Children of the Fence (The forgotten Children)

9. Submerged

She hummed quietly to herself.
Soon we would arrive at the hut. Should I tell her about it now?
I sighed. She turned around with a smile. "What's wrong? You look troubled."
I hesitated.
"Oh, is it about earlier? I shouldn't have blamed you, after all, I agreed for you to come with me," she confessed. "I hope you're not angry with me."
I shook my head. "Already forgotten."
As quickly as the wind drove thunderclouds from the sky and carried them to faraway places, her resentment had evaporated.
Should I tell her about the dream now?
"Layla, I... Last night... After Theodon disappeared, there..." I faltered. She would take me for a fool.
"Huh? We'll find him eventually, don't worry. The whole thing in Avendor is his fault anyway. I'll charge him dearly for that once we've found him. He's probably gone into hiding in the forest like a woodlouse."
"It's not that..." I hesitated.
"It's not about Theodon?" she asked.
"Yes, it is, but... I don't know how to explain it."
"Spit it out already!" She laughed.
"Okay... but don't laugh at me if it sounds stupid."
"I'm used to it."

I told her about my dream. The other me, or rather, what claimed to be me, the castle in Thallheim, the throne, Theodon in the forest and the shadows.
In the end, he had said that he would be expecting me in a week. But I didn't tell her anything about that. If it was indeed all true, how was I supposed to make it in a single week? It would only, and probably unnecessarily, cause her worry.

"Perhaps it doesn't mean anything, it was probably just a figment of my imagination or my worries manifesting, but I felt I should let you know."
"You certainly have strange dreams... Don't you think your time in Thallheim has messed with your head?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Probably. And yet something about it all seemed very real to me."
She hesitated for a moment before patting me on the shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry, I don't think you're crazy. Let's go back and maybe you can tell me more about it over a nice cup of tea."
"That's all I know."
"Is that so? ... If you say so."

"Password."
"Quin, how many times do I need to tell you? There's no password, what is it supposed to be anyway?"
The door was yanked open.
"Layla! Fenn! You're back!"
"Surprise," she scoffed.
"About the password, now that you mention it, it should be 'Quin, how many times do I need to tell you? There is no password blah blah," he mimicked her.
I laughed. "That's perfect."
"Where have you two been anyway? I've been waiting for so long, you just left without me!"
Layla rolled her eyes. "Let us in."
Quin mumbled something, but did as instructed.

"Hey, you're back. Did you find him?" Devon's voice sounded from the kitchen.
"He's not in Avendor, but what we did find there is plenty of trouble, as expected," Layla sighed.
At last I took off my black cloak and hung it on a hook.
"Trouble? Over Fenn?" Devon replied immediately. Evidently, Layla hadn't been the only one who had anticipated this outcome.
"Let's talk, I'll even make you some tea." Quin came around the corner, grinning. "If you tell me what happened."
"Quin," Layla groaned, "Now is not the time.
Quin snorted. "No tea for you."
"Whatever. I'm exhausted. I'm going to lay down for now. You two can have a chat and enjoy your tea."
Layla went up the stairs. I heard the door to the bedroom shut.
"Wow, what's wrong with her? Bad mood?" Quin asked.
"I don't know..." She seemed fine just a moment ago.
"Well, more tea for us. So, out with it, what happened?"

So, I ended up spilling the tea. Not literally, fortunately.
I told him about the florist and the red giant, who understood a unique definition of violence.
Quin choked on his tea and started coughing violently.
"She told the florist you were her brother?" He laughed. "Maybe I should have come along after all."
"Oh, and she bought this rose and gave it to me, but..." I looked for it. "I can't find it now... I thought you might have a vase for it. I must have lost it on the way."
Quin hesitated. "I don't think so. That would explain the scattered petals on the floor. I was about to ask."
I turned round.
The petals were indeed strewn all across the floor and when I looked again, I finally found the flower attached to my belt. There was hardly anything left of it. The last petal came loose as I reached for it and drifted to the ground.
I sighed. "Too bad, I liked the smell of it."
"You said Layla gave it to you?"
I nodded. "She didn't want the florist to take any more of our time."
"She could have just left. Now I have to sweep everything up." He scoffed. "While she's having a nice nap."
"No problem, I'll do it. Think she's asleep already? I'll go up to her for a minute and tell her about it. It was her rose, after all."
"Hmm, must have happened while you were running away from that moron."
I picked up the blossoms.