Chapter 30: Family Ties Come Unraveled

“Do you think we should return to Runswick?” Saffron asked him as she chopped firewood. He was still too sore to lift an axe, so he helped stack the cut logs.
“I don’t think that would be wise. Didn’t Wulfstan say he would come find us when things were clear to return?” he replied and heaved another log onto the pile. His side ached fiercely but he didn’t want to alarm Saffron, so he swallowed his grimace. He pressed a hand to where the pain was at its worst. His skin felt hot to the touch. Perhaps he would see if she could clean it again, although he was not looking forward to that painful ordeal.
“That he did, but how is he supposed to find us here? I am not even sure where exactly we are,” she replied and wiped the sweat from her brow.
“Well, how long did it take for you to find this place?” Elric asked, wincing as his side twinged.
She furrowed her brow as she thought. “About three days, I would say.”
“Do you recall seeing moss on the trees as you passed?” he asked. Her brow still crinkled deeper; she shook her head.
“I don’t, actually.” She said and Elric shrugged.
“There you go. We did not head north then, and I am sure that the cart left tracks visible enough for someone who was looking for them.” He replied.
“That doesn’t necessarily provide much comfort,” she grumbled and finished chopping the small tree she had felled the day before.
“I suppose not. Wulfstan will find us. He is rather good at tracking people,” he replied. She looked over at him, her eyes questioning.
“I’d wager I don’t want to know what his actual occupation entails,” she said and leaned the axe against the chopping stump. “Are you hungry? You look a bit pale. There is some leftover stew,” she asked, her eyes assessing his pallid skin.
“I feel fine, but stew would be nice. It is freezing here,” he said with a shiver. She nodded.
“It is a bit, isn’t it? Why couldn’t you have gone to war in the summer?” she replied and took his proffered arm as they walked back towards the cottage. Huxley snorted at them as they walked past his stable. Saffron tossed him a carrot from her pocket.
“You spoil him,” Elric said. Huxley drew his lips back as he crunched the carrot.
“He understands what you are saying. That is why he does not like you,” Saffron retorted and rubbed Huxley’s soft nose before continuing on. Elric flashed the horse a dirty look.
“Well, he is spoiled. You give him the best apples,” Elric grumbled. Saffron laughed.
“Yes, but it is only you that I let inside,” she kissed his stubbled cheek.
They passed the afternoon in companionable silence. Saffron spent the day sorting the remaining vegetables that she had found in the root cellar. They were getting frighteningly low on supplies. “I might have to go into town soon,” she said, doing the figures in her head.
“I don’t think that is wise,” Elric replied, sitting down heavily at the table.
“Well, we could starve,” she retorted, growing irritated.
“How would we purchase things? Or are you planning on a more secretive way of attaining them? Slipping them into your skirts?” he jested. She suddenly remembered of the heavy bag of gold in her luggage and smiled.
“We have more than you think,” she replied and pulled the bag from her case.
“What is that?” he asked, curious. She tossed him the bag. It landed with a hefty thunk in his lap. He peered into the bag, his eyes going wide. “Wherever did you get this?”
“Your brothers. They thought that if they gave me that, they could bribe me for your secrets,” she replied and pushed her case underneath the bed.
“Oh, they did, did they? Well, the secret is out now,” he replied darkly and set the bag on the table. Saffron came and sat with him.
“You know I wouldn’t have told them?” she asked and took his hand. He nodded.
“I know. I know,” he said and held her hand. He looked over at her. “I have trusted you with my life from the moment we met.” He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.
“I could say the same. Saving me from that dreadful Baron and then your brothers’ wives. Not to mention Kingsley’s scheming. Looking back, I suppose you were right when you said that Death seems to follow me,” she said with a laugh.
“It seems to have taken a liking to me as well,” he said with a smirk.
“So, Death aside, I will need to go to the nearest town soon. I feel it will be safer for me to go than you. Your face is much more well known than mine,” she said cautiously. He sighed heavily.
“Is it that dire?”
“It is. We won’t have enough to last us this week and I haven’t enough rabbit,” she replied, solemnly. He considered this for a few minutes.
“You’ll be safe?”
“I have my dagger. Safe enough. It is just the market. Hopefully, no one has a desire to murder me in the streets,” she replied sarcastically.
“You know what I mean, Saffron.” He said, exasperated. “If they are looking for me then they are also looking for you.”
“Who do you believe is hunting us?” she asked, Kingsley’s face floating into her mind.
“There could be any number of people, especially once they saw me change into a dragon before their eyes. Or those men who lured you into the forest. We never did find out what they wanted.”
“About that. I saw something that…I’m not even sure I honestly believe it.”
“What? What do you remember?” he leaned forward, his hands clutching hers. She stared hard at their intertwined fingers.
“The man who got away. He wasn’t who he appeared,” she began.
“The man with the dark hair?” Elric questioned. She nodded.
“It was…Kingsley.”
“Kingsley? You must have been mistaken. He has nearly white hair. Like his mother,” Elric retorted.
“I believe he has inherited more than just her coloring,” she replied quietly.
“What do you mean?” Elric’s face was confused, disbelief etched in the lines as her meaning dawned on him. “You are saying they…what? Can change their appearances?”
“Not in the way that you do. I believe it is dark magic. It is passed down from mother to child. That is how it has survived, despite being forbidden.”
“Ishild? You’re saying you think she practices?”
“Judging by what I saw Kingsley do, she has to. You cannot just go out and learn these magics. It is taught in whispers over the family hearth, passed down through the generations.” Saffron explained.
“You sure it was him? What does he have to gain? He is only a child and has never shown an ounce of ambition.”
“He wants the crown,” Saffron replied. Elric scoffed.
“He is so far down the line, he cannot even see the crown,” he retorted.
“And yet, his eye is upon it. I believe he meant to use me as bait. He did offer marriage, however,” she said, watching Elric’s face as the color began to deepen until he was a rather vivid shade of red.
“He. Did. What.” He growled through clenched teeth.
“He wanted to use me too I suppose to kill you. Then drag me back to the castle as his queen.” She replied, her own face pale thinking about the terror she had felt when looking into his empty, blue eyes. She shook the memory with a shudder of her shoulders.
“I still can’t imagine him doing anything of the sort. It doesn’t fit.”
“How well do you know your younger brother?” Saffron asked. Elric moved uncomfortably in his chair.
“Thinking back, I guess I don’t really know him. He has always just hung about in the shadows,” he replied after a moment and rubbed the back of his neck wearily.
“You need to be careful when we go back to the castle. I’m not sure exactly what he has planned but he cannot be working alone,” she said, and worriedly bit her lip.
“I can handle my brother,” he growled angrily and stood. “I’ll grab some more wood for the fire,” he said and strode outside, the door slamming behind him. Saffron winced as it slammed into its frame. She would give him a few moments to himself before seeking him out. Perhaps the cold air would help clear out the anger in his mind.
She tidied up the cottage. Elric still hadn’t returned. Through the window, she saw that fresh snow had begun to fall. She donned her cloak and went outside. “Elric?” she called. The wind swallowed her voice as a fresh gust swept over her.
The snow was falling hard and fast now. She squinted trying to make out his shape through the blustering white. She crept around the side of the cottage, keeping her hand on the wall lest she strayed too far and ended up in the creek.
The chopping block stood empty. He wasn’t there. She walked towards Huxley’s stable. The horse was tucked in for the night but now Elric. She yelled for him again but only the wind answered. Frightened, she returned to the cottage. He wasn’t here either. She didn’t know what she would do if something had happened to him.
The front door burst open as Elric came rushing in, his face strewn with worry. Relief melted across it as he saw her. “There you are! I came back and you were gone. I thought something had happened to you!” he said and hurried towards her. He grabbed her roughly and kissed her, saying more than he could put into words.