The Four Tales

by Rebecca Reddell

  “I’ll look for it,” Roz promised.

  “You need to follow orders, young lady. They’ll have a team looking for a library as well as keeping an eye out for the beast. You can’t designate yourself for that search.”

  Roz sat up and threw her arms out, palms up, in front of her shoulders. “Dad, I can still keep an eye out. If this will help Leuthar and everyone else, I’m going to make sure we find it.”

  “Roz, contrary to belief, you aren’t indestructible.”

  “I know. However, I’m going to fight for everyone I love. If Leuthar is losing the battle to the sickness, I’m going to find the cure.”

  He took one of her hands in his own and squeezed. “I hope you all find the answers up there. Just remember, Roz, you can’t save everybody. Sometimes this world takes who it wants.”

  “Well, I refuse to believe that.”

  Tugging on her hand, he said, “I know. It’s what your mother and I have always loved about you.”

  “Even though I didn’t save her?” Roz whispered.

  “She had a disease no one could cure, Roz. Even though it’s hard to say, maybe it was for the best she died when she did. I think seeing Leuthar with the sickness would have broken her heart.”

  Nodding, Roz picked at the threads of the chair. Her left hand still encased in her father’s was warm and safe. For a second, she remembered holding his hand to walk down the street to school and training. Back then, it was fun and exciting. She didn’t realize what they were doing was going to take over her entire life and possibly be the answer to saving their world.

  “If something happens to me,” Roz started, but her father shook his head.

  “Don’t.”

  “Dad, I have to say it.”

  “I don’t want to think about such an eventuality.”

  “If I don’t come back, I love you.”

  “I love you, too, and you will come home.”

  “You know I’ll fight to the end.”

  “You know I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  Standing, they shared another hug, and Roz feared it might be the last one. She tightened her hold as hard as she could. Her father did the same. They stood there without a word for several minutes.

  “We better go check on Leuthar,” he whispered.

  “You’re still talking to the council tomorrow?”

  “I have to, Roz. We can’t take any chances.”

  “Understood. I wish you didn’t have to though.”

  “Me either,” he told her and kissed the top of her head. “Tonight, let’s try to be as normal as possible. Leuthar needs to feel safe.”

  Roz nodded and followed her father from the study into the hall. They walked to the kitchen to find Leuthar sitting at the table and eating eggs and a salad.

  “Your salad looks delicious, Leuthar. You’ll have to show me how you made it,” Roz said.

  Eyes flickering up, he nodded once and continued eating.

  “I’m going to wash the dishes, Roz. Do you want to dry?” her father offered.

  “Sure.” She grabbed a clean, dry towel as he began to wash.

  “Are you ready for Friday?” her father asked her brother.

  Shrugging, Leuthar didn’t answer.

  “Roz said you’re doing great in training.”

  “Did she?” Leuthar’s gaze was intent upon them both.

  Roz added, “I did. You’re really great at defense. I’m sure Captain Ralph is pleased with your hard work.”

  “He hasn’t said anything to me,” Leuthar answered.

  Holding her breath, Roz almost felt as if the old Leuthar was talking to them. A blush spread across his cheekbones, and he ducked his head.

  Glancing at her father, she said, “He told me today. I think he was disappointed you didn’t show up for practice. Friday is coming closer, and it’s rumored he’s looking for leads to be on each team going in.”

  “Really?” He looked up and his eyes were bright. “Do you think he wants me?”

  Roz’s eyes widened. Leuthar sounded like he always had. Before her mother’s death and the growth of those with the sickness, he reminded her of the little boy who’d race her to the training door after school and laugh the whole way.

  Is dad noticing this?

  She looked back at her father, her eyes motioning to the way Leuthar was reacting.

  Could we be wrong? Could he not have the sickness? Maybe it is just normal anger?

  “Cool,” he murmured.

  Her father subtly shrugged, and they both turned back to Leuthar. He pushed the salad around in his bowl with a smile on his lips. Roz almost dropped the plate her father handed to her. She hadn’t seen a smile like that on her brother’s face in forever.

  “It is. You would make a fabulous lead. Ev told me he thought you’d get one of the positions.”

  “Really? Do you think me missing practice today will cause Captain Ralph to change his mind?”

  “I don’t know. They’re having a council meeting tomorrow and have asked the whole town to come. We should be there. He might announce it then or the night of the attack. We have a preplanned meeting that night too.”

  “Okay,” his voice sounded more excited than she’d heard it in a long time. “I’ll be there!”

  “Good.” Roz nodded and smiled.

  “I can show you my salad,” he mentioned in a casual tone.

  “Now?”

  “If you want?”

  “Thanks, Leuthar! That’d be really nice.”

  “Okay, after I finish eating. It’s easy to make.”

  He went back to eating, and Roz continued to dry and put away the dishes her father handed to her. She kept glancing out of the corner of her eye as her brother scarfed down his food. Her eyes met her father’s eyes in a silent assessment of what was happening.

  “The salad is standard. It’ll be fast to show you. Are you ready for tomorrow, Roz?”

  “I hope so. Another couple of days practicing might make all the difference.”

  “True.” He chewed and nodded. “I’m almost done.”

  As they finished, she leaned toward her father and said, “Friday?”

  She knew he understood what she was asking. Leuthar was acting normal. He was calm and in full possession of his thoughts and actions. This could indicate he didn’t have the sickness, or it wasn’t fully developed, which meant he could go on the mission.

  “We’ll see,” her father replied.

  “Are you ready?” Leuthar asked.

  He stood right beside her, his plate held in his left hand, and his eyes looking less homicidal.

  “Absolutely,” she told him.

  “Thanks, dad,” he said as their father took the plate.

  “Okay, the surprise ingredient is adding corn. Tomatoes and peppers are also essential.”

  “Really?” Roz encouraged her brother to continue.

  Sitting at the kitchen table, her father kept an eye on them as her brother walked her through the preparations for a salad. Most of the ingredients were ones they typically used from the gardens they grew, but she kept asking questions.

  He was acting so normal, she didn’t want it to end.

  “See? That’s it,” he said.

  “It looks delicious. Can I have some?”

  “Sure! Dad, do you want some?”

  “I’ll take a little. Eggs never fill me up.”

  Leuthar dished them all a plate of salad, and they sat down to eat it. “We should see if there are any potatoes left,” Leuthar suggested. “We could make them for breakfast tomorrow morning?”

  “Good idea,” Roz told him and continued to eat.

  Their conversation continued around food and training until they cleaned up again. Leuthar took his bag and told them he was going to read in his room.

  After she heard his door shut, she whispered, “I told you. Will you wait?”

  Her father nodded once, but it was all the answer she needed.

  7

>   The next morning, Roz didn’t see Leuthar before she headed out for school. Her father told her he’d gone to work earlier, sleepy, but still normal. Soon after she began fixing coffee and a plate of cold potatoes Leuthar had made, her father left for work.

  “See you at the meeting,” he said.

  “You got it,” she told him.

  Roz hummed throughout her morning routine. She ate, dressed, and left the house by six forty-five. The same as every morning.

  “Good morning!” Nina called out as she caught up to her.

  “Good morning!” Roz returned the greeting with a smile.

  “What has you so happy this morning?” Nina frowned.

  Shifting her bag to her other shoulder, Roz continued to grin. “Dad and I talked about Leuthar last night. It seems he’s had some concerns too, but guess what?”

  “What?”

  “Leuthar acted normal last night. He talked to us, laughed, even blushed! He also taught me how to make his special salad. He was nice. We may have been overreacting.”

  “Roz,” Nina started, “you can’t take one night as concrete evidence he isn’t sick.”

  “Listen, it’s evidence that he’s not. Leuthar is probably just stressed. We all are, but some handle it differently than others. You’ll see. Today he’s coming back to practice. It’s going to all be good.”

  Taking in a breath, Roz noticed the air smelled sweeter. She could almost believe the black sun was brighter too. Smiling, she grabbed Nina’s hand.

  “In a couple of days, we might break the curse and have an answer to the cure!”

  “Roz, are you being optimistic?” Nina was grinning at her, and Roz burst out into laughter.

  “I think I am! What do you say to that?”

  Nina shrugged and squeezed her hand. She swung her own bag in her other hand, and both greeted a few classmates as they came closer to the school.

  “It’s great!”

  “Dad said part of our mission will be to find a library. There’s a meeting tonight with the council.”

  “Ev told me. He said they’re going to discuss the strategy for Friday night. Some people aren’t feeling as supportive of the plan now it’s happening.”

  “I heard. However, if there’s a library with answers to how people are getting sick, that’s a plus right there! After this mission, no one will have to be afraid of the castle. We could find answers!”

  Nina laughed. “It’s nice to hear you so happy. I’m glad you found your optimism. However, I want you to be careful of Leuthar. He might have had a good night, but it doesn’t mean he hasn’t caught the sickness.”

  Roz shook her head. “It’s a good sign, though.”

  “So, you and your father will report it after the mission if he has any more episodes?”

  “Yes.”

  Nodding, Nina gripped her hand. “Do you promise? Will it be a good idea for him to come on this mission if our fears are correct?”

  “He’s going to be fine,” Roz reiterated. “Everything is going to be great.”

  “Wow, this positivity kick is really happening. I like it.”

  “Thank you. Now, can we talk about something else?”

  “Like what?” Nina asked.

  “How about the fact that food isn’t growing like it used to, and it worries my father.”

  “Are any crops coming in?” Nina stopped in the middle of the street.

  To the left was the school, and students were entering it. A few waved at them, and others called out greetings. They were all familiar faces who the girls also trained with each evening.

  “The carrots and Brussel sprouts are doing well. He hopes the squash will be hearty enough to make it, too,” Roz admitted.

  “You mean,” Nina brought her head close and whispered, “we could run out of food?”

  “It seems as if it could be a possibility. Dad said it would be a part of tonight’s discussion.”

  “So, basically, this world is killing us?” Nina’s whisper ended on a high-pitched note.

  Looking around, Roz said, “I guess you could say that. However, keep it between us for now. The meeting might go into it, and I don’t want to get people upset and talking before the council presents their actual findings.”

  Blowing out a deep breath through puckered lips, Nina shook her head. “Roz, you seem to be harboring a lot of secrets.”

  “This isn’t a secret. It’s just not my research and understanding to share.”

  “Leuthar?”

  “Hey, he is doing fine. One or two bursts of anger don’t mean he’s got the sickness. We’ve already been over this. We’re keeping an eye on him, and if there are any more signs after the mission, we’ll tell the council.”

  “What if you’re wrong? What if it’s too late by then?”

  “Have a little faith, Nina. I know my brother. Trust me.”

  After a few seconds, they started to walk toward the school again. Nina didn’t reply to her plea, and Roz worried she might tell Ev. Swallowing, she pulled on her friend’s hand.

  Stopping, Nina sighed. “I promise to trust you, but I’m going to be watching too. One false move, and I’m telling Ev. Count on it.”

  Roz nodded. “Thanks, Nina.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” her friend muttered.

  “Are you ready for biology?”

  “No! I don’t know why they still teach this stuff when in another day, we’ll be entering a castle rumored to have a live beast inside of it. It’s another way to oppress us.”

  Roz laughed. “Oppress us? Biology?”

  “Yes. They use it as a tool to show us what we’ll be forced to continue learning if we fail this mission. It’s like some kind of reverse psychology. We should be studying battles and offense and tactics, and we’re looking at what happens to creation.”

  “Isn’t it a good thing to know how things were created and how they work? It’ll aid us in life, right?”

  Sighing, Nina shook her head. “Keep being deceived, my friend.”

  The bell rang overhead, and they ran down the hallway to their classes. Splitting off to the left, Nina went down another hallway, and Roz skidded to the last door on the right.

  “See you at lunch!”

  “I’ll be there!” Nina called back.

  Roz took a deep breath and entered the classroom to take her seat. Focusing on the teacher at the front, she tried not to think of all the secrets, as Nina had suggested, she had.

  Roz found his eyes across the room and nodded to him. She knew he was thinking of his parents, and it made her think of Leuthar. Looking around the room, she attempted to find her brother, but she couldn’t see him.

  “Is Leuthar here?” Nina leaned over and asked her.

  “He didn’t come with me. I haven’t seen him enter,” Roz whispered.

  Nina looked around the room as well. “I don’t see him either. Where’s your father?”

  “He’s probably in the back,” Roz told her. “Dad doesn’t like coming in from the fields too early.”

  “What did the captain just say?” Nina asked.

  “We better listen,” Roz said and faced forward.

  “With no way to seek the Second Kingdom’s assistance,” Captain Ralph told them, “we must do what needs to be done. Today, we are the only option for our land to be restored to what it once was. We are the only ones who can end this beast's tyranny.”

  “What if he isn’t there? What if this is our reality?” a woman called out.

  “We will deal with such an outcome when the time occurs. We shouldn’t count our eggs before they’re hatched any more than we should sit down in anticipated defeat,” the captain said.

  “Are you sure this plan will work? We’ve been working on it for years, a decade even, and we need it to work!” Mrs. Barnes, the sixth-grade teacher, asked.

  “It’s not foolproof,” Captain Madison added his voice. “No plan is ever foolproof. You’ve been patient as we built this strategy over the last ten years
. We’ve tried to plan for those contingencies you have brought up. Right now, this is our only option, if we are to find out the truth.”

  “Together, we are going to all go in there and figure out if this rumor is truth. Together, we are going to beat the beast or accept our fate. Several have seen him over this last decade, so our choice is to believe them and put an end to the curse which has killed our land,” Captain Ralph continued.

  “We are a strong people. We have seen the sickness and have dealt with it to the best of our ability. The food shortage is a serious issue, and I’m aware you all are as concerned as I am. Whether we win or lose today, we have to make the choice to follow through with this plan or not,” Captain Madison added.

  “If the tale is true, we need to do this before too much more time passes,” Captain Ralph interjected. “Winston has a report to share with us.”

  Hearing her father’s name. Roz stood on tiptoes to look over the heads of those in front of her. She spotted her father making his way up the right side along the wall. People moved out of the way as he swept past.

  “You all know Winston is our head farmer. He helps with the planting and harvesting, but he also oversees the areas where we rotate our crops. Because of his team’s efforts, we have plentiful food to share with everyone,” Captain Ralph introduced her father.

  “He’s here,” Captain Madison continued, “to share with us what is going on with the crops and the food shortage you have noticed. Winston?”

  “Thank you,” her father said. He stepped up onto the podium and shook each captain’s hand. Taking center stage, he looked out over the crowd, Roz could hear him clear his throat.

  “I’m here today with my colleagues,” he waved to other men and women who had approached the front, “to share with you our concerns about the food shortage.”

  People shifted in the crowd. Roz took a deep breath and looked at Nina. Her friend was already looking at her with wide eyes. Her father’s words were about to change lives.

  “You all may have noticed there isn’t any leftover chicory in the pantry. We equally divided and shared all we had gathered with every family here. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough to stockpile the pantry as in the past. Despite rotating our fields, the crops we have planted are dying off and producing less.”