by T D Cloud
“Can I make you a bracelet? How about a necklace?” she asked, looking at Khouri with her big dark eyes.
“Hey, no fair,” Jarrett interjected, scooting even closer. “I want to make him one.”
“Why don’t you show me how to make my own?” Khouri blustered, a little out of his element. “That way you both help me.”
Yula wrinkled her nose and exchanged a terse look with her brother. “I guess that’s okay,” she said, crossing her arms petulantly.
“Diplomacy at its finest. I’ll leave you to it then,” Sorin said, already walking back up the hill with a wave. “Keep an eye on him, okay, kids? He’s ornery.”
“You’re ornery!” Khouri shouted at his back, his cheeks hot and his heart hammering as Sorin left him in the sand with the kids. He fidgeted and slowly turned back to face them. Oh, Gods. They were staring at him. Were they expecting something? Khouri bit his bottom lip, trying for a smile.
Yula blinked at him. “Uncle Sorin likes you, doesn’t he?” she said, nearly prompting Khouri to choke on his tongue.
He smothered his surprise with a cough that he could tell Jarrett didn’t buy, and he looked down at the shells, picking one up to fiddle with it in his hand. “He puts up with me,” Khouri said, wondering if his cheeks would ever cool off. “So… uh. Shells, huh? That’s what you guys were digging up?” The one he held now was a pale cream color, small and scalloped with raised pink ridges along the top.
Jarrett nodded, and Yula excitedly bounced against Khouri’s hip. “There’s always a lot after the tide goes out,” she explain- ed, grabbing up a few shells and the spool of thread near Jarrett’s leg. She unwound a long strip and bit it off the spool, her small fingers nimble and quick as they went to work winding around the shell base. In what felt like the blink of an eye, she had a neat little line of four shells; the complicated knots holding them in place were far beyond anything Khouri could imagine emulating on his own.
She handed it to Khouri, and he took it carefully, a bit in awe by how fast she managed to do that. Jarrett reached for his own set of shells and bit himself off a few strands of string. “Here, watch,” he said, doing what Yula did but much slower. “It’s easier to do it with the augers since they have this little groove here you can loop around.” The boy lifted his head and laughed, blowing his bangs from his eyes.
Yula pressed a string into Khouri’s hand. Khouri took it, eyes locked on Jarrett’s careful motions, and he shakily tried to copy it. “This is an… You called it an auger?” he murmured, looping the string around the aforementioned groove. Huh. It did make it easier. Khouri paused to let Yula tug at one of the strings, fixing his knot before he could ruin it. “I didn’t know there were names for different shells.”
“Oh, yeah, there are lots of different ones,” Yula chimed. Jarrett bobbed his head. “There’s Tritons and augers and tulips and…” Jarrett let out a loud snort, cutting himself off.
“What’s so funny?” Khouri asked, sticking his tongue between his teeth. These knots were hard. Would Navidae have better luck? It was a funny thought imagining Navidae sitting here fiddling with a handful of shells and string. Funny but nice.
“There’s this kind of shell we sometimes find, it’s called a cowrie— Yula, see if we have one,” Jarrett said, sending his sister digging through the pile of shells. “It sounds like your name.”
“Found one!” Yula pressed a shell into Khouri’s hand. “Isn’t it cute? I could find more maybe, if you want to make a bracelet of them.”
Khouri found himself smiling too as he rolled the small, rounded shell in the palm of his hand. It was speckled with dark browns and creams, a thin little slit along the bottom that reminded him a bit of a type of mushroom that grew in the Duskriven. Khouri closed his hand around it and smiled at the both of them.
“Let’s save that for after I learn how to tie the knots,” he decided, settling the cowrie shell on his knee to pick up the string he’d already started. With a nod towards Jarrett, he watched again how to move his fingers. Yula was quick to steal back the thread and begin another; Khouri tried not to be intimidated by her speed. “You guys know an awful lot about shells,” he remarked, doing his best to follow their instructions. He wound the thread around the base of the shell, tying the first knot slowly. “Did your mom teach you all of this?”
Jarrett shook his head and handed Yula another shell when she made grabby hands at one near his foot. “Grandpa did. He was a fisherman, so he tied knots all the time”
Yula looked at her brother. “I miss Grandpa,” she said quietly.
Khouri swallowed, wondering if he just brought up something he shouldn’t have. It was so easy to forget how short-lived humans could be. “Did he teach Sorin how to fish
too?” he tried, hoping it might lighten up the conversation. If he made the kids cry, he knew Mastha would let him have it.
The two kids shared a look. “Heddi said once those two used to fish together a lot,” Jarrett began, “but Uncle Sorin didn’t want to be a fisher like Grandpa, so he left.”
“Yeah, Uncle Sorin and Grandpa don’t get along very well,” Yula added. “Mama always complains that Uncle Sorin never visited before Grandma and Grandpa went with Aunt Neana to the city.”
Oh. Well. That probably meant their grandpa was still alive then, right? Khouri breathed a sigh of relief and handed his shell strand to Jarrett for inspection. “Did they move far from here?” he wondered. He’d known Sorin had another sister but never knew how to bring up her absence once they’d arrived.
Yula looked at her brother, and her brother looked at the sand for a moment. “It’s not that far,” he decided after a minute or two of thought. “Mama makes it a weekend visit when we go there, but we’ve gone there and back in a day before. It’s close to the nice shops, so it’s always fun visiting.”
“That sounds nice,” Khouri decided. Visiting family… What was it like, he wondered? Navidae never spoke of his own family or made any move to reach out to them if they were still around. Khouri furrowed his brow, tugging at the knot to make sure it was tight. He actually wasn’t sure at all whether or not Navidae had any contact with his family. There was the occasional mention here and there of cousins occupying the branch Houses under the Marrowick name… but Navidae never visited them, did he? If he did, he never did it with Khouri in tow.
Maybe it was a surface thing, planning visits and engaging with family. It made Khouri feel better to think of it that way.
“Do you have a family?” Yula asked, tugging on Khouri’s arm.
Khouri stiffened and bit his lip. “Not the way you have one, no,” he answered because he had to say something, didn’t he? He messed with his shells, fiddling with the string but not committing to a knot just yet. “I don’t have a mother or father.”
The kids watched him carefully, blinking their large eyes at him until he shifted. “What?”
Jarrett rolled his eyes. “We don’t have moms or dads either,” he said slowly, enunciating it as if Khouri were slow. “We still have Mama though and Uncle Sorin.”
“You mean you were taken in?” Khouri asked, holding the shells tight. Jarrett nodded, but Yula crossed her arms, holding her head up high.
“I wasn’t taken in,” she declared. “I was a gift for Mama ‘cause I’m the sweetest she’s ever seen!”
Khouri didn’t realize he was laughing until tears began to fill his eyes. He pitched forward and covered his mouth with his hand, laughing all the harder when Jarrett joined in. Yula stared at Khouri and Jarrett both, thumping her bare feet in the sand.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded. “That’s just how it is!”
Khouri waved her down, struggling to get himself under control. “No, no,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes. “You definitely are just that. You all are gifts. I’m definitely happy I met you, so I’m sure your mama feels very blessed as well.”
Yula looked assuaged by that. She crossed her arms and held her nose towards the sky,
smiling smugly. “You’re not so bad yourself,” she decided magnanimously.
Huffing, Khouri rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess I’m alright,” he said, blinking when Jarrett leaned forward and physically stole back his attention.
“You’re cool,” Jarrett said, eyes wide with curiosity. “Mama said you’re a Drow, and we never see those around here. What’s it like bein’ a Drow? What do you do all day since you don’t have a mama or papa making you do chores?”
“He’s a grown up, Jarrett,” Yula said with a roll of her eyes. “Grown ups don’t gotta do chores if they don’t wanna.”
Khouri looked out at the rolling waves, smiling despite himself. “I was taken in too for awhile, so I had to do chores sometimes while growing up,” he said, wondering vaguely how much he should tell them before he risked upsetting them. The chores he did back then were a lot less kind than peeling apples or doing dishes. Breaking down carcasses to harvest the bones was something he’d much rather forget than remember. The stench of it all…
Well, apples smelled a lot better by far.
The kids furrowed their brows when he went quiet. “Who made you do them?” Yula asked slowly.
Khouri went back to working on his… bracelet? Necklace? Whatever it was he was making now. It was easier than looking them in the eye. “Just some ratfolk who helped me find food and things like that. They found me when I was young, and as soon as I could help out… Well, I was expected to pull my weight as thanks. They left me on my own when I could fend for myself. I haven’t seen them since.”
A small hand settled on his arm. Yula patted him softly. “Did your mama and papa die too?” she asked, only for Jarrett to hiss to her to be quiet. Khouri shook his head and waved off the concern. He was old enough at this point to talk about it without crying.
“I’m not sure. I don’t remember them at all,” he said, smiling at them both to let them know it was alright. “I don’t really think about it much anymore. I’ve got your Uncle Sorin now to keep me company, and my…” Shit. What was Navidae? His lover? Were these kids too young to know what those were? He couldn’t very well call Navidae a friend and leave it at that.
“And Navidae,” he said, waving a hand in the air vaguely. “He’s like a prince where I’m from. He takes care of me now. Writes me letters.” Worries me to death and back with cryptic wording, he finished silently.
The kids were staring at him now, mouths agape and eyes wide. Khouri blinked. “Uh, did I say something strange?” he wondered, holding carefully to his shells.
Before he could get an answer, the sound of rattling traps drew his attention away from the kids. Khouri looked past them and smiled at Sorin as he came towards them, shirtless and handsome and weighed down with the night’s dinner encased within the repaired netting.
“Oh, finally done with your work?” Khouri called out. It hadn’t taken him too long, even with the whole debacle earlier keeping him from getting an early start.
“Uncle Sorin!” the kids screeched as one, giving Sorin no time to answer. Jarrett and Yula were on their feet in an instant, hounding Sorin from all angles. The man quickly set the traps down, anticipating the badgering.
“Do you know Khouri’s friends with a prince!?” Yula demanded, yanking on Sorin’s arm until he scooped her up in his arms.
“Have you met him? What’s his house like? Is it a castle like in the stories?” Jarrett rushed, nearly tripping Sorin as he hung from the man’s waist.
“Prince?” Sorin echoed, looking to Khouri for help. “Since when did you keep company with princes?”
Khouri shrugged his shoulder and laughed. “They mean Navi,” he said, savoring how Sorin rolled his eyes. “Figured calling him that was easier to understand than saying he’s the Purveyor of the Western Dusklands.”
“And you’re calling yourselves friends, is that right?” Sorin snorted, bouncing Yula in his arms until she quieted down. “I think Navidae would be pretty upset to hear that from you.”
“Well, what else would you have me say?” Khouri demanded, gesturing to the kids. Was he blushing? His face felt exceedingly warm all of a sudden. Sorin was enjoying this far too much.
“You could just say he’s your fiancé— Ow, Yula, don’t yank on someone’s hair!” Sorin winced and tugged his hair out of range of Yula’s fists, holding her at arm’s length.
“Don’t ignore us!” she cried, somehow managing to look stalwart when suspended five feet off the ground. “Tell us about the prince! Are he and Khouri getting married? Like a fairy tale?”
“Oh, Malicious Inden Down Below.” Khouri covered his face with his hands, the thought too much to handle.
“If Navidae is someone from a fairy tale, he’s definitely not the handsome prince,” Sorin said dryly, setting Yula back down beside her brother. “Yes, I’ve met him. Yes, I’ve been to his house. No, it isn’t a castle; it’s just a big fancy manor.” He looked down at Khouri and grinned. “He’s a mean old Drow who likes to keep Khouri locked away in a room, though, so that’s about as close as it gets to a fairy tale.”
Before Khouri could interject and say otherwise, Yula and Jarrett were gasping. “Are you the handsome prince then?” Yula breathed, her hands clasped at her heart.
“Did you rescue him?” Jarrett asked, swinging and imaginary sword through the air. “Did you fight a dragon?”
“Well, I certainly got scratched up enough to have fought one,” Sorin said, giving Khouri a look that was definitely not age appropriate. “Wasn’t much of a rescue, though. Navidae’s a mean old Drow, but Khouri likes him an awful lot. Much more than me.”
“Duh, they’re fiancés,” Yula said, rolling her eyes haughtily.
Khouri swallowed, his throat tight. “Uncle Sorin, you’re a dummy. You gotta marry Khouri if you want him to like you.”
“Ah,” Sorin went, having trouble making eye contact with the girl. “That’s—”
“That’s girly-talk! Come on, was there a dragon?” Jarrett emphasized, put out by the withholding topic shift.
“There wasn’t a dragon,” Khouri pressed, but the kids just rounded on one another to stick out their tongues and insult the other’s priorities. They all cried out in protest, and Sorin laughed, setting Yula back on the ground so he could run his fingers through his hair. He looked at Khouri, who glared helplessly at him. “Good job, Sorin. Now they’re upset.”
Sorin snorted, shaking his head as he laughed. He looked down at the kids and ruffled Jarrett’s hair. “I think I like that you guys think I could fight a dragon, but Khouri’s right,” he chuckled, nodding towards the trap laying on the sand. The fish inside were still thrashing. “It’s getting late. How about I tell you guys all about it over dinner? Take that up to the house for me. Give it to your mom, so she can start on dinner for us, okay?”
The kids looked about ready to vibrate from excitement at the promise of a story. Khouri had the impression they didn’t hear enough of them from Sorin. They shared a quick look, and Yula raced past Jarrett, pushing him aside. “Last one back has to eat the fish eyes!” she cried, grabbing one end of the trap and tugging at it with all her might. Khouri struggled not to laugh when she barely moved it an inch. Jarrett rolled his eyes and brushed past Sorin, grabbing the other end of the trap with both hands.
“Try sayin’ that when you can actually move this yourself,” he muttered, grunting a little as he hefted it up and helped her lug it up the hill. They had to go slow, the wriggling fish doing them no favors, but they seemed determined. Jarrett looked over his shoulder and grinned his lopsided grin at them both. “Don’t take long! I wanna hear that story!”
Sorin rolled his eyes and waved at them, shielding his eyes against the sun as he watched them make their way up the hill. Khouri couldn’t help but stare. The sun glinted off Sorin’s pale hair, turning it white-gold. His eyes sparkled like the ocean behind him, and when he grinned, he looked… Well, he looked ten years younger. Boyish and fey. Khouri forced himself to his feet an
d made himself look away, heading off towards the water with his newly made… Well, the side strands were too long to make this a bracelet. He looped it in on itself and tied the ends, turning it into a necklace. His cheeks were warm as he worked. He wasn’t sure he could blame the sun for it, either.
“Hey, where are you going?” Sorin called out, turning around to follow after him.
Khouri moved a little faster and plopped himself down in the sand near the surf, letting the waves roll in over his bare feet. He clenched the shells tightly in his hand, burying his face in his knees. The words from before echoed in his head, the kids’ laughter loud despite them having disappeared from sight. He felt so strange now. His stomach churned unpleasantly, coming and going like the ocean in front of him.
Something warm brushed Khouri’s shoulder. A hand settled on the back of his neck, warm and comforting and familiar above all else. “Hey,” Sorin murmured, his thumb stroking Khouri’s pulse point. “What’s up?” “I’m upset with you,” Khouri muttered into his knees, shrugging off Sorin’s hand. With Sorin, with Navidae for writing those damn letters and making him think so hard about all this to begin with.
“Why’s that? Was I teasing too much?” Sorin tugged at the tip of Khouri’s ear, prompting Khouri to lift his head and glare properly. Sorin was laughing like the jerk he was. “They’re kids, Khouri. They’ll get bored of it in a day.”
Khouri felt his lips curl into a pout. “That’s not the point,” he said, reluctantly taking Sorin’s proffered hand and bringing it to his cheek. “Talking about Navi, saying we’re engaged, calling him my… my fiancé…”
Sorin settled into the sand and wrapped an arm around Khouri’s shoulders. He raised a brow and carded his fingers through Khouri’s hair. “Yeah?” he pressed. “What about it? You two are really close. If you live with someone and commit to them for fifty years, up here we tend to consider that a bit more involved than friends.”