The King of Saminu

Chapter 22

    He was right. I could hear the large knife hitting the chopping block from the entry way. Mams used cooking as her anger cope. Pappy was elsewhere, not in the sitting room. Knowing him, he was working.
"Mams!" I called, and the knife stopped. Heels on marble, and then my mother was wrapping her arms around me. I sighed, leaning into her hug. I missed this.
"Can you please knock some sense into your brother? He won't listen to us!" Mams started. I almost smiled. Not even a hello. So much like Mams.

    "Mams, this is my chance. You know I've always dreamed of fighting the bad guys! I've been working my ass off for this. I've completed my training. I know how to fight. I'm at the top of my class, and they've been to war before! You can't tell me not to take this opportunity," Gamm whined. Mams shook her head. She reached out and tugged at Gamm's new military regulated haircut.
"Gamm, you used to be the bad guy," Mams whispered. The back of my neck tingled, and I looked away. Pappy came into view, arms crossed over his chest. His normally clean shaven face was covered in stubble, bags under his eyes.

    "Listen to your mother. Not even two months ago you were beaten to a pulp by Spennians. Had your sister not saved you, you would have likely not survived the trip here," Gamm shook his head.
"Spenn isn't the bad guy. Slifni is. How many times did you say that Xeoys didn't deserve to be on the throne? How many times did we move and uproot our lives in order to hide from him. You left nobility so that your king wouldn't have easy access to Rensker. After making sure that we weren't savage Slifnians, Spenn has been nothing but kind to us," Gamm spat, backing away from our parents. He ran a hand through his hair, and I backed away from him too. It was strange to hear Gamm talk like that. But at the same time, he was spending hours upon hours every day with Spennians like Vaindari. No wonder.

    "Gamm-"
"May I interrupt?" I questioned, an awkward smile on my face. Mams nodded appreciatively. I sighed. "There's no such thing as good or bad based on where we came from. Some Slifnians, like Xeoys, are bad. But that doesn't make all Slifnians bad, Gamm. Is Ellsk savage? Am I savage? Is anyone from Maeri truly evil because they're from Slifni? No. Not all Spennians are great either. Vaindari's waiting in the carriage outside, and he's proof of that," Pappy and Mams smiled, almost applauding me. But I wasn't finished. Gamm's face was morphing into a scowl.

    "But at the same time, Xeoys does not deserve his throne. Slifni's way of life isn't right and we all know that. The only way to save everyone is to go to war. Brann doesn't want innocents to die. No one does. The war is pointless, which is why it has to end. And I would like to see Spenn on the winning side. Saminu can be reunited, rather than being Spenn and Slifni," I looked at Gamm, my face full of pleading. "Which is why I'm going with Gamm and Brann to Slifni tomorrow,"

    Outrage ensued. Mams and Pappy were both screaming, their voices mixed and muddled together to where it was just loudness. Gamm was arguing with them on my behalf. I remained silent, an intense headache breaking through my skull. However, everything came to a stop when a door upstairs opened. Ellsk stood in his doorway, hair unkempt and a hand rubbing his eye.
"It is loud down here," He spoke, trudging down the stairs. I rushed over to him, grabbing the smaller boy to pick him up. Either Ellsk had lost weight or my strength training was working. I wasn't sure which one it was.

    "Ellsk, I missed you," I mumbled, wrapping my arms around the boy. His skin was warm. It wasn't late enough for me to check fully, but Ellsk seemed to be getting sick again. My worry for my trip increased.
"I have missed you too, Rensker," From the silence of the rest of the house, Ellsk's voice must be rare nowadays. I had been to visit at least once a week, and every time I was here, Ellsk was not. This was a rare occurrence.

    I put Ellsk down, my arms starting to shake from the effort of holding his weight. Ellsk landed gracefully, wiping his hands on his nightshirt. I smiled down at him, but he moved back towards me, his hands pressed against my stomach. The action felt strange. He had never done this before. I waited. Ellsk spoke his strange language, his mouth close to his hands that were still holding my stomach captive. Finally, he looked up, his eyes serious.
"You will name the king what was promised?" I pulled away, confused, but I nodded. Ellsk seemed to relax.
"Thank you for being an amazing sister, Rensker. You should say your goodbyes to Mams and Pappy. You will be gone for quite some time," Ellsk sighed, shaking his head. I cocked a brow at him, but the boy turned and trudged back up the stairs. There was no goodbye from him. But Ellsk wasn't normally one for goodbyes.