The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 4

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Mm... Kayla, stop it," Iris muttered, rolling over and burying her face in her pillow.

"You're going to miss lunch!" Kayla jumped on the mattress with each word, her feet thudding against the floor below.

Iris made a mental note to remind Fred about re-stuffing the mattresses. "Lunch?" She rolled onto her back and yawned. "What time is it?"

"Noon!" Kayla landed on her hands and knees to peer into Iris' face. "Come on, wake up!"

Iris sat up, yawning again and rubbing her eyes. "Noon? Why didn't anybody wake me up for church?"

"Father John said to let you sleep." The exuberant five-year-old hopped off the mattress and onto the floor, then grabbed Iris' hand and pulled with all her strength. Iris didn't budge. "Come on!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. I have to get dressed first."

Kayla released Iris' hand and crossed her little arms over her chest, huffing impatiently. Iris turned away as she pulled her nightgown off, partly for some semblance of privacy, partly to hide her smile. But Kayla didn't understand privacy yet. She walked right up to Iris when the older girl reached for her dress, her blue eyes fixed on Iris' right wrist.

"What's that?"

"Oh... that." Iris pulled her dress on quickly, tugging her sleeve down to hide the ring of purple bruises wrapping around her wrist from the soldier's grip. "It's nothing. Where's the hairbrush?"

"Can I do it?"

Iris didn't hide her smile this time. "Yes, you may do it."

She sat on the mattress, and Kayla climbed up behind her, yanking the brush happily through Iris' tangled hair. It hurt, but Iris kept quiet. The sight of the bruises had brought the events of last night to mind, and they replayed in her mind, over and over. She had hoped it was all a nightmare. The marks proved otherwise. And the wooden ladle beside the bed...

"We'll have to stop by the inn before we go to the river," she told Kayla.

"Yay!"

Kayla dropped the hairbrush and bounced back to the floor, clapping her hands and forgetting all about Iris' hair. She danced around the basement as Iris finished brushing her hair. Mr. and Mrs. Tumes spoiled Kayla. Everybody spoiled her. It was hard not to when she was just so adorable.

Iris set the hairbrush down and tied her brown hair back with a tattered ribbon. "Okay, let's eat."

Kayla skipped and twirled ahead of her to the stairs, and Iris followed with much less enthusiasm. She knew she'd have to talk to Father John after lunch. And the stranger's weird questions from last night were running through her head.

You're going to the river tomorrow, right? What time?

Why had he wanted to know that?

"Happy birthday!"

Iris almost lost her balance and fell back down the stairs. Father John, Fred, Ginger, and Kayla were all waiting at the top of the stairs, shouting the words in unison.

"It's not my birthday," she protested, blushing. "Not until tomorrow."

"You'll be working tomorrow." Ginger's wide smile squished her freckled cheeks and made her green eyes twinkle. "So we're celebrating today."

"Besides, who says it's not your birthday?" Fred asked, matching his twin's expression. "Your found day is tomorrow, but maybe your birthday really is today."