doesn’t seem real to me, you know?”
She laughed. “No, I don’t know, but it’s something to consider. Don’t be mad. We didn’t say anything horrible about you last night. It’s just a theory, and one I don’t think our parents think is possible.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to get ready and help dad for a bit, but after lunch I want to go see Arkin. I need answers and I think he can give them to me.”
She nodded her head in agreement, got up, and walked out of his room, shutting the door behind her. He could tell there was something on her mind. She was normally talkative in the mornings, and he thought that she would want to talk about the news of his adoption and his dream, but she didn’t. She seemed distant.
He knew that his parents had told Sasha about how he came to their family last night; he could see it in her eyes. She knew and it scared her. He wondered what that fear was. He wouldn’t blame her if she was scared of him; after all, if he was marked by an Elf it would be understandable.
He was on his feet and putting on his work clothes. He tried to push everything out of his mind. He could feel another headache coming on and he didn’t want it to get worse. He was getting so many headaches lately; he made a mental note to talk to his mother about it and walked out of his room and down the hall.
It was early, and only Sasha and he were up. Sasha’s door was shut and Legon figured she was getting ready for her day. He walked down to the lower level of the house, went out the door and turned to the shop. Work will be good for me. It will take my mind off things for now, he thought. There wasn’t much to do today, but Legon began to work as if he had a week’s worth to do. After an hour or so his father came in.
“How are you today, son? Sasha told me that she mentioned the Elf thing to you, and you should know that I don’t buy into it.” He looked tired and Legon figured no one in the family had slept well last night.
“I’m fine, I guess. I don’t know, maybe I’m not fine. It just seems like…” He struggled, not sure what to say. It was hard to fathom the news that he had received yesterday and this morning, and he was feeling like his life up to this point had been a lie, but he didn’t want to say this to his father; he knew this would cause unnecessary pain.
“I guess I just don’t know what or who I am now. I mean, before, I was a butcher in Salmont, and in a few months I was going to be a butcher somewhere else, but now…”
“You’re my son, like you have always been and always will be. It’s not your blood that matters; it’s what you make of yourself.” His father spoke with just the right blend of warmth and sternness. Legon began to talk but was cut off. “You are not a trade. You are a person. You are a person, and a good one at that. You cannot look at your life as just the work you do. If you do you will lose your mind. This life is about the relationships you have and lives you touch. So what if you might be part Elf? That’s nothing to be ashamed of. If anything you should be proud.”
“Yeah, but the queen hates the Elves…”
His father gave a hoarse laugh. “What, and you think she likes humans? We’re animals to the Iumenta, that’s it. The Elves are kind and I wish it was them that we served, not the Iumenta. All they are is a drain on the land.”
Edis walked over to Legon and placed his hands on his shoulders. “You are my son.” His tone had finality in it, a tone that made it clear that there was no greater thing in the world than to be Edis’s son.
Legon felt himself relax a bit. He hadn’t noticed it but his whole body had become rigid.
“What is going to happen to me?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” asked Edis concernedly.
“My body — what’s going to happen to it if I am part Elf? Something will happen, right?” He didn’t say anything about last night, but after that, Arkin’s theory seemed pretty likely to him.
“I don’t know. Elves are much different than humans. Truth be told, I didn’t even know we could have children with each other. Its Arkin’s theory-he has lots of those. He may know, but I doubt it.”
“Dad,” Legon began, “how does Arkin know so much? You have to admit his theories tend to prove accurate.” Edis’s brow furrowed and Legon could almost see his mind working.
“Honestly, I don’t know, and I don’t want to. Some things are better left a mystery, in my mind.”
After that they got on with their day. They didn’t talk much. Legon got the impression that his father was somehow a little embarrassed by the boldness of his speech. Legon spent most of the morning away from the front counter as he wasn’t in a mood to talk to people, but he was happy by the time they went in for lunch. He had gotten a lot done and wouldn’t need to come back after lunch, which freed him to go to Arkin’s. When they got in, Sasha was sitting at the table. She looked surprised to see them back so early. She got up quickly.
“Is everything ok?”
“Yes, we just got a lot done today,” their father said, taking a seat.
“Oh, well are you hungry? Do you want something?” she began to get up and move to the kitchen.
“No Sash, I’m not hungry yet,” Legon said.
His father was looking around the room. “Neither am I. Where is your mother?”
“Shopping. She said she needed something, I didn’t ask what.” She paused and looked at Legon. “Are you still going to see Arkin today?”
“Yeah. Are you still up for going?”
“Yes, if you’re ok with it.”
“You’re more than welcome. I think it would be nice to have you there. Let me change and we can go,” he said as he got up and walked to the stairs.
Soon he was out of sight and Sasha looked at her father. “Is he ok?”
He took his time answering. “I don’t know. I think so, but I think he just needs understanding and answers right now. I can give him the understanding, at least.”
Legon came back downstairs in a pair of brown pants and an off-white shirt. He walked up to the table. “Are you ready?”
She got up and started to walk to the door. He joined her and waved to Edis. When they got outside the air was dank. The previous day’s moisture still clung to the streets and shady part of buildings. There was activity everywhere. They saw Margaret walking, red hair bouncing in time with her strides, holding two large bundles under her arms. They waved at her as she moved along and she nodded her greeting. They made their way down the streets of the town until they reached Arkin’s shop.
Up to this point they hadn’t spoken. As they approached the shop Sasha tugged on his arm. He turned to look at her; she looked apprehensive. He noticed the dark blue dress she was wearing seemed to make her eyes look pale and somber, and she held his gaze for a moment before speaking. “I don’t think you should tell Arkin about your dream.”
He looked surprised. “Why not?”
“Because there is a lot that we and our parents haven’t been told, and I know Arkin is a good person, but still, we don’t really know who we can trust.” As she spoke he could see fear in her eyes. It was obvious that she was planning on taking every precaution. The look also told him what had been on her mind for the last few days. He suspected that she had considered every possibility she could come up with.
“And how will we know if we can trust him?” For some reason he didn’t question her unwillingness to trust others. Sasha was good at reading people and he trusted her judgment.
He also still had the conversation from the other day in his mind, the day when Arkin seemed unwilling to disclose information about his hunting trip. He also knew there had to be something up with the carpenter because of his mother going over to tend to him. Arkin didn’t make mistakes. He never got hurt, not a scratch. There was something going on with him-that was for sure. It could be innocent or it could be bad, but either way it was wise to not divulge information that wasn’t necessary.
“Good thinking Sash. I’ll follow your lead.”
She smiled a bit and walked to the door. Once again Legon was shocked by the lack of sawdust in the air. It was after noon! It should be hard to breathe in the place by now. He also noticed the table that was there from the day before hadn’t been touched. The shop looked exactly the same as it had the last time they were there.
“Arkin? Arkin, are you here?” called Sasha, raising her voice.
“Oh, hello you two. How are you? I suppose you’re here for the tea I promised,” Arkin said, walking into the shop from the back alley.
He smiled tightly at them. He clearly wasn’t happy they were there.
