Melia gasped when she saw the gold bracelet in Venya’s hand.
A strange engraved pattern curled all the way around the solid gold band.
A tiny green gemstone was set into the center of a strange spiral symbol.
“Hi, Melia.
Did you bring this?
Should I sell it?” Venya had tied her long blonde hair back in a ponytail with the red velvet ribbon she had given her, though several strands had escaped around her face.
Melia wondered how old Venya was.
She looked older than her.
Perhaps about Talia’s age.
“It’s from Rive.
You shouldn’t sell it.
It’s too valuable.
It probably belongs to his mother.” Melia crossed her arms.
That idiot.
“He sure is an idiot,” Venya agreed.
Melia hadn’t realized she had said that aloud.
“Yeah.
I’d get in trouble if I tried to sell it in the village.” “How… how can you speak?
I mean, our language.” Melia had understood everything Venya had said.
Well, partially.
Venya spoke in a strange mix, some words in Melia’s language and others in her own.
Her pronunciation was rough, but they could understand each other.
“Mewp.” Melia jumped when she saw a beast baring its fangs at her.
Her hand flew to her chest.
What was that?
“Is…
is it a lynx?” “Yes, a lynx cub.
Its name is Ves.” Venya toyed with the bracelet and then slipped it into her apron pocket.
The cub sniffed the floor and began exploring the kitchen.
It was clearly quite young.
“Wait a minute,” Venya said and went to the storage room.
Melia followed her and gasped when she saw the mess.
“How did this happen?” Melia asked.
Venya nodded toward the cub, which had followed them in and was now chewing on a half-eaten piece of jerky it had found on the floor.
“It happened.” While they cleaned the mess, Venya told Melia how she had ended up with the lynx cub.
Whenever Venya got stuck and used one of her own words, Melia supplied the right one, so the story progressed slowly.
They carried a pot of lukewarm water, two bowls, some clean cloths, and a saucer of sticky stuff that smelled bad into the bedroom.
Well, not exactly bad.
It smelled like work, like chopping firewood.
To help, Melia poured some of the water into one of the bowls, and Venya pulled Ves close and began cleaning the cub’s injury as she continued her story.
The cub did its best to interfere by trying to catch the cloth.
Hearing how Ves’s mother had died brought tears to her eyes.
Poor little cub.
Melia watched, mesmerized, as Venya spread a little of the sticky substance over the cut while the cub protested by nibbling her hand.
She wondered how the cub could be so completely at ease with Venya, almost as if she really were its mother.
After she had finished tending the cut, Venya replaced the water and began cleaning the rest of the cub’s fur.
“By the way, is Ves a he or a she?” “I don’t know.
Let’s check.” Venya rolled the cub onto its back.
“He’s a boy.
Thank God I didn’t name him Lucy.” SFor a moment, Venya looked completely serious.
Then she fell back onto the bed, laughing.
A moment later, she grimaced and pressed a hand to her thigh.
Melia joined in, and soon they were laughing so hard that they had to clutch their stomachs and wipe tears from their eyes.
Ves stared at them, his ears tilted in bewilderment.
He probably wondered who those two crazy women were.
Venya set Ves down on the bedroom floor.
“So Ves’s mother hit you with that flash of light, and now you can speak?” “Pretty much.
Let’s return the bracelet to the mansion.
Or to Rive.” She had almost forgotten the damn trinket.
“That might be a little difficult.” Melia brought her thumb and index finger almost together to show how little.
“Rive is out of the village.” She told Venya that getting caught with the cart and horse had been bad enough, but his tattletale older brother had also revealed that Rive had met with Melia, or so she guessed.
As far as Lord Thornwick was concerned, that was the worst thing in the world.
“His father took Rive with him to Waterfort as punishment.
Heaven knows for how long.” “Riverfort?” “Waterfort,” Melia corrected.
“It’s the nearest city.
His father works there.” Melia knew that even if they understood each other, she would have trouble explaining more complicated ideas, such as Waterfort serving as the region’s administrative center under Lord Thornwick.
“The simplest thing is to return it to the mansion ASAP.” Melia didn’t know what ASAP meant, but she nodded as if she did.
She was getting better at making sense of Venya’s jumble of words, but sometimes Venya still lost her.
Still, Venya learned fast and rarely made the same mistake twice.
“I feel uneasy keeping it here,” Venya continued.
Melia thought Venya was probably right.
The bracelet was far too valuable to go unnoticed for long, and knowing the Lady, its disappearance could turn into a full-scale search of the village.
“Yes, but I can’t do it.” Melia shook her head.
“Everyone at the manor recognizes me, even if I were bald and had a mustache.” “Then I will take it.
I’ll just leave it to the guards at the door,” Venya suggested.
“They’d assume you stole it and then had second thoughts.
You are a stranger, after all.” Then Venya lifted the hem of her dress and began unwrapping the dirty improvised bandages from her thigh.
The scratches were red and oozing.
Venya poured the remaining clean water into the second bowl, dipped a fresh cloth into it, and cleaned the scratches, grimacing.
“Let’s think of another way,” Venya said through gritted teeth, with such determination in her voice that Melia sat up straighter.
They considered sneaking onto the manor grounds and leaving the bracelet somewhere in the yard or by the front gate, but after Melia’s last attempt, the guards were likely more alert.
Asking a villager to return it seemed no safer.
Melia didn’t trust them, and she would have trouble explaining how either she or Venya had come by the trinket.
Besides, even if they managed to leave it near the manor, they would have no way of knowing whether it reached the Thornwicks or was stolen first.
They didn’t want to cause Rive any more trouble.
“Don’t you have a police station?
Maybe just leave it there?” “Police… what?” “Like a…” Venya looked up as if searching for something there.
“A constable, or a magistrate, or…” “We have a village magistrate.
He’s good at settling your-sheep-ate-my-crops disputes, but when the higher-ups are involved, he’s a crook.
He would just arrest you and twist the facts to his own advantage.
Rive isn’t here to save you.” “That crap-eating idiot!” Melia slammed her fist against the bedpost in frustration.
Her knuckles hurt so badly that she jumped out of bed and hopped around, shaking her hand.
“Are you okay?” “I’m fine.
Rive will pay for this.” Melia sat back down on the bed and examined her knuckles, where she’d scraped off a little skin.
“This is a huge problem.
Maybe we’ll tie it around Ves’s neck and teach him to take it there.” “That would take too long.” They laughed at the thought of it.
“Oh, I forgot.
I brought you chicken soup and two waterskins.
I will take the empty ones with me.” Melia left the room.
While she was gone, Venya wrapped a clean cloth around her thigh and lowered the hem of her dress.
Melia returned with a tightly covered pot of soup.
She also brought bowls and spoons.
Because they couldn’t think of anything better to do, they ate.
Every so often, Venya tore off small pieces of chicken and offered them to the lynx cub.
The pieces disappeared fast.
“Don’t your parents wonder where you take the food?” “Nah.
I’ve told them I am helping the poor, which isn’t a lie at all.
I even asked Talia to gather things she doesn’t need anymore.” “To help me?” “No, to help the poor.
Only Rive and I know who you are.” That was true.
Even when Venya had run through the village, no one had seen her clearly enough.
“What’s your sister like?” Talia was just Talia.
Melia had never thought about how to describe her before.
“She is very serious.
Sometimes I wonder if anything ever amuses her.” Melia scratched at her hairline near one temple.
“She is the kindest, most honest person I know.” “Could she return the bracelet?
If she is honest, she wouldn’t steal it.” “Oh no!
We can’t ask her to return it herself.” Melia shook her head.
“She’d have to explain where it came from, and keeping that secret would eat her alive.
But…” Melia licked her scraped knuckles.
Then Melia remembered the reception at the manor being held in honor of that dimwit Cassian Thornwick’s visit home.
“Talia is going to the Thornwicks’ reception in two days.
She could hire you as her maid for the day and take you to the mansion,” Melia said.
“Then you could return it yourself.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Terri_Pauline Oh, Rive is causing trouble for our ladies.
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