Tainted Magic, Tainted Blood ~ TSAMS AU

Chapter Three

"Can you show me how to do that, too?"

"Of course I can, Sunbite, just not right at this very moment," Sun assured, handing the girl a bowl of the steaming potato soup he prepared. Several of the young ones whined in response, wanting to join him in the tavern's kitchen to make the dessert. He needed to give them a reason not to, but couldn't come up with one quickly enough. "Just eat your food, and I'll be out with something sweet before you know it!" he promised sprightly.

He then disappeared back through the door to the kitchen, sighing as the sound of the children laughing in the dining room reverberated through the open window. He stared at it as he pressed his back to the closed door, his mind replaying the moment he had to endure not long ago.

"Where did you learn how to make this?" one of the newer arrivals had asked, peering at the boiling pot through the hole in the wall that was normally reserved for sliding finished orders through. Sun had frozen in place, a darkness clouding his gaze that he tried his best to keep subdued. One of the other children that often frequented the place had kicked the boy who had asked the question, whispering something furiously about not asking about Sun's past. He snapped his head up, shoving aside his stupor to chastise the girl with a wagging finger.

"Now, now, there's no need for violence," he had said, reaching with his other hand to grab the salt. He mindlessly pinched some up and sprinkled it into the pot before grabbing the wooden spoon to stir it again. "Let's just say, I have a knack for catching on quickly." The children had hummed in response to this, accepting his answer and moving on to another topic.

"You know, you could have just told them you learned from Mother."

Sun rolled his eyes, pushing off of the door to begin cleaning the mess from making the lunch. "Yeah, I could have. But you and I both know that would have ended up in conversations about her," Sun whispered. To anyone else, it would seem as if he were muttering nonsense to himself. But in reality, he was speaking to his twin brother Moon, who was currently stuck listening to Sun from inside of their shared mind. "And I really would rather avoid that topic of conversation if that's okay with you."

He grabbed up the dirtied knives and cutting boards, placing them into the sink to be washed later. There was a moment of silence as he turned back to the rest of the small kitchen, mentally planning out what he would make for dessert. Moon suggested pie, speaking to Sun from his invisible prison and making the normally happy twin regain his chipper attitude. "Pie is a wonderful idea!" he exclaimed, before slapping his hands over his mouth and nervously glancing at the open window as if just remembering that there were others around that could hear him if he wasn't careful.

The sound of laughter and excited conversation continued on, so he let out a breath and marched to the ice chest to search for fruit. After a minute he realized that there was no fresh fruit for him to bake a pie with, so he placed a hand to his head in a nervous fidget. He could run to the market stalls quickly and pick up something, but then he would be forced to leave the children behind.

"You and I both know they can handle themselves," Moon claimed, and Sun was sure if he could see him, he'd be rolling his eyes. "The older ones have been handling themselves for years before they showed up here. We can't baby them all forever."

"I know," Sun whined. "But that doesn't mean I enjoy leaving them behind." He reached behind his back to untie his apron nonetheless, placing it on a hook by the door. "They've dealt with that enough already." He grabbed his satchel and with one more glance out to the children laughing and eating their soup, he disappeared out through the back door and towards the market.

For as long as the twins could remember, they had been working in the dank tavern, repurposed by Sun during the day to be a place where some of the lost souls on the kingdom's outskirts could come and have a warm meal. He couldn't stand walking around and watching the young ones beg for food, covered in weeks worth of dirt and grime while most people turned a blind eye. Sure, most people had problems of their own to worry about, but he couldn't imagine ignoring the youth living in such a sad reality.