Flavor of the Day. Pocky Chain. (Horizon Tales)
AUTHOR: Shrimp
CHALLENGE: Flavor of the Day: rejectamenta (things or matter rejected as useless or worthless.); Pocky Chain
WORD COUNT: 800
RATING: PG-13
NOTES: Saw the FotD and got inspired! Each othe Vala's friends is kind of an outcast so this is a pocky chain of how she meets them. Sorry for being so slow in reading and commenting and posting! School started up and I'm trying to get back in the groove.
“Vala. Vala, honey, wake up.”
Vala roused herself from sleep only to discover that she was being held in her father’s arms. She stirred and blinked, wrapping her arms around his neck and peering around. He was holding her over his bed. Her mother was there looking tired and sweaty and not at all how Vala knew her to look.
“Say hello to Elissa. She’s your sister.” She squinted at the wriggling mound atop her mother’s chest. Her father held her closer. Elissa was red and damp and wrinkled. Vala didn’t think she was going to like her.
“Hello, Elissa.”
***
“Hey, come here,” a stranger hissed. Vala tried to ignore him. He hissed again. She sighed and walked over. “Are you looking for a job on a ship?” She scrutinized him carefully. He was strange looking but small and didn’t seem to have a weapon on him. She nodded. He smiled a tight toothed smile. “The ship I work on is looking for a new boy.” Vala felt herself frown. “It’s just a term. I’m a boy. You’re a boy. Bottom rung is a boy. You interested?”
”Yeah.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Vala.”
“You can call me Ekvy.”
***
“Are they… dead?” The strange man asked in a whisper. Vala went to place a comforting hand on his shoulder but thought better of it at the last moment. She unfastened her cloak and handed it to him so that he could cover up. He draped it over his front and looked around with terrified eyes.
“What’s your name?” She tried to sound soothing. Her mind was reeling. This was all too bizarre. A look of panic passed over his face as if the very question were something to be afraid of.
“Sans…?” The word almost a question.
“Good name.”
***
“What do you want?” Vala asked, turning to confront the person who had been following her. It was the bard from the bar. Vala forgot her name. The woman smiled.
“To make a deal.” Vala didn’t respond. She continued, “If you aren’t working with Zuan anymore you’ll need a new contact for jobs.”
“Maybe I’m done with middlemen.” She crossed her arms over her chest and watched as the other woman smiled wider.
“You should be. We aren’t men. We shouldn’t do business with them.” Vala was intrigued despite herself. “Let Garsé find you all the jobs you need.”
“Okay.”
***
Vala swallowed her nerves and kept her back to the wall. Towards the front a man plucked eagerly at an out of tune lute and sang a song in a language Vala didn’t understand. It was upbeat, a different rhythm than the music, and mostly being ignored by everyone around.
“My brother the fool,” a voice at her side groaned. “I’m Alis. Good to see another woman about.” Vala looked to her side momentarily shocked to see the man on the lute. Only it wasn’t him, merely his twin. Twins were supposed to be lucky. Maybe that was a sign.
***
“Who is this fair creature that watches the back of my sister so well?” Vala looked up from her sword in time to see Alis slap her brother across the face. For a moment his cheek matched the splotch of red that stained hers. “That is not to say that you, dear sister, are not also a fair creature.” She slapped his other cheek and they were distinct from each other again. She said something to him in the language from earlier. He shrugged. She stomped off. “’Emis,’ she says, ‘you are a fool’. She does not lie.” Emis grinned.
***
Vala was surprised to see that Elissa’s suitor was standing in the entryway. She cursed when he saw her. “Elissa isn’t here,” she said quickly. The young man bit his lip and sighed, disappointed. “You can… wait.” Vala felt sorry for him. She understood, to a point, how he felt. Trapped by society to live in a manner he didn’t want.
“Thank you,” he said gratefully. Probably taking it as a sign of Elissa’s impending forgiveness. “I was afraid to meet you. Elissa speaks very highly of you.” He extended his hand. “I’m Bastian.”
”I know,” she said purposely casual.
***
“There’s something I need to ask.” The rebel king nodded. “Why does everyone think you’re dead?” The older man laughed tiredly.
“You’ll have to pose that question to my son.” He gestured at the heavily armored guard who had been walking behind them. Vala turned her attention there, confused. Even beneath the helmet she could sense the guard’s discomfort.
“Your majesty-“ The king held up a silencing hand. The guard’s posture sunk and he removed his helmet dejectedly. He was wild hair, bright eyes, and a tense smile.
“This is Uther, my oldest son.”
”The bastard one,” he corrected.