aearwen | Light Fingers 3 (Reply)

Returning home sometimes isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Ivoreth breathed a deep sigh of relief as the darkness of the storm drain closed around her. A long night of hiding in the darkest of shadows until the Guard patrols had gone far enough past that she dared move forward down the sloping road had been nerve-wracking. Never fond of the Guards before, now they terrified her. Every footfall she’d heard had made her heart pound painfully with the memory of rough, metal-studded hands.

But she was safe now. She knew the way through these tunnels like the back of her hand, and needed no lights to tell her how far to walk or where to turn. Squeezing through the bars of the first obstacle hurt, though, when she accidentally bumped her sore cheek against the cold metal. Tears had run down her face for a long moment, and then she had simply started walking again.

I have to get back to them! They have to be safe! I need to be safe!

This night, the low hum of voices that she began to hear in the distance was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.

Almost there…

Several small bodies brushed past her, moving quietly in the opposite direction. One she heard stop in front of her. “Ivo?” Daren’s voice sounded small and very frightened.

“What are you doing out here?” she demanded almost angrily as she felt her little brother clasp her around her waist tightly. “Why aren’t you with Raini, where you belong? Who’s taking care of her?”

Daren was crying as he threw himself at her. “Why didn’t you come back, Ivo? It’s been three whole days! I was so scared…” Ivoreth sucked in a breath as her little brother’s head bumped her bound arm and reminded her of everything that happened. “Ivo?” the boy froze at the sound of his sister’s pain. “You all right?”

“I am now, Daren,” Ivoreth soothed, forcing herself not to sound upset. “Let’s go find Raini – I’ve got food.”

Daren’s hand began exploring the bandaging that held the arm in place. “What’s wrong with your arm?” he sniffed away his tears. “Why is it tied up like that?”

“I ran into some Guards,” Ivoreth answered truthfully. “I have it tied up because they hurt me, and it hurts to move my shoulder.”

“They caught you?” Daren’s voice shimmered with horror. She knew that at seven years, he could remember his Da’s stories too, and that he was as frightened of being found out as she was.

“I got away, though,” Ivoreth told him with a confidence she hoped was convincing, glad her little brother couldn’t see whatever bruises covered her sore nose and cheeks yet. “All is well. Come on – let’s go find Raini.”

The two squeezed themselves through the next set of bars, Ivoreth careful this time not to bump anything painful. Several paces later, the passage took a sharp turn to the right and widened as they approached one of the huge cisterns hidden deep within the walls. High above them, an opening through the very outer wall of the City itself glowed dimly of a day just beginning. Combined with the glowing circle from an open well directly above the center of the cistern, the two openings threw just enough light into the chamber that some details could be seen.

The cistern had become a haven for many who hadn’t been able to flee the destruction of the siege with the noble women and children – those who gathered here now were mostly the children of those of too humble position to have had much choice in the matter. Time, illness and the City Guard had trimmed their numbers slowly over the last year or so, but there were still several sibling groups like hers that called this chamber home. A narrow set of stairs on the inside wall of the chamber led up to a high ledge ringing the chamber where each person or group had staked out their space. There was just enough room to walk around each small pile of belongings or stretched out figure. Ivoreth’s gaze swept each exposed face as she topped the stairs until she found the one she wanted.

“I’m here, Raini,” Ivoreth sighed and dropped her hand from the blanket as she squatted to reach out to her tiny sister, who was still groggy from a recent nap, and to gather her close. “I’m here,” she whispered against the tangled, mud-colored locks.

The toddler took one look up with eyes far too large for her face and then huddled into her big sister’s open arm. The little girl was very warm against her despite the chilled air of the chamber around them. “Oh, Raini!” Ivoreth breathed in worry. Her time away had done Raini no favors at all!

Just like Evien. No! Not like Evi!

“What’s this?” Ivoreth felt Daren bend to pick up the blanket from beneath Ivoreth’s foot and then shift to his sister’s side. “Cloth?”

“It’s a blanket, Dar,” Ivoreth corrected him with a touch of pride. “Now we can be warm while we sleep.”

“But Raini’s already too warm.”

“I know,” Ivoreth sighed, all too aware of the warmth coming from the toddler at her side. “But maybe the blanket will help – and I have food too.”

“You said you had food?” Daren pressed closer, obviously eager. “What did you bring?”

“Good food this time,” Ivoreth answered vaguely, “not trash-heap leavings.” She dug into the bandaging at her arm and finally pulled out the bundle she’d tucked away hours earlier. “Look! Bread – and even some cheese! And fruit!”

She tore the thick slab of bread into two equal parts and handed one into her brother’s hands. Daren stuffed the bread into his mouth and chewed vigorously, his eyes wide with pleasure. Dropping from a squat to sitting on the floor, Ivoreth felt Raini climb slowly into her lap – and she tore a small piece from the soft, white center of the slice and put it into the toddler’s hand. “Here, Raini – eat this. It will do you good.”

The tiny child stuffed the bread in her mouth and chewed only a little bit before swallowing the lump whole. “Smaller bites, Raini,” Ivoreth directed, breaking off another piece of the softer bread and handing it to her. “You don’t want to choke.” Her face flamed, remembering having to be told the same thing not long before. After handing her sister a third piece of the soft white center of the slice, Ivoreth retrieved the slice of cheese and broke it in half. Daren’s hand was out for his share immediately, while it took some coaxing to get Raini to take hers to nibble on. Daren obviously remembered the taste of cheese and enjoyed it – but the last time they’d been able to afford any was long before Raini was able to enjoy it.

Ivoreth could see the hunger in her little brother’s eyes twinkle in the dim light as he gazed at the pieces of fruit while trying to be patient while his little sister ate her fill. It was very hard to watch him be hungry. “Here.” She handed him one of the slices and watched it vanish in a single bite. Raini had at long last polished off her piece of bread and the cheese, and Ivoreth handed her a slice too. The toddler took her slice and sucked on it, her mouth turning up in the first smile Ivoreth had seen from her sister in almost a week.

“You aren’t eating, Ivo?” Daren asked around the fruit.

She shook her head. “I had some earlier – I’m fine.” She carefully bound the remains of the fruit back up into the square of material and tucked it back into the bandage on her arm. It was another very small meal for the little ones – something to be carefully guarded against some of the others. She hadn’t missed the jealous glances from the half-grown boy sprawled against the wall a few paces away.

She motioned with her nose. “Bring that blanket over here – help me tuck us all in.”

“You not gonna out again today?”

“Not until dark.” Ivoreth shuddered. She couldn’t defend herself anymore, and would have to trust to the cover of darkness for protection now. Moreover, without Da’s knife, there would be no more pouch strings – no more coin with which to buy food or medicine until she found another way to steal things that could be traded for coin. And until she had something else to wear, she wouldn’t be able to stand idlely around the shops or booths waiting to snitch fresher food either. “I’ll go out after dark and see if old Garlain’s tossed something edible, though.”

Raini quickly settled down on her big sister’s lap beneath the cover of the blanket, and she soon fell into a restless sleep interrupted all too often with a barking cough. Daren had his head pillowed on her bad arm, but the aching pressure was reassuring. Ivoreth breathed in a sigh of relief. They were both still here – both still alive – and that was all that mattered. She wouldn’t let Raini down the way she had Evien; one way or the other, Raini would live and get well again.

The quiet and dripping of the cistern water was soothing to Ivoreth. As her eyes closed, she thought once more of the grand and confusing man who had sat in the Guard’s chair next to her, running through everything she’d seen and heard in that rich room in the Healing Houses. The eyes of that man – one who had been called Lord Elladan – had been so beautiful and kind, and his plea to be trusted had sounded so real. What a disappointment to find out he was no better than any of the others!

Besides, what kind of name is “Elladan”?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ivoreth shifted uncomfortably against the cistern wall, her dreams anything but good ones.

“You have to get that sister of yours out of here.” Balil sounded grim.

“She has as much right in there as the rest of us,” Ivoreth argued.

“She’s sick,” Jarem shook his head. “She’ll make the rest of us sick too.”

“It’s just a cold,” Ivoreth complained. “Nobody’s thrown you out when you start coughing.”

“This isn’t just a cold, and you know it. The rest of us agreed, Ivo. She’s got to go.” Balil’s two younger brothers had Evien between them, and they shoved her into Ivoreth’s arms the moment they had her close enough.

Evien did look bad. Her face was pasty-white and drooping, as if she had no energy to hold her head up. She’d been sick since the last time she’d gone out to bring back food – food that none of the rest had been able to stomach. Evien had declared that if nobody else wanted it, she’d eat it all herself – and had. Ivoreth had wondered if she should have insisted her sister throw the mess away untouched, but had said nothing. Bad food hadn’t bothered any of them that much before…

“But it’s cold outside the drain. Where will we stay?”

“It doesn’t matter. She can’t stay here.” Jarem declared solemnly.

“What about Daren and Raini? I can’t just take them out into the cold and the rain…”

“They’re fine where they are – and they can stay. But she goes.” Balil turned away. “She doesn’t come back until she’s well again – or you all go.”

Evien leaned hard against Ivoreth and coughed miserably.

The dream shifted.

“Evi – wake up! Come on…” Ivoreth sobbed.

Rain continued to pour down in a cold stream, keeping the small channel between buildings half-flooded and the two girls within soaked. All of the other small refuges were full of others in similar circumstances – none of them very healthy anymore. Ivoreth had spent the better part of the last day looking futilely for a blanket, cloth, anything to keep her little sister warm.

And now she had returned – and Evi wouldn’t answer her. Her face was a strange color of yellow-blue, and she was oddly stiff.

“Evi! Wake up!” Ivoreth shook her sister hard, but the girl didn’t move at all. Ivoreth put her hand on her sister’s chest – then drew it away in shock to find it ice-cold and utterly still. As the horror built, she backed away from the body on the ground, which had somehow become so much smaller – and the hair faded from dark and long to shoulder length and mud-colored. Ivoreth looked a little more closely and then gasped.

“Noooo…”

Ivoreth shuddered and jerked awake, then looked down into her lap when Raini once more let go with a sharp cough before snuggling closer beneath the thin blanket. Tears slipped to Ivoreth’s cheek as the touch of the child’s skin against hers burned.

Not again! Merciful All-Father, not again!