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KAELYN WOULD NEVER KNOW where she came from. This was something she had come to accept. From the minute she had been dumped on the Carroways' farm, any trace of where she had come from disappeared. She'd just been a baby at the time, of course, and far too young to remember when Mr and Mrs Carroway had opened their front door the morning after an awful storm to find a blanket-wrapped bundle on their doormat.
There was no note, and no name, nothing to identify the abandoned baby. She'd had a shock of dark hair, and eyes that burned indigo in the right light, with an air of mystery the Carroways couldn't shake. But they were hardly the people to pass on the apparent-orphan, and took in the child with open arms. They named her Kaelyn and that appeared to be it.
The Carroways lived on a large farm that supplied the local village and passers-by with produce and supplies. They were a respected family, in a way, and Kaelyn was not their first child. Cielle was four years older than Kaelyn, with light hair and eyes that made it clear she was related to the Carroways, and that Kaelyn was not – a fact she reminded her of viciously at any opportunity.
By the time she was five years old, Kaelyn became eager to help around the farm, play with the animals, and feel like she'd earned even a sliver of the affection she got. She had secretly hoped, too, it would help Cielle warm to her. It never did.
Kaelyn saw many different types of people pass through over the years, some buying jam, some buying produce, others buying eggs or meat. One man even came in asking for a bag of feathers – which he got – and gave Kaelyn a wink as he left.
Kaelyn liked people. She liked looking at how they took in the world and comparing it to others, their unique mannerisms and the way they talked. Everyone was someone interesting to get to know, she decided in her young mind. Not that she knew anyone really except for those that passed through. Mrs Carroway taught her and Cielle all she could about words and numbers instead of alongside other kids their age. Kaelyn didn't mind, she just didn't know there were people her age not like Cielle.
When the time came for Kaelyn to accompany Mr Carroway into town with a stall and cart to extend their profit to the streets, she eagerly accompanied him, innocently handing customers their purchases as they paid her father. Kaelyn saw many more people now cycle through, but none struck her more than a man in starry robes who looked both young and old at the same time.
"Just eggs and blackberry jam," he requested, Kaelyn staring at him wide-eyed. She knew Mrs Carroway would've scolded her for staring so much, but she couldn't help it. His eyes looked like they had lived a thousand lives, yet sat in a young-looking face framed by long dark hair, and Kaelyn could've sworn she saw a gold glint in his eyes as they caught the light.
"Of course. Odd weather been having, eh?" Mr Carroway said as small talk while he took the man's money and Kaelyn scrambled around the stall to get the eggs and jam.
