OoOoO
The sound of quiet crying woke Jatheryn in the middle of the night. It was so soft that he wondered at how he could have possibly heard anything from deep in his dreams. Holding his breath, he could hear it from the wall between his and Awenis's rooms. There it came again; soft sniffles muffled as though into a pillow.
Jatheryn sat up in bed and swung his feet over the side. The rug was cool beneath his feet, its colors seeped away by the paleness of the moonlight. It was a full moon tonight, and Jatheryn didn't even need to light a candle to find his night robe slung over the vanity chair. Tightening the belt over his black satin nightclothes, Jatheryn made for the door.
Only once he was standing out in the hallway in front of Awenis's door did he pause. The candles on the chandelier over the stairway had almost burnt down to stubs, suggesting the night was very old at this hour.
Was it his place to go in? Did Awenis even want him at her side? His hand faltered in midair.
Another soft, choked sob reached him, standing alone out in the hall. He saw his reflection, distorted in the dull gleam of the brass doorknob. His father was right; he did look like a ghost. Standing out here in the shadows listening to his sister cry, he certainly felt like one. Perhaps he ought to go back to bed and leave Awenis in peace as she had asked earlier.
How you choose to spend your wretched existence is less like living and more like haunting!
Jahaelis's angry words came back to Jatheryn in the quiet of the night. Ghosts could not speak though, and certainly could not comfort.
"I am not a ghost," Jatheryn whispered to himself. Then he turned the doorknob and went in.
Awenis's room was brighter than his. The balcony windows and curtains were pulled all the way open, almost expectantly, allowing the full radiance of the moon to cast a silvery glow across the bed. Awenis sat bolt upright, clutching at the covers over her filmy white nightdress.
"Jatheryn, what are you doing?" she gasped. Tear tracks glistened on her face in the moonlight. Her white-blonde hair floated in an untidy cloud around her pale shoulders. "Why didn't you knock?"
"Because I didn't know if you would let me in." Jatheryn approached the bed and sat down on a far corner.
"I..." Awenis rubbed at her puffy eyes. "...Could you hear me?"
Jatheryn nodded. "I could. Awenis, will you talk about it?"
"What is there to say?"
"Anything...Everything. I fear I may have driven off Darenel Tremaris, so surely you must have things you want to say to me." When Awenis drew up her knees to her chin beneath the blankets, Jatheryn pursued her, leaning forward. "Please Awenis, just talk. Be angry even, if you will."
Awenis backhanded her cheek again, another tear escaping. "It's not that. I'm not angry at you Jatheryn, I swear I'm not."
"Then at Darenel?"
"No...yes...Jath, I'm afraid." Awenis' voice got tinier with every syllable. She hugged her legs tightly to her chest, her amber eyes wide.
"Afraid of what?" Jatheryn frowned. "No one besides me knew about you and Darenel, I'm sure of it. You're not in any danger of dishonor, nor is he."
"But I am...I am," Awenis whispered. "It is inevitable. I can't hide it, not for long."
"Hide what? Awenis, I know you must be heartbroken, but you're not making sense. What are you afraid of?"
Awenis clutched at her bed sheets, wringing the linen so tightly that it pleated in her grasp. Then suddenly she swung her legs sideways and slid out of bed. Nightdress trailing like mist behind her, she went to her bedside table and rummaged for a moment. Puzzled, Jatheryn sat, waiting for comprehension.
Straightening up, Awenis held up a small vial of cloudy liquid. It looked almost pearlescent by the light of the full moon.
"This is the usual draught that I've taken every moon cycle without fail for the last six years since I first began my courses. It's for my womens' pain, you remember?"
"I remember," Jatheryn confirmed.
How could he ever forget those first few months when Awenis was little more than a child, screaming in agony and clutching her stomach? According to their mother it was very unusual for a young girl to experience such discomfort, and they had feared for Awenis's health. Finally, a hasty trip to the nearest apothecary had yielded relief. Even now it still wasn't unusual for Awenis to spend three to five days out of every moon cycle curled up on a couch somewhere like an over-cooked shrimp.
Awenis set the little vial down on her bedside table with a soft 'clink'. She fell back onto the bed, enfolding herself tightly. She trembled like a frightened kitten.
"That draught was meant to be taken almost two weeks ago. I've waited and I've waited, but I never needed it. Nor did I bleed."
Jatheryn felt his throat go dry. He, like every other educated youth in Vaelona, had had a full knowledge of the sciences, both natural and physical. His eyes immediately went to Awenis' midsection, hidden beneath her milky white arms.
"Two weeks ago?" he managed to ask, sounding as breathless as if someone had struck him in the gut. "Awenis...you think you are...with child?"
Awenis's chin barely moved, but it was a nod all the same. What little color she had seemed to have sapped away, leaving her as white as Jatheryn.
"I am almost certain. There are other signs too, little things that I would probably miss if I weren't so alert to them. Unless there is something else wrong with me, and I can't imagine what else this could be, I am pregnant."
Jatheryn felt like the floor had dropped open beneath them, leaving him and his sister dangling their feet off the side of the bed and over a gaping void. To stand up would be to fall into the darkness and uncertainty that lurked below. All of Jatheryn's worries regarding his own future were instantly and utterly eclipsed by something so much bigger and more terrifying.
"How long until..." Jatheyrn swallowed hard. He had to think, but it was so hard. "...until it becomes noticeable to others?"
Awenis' gaze fell to her stomach. Lightly, almost fearfully, she grazed a fingertip across her nightdress.
"I don't know, perhaps another few weeks? I'm so slight though, there's nowhere on me to hide anything. Everything will be as obvious as if I were to start growing a third arm." She hugged herself once again. "I don't know what to do. I've been trying to find a way to talk to Darenel alone about it, but by all accounts he hasn't even left the Tremaris estate in the last week."
"We have to talk to Darenel, immediately, even if I have to kidnap him from his own bed to get him here," Jatheryn said. "He had better have an excellent explanation for this long absence, or I swear..." Realizing he was getting off topic, Jatheryn mentally shook himself. "Darenel stands to lose as much as you do in this, Awenis. Once you talk to him, I'm sure he'll agree that you have no time to lose in making your courtship public. It won't look good, you being with child before a formal betrothal, and no doubt all of Vaelona will be buzzing. Still, I would be willing to bet that the second our family and his gets wind of your news, there will be a wedding in the making within the week. A few years from now when the two of you are married and your child born and beautiful, this will be old news even to the gossips." He tried to smile reassuringly. "Everything will turn out alright in the end, even if you and Darenel are in for some ugly days in the here and now. Maybe this is even a good thing; Darenel will have to find his courage and the two of you won't be able to hide anymore even if you wanted to."
Awenis smiled uneasily, an expression that did not quite manage to reach her eyes. "I want this to be a good thing, so I hope you're right, Jath." Again she touched her stomach, less gingerly this time. "I was talking to the baby the other night, when I was sure Jenni had gone. Sometimes I think I could start to love it already, just knowing that it's a part of me and a part of Darenel."
"It's a part of you, so I think I could almost begin to love it too." Jatheryn edged closer, allowing himself for the first time to explore the happier side of Awenis's news. "Imagine that; you to be a mother, and I an uncle. Aren't we still but children ourselves?"
Awenis looked up at Jatheryn with a grave smile then, and finally Jatheryn understood Awenis's recent change in apparel and styling habits.
"We are older than we were even just a year ago, Jath, and older still than the year before. Maybe growing up doesn't so much happen in a steady procession as it does in bursts, sudden moments that change the way you see the world forever." She patted her still flat stomach one last time.
"Are you still afraid?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Awenis shivered as a chill breeze came in from the balcony. When Jatheryn stood and made to close it she called him back though. "Don't. That's how...how Darenel always comes in. I never know if tonight will be the night he might return."
"Soon it will be dawn, Awenis." Jatheryn marked the low dip of the moon in the starry night sky. "Darenel is not coming tonight." Seeing Awenis's crestfallen expression he added, "I swear by the stars though, first thing after breakfast I am going straight to the Tremaris estate to drag Darenel back here by his ear. One way or another, you will have him before you before this time tomorrow."
Awenis stood up and came to Jatheryn's side. Brother and sister embraced one another in a way that they had not done in some time. It felt good, like Jatheryn finally knew Awenis entirely once again. No doubt there would be an ugly reckoning in the Saurivic estate once they freed the cat from the bag. Jatheryn imagined they had survived worse though, and to be honest, the thought of being an uncle was both fearful and exciting.
When he had left Awenis getting back into bed and returned to his own room, Jatheryn laid awake staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. How could he possibly sleep knowing what he knew now? He marveled at how Awenis could manage to find any rest, herself being the one at the very heart of all this. When the sun began to crest and the birds in the gardens burst into song, Jatheryn was still just as awake as he had been since Awenis's tears awoke him in the dead of night.
OoOoO
True to his word, Jatheryn announced that he was going out after breakfast once the tea was nearly down to its leaves. When Awenis added that she was going out too, Rosarin and Jahaelis had sent them off without protest. If anything, their parents looked relieved that Jatheryn's newfound willingness to depart his room was not a temporary insanity. The air in the Saurivic household finally seemed to be resuming a sort of normalcy, and Jatheryn silently lamented that it could not last. Still, a union with the powerful Tremaris family could only be welcomed as a good thing in the long run, couldn't it?
It was a marvel to Jatheryn how composed Awenis looked, despite knowing their destination. She once again had her cornsilk hair coifed in a half up-do that pinned up the top of her long tresses while leaving the rest free to spill down her back. The skirts of her charcoal grey dress whispered along the ground as they walked, sequined detailing on her bodice and long, fitted sleeves catching the pale dawn sunlight. She did not speak nor look at him, and he likewise kept his gaze ahead on the street.
The walk to the Tremaris estate was not long, and they encountered few people on the way. Vaelona was a city that took its time about rising and shining in the early hours. Plus, everyone would need to be well rested for that evening's round of parties and soirees.
The Tremaris estate was one of the few family compounds larger than the Saurivic estate. Located only blocks from major Vaelonese landmarks such as the Rainbow Gardens and the Bardic College, the Tremaris estate was a masterpiece in and of itself. Long rows of perfectly trimmed fir trees lined the walkway out front, coming together on either side of a twisted metal gate. The blue and white diamond that was the Tremaris family emblem hung at the center of the gate, framed by tendrils of metal that curled out of the bars like living vines. Beyond, acres of verdant green lawn and blooming cherry trees decorated the grounds. If an artist was given nothing more than the description 'the perfect noble manor' to work off of, they would likely paint a scene of the Tremaris home.
A boy roughly Taevrin's age dressed in a pale blue surcoat stepped into view on the other side of the gate. His eyes grew slightly wider when he saw Jatheryn and Awenis, but he quickly regained his composure.
"You have business with the Tremaris family?" the young gateman asked.
"I'm here to see Darenel," Awenis declared. There was iron in her voice. "Tell him that Awenis Saurivic awaits him at the gate."
The boy hesitated. "I have orders from Lady Marielle that Darenel is not taking visitors at the moment. You will have to call back later, Lady Saurivic."
"Fine then, I will speak to Lady Marielle." Awenis did not back down, but looked imperiously down her nose at the gate guard. Jatheryn definitely saw a strong resemblance between Awenis and their mother now.
"...Wait here."
The boy rushed away down the immaculate front drive toward the main house. A trio of terriers jumped up from where they had been wrestling in the shade of a cherry tree to chase after him playfully.
Waiting next to Awenis at the gate, Jatheryn thought about checking on how Awenis was feeling. One look sideways prompted him to reconsider. Long gone was the scared, vulnerable little sister he had comforted in the dead of night only hours ago. In her place stood a glacial, untouchable noblewoman with ice in her eyes and steel in her spine.
Several long minutes later the gate guard returned. He looked petrified.
"Lady Marielle will see you now. This way, Lord and Lady Saurivic."
Taking a second to adjust the cuffs of his black and gold tunic and smooth his hair, Jatheryn realized belatedly that it had been several days since he dyed it. No doubt the snowy white roots were showing. There was nothing to be done about it now. Trying his best to forget about it, Jatheryn followed at Awenis's side. The three little terriers sniffed curiously at their heels as they climbed the gleaming white stone steps through the front door.
The Tremaris house looked somewhat different in the light of day; Jatheryn was mostly used to seeing the interior lit by chandeliers for an evening party. Their escort led the pair of them through the sun-drenched front foyer to a drawing room filled with the scent of tulips. Marielle Tremaris sat with a razor straight back on the sofa. Her dark eyes glittered as coldly up as the sapphires pinned in her earlobes. She did not rise to greet them.
"Lady Marielle."
Jatheryn and Awenis could hardly offer the traditional greeting with Marielle still seated. Instead they opted for a quick bow and curtsy. Awenis opened her mouth to speak when Marielle cut her off.
"Surely our doorman must have told you that Darenel is not available, Lady Awenis." Marielle's gaze was flinty. Even in their chilliest greeting lines, Jatheryn had never seen such unvarnished distaste from the Tremaris family head. "I am half surprised you did not simply climb in through his window. That is how most of your little rendezvous were conducted after all, were they not?"
"Available or not, we must talk to Darenel, Lady Marielle," Jatheryn interceded. "Believe me; we would not have come if it was not of the utmost importance."
"The childish sneaking about of two youths is hardly important, Jatheryn Saurivic. As the still unwed heir to the Saurivic name, I should think you have your own business to mind, rather than chasing after your sister and her uncondoned flirtations."
"Lady Marielle, let us speak plainly." Awenis's characteristically light, airy voice snapped like a carriage driver's whip.
"Gladly." There was almost a vindictive relief in Marielle's sarcastic reply.
"I am a daughter of the Saurivic family, a lineage no less proud and worthy, if not perhaps even more so than the Tremaris family. We are on equal footing, your great-nephew and me. I never saw the point of all the "childish sneaking", as you called it, but neither I nor Darenel were ready to openly state our intentions. I am here, stating my intentions now. I would prefer to do so with Darenel present, but if you insist on keeping him hidden then I will carry on anyways. I have pledged myself to Darenel, and he had done the same for me. The proof is here."
Awenis held up her hand, the silver infinity ring on full display. Now that Jatheryn saw it in total daylight he realized that the silver had a blue tint to it. Twilight silver, a rare and precious variant found only at the bottom of Aryna Lake beside . Jatheryn's estimation of Darenel's commitment to his sister increased exponentially. Twilight silver could fetch a commanding price even in such small amounts as Awenis's ring.
Marielle's iron grey brows flew together and her mouth pursed in what promised to be an excellent snarl. Awenis kept straight on though, not letting the Tremaris matron gather the breath for speech.
"You cannot keep Darenel from me forever, nor I from him. I am more than prepared to go public with our courtship...and with the name of my unborn child's father."
Jatheryn snapped an astonished eye toward his sister. Awenis's voice had barely wavered, even as she uttered the damning pronouncement. He hadn't expected her to go all the way with this confrontation, but now she had. It was done.
Slowly, soundlessly, Marielle Tremaris rose from her seat on the couch. The warm sunlight spilling into the room was powerless to combat the bone-deep chill that emanated from the woman. It was nearly impossible not to quail before such intense, unfiltered coldness.
"You fancy yourself a real little Cliodne Iralar, don't you, Awenis Saurivic? Claim an unwed pregnancy, threaten everyone involved, and watch the family heads bow to your wishes, is that it? Let me tell you how this will really work, snake. Even if you are with child, which I don't believe you truly are, you don't have the courage to announce to the world what you've done. You think you do? Alright then, here's what happens next. Old Jalborn comes to me full of righteous indignation, demanding I give in and approve the marriage. I refuse, because I am the head of this family and that is my right."
"How can you do such a thing?" Jatheryn demanded, feeling anger and disbelief curl together in his belly. "You would ruin not only Awenis's name, but also Darenel's as well? Do you really care so little for your own kin?"
Marielle drew back her lip at Jatheryn in the ultimate expression of disgust.
"Have you ever actually seen yourself in a mirror, either of you, or your mother for that matter? No one in all of Vaelona would blame me for barring a marriage between a son of the Tremaris family and one of the Saurivic clan's diseased rejects. Don't you wonder why your family has never tried to arrange a match for you before, Awenis?" Marielle did not wait for an answer. "You and Jatheryn both are throwaways. Of course Jahaelis and Rosarin must try to pawn you off on someone, anyone, Jatheryn. To do any less would be to admit defeat, to admit what everyone else in Vaelona already knows, including your grandfather. You and yours will not be the heads of the Saurivic family."
The angry rebuttal Jatheryn had been preparing died on his tongue. The mention of his grandfather caught him off guard.
"What are you talking about, Marielle?" Awenis snarled. All pretense of manners or formality were long forgotten. "Jatheryn is the eldest child of an eldest child, of course he will be the family head."
"No, he won't."
Icicles clung to every word as it escaped Marielle's leering mouth. Then the older woman seemed to realize just what damage her next words would inflict. Something that could almost have been called pity flickered across her angular, makeup-laden face.
"Neither you nor your brother were expected to survive long enough to come of age. Of course you don't remember...how could you? You were such sickly children, always half asleep, always looking like corpses frozen in the winter snow. No one, not your grandfather, not your father, and certainly not your mother planned on you reaching maturity. They are in such a panic now to try and arrange a match for you, Jatheryn, because they are beginning to realize that you might just live long enough to claim your birthright. And all the while Tyene waits and watches in the wings, seething silently as her eldest son loses out on headship of the mighty Saurivic family to a ghost of a boy whom no one expected to see ten years. When Jatheryn does not wed, one way or another, the Saurivic family will pass to Tyene's bloodline."
"You're lying," Awenis said. It sounded more like a plea than a statement though. "Even for you Marielle, this is ghastly; to say such things just to call us off."
"Am I? Perhaps you ought to ask the ones who never planned for your futures in the first place. Ask Lord Jalborn, Lord Jahaelis, and Lady Rosarin, and see if you can get the truth from them for once. I have many faults, and I know them well. I am sharp-tongued, ungentle, and stubborn as a mule. Let no one ever claim that I am a liar, for I will always tell the unvarnished truth that no one wants to hear."
Marielle pulled a bell cord hanging by the polished mantle. The young gate guard reappeared, this time accompanied by a broad butler.
"It is time for the both of you to go," Marielle said with a tone of finality. "Awenis, I will never give my blessing to a marriage between you and my great-nephew, and that is my last word on the subject. He is young and meant for more than life in the shadow of your family's curse. Now leave, and do not come back."
OoOoO
Jatheryn wondered if Awenis might try to call out for Darenel as they were escorted out the front door. She did pause on the threshold, gazing back toward the grand main stair with its golden embellishments. She did not call out though, nor did Darenel come rushing down those stairs with grand vows to turn aside his family's wishes for Awenis' sake. This was no fairytale, and there was no gallant rescue, only silence as the door shut behind them.
Awenis murmured something under her breath so softly that it escaped Jatheryn.
"What was that?" Jatheryn asked. He didn't know what else to say.
Awenis turned away from the door. Holding up her hand, she slid the infinity ring off her finger.
"Perfect never lasts," she repeated.
Stooping down, Awenis placed the ring right in the center of the front step. The sun couldn't reach it there beneath the overhang, and its blue depths remained unseen as Awenis and Jatheryn walked away.
Awenis walked so fast back toward the Saurivic estate that Jatheryn had to rush to keep up with her.
"Awenis...Awenis, wait!"
He reached out to try and catch his sister's arm. Awenis leveled a look of such wounded fury on Jatheryn that he nearly released her thin elbow. Rage like that seemed completely wrong on Awenis's doll-like face.
"Jath, I need to know. I need to look into their eyes and hear it from their mouths. If our parents really believed us throwaways, then..." Awenis had to take a moment to compose herself, so great was her anger. "...I can expect no kind of life for my child under their roof if what Marielle said was true. Don't you see? If our own mother and father have been watching and waiting for us to die all these years, you and I have to know."
Struck dumb, Jatheryn could only nod.
"Say something. Anything."
It took several tries before Jatheryn's voice caught with enough strength for him to trust his words. Even then, his heart was so dead in his breast that he wasn't sure the words were even his own.
"I can't believe it until I hear it from them, especially from Grandfather. Surely he at least must value our lives more than what Marielle suggested."
Awenis' shell-pink lips set in a grim, doubtful line. Taking Jatheryn's hand in hers, she pulled him along.
"Come on."
It was mid-morning when they returned to the Saurivic estate. Finding their parents was not hard; Jahaelis always went to work on his hobby of cartography every morning without fail, closing himself in his study. Rosarin meanwhile could always be found at the piano in the upper level parlor. Awenis blew through the parlor and the study like a hurricane, demanding tersely that they follow her. Rosarin's parched mouth cracked open in an 'O' of surprise, and Jahaelis looked outraged at being addressed so disrespectfully. Both abandoned their projects to rush after Awenis and Jatheryn though.
Their final destination was the library of the Saurivic estate, where Lord Jalborn made his lair. Jalborn was comfortably reclined in an armchair reading A Discourse on Obads and Amenthis when Awenis led their little parade into the library. Their grandfather looked up from his book and was about to greet them with a smile when he saw the look on Awenis's face.
"What is this, Awenis, Jatheryn?" Jalborn snapped his book shut without even bothering to bookmark his place. "Why such an entrance?"
"There are many more 'whys' that could stand to be answered, Grandfather," Awenis said. Rounding on Jahaelis and Rosarin, she spoke in a pained hiss. "In less than two years I will be of age, and yet never once has anyone in this house ever seriously spoken of a betrothal for me. Jatheryn has been of age almost a year, and only in the last few seasons have you tried to find a match for him. Why?"
Jahaelis looked startled. Then he glowered at his daughter. "Awenis, mind your tone. What has brought on such urgency in this matter? Is this jealousy that perhaps now we have somewhat bigger problems to deal with than a betrothal for you?"
"You ignored my second question." Awenis was not distracted by their father's warning tone. "Why was a betrothal for Jatheryn never arranged before now? Boys and girls as young as thirteen are already paired off, why wait so long?"
"Because your brother was so shy, we knew it would be impossible to get him to actually speak to a girl until now," Rosarin answered with a haughty look at Jatheryn.
"I am standing right here, Mother," Jatheryn said. Awenis's indignant anger was infectious. He could hear the resentment beneath the calm surface of his words.
"That's not right," Awenis was saying. "What does shyness have to do with it at all? Taevrin and Bythnaryn were betrothed without even speaking to each other beforehand. There is another reason, what is it?"
"What do you want us to say, Awenis?" Jahaelis growled. He loomed before them, putting on his best threatening demeanor. Such a display would have sent a ten-year-old Jatheryn or Awenis skittering for cover. There was too much rage and too much despair in both of them now for such things.
"Say what apparently all of Vaelona is already saying." Awenis rounded on Jalborn. "Grandfather, its true, isn't it; that betrothals weren't made for Jatheryn and I because no one expected us to live this long? We're the runts of a litter that no one planned on surviving, much less breeding."
"Don't say such things, such vile things! How dare you accuse us of things like that?" Rosarin screamed at Awenis.
"Grandfather?"
Jatheryn approached Jalborn and looked him straight in the eye with his dead, white gaze that made even the boldest of the nobility flinch.
"Grandfather, is it true?"
Jalborn matched Jatheryn's stare for a long moment, then looked away.
The sky fell on Jatheryn's shoulders in that instant. His heart may as well have stopped beating in his breast. Even the air in his lungs seemed to be sucked away.
"You are both completely out of line, you insolent, disrespectful little brats," Jahaelis was saying. His words seemed muffled, far away. Jatheryn hardly heard them. "Get out, both of you. We will be having a discussion about this unacceptable behavior shortly, I promise you that."
Awenis had sagged when Jalborn turned away. Drawing herself back up to full height now, she leveled a wordless gaze at Rosarin and Jahaelis that could have matched Marielle Tremaris for coldness. She turned on her slipper shod heel and strode away with shoulders back and chin up.
Jatheryn did not look at either his father or his mother. Instead he looked to Jalborn's still turned back. Words came to him then that poorly, but just adequately, managed to convey the depth of his heartbreak.
"We loved you."
Silence followed Jatheryn out of the library as he made for the main stairs. The entire Saurivic household felt like it was consumed by a void. He passed Tyene on the stairs on his way up. For the first time he truly saw the appraising gleam in her eye.
"As much as I hate to disappoint you, Aunt, I am in excellent health," Jatheryn said coolly.
Without waiting for Tyene's reaction, Jatheryn climbed the remainder of the stairs. He considered going to his room, the one sanctuary he had ever known. Then he heard scuffling coming from Awenis's room and changed course.
Jatheryn found his sister in the midst of a flurry of activity. Wardrobe doors were flung open, drawers pulled straight out onto the floor. On the bed a single plain bag sat surrounded by various small items and pieces of clothing, including Awenis' one pair of sturdy, practical shoes.
"What are you doing?" Jatheryn asked, closing the door behind him.
Awenis barely even paused as she rolled a pair of woolen hose up into a tight barrel.
"What does it look like I'm doing? Now that I know how we're really seen by everyone, including our own parents, I cannot stay here. Can you even imagine what would happen to my baby?" Awenis pressed a protective hand to her stomach. "More than likely Mother would make me drink mugwort or some other abortive herb. I'd sooner give birth in a bush than lose my child."
The vehemence of Awenis's declaration jolted Jatheryn's shock addled brain back into some semblance of action. A thousand and one questions flew into his mind like a flock of panicked sparrows.
"Where will you go, Awenis? Do you even have any money?"
"Of course I do, don't be ridiculous." Awenis flung an embroidered coin purse into the bag that let out a full sounding clink. "As for where I'll go, I know it cannot be anywhere large like Blue Stone or Amenthere. With my looks, I would be recognized in a heartbeat. I was thinking perhaps somewhere smaller like Geristan, or even the east from there."
It didn't take much consideration for Jatheryn to know what he himself would do. Without a doubt, he would not survive long in Vaelona without his one ally in life. So everyone thought he and Awenis were weaklings, did they? How perfectly ironic it would be if he and Awenis, two 'soft, sickly' nobles struck out and made their own way in the world?
"I'm coming with you," Jatheryn announced. "Give me a moment, I'll have a bag together as quick as I can."
Feet carrying him without conscious thought, Jatheryn moved about his room in what felt like a waking dream. He rifled through his clothes, snatching out a few items that looked the sturdiest and most non-descript. He selected his winter cloak from the back of the wardrobe; no doubt nights on the road would be cold.
So caught up was he in his hurried packing that he didn't notice Awenis coming to lean on the doorway.
"Are you scared?"
Hearing his question from the night before echoed back at him, Jatheryn paused. Straightening from the mess he had created on his bed, he considered his sister before answering.
"No. Are you?"
Slowly but surely, Awenis smiled. It was very different from the carefree grins of Awenis' girlhood; a girlhood that no doubt was over now. This smile was fierce.
"No."
They left by way of Awenis's window. Climbing down the tree was easy enough and even easier still for Awenis in a borrowed pair of Jatheryn's pants. With the hoods of their heavy cloaks drawn up over their heads, the two of them went out into the streets of Vaelona for the last time. The midday sun was bright overhead, casting their faces into shadow within their cloaks. The occasional passerby cast a puzzled glance at them, but no one commented.
Gaining confidence with each step, they made their way down to the city gates. The Vaelonese guards on either side were more interested in their conversation than they were in the steady stream of civilians entering and leaving the city. When their boots hit the gravel of the open road for the first time, Jatheryn and Awenis paused. Then, clasping hands, the ghosts of Vaelona left their past lives
OoOoO