A Long Journey Home

Chapter 5

As Perdita skipped down the old stone steps, she chattered away, barely finishing a thought before beginning another. 

Cato walked slowly behind her, smiling and watching her dart about the grass, asking when she would be able to learn to control fire, or how to fly. He chucked to himself, thankful that their first ritual had gone smoothly. He had never sat on that side of the alter, but he hoped that his uneasiness hadn't been visible to Perdita. The least he could do was pretend to know what he was doing, for her sake. 

As they followed the cobbled path back to the hall and into the safety of the town, Cato became aware of voices. He motioned for Perdita to fall silent, and she fell into step behind him, her cheerful energy vanishing immediately. 

They turned the corner, surprised to find a gathering outside the hall. Cato could see the Elders at the front, backed by around a dozen of the adults, facing a group of strangers. He could tell by their fair skin and light hair that they were humans, and he heard horses just out of view, in the trees. 

As they neared the groups, everyone seemed to stop their argument to stare at them. One of the human women gasped slightly, her eyes lighting up. "Oh, it's you!" she exclaimed, "I'm so sorry about the other day, I didn't mean to scare you like that. Are you ok?"

Cato glance down at Perdita, who had moved further behind him, clutching his shirt and avoiding looking at the woman. 

"The other day?" One of the elders, a bitter man by the name of Acrisius, asked slowly, raising an eyebrow, "I thought this was the first time you'd seen this village."

"Oh, it is," the woman said, waving her hand dismissively, "We saw her out in the forest about... two days ago? Out near the road. I must have scared the poor thing like the devil! But her father came by and took her home. That's how we knew you were here, so thought we might be able to trade for supplies." She cast a stern look at the man who had been arguing earlier, and Cato could tell that he'd been angry to find the town unwilling to share their resources. 

"Interesting," Acrisius murmured, "Particularly because that young girl doesn't have a father. Are you sure it was her?"

The woman paused for a moment, "Well, he didn't say that he was her father, I just assumed, because they look so much alike, and he seemed quite defensive of her. But it was definitely her."

"And this man with her? Was it him?" Acrisius pointed a bony, arthritic finger at Cato. 

"No, looked nothing like him," the woman replied thoughtfully, "He was big, with long red hair and much darker skin than him. Quite a strong looking man..."

"Ari," Acrisius growled, glaring at Cato as if he were responsible for his brother. He finally turned his attention back to the humans, "We will resolve this matter ourselves. Our children are not permitted to walk alone, outside the village, and should only be accompanied by their guardian, not their guardian's brother." Although he wasn't looking at Cato, he knew the comment was for him. He instinctively shrank back, nearly stepping on Perdita's foot in the process. 

"Now, back to the original topic, I'm afraid we do not have any supplies to spare. We do not have any trade routes with other villages, so everything we grow here is to feed our own. I'm sure there will be others that you could ask, or the forest is a good place to hunt. My apologies that we cannot help you. Good Day." Acrisius then turned, and the group parted to allow him and the other Elders to pass through, into the Hall and beyond.

Many of the adults cast Cato and Perdita a dirty look, before they also turned to follow, leaving the two alone with the humans. 

"Come one," Cato said gently, tugging on Perdita's arm, "We should be getting back home. We still need to clean your room, after all."