The Greyfield Chronicles

Chapter 2 : Secrets

Five minutes later, the two of them sat by the riverbank. Venza held two warm orders of 'baker's secret' while the other girl used magic to clean the mud off of her. It seemed to gather itself out of her dress before dropping to the ground.

When she was done (and Venza had reminded her to wash her hands), Venza handed her one of the two pieces of 'baker's secret' and nearly bit into hers before she stopped and thought to ask, "Why is it called 'baker's secret?'"

On the outside, it just looked like a normal piece of elongated bread to her. She assumed the 'secret' was whatever was inside, but looking at it she had no way to tell.

"Because it has a secret," the girl quipped unhelpfully, biting into her own piece.

"That secret being?" Venza asked, taking that as a sign that the bread was safe to eat. Her mouth filled with a creamy, sweet taste she decided she rather liked.

"A secret."

Venza rolled her eyes. "What's your name?"

The girl hesitated, then shrugged. "Aiela Durrell."

"And you don't live here?"

"They were picking on me because I'm someone who lives in the village that they see every day," Aiela drawled, rolling her eyes. "Of course I'm not from here."

"Point taken," Venza conceded. "But why didn't you fight back? You could've scared them off easy."

A long, deep sigh answered her before the girl's words did.

"Oma says I shouldn't do anything to antagonize the settlers," Aiela answered. "The wilderness will have them soon enough. Personally, I don't agree but Oma knows best."

"Oma?" Venza repeated. "As in grandmother?"

Aiela nodded.

"You two live nearby?"

Another nod.

"Just the two of you?"

"Yes. You have a lot of questions."

Venza thought about that. She was right. "Do you have any for me? Only fair I answer a few, too."

"What was that strange phrase you said?" Aiela asked.

"What strange phrase?"

"The one about you being my shield," Aiela clarified. "Are those your family's words, or something?"

Venza bit her lip. They were her father's battle cry whenever he leapt to the aid of their citizens, but it was a little embarrassing to admit for some reason. "O-oh, that. That was- That was nothing. Anyway, is your grandmother home?"

The girl seemed unsatisfied with her answer, but didn't press. "Should be."

Venza considered. Despite Aiela's odd demeanor, it was obvious the girl was intelligent. Something was very wrong here. Their convoy wasn't due to leave Rentley for a few more hours, so she had time. "Take me to her."

Aiela's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"I think I need to have a word with her," Venza said. "She shouldn't be teaching you to tolerate bullies."

The brown-haired girl snorted. "I'm not tolerating them. They're just beneath me."

"So, you didn't care at all about them dumping mud on you?" Venza asked. "And that's totally not why you threatened to swarm them with mosquitoes."

Aiela stood silent, eating the rest of her secret bread before answering. "Understood. I will guide you to Oma."

"It's fine," Venza said, giving Aiela a reassuring smile. "We're just having a small chat."