They left the dying town very early that morning, Aiden complaining about the uncomfortable chair he had slept on the entire way out. They repeated what they had the first day they’d gotten the horses. Then, they did it again the next day. They kept doing it until they were completely lost and running out of food.
When they came to the next town, they stopped for food. The prices were ridiculous and Tanya was left haggling as Aiden took Rena exploring. Tanya found Aiden with a shit-eating grin on his face and a huge pile of coins, Kydels and Kynins alike. He was one among a crowd watching a pair of dice rollers. One of them was wearing a black dress with a green belt.
Tanya dragged the girl out by the ear and used her other hand to grab Aiden’s ear. She pulled them all the way out of town, to where the horses were waiting. She scolded them about gambling, showing off their money, and being a bad influence. That last one was just for Aiden, though.
“But Tanya,” Aiden dragged out her name, “You should have seen her! The girl must have been blessed by the stars at birth! They changed the dice six times and she still won!”
Tanya remembered something. “Isn’t your grandma a sorceress?” Rena had her innocent face on again, singing her little song about apples. Tanya dropped it, but that wasn’t the last time Rena played the streets. They managed to travel in almost a full circle. They visited many towns in the west, south, and east of the country, along with play days at various rivers, hills, and other parts of the wilderness. Almost ten months passed.
“Rena, don’t eat that.” Tanya slapped the rotting apple out of the girl’s hand. They were resting the horses at a small creek.
“Apple.” Rena cried out pitifully. It had taken her a long time to find a stall that sold the western grown springtime apples in the east. When Tanya handed her a chunk of bread, Rena stuffed the entire thing into her mouth before lying on the ground listlessly. Tanya sighed and went to give the brooding Aiden his share of the food. He ignored her.
“Stars above! Stop giving me the silent treatment, it was just hair!” Tanya yelled in frustration. She had cut his ponytail two days previous when it had caught on fire. He still hadn’t forgiven her. “You guys are ridiculous.”
“Bored.” Rena moaned. Aiden grunted in agreement. Tanya gripped her staff in her hand, restraining herself from killing the two. And then inspiration struck.
“Hey guys, what’s the date?” Tanya was excited. Rena caught onto her positive attitude and sat up.
“The twenty-seventh, why?” Rena was curious now.
“How about we go to the festival? It’ll only take us about three days to get back to the capital, and the festival is in four. We could make it back in time to clean up a bit.” Tanya suggested.
“There’s a festival on the first?”
“Yeah, it’s great! There are games and food like muffins and cream pies and apple-” Rena cut Aiden off.
“Let’s go.” Rena got up and mounted Cheval. The other two laughed and followed after her.
YOU ARE READING
Contract with a Star (On Hold, Possibly Forever)
FantasyWhen giant chunks of rock fall out of the sky, we call them stars and wish on them. But what if they’re not always rock? What if some of them are sources of energy? What if that energy was what created and sustained life this entire time? Rena is on...
