Impurities

Chapter Twenty Seven: Unannounced

"You're a slim thing. Just like your mother was. Same bones, same structure." He kept talking, but Annawrete had stopped listening. There was no point to it if she could only understand every other word, her mannish had improved but it still was not perfect. Rather than listen, she looked back at the aged man. She saw her own eyes when she looked at him, a rare blue she had never seen anyone else but her possess until now. He shared with her birthmarks as well, in the form of loosely scattered freckles upon his body. He had to have begotten her.  Inside she was rising with anger as he looked her over delicately as well but it wasn't until he reached for her chin that she boiled over.

"Why were you not there! Why did my mother forsake me!" came pouring from her lips. In the speed and accent of which she spoke, her words could have easily been mistaken. Despite his pause of confusion, the man kept his hand firmly pinched at her jaw. "If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you cursed me in that elvish language". A smile plastered onto his thin lips.

"She asks questions that she deserves to know answers to", Ezra said cautiously as he approached the two. Carefully he loosened Tobias' grip on his Annawrete until she had been let go.

"I was only looking at her, I dont have that right?" This was no way to handle a lady much less one's daughter. Tobias had always been this way with females though, aggressive and blind to how he might have been hurting them.

"Let's see if she can cook", he didnt wait for an answer, "I'm hungry". His hands reached for the quartered ham amongst the goods and gave it a firm squeeze in hind sight. "Prepare this and some potatoes for your old man, be generous with the potions now. There's plenty more food".

Annawrete started for the back room, but Ezra stopped her. "He desires nourishment",  he breathed in Elvish. "So does my child", she responded coldly, "Which do you think I will feed?" Ezra was to plead against her but as if on queue, Alto began to wail.

"A child?" Ezra heard the surprise in their guest's voice. "He isn't exactly mine Tobias..." He answered before pleading with his wife again. "Annawrete, I beg, prepare something for your father. I will comfort the child until you can feed him".

"Do you sell her to men or what?" Tobia asked.  "Who's the father? That don't matter I suppose, let me see my grandchild".

"Do not permit him to see my son". Annawrete understood that much.  She didn't want Tobias to have anything to do with Alto. She pushed against Ezra but he held ground. "The stove is that way. You must do what he wants my love, so that you do not meet his anger".

Sensing strife, Tobias crossed his arms and watched the two carry on their bickering all the while the baby wailed. He grew more and more impatient with each passing second that he soon came to bear a scrawl. "For crying out loud, child", he soon came to say, "Stop making his life miserable with your arguing and go quiet your bastard child". 

"Go", Ezra said with a bit of a push at Annawrete's lower back . "Go quiet Alto quickly". As Annawrete quickly disappeared towards the back room, Ezra clapped his hands together. "So father", he forced a smile at Tobias. "Tell me of your endeavors since we last saw one another. Could I serve you anything while we wait for dinner?"