The Mit and The Billows - Chapter 2

The cart shuddered and shook as I drove the long way home. The painted mare took the road quickly, and it left me time to think; she had always been a good listener. “How am I supposed to make father see the logic through his distaste for Love?”

The mare snorted and tossed her head a bit. I laughed, “I don’t think that’ll work. You know how stubborn he can be.”

The mare plodded on and snorted again, and I laughed again. “Well, it’s the truth. You aren’t being very helpful.”

I made idle chatter the rest of the way home with the mare. She was an excellent listener, and even though her advice wasn’t always the best, she tried hard enough. At least, that was how I liked to think about it. My father always said she was just a dumb beast, but I really didn’t buy it.

My brothers and sisters ran out to greet me as I pulled up to the house. I smiled at the chaos that was screaming at me. Having 10 little brothers and sisters was noisy, but this kind of greeting made it all worthwhile. “Keep out of the way! I have to put the cart away, and then you can all help me get the horse settled and fed.”

There was a loud jumbled response of affirmatives as I headed to the barn. “Actually, Marin, can you give me a hand with the cart?”

“Sure.” Marin handed off our newest sibling to our next oldest sibling and came into the barn while the others squealed and played outside. “What do you need to convince father of this time?”

Marin was leaning on the cart, looking bored. I sighed and started unhooking the horse. “Mr. Delion will fix the tools.”

“Well, that’ll make father equal parts happy and angry.” Marin snorted and took the horse’s lead as I pushed the cart into the right spot in the barn. “If only he wasn’t so hateful.”

“Well, that was the good bit. Mr. Delion’s apprentice is out for a family emergency, and he won’t fix the tools unless I spend the month there helping.” I winced as I watched my younger sister’s face twist into dumbfounded horror before it went as red as her hair.

It took her a minute to recover and speak again. “How is that even an option?! Father will lose his mind! I’ll go tell mother to pull the good wine and see what we have for a dessert. It might not help much, but it won’t hurt.”

“Thanks, Marin. You’re the best.” I smiled and took the lead from her as she rushed to the house, telling the younger kids that they could come in and help now. I was swept up in a sea of questions and little stories about discoveries made by youngsters, and all the little hands helped me brush and blanket the mare. I loaded the feed trough and led the way up to the house.

My mother greeted us as we piled into the kitchen and ordered all the younger kids to wash their hands. “Arded, Marin told me everything. I found some pie filling I bottled last year, and we have some scones leftover from lunch.”

“You are the best mother.” I kissed her on the cheek and went to wash my own hands and supervise the rest of the herd. We all came back and showed our hands before being allowed to sit down at the big dining table. Supper was a simple stew, accompanied by jovial talk around the table. It was a regular lively dinner. My mother pulled out the wine bottle, and the younger kids were set loose to play until dark.

Marin brought out three bowls with scones drenched in warm apple pie filling before heading out to keep an eye on the kids. My mother’s smile faded as my father poured a large glass of wine, and I started to eat some of my dessert.

“Well. Ask what you need to ask. I’m not a stupid man.” My father’s rough voice made my heart sink and my chest tighten.

My mother motioned me to go ahead and forced a nervous smile. “Mr. Delion will fix our tools.”

My father laughed derisively. “I’m glad to hear he’s willing to do the bare minimum his job requires.”

“But his apprentice is gone to deal with a family matter, and Mr. Delion said if we wanted the tools finished by harvest, he would need my help for the month.” The words spilled out of my mouth quickly, and I watched my father’s face slowly turn purple with his rage.

“I’ll not stand for any child of mine-” He was cut off by my mother slapping the table loudly.

“Arded is no child anymore, darling.” She spoke in a voice that reminded me of the scoldings of my youth. “He is a grown adult and more than capable of making choices like this. At least he has the sense to do what is right for this family instead of wasting time and money on mistakes because of his own bias and arrogant pig-headedness.”

“Annette, love,” my father’s tone shifted, and he reached out to my mother’s hand but drew back as the air around it crackled with electricity, “come back to us, come back to me.”

I was grateful that my father was the one drawing her ire. My mother was a literal force of nature in our house. “Mother. I think he understands.”

She took a few deep breaths, and the crackling stopped, and the air stopped humming with energy. “I’m sorry, I lost my cool for a moment there. Arded is 20 now, and really dear, you should be more open-minded.”

“You’re right. He is old enough to make choices.” My father nodded to himself and then looked me dead in the eyes. “Which means he’s old enough to live with the consequences. If you go work with the smith, you will have no home to come back to.”

“You’re not serious. That kind of joke is distasteful.” My mother laughed until my father’s silence stretched a moment too long. “Wait, you’re not serious, dear?”

“I understand.” I nodded back to him and left the table. I could hear shouting as I took the stairs two at a time to the loft I shared with my siblings. If I went, I might never see them again, but we wouldn’t be able to take in the harvest if I stayed. There was a chance we wouldn’t all survive next winter if that was the case. I heard the shattering of a plate and started to pack a small bag. My mother would be angry for a long time; I smiled to myself that that would make my father’s life difficult.

“Ard, why you so sad? Mama is mad too.” A small voice caught me off guard. My youngest sister had snuck up on me and stood at the entry of the loft, her tiny fists balled up in her skirt. “Are you in trouble?”

“Sylvie, you are so smart. Yes, I am in trouble. I have to go away for a little while.” I bent down and picked her up in a hug. “But I need that to be our secret, okay? Can you keep that secret for me, Sylvie?”

“Ard, you’ll come back, right?” She held out her pinky, and I wrapped it in mine and shook on the promise.

“How could I stay away from the cutest brothers and sisters in the world forever?” I forced a smile and listened to her talk excitedly about a frog she found today. When the sun started setting, the rest of the kids began to filter into the loft and get ready for bed. I let them all get comfortable in a pile of arms and legs, then told them a bedtime story about a hero who had to travel far away from home. In the end, the hero came home, and his hometown celebrated for three days. After the story, Marin sang a lullaby, and anyone still awake fell fast asleep.

“I’ll take you to town before first light.” Marin whispered in the darkness. “I’ll tell the smaller ones. It’s like the bedtime story, and you have to go be a hero.”

“Thank you, Marin.” I squeezed the words out before a tear slid down my cheek.

To the next chapter!

The Mit and The Billows - Chapter 3

Author's note:

Things were a little slow here, but I promise to heat it up in the forge in the next chapter. Stay tuned!

Fun fact the map on the first chapter is shaped like an oven mitt, I like to think of it as Mitler's self insert.

This has been your local Trash Panda, thinking they're clever.