he asked his mother when they were almost done.
Erisa smiled, as though remembering something pleasant. “When I was young. My father, your grandfather, loved to hunt. Mom wasn’t very fond of cleaning game, so my father always had to do it. When I was old enough, he let me help him.”
It didn’t sound like a very pleasant memory, but he could tell from the look in her eye that she felt differently. He wondered how many more things there were about her past that he didn’t know. People were full of mysteries. That thought brought him around to Arrogan, and he realized the old man had had hundreds of years’ worth of experiences he knew nothing about—that he would never know about. Once again, he was almost overwhelmed by the sense of how much he had lost.
He was brought back from his reverie when he realized his mother had asked a question. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you knew what killed the doe,” said Erisa.
Will couldn’t begin to come up with a lie big enough to cover this, so he simply answered, “I think it was the cat.”
She laughed. “I could almost believe it of that strange cat, but the claw marks on the hind quarters were too big.”
He held her eyes with his. “I’m pretty sure it was the cat.”
She frowned. “You’re suggesting it can transform or some such?”
“I have no idea. I don’t know what the goddamn cat can do, but he’s no ordinary cat,” he told her. “I’m just glad he seems to be on our side. Aislinn said the fae won’t come near the house because of him.”
Erisa looked worried. “That would’ve suited your grandfather just fine, but how can we be sure it’s safe?”
Will shrugged. “It’s just a feeling, but I think he’ll protect this place. Between him, and Aislinn hiding the house from the soldiers, I doubt there’s a safer place in the entire kingdom.”
His mother nodded. “I suppose there was a reason Arrogan chose to stay here for so long.”
The next few days passed quietly as they settled into a simple, yet boring routine. With snow on the ground there was nothing to do but cook and sleep. Will continued his math and reading practice even though he had pretty much mastered the material he had. He also spent some time drilling with the runes. He knew them all by heart now, but it was recent knowledge. He worried he would begin to forget them if he didn’t go over them every once in a while. Not that it matters, he thought sourly. I can’t do anything with them.
“You will have many teachers,” Aislinn had told him, and he believed her. Perhaps someday he would have an opportunity to learn enough to use them.
Such thoughts did nothing to cure him of his desperate desire to do something now. Aside from cooking, he had little to offer Sammy and his mother, and even that was becoming a topic of contention. His mother seemed to think the best way to cook anything, including venison, was simply to stew it. While that was fine now and then, he preferred to have a little variety, and his effort to teach his mother seemed to set her teeth on edge.
And they had only been cooped up together for four days. How bad would it be in a month?
If I’m going to join the army I need to leave soon, he thought. The western pass that led to Branscombe was easier, and wouldn’t close as soon as the eastern pass to Darrow, but it would become impassable if he waited too long.
But he couldn’t imagine telling his mother that he planned to go. She wouldn’t accept it. Even if they had an army of soldiers and retainers to protect the house and see to their every need, it wouldn’t have mattered. It wasn’t her safety she was concerned with, it was his, and joining the army was too dangerous.
The next night, after his mother and Sammy went to bed, he rose quietly and began packing his meager belongings. There wasn’t much, since he only had two sets of clothes. He added Arrogan’s winter cloak to them and wrapped up enough food to last him three days. He didn’t have any portable pans so he wouldn’t have many options when it came to cooking the meat, but he could simply roast it he decided. The carrots he could eat raw.
Before he left, he got out his writing materials