The Key of F: a young adult fantasy romance (Freedom Fight Trilogy Book 1)

by Jennifer Haskin

  “Ever seen it before?”

  “Not that I know of.” Fale squinted her eyes at the paper and shook her head.

  “Ready to go?" Keron asked.

  “I guess so. I wish I knew who this wristband says I am, or if it’s blank. I don’t know if I should use it or not.”

  “We’ll find out. We can always have the owner scan us before we leave to see who we are now.”

  “Good idea. I’m ready.”

  The guesthouse owner was happy to scan their bracelets for the price of the room, even though Keron had already done the maintenance. Keron’s band identified him as twenty-eight-year-old Mr. Brock Palmquist. “They made me older," he whispered, frowning. Fale was laughing until she was identified as twenty-one-year-old Mrs. Bryla Palmquist. “What?” she asked the owner, who looked confused.

  “Don’t y’all know who you are?”

  “Yes.” Keron pulled a sputtering Fale away from the machine. “My wife’s just had a traumatic day." He tried not to laugh out loud.

  “Thank y’all for the payment. Come back any time." The owner called after them as Keron dragged Fale out the door.

  “What was Nelson thinking?” Fale shouted, swinging her bag in the air.

  “I seriously doubt Nelson had anything to do with that part.” Keron chuckled deeply.

  “This is not funny, Brock.”

  “Actually, Bryla my love, it is.”

  Fale punched him in the arm and shrieked in pain. Wrong hand. Keron opened his mouth to speak, but at Fale’s fuming expression, he leaned over and took her bags instead.

  Nelson’s apartment was very publicly located above the TacTrac. They didn’t want to be seen, so Fale and Keron stood away from the structure to watch for an opportune time to enter. “We can leave our bags behind the training center and go in the back,” Fale said, “but once we get inside, you’ll have to follow closely. If anyone sees me, they may not wonder why I’m here, but if Nelson’s been gone, then they’ll ask me why. And we can’t afford to spend any time in the open."

  “You sound like me," Keron approved. “Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.”

  They dropped their bags by the back corner of the building and sneaked in the rear entrance. Fale led Keron up the stairs and into her old home. They split up to look around the apartment. Fale checked Nelson’s bedroom, but his luggage was still there, as well as all his toiletries. He wouldn’t have left without his necessities. She didn’t see any disturbance in his clothes, either. She saw Keron in her old room with the small mattress and little things on display. “Did you grow up here?" he asked, and she nodded. “Was it good?"

  She knew what he was asking. Was it good to be free? After losing everything, was it good to be adopted by a lonely bachelor? “Yes,” she confirmed. “He rescued me.” He nodded this time.

  In the living area, an envelope on the kitchen table caught her eye. Fale was sure Nelson would have left her more information if he was leaving for any length of time, so she immediately opened it. There was a small note inside and as Fale began to read it, she squeaked a noise of distress. Keron rushed to her side to catch her as she sunk to her knees. Fale knelt in his lap. She leaned on him, shaking, and holding the note in her good hand, saying, “No, no, no. Not him.” Over and over.

  Keron took the note from her and read it under his breath. “Girl- your guardian should have kept to his own kind. Now he belongs to us forever. You are next.”

  “What does it mean? What are ‘his own kind’?” she asked.

  Keron rocked her. “Don’t know, but we can’t stay here. They knew you were coming.”

  “I didn’t even know I was coming,” she said blankly.

  “Come on, Fale. Snap out of this. We need to go. We’ll think it over when we get to the house.”

  “They took him.” She stared at the note.

  “I know.”

  “Just like my dad.” She remembered the day she found him on the floor, bleeding. Fear worked its way up her spine like a spider on a web.

  “Maybe not-” Keron began.

  “I have to rescue him.” Fale sat up quickly. She couldn’t lose someone else. Nelson was the only family she had left. “I have to find him.”

  “We will, Fale. We’ll try. Can we go now?”

  “Should I pack his things for him?” she asked no one.

  “Maybe we should take some food with us,” he thought out loud.

  “Yes. He’ll need to eat,” she agreed. Her expression was blank.

  “Fale, don’t lose it on me, Sprout. This isn’t like you. You need to eat, too. It’s been too long." Keron piled as much food as he could fit, into a canvas bag from a hook in the kitchen. Fale stood still. When they were ready, Keron quickly took the bag and Fale’s hand and led them back to their hidden pile of baggage, which was slowly growing. Fale was barely aware of the time, but it was getting late. Call time was six for the seven o’clock fights, but most of the gamblers would be at the underground for the main attraction at eight. The fight Keron was supposed to lose.

  Fale stood next to her bags and stared into space. She would never get to the house without him. Keron gathered all their things with his metal arm and took Fale’s hand again. “Come on,” he coached. “We still have a way to go and it’ll get dark before too long.”

  “He’s gone. They’re both gone,” she said woodenly, her face void of emotion. Fale was functioning automatically. She let her head hang. She didn’t feel like a warrior, she didn’t feel like a girl, she didn’t feel anything.

  “I know, Fale, I know.” He interlaced their fingers.

  He led her to the northern edge of the city. She saw him hesitate and look in the direction of the underground, but he took a deep breath and she tried to smile at him. They entered the marsh together. They walked and walked, their shoes sucking in the mud. Keron wore construction boots, but Fale had only her thin suede boots, letting her feet get wet and cold. He held her hand the whole way, she wasn’t sure if he was comforting himself or her. The reeds were shoulder height and hard, but easy to push aside. Fale worried about leaving a trail at first, but the reeds stood right back up to whack their hands.

  They didn’t speak. Wrapped in the coolness of the evening, she wondered what this new house would be like. Would they be confined to it? What did this mean for them? Fale didn’t understand what was happening to her safe and simple life. It was invigorating to have a purpose but devastating to think about rescuing Nelson when she didn’t even know her enemy. How could she fight what she didn’t know? She struggled to master her emotions and calmed herself with breathing exercises as they walked.

  The house was farther east than they had thought. By the time they reached its little front porch, Fale was walking on her own. It didn’t feel like he was dragging her anymore. The small green house stood by itself in the marsh without a street or surrounding houses. If they hadn’t known where to look, it would have been impossible to find the structure. Keron looked back and Fale was watching the moon rise. “You okay?" he ventured.

  “I think I will be,” she admitted. She thought about apologizing for temporarily losing her sanity, but she didn’t want to call any more attention to her lapse of emotional control. Instead, she offered him a tenuous smile.

  “Looks like the right place,” he said, motioning to the building.

  “It has the symbol by the door, look." She pointed. “Is it open?”

  “Key’s in the lock." Keron said in disbelief. He easily skipped the two steps on the front porch, ran his hand over a weathered wooden chair, and touched the pristine white door. He opened it up and used the light of the setting sun to look around. They brought their bags through the tiled entryway, to a comfortable living area with wing-backed chairs and a navy sofa that looked new. The room ran the length of the house and its large picture windows facing North had an uninterrupted view of the mountains. Fale felt drawn to the sight.

  The East side of the house consisted of two closed doors
and a kitchen. Keron helped Fale bring in their food and set it on the small table for two. Fale got the lanterns and lit them with matches she found by the stove. There were two shopping bags of food mixes already on the table. Added to what they’d taken from Nelson’s, they had enough food for a few days. Fale looked around the house; it appeared to be run by a generator. The mysterious rooms behind closed doors turned out to be a bathroom, with a standing tub, also attached to the one bedroom with a feather bed covered in quilts.

  They met back in the living room. On the coffee table lay Fale’s long and short swords, along with her favorite bladed fan and staff; there was also a set of women’s armor. Another letter lay with her weapons, but Fale didn’t rush to read this one. She simply stared at it.

  “Want me to read it?" Keron offered.

  “Would you?” She was relieved when he nodded. Keron unfolded it and read it to himself first. When he looked at Fale, she was standing with her eyes closed, waiting to hear the worst.

  He began to read aloud, “Fale, there is a battle going on we knew nothing about. I sent the weapons for your protection and so you will know you can trust these people. Also, because I haven’t told you that to me you have become a full Takanori warrior- you have mastered the grief of losing your parents. Use the daisho, but only when you need to. I will meet you as soon as I can. ~Nelson”

  Keron glanced up at Fale again and though her eyes were still closed, she smiled sadly. Her arms were crossed, and her eyes opened to see deep into his, shining with unshed tears. She blinked them away and took a deep breath. “What did the letter from the apartment mean?” she asked. “He belongs to us forever. I don’t get it.”

  “You sure you wanna talk about this now?” he spoke in calm, clear syllables like she was a stray animal about to be caught.

  “It’s not going to stop hurting. I have to face what’s happening.”

  Keron seemed impressed with her turn-around, but a little wary. “Obviously, he’s been kidnapped, but I don’t get the forever part. Unless they’re making him a fantocci.”

  “Even that doesn’t make sense, fantocci don’t live forever.”

  “Didn’t say it made sense. Maybe they have him hidden. We only need to find out where.”

  “Maybe these coterie people of Dad’s know. I hope Nelson knew what he was doing sending us here," Fale said.

  “We’ll find out.” Keron motioned her over to sit on the couch. “They’ll either help us, or we’re sitting in a trap.”

  “I wonder when they’ll contact us.”

  “We didn’t even know when we were coming,” he said.

  “Maybe they have visions, too?" Fale said. “I hope they hurry.”

  Keron threw an arm around her shoulders. “Are you saying you don’t want to be in this tiny house in the middle of nowhere with me, Mrs., Mrs., what’s our last name again?”

  “Palmquist.”

  “Right.”

  “For the rest of your life, Brock.” Fale sighed, shrugging off his arm. She was not enjoying her situation. “I can’t believe this is happening. Any of it.” She tried to blink away the tears threatening to fall, looking away before Keron could see her out of control emotions. Why would Nelson have given them bands that made them older and married? Didn’t he care how embarrassed she would be? Or did he realize she had never given up hope Keron could return her feelings from so long ago? She didn’t know how to act around him now.

  “There’s nothing I can do about it tonight. I’m gonna eat, shower, and go to bed. I suggest you join me.”

  “If you think that I…”

  “Didn’t mean anything by it, Fale.” He sighed, then ducked from her slap and chuckled, “Though we are legally married now.”

  Fale didn’t want to think about it yet. She smiled tentatively. “I suppose I could use something to eat.”

  “And get out of those wet shoes.” He untied his boots and toed them off.

  “Yeah.”

  “And get some sleep.” He stood from the couch and lifted her boot by the heel to dump out her foot with a mighty pull.

  “Totally." She smiled genuinely. “How do you know me so well after just a few days?” They had known each other for years, but they’d never been so inseparable before.

  “Is that all it’s been?” He released her other foot.

  “Yeah."

  “Don’t know, maybe I’ve paid more attention than you thought. Want some tea?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Sure. Herbal tea helps me sleep. I can’t seem to relax with all of this going on.” She waved her hand in the air to include the whole house in her statement.

  “Do you want me to sleep on the couch?” he asked politely, at the kitchen door.

  Fale looked surprised, “I thought… since last night… oh never mind." She blushed.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You take the bed,” she said softly.

  “I wanted you to have it.”

  “Okay.” She blushed bright pink.

  “Okay, what? Fale.” Realization hit him. “Do you want me to share the bed with you? Like last night?”

  “Okay.” She nodded.

  Real smooth, Fale.

  Keron chuckled. “I can do that. Lemme see if there are teacups here." He disappeared into the kitchen, reemerging in a few minutes with two cups of chamomile. Fale sipped hers while Keron drank. “Why don’t you go clean up first,” he said. “I’ll wait.”

  Fale left her boots by the front door and used the shower head hung above the big tub. The hot water soothed her body and warmed her feet. She put on her pajamas and called to Keron, “All yours.”

  Going back to the living room and sitting on the couch, Fale sipped her tea. She found the food Keron had left out for her and ate some dried beef, carrots, and beans they’d taken from Nelson’s. Fale re-read Nelson’s letter three times.

  Takanori. He called me a Takanori warrior.

  It only hardened Fale’s resolve to find and rescue her guardian. Keron exited the bathroom with a rolling cloud of steam. Fale laughed. “Feel better?”

  “Yes,” he said confidently. “You eat?”

  “Yep.” She finished her tea. “I probably should have eaten sooner though; I was getting light-headed.”

  “Lemme help you." He offered his hand.

  Fale took it with her good hand and stood. Keron left her standing by the couch while he put out one lantern and took the other one back to her. “Come on." He took her hand and walked her to the left side of the bed, pulling back the covers. She got in and he set the lantern on his bedside table before getting into the bed.

  Once the light was out, however, Fale wasn’t tired anymore. “Tell me your earliest memory,” she said into the darkness.

  “Hmmm. Guess that would be my mother.”

  “You knew your mother?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “For a while.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “I don’t talk about it.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to- “

  “Fale. I’m talking about it now,” he said. “I have this memory of her washing sheets. She was hanging them to dry in the sun. I remember her being sick and on her own and crying because she knew she was going to be leaving me alone. I may have had a brother or sister, I don’t remember. Then she fell and didn’t get up. I can’t see her face anymore, but I know it was beautiful. I know her eyes were blue, and I remember her long hair, the same color as mine.”

  They were both quiet for a long time. “My-” Fale began and sighed.

  “Stop,” Keron said firmly.

  “What?”

  “You don’t have to tell me about your mother, Fale. I saw how upset you were last night.”

  “No. If I am a real Takanori warrior, like Nelson said, I have to be the master of my grief. I want to tell you,” she said.

  “Okay. I’m right here." They both lay on their backs next to each other; Keron picked up Fale’s hand for reassurance and they
linked fingers.

  “My dad found us. My mom and me. She was pregnant, nine months along, with me. Someone had beaten her and cut her stomach open from top to bottom. I was supposed to die, too, I’m sure. I would have, but my father came home and scared them away. She hemorrhaged and I was crying in her dead arms. I don’t know if she really got to see me or not. It was supposed to be a message, I guess. I never knew who did it, but now I wonder if my father actually knew the whole time.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I had my dad, though. He was great. I didn’t know what was happening when he was killed. I found him in our apartment lying in his own blood. He gave me the key and told me to hide it. I was so scared; only an eight-year-old child. I hid in alleys for as long as I could until Control picked me up.” Fale felt Keron’s flesh-covered mechanical fingers gently stroke the back of her hand. She knew he understood the feeling of loss and she had to hold back tears that threatened to open the chasm of grief she had worked so hard to contain. It took all her control just to tell him the story as a matter of fact.

  “I’m sure he was great.” Keron squeezed her hand, urging her to continue.

  “What about your dad? What was he like?” Fale tried to distract herself from thoughts of her parents’ deaths.

  “I don’t think I ever had a dad."

  “We are a sad pair, Mr. Palmquist.” She laughed.

  “Yes, we are, Mrs. Palmquist." His grin made lines near his eyes and tucked a sexy dimple into his cheek that drove her wild.

  Fale rolled on her side to face him. “What’s your favorite color?”

  Keron faced her, on his elbow, head in his hand. “Green, like grass. You?”

  Fale ducked her head. “Blue, like forget-me-nots,” she half-whispered.

  “Why are you so shy all of a sudden?”

  “Because it’s the shade of your eyes,” she said.

  Keron smiled. “I have one. When was your first kiss?”

  Fale did not want to answer this one at all. It was definitely too embarrassing. She thought back in her childhood. Surely, someone other than Nelson had kissed her cheek at least.