Thokri led her back into the inn. The innkeeper, along with the barmaids, watched them as they went over to a table and took a seat. She’d never seen the look the innkeeper or the barmaids had on their faces before, and she herself had that strange wiggling filling inside her. She looked around the table at her friends. They, none of them, looked happy, but they also didn’t look all that upset.
This is my fault, isn’t it? I never should have given that little girl a silver coin! What was I thinking? Of course, something bad was going to happen. A silver is what a man makes in a week in the city. I bet stable hands out here on the road don’t make that in a month, and he saw a kid showing it off and just lost it. Why don’t I ever think before I do things? Now a little girl is dead all because of me!
“What’s wrong?” Elaine asked.
“I shouldn’t have given her that silver! I’m so fucking stupid!” Anna replied.
“Wasn’t your fault, lass,” Thokri said.
“How is it not my fault? I gave her a silver coin. Of course, she was going to go show it off!” Anna replied.
“So, why is it your fault and not her sister’s then? She did run right over there and show her the coin as soon as you gave it to her. She could have taken it and kept it safe for her,” Lyreen asked.
“She couldn’t have known what was going to happen,” Anna replied.
“And neither could you,” Lyreen said.
“I still feel terrible,” Anna replied.
“It means you have a heart,” Barika said.
“I wish I didn’t sometimes,” Anna replied.
“We all have that wish,” Barika said.
Thokri clapped her on the shoulder.
“Got a long day ahead. Better get some sleep,” he said as he stood up.
They went back up the stairs and into their respective rooms. She just flopped on her bed and curled up in a ball without bothering to get undressed this time. She fell asleep with ease, as she always did. She had always assumed this was because of who her father was, but she couldn’t be certain and doubted that she’d ever really know.
She found herself in a familiar field surrounded by her wiggling dream friends just like any other night. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw them. She held her arms out and dozens of them reached out to touch her. She giggled as they ran their warm soft bodies over her skin. She started to sing and sway, beginning a dance that would last all night. Her eyes snapped open when she heard shouting.
Are you fucking kidding me?!
“FIRE!!!” a man shouted.
She jumped out of her bed and grabbed her pack before running out of her room. She was down the stairs in moments.
When she reached the main room, she noticed the front door was open, and the smell of smoke poured in from outside. She rushed outside and saw a dull orange glow coming from the side of the inn.
Oh, fuck! The barn!
She tossed her pack and ran to see if she could help. When she passed the edge of the inn, she saw dark smoke billowing out of the barn. The big front doors were closed along with the doors to the loft.
“HELP!” a man shouted.
He, along with several other men, were trying to push a wagon that had been parked feet away from the barn. Anna rushed up, grabbing the wagon’s tongue and giving it a hard yank. The wagon started to move, but she slipped, and it stopped.
“WE GOT TO SAVE THE HORSES!” a man shouted as he ran past them.
He headed straight for the barn, putting his hands on the doors.
“NO, DON’T!!!” Anna shouted.
It was too late. The man yanked the doors open, and fire erupted from the barn as if someone had shot a fireball from inside. The man was blown over and rolled on the ground, clutching his face. She let go of the wagon and ran to the man, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away from the fire.
“We got to save the horses!” he said.
“They’re dead!” Anna replied.
She knew that horses didn’t like fire, and they tended to make all kinds of horse sounds letting you know how much they didn’t like fire, and she hadn’t heard anything coming from the barn. Another man rushed over and helped her drag the man away from the fire. Once he was safely way, she ran back to the barn.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“What are you doing?!” the man who helped asked.
“I have to close the doors!” she replied.
Unless you’re save’n someone, you got to keep the doors to a burning building closed! That’s what Thokri told me!
A hot wind blasted her as she approached the doors, causing her hair to blow around. She grabbed the right door and yanked it shut. Then she looked over at the left one and realized she couldn’t get it and keep this door closed.
Oh fuck!
She summoned a tentacle and pushed the door to her, sending it back to her dreams the moment she had a hold of the other door. She pushed it shut as well then jammed the wooden block attached to one of the doors back in its place.
She turned around to see a dozen or so of the wagon men trying to push the wagons away from the barn. She didn’t join them. Instead, she ran behind the inn looking for the well. When she found it, she ran over, picked up the bucket, attached it to the long rope, and dropped it down the well. She watched impatiently as it filled with water before yanking it back up, unhooking it, and rushing back where she splashed the side of the inn that faced the barn with water.
“THE BARN’S BURNING, YOU DUMBASS!” a man shouted.
“GO SUCK A DICK, SHITHEAD!!!” Anna shouted back.
She ran back to the well, not wanting to hear his response. Voekeer ran over to her when she was pulling the bucket back up.
“What can I do?” he asked.
“Get more buckets and more people!” Anna replied before rushing away.
When she got back from splashing the inn, the rest of her friends, along with the innkeeper and the staff, were filling buckets.
“I’m faster at that than you! Just go and get the inn wet! We don’t want the fire to spread!” Anna said as she ran up.
She hooked her bucket to the rope and dropped it in the well. The already sodden bucket sank quickly. She yanked it up and poured its contents into a bucket one of the staff was holding. He ran off, heading for the inn. Barmaids dropped off buckets, basins, pots, and everything else that could hold water next to the well, and she filled them all. Her friends, along with the staff, made trip after trip to soak the side of the inn. She even watched water fly up and cover part of the roof a few times.
“Alright lads, go and toss some around the barn! Don’t want the grass to catch!” Thokri said.
He ran off, heading for the barn this time. The others followed him. They alternated between splashing the inn and the area around the barn until the roof of the barn collapsed. After that happened, they stood around and watched it burn, tossing buckets full of water on any grass that started to smolder as needed. A large group of men walked over from the road to where they were standing.
“Anything me and the boys can do for you, Peter?” a balding man asked.
The innkeeper sighed.
“Not until the fire goes out,” he replied.
“Was anyone inside?” the balding man asked.
The innkeeper looked around franticly.
“Has anyone seen Billy?!” he asked.
“He wasn’t in there,” Anna replied.
“Are you sure?” the innkeeper asked.
“Yeah, Erick’s body wasn’t there either. He probably took it and left,” Anna replied.
“Body?” the balding man asked.
“He killed the little barmaid, Jess, when he was trying to steal a piece of silver I gave her as a tip, and the wagon men hung him when they found out,” Anna added.
“Billy was always such a good man. Why he didn’t come and tell me he was leaving?” the innkeeper asked.
“They beat him up pretty bad when he tried to stop them. Maybe he was worried they wouldn’t let him or something,” Anna replied.
The balding man turned and glared at the wagon men for a moment.
“So, they think they can dole out the queen’s justice, but they can’t be bothered to help with a fire?” he asked though by the way he shook his head afterward, she doubted that he wanted an answer.
More men showed up as the night wore on. These men were carrying tools, mostly things like shovels, rakes, and hoes, but a few were pushing wheelbarrows. When the barn had burned down to a huge pile of hot coals, they started to dump buckets of water on what remained.
She took a rake from a young man who was only leaning against it and started to pull the larger piles apart. She was the first to start doing this, but after the coals were cooled enough, Thokri and a few of the men joined her.
She pressed the rake down into a large pile of coals and pulled it back roughly. A large chunk pulled free, revealing long blackened bones. She paused for a moment and looked at what was left of the ribcage of one of the many horses that had perished in the blaze. An image of Erick swinging from the beam flashed in her mind before being replaced by an image of smiling Jess. The wiggling feeling started again, causing her to pause. She shook her head, trying to drive it away.
This was all because of me.
Some of the men left and new ones took their place after a few minutes. She looked around and noticed that even Thokri was taking a break. She went back to work, not wanting to stop until it was finished. A man clapped her on the shoulder sometime later.
“It’s out, miss,” he said.
She looked down at the pile she’d been raking and noticed that it was already soaked though.
“Oh,” she replied.
She walked away from what was left of the barn and over to the young man whom she’d taken the rake from and handed it back to him. He took it, looking at her with wide eyes. She wasn’t sure why he was surprised she gave him his rake back but didn’t want to talk to a stranger, so she didn’t ask.
She looked around but didn’t see her friends anywhere, so she walked away from the young man and found a spot to stand alone and wait for one of them to come by.
She watched a man walk from the front of the inn. He was carrying a steaming bowl. She sniffed, wondering why she didn’t smell anything, but realized that the smell of the burned barn was covering everything else. She walked around the inn and found a large group of women serving food from pots sitting on long tables. She spotted her friends gathered around with some of the men and started to walk over to them. Someone put their hand on her shoulder, and she spun around to find the mother of the boy whom she’d helped Barika heal at the farm years ago standing there.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!!!” she screamed.
The woman flinched back, clearly confused.
“WHY ARE YOU HERE?!!” Anna shouted.
The woman took a few steps back. Barika rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug, rubbing the back of her head.
“What happened, child? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“She’s going to make everyone hate me!” Anna replied.
“Why would she do that?” Barika asked.
“Because that’s what she did at the farm!” Anna replied.
“I, I was just going to ask if you wanted help washing up before you ate! That’s all! I swear!” the woman said.
Why does she sound like that?
Anna looked at the woman and studied her face for a moment.
“You’re not her!” she said.
“I think she’s confused from all the heat. I’ll help her clean up. Thank you though,” Barika added.
“Sure thing, ma’am. I hope you feel better,” the woman said before walking away.
Anna looked up at Barika who was clearly worried. The older woman smiled at her.
“She’s right. You are filthy. Let’s get you cleaned up,” she said.