Silent Rose Library, PaxOku, Homare-jima, Tokuno, Chesapeake (PaxLair Times) – October 17, 2009 – by Tatania Karthina –
Kelin continues to mope about, worried about his father. Everyone continued to try to keep his spirits up and although he tried not to let it show, everyone who loved Kelin could tell that he was sad and really missed the man who had helped them escape the ordeal.
Finally, his Aunt Chyara decided on the thing that would surely cheer up everyone. She had looked as if someone had hit her in the head with a troll’s club then her eyes lit up. “Kelin! Let’s go shopping in Luna! That always cheers me up.”
Kelin heads to Luna with his Aunt Chyara with his pockets jingling with gold. Chy, in her element chatters happily away to her nephew as they visit this shop and that. Chy buying clothes, of course and helping Kelin choose gifts for the other kids. For the girls, Kelin and Chy chose beautiful dresses with hair ribbons to match and for the boys, he chose wooden swords. Broadrick got a toy ship since he was almost old enough to learn to sink it.
Kelin did notice a young man seeming to follow his Aunt from vendor to vendor. He was a well built man with brown hair and kind eyes. Chyara seemed to not even notice the man. Kelin did and continued to watch the man watch his Aunt.
Finally, the young man motioned to Kelin. Kelin walked up to him and the man smiled to him. “Your sister is beautiful.”, he had said.
“Oh, that’s my Aunt Chyara. I’m Kelin Br…” a slight pause, “Steel”, Kelin replied.
“Oh, I see” said the man. “Is she married?”
“No Sir, Uncle Chad said she likes to shop too much for any man to afford her.”, Kelin said.
Sure enough, Chyara was avidly talking to a merchant who was constantly packing her pack llama’s pack. She finally looks around and frowns seeing Kelin talking with the man. When finishing her purchases, Chy walks up to the pair. For such a gregarious person, Chyara looks coldly to the man “Excuse me Sir. My nephew and I must go.”
Kelin looks to his Aunt as if she had suddenly sprung horns or worse. “Auntie! that’s Rude!”, Kelin said.
Chyara looks to Kelin looking flustered then squares her shoulders and looks once more to the man. “Forgive my rudeness Sir. These are troubled times and the safety of my nephew is top on my list of prioritys.”
The man looks to Chy, his dark gaze traveling up and down and back up again before meeting her gaze directly, “There is nothing to be forgiven. I was only speaking to the young man of you actually. I know it must be difficult to protect someone you obviously love when you’re such a dainty person yourself. Then again, you are a feisty wee thing.”
Kelin shakes his head “no” wildly behind his Aunt Chy’s back then palms his face as he sees his Aunt almost blow up like a blow fish. Before Chyara’s rage could break over the stranger though, he thrusts a Rose of Trinsic into her hands and bows. “All that beauty and you have spirit too.” The man grins to Kelin, winks to Chyara and turns to stride away.
Chad, Khali and Chyara all stayed for dinner that night and Kelin didn’t miss a chance to pick on his Aunt. “Aunt Chy got a boyfriend today. She would have anyway if she hadn’t been so mean to him.”, Kelin said.
Chyara eyes Kelin with a look that said all too plainly that she’d like to throttle him. This of course had the effect to have everyone hit Chy with question after question. After a time, Chase who was grinning as if it were already Christmas said, “So let me get this straight. You, my dear sister are so smitten with this young man that you couldn’t get a word in edgewise? This is a man I must meet!”, Chase exclaimed.
Chyara protested, “Of course not! He was rude and arrogant and a beast! He wasn’t even very handsome.” At this last, Chyara’s cheeks blazed. “Besides, there’s nothing I could do about it anyway. I don’t even know his name.”
**The following Afternoon**
Kelin and Gaius had been practicing with their wooden swords when they sat down on a bench under a tree in the garden to catch their breath. Chad and Chase soon wandered by and stopped on the other side of the tree speaking low to one another. “Chase, this is the break we’ve both been looking for. This man, Dalton is his name said he had been in the Pirate camp to trade with them. He saw Gnieus there. Yesterday, Kelin said just enough to him that he realized who Kelin was and that he was my nephew. Kelin is the spitting image of his father as well. Once he saw Kelin, he put it all together.”, Chad said.
“How do you know he is not working for them?” Chase asked.
“There is no way we can know for sure”, Chad paused. “I’ve known him since he was eight years old. and he’s always been a good boy. I’d wager that he is now a good man. When I asked him how we could be certain, he said his Father’s people rely on him too much for him to be anything but honest and straight. The man walks freely in our world and with the Savages. He barters for the Savages and I’ve been on the other side of that bartering to know that he is as good as his word. He does the best he can for them.”, Chad finished.
“Alright Chad”, Chase said “I trust your judgment but I do want to meet him before anything is set in concrete. Kelin is as dear to me as my own sons. I have a hard time remembering sometimes that he is my nephew and not my own. I’d kill anyone with my bare hands that threatened that boy.”
“I know Chase. Just expect us for dinner tonight. We can talk after the kids go to bed. I’ll bring Drago and Lilly to spend the night. Have Chyara here as well just for the fun of seeing her get flustered. Dalton did inform me that he plans on Chyara being his wife. He said it was written in the stars or something to that effect”, Chad finished.
**Dinner Time**
Chad, Khali, Chyara and the kids had arrived before dinnertime. Chy was busy buffing her fingernails in the family room when Milla called to her from the kitchen. “Chy, can you give us a hand? Our guests will be here soon and I want everything ready.”, Milla said.
“Sure Milla”, Chy stands and makes her way to the kitchen muttering the entire time, “Just so you know, I only do this because it’s only family around. I never want anyone to see me do anything remotely domestic. People get funny ideas when a Lady does domestic chores ya know.”
Milla and Khali look at each other and roll their eyes trying really hard not to laugh as dinner preparations are finished and the table is set with the best china. Just as fate would have it, Chyara, wearing an apron so she won’t get anything on her new dress, walks into the dining room carrying the platter with the huge roast on it just as Chad and Chase are showing the handsome young man with the kind eyes into the dining room. “Ah, be still my heart” The young man they had met in Luna the day before said, “Beauty, Spirit and well educated in domestics.”
Chase jumped to attention and grabbed the roast before Chyara could throw it at their guest. After setting the roast to the table, Chase quickly left to go round up the children. His laughter could be heard ringing throughout the house as Chyara removed the apron, muttering a string of curses that any Pirate would be proud to have in his vocabulary.
The guest is introduced as Dalton Savage, of the Savages near the swamps of Trinsic and also of Silvervale. Dalton had been raised in both the Savage Village and in Silvervale and as he had put it, “has the best of both worlds”.
“What do the Savages call you?”, asked Drago with interest.
“I am a man with three names”, replied Sunshine. “My Mother’s people and in your world I am known as Dalton. I prefer a childhood nickname, “Sunshine” and my Father’s people call me Two Faces.”
“Just wait till we tell Colum and Indy that we had a real Savage over to dinner!”, piped up Gaius.
Kelin and Chyara were unusually quiet during the meal as conversation continued around them, although to Milla’s delight, she did catch Chyara sneaking peaks at their handsome guest over and over. “And she had a strange expression on her face all night too Chase!”, she had told him later when they were alone. “A special gleam in her eyes that I’ve never seen there before.”
“I’m not sure about that Milla”, said Chase, “but I did overhear them arguing by the front gate when he left. Chy was threatening his life and he was vowing to prove his worth to her. If our baby sister is in love with him, she sure has a funny way of showing it.”
**Two Weeks Later**
Thanksgiving was drawing near and plans were being made to buy the largest turkey available. Chyara had been seen several times with Sunshine, walking hand in hand along the docks. Suddenly though, Sunshine had quit coming around and Chyara paced with seething anger that he had dumped her so easily. Chyara’s tempers became more pronounced as the days went by until an unexpected visitor showed up one day.
Chyara spotted him first and blinked seeing the older Savage ride right up to her brother’s home on his Ridgeback. The old man looked worried about something, so Chyara immediately sent for Chase and Uncle Earl. When the men arrived moments later, the old man dismounted and bowed to them all before speaking, “I am Chief Running Bear of the Savages. My son, Dalton, Sunshine as I call him has bid me to come to you should something go amiss. He was in the hopes that we could help one another.”, the Chief said.
“Sunshine has been missing for many days now. I fear the worst has happened to him. Do you know where he might be?” The old man spoke calmly, although it was easy to see that he was worried sick for his son.
“I have a partial map of where he could be but it doesn’t make any sense to me”, said Chad.
“Would you consent to come to my Village? I too have a partial map. Together we can find him, I hope.”
******
The Saga of Kelin and his adventures will continue in “The Adventures of Kelin 11 – “Savages and the Turkey”, coming soon to the bookstore at The PaxOku Silent Rose Library!
Peace and Knowledge be with you!
Tatania Karthina
17 October 2009