More than one year later...
When he first landed on these shores, he had thought nothing of the town. He had been four or five and his father had taken just him on a diplomatic mission to speak to some foreign man who spoke a language Zacary did not understand. All he remembered from that childhood trip was boredom and chatter. It was a distant memory, one that could have been dreamed of or imagined.
But Keitun was a real village that sat just inland of a peninsula. The natives spoke a language he could barely grasp and wove baskets of golden sticks and ate food with a spice he had never tasted. Keitun was his last hope for finding his mother. It was the seventh place he had searched in a year that had made a man of him. His beard had grown rugged and his arms toned and tan from long hours of sailing and jumping ships. His clothes changed with each culture he learned from, including one that made him wear skirts and robes. It had been a long year of search for his mother and his sister. He was losing hope. He had nowhere else to go. His mother left dead ends for her mother's family to follow. When she ran away with his sister, she left them no trail. Her mother was heartbroken.
When the duke of Averie had shipped her away to this foreign, warmer land, the agreement had been that she was to stay with her parents until she and the baby were healthy enough to come home. The warmer weather was supposed to help the pregnant woman not miscarry again. But Lady Jinelle never had a happy relationship with her family. She had been miserable with her family her entire pregnancy. She had left with a baby girl once she was old enough and rabbit trails in her midst.
Zac had wandered Keitun for the last week. He had spoken to everyone in every tavern, bakery, apothecary, butchery, blacksmith, and with every traveling merchant. No one knew a Lady Jinelle Claristis or a Caterine Averie, the name she had later assumed.
Zac was tired of chasing dead-end trails and he was tired of digging and not finding treasure. He had come to knocking on doors, but now he had the sheriff following him.
He was out of hope when he saw a young lady shelling peas on the front porch of her small house. He stood outside the gate of the little fence that decorated their small yard. Grass and weeds choked out the plants and flowers that originally grew up. The home was so small Zac had to wonder if any other family members lived with her. A small farm rose on the hill behind her home, goats and pigs and cows dotting the fields. The woman sensed his presence and looked up, the wide brim of her hat shading her expression.
"Excuse me, I am a traveler in earnest need of a place to stay. I have run out of money and will do housework or farm chores in exchange for shelter and food."
The girl stopped and smiled, her hat's brim shadowing the upper half of her face. She came over to the fence and smiles at him. "I will see what I can do. We always need some extra hands around here, but I am not sure about extra mouths." She pulls back her hat as she unlocks the gate and Zac's jaw hangs open. Her eyes are the same sparkling green as his and her silky hair is the same as her mother's. "Hello, I am Gia Isemae Averie. You are not from around here, are you?"
Zac recovers quickly. "Zacary Holden. And no, I am not. But I can assure you, we have much in common.
Gia grins and Zac cannot help but smile at his sister.
Author's note: Gia Isemae loosely translates to "already loved". Gia means "God's gracious gift". Isemae means "to be loved, God is with us".
YOU ARE READING
Incognito
FantasyA boy trying to find himself in the shadow of his family. A girl living in the woods with a baby that is not hers. Zacary Holden has decided he wants his inheritance, and he wants it now. But everything goes down hill when he runs out of money and...
