Echoes of the Past

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven: Tabetha's Aunt's House 

A rumbling engine carried in the wind, rising for a moment before they saw spacecraft fly over them. James saw it was a local transport ship, likely taking people to Tyken Town, judging by its trajectory. He studied the darkening sky over the street. A dull smudge of light showed the sun behind a heavy cloud formation moving from the east. "The day's getting," he said to no one in particular. "It's long past the noon bell already."

"Aye," Sam said, "we were in those caves earlier for longer than we thought."

As they walked through a quiet dirt path that led back to the main road, James watched Evan from the corner of his eye, regarding the golden sceptre he now carried. Having seen the destructive power that Audlin had conjured with it, James wasn't sure how good of an idea it was that they had kept the sceptre with them. But it was better than leaving it in the street.

Outside of a shop on the corner ahead, James noticed two men speaking. One was a very rotund alien with long arms that reached the ground, and the other was a maroon-skined Canarrian man that seemed vaguely familiar. It was a rare occurrence for James to be familiar with something, especially out in Toolin, and so he took note of the moment. The Canarrian man stood nervously, pulling at his jumper and speaking in hushed, agitated tones. Then James recognised him from the tavern. The curly haired man had been arguing with the bartender earlier and still seemed on edge. The large alien appeared to disagree with him as much as the bartender had done, shaking his head and frowning. James tried to overhear them out of curiosity as he passed, but couldn't make out their words.

"So," James said, looking sideways at Sam. "Who is this Tabetha? How do you know her?"

Sam said, "I met her shortly after I came to Tyken Town to look over you. We got talking one day at her flower stall, and I found out that her uncle was an administrator in the Daeyan Local army, while I served there. Although I had never met him myself. I continued to visit her every now and then, and we became friends."

"I would have thought you'd known each other for a lot longer, from the way she is with you," James said, hinting at the real question he wanted to ask.

Sam shrugged. "She's an affectionate lass." He must have seen the thoughtful look on James's face, and added, "We've never been more than friends, though. Well, apart from one night. But we've only ever really been friends."

James nodded. "She does seem like a great girl."

"Oh aye, she is," Sam said.

"She lives with her parents?" James asked.

"They died several years ago." Sam's face remained neutral, but there was a tension in his eyes. James was learning to look closer at Sam's subtle expression shifts. "She grew up in Victory City, where her father was a government official. After her parent's airship accident, Tabs was raised by her mother's sister, Hettie, and brought here to her house in Toolin."

James sighed deeply. "That's rough." After some thought, he added, "She has no other family to help her?"

"All that remain on Carnan are mostly in northern Medropon, past Victory City. But they rarely visit these parts."

James had always thought that the Canarrians were close with their families, and had to wonder why Tabetha's family sounded so estranged.

Sam led them down a side alley to cut across to the next main street.

James stretched his shoulder and felt a bruise on his side. He shook his head and cursed himself internally. If he hadn't suggested sword training then they wouldn't have given Audlin an opportunity to attack them. Evan was put in danger because James had wanted to challenge himself. What was he thinking, anyway? He wasn't a real soldier.