Starlight

by Adrienne Woods

  Still, my mom and dad didn’t share what other people believed when it came to marriage. He treated her as his equal, showed us what kind of love a man and woman could share. I loved both my parents to death and hated seeing my father so weak, to hear his breaths at night when the Squire house went to sleep. To wake up with his coughing, deep, raspy and unnatural coughs.

  Our family owned a small grocery that sold everything from healing remedies—if only they could heal father—to herbs and spices, where I worked full time, since Pappa had gotten ill.

  After noon I would go back home, and make sure that my brother and sisters got something to eat and help them with their lessons they’d brought from school. To make sure they wouldn’t disturb Pappa.

  I missed school, life was so much simpler then, but I knew my duties now, and helping Mamma was top priority.

  Pappa caught the disease of the lungs from his last trip buying inventory for the store. It started out with a sneeze, turned into influenza, and now it was fully in his lungs. He’d taken a turn for the worst this winter.

  The only thing that could heal him now was the touch of a Swallow Annex. They were one of the few good dragons, but there was no money to pay for such a service. Mamma had tried to save, but with the king’s taxes taking most of it, the money was never enough. And then there was still the fact that we were commoners. The only people that had access to a Swallow Annex’s touch were nobles and royalty.

  I slipped on my boots that Pappa had made for me from an animal skin he’d brought once.

  “Katy,” Mom called from the room. “Is that you?”

  “Yes, Mamma, go back to sleep.”

  “Off taking another stroll?”

  “I won’t be long, I’ll meet you at the store.” I prayed that she wouldn’t came out as I had my bow and arrows right next to me. I didn’t have time last night to hide them in their normal hiding place as I had to help with Pappa. If mother found out that Nicolas Squire, my father, had taught me how to handle a bow and arrow, it wouldn’t be the sickness that caused his last breath. “Hunting is for the boys,” Mamma always said. “No business of a woman, or a young lady for that matter.”

  I tied the laces on my boots and slipped into my winter coat that hid my favorite hobby over my arm.

  I closed the wooden door of my bedroom where the other three slept and last the door of our small house, entering a white and green scene. The wind nipped around my neck and I pulled my coat tighter.

  No one had awoken yet, except for Tony, the baker whose shop was right at the end of the street. I had this strange inkling that he wasn’t human, because no human could make amazing pastries and bread like that. He was by far the best and people from all over Paegeia came to taste his creations from heaven. He even made the king’s birthday cake once. For some reason Tony refused to become the royal baker, and for that alone, I knew Tony hid something from all of us. Fin-Tales were known to live around people in need and I had imagined those golden scales on him in my mind’s eye when all was asleep, but it was also a commonly known fact that Copper-Horns did magic when they were stirring a pot.

  I tapped on his window and the man’s entire face lit up as he saw my heart shaped face tucked inside my furry coat, another gift from Pappa.

  Tony opened the door. “Sneaking off again in the early mornings, Katie?”

  I smiled. “You know me so well.”

  The old baker laughed and let me in. The smell of honey and roasted almonds filled my nostrils. It was followed by the smell of freshly baked bread and I inhaled deeper as my eyes closed involuntarily. My stomach growled and I was sure Tony heard it too, as he just gave me a side glance with a smirk on his face.

  “Here, have one,” he said and held out a tray of round bread.

  I took off my glove and reached out to touch one. “Just be careful, they are still hot.”

  I smiled at the baker. “Didn’t you know, I love them freshly baked.”

  I grabbed the biggest one I could find. Ever since Pappa’s health started taking its toll, my mother had to juggle two jobs in order to pay the bills and put food on the table. I hardly ate as my brothers and sisters needed it more than I did. Besides, Tony always made sure that I got freshly baked breakfast every morning.

  “How’s your father, lass?” He poured me a cup of warm milk.

  “Mamma’s really hopeful, but the doctor said it won’t be long now. The sickness is getting worse, and the stuff he coughs up.” It was a disgusting green muck but I couldn’t share it around a table that was filled with amazing pastries that had barely came out of the oven.

  “Your mom still working at the tavern?”

  “Every night, now,” I said as I took a sip of the delicious creamy milk. “She has to find a way to pay the king’s taxes otherwise they will take the store, and it’s the only thing we have.”

  Tony bent down and took out a brown bag. He chucked it on the table and by the clanging noise it made, I knew what it was.

  “Please, take it. I would hate to see you suffer over there.”

  “Tony, I can’t,” I declined. “You’ve worked hard for your money, and besides, Mamma would never accept it.”

  “Your mother’s pride will get the better of her one day,” Tony said and put the bag back underneath the table again.

  “You’ve helped more than enough just by giving me a freshly baked roll and that delicious milk every morning. It’s plenty.”

  Tony smiled. “Well then, at least let me pack you some more rolls for the road.”

  I always got this feeling that Tony knew we didn’t have enough food, and he had no idea how grateful I was for the rolls he would give me for the others.

  “And promise me one thing, Katie. If you run out of food, let me know. You can’t live off herbs and spices, and there is no potion in this world that can fill your bellies either.”

  I laughed. “Deal.” I finished my cup of milk and ate the last piece of bread. “I’ve got to go, before all the squirrels disappear.”

  Tony laughed. “If they are going to come out of their nests at all. Are you still selling squirrels to Marco around the corner?”

  “It helps with the bills, but it’s the skins he wants. I was making some good money off him a few months back.”

  “Then go catch your squirrels, before the wind scares them away.”

  I picked up my bow and sheath of arrows and threw them over my shoulder. The clinging sound of bells chimed as I exited Tony’s bakery. “Have a beautiful morning, Tony, and blessed be.”

  “The same to you, Katie.”

  I took the path, the one I’d taken so many times down to the woods, and in a couple of minutes I found the stream that still flowed but the water was freezing cold.

  A couple of miles further I found the place I knew had squirrels and winter rabbits. But I hadn’t seen a winter rabbit in a long time and I prayed that maybe today was my lucky day.

  I crouched behind a tree and became as quiet as the woods around me. My eyes saw everything, my senses were at their highest peak. I missed father. He was the one that had told me how to use a bow and arrow when I was little and how to kill something without wasting any of the good meat or fur.

  He was good with his hands and could wield so many things no one could, even a needle and thread. Lately he couldn’t hold anything as he just shivered underneath the blankets every day. I should’ve taken Tony’s money, it looked like a huge bag and maybe, just maybe it could have been enough to get father to a Swallow Annex.

  The sound of little feet scurrying on a branch caught my ears and my eye caught on the fur that blended in against the branch. My hands and arms were just as fast as my sight and in two seconds the arrow spun from the bow and struck the animal right in the head.

  I heard it drop and ran over to pick it up. It was a heavy one, and male. I thanked God for the kill. His fur would be worth at least fifteen silver Peagolians and his meat at least five. That would help Mom with the taxes for this month an
d just maybe she wouldn’t need to work so much at the tavern and could spend time at home with the family more.

  I hated the royals: they only thought about themselves and never looked out for their people. They had plenty of feasts while the others that weren’t as lucky had to suffer paying taxes. It was extortion.

  I had to admit, Albert was handsome. Me and Maggy had seen him only once in a parade at the fair. It was so strange though, that was the only parade they ever took. After the incident with the rotten food being thrown at the royal carriage, the fair never made it to Eikenborough again.

  I started to skin the squirrel with my dagger and kept the tail for my little brother, Samuel, as I’d seen Feline throwing the last one into the fire. Feline was my sister, just two years younger than me. She was pretty, had a lot of Mom’s fair hair and pale blue eyes. She would definitely be spoken for in a year or two from now. I had Dad’s dark hair and his gray, sad eyes.

  The trip back to the house was my favorite as I would take another route that would take me to the highest peak with a view that could take your breath away.

  I thought about Maggy’s stupid little joke from the other day. I was clearly missing the punch line completely, as she was the only one that had laughed.

  Still, I loved my best friend. Like the Squires the Trins also owned a store, but one where you could find wine and rum. It was Maggy’s dad, Peter, who had gotten Mom the job at the tavern. He supplied us with all sorts of liquor for Dad’s cough remedy. The extra punch seemed to help when he coughed unbearably.

  I’d known Maggy since the age of four and we had been inseparable ever since.

  I reached the peak and I took a place at my favorite boulder. I put the squirrel skin in my bag and the meat hung from a rope in my hand. Marco would never buy it if it had ground or filth on it.

  I looked over all of Paegeia and saw the castle in the distance. Etan was a big place, but not big enough to get away from those towers. I’d imagined so many times what this view would be like without those towers in the distance, and yet I would give anything to see the royals’ view. When the sun started to warm my skin slightly I knew it was time to leave. My brother and sisters would be leaving for school soon and I’d promised Mamma that I would meet her at the store.

  At times I wished that I could grow a pair of wings and just fly away, but what would become of Feline, Cassandra, Gabriella, Susannah, and Samuel, my brother of four? He was my favorite in the entire world and I was his, he’d told me himself so many times at night after I’d told him one of my tales.

  Marco’s shop was still closed but the butcher was hacking away at some meat somewhere at the back. I knocked on the door and in a couple of seconds a head popped behind the wall. He smiled at me, walking to the door still with a bloodied apron and a cloth that he wiped his hands on. He was somewhere in his mid-forties and had been trying to set me up with his oldest son, Seth, for a long time. I didn’t know about that one.

  The door opened with another set of bells. “Good morning, Katie. Let me guess, you found one.”

  “Why else would I be here?” I laughed.

  Marco let me in and I hated how his store was the opposite of Tony’s. It was cold and didn’t have that welcome and warm feeling, but nevertheless, Marco was far from what his store reflected, well, to me anyway.

  “Let’s see,” he said and I took out the fur and dropped the flesh of the squirrel on his counter.

  “That is one hell of a kill, Katie.”

  “So, what are you going to pay for him?”

  “Ten for the fur and three for the meat.” It was seven coins less than what I’d hoped for.

  “Marco, you know this fur is worth five more, and the meat, look at it.”

  “I know Katie, but the taxman came yesterday and you know what they are like.”

  “They raised the taxes again?” Mom hadn’t said anything about that.

  “Aye, and it’s all I have to offer you at the moment.”

  My heart dropped into my stomach. We would not survive this month if the taxmen raised their taxes again. “Fine, it’s better than nothing.” I gave Marco a smile. I knew he wouldn’t do me in if he had the money. This was just another thousand points down for the royals. If it went on like this, I might even consider shooting an arrow straight through their heads.

  Get that out of your head, Catherine Squire, Mother’s voice sniped inside my head. No daughter of mine is a killer.

  Yes Mom, I replied. Sorry.

  I took the money from Marco and walked back the way I’d came in. “So have you spoken to Seth yet?”

  “No, Marco. I’m busy.” I smiled back at him and the bells chimed in my ears again.

  “Aye, lass, you are almost fifteen, your time is running out to find a husband.”

  “I don’t have time for stupid husbands,” I mumbled back so that Marco wouldn’t hear and made my way back to home again so I could pull a dress over my head and help mother at the store.

  ALBERT

  “Father, I don’t want to go to this time-waste of a ball,” I said. “This is your and mother’s affair, not mine.” I sighed. “Just let me be. I’m twenty years old, and soon, I’ll be marrying Drizelda. So I don’t see why I need to attend them anymore.”

  “Albert, we do things as a family. Without you there….”

  “You have to be there,” my mother said. “Drizelda will be there too.”

  “Hiding behind a mask. What, you want me to find her now, and then what, mother? We will be soul mates forever,” I snickered.

  “Don’t make fun of your mother’s beliefs, Albert.”

  “It is silly father. Seriously, what if I find another, then the lass will become then my soul mate, right?” I humored her. “You will still make me marry Drizelda.”

  “Yes, but you will be attending my silly ball and you will wear a silly mask,” she said back as if none of my words had made any mark on her at all.

  “Fine, I’ll be there.” I threw the napkin on the table and stood up from the breakfast feast.

  “And you’ll wear the mask?”

  Now she asked? The remark didn’t leave my mouth. “Yes, I’ll wear the mask.”

  I could feel her grin as her eyes bored into my back. For the past twenty years I’d said no to many things. It was the easiest word to say. “No”: not so difficult, but for some reason I couldn’t say no to the queen. My sweet loving mother who had stood up for me so many times, protecting me from my father’s wrath. It was the only time her sweet loving side showed.

  I was their only son, but I knew my father had loved another. She’s died a long time ago, which was so wrong. To think if my grandfather had spared the love of my father’s life, my mother could’ve been a dragon.

  I’d grown up with the Metallic dragons. It was one thing King Louie ruled when Grandfather Alexander died. They signed a treaty with the Metallics as he knew they were not a danger to humans. My father had loved a Metallic.

  My tutor and nanny were both Metallics, and so were most of the high staff in the royal Council. It was clear to everyone where my father’s love lay—with a dragon—but for me, his son from the womb of another he’d had to marry, he had little. He only showed love now and then, and it had started only recently too.

  I was sure if I was the spawn of his dragon love, it would’ve been another story, but mother told me so many times not to take it personally, we would always be the king’s second choice.

  What type of a father would put his family second just because things didn’t work out the way he wanted? No, I would love my children, no matter who their mother was, even if it was Drizelda Longbottom. I loathed that woman on so many levels, she was a cousin for Caleb’s royal family. Her father was King Normand’s brother and her mother one of the most sophisticated woman who ran a finishing school in Etan. She’d opened the second one in Tith and rumor had it that she was doing quite well for herself and the Longbottom family. The end result was Drizelda: a very well educated
young lady with a cruelty for the poor. Not that I had any love for the poor either. They had so many children and yet they had no money or intelligence whatsoever to raise them. If I was poor… no, I couldn’t even imagine it.

  I jumped at a sullen cry from down in the dungeons. It was the second one this month, and what I couldn’t understand was why on earth father did that.

  He loved dragons so much but he had no love for the Chromatics.

  The ones that were slightly different than his beloved Metallics. They didn’t like their human form and they were not as gentle as their counterparts.

  The Chromatics were fierce, they all had extra abilities and for some reason, they couldn’t be tamed. But they were wrong. I’d tamed a Night Villain, a name I’d come up with as his dragon was the color of the night and his demeanor that of a villain.

  He’d only started to get used to his human form, a handsome devil if I might say, something father refused to believe, even though the rumors told him otherwise. My dragon’s name was Robert. He was feisty at first, but he had a gentle side to him after the punches flew between us. It was as if those punches beat the good back into him. I’d started to hate that, as it happened once a month now.

  I was busy teaching him how to speak English. I could speak fluent Latin. It was a must as, all the Metallics and Chromatics only conversed in Latin. The only thing I had to fear was the acid he breathed. My shield was made of a special armor, one that no fire or acid could penetrate. It had saved my life a couple of times when Robert’s dragon form got too feisty and wanted to incinerate my ass. And he was ride-able too.

  The entire court had found a way to ride on the Metallics. Father himself had a Copper-Horn. He loved his theories, which made me crazy, but I had to admit, the man was always on to something.

  I went past the courtiers that had raised me. She was a Fire-Tail and she’d even once showed me her fire. It was something I’d wished so many times I could’ve done myself and she laughed on so many occasions when I tried to light a fire the way she did. Goran could do it and so could Helmut. They were twins, and the spitting image of one another, so much so that you couldn’t tell the difference, except the abilities they wielded.