The Shamer's Daughter - A Fanfiction

Chapter 29 - Unfortunate Brother

As much as she hated it, Dina did understand the necessity of her staying behind while the others rescued her mother. Her presence alone could jeopardize the entire plan, although she didn't know much about the details. All she knew was that if everything went well, Lord Drakan would be dead by the end of the day. Her and Rose were left alone in the Widow's house and were supposed to wait until Petri, or Mr Magnus came to get them.

"Don't let anyone else in." The Widow said with a stern face before she closed the door behind her and the girls were alone. There was nothing left to do but wait and pray. Fortunately, their hostess had left them with bread and sausage and more tea for both of them. But while Rose stuffed her mouth, like she would never eat again, Dina couldn't get a single bite down. She was glad Rose was there, even if she didn't say anything. If she had been by herself, she felt positive she would have lost her mind from worry.

"Is it nice where you're from?" Rose asked all of a sudden and pulled Dina back from imagining her mother tied to a post like the lamb from the day before. "What was it called again?"

"...Birches." Dina answered with a weak voice.

"Yes, Birches. Is it nice? How many people live there?" Dina didn't even realise Rose was trying to distract her, but it helped none-the-less.

"Some. Not many." Dina cleared her throat. "At least not as many as in Dunark." And then she continued telling about Rikert and Ellyn, and Sasia and Cilla.

"She sounds mean." Rose agreed and genuinely too, even though she followed up by telling of some of the kids who used to beat her up til she was blue and black when she was younger. Dina didn't mention that she already knew. She had seen them - behind her eyes. And so time passed while the friends got to know each other and even laughed a little once in a while. The kitchen and the rest of the house was quite dark, because Petri had closed all the shudders before leaving. That way, no one would come looking for her, because she clearly wasn't home. And no one would wonder what two dirty kids were doing in her kitchen.

"I wish I had a brother like yours." Rose sighed after Dina had told of him and Melli. "Someone to look out for me, and someone to talk to instead of..." She didn't have to continue for Dina to understand. Davin wasn't perfect and they used to bicker a lot before she got her powers, but compared to Arn, he was something out of a fairytale.

"I don't understand why the house is his? Doesn't your mother own it?" She asked to keep Rose talking. It was her turn to distract her.

"No. It used to belong to my stepfather. He was a cobbler and when he died, Arn got everything. The house, the shop and whatever money was left. But it didn't take long for him to gamble and drink away the money and then sell the shop to get more." Rose snorted. "He's always talking about how he wants to be a merchant and about all the nice negotiations he's going to make. But the only negotiations he makes are to convince the innkeeper to let him stay another hour."

"So, do you know your father?" Dina had actually expected a 'no' because of the whole bastard thing, but to her surprise, Rose nodded eagerly.

"Yes! I've met him four times! He wasn't some cobbler or drunk. He was a mighty fine man with money and a big house in the other end of the city. It's really unfair that Arn would get the house, because we couldn't even afford it if it hadn't been for my Dad." Rose spoke very proudly - in spite of being a product of a brief affair between a rich man and one of his servants. "He kept sending us money after my mother wasn't allowed to wash for his family anymore. Of course his wife stopped the money from coming after he died." Dina felt a little sorry for her, but she seemed happy enough with what she was given. And all at the same, she was wondering if the Widow had made it to her uncle's house without getting caught. And if The Weapons Master had reached Lady Dalie before she was surrounded by people.

"So, how did you meet him?" Dina poked her sausage around with the fork.

"Before his wife.. found out... about my mother - I used to deliver the clean clothes and the cook would always sneak me a cake when I was there." How odd for Rose to be stuck in the kitchen, while her father was walking around the fancy halls just above her head. And how graceful of him to agree to see her all of four times. But of course it was more than Dina could brag about. As far as she knew, she had never even seen the man that was her father.

"What about your father?" Rose asked as if she had read her mind.

"I don't know anything about him. My Mom won't tell. She always says that we have a mother, and that's enough. That's how it is in the Tonerre family."

"So, where's your family from?"

"Some of us live in Campana in the south, but originally we come from even farther away - from a place called Colmonte."

"Never heard of it." Rose admitted as she took another bite.

"I'm not even sure where it is. But somewhere beyond the Skay-Sagi Peninsula."

"One day, I would like to..." But Dina never knew what it was that she wanted, because out of nowhere, there was a knock on the door. Not a polite and careful knock, but a powerful, loud and demanding sound thundering through the house. The girls were frozen in panic and looked at each other like scared rabbits hiding in the grass. When no one answered, a voice followed the second knock.

"Open the door! By order of the Dragon - open this door!" Hurriedly, both girls jumped up and ran as fast as they could towards the backdoor that the Widow had shown them. But just as Dina was about to pull the handle, shattered wood filled the entrance and the sunlight came through a gashing hole. If the door hadn't been so rusty and heavy and she could have used both her arms, they probably would have made it. But she couldn't - and five tall men came through the hole where the door used to be. Behind them, Rose caught the eye of her brother. Red faced and spitting with anger, he was yelling with every breath in his lungs.

"There! There she is!" He was pointing through the door without stepping inside. And making sure that he looked everywhere but in Dina's eyes. "The little dark haired one! She's the witch's daughter!"

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