Broken Aro (The Broken Ones)

by Wylie, Jen

  Winter dragged on forever. The cold and snow had kept them in the city for almost half a year. At least they didn't freeze, and though the food wasn't of the greatest quality, they were able to afford enough they never went hungry. They slowly bought supplies when they had the money to do so; a pot, utensils, an ax, and packs to carry it all in.

  She became adept at making soups and stews. They being one of the easier meals to cook and because it seemed someone was always sick with a running nose or cough.

  She glanced over at Prince. He hadn't been looking well for a while, though he didn't have any visible signs of a cold. He just looked pale with dark rings always under his eyes. She constantly worried about him, though she tried to hide it because it just made him angry. She could only hope the reason he looked so awful was just because he didn't sleep well with working nights.

  Everyone else was sick again, including her. She wiped her nose on her shirt sleeve and grimaced as she got boogers on her arm instead. She'd been growing like crazy and nothing fit anymore.

  "Arowyn, you truly do try my patience," Prince muttered.

  She winced and pulled a square of old cloth from her pocket and wiped her arm off before blowing her nose. "Sorry."

  He only sighed.

  She bit her lip and went back to cooking. Avery and Cain had already left for work at the docks. Bo was due back in a little while. Kei would return from hunting in the forest sometime the next day.

  "You should get some sleep," she told Prince.

  "Come lie down with me then," he said quietly.

  At least that's what she thought he said and she turned to look at him quickly. "What?"

  He smiled faintly. "Nothing."

  She stared at him, sitting on a pile of ratty blankets leaning against a rotting wall. Her prince dressed in torn and stained clothing and living in a dump. It broke her heart. She set her spoon aside and went and sat down next to him. Taking his hand she sighed as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Spring is coming soon you said?"

  He surprised her by leaning his head against hers. "Yes."

  "So we can leave soon."

  "Yes."

  She forced a smile. "Well that's a relief. I'm quite sick of this place." She turned her head and he lifted his as she did. Pulling her hand from his she gestured to the blankets. "Lie down. You need some sleep." He frowned and she grinned. "I'll tuck you in."

  He chuckled and did as she told. She pulled a blanket over him. He slept during the day now, since he worked at night. Their old routine had been interrupted by necessity. Maybe that was what he'd meant. He missed the past, too.

  Impulsively, she scooted herself in under the blanket as well, curling up in front of him like she used to. Like so many times before, his arm moved to its spot around her waist and she smiled at the memories. He pulled her a little closer and his cheek rested against her hair. That was different, but she didn't mind. She'd missed him and safe and calm feelings he'd always brought her while she slept. "Sweet dreams, my prince," she murmured.

  She closed her eyes, just for a moment, before waking at the sound of her name.

  Carefully sitting up, she turned to see Avery standing by the door, a stricken look on his face.

  "What's wrong?" She spoke quietly to avoid waking Prince, quickly but gently moving away from him and getting up. "Why are you back so early?"

  Avery grimaced and pulled off his wool hat and mitts, tossing them to the side. "Everyone is sick. Most of the crew didn't show up today so the foreman sent the rest of us home."

  She frowned. Worry knotted her stomach, not just because it seemed a sickness was going around, but the fact Avery had been sent home. They couldn't afford him not working.

  Before she could comment he glanced over her shoulder at Prince. "You need to be more careful."

  She stared at him blankly. "What?"

  He grimaced again. "You're not a child anymore. You've," He made wavy lines in the air in front of her, "grown up. And out," he added with a flushing of his cheeks.

  Her own cheeks flamed as she glanced down at her breasts. Yes, they had grown along with the rest of her this winter. She hadn't paid them much attention, except to silently complain when they got in the way. She needed to get something to keep them from bouncing around, but they didn't have money for clothes.

  "Just be more careful," Avery said again. He looked away and added quietly, "You're beautiful, you know. I don't want to see you hurt."

  She gaped at him even as her face burned hotter. She was beautiful? She snapped her mouth closed. "I'll be fine," she answered. She eyed the growing hole in his black wool sweater. "Give me your sweater. I'll fix it before the entire thing unravels."

  He pulled it off over his head and turned his head away from her as a fit of coughing started.

  She bit her lip and rested a hand on his shoulder, "Come and sit down."

  She went back to the stove to stir her current batch of soup. When she looked back at him he sat on another of the makeshift beds, staring at Prince with a sour look on his face.

  He caught her watching him and his gaze dropped. He absently rubbed his chapped, calloused hands together. "Do you love him?"

  His whispered question shocked her speechless. She turned quickly back to the soup. "Of course not," she finally managed to choke out. "I'm not an idiot."

  He snorted and she turned around again to glare at him. He started coughing again and that was the only thing that saved them from an argument. By the time he stopped Bo was walking in the door.

  "Hey, Bo," she greeted him.

  "Hey there, pup." He glanced over at Avery and frowned.

  "So what's the word?"

  He coughed, shook his head and cleared his throat. Avery started coughing again and he grimaced. "Sickness going around it seems."

  "Really?" She sighed to cover her snippy remark. "Any deaths?"

  He nodded. "A few elderly I heard." He pulled off his hat and added it to the pile by the door. "We'll just have to wait and see I guess."

  She nodded. Elderly and young children dying from winter illness certainly wasn't uncommon. When healthy young people started to succumb then it became time to worry. "At least spring is almost here."

  Bo and Avery both went to sleep leaving her alone with her thoughts and worries. She puttered about the room, tidying and doing little chores.

  Eventually she sat herself in the corner trying to keep quiet as she did mending, occasionally peeking at the boys. Bo and Avery huddled under their blankets snoring away. Prince rested quietly and she found herself watching his face as he slept. "Wither me," she muttered.

  With a grimace she went back to mending the hole in Avery's sweater.

  Her brothers had talked to her about love. They'd awkwardly explained the difference between love and lust. They had discussed how love came in many different forms and how loving someone, and being in love with them, could be two different things. She'd never much thought about it. She had certainly never been in love with anyone. There had been local boys she found sweet or handsome, but she had never followed them around all doe-eyed and stupid.

  She smiled slightly to herself. She was fine then, because she wasn't doing anything like that now either. Sure, she loved all her men. They were her family now. She leaned forward and peeked over at Prince again. He was just a little special because she felt...

  "Gah." She raised her hands to her face. "I am an idiot."

  She took a deep breath, trying to sort through her emotions. No, it wasn't love, not the type Avery thought. Her feelings for Prince were special, different, but more like a favorite brother. Kei was special, too, so certainly this was normal. Though of all the men, it would be like her to fall in love with the one she couldn't have. The one who would never love her back. He was a prince. She was...nothing.

  If she tucked her feelings away in her mind, perhaps she wouldn't show them as much. She could do that. She had been practicing after all.

  Since they had met the stra
nge man named Damon in the woods, she had worked on building a wall within her mind. He was insane about all of the talk of prophecies. However she did agree she should learn to keep her thoughts from being invaded by others. She didn't want people like him in her head. Over the long winter months she had built what she hoped was a sturdy fortress in the back of her mind. Damon had told her to build walls, and she'd taken his words literally. She didn't know what else to do. Constant practice at envisioning her fortress seemed to do something though. Luckily she'd grown up learning to concentrate while practicing with her bow. Of course, she had no way to tell if her fortress actually existed or if it was any good or not. She certainly didn't want to seek out Damon to find out and humans and Fey didn't read minds.

  By the time Avery awoke later in the afternoon she had almost returned to a good mood. He came with her to collect water from the well and later they practiced sword work in an empty alley tucked behind their building. They weren't at it long before she called a stop and dragged him back up their room and put him back in bed. He didn't argue and fell back asleep quickly.

  She waited impatiently for Bo and Prince to wake up, and for Cain to return home.

  When everyone finally woke up she started silently dishing out soup into crude wooden bowls. She caught Avery still glaring at Prince. "Avery, pay attention or you're going to spill."

  He looked at her sourly before returning his gaze to his food and keeping it there.

  When Cain came in she went to meet him at the door. "What's going on out there?" She turned back to look at the men as Avery started coughing again. "Bo said it's getting worse."

  Cain shook his head. "Still is. The baker's daughter died this morning," he paused before adding, "and it's snowing again."

  She grimaced. Children had started dying now, too. That was a bad sign. "Anyone talking about the symptoms?"

  He nodded as he made his way into the room and she fetched him a bowl of soup. "Starts out like a normal cold. With some people it stays one. No worries. Others it gets worse, the cough gets worse. Then the cough goes but a fever comes. If the fever doesn't kill you then the buildup in the lungs does. Person can't breathe."

  She glanced over at Avery and Bo, both of them had been coughing. As far as she knew, she and Cain only had running noses, and Prince merely looked like he was going to keel over.

  "Seems to happen fast," Cain continued. "Don't know if that's a good thing or not."

  The topics turned to other things and she chatted along with them as Prince and Bo got ready to leave.

  Prince's shift started earlier so she followed him to the door while the boys kept talking. She waited uneasily as he dressed for the cold. She tried not to fidget when for some reason she found herself not wanting to start the ritual she had begun with each of them before they left for work. Her mind wandered and then suddenly he stood waiting by the door staring at her.

  "What's wrong?" He kept his voice low, his typical frown crossing his face.

  "Nothing." She forced a smile before holding out her arms. "Hug." She tried not to hold him too tightly, or for too long, uncomfortably aware of Avery watching her. "Be safe."

  "You, too," he answered. He broke the ritual with another frown as he stepped away. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

  No, she was worried someone would get sick and die. Worried she would lose him. She couldn't tell him such things though, so merely forced another smile. "Just tired. See you in the morning."

  He nodded, though the frown didn't leave his face. "Don't forget to bolt the door."

  "I won't."

  She almost sighed with relief when he finally left. She went back to the others and sat quietly as they continued to talk and Bo went and shaved with the small, straight razor they'd bought. He nearly slit his own throat when he suddenly started coughing and she jumped up. "Let me."

  He grimaced, but handed over the razor. "Be careful with that, pup."

  She chuckled. She'd shaved her brothers often enough in the past, she wasn't worried. "Be careful tonight." She carefully slid the blade along his skin around his scar. "If you're not feeling well come home."

  A faint smile curved his lip as he struggled not to move. "Yes, mother."

  She grimaced down at him. "I'm serious."

  "I know. You don't need to worry about me."

  She stuck out her tongue. "I worry about all of you, idiot. You're my family."

  He smiled and closed his eyes for a moment. "I know what you mean. I'll be careful."

  "Good boy," she said with a smirk.

  He chuckled.

  He left not long afterward and after demanding her hug and reminding him to be careful she did her evening chores before curling up in her pile of blankets. She tried not to think of Prince, or of anyone, getting sick. The last was harder since Avery coughed all through the night.

  Chapter 20

  Break a Little More

  When Prince returned early the next morning she ran to the door, nearly knocking him over. She didn't even let him take off his snow covered winter clothes before dragging him to Avery's side.

  "Feel his forehead. He's hot isn't he?"

  Prince pulled off his mitts and handed them to her as he crouched down next to the sleeping form of their friend. "Yes."

  She raised a hand to her forehead and started to pace.

  Prince moved his hand over Avery's face. "He hasn't woken up?"

  She shook her head, trying to keep from panicking. "And he's not been coughing, not since I woke up. Rot it! I don't know what to do!"

  He stood and put his hands on her shoulders, keeping her in place. "Where is Cain?"

  "He went out to see what's going on. If anyone has anything for the fever."

  He nodded his approval. "Good. Calm down."

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Prince was right. She couldn't afford to panic. She had to take care of Avery. She couldn't let him die. "Sorry," she whispered.

  He pulled her into an unexpected embrace. "He will be fine. Try not to worry."

  She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly for a moment, holding back tears. With a shuddering breath she pushed away. "You're right. You have something to eat, and get some rest. I'll see if I can get him to at least have some water."

  She couldn't wake Avery to drink and cursed in frustration. She placed her hand on his forehead again, grimacing at how hot it felt. Jumping up, she got a wet cloth and wiped his face gently with it before placing it over his forehead.

  Kneeling beside him, she tried to figure out what else she could do. Maybe colder water would be better. She sprang up again and grabbed a clean bowl. "I'll be right back," she told a startled Prince. "I'm getting some snow."

  "Good idea," he replied. When she hesitated he nodded at Avery. "I will watch him."

  She ran down the stairs and outside and filled the bowl quickly with new snow before running back up. She dumped the snow into one of their water buckets and watched it quickly melt. She tested the water with a finger and then ran and got more snow. Satisfied the water would be cold enough, she wet the cloth and again and wiped down Avery's face and neck.

  "Should I take the blankets off?"

  Prince frowned. "I don't know."

  "Gah!" Panic rose within her. She didn't know what to do. "Where's Bo? Shouldn't he be back by now?"

  "Calm down," Prince answered wearily. "He's not late yet."

  Bo had been coughing, too. What if he was lying passed out from fevers in an alley somewhere? She wished Cain would hurry back. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.

  "Should I open the window? Let some fresh air in. It's stuffy in here." She was babbling, and knew it, but couldn't seem to stop herself.

  Prince got up. "I will do it. A little fresh air is a good idea."

  He pulled rags out from around the shutters of their one window. Cool air slowly filled the room as he pulled the shutters open and she jumped up and started fanning the air with her hands, trying to get
it moving around more quickly.

  "Aro."

  He walked up and pinned her arms to her sides. She looked down, trying to keep her lips from trembling.

  He pulled her against him, holding her tightly and stroking the back of her hair. The tears started and she gripped him tightly, wishing they would stop. "I can't do this. I can't lose someone else."

  He rested his cheek on the top of her head. "Falling apart is not going to help him."

  "I know." She closed her eyes and took a number of deep, shuddering breaths until at least a semblance of control returned. She pulled away reluctantly. "Thanks."

  He smiled. "I'm always here."

  She smiled a little in return and turned away before he could see the blush rising to her cheeks.

  She looked at Avery and saw his eyes were open. With a happy cry she jumped forward and dropped to her knees beside him. Pulling the cloth away she tested his forehead again. "How are you feeling?"

  He stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes. "Horrid," he whispered.

  She leaned forward; his voice had been so quiet she had barely been able to hear him. "Cain is out looking for something to help with your fever."

  He nodded a little and opened his eyes again. "Don't."

  Confused, she shook her head and leaned in closer. "Don't what?"

  "Don't love him." He closed his eyes again as she stared at him in shock. She jerked her head around to see if Prince had heard, but he was busy by the stove and apparently had not.

  She turned back to Avery, trying to think of a response, but saw he had fallen asleep again. She bit her lip as she placed the cloth back on his forehead. His even breathing suddenly quickened for a moment before settling back. Worried she lay her head on his chest, listening.

  She sat up quickly as tears blinded her. A whimper escaped before she could stop it.