If Bogdan ever somehow turned back into a living being, I was going to kill him. Toss his body in the fucking wayfolds river and let him deal with having complete strangers move his naked lump of flesh around without being able to object to the rounds of agony each movement caused.
Sure, I had made the decision to jump in to avoid getting shredded by a hellbat, but there was something going on that he was refusing to tell me. I knew he said something right before we left the wayfolds, but I couldn't recall what. Plus, he took us to the outskirts of Canden. I've done this far too many times for him to forget the numbers to use to get to our usual spot.
Something was up.
The man, whose name I learned was Orik of Tremple, took me to a small, homey cabin he had built around two decades ago for his family. He had three daughters and a son, who happened to be the oldest at twenty-three, with Amly the youngest at the tender age of eight.
Orik's two younger daughters were of his second wife's, who'd died in child labor three years ago along with what would have been his second son.
How the hell did I know all of this, one might ask?
Simple. Amly loved to talk.
"Pa likes to act all mean and scary when he's mad," she said casually, sitting next to me on a chair too tall for her, so she'd repeatedly kick her legs back and forth. "But he cries when they sing the ballads on Enser. Lanie is always mean, so if he snaps at you, don' take it personal. He snaps at everyone, even the girl he fancies."
"Enough of that, you little shite," barked a young man from outside. They had the back door open to air out the cabin, and the boy was out chopping wood.
By now, I was able to shift myself in small increments. Moving my head was simple enough. Anything else was a bit more difficult. Still, I pretended that I was asleep. I wanted to be sure that I could move completely before I did anything else.
After Orik's second eldest - Leina - patched my arm and shrugged me into a tunic much too big for me, she'd ordered everyone else to "leave [me] the hell alone" until I awoke, with a strong emphasis directed at her youngest sister.
To which Amly, being the baby of the family, promptly pretended not to notice.
"Didn't Leina tell ya to let her be?" her brother continued.
"Maybe hearin' a friendly voice will help her wake up," Amly insisted.
"Or she's fakin' it, waitin' for you to go away."
Clever boy, this one.
"I want to know what's in her hair," prompted another girl - Dreal, Orik's third child at eleven years. "Have you ever seen anything like it?"
"She must be a princess," Amly chimed. I almost blew my cover with an instinctive snort.
"You think every woman ya don' know is a princess," Dreal replied.
"But this is just like Queen Raga!" Amly said. I felt someone's fingers pick at a lock of hair. "She fought a pack of wolves, and then got pulled into an ancient portal that burned off all her clothes."
"Then how do ya explain the slime?"
"Remember? She smashed through a giant bug in between the two portals that took her to Liavon. She probably fell through a slug."
Ew.
"Those are just stories, Amly," Lanie said, much closer than before. He was probably finished chopping wood.
"Dankrof says all stories have a bit of truth."
"Ya really think this girl is a fire-breathing queen of the heavens?"
"She could be!"
Alrighty. I think it's time I properly introduced myself before they start making anymore assumptions. I sighed deeply.
"What is this about giant slugs?" I murmured, my voice rough and scratchy against my throat.
"We want to know if ya fell through one," Amly stated, completely unwavering. "Ow!"
"Go away, will ya?"
I opened my eyes, grateful that this time I could move them more than a sliver. Amly was rubbing her arm, glaring at a boy as tall as their dad, but nowhere near as bulky.
"You go away, ya big hog's ass."
There was something so incredulous about watching the two siblings while another girl - Drael, I'm assuming - watched with a barely concealed smirk. I made no such effort, unable to hold the chuckle that was quick to shake my shoulders - even if it did hurt. I raised a hand to pass over my face, opting to ignore the way my arm trembled at the effort.
"Sorry," I cleared my throat. "Been awhile since I saw something like this."
Lanie jerked his attention over to me, his dark, heavy-lidded eyes heavy with suspicion.
"Huh?"
Slowly - ever so slowly - I eased my body into a sitting situation, wincing at the sharp, sore pains that quickly followed suit.
"Human interaction," I gruffed, then decided to clarify further. "A difference between siblings wanting to kill each other and a pair of strangers, I mean." I peered down at my bare toes, which were still bloody and scraped. My ankle was swollen and bruised with an angry red gash from where that creature had caught me.
This was embarrassing.
A thin smile curling at my lips, I glanced up at the small girl and her older brother. "It's refreshing."
The young man looked understandably awkward right then, glancing at his sisters before shoving his hands in his trousers' pockets.
"I'll get Leina," he mumbled, and headed off to the little doorway to too far away from my head.
Tossing one last curious look in my direction, Drael followed after her brother.
"I'll go with you!"
Amly smiled, her child eyes wide and excited.
"Sorry we didn' give ya a bath," she said, although she didn't sound very apologetic. She plopped down next to me, tilting her head to the side. "I wanted to - you smell absolutely awful - but Pa said you'd want to do that yerself. Do ya not like baths?" She didn't give me much of a chance to respond when she continued. "I don't blame ya. Leina takes up all the hot water when we have to take baths, so I gotta share with Drael. Until lately, at least. Somethin' 'bout her wanting privacy - and Pa agreed! Maybe you'll get lucky."
"You sound disappointed," I remarked, raising my brow. "Surely that means you get a bath to yourself?"
She hesitated. Clearly, this was something she had mixed feelings about.
"I like having a bath to meself," she acknowledged. "But now Drael doesn't like to play with me anymore." She paused, and I knew what she was going to ask next before the words left her mouth. "Maybe you can! We can be the best of friends-"
"Amly, stop pestering that poor woman and go find Pa," snipped a new voice. Immediately, Amly stood.
"Oh, Pa's out-"
"I said go find him."
The young girl scuffed the floor with her foot, though nonetheless headed out the back door.
"You're so bossy," she grumbled.
I couldn't help but pity her, even if I did want her to scram. It felt so long ago, but I remembered what it was to be her age and deal with the older children not wanting me around. I wondered, briefly, when I went from being an overly chatty kid to a bitter middle-aged woman that wanted nothing to do with them.
No need to go down that road, Wren.
"Ehm," someone - a woman - cleared her throat. "I have a tub of hot water set for you. I'd reckon you take a bath before supper."
I turned to look up at a slim, somewhat tall young woman around Lanie's age. Like him, she had darker eyes and hair than her father and younger siblings, but the skin tone and facial structure remained otherwise the same. She was leaning against the doorframe, her face settled into a neutral, calm expression.
"You must be Leina," I commented, easing up to my feet. My legs shook beneath the weight, and I nearly toppled over, but I managed to straighten myself without too much of an incident. Leina didn't budge, to my relief, instead waiting for me to gather myself before she gestured to the hallway behind her.
"Told her to leave ya alone," she said. "I'd hoped the smell would keep her away."
I grunted in response.
"Kids her age will play in pigpens if you let them," I reminded.
A hint of a smile curled at Leina's lips.
"You smell much worse," she assured, then turned around. "I'll show ya where the bath is drawn. Tossed out yer clothes - they were utter shite - so I found somethin' that should fit ya." Without waiting to see if I could walk, she headed out of the room - and after a few awkward attempts to follow her, I quickly found out why.
The room they had me in must of been some sort of guest/storage area. Upon stepping out, I could easily see the rooms to the rest of the cabin - two other doors were in front of me a few paces away, with another door not too far to my right. A big, open hearth stood in the middle of the open area with a small fire already lit. The roof was high and arched, and if I studied the sides well enough, I could see small, slanted openings that probably helped to let the smoke out.
A large, sturdy table and chairs were tucked against the far wall away from the front door to my left. Drael and Lanie were setting the table with bowls and spoons, but if the enclosed pot hanging over the fire was anything to go by, dinner wasn't done yet, even if it did remind my stomach that it hadn't been stated in ages.
It was impossible to get lost in here.
Leina was on the far side of the communal area, pushing open a smaller door in the corner that I originally missed. I gingerly made my way over to her, trying not to fall and refusing to acknowledge Drael's concerned frown. Lanie was just as interested in not paying me any attention as I was with his sister. Either that or he must have been holding a very interesting bowl.
Leina - why did Orik name his two elder children so similarly? - waited for me by the door . . . And I cursed when I finally caught up to her.
This room wasn't nearly as big and open as the communal area. In fact, it was small. Smaller than what they had me in. It was just big enough for a decent sized basin full of water pressed alongside the wall, with space for two people to stand shoulder to shoulder - assuming the didn't mind brushing up against the low chair to my right, which had a bundle of clothes and a folded towel resting on it.
Leina gave me an odd look.
"Didn' take ya to be a pompous ass," she said, with no small amount snark to her voice. I frowned, not meaning to come off as such.
"I- fuck, sorry," I muttered. "It's not that."
The young woman tilted her head.
"Do ya need help?"
I hesitated, staring at the tub full of water. I wasn't sure I had enough strength in my legs to get me in and out of there without tripping over myself. And yet . . . Once she closed the door . . .
"Yes, I think I might," I said before I could say otherwise. I didn't trust myself to stay awake once I got in there. If she hadn't already drawn up the water, I would have told her to just keep it cold.
I wasn't entirely certain what Leina saw on my face when she paused, but a look of understanding fitted her expression before she nodded.
"We'll be quick," she promised.
So as we stepped inside and she shut the door, my heart a pounding mess inside my chest, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine that I had much, much more room than I really had.
Things just kept getting better and better.
~ 2054 Words ~