Siena (Forestfolk, Book 1)

Chapter 6a

"This is Remi." Galen placed his hands on the young man's shoulders. "He's the one who found you."

I looked to Remi, whose eyes roved over my face and fell to my shoulder. His sandy brown hair fell lightly around his forehead, and his eyes looked like they might be the same color, though it was hard to tell in the dim light of the cabin. He wasn't very tall, but he looked wiry.

"Thank you, Remi." My words seemed so inadequate. "I owe you my life."

He nodded humbly, his smile lessening the intensity of his gaze. Something about him made me a little uneasy, though. Like he knew something.

"Remi here is our resident scout," Galen said. "We think he's half monkey."

"He's also a very good guide," Bren said. "We thought you might be comfortable with someone your own age. He can show you around. You can ask him anything you like."

"And me too!" Nirrin piped, not to be left out. "You can ask me. I know some stuff."

"Yes." Bren chuckled. "And Nirrin too. She volunteered."

I smiled and thanked them, setting my roll aside.

Bren looked at it. "It's funny, your roll appears to be twice as large as when you arrived."

I flushed and looked down at my lap. "Um . . . I was . . ." I grasped at some form of fabrication to tell them. "Preparing to leave," I said finally. Lamely.

Bren smiled.  "Well, now there's no reason for it, is there?"

I shook my head. "Where will I stay?"

"You can stay here," Galen answered. "Since it is at the far end of the community, we've been using this cabin as our infirmary, where the sick and injured can recover in peace. But you can stay here until other accommodations can be arranged."

My jaw tightened. The infirmary. Again. But they didn't know about me, so it was just a coincidence, right? I kept my face impassive. "I appreciate it very much."

"Your speech was very forthright, something we Forestfolk value," Galen said. "We look forward to knowing you better."

I nodded. I think he was hoping for a little more from me than grunts and nods, but he didn't know I was raised to keep my mouth shut. That speech might have been a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

My silence obviously made Galen uncomfortable, because he cleared his throat and said, "I'll leave you to settle in, then." With that, he left.

Remi seemed about to leave too, but then Bren said, "Why don't you three have a nice little chat. I'm sure Siena has many questions."

Nirrin immediately pulled up the chair, eager to talk some more. Remi, having no place else to sit, casually leaned against the wall.

After Bren left, Nirrin asked, "What do you have in your pack?"

"Nirrin," Remi admonished, "Bren said Siena was the one asking questions, not you."

"Fine," Nirrin huffed and folded her arms.

I looked at them, Nirrin with a petulant pout while Remi focused his attention on me, expecting me to speak.

"How long have you both lived here?" I asked.

Nirrin spoke first. "I've been here since I was a baby. My parents . . ." A troubled cloud passed over her features before she brightened again. "It's great here!"

I decided not to press about her parents, and looked to Remi.

"Five years," he said. "My parents are gone as well. Yours are too, aren't they?" His gaze seemed to look right into me, like he could see into the empty hollows of my aching soul.

I nodded, but curtailed the onset of sorrow by asking, "What is this place?"

"It's called Foresthome because it started as a refugee camp," Remi answered, raising his eyes to the beams overhead. "They made a home for themselves in the forest. It's not a fancy name, but that's what it came to be known as. Anyone trying to get away from violence or hardship often find their way here. This is where the lost become found."

Where the lost became found. I smiled. That was literally what happened to me.

"Remi was a captive, just like you!" Nirrin chirped. "He got away from them."

"Nirrin!" Remi's response was stormy. "What have we told you about saying things that are not yours to talk about?"

Nirrin drooped. "Sorry, Remi, I just got excited because you guys have something in common."

He sighed and turned to me. "It's true, we do have that in common. But it's not something I like to introduce myself with."

Unlike me. Is that what he meant to say? Of all the—

"Does that upset you?" Remi asked.

He must have noticed my change in mood. This boy was observant.

"No," I stammered. "I just . . . I don't, either. Usually. I just did it today because . . . they needed to know I wasn't a threat. That I'm nobody."

"That might have been true in that tribe, but here, you're somebody. We all are."

I studied him, wondering if he was being sincere. His warm eyes seemed to surround me in their depths, even from across the room.

"Want us to show you around?" Nirrin asked, completely oblivious.

"Sure," I replied as she took my hand and dragged me out the door.

Before you go on the grand tour, mind clicking the Vote button? Thank you so much!