Unspoken

Chapter 24 Family ties

“You must have seen him!” Daria shouted as she advanced on the man across from her. “He must have walked right past you! You must have seen!”

Her fists pounded against his chest, but Dorin easily deflected them. He growled in annoyance and glared at Petsha over the girl’s shoulder. “Keep your wife in check, Petsha of Vali’s wagon.”

“She has the right of it,” Petsha commented, but he still stepped forward to grab the girl around the waist and pull her away before the fight involved nails.

“He must have seen!” Daria cried.

“He wanted to leave,” Dorin hissed, “I could not have stopped him.”

“You could have tried,” Petsha growled.

“Peace!” Milosh barked. He looked from Dorin to Petsha and Daria and then settled on Dorin again. “You were on guard last night,” he said, “did he speak to you?”

“He did,” Dorin said stiffly, “he said he’d go away.”

“Where did he go?” Milosh demanded.

“I do not know.”

“Why would he leave?” Cezar now interfered.

“Perhaps because he did not want to stay,” Dorin answered annoyed, “how am I to know? I’m not his keeper. Perhaps you should have kept a closer eye on your son.”

“You insolent...”

“Stop!” Milosh warned, “this will do us no good. We can not afford to fight amongst ourselves.” These past few weeks had been hard on them. He sighed. “Cezar, Ramiro has made his choice. As much as it saddens me, we must let him go.”

“We must look for him!”

“No,” Milosh said decisively, “he has chosen to leave. If we bring him back, he will only leave again. No. We will continue. We must think of the kumpania.” He looked at Daria, who was crying in Petsha’s arms. The girl’s mother wasn’t in much better shape. “Gather everyone,” Milosh said, “we will break up camp.”

…

“These are sad times,” Laszlo fastened the last strap of the horse’s harness.

“Why do you think Ramiro has left?” Alec stood beside the horse and held the bridle while Laszlo readied the gear.

“Ah boy,” Laszlo commented, “heartache is a complicated thing. And some ghosts will never stop haunting you.”

“Ghosts?” Alec shivered.

“Not those kind, boy,”  Laszlo smiled at him sadly. He himself still missed his wife, even after all these years. He knew exactly how Ramiro felt and the young man hadn’t even started building a life with his beloved.