has no leg..."
"Kaunas? My gods…" She shook her head. "So he cannot walk?"
"No, he’s confined to a bed. I do not know if he will be able to walk again." Adelphine sighed. It was time to get to the point. She cleared her throat. "Aunt, there is something important to tell you. I need your help."
"Tel
l me what you need!"
"I hate to ask you, Aunt, this is very bad. I have to return all your help when I can, but for now, things are very difficult. We have very little food. Very little, only for a week."
"Food."
"That's the first thing." She refrained from asking for more. "That's the only thing, really."
"And those who condemn you? Are they coming back?"
Adelphine sighed. "Yeah, we just got a letter. They want us to pay them all at the end of three months. So that at the beginning of winter they have everything they lost."
Talia bowed her head. "How do you plan to do it? Could I help you?"
Thoughts raced through her mind. She had no idea how to do it, but she could not just take her money. Not that it would be enough, anyway.
"Aunt, we'll fix that, do not worry."
"Adelphine, just tell me what you need. But how are you? How is Kaunas? Tell me if you have a plan."
"I guess I'll plant something."
"Are your vineyards fine?"
The vineyards had burned in flames. Adelphine wanted to hide the truth but surely her eyes gave her away that there was no hope.
"Adelphine." She held both her hands. "Tell me your plan. And do not worry... I'll help you."
Adelphine sighed. "Aunt, to tell you the truth, it is impossible to pay this. Never, much less if we are only two."
"But do not give up, Adelphine, I'm serious. I can help you. If you want, you can work with me."
"I cannot leave Kaunas. I cannot leave him there alone and allow those bastards to hurt him."
She remained silent. Her gaze was fixed on the burning candles and consuming as time.
"Auntie." She looked at Talia in the eye. "There is only one thing that can be done."
"What thing?"
"If Siwelzac dies, it will be over."
Talia's hand clung to Adelphine's hand stronger than before, then released her.
"What do you mean?"
