“You’re late,” Ric growled, eyeing her with disapproval.
“You can be glad I’m here at all,” Rogue replied, her voice tart.
“Just listen closely, please,” Ric said, pointing at a wooden shed. “In there is everything you need to complete your tasks: Shovels, wheelbarrows, buckets, hay, and feed.” He handed the keys to Seth. “Make sure it’s all back in place and locked up when you’re finished. If anything goes missing, it’ll be on your heads.”
“And what exactly are we supposed to do?” Rogue asked.
“You can start with the chicken coop. Clean out the crap, feed the birds, give them fresh water and hay for their nests.”
“Fine,” Rogue grumbled. “Where do we get the water?”
“At the well,” Ric said, pointing to a circular stone wall with a wooden lid and a hand pump. “When you’re done with the chickens, you can look after the geese. Be sure to give their pond a proper clean.”
“Is that all?” Rogue asked, acid dripping from every word.
“No, that’s not all. But it will keep you busy for a while, and I’ll check in on you later,” Ric answered, unperturbed.
“Yay, sounds like fun,” Rogue mumbled under her breath.
“And don’t screw this up. The last thing we need is more trouble.” With those parting words, Ric turned his back and strode away.
Rogue glared after him. “Asshole.”
“Come on,” Seth coaxed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
They stashed their backpacks and unlocked the shed. Inside were rows of feed bins, each marked according to type. Hay bales filled the far corner, and gleaming equipment lined one wall. There wasn’t a speck of dust in sight.
Rogue reached for the chicken feed while Seth grabbed a shovel and a wheelbarrow. Together, they started their chores for the day.
While it was dirty work, Rogue didn’t mind it that much. In fact, she found the chickens comforting. The plump birds clucked around her feet, fluffing their feathers and pecking at seeds. An enormously fat one even allowed her to stroke its head.
“You haven’t been around animals much, have you?” Seth asked.
“Why do you say that?” she replied, looking up.
“Because you seem to be very awed by an ordinary chicken.”
Rogue stood up, her lips twisting into a half-smile. “I guess you’re right. I’m a city girl. I’ve never had much interaction with animals unless you count rats.”
“I worked in the fields, so I got to see the livestock and such.”
“Really? I didn’t picture you for the farming type,” Rogue said.
“It put food on my plate. That’s all that mattered to me back then,” Seth said.
“And now? What matters now?”
“Now, I want to enjoy my life. I want to live not just exist,” Seth said.
“I can understand that. There’s a lot more to life than Prime,” Rogue said. “When I think of all those poor people, stuck inside while there’s so much more out here…”
“It kills you, doesn’t it?” Seth asked.
“It does.”
“It never bothered me much, but I never had anyone I cared about in there either,” Seth said. “You do, so we’d better impress the council if we want their help.”
“Thanks for sticking around,” Rogue said. “You didn’t have to. You could’ve gone back to your boat.”
“I could’ve, but I’ve found something I want more now,” Seth replied. “Something I can’t leave behind.”
A deep blush stained Rogue’s cheeks, and she looked away. His words roused a mixture of confused emotions in her. Emotions she couldn’t deal with right then. “I think we’re done here.”
“If you say so,” Seth said with a hint of amusement.
While they’d been busy cleaning out the chicken coop, the sun had risen, and people began to go about their business. Rogue spotted a couple at the stables on the far end. They led the horses out of their stalls to a nearby paddock where the freed animals cavorted on the green grass.
A cart filled with brass containers rolled up, ready to collect the day’s bounty. After the cows were milked, they were left to graze in a small pasture with the sheep. A load of vegetable cut-offs arrived from the kitchens for the rabbits, and the eggs were collected.
Rogue and Seth were ignored for the most part, but they got a couple of nods and waves. It appeared not everyone hated the Primes and wanted them gone. This eased some of the tension inside Rogue’s chest, and she was able to focus on the task at hand better.
They moved onto their next chore: cleaning the goose enclosure and pond. This time, the job was not at all fun or therapeutic. While the chickens were docile, the geese were not, and she yelped whenever a beak nipped at her tender flesh.
“Damn these birds. I swear I’m killing the next one that comes at me,” Rogue said, brandishing her shovel at a honking goose.
“Not so cute now, huh?” Seth asked with a smirk.
“Ow! Get away before I chop off your head,” Rogue cried, running for the exit. Half-a-dozen geese chased after her with deadly intent, and she barely made it out alive. Heaving for breath, she eyed the geese. “Stupid birds.”
In response, they attacked the wire with fresh vigor while Seth fell over laughing. The geese didn’t seem to mind his presence at all, while they positively hated her. “Tell you what. Why don’t you fetch clean water for the pond while I finish up in here?”
“Deal,” she said, grabbing two buckets. The well was quite a distance away, and she broke into a jog despite her painful hip. Although the swelling had gone down, the area still hurt when she moved. With a dubious frown, she eyed the pump with its long lever sticking up in the air. “This should be easy enough.”
Only it wasn’t.
It wasn’t easy at all.
The handle was stiff, and Rogue had to use her entire body weight to force it down. Only a thin stream escaped from the spout, and it took several minutes to fill up the buckets. By the time she
