Stowaway (A Pirate Novel) (Completed)

Chapter 21 The Painter

Chapter 21 The Painter
The boy led her through the twisting streets. Every once in awhile he would. Something out until her story about it. By the time they made it to the street the candle shop set on Zara new the names of his siblings, mother, deceased father and that his sister Mary was getting married in a year.

Francis considered Conor old at twenty. Connor was Mary's intended and the middle son of a tanner. Francis also considered love stupid and hated it when Connor made "sappy eyes" at his sister.

It was a struggle to keep her footing on the old road. Where the stone had been broken or carted off wagons and cards handmade deep ruts in the road. The road repeatedly tried to trip her and toss her to her knees.

They had long pasted the scent of fish and sea. The new scents we're not much better than the fish. They were unfortunately close to the dump and a multitude of rot and smells reaked in the air. They finally came to a two story building. The whole building was gray cracked wood. If it had ever been painted or whitewashed there was no evidence of it. The lower level had a single door to the left and a window to the right of the door. The window was so opaque that you couldn't say the things hanging on the other side. You could only make out faint shapes and colors. Both of the shutters were open and tied back with short strings of thin rope.

Francis led her to the side of the building where they found a narrow flight of mismatched wooden stairs.

"He lives up there." Francis said and pointed up the stairs.

Zara handed him some coins, thanked him and headed up the stairs. His own thank you ringing in the air behind her.

Despite the fact the stairs looking rickety and dangerous they were surprisingly sturdy.

Hands at her sides the railing almost brush the back of her left hand and the house almost touched her right.

At the top of the stairs she paused. She was nervous. She hadn't seen Leo in years. They had been friends before her banishment from home. She worried what he would think of her now.

She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush a silent air. She knocked tentatively three times up on the door .

When the door opened she recognized her cousin almost instantly.

His eyes were the same dark wood color they had always been but there was a suspiciousness that had never been there before. The suspicion cleared after he studied her face.

His hair was long enough to reach his shoulders but it was dull and lifeless. He still stood straight and a matched her short height.

Like Francis he was too skinny. His skin looked pale and splotched with small round scars.

"Hello, Leo." she said seconds after the door opens. "Its been a long time cousin."

He smiled. His teeth not as white as she remembered.

"Come in." he said and took a step back. "I believe you know the other guests."

Zara entered. Lights filtered in from the unshattered windows. Leo shut the door behind her.

She barely noticed the small space was sparsely furnished. There was a bed to her left, two chairs in front of her. Behind the chairs was an easel and another chair. To the left of the easel was a small round table and two additional chairs set a few feet from a wood cook stove. There were a few trunks scattered around the room.

There was a combination of 6 windows on three of the walls. The fourth wall had no openings of any kind, it's wood made of mismatched colors.

But the one thing that held her attention was the person tied to a chair at the round table.