Alnwick Chronicles

Thirteen

Skyla

I should've told Adalyn, I know. But I didn't want to get his hopes up in case this turned out to be nothing.

'This' meaning my parents, my actual biological parents, being left a message by the twins' parents.

I went to visit them a few days back. As expected, they didn't care at all about what I'd been upto, where I'd been for the past two months, or just me in general. As expected, they only kept asking me if I had any money. As expected, they burst out into a string of curses when I told them I had empty pockets.

Which was true. Being an Aberrant provides for your meals, clothes, and a roof above your head, but to get hard cash you have to give a detailed explanation of how you'd spend it, why exactly you need what you're going to buy, and whatnot.

When mom and dad finally calmed down, they remembered a message they were told to give me by a stranger who had come to deliver it almost a month ago.

Unfortunately, that's all they remembered. To give me a message. They don't remember what it was, who brought it or who it was from. The amount of frustration I felt just then is hard to put into words, but I can't really blame them. It's hard to keep things in mind for a few days, and that message is now a month old. And they couldn't have written it down, being illiterate.

I can read and write, but that's only because of the twins. They'd teach me all they learnt from their tutor in Metropola after coming back home. They even tried to take me along with them once, but the tutor was so furious about it that I didn't go again.

A smile appears on my lips as I recollect the memory of a tiny Aerith fighting for me and throwing a tantrum in front of her teacher and parents all the way from Metropola to her house that day. She's always been a feisty one.

She must have finished her job and reached the Aberrant's quarters by now. I wonder how she'll react when she finds out where I am.

Where I am is Marlow. Mom was able to remember at the last second that the message had something to do with the twins' parents and Marlow. That was enough for me to go on, but I didn't want to bring Aerith and Adalyn along because there is a good chance that this is just a huge waste of time.

I admit I'm equally attached to their parents as they are. They have practically raised me, and I call them 'mom' and 'dad'. My own parents never really cared for me. I sometimes think they never wanted me, that I was probably a mistake.

I will my mind to stop contemplating the past and focus on the task at hand.

With some of the Aberrants' help, I've been able to enter the ranks of the servants of the Royal Palace. Only as an ostleress for now, but it should be enough to serve my purpose: get in the servants' gossip circles and gather information that will, hopefully, lead me to the two people I'm looking for. I have no idea where the others, namely Nathaniel and another Aberrant girl called Laura, are.

I've been given a chestnut horse named Icarus to take care of. I don't know anything about horses, but I've been observing an ostler who has been grooming a majestic ebony-coloured creature nearby. I tried to copy him and did a well enough job that it didn't raise any suspicion.

But I'm nervous for this next part: exercising Icarus. I've never ridden a horse before (surprise, surprise), I'm really just using it as an excuse to roam around and hopefully gather some useful information.

I take him to a vast, empty patch of land not far from the stables, where around eight other horses are being exercised. I say a quick prayer before gripping the saddle, lodging one foot in a stirrup, and hauling myself onto the seat. Then I swing my other leg over to his other side and grab the reins.

Icarus starts trotting slowly. Some exercise this is, I think as I give it a kick and loosen my pull on his reins.

Big mistake.

I scream as he dashes off in a full-on gallop, at a speed of what feels like a million kilometers per minute, no longer in my control. The reins drop from my hands as I lean forward and hug him tight, clutching on for dear life.

Aerith

When I open my eyes, I find myself on a bed in a large tent, larger than the residential ones. I turn right and see rows of similar beds all around me. I'm in a hospital. On my other side, I see Michael on a stool nearby, his head leaning against the wall, fast asleep.

I try to sit up, but it sends a jolt of pain through my skull and spots begin to dance in my vision. Without meaning to, I let out a groan. It wakes Michael.

"Lie back down!" he tells me. I don't listen and sit up anyway.

"You have a really bad concussion, please just lie back down," he says again. He's supposed to be my superior, but we're more like friends.

"I feel fine," I protest. Then, before he can tell me off, I change the subject. "Where's-"

"Adalyn? On his way. I just sent someone to inform him."

As if on queue, my brother rushes in through the entrance of the tent and makes his way over to me. As soon as he sees me, worry starts to cloud his face. I can almost feel the lecture that's about to come, about me being too reckless and not careful enough.

And that is exactly what happens.

Once he calms down, I ask him about Skyla. He starts to fidget and avoids my gaze. What's wrong?

"Adalyn, where is Skyla?" I ask him seriously.

"She's... she's on a job."

"What sort of job?"

"I don't know."

"I'm your literal twin, I can tell when you're lying." I cross my arms.

He sighs. "She's gone to look for mom and dad."

Skyla

My eyes are clamped shut, so I only hear the horse that rides up next to me.

A calm, female voice says, "Stop kicking, and pull the reins."

It takes me a minute to sit up straight. Once I do, I relax my calves, which have been pressed tightly to Icarus' side, then grab hold of the reins and yank them hard.

The chestnut-hided beast stops abruptly as he raises his front legs for one heart-stopping second, and then sets them down and stands absolutely still. I get off him carefully and almost kiss the solid ground in relief.

My legs feel wobbly as I turn to the woman who helped me to thank her. She's perched on a beautiful white horse right beside me.

"Thank-" I freeze when I see her face. A face I recognise all too well.

It's Jeanne Ashford, or as I like to call her, mom.