Curse of the Stars Book 1

Chapter 14

Chapter XIV

They had played for days now, sometimes Vaekan took her skating, sometimes they had snowball fights, and sometimes they would go exploring through alleyways. Vaekan had come around less and less, maybe school really had caught up to him after all as his parents noticed. Or maybe he had simply gotten bored and lost interest. All in all, she had never worn the coat. He hadn't pestered her about it any further, and he hadn't asked for it back either, despite how she refused to wear it. She wondered if nobles were always so careless with their possessions.

Fyran tried to tell herself that she didn't care, although she was looking forward to his visits more and more. He was still just a spoiled brat...she had other things to do. Peasants didn't have time for loads of fun, but that didn't mean they didn't find satisfaction in their work.

And so she went back to work. Her mother was badgering her more and more to find some kind of work so that she could help pay for their meals. No one would hire a woman, but that didn't mean there weren't other ways of making money.

"We need to find you something nicer to wear." Her mother said one day as she flattened the bread with her hands. "This is our last batch of bread and your father hasn't come home in seven days. I'm starting to wonder if he'll come back at all."

"Where could he have gone?" Fyran asked, fear sparking within her. She had noticed her father's absence but hadn't thought anything of it. Fathers often did squander the little money they had made to spend it on hard liquor and wouldn't return for a couple days. The last time her dad had done that he had gotten a bitter scolding from his wife, and it had seemed to work, but that didn't always stop him. Depression was a common thing among peasants.

"He should have been home by now. He's never drunk for more than three days. This would be a new record, even for him."

"What are we going to do?" Fyran fretted. Without their father they'd have no way of making money. He was usually out in the quarries, mining precious gems he'd never get to keep himself.

"Perhaps something happened to him." Her mother never really answered the question. "Maybe a massive stone fell on him, maybe the mine collapsed. Maybe he slipped on some ice and fell down a cliff."

The quarries weren't very safe, or so Fyran had heard. She'd never been there herself. The King didn't bother take extra precautions with peasants. They were a tuckla a dozen.

"As I was saying, we need to find you something nicer to wear." Her mother repeated again. Fyran puzzled over this, finding it very random indeed.

"What does that have to do with anything? Didn't you say this was our last batch of dough? If anything, our clothes are the least of our worries!"

"It's time you lean on that boy of yours." Her mother stated matter of factly. "Dress in something nice and perfume yourself, and then present yourself to him. At the very least perhaps he will take pity on you. You can charm him into giving you some coin. Even that isn't a long lasting benefit but it's a start. Perhaps one day you can even convince him to marry you."

Fyran's nose crinkled. She had a hard time not gagging from the thought of it. She hadn't expected that to come from her mother. Didn't she know anything?! Nobility did not respect the lives of peasants, they were good for cheap manual labour and nothing else!

"Are you out of your mind?!" Fyran demanded, turning on her mother in a huff. "Nobility and peasants never mix!"

"You'd think." Her mother gave her a thin smile. "But it's a miracle in itself that Vaekan has taken a liking to you. Miracles are possible."