buried her head in the crook of his neck and he felt her hot tears soak his shirt. He did not answer her questions; they were not meant to be answered. Legon kissed the top of her head and now felt his own tears welling up in his eyes. Why did she suffer like this? Was there some purpose to it? He didn’t know, and he didn’t share these feelings with her. She needed him to be strong, to be a protector. They both needed him to be that.
“I wish I could take this from you… I would do anything to make it stop… I would take it on myself if I could.” His voice sounded choked.
“I know you would.” Her tone turned bitter. “But then you would be a freak like me.”
Legon gently moved her back so he could look into her eyes. “Don’t you say that. You’re not a freak. I love you, sister, more than anything in this world. You know that don’t you?” There was warmth and firmness in his voice.
He would take it from her if he could, he would take it and so much more—anything to keep from seeing the pain in those eyes. He wanted her to know that she wasn’t alone; he wanted her to understand that as she suffered so did he, though not in the same way. He tried to convey this to her in his gaze.
* * * * *
Sasha turned her head. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
“I know you do… and I you.” She smiled a bit; she could almost feel the love and concern radiating from him. How does he do that? she thought to herself. It’s like he can make me feel his emotions. That was one of the wonderful things about Legon: he had an ability to comfort people and convey love in a way that was unimaginable.
They sat on the hill holding each other, both sad, both scared, and both more thankful for each other than the other could ever know.
It was for this reason that Sasha was not liked in town. Sure, people were polite to her most of the time, but the only person other than family members that was truly kind to her was the town carpenter, Arkin. Sasha had once had a friend that was good to her, but that girl was gone now. She had been taken by the queen’s tax collectors when her family could not pay. People in the town said that Sasha was a good girl, but that demons possessed her and caused these episodes.
“You’ll see one day, Legon. She’ll slit your throat when they take over,” a lady named Moleth said once. Sasha was two years older than Legon and should be married, but was not because none of the men in town were willing to risk it. “Yeah she’s a nice girl now,” they would say, or “Have a demon like that lying next to me? No thanks!” Her brother had gotten into many fights defending her from these attacks; his friends Kovos and Barnin would back Legon in fights and would defend her honor when Legon was not around. Both boys were a little uncomfortable around her. However, they weren’t sure about her themselves, but they were loyal friends and so they backed Legon. Still, the violence disgusted her. She was thankful for the protection, but she was sad that it was done because of her, even though to a large extent it was necessary.
Barnin had left seeking adventure a year or so ago. He was headstrong and had always wanted to find the resistance and join them. He wasn’t anything amazing on a physical level but he made up for it in determination and confidence.
All three boys were tough. In truth, one of the only reasons certain townsfolk hadn’t done anything violent to Sasha yet was that Legon’s dad was the town butcher and they were worried he would do something to their food if they hurt her, which was true. The other reason was that they were truly afraid of what Legon would do; no one in town had won a fight with him in years, and he helped his dad as a butcher, so he had all sorts of knives and cleavers to use if he saw fit.
* * * * *
Legon felt Sasha’s crying ebb away. She looked up at him. Her eyes looked like glass and her face was red and tear-stained.