Chapter 35: Act 1: Chapter 28

Eighth day, Third Moon, 241 AC

Sunlight streamed through the leaves above as we bounced along the road in our cart. The heat of the day was warded off in the shade of the trees, which was about the nicest thing you could say about the road. Up and down, back and forth the road went; it was ever a mixture of washed out, exposed roots, deep mud, and plants growing in the middle of it.

Violet and I were returning from a trip to Deepwood Motte, which had been Violet's first time visiting. She had been asking to go on a trip with me for a while now, and this was the first time we were able. It was early enough in Nyra's pregnancy that I felt comfortable still leaving her for a short while, even though I did have to ask Koryn to help out a bit while I was gone.

The trip itself had gone smoothly, we sold all the vodka we brought and bought a few things that we needed along with things Koryn, Ethan and Zane requested. The trip there was slowed briefly a few times when we had to clear the road of some fallen trees or new growth that threatened the road. We were probably the first people to travel along the road in some months – at least along certain portions of it. At night, I dreamed of smooth highways that were direct and trouble free. It was a bit depressing though to realize that I would never again travel at 65mph or fly at even faster speeds.

I turned to Violet as she sat beside me and watched her for a moment. She was 11 years old now and was a pretty serious child. Very meticulous. It came with the territory of being eldest I suppose – I wouldn't know as I had been an only child in both lives – and for helping care for her siblings. She was still prone to bits of childish behavior but could be counted on to help around the farm. Two weeks ago, she had gotten into an argument with Eve and when she was banished from the house so that Nyra and I could talk to Eve she ended up laying outside the door and listening in. When Eve ended up telling a lie, Violet shouted from outside, "That's not true!" Looking back, it was a cute and adorable kid thing to do, but at the time set off another fight between the two and a headache for Nyra and I.

I asked her, "Excited to be heading back?"

She gave a quick nod. "Yeah, it was a fun trip."

"What was your favorite part?"

"Umm, I liked all the trees. And the big town! The big town was so busy! I can't wait to tell Eve and Mom all about it!"

I smiled, happy to dispel the uneasy quiet that had fallen on her since this morning. "Are you excited to see everyone again? This is the longest you've been apart from them."

She gave another quick nod. "Yeah, I hope Mom and Eve like their gifts."

Ah, I think I found the problem. "And not Ryden?"

She gave a little shrug. "Umm, yeah. Him too, I guess."

"Did you get into a fight with Ryden, Violet?"

"No!" She denied quickly. She continued a bit slower, "Not a fight. I don't know."

"Then what's the problem?"

She didn't respond, and just looked sad. I asked again, "Did he say something hurtful to you?"

She shook her head. "No. But all he does is play with his toy knights! He doesn't play with Eve and me anymore!" She gave a quiet sniff and blinked her eyes rapidly. "I don't know. What if he doesn't like us anymore?"

I scooted over in the seat a bit and put my arm around her. "There, there. It's nothing like that. He still loves you, he's your brother." I gave her a moment to compose herself before I continued. "And those toys he's playing with? They're just new to him, which is why he has been playing with them so much lately. Remember when you first got your really fancy dolls?" She gave a nod. "It's just like that. You played with them a lot when you first got them, but after a little while you went back to playing with Eve. It's not because you didn't love her anymore, you just had something else to do for a little while."

"Will he play with us when we get back?"

I gave her a reassuring smile. "I bet he will. He's probably missed you a lot, and he will love your gift for him!"

Violet gave a small smile at that. We continued down the road for a few more hours as her mood continued to improve.

At one point I asked her, "So have you thought anymore about we talked about before? About what you want to do when you are older?"

Her face scrunched up in thought. "I don't know yet. I know I asked before about what the other girls in the village said about marrying boys when they are older, but I don't know what I want."

I gave her a reassuring nod. "That's perfectly alright. Just remember what I said before, you can be a fisher or a farmer, a merchant or an adventurer. Just so long as you are happy."

She rolled her eyes at me. "I know, you said it before."

I gave her a big grin. "Just checking!"

We were silent for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Is making stuff a job?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Like, you made the threshing machine and mom made the spinning wheel. No one made stuff like that before, right?" At my nod, she continued. "So, like that. Making stuff that's not made yet. That sounds fun. I like knitting with mom, and making new designs and stuff, but I think I might like making really new types of things."

I scratched my beard in thought. So, an inventor, huh? "That would be an interesting job. It's called being an inventor. It would be a lot of work, but very rewarding. Maybe talk to your mother about how she made her spinning wheel? And something to keep in mind, especially as we travel, is to look around and notice what other people are doing. Some people might already be doing something different than what you know, and it might be better, or it might give you a really good idea."

She nodded her understanding and continued to think about what I had said.

As we continued down the road, night began to approach, so I began to look about for somewhere to set up for the night. Recognizing the area, I remembered an abandoned farm off the road another mile ahead.

When we neared, I pulled us off the road and followed the barely-there path to the old farm.

Violet turned to me and asked, "Where are we camping tonight, papa?"

"Ah, tonight we are going to camp at an old abandoned farm."

"Why's it abandoned, papa?"

"Well, near as I can tell, hundreds of years ago there was a big farm here, but they were scared off by the Ironborn. Because at that time, the Ironborn raided here a lot, and even held parts of the shore as their own."

Her mouth gaped. "It's that old? How can you tell?"

"Well, you can tell a bit by how old the trees are, where the fields ought to be. You will see, but the old house is a ruin now and you can see how overgrown it is. I also asked some people in nearby villages."

"But why would the Ironborn come here?"

"It's a bit complicated. The Ironborn like to fight rather than farm. So, they have to take food from others. Wood is especially important to them, so they used to come here to get wood from the coasts. A lot of people left during that time, and so we have a lot of abandoned farms – though many, like this one, have been reclaimed by the wilderness."

"How come our ancestors didn't leave then?"

"Well, my side of the family isn't from around here, but your mother's family was. You would have to ask her."

The farm itself was mostly overgrown, but there was an old field that was mostly just a meadow, as the trees had not claimed it. The old house had long ago collapsed, with only a few stone walls remaining, and the barn long since rotted away.

We set up camp in the meadow and went about preparing for the night. I tended to the animals and wagon, while Violet started the fire. By the time we had settled down for the night, the darkness was falling.

Violet asked, "Can I explore the ruins tomorrow morning before we leave?"

"Sure, but only for an hour. I want to us to be sleeping in our own beds tomorrow night. That sounds good, right?"

"Right!"

"Oh, and papa? I'm going to ask mama about her spinning wheel when we get back."

"That's a good, mature decision Violet. I'm proud of you." I gave her a wry smile and said jokingly, "But don't you want to ask your old man about his work?"

Violet laughed. "Maybe later papa. Mama is just awesome. Err, you are awesome too! Mama is just, uh, mama." She just gave a sheepish shrug.

I laughed. "I know, it's okay. Your mama is pretty great, huh?"

Violet just nodded her head feverishly.

"Want to sing some songs before bed?" I asked.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Can we sing the song about rivers and roads? I was thinking about it all day!"

I gave a wry smile. "You can start singing during the day too, you know."

She shrugged. "I know. But I like it better when you start singing first."

I laughed. "Alright then. I'll start off."

"Rivers and roads… Rivers 'til I reach you…"

Xxxx

The next morning, we rose early, and I started to set up breakfast. I let Violet go explore the ruins while I got us ready to leave and set Max off to go with her.

By the time the food was ready, I had hitched up the wagon and cleared the campsite. Violet was not back yet, so I put some food on a plate for her and put out the campfire. It hadn't been an hour yet, so I wasn't worried, but I did start to pack up the rest of our food as we would eat on the road.

The ruins itself, was not very large, and I could see the front of what used to be the house from our campsite. It went back a bit into the forest, and eventually broke up into the ruins of a few old buildings and stone fencing. It looked like this used to be a large family farm, with multiple houses. Not a village, but more of a clan holding type thing. It was very interesting from a historical perspective, though I had lied to Violet when I said they left rather than live with the Ironborn. There was enough evidence around the place, if you knew how to look, to see the evidence of a long-ago battle. They were likely all killed during the battle, though some may have actually fled. A bit too morbid to tell my little girl.

A little while later I was startled from my daydreaming by barks from Max, as he raced over to me. The way he ran was off. Not like he was hurt, but like he was a puppy again. Unsure of his footing, of what he could do, and generally confused as a puppy usually is.

I closed the distance between us as I looked around for Violet, but I did not see her.

Panicking, I asked, "Max? Where's Violet boy?"

Max whined up at me and kept making weird barking noises, as if I could somehow understand. Weird. Max had never done this before.

"Max, where is Violet? Did she send you to just come back or to come get me?"

Max continued to make weird whining noises. After a moment, Max began to pull on my pants towards the ruins.

Well, that answers that.

Max started to run in that direction and I struggled to keep up. What had happened to Violet? Worry and panic had started to set it, driving me faster.

We passed the ruins of the main house as we skirted the side of it and entered the pseudo-village. The village had always made me uneasy with the way that nature had reclaimed it, but in such a way that you could still expect to run into someone just around the corner. Like some sort of post-apocalyptic village.

We quickly exited the village and started to head back into the back fields. They were a mixture of open meadow and forest, but Max just followed one of the stone fences.

We had been running for a few minutes now, and Violet was still not in sight.

Finally, a taller ruin was revealed at the end of the fence. It looked to have been some sort of barn or guard tower? Violet was still not visible, but Max started to slow down as he went around the back of the structure.

My breath was ragged from the sprint here, and my heartbeat loud in my ears.

As I turned the corner I saw Violet laying on the ground with some rocks covering her leg. I rushed over to her shouting her name. At first glance, it looked like she was unconscious.

Max just stood in the background, still looking confused, as if he didn't know what was happening.

I turned Violet's head to my while whispering her name. I pulled back her eye lids, to and was shocked by the complete whiteness of them.

That wasn't normal. Maybe a very serious concussion? Fuck.

"Violet… you need to wake up… please… you need to wake up" I whispered to her.

Max moved closer to us, uncertainly. Tears began to fall from my eyes.

I wiped them away violently. Now was not the time.

I moved down to her leg and cleared off the rocks. She was lucky, the larger rock on top had landed on some others first, so while her leg was trapped, it wasn't crushed.

Once she was clear, I examined the rest of her body. She was not bleeding, and she didn't land on anything sharp, so her spine ought to be fine. But the eyes worried me.

"Violet, please, I need you to wake up. Come back to me, you hear? I don't know what's wrong, but I need you to come back. Just listen to my voice, I – "

I was cut off when Violet's eyes suddenly returned to normal and she let out a loud gasp!

She shouted out, "Papa!" And moved forward to wrap me in a hug.

"Violet! Are you alright? Where are you hurt?" I questioned rapidly.

"I don't know! I was walked in the fence, then I went in the tower and climbed the stairs. But then the stairs and wall fell! And then my leg hurt and was stuck! I don't know!"

"Does it hurt still?"

"Yeah!" She sniffled. "It really hurts, papa! It keeps feeling like a really loud heart, and it prickles like it does when it falls asleep, but it hurts more than normal!"

I shifted her in my arms a bit. "Does anything else hurt?"

She shook her head a bit. "I'm sore all over, but nothing like my leg."

I picked her up in my arms and stood up. I didn't see any blood on the ground, though her leg had some scratches. Max still stood by, but he had lost his goofy look, though he looked even more confused and stressed out.

"Come on boy, let's head back to the wagon."

When we got the wagon, I placed Violet on top of some blankets and looked closer at her leg. There were some scratches, and it looked like there would be a very large bruise, but no stitches required or any broken bones.

I asked, "So, what happened after you fell?"

She wiped some tears from her face before she answered. "Well, my leg was stuck but it didn't hurt. But when I tried to push the rock off, my leg really started to hurt. Then, I don't know. I shouted for you, but I think I went too far, 'cause you didn't hear me. Then, I really wanted Max to go get you. But he wouldn't." Her explanation slowly drifted off, as she struggled to find the words to say.

"Then what happened?" I prompted.

"Well," she said hesitantly. "I kept hoping Max would go, and I really wanted him to go. I wanted to make him go… Then it was like, I was Max. Like it was like a story, where you get the story from the eyes of a different person?"

"Perspective?" I clarified.

"Yeah, that. But, I could say, 'Walk there' and Max would do it. Or I would. I don't know."

Some sort of wacky psychic connection? But why did it ring a bell?

"Do you know what happened, papa?" She asked hopefully.

Damn, why do I feel like I should know this? Something to do with animals?

Violet let out a gasp. "I think I know! It's like those stories mama tells! With the skinchangers!" She shivered a bit. "I'm like a skinchanger!"

Shit, I suppose that's what I was reminded of. What the fuck is with this world?! I mean I never figured out what was with the long seasons, but I figured the world was tilted weird, or there were extra planets in the solar system. Not any magic stuff. I mean, yeah, the world is different, but it seems like a natural change due to the seasons. Not magic, or whatever.

"Well, that's something." I finished lamely. "Err, how do you feel?"

"My leg still really hurts and I'm tired, but my back is less sore from falling. What do you think it means, papa?"

"Well, it's not a bad thing" I reassured her. "It's something to be careful of though. So, you can tell your mother, but no one else alright?"

She nodded her head. "Okay, but what should I do?"

I'd really love to just straight out forbid her from doing anything else, but there's a few problems with that. One: what if she did it accidently at a really bad time? Two: Violet wouldn't be able to keep it a secret from the rest of the family for long, they were too close. Three: what if it was a bad thing to suppress? Like in the old fantasy stories from Earth?

I had no real, good options. Skinchanging was not really known in the area, other than tales, and I knew down south it was looked down upon. Here in the North, it wasn't looked down upon per say, but it wasn't really thought of favorably. At least hypothetically, since I don't know anyone who was a skinchanger or who knew a skinchanger. I needed to say something that cautioned restraint, and secrecy, but not too restrictive. And we still needed to talk to Nyra, so something to tide her over for now?

"Well," I started. "Let's not rush things. We'll have a nice long talk with your mother when we get back, but let's not do anything hasty. Remember, everything in moderation dear. Just remember who you are, and don't let this become the only thing you are. Okay?"

She nodded in understanding. "I wonder if anyone else can do it too? Like my cousins?"

"Your mother may know. Now, let's eat up and then we'll get you nice and comfy on the wagon, so that we can head home."

Her eyes were still red from crying, but she gave a little smile at the thought of going home.

"That sounds good, papa." Sensing my uncertainty with the whole situation she added, "Don't worry papa. It's just like you said earlier about inventing. We'll figure it out."