The Mit and The Billows - Chapter 3

It was still dark as Marin and I snuck out of the house in silence. We stopped when the floor creaked beneath us in the kitchen, I held my breath, but nothing else made a sound. It was strange that this house would be so lively and bursting with noise in just a few hours, but everything was still and peaceful in these pre-dawn moments. The mare was still dozing. I felt bad waking her up, but we hooked her up to the cart with some gentle coaxing, and I left my home behind.

I didn't dare speak until the house disappeared behind us. "Thanks for this. You sure you won't get in trouble for doing it, though?"

"It's fine. I'll pick up some things I need for my weaving and say I never even saw you." She stared ahead and didn't look at me. "I hope you'll be happier."

"What do you mean? I'm always happy." I smiled and nudged her shoulder.

"No, you aren't. I know it, and even the youngest of us sees it." I watched her nose twitch in the lantern light, and her eyes glistened. "Father makes you miserable, and I know you've stayed this long because of us, but we'll be alright. I want you to be happy, to really live. Promise me you won't come back until then."

I found my own eyes watering as emotion welled up inside me. "I'll do my best, but you all are my happiness."

Marin's face crumpled into tears, and I gently took the reins from her to drive the cart to town while she sobbed next to me. She started to hiccup and sniffle as the first glimpses of light shone on the road. I handed her a scrap of fabric, and she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "I'll miss you, Marin."

She shoved me hard, "Shut up. I just stopped crying, don't make me start again!"

"Alright, alright. Then I won't say goodbye." I hugged my sister and kissed the top of her head. "Until next time, little sister."

We stopped in front of Love's Hammer, and Marin set off further into town. A tightness in my chest and fluttering in my stomach made the wait for Love to show up feel like an eternity. The sun started peeking over the horizon as the tiefling came striding up to the shop's door.

"Good morning, Arded." He waved and smiled broadly, his sharp canines making him look fierce. "I don't think your sister likes me much."

"Marin's just shy." I forced a laugh. "I have some clothes for the month."

"That bag looks awfully small." Love raised an eyebrow as he unlocked the shop, and they went inside.

"I didn't have much to pack. We're a big family." I shrugged. He didn't need to worry about the truth. I'd left a lot of my clothes behind for my younger brothers to grow into.

"Well, you can put it in the back, and I'll give you a tour of the forge." Love led me back into the back room. It was small and had a desk with a ledger and a few scattered papers around. I glanced at the lines in the ledger and picked it up for a closer look; there were a few glaring errors. "Who does your bookkeeping?"

"I do, but it's a real pain." Love took my bag as I picked up a few more pieces of paper with more errors on them. I brandished them and waved them wildly in his face. "This is all really important! How could you let your books get this messy!"

Love seemed to shrink from me, and he smiled sheepishly. "I know. It's just I'm better with a hammer than a quill."

"I'll help straighten them out in the evenings." I laid the books and papers on the table and sighed as we went out, and Love lit the forge and worked the bellows to get it going.

"Alright, get ready to work hard today! I've got orders for swords and daggers for some adventurers in town." Love tossed his hammer in the air, letting it spin before catching it with a broad smile.

Love wasn't kidding when he said it would be hard work. I dropped things and tripped more than I actually helped, but Love didn't make too much fuss about it. The only break came when we sat down for lunch; Love pulled out a paper-wrapped package with dried meat, cheese, and bread. We kept working until the sun started setting. Loved put his hammer away and wiped the sweat off his face before giving me a half-smile. "You did work in fields, right?"

"I wasn't very good at it if I'm honest. I took care of my brothers and sisters mostly." I felt like I was shrinking under his intense gaze. Those orange eyes burned into me. "I'm sorry, Mr. Delion. You were probably expecting me to be more useful."

Love sighed deeply and went to grab my bag from the back. "It's fine. This is a pretty physical job, and I can't expect more than you can do. So, how about you set my ledgers straight and manage the customer service, so I can focus on moving metal."

"That might be for the best. Those books are a mess." I reached out for my bag, but he held it over his head and out of my reach.

"We're going to live and work together. Call me Love. No more of this mister business. It's way too stuffy for my taste." He started heading to the door. "I've got your bag. You seem tired from all the heavy lifting."

"Thank you, mis-" I caught myself and blushed as I corrected myself, "Love."

"See, that wasn't hard." He locked the door and led the way down the street to a small house that stood alone with an overgrown garden in the back. Entering the house, I couldn't help noticing the buildup of dust and spiderwebs in the corners.

"Mr. Delion," he glared at me over his shoulder. "Uh, Love, you're not good at housekeeping either, are you?"

"I'm exhausted when I get home, aren't you tired too? We can bathe and go to the tavern to get something to eat. That's my usual routine." Love yawned and opened a door tossing my bag into a room. "Your room is there. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks." I muttered before going into the room. The room had a wardrobe, a small desk, and a bed big enough for one. It wasn't a big room, but looking around, I realized I didn't have to share it. It was quiet and empty, and something about it set me on edge.

I waited for Love to be finished in the bath, and then I scrubbed furiously at the dirt and soot that clung to my skin. Sighing when I figured I was as clean as I would get, I changed into a fresh set of clothes before following Love to the tavern.

"It'll be my treat tonight." Love said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me through the door and into the boisterous Moonover Tavern. He led me to a table in the corner, and a server came and dropped off a couple mugs of ale in front of us before disappearing.

"You come here often then?" I asked before picking up my mug and sipping at it.

"Every night." Love tipped his head back and took a long drink from his mug. He pulled the cup away from his mouth and held it towards me. "Ah! This is the best. A toast to your first day!"

"To first days." I echoed the toast and took another sip. The only alcohol in our house was a wine made by our mother; it was a drink for special occasions, and I knew that my tolerance for alcohol was low. I was determined to nurse this mug all through dinner.

The server came out later with two plates of food. Baked potatoes, roasted chicken, and steamed vegetables were piled on the plate before me, and I felt horrified. "How can you afford to eat like this every day?!"

"I don't know, it's not that expensive?" Love shrugged and put two silver coins on the table. "Eat up before it gets cold."

It was easy math; this meal would have been 12 silver coins for our family, which was a lot for dinner. However, 12 silver coins would feed Love for as many days. I frowned at the meal, thinking that my siblings would have loved to eat like this all the time. I set my guilt aside and started shovelling the food in my mouth. It was hot and delicious and gone too soon. At Love's insistence on celebrating, I washed the food down with two more mugs of ale. Love insisted that I drink to celebrate.

"That's quite the appetite. I'd think you were starved before this!" Love laughed loudly as he tipped back the last of his third mug of ale. "Ready to go home?"

"Yeah." My head felt fuzzy from the alcohol, and I staggered to my feet; Love steadied me and laughed again.

"You're quite the lightweight, aren't you?" Love kept me up on my feet, and we both waved to the bartender as we left.

"I don't drink much, is all. Besides, not everyone is as big as you." I lightly slapped his chest to drive the point home; it was like touching a wall. There was nothing but solid muscle under his shirt.

"I suppose. Come on, let's get you to bed." The last thing I remembered was that white smile and a strong arm holding me up.

To the next chapter!

The Mit and The Billows - Chapter 4

Author's musings:

This chapter made me cry. Like, I ugly cried. No one died, I just got really emotional.

I'm really excited about this story, and I've got big plans for the whole thing.

This has been your local Trash Panda, feeling ambitious.