Read Online Silent Kingdom by Rachel L. Schade - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rachel L. Schade
Ads: Link
understand the nightmares, I thought.
Apparently reading my mind, he said, “You’re welcome. I suppose I’d better go back to school now. Hopefully you will be well enough to come to school soon.”
I’m well enough now; Lyanna just needs some convincing to let me go.
He sprang to his feet. “I’ll stop by tomorrow morning to visit. You’re my closest neighbor now, so when you are well, we can walk to the schoolhouse together.” And offering me one last grin, he picked up his belongings and left.
~~~
It was three full days later, filled mostly with sleep and reading, before Lyanna decided I had recovered enough to go to school. She found an old leather pack to carry my lunch pail and any books the teacher sent home with me. Handing me an old dress of hers and a pair of boots too large for me, she apologized that she didn’t have anything new for me yet, but I didn’t mind. I was so eager to leave the confines of the house and explore my new hometown that I could hardly wait for Avrik to arrive at the door. When he knocked, I swung it open and nearly leapt out the door.
Lyanna laughed. “Have fun today. Don’t overexert yourself!”
As Avrik and I walked to the schoolhouse together, I noticed that he not only had a pack slung over his shoulders, but also his bow and quiver. I blinked. Was it only a habit because he often hunted with his father, or a matter of protection? Did the people of Evren feel safe here, or did they all make a habit of carrying weapons everywhere they went?
Oblivious to my worries, Avrik was rattling on about one of the games he and some of the other boys in the village had been playing after school. Half-interested in what he had to say, and half-occupied with my thoughts, I strolled along at his side and watched the countryside around me. In distant fields, horses and cattle grazed. Brown, harvested cornfields, dotted with wilted leftover stalks, stretched toward the horizon. I inhaled the fresh air gratefully, feeling revived. The open world around me was a relief after the constricting sensations of fear and the nightmares of almost drowning. I didn’t feel trapped anymore.
“…and sometimes we wrestle,” Avrik chattered on, “but since you are a girl and it would probably be considered improper, we can change that and tap you… You’ll have fun anyway though…”
Though I tried to tread carefully, I stumbled in Lyanna’s boots. Avrik shook his head and, with a laugh, caught me before I fell. Grasping my arm as if he thought I needed help keeping my balance too, he took in my outfit with a mischievous grin. I rolled my eyes at him and glanced down at my secondhand clothing.
Lyanna’s old blue dress was worn and faded to a dull grey color. Though the fabric hung loosely on my tiny frame, I must have been taller than she was when she fit in the dress, because the hem rested above my ankles and left room for the large boots to show. Over it all I wore a long black cloak, which had once been Rev’s, so long it dragged a little in the grass behind me.
I stared straight back into his glinting eyes and glared at him. Out of habit, I opened my mouth, only to draw in a deep breath and clamp it shut again. Would I ever be able to speak again, if I really wanted to? Did I want to? I pressed my lips together.
“Lyanna will make sure you have new clothes soon,” he said, forcing the smirk off his face in response to my frown. “Don’t worry. Besides, it’s not like we are in a big city where all the girls talk about is fashion and they’re always fussing about their hair and dresses… Though I suppose there are a few here who do that.” He scrunched his nose in distaste and waved a hand dismissively, like he was ordering those girls out of his presence.
You’ve been in big cities? I raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. What if in his travels he had learned more about the monsters like the sedwa and the myths about the Wastelands and the kingdoms beyond ours?
Avrik
Apparently reading my mind, he said, “You’re welcome. I suppose I’d better go back to school now. Hopefully you will be well enough to come to school soon.”
I’m well enough now; Lyanna just needs some convincing to let me go.
He sprang to his feet. “I’ll stop by tomorrow morning to visit. You’re my closest neighbor now, so when you are well, we can walk to the schoolhouse together.” And offering me one last grin, he picked up his belongings and left.
~~~
It was three full days later, filled mostly with sleep and reading, before Lyanna decided I had recovered enough to go to school. She found an old leather pack to carry my lunch pail and any books the teacher sent home with me. Handing me an old dress of hers and a pair of boots too large for me, she apologized that she didn’t have anything new for me yet, but I didn’t mind. I was so eager to leave the confines of the house and explore my new hometown that I could hardly wait for Avrik to arrive at the door. When he knocked, I swung it open and nearly leapt out the door.
Lyanna laughed. “Have fun today. Don’t overexert yourself!”
As Avrik and I walked to the schoolhouse together, I noticed that he not only had a pack slung over his shoulders, but also his bow and quiver. I blinked. Was it only a habit because he often hunted with his father, or a matter of protection? Did the people of Evren feel safe here, or did they all make a habit of carrying weapons everywhere they went?
Oblivious to my worries, Avrik was rattling on about one of the games he and some of the other boys in the village had been playing after school. Half-interested in what he had to say, and half-occupied with my thoughts, I strolled along at his side and watched the countryside around me. In distant fields, horses and cattle grazed. Brown, harvested cornfields, dotted with wilted leftover stalks, stretched toward the horizon. I inhaled the fresh air gratefully, feeling revived. The open world around me was a relief after the constricting sensations of fear and the nightmares of almost drowning. I didn’t feel trapped anymore.
“…and sometimes we wrestle,” Avrik chattered on, “but since you are a girl and it would probably be considered improper, we can change that and tap you… You’ll have fun anyway though…”
Though I tried to tread carefully, I stumbled in Lyanna’s boots. Avrik shook his head and, with a laugh, caught me before I fell. Grasping my arm as if he thought I needed help keeping my balance too, he took in my outfit with a mischievous grin. I rolled my eyes at him and glanced down at my secondhand clothing.
Lyanna’s old blue dress was worn and faded to a dull grey color. Though the fabric hung loosely on my tiny frame, I must have been taller than she was when she fit in the dress, because the hem rested above my ankles and left room for the large boots to show. Over it all I wore a long black cloak, which had once been Rev’s, so long it dragged a little in the grass behind me.
I stared straight back into his glinting eyes and glared at him. Out of habit, I opened my mouth, only to draw in a deep breath and clamp it shut again. Would I ever be able to speak again, if I really wanted to? Did I want to? I pressed my lips together.
“Lyanna will make sure you have new clothes soon,” he said, forcing the smirk off his face in response to my frown. “Don’t worry. Besides, it’s not like we are in a big city where all the girls talk about is fashion and they’re always fussing about their hair and dresses… Though I suppose there are a few here who do that.” He scrunched his nose in distaste and waved a hand dismissively, like he was ordering those girls out of his presence.
You’ve been in big cities? I raised an eyebrow at him in surprise. What if in his travels he had learned more about the monsters like the sedwa and the myths about the Wastelands and the kingdoms beyond ours?
Avrik
Similar Books
