The Boy in the Field (25 page)

“We’ll find him. If he’s really out there, someone will know,
hai
na?
We’ll find him.” You smiled. “But first, you should concentrate on your
training.”

“Why do you have to be so sensible?” He rubbed your shoulder.
“I’m going to wash. Are you making dinner?”

You nodded. “I was waiting for you.”

He kissed you again and turned away. You let your smile slip
once he was gone. Somehow, finding out that Ethan was alive was worse than
finding out that he was dead. You were pleased, of course, but he hadn’t
contacted you, meaning that once he started to run, he had probably never
looked back.

But now you had clues, you could continue to search for him in
new places while Noah worked. You placed a pan on the stove. You knew exactly
how you were going to start.

* * *

Months passed, but your search turned up no successes. You put
notices in newssheets and received several letters from men who matched Ethan’s
description, but none of them were him. Noah was training the whole time, each
false positive spurring him to train harder, determined to gain more powers that
he could use to find his brother.

You stood at his side on the morning of his ceremony, trying
not to cry as you looked at him in his dress uniform. It was hard to believe
that he had once been that frightened, lost boy bullied by therins in a field. Now
he was tall, muscular, and strong. Now, he supported you.

“Magister Vapasi.”

Noah stepped up and you frowned, but said nothing as he
accepted his papers from his commanding officer and smiled to the crowd.

“Vapasi?” You whispered when he returned to your side.

“It was my mother’s maiden name. Wicker was father's name.
Ethan still bears it and I want nothing to tie me to him.” He smiled. “I should
have told you sooner.”

“Noah Vapasi.” You shook your head. “Since when?”

“That was the name I gave when I signed up.” He sighed. “I was
trying to forget.”

“Noah Vapasi.” You smiled. “I suppose I’ll get used to it.”

He kissed your hair again. “Give it some time. If you still
don’t like it, we’ll talk about it. Okay?”

Instruction:
176. Assignment

“Forget about him. He forgot about us. Don’t waste your energy
on him.”

“He’s my brother. He’s still alive. I can’t just forget!”

You rested your head against his. “You can. Concentrate on
what’s important. You’re going to be a magister. That’s huge, No. Don’t waste
your chances on him.”

He smiled. “When did you stop getting me into trouble and start
being so sensible?”

“When I realised that I had to look after you or I’d lose you.”
You looked up and kissed him.

He kissed you back and pushed himself away from the counter.
“Get changed,” he said. “Put your best dress on. We’ll eat out tonight.” He
grinned. “Just because you deserve it.”

You laughed, but did as he had said, going up to the bedroom to
change your clothes. Your best dress was hardly worthy of being called ‘nice’.
It was second-hand and the colour of tea with a wonky hem and three mismatched
buttons. You had no jewellery and the only smart shoes you owned leaked.

“You wait,” he said, as you walked arm-in-arm towards one of
the inns that provided cheap food to travellers. “We’ll have money soon. I’ll
buy you proper clothes and we’ll have nice furniture. We’ll have a good life.”

The food in the inn was basic but pleasant. You stayed for a
drink after dinner and then walked home along the river. Noah linked his arm
through yours and walked at sedate pace, something you noticed he hadn’t done
since arriving in Ethigos. For the first time in more than a year, he seemed
relaxed. He stopped beneath a large tree.

“Do you remember our first kiss?” he asked, turning to face
you.

“Under that tree in Landia?” You nodded. “It was raining and
you gave me your coat.”

He smiled. “I thought this would be a good place.” He bent down
on one knee in front of you. “Will you marry me?”

You nodded, lost for words. People passing by had stopped to
watch. You giggled as Noah raised an eyebrow to you.

“Oh! Yes!” You grinned. “Yes!”

He took your hand and slid a ring onto your finger. You
recognised it at once as the ring Adina used to wear, the engagement ring she
had received from Noah’s father. He stood up, pulling you into his arms.

“I love you,” he said. “More than you’ll ever know.”

“I love you too,” you whispered, trying not to cry. “I love you
so much.”

The End
(Back to start)

“Here.”

You took a handkerchief from your pocket and carefully wiped
the blood from his nose. His eyes met yours and you sighed.

“I’m not going to untie you.”

He tipped his head and grunted. You pulled the fabric from his
mouth. He stretched his jaw and looked up at you.

“You ran away to marry Ethan?”

“You were trying to frame him for murdering the King?”

“That—I—” He shook his head. “Yes. That’s my job.”

“How is it your job?”

He shook his head again. “No. We’re not discussing this.”

You pulled up the other chair beside him. “What happened to you
Noah?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What? No—”

“That’s not my name any more,” he growled.

You ran your teeth along your tongue, thinking. “I searched for
you. I wrote letters. What happened that night?”

“That night when I risked my life to protect you? When I took a
sword to the Taatars trying to invade our home? What happened that night, when
I got back and found you and Ethan gone?”

“I had to, Noah—”

“Please!”

You shook your head. “What am I supposed to call you? You will
always be Noah to me.” You pushed your finger to his lips before he could
protest. “Me first. You remember
that
night?” You moved your hand.

“I wish I didn’t.”

“But you do. And what did I call you?”

He shook his head. “Why did you run?”

“I was pregnant.”

He wrestled with the bonds, an angry snarl on his face. “
Kasabi
!”
He kicked against the chair. “You were sleeping with my brother?”

“What? No!” You put your hand on his shoulder. “No.”

He looked down at your hand. “You married him.”

“I thought you were dead.”

“Untie me.”

Choice:
179. Comply
or
180. Refuse

You kept your eyes fixed on his knees, unable to look him in
the face. That he was there at all made you want to cry. He had been alive the
whole time. If you had stayed with him, your baby might have lived too. If you
had searched harder… If you had gone back to Landia… If… If…

You had no idea how much time passed. It felt like forever with
Noah’s eyes boring into you. You could feel hatred radiating from him, every
second he spent close to you amplifying it. He struggled against the binds,
never making a sound, never letting his breathing lose its rhythm.

It seemed like eternity before Ethan returned, alone. He
crossed the room and stopped in front of Noah’s chair.

“You have five minutes to convince me to let you go,” he said,
pulling up the other chair just out of his reach. He tore the fabric from his
brother’s mouth and sat down.

“If you don’t let me go, your house will be swarming with my
soldiers before your friends can get here.” He smirked. “You don’t think I came
without a plan, do you?”

Ethan sighed. “Your first plan seemed to rely on my wife not
recognising me. Why would your second be any smarter?”

Noah laughed. “It didn’t rely on her not recognising you.” He
fixed his eyes on you. “I had anticipated some modicum of guilt from her for
leaving me to die at the hands of the Taatars.”

“You won’t speak to her like that!”

Noah leaned forward. “I’ll speak to that bitch however I like.”

Ethan lunged at him, knocking both chairs to the ground as he
punched Noah in the face. You grabbed his shoulders and tried to pull him back,
using all of your body weight to move him.

“Stop it! If you kill him, you’ll be the one that suffers.” You
put your hand on his chest and moved between them.

“So suddenly you care?” Noah laughed, spitting blood on your
floor. “Or do you just not want to watch it happen?”

You took a deep breath, keeping your gaze on Ethan. If you
turned around, you’d want to punch him too. Fortunately, at that moment, you
heard footsteps in the hall way and the room filled with Kinel soldiers. Noah
was wrestled out of the chair and led away.

“He was going to set me up for murder,” Ethan said, sliding his
arm around your shoulder. “One of the Serloran aides was at a meeting in the
council chambers and he was going to frame me for killing him.”

“Why?”

“Revenge? To escalate the war? I’m not sure. Maybe just because
he hates me.” He smiled. “If I had been in work today, he would have gotten
away with it.”

“But why was he tied to the chair too?” You frowned. “I don’t
understand.”

“You came in too soon. And I think his partner tied the ropes
too tight. I think he was supposed to be able to free himself and knock you out
or something.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m not sure he thinks
straight anymore.”

You leaned your head on his shoulder and wondered how such a
sweet kid could grow up to be so twisted. Whatever had happened to him since
you had left Landia had changed him and it wasn’t for the better. Perhaps you’d
had a lucky escape, both from the Taatars and Noah. You listened to Ethan’s
heartbeat and tried to push the thought aside. You couldn’t change the past.

The End
(Back to start)

His hair was long and tangled, his face unshaven and his
clothes filthy, but you couldn’t mistake those eyes.

You reached forward and pulled him by the arm into the house,
closing the door behind him. “Ethan…”

“I’ve missed you so much.” He wrapped his arms around you and
kissed the top of your head. “I can’t believe you’re still here.”

“Ethan, where have you been?”

You put your head against his chest, feeling his heartbeat. He
smelt awful, like he had been locked in a soldier’s sweaty kit bag and left in
a hot sewer for a year.

“I was in a prison in Kesene, but I escaped.”

“Kesene is hundreds of miles away.”

“It wasn’t easy.” He leaned heavily on you and put his hand to
the wall to support himself. “I’m sorry.”

You lowered him to the floor and sat beside him. You rubbed his
shoulder, alarmed at the definition of the bones beneath his skin. He looked as
if he had not eaten in weeks. You stood again, moving towards the kitchen and
fetched a plate, placing upon it some cheese and bread. You put it on the floor
with a large mug of water.

“I don't deserve this,” he said.

You put out your hand out to move his hair from his face.
“Ethan...”

“Please, don't put yourself out for me.”

“I'm not even getting started.”

You bent and kissed him on the cheek. For a second, he stopped
chewing and froze, like a startled animal staring at a hunter. You pretended
not to notice, just like you pretended not to notice the taste of sweat and
dirt lingering on your lips. Just like the startled animal, he could flee at
any moment.

“We should get you cleaned up,” you said, once he had finished
eating. You helped him to his feet. “You use the bathroom and I’ll find you
some fresh clothes.”

He took two steps and faltered, clutching his side. His breathing
caught and he clenched his jaw. You supported him against the wall while he
composed himself, ready to make the last few steps towards the bathroom. Once
inside, Ethan moved his hand and lifted the hem of his shirt to reveal an
ill-repaired gash across his stomach.

“Who did this to you?”

“It was the only way I could think to get out of that place.”
He gritted his teeth has you ran your fingers over the wound. “They think I'm
dead.”

“Let me see. Take off your shirt.”

Ethan obeyed. You winced as you saw other scars across his
chest and arms, some showing the tell-tale traits of radust healing in their
flat silver trails, others leaving vivid red ridges in his skin.

“Please, don't look at me like that.”

You closed your mouth and swallowed. “Ethan...”

“I'm putting you in danger just being here. I should leave.”

You put your hand on his arm. “You're in no state to go
anywhere.”

From a drawer beside the sink, you took out a radust box with a
single, pale green stone inside. Ethan groaned as you touched him, but you
continued to work, letting the stone repair some of the damage. The wound
closed, but it would take a trained medic to heal him properly.

“I don't deserve you,” he whispered, as you turned away.

“Well, you're stuck with me.” You smiled. “Get cleaned up. I'll
find you some fresh clothes.”

You watched him as he turned away. The scars down his back were
far worse than those across his chest. Tears blurred your vision, but you
refused to let them fall. You wiped your eyes and went to the bedroom to retrieve
a shirt and a pair of breeches from the bottom of your wardrobe. You had few of
Ethan’s things left, having sold many of them when you were short on funds.

“I don't know how well they'll fit you now,” you said, handing
them over.

“They’ll be fine. Thank you.”

You smiled and turned away while he changed. “I was on my way
to bed when you knocked.”

“I shalln't keep you.”

“Are you not going to come with me?” You glanced over your
shoulder. “I'll sleep better knowing where you are.”

* * *

He didn’t sleep well for weeks. Every time he heard a noise in
the night, he would be on alert, ready to hide. You kept thinking that at any
moment, someone would knock on the door searching for him and if he didn’t get
caught, he’d run and you would never see him again.

But no one came. They believed he was dead and that there was
no need for a search.

You saved up some money and moved away from the city. Leaving
Kama’s tree felt like having your lungs ripped out, but the idea of losing
Ethan again felt worse. You went somewhere small and secluded where no one
would know or recognise you. You introduced yourselves under false names and
Ethan told the village children made-up stories of his time as a Taatar
prisoner to explain away his scars.

You never spoke about the King’s assassination. You never
needed to. Neither of you wanted to remember. The truth didn’t matter. The only
thing you cared about was keeping Ethan alive.

The End
(Back to start)