Under One Banner

Chapter 3

It was steadily getting darker around them as Aryanna made her way through the darkening forest. She and Kalya reached their village after dark. Aryanna made her way quickly through the village to their home. She stopped abruptly, seeing figures at their house, peering in windows and knocking loudly on the door. 

“What are you doing?” she snapped. The figures whirled around. 

“We were wondering if you were coming back,” one spoke up. Aryanna walked firmly up to her door and looked at each one, not able to clearly pick out features. 

“Yes, we were coming back, we will always be coming back. Now get away from me and my home. I don’t want to see you lot around our home again,” she said, her voice icy and dangerous. 

“Don’t leave your house abandoned for longer than a day, or it will be forfeit,” one threatened leaning in close to her. Aryanna just stared at him, not moving. She raised an eyebrow and lifted her chin. 

“Why don’t you leave now?” she said. The man snarled at her but they left, scattering to their different houses. Aryanna sighed and opened her door and slipped in, closing it and throwing the bar across it. She gently eased Kalya off her back and into her arms. She walked  through their small main room to the only room that was their bedroom. She crouched and laid Kalya down gently on the tattered blankets that served as their bed. She pulled one of them over Kalya. The little girl curled up into a ball, murmuring something Aryanna didn’t catch. Aryanna stood and went back to the other room. She moved to one of the far walls and took a few different size logs from the stack of wood that they had collected and stored in their house for the winter. It was spring now but though the days were warm it was cold still at night. Their home didn’t hold warmth at all and what ever warmth it collected during the day the cold of the night quickly squeezed out any and all warmth, leaving them cold. Aryanna set the logs down next to the hearth in the room and took one of her knives from her arm. The coals from the night before were all but dead, hardly any warmth remained. She stood and went back to the stack of wood. She took a wooden box from the side of the pile and brought it back over to the hearth. She took the crude lid off and took out some dried grasses from inside of it. She put some down into the hearth. She shaved off some of the bark and twigs that were still attached to the logs. She made a small pile of the bark and the thinner twigs and struck her fire starter rocks together, throwing sparks onto the dried grass. She blew gently on the smouldering grass. After a moment of carefully blowing and adding more to the faint tongue of fire she got it strong and hot enough to add a thin log to it. Patiently she added more fuel to the fire and soon had a large enough fire to leave it. She rubbed her cold hands as she waited for it to start to warm their small house. Aryanna stood and moved to the table and chair, two of the three furnishings to their home. She sat down in one of the chairs and set all her knives in a row on the table in front of her. After disarming herself she went back to the fire and moved the pot, hanging to one side, over the heat. She added some water from a flask hanging by the door and set about making a stew. She sighed at the small amount that she had to make it with. After she was done she let it simmer and cook. She was suddenly besieged with a memory from years past, just before her father left and went to war. She could almost see her father sitting in a chair, bouncing baby Kalya on his knee one last time, her mother sitting in a chair smiling and laughing. Her eyes prickled suddenly and she shook her head, clenching her fists til her nails dug into her palms. She swiped her fists under her eyes and cleared her throat angrily. She dismissed the memory and stirred the stew some more. The smell of it started to fill the room and her stomach growled. She went to the cupboard that stored their two bowls and spoons and also their dried foods, and took out two bowls and two spoons. Once she felt it was done she spooned out two servings, scraping the bottom of the pot to round out her sisters portion. She  stood again and went to the room, first she knelt down and touched Kalya’s cheek, then her shoulders, shaking her gently awake.