back.” And with that Keither walked off to find his arrow.
Sasha stood alone and looking a bit irritated. “He has no manners! What will become of that boy?” she thought to herself. Legon and Kovos had finished moving the targets and were walking back to her now. She could see Kovos throwing his arms in the air at Keither, and she could also see that he was yelling something at him but couldn’t hear it. Soon they were all back together and Kovos was scolding Keither.
“I don’t care if you were looking for your arrow, you can’t just wander around the field like that,” Kovos said angrily.
“There’s no one else out here. What’s the big deal?” Keither said in a defiant voice.
“Are you sure there’s no one here? Did you look around before you walked across the field? No, I don’t think so. Legon and I walked straight to our targets and moved them. You were walking along the row of targets. What if you got hit?”
“Blah blah blah. You worry too much. Nothing could have happened.” Keither waved his arms lazily.
It was true. The field was still empty, but Kovos’ anger was warranted because Keither never took the time to think about what he was doing. Once he had walked onto the field while others were shooting and a stray arrow had only been missed him by a hair’s breadth.
“Well, look before you do that again, ok?” Kovos said imploringly.
Keither didn’t answer him but gave a “Harrumph.”
Legon shook his head and took his place next to Sasha. They all pulled back their strings and shot another volley. The arrows hissed down the field again and this time they only heard Sasha’s hit the target. Both Legon’s and Kovos’ arrows hit their mark, but they were too far away to hear. Legon spoke to Kovos as he knocked his next arrow.
“So do you still think you want to leave town with me?” After saying this he fired again, hitting the target in the center.
“I’m not sure. It’s a big decision, and I know I’ll have to leave Salmont, but I’m not sure if I know enough yet, you know?” said Kovos after a shot.
“Yeah, I know what you mean, but you’re pretty good. You know enough to make a go on your own.”
“Yeah I’m sure I’ll end up going, but I don’t much feel like leaving and striking out on my own. I wish there was enough in Salmont to support two blacksmiths.”
“And two butchers,” said Legon flatly.
“Why can’t you both stay here?” asked Keither, puzzled. Kovos lowered his bow and stared incredulously at him.
Legon responded in a patient voice, “Because we have to pay taxes and feed ourselves.”
“Yeah well, why don’t you just say you can’t afford the taxes?”
Legon shook his head. “Because they make you a slave then, Keither. Have you not been living here your whole life?”
Kovos turned toward Keither and said, knocking an arrow, “I’m going to shoot him. It’s better we put him out of his misery now.”
“Kovos!” Sasha said loudly.
“No Sash, it’s better this way, trust me,” Kovos said, giving Sasha a sideward glance.
“Ha ha, very funny. Can we go home now?” asked Keither.
“Go home?” Legon said, surprised. “We’ve shot three arrows! No, we can’t go home. Come on, Kovos.”
They continued shooting the targets for awhile, and after an hour or so they decided to go home. They would have stayed a bit longer, but Keither had managed to lose most of the arrows they brought, and Legon and Kovos were forced to walk down the field to get their arrows every five or six shots. The arrows Keither shot were gone forever. They were on the field somewhere, but the field was large and people were starting to show up to practice, and Legon and Kovos were not excited about becoming a human quiver while trying to find the arrows.
They made it back to Kovos’ house in time for lunch and they spent much of the afternoon there talking and having a good time. After a few hours Legon and Sasha decided to start for home. They walked out of the house and headed toward the edge of town. They would often skirt around the town to take more time getting home and to give them a chance to talk. It felt good to walk after sitting on a wood bench all afternoon. The sun was starting to set and the sky was beginning to turn a variety of colors, the grey clouds taking on hues of pink and lavender. The valley was soon covered in shadows and they could hear crickets starting to chirp. Legon noticed that Sasha wasn’t talking much.
“Why so quiet, sis?”
“I don’t know. I guess there’s a lot on my mind,” she said softly.
“Well, like what?”
“Like, what’s going to happen when you leave? I’ve spent my whole life with you and I’m not sure what it will be like when you’re gone.”
“I’ll visit, you know. I’m going to try to go to a town within a few weeks of here. But I suppose it won’t be like it is now. I’m going to miss you, too.”
That was a lie. In truth he wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to live without her. It was like they were linked.
“That can’t be all that’s on your mind Sash. What else is bothering you?”
She took her time answering him. “It’s your tattoo. I noticed yesterday that it’s changed from that dark green to purple. Why would it do that?” There was a hint of concern in her voice, and even a bit of fear.
“It’s what? Sash, tattoos don’t change color,” he said confidently.
“I know they don’t, but yours has… I saw it just last night.” Now the concern was evident in her voice and face. “If it has changed colors then that mean that it must be…”
“Magic,” Legon finished. He felt his blood turn to ice and his heart beat faster.
Magic was rare in humans, which scared Legon, because magic was treated with great fear and respect. Iumenta and Elves could use it, but he didn’t know of any Elves in their area.
“Do you think it was put there by an Iumenta?” he asked Sasha quietly.
“I don’t know. I hope not, but it may not be much better if it was put there by an Elf. The queen hates them. And if it was a human, then who knows what it means.”
They walked silently, neither wanting to talk about Legon’s tattoo. They opened the distance between them and the town and soon they couldn’t hear the town at all. The only sound was that of two sets of feet stepping on the soft ground. The town was surrounded by farms and fields, all green with spring’s life. The sun was almost below the mountain’s high peaks, and sat above them like a crown of gold and fire. They both felt themselves relaxing as the air started to grow cool. Legon looked over at Sasha. Her face seemed to glow in the orange light and the last shafts of the sun’s rays danced in her hair. She still looked a bit worried; he could see it in her eyes. He could tell that there was more she wasn’t telling him.
Sasha broke the silence. Her voice was conversational. “So, have you given any thought to where you are going to go when you leave?”
He took his time answering. “Yeah, I’m thinking Salkay. It’s just a bit south of here. The town is growing and they don’t have a butcher. Also, they’re still under Regent Kooth’s control, so it should make it simpler.”
“Hmmm. Salkay, huh? That’s only about four days from here, isn’t it?”
“Yep, that’s the idea. I want to be close, and Salkay is about as good as I’m going to get.”
Sasha looked like she was thinking. “But it’s still a small town. You won’t make a huge amount of money, or at least not enough to start a family. Speaking of which, do you think you will be able to find a wife there? Wouldn’t Salez be better?”
Legon stumbled over his words a bit. “Well, Salez is a big city, and as far as Salkay goes, I will make a decent amount of money. I’m not worried about it.”
Sasha didn’t pursue the subject any more. They got home just after dark. When they got in Edis greeted them. “Your mother had to go. Arkin cut himself or something like that.” He saw worry instantly cross Legon and Sasha’s faces. “Oh, it’s nothing bad, he’s fine. I think he got a small cut today. He didn’t even want her to come over, but you know your mother.”
Sasha gave a deep sigh and said, “We know her.” She looked around the kitchen. Something was off. “There’s no smell of food cooking. She must not have made dinner,” she thought. Edis was smiling politely at her, that kind
