he did this because of how often Kovos and Legon got into fights with people about Sasha, but the training was too good for brawlers. Nobody in town could hold a candle to either man. There was so much more going on that she couldn’t wrap her head around.
She diverted her attention to some birds pulling worms out of the ground. She felt for the worm. It was how she felt, like she was being pulled out of her world and thrown into a much larger and more dangerous one. She could only hope that, unlike the worm, she wouldn’t be eaten.
Legon was tired. He hadn’t gotten much sleep, and from what Sasha had told him, the sleep that he was getting was haunted by nightmares. They didn’t wake him up anymore, and he didn’t remember much of them in the morning, but he knew that they were still there but somehow a bit better.
He hefted a pork shoulder onto the counter, reached for a knife, and began to cut the meat. He should be thinking about what was going on with him and his Elven side, but right now he didn’t give a heap of dung about it. The only thing on his mind this morning was Sasha. He was going to come of age in one month, and that meant he was going to have to leave regardless of whether he became an Elf or not. He decided to go with the original plan of moving to another town and starting a life there, and if he became an Elf he would cross that bridge then. He would avoid large cities and probably move to a new territory to ensure that no one knew anything about his past.
The biggest problem was Sasha. Kovos was right; it would be impossible to get enough money to the family before next spring. She was going to have to come with him and Kovos. There was really no way around it.
He turned to his father. “I’m taking her with me.” His father didn’t need an explanation. He knew what Legon meant.
“Are you sure? It’s a big sacrifice. You won’t be able to get married or start a family of your own until she gets married or is able to live on her own, and neither seems likely,” he said, turning to look at his son.
“I know, but it’s the only way to give her a chance. I don’t like the idea. I don’t know what my life holds, and that may put her in danger, but we know what will happen if I don’t take her,” he said flatly.
His mind was made up. Sasha’s situation was precarious from any angle. If she stayed here she would be made a slave; if she came with Legon there was a chance that she would get hurt.
There was a little comfort in the thought of Kovos coming along. He knew that if things got bad he could always send Sasha to Kovos and that would at least give her a shot. He explained this to his father, who gave a deep sigh after he was done explaining.
“You think it’s a good idea, I take it?”
His father took his time answering. “No, I think it’s a bad one, but it’s also the only way. Your mother and I have always hoped that you would take Sasha with you when you left, but we didn’t want to press you one way or the other. It had to be your call because you are the one who has to pay the price.” His face was somber. Legon could tell that he hated the thought of either of his kids being dealt a bad hand in life.
“I understand. Don’t worry dad, I’ll take care of her. I’m going to try and tell her later this week. She’ll fight me on it, but if you and mom back me then Sasha will cave in eventually.”
“You have our support, but we hate to have this happen to you two.”
“It’s fine. Everything will work out.”
In truth, part of him was happy at the thought of Sasha coming with him, but the other part was sad, not because of the future that he was probably giving up, but because he knew there was a hard road ahead. He didn’t want Sasha’s life to be any harder than it already was.
He decided to tell her the next day. He would take her on a picnic so even if she got upset, she wouldn’t be able to walk away and lock herself in her room. He knew that this was going to make her mad, not because she had little choice in the matter, but because she would see it as Legon throwing his life away. The biggest argument that he would have to make was that it was very unlikely that he would be getting married soon, if for no other reason than he didn’t know if he was going to be Elf or human and so he would always be in just a bit of danger. He finished with the pork and began to clean up. They would go in for lunch soon.
When they entered the house Sasha was home, standing over a pot and stirring. She turned and smiled at them as they walked in. “I hope you guys are hungry. I found some great mushrooms in the forest that I made soup with.”
“That sounds good, honey. Where is your mother?” asked Edis, taking a seat.
“She had to go over to see someone who fell off a horse and broke their arm or something. I don’t know much about it,” she said, carrying over the pot and placing it in the center of the table.
Now seemed as good a time as any. “It’s been nice lately,” Legon began. “Would you be up for another picnic, Sash?”
“Yeah, that sounds good. When were you thinking?”
“Oh I don’t know, how about tomorrow? We can go for lunch. How does that sound?”
Sasha thought about Legon’s proposal. There was more to this invite than just a pleasant outing, she could see it. Legon could mask his feelings well from most people, but not her. “Yeah that works great,” she said, smiling.
“Good,” he said with a slightly relieved smile. He spooned some soup into his mouth.
“Wow, Sash, you really are something else! This is amazing!”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it.” She could see that this reaction was the truth. He did like the soup, which was saying something — Legon hated mushrooms. After lunch Legon and her father went back to the shop. Sasha stayed in the house cleaning up.
She was trying to figure out what was on Legon’s mind. He seemed tense when he had asked her to go on a picnic. She had tried to use one of their hand gestures to figure out what was wrong, but he had only told her to wait. She didn’t like waiting, not when her brother was holding back from her. There could have been a thousand reasons why he was hesitant, but she couldn’t think of one that made sense.
The rest of the day and night passed without incident. Sasha was having a harder time sleeping than before, and she could hear in the room next to her that Legon was too.
By eleven the next day she had lunch prepared and was wrapping two glasses into cloth so they wouldn’t break. She heard the front door open.
“Hey Sash, are you ready?” came Legon’s voice.
“Yep, I’ve got the food, the cedar, and this time the glasses.” She held up the cloth-covered glasses and smiled.
Their mother was sitting at the table scribbling something on paper and she looked up. “’This time’? You two haven’t been drinking from the bottle have you?”
“What are you talking about mom? You know you can’t work and listen at the same time,” Legon said.
“Sorry dear, you’re right. I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping. I know you two wouldn’t do that,” she said, looking back down at her paper.
Legon saw Sasha give him a thumbs-up. It was good she wasn’t paying full attention to them or they would be getting a lecture about drinking out of the bottle right now. It was a pet peeve of hers. Sasha nodded toward the back door and Legon walked over to her and out of the house. They were greeted by the smell of all the fields in full bloom. The sun was out and the sky was clear. She was wearing a bright white top with her hair pulled back. The white cloth seemed to make her cheeks glow. She was on his right and the basket with food was slung around her right shoulder.
“Do you want me to carry that?” he asked
“Yes, thank you,” she said with a smile, passing him the basket. He placed it on his left shoulder.
They were entering the woods and he felt the air get cooler as the smell of the woods intensified. It was a nice smell, and he liked it better than the smell of town. It was funny that he only noticed that the town had a scent to it when he left it and was surrounded by a new smell. “There is so much around us we don’t see until we leave it,” he thought. They were climbing the hill to their favorite spot. When they broke through the trees, they saw the town in full swing. Little lines of wispy smoke rose from most of the buildings, as well as the thick greasy line that was Kovos’ and Brack’s smith. They sat down on the grass and began to pull out lunch. Sasha unwrapped the glasses and uncorked the cedar.
