“I liked that story, Mama. Let’s tell another one.”

“But we’ve finished all our spinning for today, my heart. We’ll tell another story tomorrow.”

Vero nodded. Mama sent her out to fetch herbs and vegetables from the potager garden beside the house and water from the river for supper. While she was working, Virgil slowly meandered towards her. Eventually, he stopped and watched her pulling up carrots and onions.

Vero wanted to wait for him to say something, but eventually she decided that he wouldn’t, so she would need to. “I’m sorry I called you a rat, and said that I hated you. I didn’t really mean it.”

“I know you didn’t. I’m sorry we quarreled too.”

Virgil watched her finish loading her basket and walked with her down to the river. He showed no inclination to help her carry the food basket or the water bucket. Vero washed the dirt off the vegetables. Virgil wandered downstream to make water, then returned and lay out on the grass in the sun.

Vero made some sly comments suggesting that he was too weak and tired to carry the water back to the house, which eventually induced him to help her. When they got back to the house, Virgil was called away. Father was holding Antoine, and ordered Virgil to put the animals in for the evening.

Father occupied a more distant role in Vero’s life than the other members of her family. She was very proud of him, but she never really spent much time with him. He was always very busy managing the family farm. He was the richest man in the village, and owned his own land, but that didn’t amount to much in the grand scheme of the world. The house he'd built was very sturdy, but they all lived in only a single room.

His hair had turned mostly grey, but it was once red. Even though he was getting older he was still very big and strong. Vero loved how effortlessly he picked her up and held her when she was a little girl, but she was getting too old for that.

He wasn’t a native Velian. Originally, he was from the Pict highlands far to the northwest. He came to the south as a mercenary during the last interregnum, but he decided to stay when he met Mama. She was training to be a priestess at the time, but they fell in love and got married.

It was a story Vero often asked Mama to tell her, because she thought it was very romantic.

Antoine was much younger than his other siblings. Vero and Virgil were several years younger than Yvette, but Antoine was more than a decade their junior. The gap resulted from a miscarriage, still-births, and infants too weak to live more than a few weeks. Vero was surprised each morning that he was still alive. Although now that two years had passed, she decided that perhaps he wouldn’t die after all.

She hadn’t begrudged the baby Mama’s attention when she thought that he would only be around for a few weeks, or a maybe a month, but recently Vero started doing her best to refocus Mama’s priorities back to herself. If Father was so enchanted by having another boy, then let him look after his miracle son.

Inside the house, Vero helped Mama make the soup. She stirred up the hot coals and set the water to boil. Mama chopped the vegetables into pieces and started to cry when she cut the onions. Vero solemnly assured her that she mourned the loss as well, but there were always more in the garden. Mama laughed with her through the tears.

Yvette came inside first, but slowly all the family came trickling in after her. Yvette was already past twenty, and terrified that she wasn’t married yet. Physically, Yvette looked more like Antoine than Vero or Virgil. Both Vero and her twin inherited Father's hair and Mama’s eyes, while Yvette and Antoine received the reverse.

When they were all younger, Yvette would play with her and Virgil. She took the role of the princess, while Virgil and Vero were knight and squire. But Yvette never played with them anymore, so as far as Vero was concerned, that made her mostly a non-entity.

Her most redeeming feature was that she seemed to enjoy watching over Antoine, probably because it let her fantasize that it was her baby. Vero didn’t really care what her sister’s motivations were, only that she kept as much of Mama’s time free as possible.

Father led Virgil and Antoine through evening prayers at the sun shrine, and the women of the house said vespers at the moon shrine. Then they all sat down to supper.

Vero took a place on the bench next to Mama, and leaned against her whenever Mama didn’t need to use her arm to eat. Virgil sat across from her and devoured his food with single minded determination.

Vero was considering her own soup and bread when there was a knock at the door. It was later than any visitor would usually come, but it was a summer evening and still very warm and bright out for the hour. Father stood up from the table and answered the door.

Vero’s place at the table faced the entrance, and she leaned over away from Mama so that she could see the man Father was speaking to.

He was old, though not quite as old as the village alderman. His hair was mostly gray, except for patches where it was dark. He was short, but broader shouldered then she would have expected for a man of his age. His expression was very mean, and he gave her a terribly fierce look over Father’s shoulder when he caught her looking at him. He was dressed practically in rags, but she saw that he wore a sword on his belt.

The stranger and Father were speaking too quietly for Vero to hear what they were saying over her sister’s incessant prattling and the baby’s screeching. Virgil was trying to draw her attention by pulling faces at her. She finally acknowledged him.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

With exaggerated lip movements, but no sound, he asked her, ‘Who. Is. It?’

She shrugged back and he rolled his eyes in annoyance. Through looks and gestures, Vero and her brother argued covertly as to which of them would ask Father about the stranger once he returned.

In the end, Virgil relented that he would be the one to broach the subject.

There was never really much choice. They both knew full well that Father would only tell her to be quiet if Vero asked, and that attempt would salt the earth when it came to any further questioning.

Vero watched Father bid the stranger farewell and close the door. Virgil was on the verge of ruining everything by pelting him with questions at once, but Vero was able to wave him off. They waited for Father to have time to sit back down so that they could question him more casually.

Mama, who had been watching the two of them the whole time, gave Vero an indulgent smile and gently tried to untangle the rat’s nest of strands in her hair.

Virgil began the interrogation. “Who was at the door, Father?”

“A slayer, sent by the Baron.”

“What’s a slayer, Mama?” Vero whispered.

“A brave warrior who uses spells, special magic just like those little prayers I taught you, to hunt monsters.” Mama whispered back very conspiratorially. “They were all wandering elven knights at first, but then they mostly they became human as time went on. Some stories say that Aaja the huntress was once part of their order. The emperor built them great big academies to train more and more of them, back when the emperors were still good and all humans everywhere belonged in the Imperium.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“It was, sweet one.”

Virgil was watching Mama whisper in her ear. Vero nodded to let him know that she had gotten the whole story and that she would tell him later. He narrowed his eyes at her, but no matter how unsatisfied he might be, he still couldn’t do anything about it at the moment.

He asked Father another question. “What did the slayer want?”

“Our lord has hired him to lead a hunting party. Every man strong enough to hold a weapon has been called up to go on the hunt.”

“What's the hunt for?”

“A griffon. That damn fool Abedias has let one loose.”

Abedias was a wizard the Baron had kept as a retainer since before Vero was born. Father was certain he was up to no good, but Vero had never met him, or even seen him, so she couldn’t form an opinion one way or the other.

“Mama, what’s a griffon?” she whispered.

“A griffon is a kind of chimera, an awful abomination that wizards create out of different parts of poor captured animals. Griffons are made from hunting birds and predatory mammals, usually eagles and lions. Their mutations leave them in constant horrible pain so they’re very hostile and aggressive all the time. Their creation is illegal in some lands, it’s a very evil thing to fashion one.”

‘Wizards. Make. Them.’ she mouthed to Virgil, who rolled his eyes again.

“When is the hunt?” Virgil asked Father.

“Sunrise tomorrow, so get to sleep early and be ready.”

Vero could hardly contain her surprise, and before thinking she blurted out, “We’re going with you?”

Father gave her a very imperious and intimidating eye, but addressed his response to Virgil. “You will be coming with us. The lord has called for every man old enough to hold a weapon, and yes, that includes my son. Besides the levy, we’ll have the wizard, the slayer, and half a dozen knights with us. You won’t have anything of importance to do, but it will be a good experience for you. And a chance to make a good impression on a knight you might soon be squired to. Most important, I expect you not to make a nuisance of yourself to any of these important personages, understood?”

“Of course, Father.” Virgil answered.

“What about me?” Vero was too impatient to hide her disappointment any longer. “I’ve had as much practice with swords as he’s had!”

Vero always watched Father when he gave Virgil his lessons at sword play. Father was much too busy with the farm to spar with him as often as he needed if he was going to be squired to a knight as Father wished for him, so Vero was given permission to act as his training partner.

“You will stay with the rest of the village women and children in the temple while we are away.”

“I don’t want to.”

Vero thought that Father would be furious, but after a moment of silence to hold his temper, he replied in a moderating tone. “There may be injuries during this hunt. In fact, it’s very likely. You and your mother know the healing arts, and your time will come later. But this hunt is no place for a girl.”

“I’m just as old as Virgil and-”

“Enough. I’ve made my decision.” Father’s tone made it clear she was in for a hiding if she tried to push her luck any farther, so she bit her tongue to stifle any reply.

Yvette continued to babble about nothing in particular, but Vero paid her no mind and spent the rest of the meal brooding in silence.

After supper was over, they got ready for bed and Vero gave Virgil an abbreviated version of everything Mama had told her. She was too upset to take much pleasure from it. Even though she got to talk about Aaja the huntress, who was Vero's favorite of the ancient heroes.

Vero wanted to complain to Mama, but she and Father told her they wished to be left alone together, which only made Vero even more furious. She curled up next to Virgil and he put an arm around her. He listened very sympathetically as she complained, and let her use his shoulder as a pillow.

“Well, from the sounds of what Father has said, there won’t be much for me to do. I suppose I’ll just be sent running around fetching things. You won’t be missing anything really exciting, I’m sure.”

“If it won’t be dangerous, then why can’t I come with you?” Vero was still outraged.

“Don’t get cross with me. Father made the decision. I’m sure he has his reasons.”

“It’s not fair!”

“When I come back, I’ll tell you everything that happened.”

“But I won’t see any of it. A slayer is going to hunt a real monster, just like Aaja would, and I’m going to miss it. No adventure like this has ever come here before.”

“No… I suppose you’re right...” Virgil admitted reluctantly.

“And it won’t ever happen again. And it’s all going to pass me by. I hate it. I hate it!”

Mama told them sternly from behind the curtain to stay quiet.

“I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it," Virgil whispered. "So why be upset?”

“You could talk to Father.”

Virgil chuckled. “No, I couldn’t.”

“You could try, at least.”

“Do you really think there would be any point?”

Vero couldn’t honestly say that she did, so she said nothing at all.

“I’ll tell you everything that happens. I promise, it will be like you were right there, you won’t miss a thing.”

“You’ll forget things.”

“I won’t. I’ll tell you everything the moment I get back. I’ll even write it down for you if you like, and you can read it over and over. And once the griffon is dead, I’ll ask Father to take you to see the body. I'm sure he'll do that.”

“Hmm.” Vero still wasn’t happy, but there wasn’t any more to be said.

She thought she would be much too annoyed to fall asleep, but Virgil rubbed her back and she drifted off almost at once.