Heterodox (BOOK 2)

Chapter 8 |2|

~Vesper~

I hate goodbyes.

"You can't leave, Circe!" cries a little boy.

"You promised to stay!" a girl almost shrieks.

"Why are you leaving?"

"You said you will teach me how to climb the tree with the bees in it without getting stung!"

"You said that we would go tomorrow and catch frogs to put in Mihai's bed!"

"I haven't won you in a race yet!"

"Who will teach us?"

"I'm still having problems in math."

"How will we know what happens in the end in Little Red Riding Hood now? We didn't reach that far yet!"

We all watch forlornly at the crowd of kids, trying to get answers as to why their great teacher and leader is leaving them. My heart breaks in two as one of them start to cry. Circe looks as if her heart is broken into much more than two. And I can see that she is holding back her tears as best she can; just to keep things from getting worse.

"Listen," she says, her voice shaking, "I know I promised to stay but I have to leave. If my friends and I don't leave... Cabhan will kill us and kick you all out of your home."

The children collectively gasp.

"Cabhan is a dickhead," pipes a boy.

Giotto blows out some smoke and chuckles. "I second that."

Circe takes a sobbing child in her arms and hug him tighter as if to mute the sobs from everyone, including the child. " Ivor, when Vasile has time, he can teach you how to climb. Germain, do you remember the small pond I showed in you in the back by the mushrooms? Go there and catch the biggest frogs you can, okay? And hide them in Mihai's under-sheet just how I showed you."

Lady Demelza pulls a disgusted face.

"I know you have made up your mind that you will beat me in a race, Dinu. But there are many people in this camp as fast as me and even faster. Try beating them instead. I'll give Faerydae, Giotto and LaLa some books for you to read and practice math. They can teach you. And as for Little Red Riding Hood, it ends by she shooting the wolf with a pistol from her knickers and skinning him into a fury cloak. Now she wears it every day and everybody calls her the WolfSlayer."

"That's one awesome ending," remarks a boy grinning.

Ivor, the eldest, steps forward still upset. "How can you name all your replacements so easily? How can you not realize that we need you, you Circe! You're irreplaceable! Don't leave us!"

"I have to," she weakly pleads, trying to make him understand, "It isn't easy but I cannot have it on my conscience till I die that all of you; my adoptive family; are homeless because of me."

His sad expression changes into anger in a a second. "So that's the reason huh? You're only leaving because you're trying to save your own skin with a clean conscience!"

"No you got it all wrong Ivor-"

She reaches out to him desperately, but he turns his back and pushes the rest of his siblings through the curtain separating this tent from theirs while they loudly protest. The child that was in her arms before leaps out from her grasp, cast her a dirty look and runs off. I can see it stings her more than she can take. "Ivor!"

He stiffens at his name, still facing the curtain.

"Ivor, please," she says weakly, her hand still outstretched to him.