a very sad, solemn occasion

Here's the dealio folks.

I. Have. So. Much. School.

You would not even believe. So unfortunately, this story will be stuck on the back burner to simmer until it catches on fire and forces me to deal with it or until my school vanishes into thin air. I'm very sorry for any heart failure this will cause (but I don't think anyone checks this neglected blog anyway). When the school is finished, the blog begins again. I wish you all a merry life.

Chariss

The Twins - Chapter 14

Hey folks!
It seems that whatever deadline we give for ourselves we are unable to make. Amber's computer crashed, however, so we have a pretty good excuse (I think). Anywho, here is the long awaited Chapter 14, written by Amber. Fun times here, ya'll. I'll hopefully be working on the next chapter over break ... but I won't make any promises too soon. ;) Enjoy the chapter and be sure to comment!

Ciao,

C.
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The day was young, and the sun had not yet arisen when Ellyn felt someone shake her from her sleep. She turned sleepily to the side and looked up to see Brynn fully garbed in hunting attire, with his bow and arrows in a sling across his shoulder.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“What time is it?”
“Almost five.”
Ellyn rolled back over. “I don’t think so.”
“Ellyn, you are coming with me. You promised the other day that you would. And it’s about time you learn how to properly hunt.”
“Well, I do not remember promising you anything, but since you woke me up I might as well.” Ellyn stood up, stretched, and picked up the long bow and arrows that Brynn had recently finished making.
“Here,” Brynn tossed her an apple. They walked at a brisk pace through the hill country in order to reach the woods beyond by sun-up. Little talk existed between them, as Ellyn was still half asleep and Brynn preferred a quiet morning. Taking Ellyn hunting was a risk, he knew, but if for some reason he could not hunt and Erath was still not recovered, someone would have to be able to get food. He heard a small snap, and glanced over at Ellyn to see that she had broken one of the arrows.
She shot him an awkward smile. “How exactly do you fit it in again?”
Brynn smiled, held back a teasing remark, and showed her where to place the notch. “But you don’t need to notch it quite yet,” he said. “It will be another half hour at least before we reach the forest.”
“Just trying to be prepared,” Ellyn said, but she placed the arrow back in its sling.
As Brynn predicted, they reached the woods thirty minutes later. The sun had just begun to rise, and golden streams of light poured through any spaces they could find, illuminating the forest with a misty, yellow hue. Brynn glanced around, checked the ground for prints, and then strode cautiously forward. He spotted a small herd of deer grazing about ten yards away, so far unaware of his existence. Nodding at Ellyn to watch him, Brynn silently put an arrow to his bow and lined up the shot with ease. His form was perfect, and he drew his arm back. Just then one of the deer put its head up, noticed Brynn, and took off. Brynn quickly released the arrow; it whistled through the air and narrowly missed the retreating target. He turned and looked at Ellyn, expecting her to have done something that scared them off, but she just shrugged. Brynn grunted, annoyed at losing so easy a shot.
“Alright,” he said, “let me teach you how to shoot.”
“I know how.”
“You said you’ve never shot anything in your life!” said Brynn in surprise.
“But I just watched you do it.”
“Ellyn, watching is not enough. It takes lots of practice as well, and your form needs to be perfect.”
Ellyn laughed gaily. “Watch me.” She slipped past him, walking cautiously around the trees in search of more prey. Brynn was surprised at how quiet she managed to be. That certainly did not seem like her. After about ten minutes of searching, she spotted a deer not far off. Shooting a playfully haughty glance at Brynn, Ellyn notched an arrow to her bow, held it up, and shot. She watched the air whistle through the air and come to a sudden stop in a dead stump just to the right of her target. The deer ran off, and Ellyn turned to look at Brynn, embarrassed. To her surprise, he looked impressed.
“Are you sure you’ve never shot before?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Positive,” Ellyn answered. “But I missed.”
“You almost hit the target, Ellyn. I couldn’t shoot that well until I was fourteen years old,” he told her.
“Thanks a lot,” she said sarcastically. “I feel so encouraged.” Brynn just laughed.
“Well, I meant it as a compliment. I’ve been shooting since I was eight years old,” he reminded her.
“Oh. Right. Um, thanks,” Ellyn answered, subdued. Brynn grinned.
“Come on. Let’s go get a deer.”
The two tramped through the woods for another half-hour before spotting a herd of deer.
“Alright,” Brynn said in a barely audible voice. “Let’s shoot at the same time and ee if one of us can hit something. Aim slightly to the left of the one you want to hit.”
Ellyn nodded, concentrating.
“On three,” Brynn whispered. “One,” he raised his bow and pulled an arrow from his quiver. Ellyn did the same. “Two.” He notched the arrow and aimed at the deer he wanted. Again, Ellyn mirrored his careful movements. Pulling back on the string, he whispered, “three.” Both arrows were released at exactly the same moment, hurtling through the air. Each went to a deer. The rest of the herd galloped off.
“Nice work,” Brynn said, turning to his companion. “Rylan and I tried to do that so many times, but one of us would always release first and scare the herd – What?” he stopped at Ellyn’s look.
“Who’s Rylan?” she asked.
“My brother,” he answered, walking through the brush where the two deer lay. Ellyn followed him.
“Older or younger?” she asked.
“Oh, older. Here, we can reuse these arrows,” Brynn said, jerking his from one of the deer.
“Brynn,” Ellyn said, her voice soft. “That deer is still moving,” she said, looking at the one she had shot.
“Don’t look,” he said shortly, pulling his knife from his belt. Ellyn turned away, grimacing. She heard Brynn grunt, and looked over at him. He was wiping blood from his knife.
“Next time aim for the heart. Instant death,” was all he said.
“Alright,” she answered.
“Do you want me to show you how to clean it?” he asked.
“No, you can do the dirty work. There is no way I’m skinning that thing and dumping out its insides.” She made a nasty face and turned away. Grinning, Brynn made no rebut and went over to the deer to begin his work.
Ellyn assisted Brynn as little as possible; not because she wasn’t willing to help, but because she thought it was disgusting. At last Brynn gave a nod of approval and slung the deer over his broad shoulders. As they walked through the woods, back to camp, he thought about the shot Ellyn had made.
“So how did you make that shot?” he asked. “How did you know what to do?”
“I learn by observance,” she answered. “It usually takes me once or twice watching something to figure out how to do it.”
“Interesting,” Brynn said. “Well, we may make a hunter of you yet. That is, when you get over the nasty part,” he teased.
Ellyn laughed. “Good luck.”

When Gavin awoke, Brynn and Ellyn were just coming into the camp. Brynn had a deer slung over his shoulder, something Gavin had always wished he could be able to do, and never quite understood how someone could do it.
“You never told me your sister could shoot,” Brynn said, dumping the deer on the ground.
“She can shoot?” Gavin asked in shock.
“I told you already, I learn from watching people,” said Ellyn, annoyed that they didn’t believe her.
“One would think you would be able to cook then, after watching your mom doing it,” Brynn replied.
“Oh, that’s sick,” Ellyn made a face and turned away.
“It was just a joke!”
“No, you’ve got blood all over your shoulder!”
Brynn craned his neck around to look. “Oh.” He shrugged and began to work on making a stew with the venison.
“So I was thinking about our situation last night,” Gavin said, spreading the map out on the ground, “and seeing that Erath will not be able to walk for a couple weeks at least, I think we should stay at the town of Rollagen until he is recovered enough. Then we will move on to the country of Peryon where Tiras is, and so forth.”
“Yes, that seems the only reasonable thing to do at the moment,” said Brynn. “But do we have enough money to pay rent for that long?”
“I have some. And we can get jobs while we are there.”
Brynn smiled. “Just so long as Ellyn doesn’t offer to cook for anyone.”
“I know of a nice inn at Rollagen,” Ellyn changed the subject. “I can go ahead and reserve two rooms, and you two can get Erath there.”
“I don’t want you going by yourself,” said Gavin.
“Well someone needs to make sure there are rooms available,” Ellyn replied. “We don’t want to get there and find out that they have all been reserved.”
“Hold on, we don’t even know how we are going to get Erath there,” Gavin said. “He’s in no condition to ride Ben, especially that far. And carrying him on a litter would take all day.”
“Couldn’t we go to town and get help?” Ellyn asked. “I’m sure someone has a cart or wagon, or something like that.”
“Ellyn, that is the first sensible idea you have had all day,” said Gavin.
“And the day is still young, perhaps it will happen again,” Brynn teased.
“Oh, get over yourselves,” Ellyn said in response, going over to Erath to change his bandages.
Erath turned his head slowly. “Don’t change the bandages today.”
“You said that yesterday. It cannot be put off,” Ellyn said firmly.
Erath grunted as Ellyn changed his bandages as gently as she could. He wished it were Gavin, because for some reason he felt he could be so much more open around him. Ellyn – well, she was different.
Gavin walked up. “Brynn and I are going to town now to get a wagon,” he said. “We should be back in a couple hours.” He added to Ellyn, “I don’t suppose you can stay out of trouble ‘til then?”
“Really Gavin, don’t be silly. I will be fine.”
“Alright,” he said. Looking at them both one more time, as if to assure himself they would not kill each other while he was gone, Gavin turned and left with Brynn.
Once Ellyn finished changing Erath’s bandages, she picked up her bow and arrows.
“You’re leaving?” Erath asked with surprise and perhaps even a bit of excitement.
“No, I am just practicing here,” said Ellyn. “Tell me something to hit.”
Erath was surprised. Ellyn usually was not one to involve him in any of her doings. He felt awkward going along with it. “I don’t care, just hit anything.”
“Oh, you are no fun.” Ellyn raised her bow.

Nearly four hours later, Gavin and Brynn returned on a cart driven by an old workhorse. There was an old man at the front holding the reins. Gavin jumped off the back and walked over to where Erath was lying. “You ready?”
“Just get it over with.”
Brynn came alongside Gavin, and together they lifted up the stretcher on which Erath was lying. He grunted at first and bit his lip until it bled, but refused to let himself cry. They carried him over to the wagon and set him in it as gently as they could. The ride back to Rollagen was rough, as the cart was bumpy and therefore exceedingly painful for Erath. He bore it the best he could, and his pride kept him from showing any obvious signs of pain. They reached Rollagen by nightfall. The farmer was kind enough to drive them to the inn, where Gavin and Brynn had already reserved two rooms. They bid him goodnight, and after the slow process of getting Erath into his room which he would share with Brynn, they all went exhaustedly to bed.

Gavin awoke before the others, and went to the nearby tavern to eat. As he walked down the street, he noticed that the town of Rollagen was fairly large as far as towns go, and was also quite prosperous. It was a clean and organized town, lacking in crimes, and most of the people there were quite friendly. Gavin was surprised to see that there was barely anyone on the streets. A few people were headed hurriedly in the direction of the town square, but that was all. Curious, Gavin followed them. He reached the square, and stopped. An enormous crowd was gathered, and a man standing on the back of a cart was reading names from a huge piece of paper. Gavin nudged a tall man standing next to him. “What is that he’s reading?”
“Names for the draft.”
“Draft?” Gavin asked in surprise.
“Yeah, I’m surprised you have not heard about it! There is an army coming down from Borrador. They’ve been splitting into battalions and ravaging different cities. The word is out that they are coming here.”
Gavin was shocked. “When will they be here?”
“Could be a couple of days, could be a week.”
He had heard enough. Gavin turned and headed back to the inn, where he found that everyone was up.
“Gavin, where were you?” Ellyn asked, meeting him in the hall. “I hope you got me something to eat.”
“No time for that,” said Gavin. “Where is Brynn?”
“I think he is in his room still. Is something wrong?”
Brynn came out of his room just then. “I’m going to get something to eat, do you want anything?”
“Brynn, listen. I was just at the town square, and they are drafting people now. Armies of Borrador are ravaging towns, and they are coming here.”
Brynn’s face hardened. “When will they get here?”
“A week or less.”
Brynn put fingers to his temple, thinking hard. “We cannot get out of here, unless we wish to abandon Erath. But I doubt that thought is in any of our minds.”
The twins shook their heads in unison.
“If we are stuck here, we should help,” said Gavin.
“Help with what?” Ellyn asked. “Are you seriously considering fighting against the men from Borrador? Because if you are, I do not want to be left out.”
“Ellyn, obviously they would not let you fight,” Gavin said. “But they would let me and Brynn.”
Brynn nodded. “If we cannot get out of here, I would rather not just sit around and do nothing.”
“Well what am I supposed to do then?” asked Ellyn in annoyance.
“Take care of Erath I suppose,” Brynn said.
“That could present a problem,” Gavin cut it. “But we can figure that out later. I’m going back to the square to get our names on that list.”
Brynn nodded, and Gavin left.
“That is definitely not like him,” said Ellyn.
“What?” Brynn asked.
“Joining some army – Gavin never does that kind of thing! I don’t know what has gotten into him lately. And I’m nervous for him. He has never fought before in his life.”
“Gavin will be fine. He may be inexperienced with a blade, but he knows how to use his head better than most people can.”
“I just hope that is enough to keep him alive.”

The time has come, quoth the walrus.

Esteemed readers of this oft neglected blog-
If you are reading this, I must say I am extremely grateful that you still take the time to check this blog. I know it's been forever. We (my co-authors and myself) have mused long upon this quandary (ok, we thought about it for ten minutes or so) and at last came to the conclusion that must take a break from the authorship of this blog. This is largely due to perplexing and voluminous mounds of homework and the highly noble pursuit of education. And so, we bid adieu to you for a short time. Our goal is to have the next chapter posted by Thanksgiving (right, Amber?) and after that joyous occasion we will reassess the situation and come to a further conclusion about this blog. In the mean time, I leave you with this quote:

"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese." - G.K. Chesterton

Yes, he really wrote that. Don't ask me what that has to do with anything. :)

Ciao, ya'll.

C.

Erath - Chapter 13

Wow. I'm so sorry guys. Thanks for being patient.




Gavin sighed contentedly as he finished the venison that Brynn had caught for dinner. The twilight was exquisite; just above him the sky was streaked with wispy clouds stained purple. Behind him, the sky had taken on a dark purplish hue, and just in front, the blood-red sun setting behind the mountains, setting the clouds aflame with bright orange, reds and yellows. The cool air and gentle breeze was soothing. What made the evening more enjoyable was the fact that Erath and Ellyn had not had an argument for almost four days. It was gloriously peaceful between the four travelers.
“Nice night, eh Gavin?” Brynn asked, sitting down beside his friend. At Gavin’s nod, he went on. “Red sun though. It’ll be hot tomorrow.”
“Let’s hope the tempers won’t be,” Gavin remarked.
“Remarkable isn’t it? They haven’t fought for nearly a week. I wonder why?”
“We have nothing left to argue about,” Ellyn said, coming to sit down on Gavin’s other side. “Actually, I have gotten bored of him, and I think he has of me too.”
Gavin chuckled softy, but Brynn looked about himself. “Where is he anyway?”
“He said he was going out to cut wood,” Ellyn said, brushing her dark red hair out of her eyes. “He took the big hatchet this time.”
“When did he leave?” he asked testily. Gavin’s fingers twitched nervously.
“Oh,” Ellyn shrugged her shoulders carelessly, “about a quarter of an hour ago. My, you two are so paranoid.” Ellyn got to her feet and started rummaging through the food pack. “He said he would be back within the hour with wood for a fire. But it looks like we are going to need more food. Besides, I am getting tired of meat every night. Can’t we go into a town tomorrow and buy some fruit?”
“Maybe bread and cheese, but not fruit,” Brynn said. “It is too expensive and does not travel well.”
“Well, can we go tomorrow then?”
Brynn shrugged his shoulders. “I suppose so. Will you be alright being with Erath for most of the day?” he said, turning to Gavin.
He nodded.
Night was starting to fall by then. The inferno of colors on the western horizon was dimming, and the cooling, gentle aromas of night and soft noises of nature were beginning to come out and enclose the three companions.
Heavy steps coming from the trees behind them made Brynn turn around. Arms wrapped around a pile of freshly cut wood were the first things to come out of the shadows, quickly followed by the long stride of Erath and finally his face. The hatchet sat atop the pile, glinting in the fading light. Gavin went over to him and tried to take some wood and lighten his load, but Erath snapped.
“I can carry it myself.”
“Just trying to make it a little easier,” Gavin said gently.
“I can handle it.”
Gavin turned back to the others with a small shrug.
Erath approached the small fire pit that Brynn had dug earlier and began setting up the logs. In a few minutes, there was a small blaze going. As the night was cool, the three of them crowded around it as Erath fanned the tiny tongues of fire.
“How much farther till we get to the village?” Ellyn asked.
“I would say a league or so to go,” Gavin said. “After we pass through this hill country, we should be at the foot of the first mountain. You and Brynn will need to go through these woods to get to …” he pulled out the map, a ragged piece of parchment that must have been fairly new when they started, “a little town here called Rollagen. It’s pretty rural.
Brynn looked over Gavin’s shoulder at the map. “We will leave just after dawn. I will wake you up, Ellyn.”

Gavin watched as his sister dragged alongside the briskly striding Brynn, her eyes half shut. “She never was a morning person,” he said quietly to himself.
Erath was sitting beside the smoking fire, a bucket half full of water beside him.
Something was different about him. Gavin could see that, but was not quite sure what it was. He looked at Erath’s absent eyes for a few seconds before they came back to themselves and locked on Gavin.
“What?” he snapped, complexion taking on a sour expression.
That was it; his face wasn’t showing anger at all. It was tranquil, no lines of contempt or irritation spoiling it. For a minute, Erath was handsome. It was as if Gavin could see what Erath would have been like if he had not had such a terrible past.
“Oh,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, “it’s nothing.”
Erath’s brow softened a little, but not very much. After dumping the rest of the water on the remaining fire, he got to his feet, standing to his full height for the first time since he joined them. “Let’s start work while we have time.” So saying, he rolled up his blanket and set it beside the rest of the gear. Taking up the pot of rabbit stew they had had for breakfast, he offered some to Gavin – who declined- before throwing it out.
“I will be back in a few minutes,” he said, turning to find a stream in the woods.
Gavin continued docilely straightening the camp, but he was puzzled. Erath had never acted this way. He had not needed to be ordered to help; he had volunteered, even suggested it first. What happened? There must be some reason he is acting so obligingly. Is he trying to get something from me out of it?
After he finished, he sat down to watch the sun climb up the sky’s walls. All was still until the sound of splintering wood and the crashing of something hard brought a piercing scream that rang in the surrounding hills.
Gavin scrambled to his feet and bolted for the woods. “Erath! Erath!” he yelled. He needed no answer, for the continuing stream of cries and curses reached his ears easily. Then they stopped. Running, Gavin came to a small ravine, where, at the bottom, was a little brook of water. The sight that met his eyes was terrible; a fallen tree across the ravine had blocked a wall of boulders, where the stream came. Now there were only the remainders of the log, and the boulders were scattered across the ravine. Gavin stood at the edge, horrified. “Where is he?” he said quietly, anxiously. “Erath?” he called.
The sounds of someone breathing hard through their teeth reached his ears, then groans of agony came to him. Then Gavin could make out, underneath a boulder, was a leg in the baggy, ragged slacks of a sailor.
“Over here, idiot!” a voice screamed.
Gavin scrambled down the side of the ravine and over the various sized rocks until he could see Erath. He was pinned beneath a boulder that was almost as large as he. His face was red, and lines of suffering were etched in his face.
Gavin didn’t bother to ask what had happened or if Erath was all right. He got down to where Erath could see him and asked, “What do I do?”

Between the waves of pain, Erath gritted his words out through his teeth. “Get a rope … put it in a bowline … on a bight knot … and get it wet.”
“Right,” and with that, Gavin took off for the campsite, leaving Erath alone again.
Once he felt that Gavin was far enough out of earshot, Erath let out a loud cry of pain. The tears he had tried to hold back came down in rivers. He let his head down on the cool rocks and cried. It was all he could do for the next ten minutes until Gavin came back very suddenly, catching Erath in another tremor of sobs. For a second, Erath wanted to stop blubbering in front of this quiet and powerful young man, but then it didn’t matter. His pain was real, and there was no possible way he could convince otherwise.
Gavin sat down beside him and held the rope out. “How do you do it?”
“You don’t know how?” he managed to spit out.
“I was never a sailor.”
“Give it to me,” he ordered.
Gavin handed him the rope, and Erath pushed himself up on his elbows. When his back arched up though, a renewed pain shuddered down his leg. More tears ran down his cheeks, but he had stopped his sobbing. Quickly swiping the mist from his eyes, he took the rope and tied the knot, clumsily at first, then tighter.
“Go soak that in water,” he said. “It will hold better.” Once this had been done, Erath instructed him how to tie it around the boulder so that it would be lifted without any further damage to his leg. This being completed, Gavin threw the remainder of the rope over a sturdy limb protruding from a thick tree.
“Now just pull on the rope. The boulder should lift,” Erath said. Every word said was more breath used up and more pain added to his limbs.
Gavin wrapped the end of the rope around his right arm and grabbed with both hands, yanking on the rope. It didn’t budge. He tried again, throwing his weight down and trying to bring the rope with him, but once again, it remained where it was. The sun was high up in the sky by then, and the sweat poured down Gavin’s face and neck, soaking his shirt and the tunic underneath. After a third hard tug, he let go of the rope and staggered back a bit.
“I’ll be right back,” he said breathlessly, and took off at a tired jog for the camp. As soon as he came in sight of it, he could see Brynn and Ellyn just getting back. Calling to them, he came up and told them what had happened in as short sentences as he could. “… And I need help pulling on the rope. It’s not moving at all, and Erath has been under that boulder for nearly two hours.”
Brynn’s anxious and tense face at once turned to where Gavin tiredly pointed. He ran at a sprint, Ellyn struggling to keep up behind. Gavin came last of all to the place where Erath lay. The three of them took hold of the rope, and on Brynn’s count, heaved in unison on the cord. The boulder lifted.
“Ellyn!” Brynn yelled, face red and biceps straining, “pull him out!”
Immediately letting go of the rope, Ellyn darted up to Erath’s side. She grabbed him from under the arms and dragged him away slowly, her feet shuffling, trying to keep balance. Erath let out a wild cry of pain.
“Is he out?” Brynn yelled desperately from behind the boulder.
“Yes!” she shouted back.
Brynn sighed, letting go of the rope. Gavin followed suite and the huge rock crashed down, splintering and damaging the thick cord. Small pieces and chips of rock flew for a second, then only dust.
Erath was screaming now. The sudden movement of his broken leg had hurt, but not only that, but it had been jerked up onto a higher rock when Ellyn pulled him away. This sent waves of anguish throughout his body. He lay on the ground, writhing in pain; the others didn’t know what to do. Black dots flashed across his vision, his mind becoming more and more blank as consciousness threatened to leave him.. Erath remained facedown for several minutes, shuddering with pain and uncontrollable sobs.
At last, he turned his head toward them, the tears gone. His face was swollen and red, his eyes almost bloodshot. “Help me up,” he said weakly.
Brynn was the first to come out their stupor. “Not yet,” he said. “We should make a litter to carry you back to camp. Ellyn, you go back to camp and make up the fire; find as many bandages as you can, and see if there are any herbs you can find as well. Gavin, you and I will make the litter.” Kneeling down, he looked Erath in the eyes. “Wait a few minutes until we can get you back without much more pain for you.”
Drawing a shaky breath, Erath nodded.

The pain was still ever-present for Erath, but it was much better lying on the three extra sleeping blankets everyone had given him. Ellyn was making another poultice for the few cuts he had received, and Gavin was fitting a splint for his entire leg and re-binding it. One of the bones in his shin was broken, and the muscles in his thighs were badly bruised. It had been two days since the accident, but his pain was still horrible. The only way he could keep himself from bursting out was his pride. When he was with Gavin, it was all right to cry in front of him, but he didn’t want the others to see his tears. He didn’t exactly know why that was so, but something about Gavin disarmed him so that it was all right.
Brynn came up to him, holding out to him a tin plate with a haunch of some meat he had caught and cooked while the twins took care of him. “It will be a few months before your leg heals you know,” he said in passing..
Erath took the food, his attitude at once sour at the news. Lying around for a few days was all right, but for months?

Some hours later, when the other two had gone to bed, Brynn went over to Gavin and spoke softly in his ear. “Looks like the days of peace will be over soon.”
Wearily looking up at Erath, then Ellyn, Gavin sighed through a slight smile. “I give it twenty-four hours.”

Brynn - Chapter 12

Hello people!
Sorry about the delay; there were some editing complications. Anyway, let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Cheers!

C.

Chapter 12:
“I am so tired!” Ellyn exclaimed, flopping onto the ground. She was the only one awake enough to be talking. Gavin and Brynn had spent half the day trying to find Ben, who had run off the night before, while Erath and Ellyn argued over everything under the sun. They had only traveled for a few hours before another rainstorm had turned the road into a stream and the wind had picked up, making every step a fight. Somehow, everything seemed to be going wrong. Ellyn and Erath were constantly fighting, and more than once Gavin and Brynn had had to physically restrain them. Gavin was busy helping Erath with his bandages, which Ellyn refused to do, and keeping firewood stocked and Ben taken care of. Brynn went hunting nearly every morning before the others were up and was teaching Ellyn how to cook. Ellyn did her best with the cooking, but everyone preferred it when Brynn made dinner. Erath didn’t even attempt to help but usually watched the others with an air of being aloof. The one good thing that had happened was that since Erath’s arrival Ellyn and Gavin fought less frequently, either from lack of energy or because it was boring compared to arguing with Erath.
“Where’s the provision sack?” Ellyn asked crossly, breaking the silence.
“Here,” Gavin said, swinging it off of his back and setting it on the ground next to her. Ellyn began rummaging through it, muttering. Brynn went to chop firewood while Gavin unloaded the packs. Erath watched the three of them work, resting against a tree. It had been nearly two weeks since they had found him and his wounds were healing well, but he still insisted that his injuries incapacitated him. Arguing was fruitless, so the other three had stopped trying to get him to help.
At dinner they sat silently around the fire. A few birds bid goodnight to the world, the only sound disturbing the silence of the trees around them. The sky was slowly growing darker, and stars appeared, glimmering faintly against the blue. Brynn sat up abruptly.
“We’re almost out of bread,” he stated, glancing around the circle. The others turned their attention toward him.
“So?” Ellyn asked.
“So we need to buy more,” Brynn answered, smiling wryly. “The village of Sveya is about five miles away from here. We can go there in the morning and buy provisions. All right?”
“Sounds good,” Gavin responded.
“Sure,” Ellyn said.
Erath just glared into the fire. Brynn knew by now that he shouldn’t expect an answer from him.
“Let’s get some sleep,” Brynn said, finally.
All four were asleep within minutes.

Everyone was in considerably better spirits the next morning. The sun had finally come out after days of rain. Sleep helped a great deal as well.
“When we get to town, Ellyn, why don’t you come with me to buy food?” Brynn suggested as they ate breakfast.
“And what are we supposed to do while you’re gone?” Erath asked coldly. Brynn met his challenging gaze.
“I’m sure you and Gavin will find something to do,” he replied. “I don’t think it’s wise for you to go into town, considering the condition we found you in last time.”
“I can take care of myself,” Erath snapped.
“Oh, really?” Brynn asked. “Then I suppose you don’t need Gavin to help you with your bandages anymore? Be grateful that you have people remotely caring about your welfare. You certainly don’t seem to realize how dependent you are on all of us.”
“We’ll try our hand at hunting,” Gavin broke in, hoping to avoid another argument.
“Good. Let’s get going,” Brynn answered, turning away from Erath’s glaring blue eyes.
They reached Sveya within an hour and separated outside the gates.
“We’ll meet by that grove of trees in an hour,” Brynn decided. The others nodded and set off. Inside the village, confusion reigned. Wagons full of people, animals, and possessions filled the streets. Chickens clucked, men shouted, and children weaved in and out among the carts. Women were hurriedly piling the wagons full of pots, pans, mattresses, food, and other goods.
“What’s going on?” Ellyn asked, looking around.
“I don’t know. Let’s see if we can find out. Come on,” Brynn said, leading the way to a bakery. Inside, there was a long ling of customers, each of them jabbering excitedly.
“Where is everyone going?” Brynn asked the proprietor, when they finally reached the counter.
“How should I know? Lot’s of places, I’m sure. What can I get you?” the man asked, briskly.
“Four loaves of traveler’s bread,” Brynn told him.
“But why is everyone leaving?” Ellyn persisted. The man put the bread in a sack.
“Haven’t you heard?” he asked, stopping to stare at them. “There’s been trouble brewing on the borders of Elindin. No one knows for sure just what it means. That’s twelve silver coins,” he finished, handing Ellyn the bag. Brynn paid and they left the congested shop.
“What does “trouble” mean? It could be anything! It could be sheep rustling, or wolf attacks, or a hundred other things!” Ellyn burst out.
“Well, getting worked up about it isn’t going to help,” Brynn reminded her. “Why don’t we try talking to some of these people?” Ellyn nodded, and they made their way through the crowded street to the line of wagons.
“Excuse me,” Brynn began, addressing a gray-bearded old man. “What’s going on at the border?”
“What? The border?” the old man asked, leaning toward him. “You want a ride?”
“I don’t want a ride anywhere,” Brynn answered, speaking louder. “I was wondering why are you leaving?”
“Weaving? No, Marguerite doesn’t weave much anymore. She used to be the best around here, ‘til she got married, and then she didn’t have to be the best anymore,” the old man went on.
“No, sir, I mean, why are you going?” Brynn tried. Ellyn stifled a laugh.
“Going where, sonny?” the man asked.
“Never mind,” Brynn finally gave up. “Thank you anyway.”
“Sure, it was real nice talkin’ to you too,” the old man answered, smiling amiably.
Ellyn giggled as they walked away from him, and Brynn couldn’t help smiling either.
“Why don’t you try this time?” he suggested.
“All right,” Ellyn agreed. “Sir?” she said politely to a tall, brawny man.
“Yeah?” the man responded, scratching his scruffy black beard.
“Do you know anything about what is going on at the borders?” Ellyn asked.
“Nah,” the man answered. With that, he turned around and walked away.
Ellyn’s mouth hung open in astonishment. “Well, why are you leaving then?” she asked, running after him.
“Gotta get out,” he answered shortly.
“But why?” Ellyn persisted.
“’Cause there’s trouble at the border. Ain’t ya heard?” the man answered.
“Of course,” Ellyn answered, exasperated. “But what is the trouble at the border?”
The man ran a hand through his hair, thinking, before replying, “I dunno.”
Brynn caught up with them. “Come on,” Brynn said, laughing. “We’re not making any progress. We need to get back to Gavin and Erath anyway.”
It took them almost fifteen minutes to get through the crowds of people. Ellyn almost got kicked by a mule, but other than that, they made it back to the gate in relatively good shape.
“We made it!” Ellyn exclaimed, taking a deep breath. “I wasn’t sure we would be able to get out without being smashed by a cart.”
“Looks like the boys are back too,” Brynn answered as they drew near the grove. Gavin’s back was toward them, but they could see that Erath, who was facing them, was not in a good mood. Gavin turned around as they walked up. His bottom lip was bleeding but he looked relieved to see them. Ellyn gasped.
“What did you do to him?” she demanded, rushing toward Erath. Brynn grabbed her arm and held her back from him.
“What happened?” Brynn asked quietly.
“Erath decided to steal a chicken,” Gavin answered, flatly.
“You what?” Brynn asked, looking at Erath.
“Stole a chicken,” Erath answered, his voice cool.
“Why?”
“Because we couldn’t catch anything. And we needed the meat,” he replied.
“We don’t eat stolen food,” Brynn said.
“Oh?” Erath asked. “Maybe you don’t. But some of us haven’t had life handed to us on a silver platter.”
Brynn’s eyes darkened with quiet anger. “I’m sorry if you had a rough childhood,” he said coldly, “but stealing is unacceptable, and as long as you are part of this company, you will not. You also entered the town, which we all agreed, would be unwise.”
“Maybe I didn’t agree,” Erath answered.
“Then you should have spoken up,” Brynn said, stepping toward him.
“You can’t control me. I’ll do what I want to do when I want to,” Erath replied defiantly.
“You’re traveling with three other people, now,” Brynn went on, his voice low. “You have to think about how your decisions will affect everyone else, whether you want to or not.”
“No,” Erath whispered menacingly. “I don’t.”
Brynn did the only thing he could think of to do. He punched Erath squarely in the face. Erath stumbled backward with the force of the blow and landed in the dust. He got up, rubbing his chin. His ice blue eyes had become dangerously sharp, but Brynn was already moving on.
“If that isn’t clear,” he said, “let me know.” Turning to Gavin and Ellyn, he said, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Hand me that pack, Erath,” Ellyn said, pointing to the bag next to him.
“Do it yourself,” he said, sullenly.
“Do you have to make everything so difficult?” Ellyn asked, disgusted. She grabbed the bag and started throwing things in it.
“Do you have to order me around all the time?” Erath retorted evenly.
“I was just asking you to be helpful!” Ellyn answered angrily.
“Well stop asking! Do something for yourself for once!” Erath grabbed a sack and shoved the cooking supplies in it.
“Erath, don’t talk to my sister that way,” Gavin said. “Ellyn, don’t talk at all.”
“Why should we listen to you, now?” Ellyn demanded.
Erath looked at her, astonished. “Do you know that’s the first reasonable thing I’ve ever heard you say?” he asked.
“How’d you do it, Gavin?” Brynn asked. “They’re agreeing about something. Unbelievable.” Gavin and Brynn both laughed for a minute before realizing that Ellyn was staring at them, her arms crossed defiantly. Erath simply glared at them.
“The point still stands,” Ellyn said. “Why do I have to listen to you?”
“Because we all want to live. And to live, we’ve got to have order. So: Gavin, you will take care of Ben and be the navigator. Ellyn, you will do all of the cooking, once you’ve mastered something edible. Erath, you will keep the firewood stocked. I will continue to do the hunting and be in charge of packing everything when we are ready to move. Any questions?”
“What about my wounds? They’re still not healed yet,” Erath pointed out.
“If you are well enough to steal a chicken, you are well enough to chop firewood,” Brynn answered. “Anything else?”
Gavin was the only one who looked happy about the new rules, but Ellyn and Erath were both silent.
“Good,” Brynn said. “Gavin, you have the map, right?” Gavin nodded pulling it from his pocket.
“We need to head--,” he paused, looked up, and then pointed to the right. “That way.”
“Let’s go,” Brynn said.

The Twins - Chapter 11

Ok, here it is!! The end of the chapter is ... not exactly where we want it to be. So if you have any suggestions please comment!


“Great, now what are we going to do with him?” Ellyn threw her hands up in the air with an exasperated edge to her voice.
“If you ask me, I say we take him along with us,” Brynn responded, gazing absently into the fire.
“What, trail him along like some puppy? I don’t think that is going to work. Besides, he will refuse to come with us, you can count on that.” Ellyn paced back and forth in front of the fire.
“I don’t know about that, Ell,” Gavin said.
“Why? If he is a deserter, he will want to stay away from anyone that might give him away.”
“Or he might want to stay with us. He might be afraid that we will give him away, and because of that he will stay with us to make sure we won’t.”
Ellyn sat down with a moan. “This is too confusing! All I know is that I refuse to have him come with us. The man is barbaric!”
“Ellyn, just because Erath slapped your hand does not mean he is barbaric.” Brynn glanced at her. “Rude maybe, but not barbaric.”
“Well still, I do not like having him around here. As soon as he wakes up I am going to make that clear to him.”
“No Ellyn, you won’t,” Gavin cut in. “When he wakes up we are going to try to carry on a reasonable conversation with him. We’ll see what he thinks about all this.”
“Fine,” Ellyn gave in. “You can have it your way. But he won’t want to come with us.”
At that moment, Erath moaned and his eyes flickered open. Brynn stood and went over to him. “Are you ready to talk?”
Erath glared up at Brynn, and slowly dragged himself up to a sitting position on the ground.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Brynn continued on. “Where are you headed?”
“What does it matter to you?” Erath asked spitefully.
“Well that depends on your answer.”
“Somewhere out of this country. Tiras maybe.”
Gavin and Brynn exchanged glances, and Ellyn moaned and put her head in her hands.
“It just so happens that we are headed to Tiras as well,” Gavin stood and came over next to Brynn. “Would you be interested in coming with us?”
Ellyn coughed.
Erath raised an eyebrow. “Why would I want to come with you?”
“The road to Tiras can be dangerous. The more people you travel with, the safer you are.”
Ellyn coughed loudly.
“And,” Brynn joined in, “we could very easily report you. Would you not want to stay with us to be sure we won’t?”
Ellyn’s cough turned into a strangled, choking noise. Gavin quietly kicked a bit of dirt at her with his boot to silence her.
Erath shot her a curious glance, and then ignored her. He had been worried that they might turn him in, and as much as he d to admit it, they were right. “You swear you won’t turn me in if I go with you?” he asked.
“Of course,” Brynn replied.
“Fine. I’ll go with you as far as Tiras.”


Ellyn reluctantly pulled out a roll of bandages from her travelers’ bag and tossed it at Erath. “Fix yourself up,” she said coldly.
“Ellyn …” Gavin looked at her. “You’re the only one that knows how to do it well.”
She sighed. “Fine.” Reluctantly going over to where Erath sat, she unrolled a strip of cloth, cut it, and forcefully grabbed Erath’s arm.
“Ow! You don’t have to make it worse!” he said in annoyance.
Ellyn pinched her lips together and wrapped the cloth as tightly as she could around the long cut on Erath’s forearm. He pushed her hand away forcefully and angrily unrolled the cloth from his arm. “If you insist on being rough, I’ll just do it myself.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind it that much,” Ellyn said sarcastically.
He lifted his cold eyes to her. “Yes.” It was firm and quiet, as if he were about to start shouting.
“Suit yourself,” Ellyn stood, unaffected by his rudeness, and set her blanket by the fire to sleep. Gavin came over and sat next to her.
“Really Ell,” he said. “Do you have to make things worse?”
“Worse? He’s making everything worse!”
“Ellyn, we need him. As soon as he heals, he will be a great help to us.”
“Yes, and before he heals I have to tend to him and feed him and take care of him. That’s making things worse.”
Gavin sighed. “Ellyn, please. It won’t be for too long.”
“Yes, that’s what bugs me. As soon as he is better, he will be bossing me around. Right now I have control … but not for long.”
Gavin chuckled. “Don’t take advantage of it.”
“Take advantage? Why would I do that?” Ellyn asked in surprise, and then lay down to sleep.


“Ellyn, wake up.” Brynn shook her.
“What?” she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“I shot a rabbit for breakfast and I need you to cook it now.”
“A rabbit? For breakfast?!”
“Yes, what else did you expect?”
“I don’t know - eggs, biscuits. Something more… breakfasty.”
Brynn laughed. “Welcome to the real world,” he said. “No breakfast in bed here.”
“Great,” Ellyn stood. “Where is the rabbit?”
“Here,” Brynn held it up. “I just skinned it.”
“Eww! I changed my mind – you can cook it.”
“Come on Ellyn. Me and Gavin are busy, you’re the only other one that can do it.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll see what I can do.” She reached out and squeamishly took the rabbit from Brynn.
Ten minutes later Ellyn was stirring a lumpy, brownish stew over the fire and pinching her nose at the same time. Gavin came up behind her.
“Oh good. Breakfast. I’m starving.”
“Eat at your own risk,” said Ellyn.
Gavin took the ladle from her and tested the stew. He raised his eyebrows, and had a bit of difficulty swallowing it. “It’s … good,” he cleared his throat.
“Hmm,” Ellyn took the ladle back from him at continued to stir the stew. Brynn came to the fire just then, and tried it as well. He had more difficulty swallowing it than Gavin did. “What did you put in this?” he asked her.
“Look, you asked for breakfast, and here it is. If you do not want to eat it, you don’t have to.”
“Well, I want something,” Erath called from where he lay close to the fire.
“Serve yourself,” Ellyn called back to him.
Gavin sighed and grabbed a bowl. After ladling some stew into it, he brought it to Erath.
“What is this?” Erath asked suspiciously.
“Breakfast, stupid,” Ellyn said hotly.
He opened his mouth to say something, then changed his mind and sipped from the bowl. Immediately Erath began to choke and spit it out. “What are you trying to do, poison me?”
“You know what? I’ve had enough. If you want to eat, you can make your own food.” Ellyn angrily thrust the ladle into the stew and stomped off to her bag to find something else to eat.
The rest of the day passed slowly. Erath was still not well enough to walk for very long, so they ended up having Brynn and Gavin carry the bags and Erath riding on Ben. When Brynn came back with another rabbit for supper, he showed Ellyn how to skin it and what kind of herbs she could find that would go well with it in a stew. The result was a supper that tasted slightly better than what they had for breakfast.
But what really annoyed Ellyn was how demanding Erath got. She had to do everything for him, including changing his bandages every night. And the better he got, the crabbier he got. Ellyn struck back in whatever way she could. His stew had more lumps and hair in it than everyone else’s did. His bandages were either too tight or too loose. And if he needed something, Ellyn went as slow as she possibly could to get it for him. Needless to say, with every day that passed, both Ellyn and Erath’s moods got worse. By the fifth day since Erath’s arrival, the tension in the air was so much that Brynn and Gavin took whatever opportunity they could to get away from the other two. And of course that only made things worse, because it left Ellyn and Erath alone together way too much. By the end of the week fireworks went off every time they spoke to each other, and everyone had very short tempers. So of course it didn’t help that Gavin read the map wrong and they went in the wrong direction for two days. And when they finally got back on track they found that a bridge had washed out, so they had to take an extra day to cut down a tree and somehow make a bridge out of it so that Ben could cross. By that time no one could carry on a rational conversation. It soon became apparent that someone had to take charge or else everything would fall apart.

In case you're wondering...

We're still here. And Amber is supposedly writing the next chapter. In the meantime, I'm busy reformatting...So let me know what you think of the new layout, while we're waiting for the next chapter. Thanks!

Chariss