Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Sleep and Suggestions

Chapter 20:

Sleep and suggestions

After Neil’s ill timed comment, the rest of dinner was far more… exciting. The peaceful family quickly erupted into shouting, intense questioning, and a few “I told you so’s” about Neil being too young to travel. Once the initial uproar subsided, Hershel managed to negotiate with his family, postponing the discussion until the three of us had a chance to sleep and settle our nerves from the trip.

The family reluctantly agreed, but not without consequences. As Neil and I made our way down the hall, I cast a sympathetic glance at Hershel, who was now sleeping alone on the couch, a single blanket draped over his slumped form in the dark.

At the end of the hall, Neil led me up a wide staircase to the second floor. Railing framed the top of the stairway in a near perfect circle, with six doors spaced evenly around the circumference of the landing. Neil guided me to the door closest to the stairs and turned the handle; the wood creaked softly as the door slowly swung inward.

“This is where you’ll be sleeping tonight. Gran usually keeps it ready for guests or extended family,” he said, stifling a yawn. “I’m in the room right next door, so if you need anything, just knock.”

I looked past him into the dimly lit room. The soft light of it’s singular rune lamp revealed a modest space furnished with simple pieces, including a reasonably sized bed layered with blankets and pillows. The blankets were well worn but the display was very inviting, especially to someone as road weary as myself.

“Oh, just a heads up,” Neil added, pointing toward the far wall. “There isn’t a window in here, so don’t count on the sun to wake you up. Be careful not to sleep all day.”

I nodded in understanding, and stepped into the room. A faint scent of peppermint filled the air causing the tension in my body to gradually be lulled into a state of rest. I turned to bid Neil goodnight, but I found that he was already gone.

As I settled into the firm but comfortable bed, my thoughts that had been racing since the night of the attack slowly began to quiet. The rune lamp’s light gradually dimmed, until at last, I was enveloped in absolute darkness. I surrendered to sleep, the weight of the day pulling me into a deep dreamless rest.

When I awoke, the room was still impossibly dark. I stretched on the bed, letting the tension ease from my muscles before reluctantly swinging my feet to the floor. I groped along the wall, hoping to reactivate the rune lamp, but eventually gave up and stumbled toward the door.

Blinding light seared my eyes as I stepped onto the upstairs landing. Sunlight streamed through the skylight overhead, high in the afternoon sky, leaving me completely disoriented. I couldn’t have slept this late, could I?

As I made my way downstairs, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by how long I had slept in. I sighed inwardly, my mother would have my hide if she knew I took advantage of someone’s hospitality like this.

I hurried down the hallway, hoping to find Hershel and apologize. Due to my embarrassment, I failed to notice the trap that had been set in place, as a small net landed on top of my head.

“CARROT MAN IS FINALLY AWAKE, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”

Three small children let out a battlecry as they rushed my legs in an attempt to bring me to the ground. I couldn’t help but play along, laughing as I let them bring me down to the floor.

“Do you surrender, Carrot Man?” the tallest of the three yelled, as he wrapped himself around my arm. “If you don’t surrender, then I’ll have no choice but to use my ultimate move.”

“Ok, ok, I surrender,” I said playfully, “you three have defeated the carrot man.”

“Whew, that was a close one,” the smallest of the three said. “Mom would have been angry if we used that attack.”

The three boys shared a guilty look, and then nodded in agreement with the smaller boy’s wisdom.

“Wait, are you three wearing capes?” I asked, looking them over. All three boys wore matching capes, each with a unique letter sewn into the fabric.

“Duh, heroes always wear capes,” the tallest said matter of factly. “Gran put our initials on them so we wouldn’t fight over them.”

Looking at the three, I noticed a single stitched letter on each of their capes, the tallest wore an A, the middle child a C, and the youngest a K.

“So, what are your names? I should at least know the names of the three heroes who defeated me.”

“I’m Allen, master of fire!” the tallest shouted, standing on one foot with his arms raised in the air.

“I’m Chris, master of… um, I forgot…oh, fire!” the middle child said, trying to strike a similar pose.

“Noooo, I’m fire! You’re water, dummy!” Allen argued as he wobbled, struggling to keep his balance.

“Don’t call me a dummy!” Chris shouted, shoving his brother off his foot. The two immediately tumbled to the floor, wrestling and yelling at each other.

“AND I’M KENNETH, LORD OF DARKNESS!” the youngest shouted with a guttural growl. He tried to strike a pose as well, but soon gave up and launched himself onto one of his brothers, joining the fray with a gleeful cackle.

As the three boys continued to wrestle, their mother eventually came into the hallway, a look of exhausted patience on her face. “Boys. Outside. Now.”

The three boys immediately jumped to their feet, each giving me a quick punch to the leg as they ran past.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“See you later, Carrot Man!” one of them shouted as their capes fluttered behind them on their way out the front door.

“I’m sorry about the boys,” their mother said wearily, as she extended her hand out to me. “I’m their mother, Silvia, I didn’t get a chance to talk with you the other night.”

“It’s nice to meet you” I replied politely, shaking her extended hand. “Yeah, last night got a little heated. I’m thankful for the chance to sleep in though, I don’t think I’ve ever been able to do that. It’s a little embarrassing to be honest.”

Silvia laughed and gave me a amused look. “Bless your heart. Sam, you didn’t just sleep in, you slept a whole day and a half.”

From the kitchen Ariel’s voice called out in a slightly mocking tone. “About time you got up, Gran said I needed to make you lunch. So sit down at the table while I cook.”

I followed Silvia into the kitchen, where Ariel was pan frying fish and ladling hot broth into a bowl. Through the kitchen window, I could see Hershel talking with his sons as the three boys in capes ran chaotically around them.

Ariel placed the food in front of me before sitting down in her own chair at the end of the table. She eyed me expectantly as I took my first bite of the fish. It was crunchy, a little too salty, but paired nicely with the light broth and rice.

“Well?” she asked, not bothering to wait for me to finish chewing.

“It’s, um, perfect… thank you,” I said, as I desperately drank the broth to wash the salt from my mouth.

Ariel sighed and sat back in her chair. “It’s too salty, isn’t it?”

“No, no, it’s not bad,” I replied with a reassuring smile.

“Damnit,” She tsk’d, “I knew it was too salty. Why is cooking so difficult?”

She leaned back in her chair and began pouting to her aunt.

“Why did I choose a Path based on cooking? I have no talent at all! Gran said I’d figure it out, but noooo, I’m still over salting even the most basic meals.”

The other night, when we had arrived, I had been too tired to pay much attention to the people around me. Everything had been a blur that was now gradually coming back into focus. Now, with a clear head on my shoulders, I couldn’t help but truly notice Ariel for the first time.

She wore a simple dark green dress, cinched at her waist with a white apron. Her black hair was pulled back into a messy bun, exposing the soft, pale skin of her neck. Her brown eyes seemed to smile as she lamented to her aunt about the failures of her cooking.

Compared to the girls I knew back in Wheat Hollow, none of them compared to the woman sitting across from me now, well, none except for Grace.

I quickly buried that last intrusive thought and turned my attention back towards the conversation in front of me. That was when I realized Ariel had asked me a question and I hadn’t been paying attention.

“Well?” she demanded, her voice rising. Ariel looked at me flatly, her eyes narrowing with a mix of frustration and amusement.

“You wake up late, I cook you lunch, and now you’re ignoring me?”

“No, no, it’s not like that at all,” I replied weakly, throwing my hands up in surrender.

She did not accept my surrender.

As she continued to pick a fight with me, I couldn’t help but think back to an argument my brother and I had once witnessed between our parents. Our mother had picked apart everything our father had said, until she angrily left the room, leaving him to wash dishes alone in defeated silence. I had a feeling, despite barely knowing the girl, I would soon suffer a similar fate.

When all hope seemed lost and I was about to apologize for crimes I had not committed, salvation came in the form of a smiling Neil as he ran through the front door of the house.

“Sam! You’re finally awake,” he said in his usual hurried pace. “I warned you about that room, but it was definitely the best sleep of your life, right? Oh, and don’t worry, I fed Blue while you were sleeping.”

Neil looked between his sister and I before continuing. “Ariel, leave him alone, just because you saw him naked doesn’t mean you can talk to him like you’re dating.”

Ariel immediately stood up as embarrassment flushed through her cheeks. “Neil, you little…”

“You peeped on him naked?” Silvia said, as she joined in teasing. “Ariel! I didn’t know you were that type of girl. Hershel brings one man home and you’re already sizing him up!”

“No! It wasn’t like that, Gran said..UGH..” Ariel stammered before storming out of the kitchen.

Neil stood there for a moment with a satisfied smile on his face. “Being a younger brother is the best.”

Before stepping outside, I took time to help Mrs. Silvia wash the dishes that Ariel had left behind in the kitchen. I knew my mother would be furious if she ever found out I hadn’t done my part as a guest in someone else’s home.

Granny Claybrook entered the room shortly after we started the chore, and promptly shoo’d Neil and I towards the front door.

“Good to see you awake Sam, now shoo, you have plenty to do, and no guest of mine is going to wash dishes in my home.” She turned to Neil and gave him a stern look, “Neil why weren’t you washing these dishes in his place?”

Neil paled and then pointed at the counter “Oh I think Ariel left a stain.” When Gran turned around to look, Neil pulled my sleeve and ushered me out the front door of the house.

We made our way over to Hershel and his sons as they were discussing a project they were currently working on. Upon seeing me, Hershel gave me a broad smile, clearly amused by my sleeping in.

“Well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence,” Hershel said, clearly trying to draw out my discomfort.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I responded, taking the easy jab. “I don’t think I’ve ever slept that much in my life. My mom would have had my hide for that.”

“Ours too,” Theodore said. “After having grandkids, though, she lost a lot of her spice.”

“The hell she has,” Hershel said grumpily. “I’ve been on the couch the past two nights.”

William and Theodore laughed at their father’s expense before finally turning to look at me.

Neil’s father, William, reached his hand out to me once again as he had the other day. “Sam, we can’t repay what you did for my son and this grouchy old man. As far as we’re concerned, our family is your family. Anything you need, just ask, and we’ll do our best to help.”

I reached out and shook his hand firmly. “Please don’t feel the need to repay me. Your family has been good to me, and I’m thankful to have met you all.”

The men nodded, agreeing with the sentiment.

“Alright, lad, I have a few suggestions for you, and you can do with them what you will. You can head to the Duke’s estate to verify your uncle’s will before visiting your property. It’ll delay seeing your new home, but it’ll save you a fair bit of headache if anyone comes snooping around. Naturally, you’re welcome to stay with us another night, or as long as you like, for that matter. The other option is to head straight to your property now and worry about the legal business later.”

Despite my growing impatience to see the land I was inheriting, it did make sense to take care of legal matters first. It would also give me a chance to get a better look at the city.

“I’d like to get a look at the city and take care of legal business first if that’s alright with you all,” I said, agreeing with Hershel’s suggestion.

“Aye, good, then we’ll send Neil with you to show you around the city, and y’all can pick up some meat from the butcher on your way back,” Hershel said, as he pulled silver coins from his belt pouch.

“Actually, Dad, I think we’ll need Neil to help with the build today. He needs the experience if we’re going to guarantee another carpenter in the family,” William said, giving his son a quieting look to cut off Neil’s protest.

“What if he gets lost?” Neil complained, looking to me for support.

“We’ll just send Ariel with him instead,” William said simply. “She’s better at picking out the better cuts of meat anyway, plus I need to try to pull Sam into the family somehow.”

The men laughed as my cheeks began to blush at the implication.

The three boys that had been running wild around the yard were then commissioned by their father to go find and bring Ariel outside.

After a few minutes the trio of caped heroes returned as they ran around Ariel in a frenzy. They lined up before their father and saluted, “Captain, we have brought the troll as requested.”

Ariel scowled at the boys causing them to run away screaming and laughing, “RUN CARROT MAN! THE TROLL IS DANGEROUS!”

I laughed but quickly hid my smile upon seeing Ariel’s frustrated face turn my direction.

Despite Neil’s pleading to come along on the trip, Ariel and I eventually headed out, and made our way down the coastal road towards the city of Salt Brine.