Folly & Agendas & Talulah

[Chapter 62]

Mother and Daughter...
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"Marzanna! Stop pulling on my skirt. Is something wrong?"

"Auntie Haaa~leee~ iszh making a dress! Come! Come!"

"Okay, sweetie. But mommy has to go right after. Mommy needs to talk to Mr. Patriot and Yelena. Lead the way."

Fingers cold; palms warm. There was no smell of frost in the air. Not the aroma of food nor imported perfumes or spices wafted in the air. The streets were free of litter and filth. The city's buildings were painted white by the preceding snow weeks ago. Marzanna led me all the way through an empty city square, under a torn bridge, and inside a dilapidated house with an open roof. Inside, Haley sat with a needle and thread beside a sheet of silk and wool.

"Hello, Haley," I greeted, releasing my daughter's hand. "Marzanna told me that you were making a dress. What is the occasion?"

"Oh, there's no occasion," Haley giggled. "I just wanted to try something new. There was a crate full of miscellaneous goods coming from Kaiser Rye's men, so I figured that I'd make some use out of it; but I've learned that I can't."

The "dress" she is making looked more like a pillow absorbed into a blanket. I commend her perseverance, but the result doesn't look very appealing. There was a lot more thread and other materials hanging beside her in a little basket. But the only colors there was black and white; a bland cluster of hues.

"You can keep on trying," I said. I sat down beside her and watched Marzanna climb into her lap. My daughter reached for the needle, but Haley stopped her craft and put it away.

"It's just for fun, Talulah. Maybe I can make a dress for you and Marzanna. The two of you can be matching!" Haley tickled Marzanna and the two of them laughed in delight.

"That's wonderful. But unfortunately, I have to speak to Patriot soon regarding our defenses, and about us entering new territory farther south. We have already reached a warmer climate more bearable than the tundra, full of fruits and cities, and now we need to settle down someplace before moving on."

"We always seem to by moving around, don't we? Even after we got this city, it seems like we are going nowhere. I'm cut out for a leader, but I can tell that we are still trying to survive while we live lives from a fairytale of the sort. After all, you did give birth and bless us with such an ado-wable baby."

Haley made a funny face for Marzanna. My daughter replicated it, puffing out her cheeks with a goofy smile before the three of us started laughing. Haley placed Marzanna on my lap and passed around a few apples. Marzanna chomped on hers, creating a crisp bite sound. Haley ate hers and spoke with a full mouth.

"What do you have to talk to Patriot about? We haven't been attacked by the Ursus army or any bandits have we? That normally happens to Kaiser Rye's posse of men."

"That is exactly the problem," I sighed. I pinched the stem of Marzanna's apple and spun it around, so she can eat a new side of fresh apple skin. "Kaiser Rye is returning with less men on every trip. I have no clue what he does while he gathers supplies, but it doesn't sound good. The cemetary in the city has been filling up with more and more headstones."

"Ce-ma-taree?" Marzanna repeated with a full mouth.

"It's nothing, sweetie. Keep eating her apple."

Haley leaned forward in her seat. "Isn't this something you should be talking to Kaiser Rye about?" She suggested. "I mean, it's his men that are dying after every trip. I've seen him carry each and every one of their bodies and buried them along with the others. He remembers their names well, but he doesn't talk so much about them until they passed away."