Ascension (24 page)

As if my body was agreeing with her,
a sudden rush of tiredness washed over me. She helped me up out of
the chair and back to my room, where my eyelids fell as soon as I
hit the pillow.

I awoke to the sound of laughter in
the kitchen, deep belly laughs that could come from none other than
Heath. With more ease than before, I made my way to the kitchen and
found Heath, Val, and a tall, dark man who I assumed to be her
husband.

"There she is!" Heath stood up and
gave me a tight hug. I gasped out in pain but didn't protest too
much. When he finally released me, he looked at me shyly and patted
my shoulder, saying, "I've uh, missed your help."

I laughed and told him I missed him
as well.

"So I heard you
got yourself into a bit of trouble. You seem to be good at doing
that," he told me, shaking his head. "I'm glad to see you're still
in one piece. You
’
re okay, right?" He looked at me, concern in his blue
eyes.

"Im okay,
”
I reassured him
“
It
seems like trouble has come to find you as well. Did you really
lose the stables, Heath?
”

At that, his face
fell and he looked away. "Yeah, it's a shame. I'm gonna miss all
those horses. But I
‘
spect you met
Brussel. I trust him to take good care of the place. I had to
protect my family, especially my girl, Shawna, even if it meant
giving up the stables without a fight. Speaking of, she came with
me today. Let me introduce her to you." While he left to get
Shawna, I made my way to the table where Val and her husband were
sitting.

"Sir, I expect you're the one I
should thank. I can't begin to explain how grateful I
am,"

"No need to get
all sappy, girl. I did what any honest man would have done." He
spoke gruffly and shortly, then abruptly left the kitchen. I looked
at Val in surprise. They couldn't be more different, Val's warm
personality and his surliness. But Val just smiled at me and
shrugged. "Don't worry about him, Mr. Harris is just afraid to show
emotion. But it's there, trust me, and I'm sure he appreciated your
gratitude. If not, then I
’
ll accept it for
him."

At that moment, Heath and his
daughter came into the room. "Shawna, I'd like you to meet Fara.
Fara, Shawna." A girl around seven or eight years old poked her
head around Heath, and he shoved her forward. "Don't be shy. Go on
and shake hands!" I smiled at her and held out my hand, which she
approached and shook surprisingly firmly. She had the same brown
hair as Heath, and a very similar facial structure, only softer.
The only difference was her beautiful hazel eyes, which I expect
she got from her mother.

"Hello Shawna, nice to meet you," I
told her.

"Nice to meet you too," she
returned. We both stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say,
until Val came to our rescue and announced that dinner was ready.
She had prepared a large turkey surrounded by potatoes, carrots,
and other vegetables. We all swarmed the table, Mr. Harris
included, and dug in. The meal loosened our tongues and we chatted
long into the night. Eventually, Shawna went to the other room to
fall asleep, and we turned our discussion to more serious matters,
such as the stables.

"Heath, what
exactly happened with the stables,
”
I
asked, and he sighed and told me what I had assumed, that the
merchant decided to take his anger out on Heath, but what I
didn
’
t expect
was that Heath had been accused of sedition.

Hearing that, I wondered if it was
more of my fault than I initially realized. I know that it was the
merchants anger and embarrassment that caused him to lash out, but
now that Heath mentioned sedition, it had me wondering if the
merchant somehow knew about what Prince Erik, Croxley, and I were
planning.

"Heath, I'm sorry. I feel like this
is because of me."

"Now don't be ridiculous, lass. How
could this be your fault?" Suddenly, the whole table looked towards
me quizzically. I knew I should hold my tongue, but my guilty
conscience pushed me forward.

"I'm the one who made the merchant
mad. He came to see me, and he wasn't happy with the service, or
rather, lack of, that I gave him. He must of taken his anger out on
you to get back at me."

"But that doesn't explain the
accusations of sedition and treachery," Val said.

"No, something else does." I paused.
I knew I could trust Heath, but I've just met Val and Mr. Harris.
Taking a leap of faith, I decided that if Heath could trust them,
then so could I. "You know that I am from Cethin,
correct?"

Heath nodded, while Val and Mr.
Harris let out a sharp exhale. They looked at each other, Mr.
Harris's eyebrows raised, and Val sighed. Even here, the prejudice
was deeply rooted. I took a deep breath, hoping that they could
hear me with open ears, and went into my story, telling them
everything about my life in Cethin. The horrible guards, the life
without color, sunlight, life, and the plan I have to change it
all. At first they were skeptical. I kept looking at Heath
throughout my tale to check on his reactions. If he had any
resentment towards me, he wasn't showing any signs of it. Rather,
he looked very pensive the whole time.

"I think that
somehow the merchant figured out what I was up to, and reported it,
using it to get revenge on Heath. Heath,
”
I said, turning to him,
“
I take
full responsibility for what happened to the stables. I don't know
how it happened, but I know that it's my fault." With all my
secrets out in the open, I felt refreshed, but also slightly naked,
liked I've removed a layer of armor that left me more vulnerable,
but also more free.

When my
confession was over, we sat in silence for a few moments. I picked
at my nails, not knowing what else to do. After what seemed like an
eternity, Heath cleared his throat and said,
“
So, where do I sign up?"

Dumbfounded, I didn't know how to
respond. The best I could give was, "Uh...what?"

Heath stood up out of his chair and
began to pace the kitchen. "I have a confession myself. I didn't
tell y'all cause I didn't want everyone giving me handouts, but I
didn't just lose the stables. I lost me home too. I have just a
week to find a new place for Shawna and I, and what's more, the
officials that took the horses said that they would give me trouble
if they saw me around town again. Now, I'm not worried about
myself. I could give them guards a run for their money. But I can't
risk Shawna. You know what they would do to her if they managed to
get a hand on her." Heath stopped pacing and faced us, "So, what
I'm saying is, I want to help you, Fara. I've got nothing left to
lose. Everyone already thinks I'm a traitor, so I might as well put
some truth to the rumor."

"Heath," I started, "I'm so
sor-"

"Stop apologizing to me, lass!"
Heath said, cutting me off. "It ain't your fault! What's done is
done."

"Well," said Val,
leaning back in her chair with her arms folded behind her head, "I
have to say, I'm not to sure how I feel about all this, especially
now that is been brought into my house. I think I'll give it a
little time to sink in before I decide what I want to do about it
all. In the meantime, let
’
s get ourselves a much-needed
rest and we can talk about it again in the morning. We don't want
to make any rash decisions now, do we?"

At that moment,
my body reminded me of everything it had gone through in the past
twenty four hours. Exhaustion swept through me and I found myself
barely able to keep my head up as the kitchen exchanged goodbyes.
Heath stood in the doorway, a sleeping Shawna in his arms, and told
me, "Just let me know how to help you, Fara. I'll do anything to
keep my Shawna safe, which means I
’
ll have to do even more to make
it so more people don't have to go through the same I did. You're
right. The way they run things here isn't right, and
it
’
s about time
that someone changed it all around. I'm too old to change anything
myself, but I'll help you in any way I can. Now get some rest,
lass, and I'll see you in the morn."

With the last few drops of energy, I
dragged myself to my bed, and slept a deep, dreamless
sleep.

Chapter
23

Shawna woke me up the next morning.
I opened my eyes to see her leaning over my bed, studying my face
with a deep wrinkle set between her eyebrows, as if concentrating
on something. When she noticed my eyes were open, she jerked back,
looking downward to avoid my gaze.

“
Good
morning,
”
I said, pushing myself up into
a seated position.

“
Um, good
morning,
”
she replied n a quiet
voice.
“I
’
m
sorry, I was just
…
well, my pa always
talks about you, saying you remind him of me, but you
don
’
t look
anything like me.
”
She played with
something on the ground with her toe, keeping her eyes towards the
ground, but I could just see them through her bangs as she looked
up and said,
“I
’
m nowhere near as pretty as you.
”

I sighed as I
thought about how deeply the ideas of Ahrenia were engrained in its
citizens. This poor girl already feels like the only thing that
matters is her appearance.
“
Now
that
’
s not
true. You and I just look different. I would love to have the rich,
tan skin you have, and your hazel eyes are lovely.
”
I reached over and brushed her hair behind her
ears, and said,
“
besides, if
I
’
m right,
there
’
s much
more to you than your looks. Your father tells me all the time
about how smart you are, and how you always fight for
what
’
s right.
And,
”
I added, giving her a playful nudge
with my elbow,
“
he told me about how all
the neighborhood boys have been chasing you.
”

“
Really?
”
She asked, her eyes growing wide. She sat there,
thinking it over, while I got myself out of bed and pulled some
warmer clothes over my dress. I was feeling much better this
morning, my side only aching slightly as I pulled my layers over my
head. I could probably make it back to the castle today, although I
can
’
t imagine
what Mathelda will say. I shuddered and put the thought
aside.

“
Oh, I forgot to
tell you. Breakfast is ready. Val
’
s a really good cook, too. I
always ask my pa if we can eat here,
”
Shawna motioned me closer, then whispered in my ear,
“
my pa always burns the food, and what he
doesn
’
t burn
still taste terrible. But don
’
t tell him I said that, he
thinks I love his cooking.
”

I reassured her that her secret was
safe with me. She looked me over, as if judging my character. She
must have decided she liked what she saw, because she smiled and
pulled me out of the room and into the kitchen by my
hand.

At the kitchen
table sat Mr. Harris and Heath, while Val bustled about preparing
everyone
’
s
dishes. I realized that there was another figure sitting at the
table with their back to me, and it took me only a few seconds to
figure out who it was.

“
Jean?”
I
exclaimed, bewildered.
“
What are you
doing here?
”

She turned around, a scowl deeply
etched on her face, but made no attempt to explain her sudden
appearance, or, for that matter, how she knew I was here. Heath
squirmed a little in his seat, and was relieved when Val set his
plate down in front of him so that he could feign interest in his
food. I sat down in the only available seat, right across from
Jean, where I was under the attack of her burning glare.

“
All right, dig
in,
”
Val announced once she had gotten
everyone plated. I lifted my fork to my mouth, uncomfortable under
Jean
’
s gaze,
but also ravenous. But before I could take a bite, Jean suddenly
struck her fist down on the table.

“
What do you
think you are doing?
”
She exclaimed,
making both the plates on the table and myself jump.
“
How could you completely betray me like
this?
”

I just stared at her, dumbstruck,
not knowing how to answer or where this was coming from. Okay, that
was a lie, I knew where it was coming from, but why now? And why
here?

“
Betray you? What
are you talking about? And how did you know I was
here?
”