Nesta came charging out of the house when Kel and Mr. Thomas trotted up on the man's horse.
"You had me so worried, Kel," the old woman called. "I was about to go over there, myself!"
"There's nothing to worry about, Granny," Kel replied with a grin. "I sent those thieves running with their tails between their legs!"
Nesta frowned, looking between Kel and the man behind her.
"Alright, alright, you can tell us about it later," she finally sighed, turning back toward the door. "Wait here. I'll go get-"
"Papa!!" Mr. Thomas's young daughter suddenly bolted out of the house, nearly knocking Nesta to the ground.
"My girl," Mr. Thomas smiled, sliding off the horse into a crouching position with his arms stretched open to catch the child dashing toward him.
Kel jumped down from the horse as well, careful to avoid disturbing the sweet reunion of father and daughter.
After politely yet immediately declining Nesta's offer to come inside for a meal, Mr. Thomas gently lifted his daughter into the saddle. Kel lingered nearby watching the pair.
"So, this is goodbye?" she said quietly.
Earlier, after Mr. Thomas had finished telling his story, he had informed Kel that he planned to leave the village as soon as possible.
'I can't take any chances,' he had muttered bitterly. 'Even the smallest opening can lead to disaster.'
Rather than fighting off ruthless bandits, as Nesta was envisioning, Kel and Mr. Thomas spent most of the time packing up the man's important belongings and burning nearly everything else. With loaded saddlebags hidden safely off the side of the road, Mr. Thomas planned to pick up his daughter and depart without bothering to return to the small wooden house.
"Take care, Kel," Mr. Thomas smiled sadly, pausing with a hand hovering over the saddle. "I hope your secrets, whatever they are, don't catch up to you here. I hope you can be free."
"Y-you too," Kel stammered as Mr. Thomas settled himself behind his daughter and whipped the reins.
It was only as she watched the strong brown steed galloping once again down the road that the pointlessness of her response dawned on her.
Mr. Thomas's secrets had already caught up to him. With a young child relying on him and the constant threat of being found, he would never be free.
If nothing else, hopefully her awkward reciprocation had at least conveyed the goodwill she felt toward the man.
"We all have our secrets here in Tael.." Kel mumbled, finally turning back toward the familiar old cabin.
Mr. Thomas's earnest warm wishes expressed to the mysterious farm boy who helped him escape his hunters that day turned out to be something more of an omen. Though the skies were full of sun and wispy white clouds at that time, the air began to prickle as if in anticipation of a massive storm.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Nesta winked at Kel as the two scrubbed a small stack of wooden dishes.
After a long afternoon dedicated to catching up on the chores left unfinished that morning, the day was finally drawing to a close.
"Huh? Oh.." Kel had almost forgotten about her awkward night crammed into a tight space with Dash. "Actually, I ended up sleeping better than usual."
"Is that so.." Nesta smirked.
Kel raised an eyebrow at the woman. "Why?"
Nesta grinned playfully. "I just thought the two of you would enjoy some alone time together."
COUGH!
Whirling around, Kel saw Harrow stifling another cough as he pretended to be engrossed in the shears he was relashing.
"Wait…" Kel glanced rapidly between Nesta's smirk and Harrow's slowly reddening cheeks. "You-"
"We're not so old as to not recognize a pair of young lovers," Nesta replied.
THUD!
Dash, we have indeed caused a strange misunderstanding, Kel grimaced to herself, bending to retrieve the bowl that had fallen from her shocked hands.
pαпᵈα-noνɐ1·сoМ "Tsk," Nesta clicked her tongue. "Such a clumsy young boy."
"We're really not like that," Kel immediately protested. "Dash and I.. we're just friends!"
"Of course," Nesta giggled. "You have no need to worry though, right Dear?"
"Right," Harrow nodded obediently to Nesta's prompt. "Everyone has their own secrets out here."
No, Kel cringed. She couldn't spend the rest of her life as the other half of a taboo couple, living in the outskirts of the North to fulfill their forbidden love.
"I suppose Mr. Thomas's house will be vacant very soon then," Nesta rubbed her chin, "if the two of you want to live there."
"H-how.. No, why.." Kel stopped.
Nesta and Harrow were both quick to catch on to things. Of course, they'd already guessed that Mr. Thomas was leaving town, and, thanks to Dash's antics, she'd probably never convince them that he wasn't her lover.
Just as they hadn't pressed her about the events of the morning, the old couple wouldn't be so forthcoming about their own business either. Asking any questions or making any further arguments would only be a waste of her breath.
"You can think whatever you want," Kel finally sighed. "I'm going to bed."
"Sleep well! Don't forget that planting starts tomorrow!" Nesta's cheery voice echoed behind her as she stalked to her room.
The day of Dash's departure and Mr. Thomas's frenzied flight became a memory of a speck of entertainment as the following dull days passed by one after another. Planting season had begun, starting later in the North than Kel was accustomed to thanks to the unyielding cold, and Harrow and Kel spent every hour of sunlight out in the fields.
"Clearing those weeds," Harrow would occasionally mumble, "you didn't do half bad."
The fact that he brought up the almost-compliment repeatedly as they worked, however, meant that he must have been rather impressed with Kel's land-clearing work. Or, perhaps, he just wasn't sure what to talk with his wayward grandson about.
It was during one of those lengthy, dull days, when Kel spied something of interest in the distance.
"Look there," she called out to Harrow, who was bent over a particularly unforgiving hardened dirt patch.
As the object became more clear, however, Kel's interest turned to dismay.
She had been expecting a friendly neighbor at best, Dash returning from his tasks at worst, but the figures coming toward them were something she could never have dreamed of.
Rising above the group, slowly coming into focus against the sunlight, was a black flag. As it hung lazily in the stale air, intermittent bits of vivid crimson could be seen between the folds.
"Soldiers.. Serin soldiers…" Kel dropped her sickle, running toward Harrow.
Had they come for Mr. Thomas after hearing the mercenaries' report?
Or had they come for her?
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