The Baker's Assistant (closed)

[heartofcourage]

The world tilted in a sickening dizzy spin as Kayla was lifted from the sled. She panted hard and swallowed against the vomit that seemed lodged in her throat. Then, the blessed, cool taste of water was at her lips and she drank greedily. She was gulping at the water, a soft groan leaving her lips as the container was pulled away, leaving her completely unsatisfied as the group seemed to be having a disagreement.

"My niece. Where is Lucy?" Kayla asked them in soft Lunar.

Her Uncle Kreston had taught her how to speak the language when she was a baby, knowing that it was best that they all know to better communicate with each other. She rarely used it, but she needed to know what had happened to Lucy.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Here," the leading centaur said simply, glancing to the other sled. The bundle of blankets concealed the girl, but there were no chains. Perhaps her captors were fairly humane. The sleds continued on and the werefolk refused to speak to Kayla anymore. They brought the sleds to a small settlement Kayla had never seen before. It certainly wasn't the Erygonian village or the Gol Dun settlement. It was set against a large cliff and had a fairly new-looking palisade that said it had probably been built after the war along with the village. The small gates were opened and the sleds were brought to the back of the village against the cliff where Kayla was scooped up out of the sled and carried into a longhouse set against the rock wall by the Lion. Lucy was brought close behind by the English-speaking centaur. They were both laid on fur pallets not far from a fire, and around the fire sat a group of seasoned warriors. There were no elders among them. The youngest was probably fifteen, and the eldest was no older than fourty-five. They were all manner of races and backgrounds, including those speaking the odd new language. Each spoke Lunar, Erygonian, and the new language, and each fell silent to look at Kayla and Lucy. Healers entered and two came to Kayla while three went to Lucy. When Lucy's blankets were taken away, there were bloody bandages revealed around her right arm and right thigh where she'd been impaled. She was probably as bad if not worse off than Kayla.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla struggled to look around the strange camp as she was carried into the longhouse, but her head was still spinning. Once she was placed on a fur pallet, she let out a long sigh. There were all manner of creatures there, all young, all silent as they looked towards her and Lucy. Once the healers were there and she caught sight of Lucy, she lost her mind.

"Lucy!" Kayla called out, struggling to roll from her bedding and away from the healers.

The chains slowed her as much as her wounds and her belly did. She let out a feral scream as hands struggled to hold her back, fighting with the fury of a Ghis to get to her niece. She screamed things at them in Lunar, in English, in what little Gaelic she knew from Gale. She was like a mother bear, fighting for the cub that had been hurt and captured.

 

[KieranSoares]

A couple warriors came to help the healers, eventually pinning Kayla on her back. The one that hovered over Kayla was terribly familiar... He fixed her with a grave gaze and growled, "Stop this, Kayla. Let the healers take care of her. You'll only be in the way." She knew his voice. He was Ruben's brother-in-law, Norr. He was a handsome grey Wolf with traditional Lunar tattoos, but he was the sort to stay away from Inverness and the humans therein. He'd recently disappeared, apparently on a pilgrimage along with a fairly large group of other werefolk. It seemed this was where they'd gone.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla screamed and thrashed as she was pinned to her back, arching her back to try and get away from them. She was furious, she was frightened, and she desperately wanted to get to her niece. She was panting when a familiar face and voice reached her ears. She stopped immediately, looking up at Norr with a combination of confusion and anger.

"Norr?" She murmured, looking from him and back towards Lucy. "What are you doing here? Ruben has been looking for you for weeks!"

 

[KieranSoares]

"We're here to end the atrocities your kind is committing against us werefolk... and you and Lucy had the misfortune of falling into the trap. You're our bargaining chips, which we're going to use to bring our people safety and peace of mind... I wish it wasn't you, but... we've come too far and we're in too deep to let you go and use someone else." So this was the beginning of the retaliation against the hunters and the handfuls of awful people in Inverness who did so much damage that they overshadowed the kindness and neutrality of the rest.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Norr, have you lost your mind?" She asked him as healers struggled to get to work on her again. "Yes, there are bad people out there, but why are you doing this? My uncle has worked hard to ensure your safety. You of all people know that."

She had no idea what had happened to Norr that would turn him so violently against Inverness. Ruben's wife was as sweet as could be and no one in his family had ever had misfortune fall upon them. It didn't make sense.

"You'll never be able to see Telma again, you know." Kayla said, bringing up his dear sister. "Or Katya and Timmal. Or the newborns. If you do this, you'll hang for treason."

 

[KieranSoares]

Norr's gaze fell to the floor. "... I'm willing to take that chance..." Something must've happened to him. "Everyone here has lost someone or something... a home, a wife, a husband, a child... There are people here missing limbs, ears, teeth, all lost to hunters trying to make money for trophies and bounties. Some were slaves from the mainland who escaped, and now that their fellows and their lives are being threatened again, they're standing up for their newfound freedom. There is no treason here, only anger and a desire for a better future." Finally the healers managed to change her bandages and they left her to the warriors, and soon Lucy was taken care of as well.

 

[heartofcourage]

"There are better ways to do this." Kayla said through gritted teeth, her anger showing through in the blazing blue of her eyes as she slowly sat up and fixed him with a hard glare. "If you had given me time, I might have changed this. Instead, you send someone to chase me through the woods and almost kill myself, my child, and Lucy. That is absolutely unforgivable."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I never meant for it to be you... We never meant for it to be anyone we knew... but it is you, and if anything, it's our good luck, knowing your family and what they'll do to get you back." Norr rose then, stepping out of the longhouse. Kayla's chains were removed and she was allowed to move freely. They knew she wouldn't be able to run off in her condition, and she certainly wouldn't go without Lucy. The other warriors were actually quite kind, keeping an eye on Lucy and Kayla more out of worry for their health than possible escape attempts.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla was still filled with fury as her shackles were removed and she quickly moved to scoop Lucy up in her arms. Her aches and injuries could be forgotten as she cradled her niece close and kissed her cheek. Lucy sniffled in pain, drugged to keep the worse of her injuries from hurting her too much. Kayla simply rocked her back and forth on her pallet.

"It's alright, Lucy." She whispered softly to the sleepy little girl. "We'll be back home soon with your Da and everyone else. I promise."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kayla was kept under constant watch for the next several days, and the warriors were nothing but polite and gentle with her and Lucy. Kayla saw the permanently disfigured werefolk, heard many stories, and learned of the real evils going on between the races, even traitors who gave up their own people for money. Everyone had a story, everyone had a grudge, and everyone was scared but determined.

One misty morning, a party of warriors got ready to head for Inverness and they were going to take Kayla and Lucy with them. Norr would lead them and he was going to demand that Brogan place much harsher laws and consequences in place and put far more resources toward eradicating hunters. However, it was becoming apparent that Norr was distraught about whatever he'd lost to the humans and some warriors were worried whether or not he was fit to negotiate.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla knew that her family was probably worried sick. Lucy was terrified, clinging to her as they were placed back on a sled to be taken back to Inverness. She held the little girl tight against her swollen belly beneath the cover of the thick wool blankets. Her leg was aching fiercely since she had stubbornly refused anything that might cloud her mind. Her face had bruised in the most horrible way, the black ring around her left eye also continued to her cheek bone and beyond. She would have a scar near her temple from the gasp that had opened up during her fall. It was a small price to pay for being alive, she thought to herself.

She was also thinking about escape. If things went bad in Inverness, she would take Lucy and run. It probably wasn't the smartest plan that she had ever come up with, but she had to protect the little girl and her baby. She knew how to hide in Inverness. She knew the city like the back of her hand. Someone would surely help her if it came to that.

 

[KieranSoares]

They soon arrived just outside the town where the entire Ghis family was waiting, headed by Brogan. Aleister and Dazu and many of Kayla's friends were also there, but the younger members of the family had been left at home with Kitty and Vincenzo. Norr stepped forward to face Brogan, spear in hand as a bitter wind blew past.

"Norr..." Brogan sighed, hurt to see that it was family facing him.

"You know what we want, Brogan..."

"An' I wish I could do all of it... but Norr, I can't punish people fer not likin' werefolk. An' I've always put my best forward in keepin' hunters away, but I can't pursue 'em outside Inverness without permission from other lords. I'm doin' all I can, an' I treat werefolk and humans th' same when it comes t'the law. I'm tryin' my best t'root out corruption an' bias. I can't do anythin' more, an' I can't change what's already 'appened."

Norr snarled darkly, pointing his spear back toward Kayla and Lucy. "It's them or safety for my people!" More werefolk and humans had begun to gather to see what was going on, and just in time to see Eli suddenly break from the family to dash across the no-man's land toward his daughter and sister when he saw Norr's weapon so close to them and saw them hurt. But Norr was ready and met him head-on.

"Tha's my little girl, you bastard!" Eli roared as they collided and Norr threw away his spear for fair combat. A few blows were exchanged before several people from both sides rushed forward to break them up. In the middle of the commotion, Kayla caught the flash of a knife and heard her father cry out suddenly in anguish. The sides parted, and Eli fell to his knees in the snow, blood staining the whiteness and his cloak as it rushed from a wound in his chest. Norr stood across from him with the bloody knife in hand, looking completely shocked. Eli collapsed forward and Norr dropped the knife, looking down at his own blood-stained hands in horror. He looked to Boar, tears filling his eyes as their gazes met.

"I... I didn't-" but Norr never got to finish as a bolt suddenly flew out of nowhere and struck him in the belly and he fell back. In the confusion, the anger, and the sorrow, several members of either side began rioting, but it was the Ghis who snatched up Eli, Kayla, and Lucy and got them out. Kayla would find herself in Durban's arms while Kreston took Lucy, and Boar managed to pull his mortally-wounded son from the fighting. It was only when Brogan's armed warriors intervened that all the rioters from both sides and all the rebel werefolk in attendance were arrested and hauled away, leaving a few battered fighters to be taken to healers and the still-trembling Norr laying in his blood in the snow. Brogan came to kneel beside him, and everyone heard in the silence as Norr begged for forgiveness. Brogan quietly told him that he was forgiven before Norr took one last shuddering breath. Ruben hurried to his side, but he didn't know whether to hate his brother-in-law or be distraught at his passing. Meanwhile, the rest were focused on Eli who was struggling for breath.

"Lucy..." Eli whispered even as blood welled up in his throat as his father held him. "Kay..." He shuddered violently, unable to see and unable to understand what was happening. "Ma," he finally cried out fearfully as his vision went dark. "Oh, god..."

 

[heartofcourage]

When Kayla saw her brother fall, she felt as if her own chest had been stabbed. She was numb, the blood draining from her face as all hell broke loose around her. She was snatched by her uncle Durban, held tightly as he checked over her wounds. Lucy was held by Kreston, taken away from the sight of her father dying in the snow.

"No." Kayla whimpered, pushing against Durban's chest to get to Eli. "Let me go!" She screamed at him, her fists beating against his muscular chest.

"Elijah!" She screamed, unable to get a good view of her brother through the crowd that gathered around him. "Eli! No!"

She fought like a wildcat as her uncle dutifully held her. She bit, scratched, kicked and clawed, shrieking when he refused. She had already lost the man that meant the most to her in her life. She refused to lose her brother as well. Lucy needed her Da. Her entire family needed him.

 

[KieranSoares]

The only voice louder than Kayla was the outright scream of anguish to the heavens as Leon reached his twin. Leon collapsed at his side and took him from Boar. He cradled his brother close, sobbing his heart out and begging him to stay. Eli could no longer speak. He only had the strength left to lift a bloody hand to his own neck and pull free his late wife's locket that he'd worn since the day she died. He pressed the blood-covered locket into Leon's hand and let his head rest against his grieving brother's shoulder as he'd done as a small child and Leon protected him from bullies as he'd been the smaller of the two.

Leon was blinded by grief and tears as Eli fell still and silent against him. Durban couldn't hold Kayla any longer and finally let her go. The last thing Eli managed to choke out was a soft plea for his family, especially his mother, before his trembling subsided and his eyes closed.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla darted from her uncle's arms, hitting the ground hard next to her brothers. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched her brother, her protector, take his last breath. Not again, she thought to herself as she hugged them both so tightly. Not again. Lucy was too young to be an orphan. Elijah was too young to be taken away.

Her cheek pressed tightly against Eli's as he relaxed in Leon's arms. He was gone and nothing on this earth would ever bring him back. Killed because of a stupid feud. Taken from a family that loved him so much. Her brother's screams of pain melted into her brain, causing pain that she never knew as she slowly pulled herself away from Elijah's body. Looking into Leon's eyes she saw anguish and then she was angry. She felt a burning fury deep in her soul that threatened to consume her whole. She would have killed Norr if she had been able to, but instead she was left with an ache that couldn't be stopped.

Pushing herself to her feet, she turned to stare at all the men gathered, that fire showing through in the shade of red that her face turned. She panted for breath, her belly aching fiercely as she cradled herself with one hand and lashed out at the warriors gathered.

"You should all be ashamed! Every single one of you!" She screamed at them, stunned eyes turning towards her. "He died because of a stupid war! A grudge that we cannot let go of! How many more have to die for this to end? How many more have to maimed before you have satisfied your blood lust?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Behind her, Leon slowly laid Eli down in the snow and rose in silence. Kayla was met with the long, guilty silence of the warriors and the arrested rebels until Leon's hand came to her shoulder. He drew her into a gentle, if not weak embrace while Brogan cleared everyone away until only Leon, Kayla, Boar, Eli, Dazu, and himself remained with a couple warriors. Ruben quietly took Norr's body away while Aleister quietly helped the silent and stricken Boar fashion a makeshift stretcher to carry Leon. Boar couldn't think, couldn't speak beyond very simple words, and he seemed too shocked to grieve or comfort his children. He could only function on the thought that he needed to get his children back and tell Emma, who awaited them at the keep.

Boar found himself unable to even look at his lifeless son any longer, so Aleister and Dazu carefully placed Eli on the stretcher and carried him between them while Boar went to Leon and Kayla, hugging them both tightly in silence. It would be a slow, quiet return to the keep.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla was trembling with her anger as Leon placed his hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a gentle embrace. The fight slowly drained from her then, her body relaxing against his chest as he held her and shared her pain. No one would ever know the bond that Boar's child had with one another. It felt as if a part of them had been ripped painfully away. All she could really do was wrap her brother in her arms as tightly as she could, weeping against his chest.

When their father came to hug them as well, Kayla cried harder. She felt sick, miserable, aching both in her body and her soul. A father should never have outlived his son, but there was nothing more they could do now. Elijah was gone...hopefully reunited with his dear Lucille. Perhaps Gale could show him the way to a better life and one day Lucy would join them as well.

Lucy. The poor little girl, she thought to herself as their party slowly made their way back towards Inverness and the keep. She didn't want to be there when her mother received the news. Instead, Leon took her to her parent's home where Kreston was waiting patiently with Lucy.

Lucy looked up at the door with a scared look in her eyes as it opened. She was sucking her thumb, something she only did when she was stressed or tired. Her stuffed horse was under her arm, having been retrieved from Aleister's shop and returned to her.

Kayla looked at her brother and then at her niece, knowing that someone had to tell her. Leon wasn't in any condition so the words would have to come from her. She slowly walked towards Kreston and knelt in front of Lucy.

"Lucy." She said softly, tears already spilling down her cheeks as she sucked in a deep breath to steady herself. "Your Da went to heaven to be with your Ma."

She couldn't continue. She couldn't say any more. She looked up at Kreston and saw the shock written in his features. Lucy was quiet, rocking back and forth slightly as she let those words soak in. No more Da. No more happy little home. All of that was screaming at Kayla as she touched her niece's cheek and wiped away the little tears that sprang forth.

"But it's going to be alright. I promise, Lucy. He missed your Ma so much. He's happy now and they'll be waiting for you." She murmured, thinking about how Gale had promised that he would always watch out for her and their baby. "He's always going to be looking over you."

 

[KieranSoares]

Leon quietly cleaned himself up to avoid letting Lucy see the blood, but he soon returned and held both his nice and sister tightly as they all grieved either in silence or tears. Kreston remained near, but let them alone.

At about the same time, Boar entered the keep's main hall beside Brogan while Dazu and Aleister had taken Eli to Vincenzo and Valentina. Boar came to find Emma as Brogan sought out Julia and hugged her tightly. Boar faced Emma with the most heartbreaking, lost expression. "Em..." He whispered

 

[heartofcourage]

Emma knew the instant that she saw Boar that something horrible had happened. She wasn't prepared for the words that came from his lips however. She let out a scream that sounded all around the keep, one full of anguish for a mother that had lost her darling son. She continued to scream as her husband held her tightly, mourning with her until her screams were nothing but muffled sobs against his chest.

As the evening wore on, Kayla found herself struggling with everything that had happened. Reality had sunk in that her brother was dead, never coming home, and they were left with an uncertain future. Leon clung to Lucy as if she were his last lifeline. The little girl hung on to her uncle as if he might somehow magically transform into her father.

It was too much for Kayla to think about right then. She slipped from the house as Leon tucked Lucy into bed, Kreston watching her go without a word. She walked aimlessly through the streets of Inverness until she found her way home. Her little house was cold and quiet, dark as she made her way to her bedroom and collapsed on the blankets. She just wanted sleep. No dreams, no nightmares, just the sleep of the dead. As she closed her eyes, she prayed that sleep might come easily.

 

[KieranSoares]

It seemed that fate had decided to let up on Kayla for a moment, and her wish for dreamless sleep was granted. It wasn't until late the next morning that there was a knock on the front door which woke her from the long and silent rest. If it weren't for the circumstances, it would've been among the best sleep she'd ever had.

 

[heartofcourage]

Kayla woke to the sound of the knocking at her door. She was still feeling horrible. Her head ached fiercely, her leg was aching from the wound she had received from the pit. Most of all, her heart was aching for her lost brother and lost love.

She forced herself up, groaning as she made her way to the door and opened it, staring at the person who stood on the other side with a look of displeasure and sorrow.

 

[KieranSoares]

Aleister stood before her quietly with a basket in hand and a rather forlorn, concerned expression. "Kay..." he murmured. "I... I wanted t'come see if y'needed anything. Gerald an' Ria sent me 'long with food." He was lost as for how to help, but he couldn't stand idly by and not offer at least a helping hand seeing as she was injured. Finally, he sighed and looked down. "I'm so sorry, Kay..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't want apologies. I want my brother back." She said with a numb tone to her voice as she turned from the door and limped back into her house.

She felt as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. It was so intense she was slightly stooped as she made it back into her bedroom and collapsed back into her bed. It was cold, she thought to herself. She couldn't even bother to get a fire going.