Willow finished her fourteenth circuit of her room before she felt the walls closing in on her. She barely slowed her pace, marching down the stairs and right out the front door. Her feet found the familiar path, and she set herself to following the round trail, exchanging circling her room for circling the property.
It didn’t help.
As much as her body wound around and around, so did her mind. Willow liked Rune. More than she had liked any person outside her family since the first friends she’d had back when she finally entered public school. The friendships hadn’t lasted long, they were too different, especially at only eight years old, but the emotions remained.
Willow didn’t want to go through the same pain, the same loneliness, the same betrayal she’d felt back then. She knew now, that she couldn’t expect a friend to accept the insanity that was her existence. But that didn’t mean she had to live completely cut off from friendship. Some of the family made it work.
And Rune was so much more than Cecille, Dom, and Zoe has ever been. They had so much in common, beyond just their shared worldview. Rune brought Willow’s thoughts and feeling forward, out from beneath her carefully crafted façade. For the first time in years, Willow felt wholly like herself, rather than the self she showed the world.
Rune had brought that about, and even more than that, he seemed to like the real her. That was more than most of her cousins could say. They might respect her, be cowed by her, and sometimes, even fear her, but she didn’t think most of them really liked her. Things might have been different if there’d been boys her age, or if Darby or Carol hadn’t been born, and she’d had their groups.
Willow shook her head. She didn’t think she had that maternally protective instinct most of the other girls in the family seemed to have. She didn’t want to have cousins trailing after her, even if they had been her age, so the point was probably moot.
The problem at hand was Rune. She didn’t want to lose him, but she knew he was a danger to the family. Bad enough he was curiosity incarnate and smart, his goal in life was to be a reporter. She just imagined him finding out about sasquatches and trying not to write an article about them. His head would probably explode.
He was already too close. He’d noticed they weren’t normal. Rune had even noticed their necklaces, though she thought he didn’t know their real significance. He’d probably have mentioned the rest of her jewellery if he had. If he found out any more…
“You know there are more private places to work off stress,” a voice said.
Willow jumped and yelped. She spun, dropping into a defensive stance before she got a proper look at who had just spoken. His brown hair losing its fight against the grey, his eyes looked all the darker as they studied under the lighter eyebrows. Her Uncle Allistair nodded. “Good stance. It would have served you better if you’d heard me coming. It’s not as if I was trying to sneak up on you.”
She slowly straightened. “Sorry. I just…I have a lot on my mind.”
Her uncle dropped down onto the grassy edge of the path, waving his hand for her to join him. “Then talk to me about it. I’m happy to help.”
Willow rubbed an arm before gingerly sitting down across from him. Her gaze locked onto the end of her shoe, she said “I have this friend.”
“Is this the Rune character young Ed is convinced attracts rumours the way shit attracts flies?”
“Yes. He’s…I really like him. We’re a lot alike, and it’s just really nice to have someone outside the family to talk to, to hang out with.”
Allistair rubbed his chin. “I can understand that. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is he’s noticed things about the family. Like how close we are, and that we all wear the same necklace. I don’t think he suspects that we’re cursed, but he knows something’s up and he’s always wanted to be a reporter so…”
“I see. That is a problem. Hmm…” he trailed off, two fingers stroking the stubble of his cheek while his eyes stared, unfocused, at the almost solid wall of green forest that surrounded them. “As I see it, you have three options.”
Willow met his gaze. “Three?”
Her uncle nodded. “One, you sever ties with this person, and keep close to your cousins until he gives up. Not what I think you want to do, but the option’s there. Two is that you continue your friendship as it is. You’ll have to be even more careful about revealing anything about the family, and keep a close eye on your friend to make sure he hasn’t deduced anything either.”
She nodded as well. She’d considered both before, worried about what would happen when she finally chose one of the other. “I don’t want to lose him. But the family is important too, so I’ve been hesitating. I don’t want to put everyone else at risk.”
Allistair chuckled. “We’re always at risk. It’s part of being what we are. Any moment, one of the toddlers could come running out in sasquatch form in front of a delivery boy, or a hiker could stumble onto the property while we’re relaxing outside. Everything we do outside of living in the woods leaves us open to discovery. You can’t live your whole life letting fear dictate how you behave.”
Willow smiled, feeling her shoulders slowly drain of the tension that had been knotting them since her conversation with Rune. “Thanks.”
He reached over and ruffled her hair, just like he had when she’d only come up to his knee. “That’s my job as your elder.”
She grinned then frowned. “Wait, you never told me what option three was.”
He stood, grinning himself, though his eyes glinted down at her. “You can always marry him.”
“Uncle Allistair!” she cried.
He only chuckled, disappearing down the path, only the sound of his laughter remaining.
YOU ARE READING
Silver Bound Girl
FantasyWillow's a Byron and they aren't just your average family. Not just because there are so many of them, but because they have secrets and traditions far outside the norm. Like spending as much time outside as in, and doing everything to keep rumours...
