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Almera wanted to find her younger brother and box his ears out when his footman arrived requesting if she could go over to his shop. “My dear sister, tell me which one of us loves you best when I show what I have for you.” Aldrin grinned as he saw his sister entering. Almera hooked her eyebrows. Aldrin took her to the back room where stock was stored and showed her the adjustable height stand that he bought from Mira with a grand unveiling gesture. “Just this!” Almera twisted her lips in disdain. “Just this???” Aldrin shrieked miserably. If he put this on display, the grand madams would buy it for even 20 gold coins without blinking. He thought of his sister and wanted the best to be hers and didn’t even flinch at the thought of losing the easy pie. “I own one better than this.” Almera rolled her eyes and lifted her chin with feigned contempt. She would have drooled if she saw this yesterday, but today…. Mira had already gifted her one that could not only adjust the height of the
Jack left the house just before dawn to go to Uncle Harry’s place even though they told him not to. It didn’t feel right. Uncle Harry was ready to set off when Jack arrived. They picked Matthew and Ursula on the way. Oden got up in the morning and dressed to head to Jack’s. “Big brother, wait for me. I am coming.” Anne-Marie yelled as she hoped on one leg pulling her socks. She knew her wicked big brother would go without her. She was waiting for him to come out for a very long time. Martin also came out all dressed “I am coming too. I swapped for tomorrow.” He thought about what their Dad said, how hard it was going to be with the number of holes they had to take and decided to swap this workday with another apprentice and help Jack out. “We want to go too.” Joan and Emma came out in their bed clothes. They remembered how Anne-Marie ate all the good food last time. “Mom.” Oden called helplessly. “We are going to help Jack plant.” Martin too felt it was not appropriate. “Some ot
“Mom, we are home.” Oden called out as entered the house. John was sitting on a chair drinking ale; he had just arrived a few minutes earlier. “What did you do?” John looked curiously at the linen bundle in Martin’s hand and the pheasants in Oden’s hands. “Son, don’t …” Beth frowned. “Mom, cousin gave it to Big brother.” Anne-Marie hurriedly interrupted her mother “Big brother tried to refuse…” “This child…” Beth smiled helplessly but she felt happy that her nephew cherished her. “This is from Mira for you.” Both Martin and Anne-Marie spoke in unison. “What is it?” Beth asked in curiosity as she opened the bigger bundle. “My goodness…. This much…” Beth grinned, she had eaten it long ago when she was a child and went to the house her mother worked as a maid. “What is it?” “Mom this is the tastiest thing on king’s land.” Emma and Anne-Marie spoke in unison. “Mom, Mira said something about drying if we can’t finish in 2-3 days.” Oden reminded his mother as he remembered Mira’s
The next week, both Jack and Mira worked hard. They had a goal to become rich, actually Mira had a goal; Jack just wanted Mira to be happy. Mira worked for long hours every day. Jack did five frames this time as well- 2 with adjustable slate frame holding width, 2 with adjustable height, 1 table stand and one chair stand. Thursday night, Mira handed her cloth to Jack to calculate the total time. She was too lazy. Day 1~6 - 12 and three quarters;1 -6; 6 and a half hour - 8 and half. Day 2~ 5 and half hour - 12;12 and quarter - 3 and half; 4 - 6; 6 and three quarter- 8 and three quarter Day 3 ~ 5 and half hour - 12; 12 and quarter - 3 and half; 4 - 5 and half; 6 - 8 and three quarter Day 4 ~ 6 – 12; 12 and quarter - 3 and quarter; 3 and three quarter - 5 and three quarter; 6 – 8 and half hour;9-11. Day 5 ~ 6 – 12; 12 and quarter – 4 and quarter; 4 and half - 5 and half; 6 - 8. Jack’s looked at the times and summed it up; He scribbled 70 at the bottom. “Love don’t kill yourself li
“Penny for your thought?” Jack raised his eyebrows as he saw her pensive look. She turned to look at him and he saw the tears in her eyes. “What happened, My love?” He asked in concern as he hurriedly mounted the cart. “Wuuu…huuuu….” Mira threw herself into his embrace and cried miserably “I have wronged you terribly. Why did you have to take the blame? Wwuuuu….Huuuu” Mira couldn’t extricate herself from the scene; Jack had no idea what had happened, he still comforted her in a gentle voice “I am here.” Mira sat up wiping her face and lowered her head in embarrassment. His voice and warm embrace bought her back into the present. “I … I … thought of when you took on the blame for something terrible that I did ….” Mira whispered; a sob left her throat. “It hasn’t happened yet. We are fine. It won’t happen, okay?” Jack pulled her back into his embrace and hugged her tightly. “Look… look…. Your husband is a free man.” Jack raised the ‘all debt paid off’ parchment in his hand. He had
“Um” Mira smiled. She had come to the shop on her own. Jack said he would walk around and see if there was any locker suitable for them. He told her he would come to the front of the shop once he finishes. “Let me see.” Almera almost snatched the basket. Mira was a good mood and wanted to tease her. She slowed her movements considerably and slowly opened the flap of the basket. “You are too wicked.” Almera pouted as she watched Mira’s deliberate movements. “Ha…ha….ha…” Mira laughed happily as she took the cloth and gave it Almera. “This …. This….” Almera choked… it was exquisite… She ran her finger through the work. It was so lifelike… even the dew drops! “Not what you wanted??” Mira’s smile disappeared and she asked hesitantly. She didn’t know what to make of her expression. Tears were running down Almera’s cheeks. “I love this.” Almera hugged the top “Girl, you have magic fingers.” “I will be right back.” Almera ran with the top to the dressmaker to ask her to do the dress no
“Old man Wheeler" “Larkin, sorry to come to your door this late.” “Not late…not late… come in. These doors are always open for you.” “I want to buy a piglet, sheep and a milking cow. Do you have any for sale?” Harry announced his purpose straight forwardly. “Milking cow that does not kick.” Agnes and Ursula spoke in unison. Larkin “” Harry’s lips twitched but he was not brave enough to retort. Mira had a straight face. She did not think her mothers request was strange. Jack and Matthew had similar expressions. They didn’t hear anything. They were wise to know the deaf child lived longer. “Come.” Larkin invited them to his barns. First he took them to see the sheep. There were 10 baby sheep ready to be sold. Two gold coins each. Then he took them to the pig stye. There was 20 odd piglets for sale. The youngest ones that were just weaned were a gold coin. 2 gold coins for the ones that were 4 months old, 4 gold coin for the ones that were 6 months old and 10 gold coin for the one
“Uncle, Aunt I am here.” Jack announced as he stood at the door. “Come…. Come..” John opened the door wider. “Uncle” Mira greeted as followed Jack inside. Unlike the other times they came, everyone was home. Anne-Marie came flying out as she heard Mira’s voice and sat beside Mira and began chattering “Has the plants they planted grown? Did the hen peck the plants?...” Her questions were never-ending. Mira answered patiently. “What’s in this?” She tapped the lid of the basket. “Do you want to see?” Mira pursed her lips upwards. “Ummm” Anne-Marie nodded eagerly while Oden and Martin watched the interaction with an amused smile. “But you can’t scream… okay?” Anne-Marie raised her hands in an action to swear an oath. Mira slowly raised the flap. Two heads raised out of the basket. “Awwww” Anne-Marie screamed excitedly forgetting all about her promise. The two heads hid back into the basket. “Oh…” Anne-Marie’s face fell “They don’t like me…” “They are just scared.” Mira spoke in
Jack and Mira rode over to meeting point that they had discussed with Baldwin at the break of dawn hoping to sneak away without attracting any attention, however the presence of Cornelius and Aglaya in the carriage along with his elite soldiers, took away all their thoughts of sneaking away.Cornelius chuckled sheepishly as he realized the reasoning behind the resentful gaze of his wife’s wildflower akka his goddaughter-in-law. He didn’t put on airs of the sovereign and explained his rationale calmly “The last incident of plotting at banquet that was meant to announce Thomas’s wedding was a wake-up call for me.”“Although we brothers have never split up, our grievance of losing a brother was misinterpreted and amplified into such a level that even without our knowledge, the jackals were using this for propagating their agenda.” Cornelius continued as he looked into the distance, his eyes filled with regret.“Why did everyone think that you had a falling out?” Mira asked innocently. Th
Matthew was right, one sleep was all it took for Jerome to fall back into his usual miserable self. In the morning, while Matthew and Harry were flexing their muscles, rehashing on their shooting skills and swinging their swords, Jerome sat back on the grass, chewing a blade of grass and asked with a grin “So, what do you old men do these days?”“We….” Harry’s lips curled up slyly, feigning a difficult expression “Just living our retirement under the care of our daughter and son-in-law.”“You have a daughter too??” Jerome asked with a hint of jealousy. He had forgotten about those mundane phases of life; he had never gotten married nor had children. He didn’t know why, but none of the beautiful women he saw nor the ones who were attracted to his wealth and delivered themselves to his door interested him.“My daughter… but he monopolises her with the authority of being her godfather… what can I do other than suffer in silence….” Matthew sighed feigning loss “All I can do is watch as th
Caleb sighed as he stretched and poured himself a drink before settling down “How much do you know?”“Let’s start at the beginning” Harry spoke without thinking but then corrected himself “Actually, let’s leave the recollection for later, you would have to repeat it anyway.”“Now that we have found him, everything else can wait.” Harry waved his hand and stood up, turning towards Jerome “When can are we leaving?”“Leaving??” Jerome, who still hadn’t come in terms with what he was told, that his life so far was a lie, raised his head with a confused gaze.Harry, who was full of energy paused; he too realized how tactless he had been. In their excitement, they barged in, overturned his world and then without giving him a chance to adapt, they were trying to uproot him. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself “Apologies, we weren’t tactful.”Matthew who was sitting quietly till now slowly opened his mouth as he yawned naturally “I am feeling tired. Where do I sleep tonight?”Jerome
The older guard who followed Caleb passed the message to the Butler to serve the dishes for supper in the underground room where the men were seated. The trunk and all its contents had been carefully put away even before Caleb called the guard over for passing instructions.The older guard was also someone who had followed Caleb over the years and followed him from Worthington duchy to this place; still Caleb was cautious; his master’s words were holy edict for him. If his master said that no one other than the four men present could see the contents of the trunk, then no one other than the four men would see it.Once the maids served supper, he asked them all to withdraw, ordering them to only return in the morning to retrieve the empty dishes from the guards’ quarters.No one spoke while eating; the air in the room was filled with curiosity as a myriad of questions danced in front of their eyes, yet no one dared to break the silence. It wasn’t until they finished eating and had the g
Jerome didn’t know why but tears kept streaming down his cheeks as he read the letter, a deep sense of loss and an overwhelming pang of heartache filled his chest, he rubbed his chest in distress as he found it difficult to breath. He didn’t know why the words of a man he couldn’t remember could make him so emotional, why the possibility of not ever being able to meet him would crush his soul into feeling an irreparable loss.Not knowing what to say or feel, he decided to process everything slowly, he didn’t know why, but he wanted to hold the letter close to his heart, as though it was a piece of his soul that could never be replaced. But just as he was about to fold, he saw a life-like portrait at the back of the page and turned around anxiously hoping to see the face of the person who made his heart feel so much loss.But what welcomed him was the life-like, yet miserable faces of the younger versions of the two men beside him. And under it was a side note-“On after thought, I will
I have not sent anyone to follow her as this will only jeopardise everything. There are too many eyes on my every move, and I cannot afford a single miscalculation. Her brother is a righteous man and will protect her. If anything, untoward should happen to him, God forbid, I have instructed your men who have already been moved there to lend a hand.Your elder brother is too incompetent and have stretched myself beyond my limit and hence can only humbly beg your forgiveness and hope to atone some day when we meet. May the gods be willing and grant my prayer.If things don’t go according to plan, I will have instructed uncle and aunt to go to the castle I had bought in the kingdom of Barr; I have instructed my good friend, Uzi, the Duke of Warringal, to protect them. Most of our father’s men both household men and men in arms, will go with them. They will not come back unless one of us calls them back.Stormwall has been renamed Southamberston by the king but do not worry. Everything wil
Inside the trunk was a bow and quiver with arrows, both the bow and arrows had an image of a griffin engraved on it; the quiver too had a life-like griffin embroidered on it. There was also a dagger and a long sword with its sheath; while the sheath was embroidered with images of a griffin, both the dagger and the sword had its hilt in the shape of a griffin head. There was also a shield, with a magnificent and ferocious griffin embossed on the face of the shield. The only other things in the trunk were the full chainmail armour, an elaborate waist belt, a leather pouch, a set of tubular bells and cloak with the coat of arms of the Zumerongs which was a magnificent and ferocious griffin, standing tall and proud, embroidered with threads of gold, silver and copper; the image was so life like and imposing that just a glance at the magnificent image commanded respect. Jerome’s hands passed through the items, his hands lingering on the coat of arms on the robe; something flashed past h
“Why official?” The older man’s eyes sparkled as he asked anxiously, excitement surging in his voice “Is there an unofficial version?”“Not until recently…” Matthew’s voice was gloomy but soon brightened as he thought of why there was an unofficial version now. He turned to Jerome and smirked “Guess who your nephew married?”To his disappointment, Jerome cried out in his usual exaggerated manner “Where did I get a nephew from? I am my father’s only son.” Before turning to his father and teasing “Father, you haven’t been up to mischief outside, have you?”“Is this why I was prohibited from going outside without a mask?” Jerome continued chuckling “Are you afraid that…..”“Shut up….” The older man slapped the back of Jerome’s head and muttered shaking his head “I cannot believe there are still miserable souls looking for you considering how insufferable you are….” His words and his body language were contradictory; the affection in his voice and eyes, the gratitude in his posture had com
Jerome lifted his eyebrows quizzically towards Cyan, who looked equally baffled; Neither could make sense of the duo’s ramblings and yet strangely, they could feel the regret and sadness emanating from them.“Did we know each other before?” Jerome turned back to the two sloths who were drowning in self- blame and asked cautiously.“Know???” Harry scoffed before shaking his head regretfully “No…. we don’t deserve to claim to know you… we couldn’t even find you in so many years…. How could we claim to know you?”They say men never cry and yet, streams of hot tears ran down the faces of the two men sitting before him and oddly this made his heart ache as well.The four men sat silently sipping their drinks, gloom looming in the room; no one dared to break the solemness in the room, partly because they didn’t know how to.Jerome, who was rarely short for words suddenly didn’t know what to say; he wasn’t sure if he had unknowingly hurt the two men in front of him.Matthew and Harry sunk int