Fate

Five

Tonius had never seen someone devour food quite like the way Elyssa was now. She tore into the spread in front of her with wolfish hunger. It was a miracle she still was able to breathe, with the speed at which she was shoveling food into her mouth. It made him unreasonably happy. They'd rarely been able to eat to their fill, usually sharing whatever they could afford, or find. He wished that she was able to eat like this all the time, even if it meant keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't choke.

Not that he really had any room to judge, for he too was inhaling the feast in front of them. His hunger won out over his wariness for Micah's caravan. Perhaps he had been too quick to assume the worst. The food was delicious, after all.

As he tore into some roasted bird, he caught Micah watching the two of them in amusement, a soft smile playing around his mouth. Tonius slowed down. This man had a whole...circus—whatever that was—to feed, yet he was still offering all this food to them? He froze completely, the bird leg still halfway to his mouth. He dropped it like it was on fire and reached over to stop Elyssa from stuffing her face with bread and cheese. She made a noise of protest and glared at him, but his eyes were on Micah. Everything came with a price.

Micah's face dropped into concern. "Sometin' wron'? Food no' te youse likin'?"

"What's the price?"

"'Scuse me?"

"The price. What do you want in return for all the medicine and food and letting us stay here."

Micah laughed, his wrinkles deepening. "Ah don' wan' no thin' fro' youse. Youse were in troubles. We 'elped. S'wha' we do."

"No one helps people out of the goodness of their hearts," he spat. "Not in Abeillnuv."

"Exac'ly why we do. Dis land bin poisoned by de Spider's malevolence. We try 'n do wha' we can te change da." He remained calm the entire time he was speaking, not appearing to be fazed by Tonius' distrust of him. Tonius wasn't sure whether or not he was supposed to be comforted by that fact. It was obvious that this wasn't the first time he had done something like this. He wondered what became of the other people that Micah had "helped". Did he really want to leave his and Elyssa's safety up to the chance that Micah might be telling the truth? He thought of Bear, and Ring, and what they had done. His blood boiled. No, it was better to keep Micah and his people at arm's length, leave as soon as they were well enough to travel. Elyssa, however, had other plans.

"They've helped us so much," she whispered in his ear, gripping his arm. "We must do something to repay that." That's Elyssa, ever his bleeding heart. But she was right. A truth his father had drilled into him at such a young age. A debt must not go unpaid.

"You've given us too much to ignore without repayment. I've got a small amount of coin. And I'm strong. Put me to work."

Micah raised his eyebrows and stared at Tonius, like he truly hadn't been expecting that. "Youse wanna work me circus?"

"Until the debt is paid."

Micah was quiet for a long time, his face drawn deep in thought. Elyssa had finished eating, patting her stomach appreciatively. Tonius felt his harden facial expression soften. As much as he wanted to get to Haven as soon as possible, he wanted her to be healthy more. And if that meant that he had to work in a circus full of people he wasn't sure he could trust to ensure that she had good food in her belly, he would.

"Okay. Youse can work te repay fo' de food, if youse wish. Ah just wanna know one tin'."

He was instantly wary. "What?"

"Wha' kinda troubles is youse in da youse get poisoned 'n tink we belon' te an oppresso'?"

Tonius considered his words carefully before replying. "Our life...it hasn't been easy. Due to some...unforeseen circumstances, we often find ourselves to be targets of the eight-legged tyrant."