I’ll just stay here, I think. Grab a drink. Get some sleep. I’m tired of travel.”
“As am I,” says James. “But maybe I’ll go out later and…” He leaves his statement unfinished, but we don’t press it out of him.
Jericho says, “I’ll stick with them, I suppose.”
“Very well,” I say. “I will see you later, then?”
“Of course,” they respond.
“With what I expect to happen, however, I will not leave my mother’s house unless I absolutely have to. Feel free to join me there.”
Percival nods. “We’ll be there with you.”
“Farewell then,” I say. Then I turn and walk out of the Keep.
The day is waning quickly. I walk back to Mother’s house quickly, and let myself in. From there, I fetch Nathaniel and see if he wants to say hello to Gunther. He agrees, and we go off down the street. As we walk, I look up and find the sky is turning orange. Then red. There has been blood shed today.
Rachel answers the door. She recognizes me, though I do not think she remembers my name, and invites us inside. Gunther gives us each a warm embrace and we talk for only a minute or two. Nathaniel and I explain that we will be staying with Mother, but we leave out the details of our mission. I do not want to worry him with the knowledge that Mother is Tygnar’s target.
Then we leave.
“So what did you learn in the Keep?” asks Nathaniel as we turn from Gunther’s little house.
“Everything we already knew,” I respond. “I do not know when or how the strike will be, but I know that it is coming.”
“How will we stop it?” he asks.
“By being prepared,” I respond.
We walk in the door and ask Mother, “Where should I and Nathaniel sleep?”
“You can have my bed,” she says. “I’ve let Aela have the spare in the other room.”
“I can’t take your bed,” I respond. “I’ll take the chair.” She tries to protest, but I give her a look that says, It’ll be alright. “I’ll take the chair,” I repeat. She nods and gets some blankets and pillows for me. Nathaniel decides he will sleep in one of the three other chairs.
Aela comes out of the little hallway to the left, which leads to her room and the tiny washroom. The hallway on the right leads to the bedroom my mother shares with Ethan and Nicholas, though only the latter two have to share a bed. Mother gets one all to herself.
“You’re staying here?” she asks.
“Of course,” I respond.
Before either of us can say anything more, Mother pulls a pot off the fire and sets it on the table. Then she gets a couple of bowls from the cupboards and sets the table as nicely as she can. “Dinner,” she says. “I was planning on feeding a few hungry boys tonight!”
And indeed she was. There’s plenty to go around. I notice the quality and quantity of the ingredients and ask lowly, “Where did you get this?”
“I thought you’d know!” she says.
I search my mind and my brow furrows. Then my face brightens and I say, “Lord Archeantus kept his promise, didn’t he?!”
She nods slightly. “I never would have accepted it but the nice soldiers who brought the money insisted that I take it. Something about me being a…” She glances at Nicholas and her eyes water.
“Widow,” I mutter.
She nods, blinks a few times, and continues, “But what do you mean kept his promise? Lord Archeantus?”
I am unwilling to tell her, and she senses this. “Kadmus,” she urges. “What did you do?”
I can’t hold anything back from her. “Lord Archeantus wanted to repay me for… fighting well. So I, uh… I asked him to help you out.”
Her eyebrows go up. “You did that for me?”
“Yes,” I answer. “Why wouldn’t I?”
She shakes her head. “Well, I won’t need to work again. He’s provided us with much more than enough.”
“That’s good,” I respond. “You can be a mother. Especially with father being…” I glance at Nicholas. “…away, then you can be the mother they need, and still have everything to provide for them.”
She nods and her eyes start to well slightly. “Thank you,” she says. Then she hugs me tightly.
“It’s getting dark,” she says. “Time for little ones to go to bed.”
Nicholas overhears and slumps. He knows fighting is useless. “Am I a ‘little one’?” asks Ethan quietly.
“Yes,” Mother responds. “Go on.” She ushers them into the right hallway and all three of them go out of sight. Aela, Nathaniel, and