The King of Saminu

Chapter 3

"Renska?" A pause, my eyes remaining shut. "Renska!" The little voice called once more, and I finally knew that I had to open my eyes. I sat up from the comfort of my bed, taking a while to accept that I needed to wake up. My stomach growled and my head pounded as I did so, but I forced a smile onto my face when I saw him.
"What is it Ellsk?" I asked, and his face lit up. His big grey eyes sparkled with excitement, and he grabbed my hand to pull me from my cot. I picked up the three year old in my frail arms, thankful that I still had the strength to hold my youngest brother. Ellsk pulled his face close to mine, brushing back a chunk of my hair to cup his hands around my ear.
"Do you wanna play with me?" I thought I had heard, so I nodded, finally standing up from the bed. My hips creaked as I stood, the bones trying to refuse the unnecessary exercise. The back of my throat burned with hunger. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten, but Ellsk and Gamm were fed, and that was all that mattered.

I put Ellsk down on my bed, holding a finger to my mouth to remind the little boy that he needed to be quiet. Gamm was asleep in the bed beside me, where Ellsk had somehow skillfully crawled out of sometime earlier. Gamm was always a light sleeper, although he had learned throughout the years to ignore Ellsk and his shenanigans. I got dressed, wrapping my chest tightly with the thick cloth like my mother had shown me countless times. Ellsk grew concerned as my breath hitched at the pain that immediately ensued, but I smiled. Ellsk smiled back, seemingly forgetting about the pain I had shown earlier. He held his arms up for me to pick him up, and I walked closer to the bed to grab him. However, before I could do so, he reached his hand between the buttons of my overly loose shirt, and closed his eyes, a deep wrinkle of concentration appearing on his face.

"What are you doing buddy?" I asked, and Ellsk opened his eyes, a pout forming on his lips.
"I am trying to heal you. Although, I do not think it worked," He said, and I couldn't help but to smile at the thoughtfulness of the toddler.
"You don't need to heal me, love. Now, why don't you lead me to where you wanted to go?" Ellsk nodded once before he bounced off of the bed. I followed after him. He was able to open the door that never fully closed just right, and he took his time, waiting for my slow steps to catch up to him. However, once we reached the main room of our house, where we were fortunate enough to have windows, he turned towards me, finding a sense of urgency.

"Hurry Renska! We have to go before the stars catch up to us!" Ellsk bounced up and down as he waited for me to catch up, the closest he ever got to throwing a temper tantrum. I almost laughed at the stark contrast between Gamm and Ellsk. Gamm, while he was already eight years old, ready to start working, always behaved like he was younger than Ellsk. He frequently cried and lashed out, always doing whatever he could to gain the attention the middle child often forwent. Ellsk was nothing like him. My younger brother ran over, grabbing my hand to pull me forward faster. I stumbled, the black dots that I grew comfortable with growing larger as I moved faster than I was supposed to. He let go of my hand, rushing forward to the door in front of us. His small hands struggled to undo the lock, and I chuckled to myself. I reached over to give Ellsk help, but he shook his head at me.
"I got it, Renska,"

Finally, Ellsk opened the door leading outside, and we left. The benefit to this small house was that it was rather secluded, the only house for what felt like miles. Ellsk let go of my hand, running through the leaves that had recently fallen from the dense trees that gave us a natural fence to our property. I followed after him at a slow pace, trying to conserve as much energy as I could.
"Ellsk?" I questioned, asking the void of our property when I realized he had disappeared. There was no response. I sighed, moving forward at a quicker pace. He's playing his hiding game again. I grew annoyed, not at my little brother, but at myself when a dizzy spell took over me, and I had to rest an arm against a neighboring tree before I ended up passing out.