Chapter Thirteen – Their reward.
Margaret gazed down at her youngest sister and she could see the sadness and fear welling up in her.
“It isn’t going to end this way” she said before stomping off. Evelyn followed her outside and noticed she wore forest boots. Meaning she could only be going one place.
“But how can Scott help us now?” she wondered to herself. Margaret kept her hopes high as she ventured deeper into the forest.
A howling nearby didn’t scare her but assured her she was getting closer. She knew that Scott was always with the wolves to make sure they didn’t get in trouble.
A snarling was made right behind her and she turned with a smile.
“Take me to Scott, please” she said politely. The wolf responded by growling loudly and then howling to his other pack members that he has found FOOD.Têxt © NôvelDrama.Org.
Margaret immediately sensed this and began running. With her high pitched screams she hoped Scott would find her.
*******
(Galdrish. Camp of Galdrish Royal Soldiers)
A high ranking official in black full amour walks into an old dusty library with another junior ranked soldier.
They both climb a ladder to bring down a book holding files of their past soldiers. A young girl runs into the library shouting “father”. The high ranking official glared at her making her retreat, sadly.
“General, you haven’t been home for a while. Why don’t I handle this rewards while you go to your daughter and wife?” the junior soldier suggested.
The General acted like no one had spoken and carried down more books from shelves. When he had enough he goes to a seat and sat down.
“It is almost fifteen years. I don’t want to forget this man’s family like I forgot them before” the General said as he swiped through the pages of the book.
His junior sat beside him checking the other book he had brought down, “The soldiers Scarface and Xena?”.
The General nodded.
“You didn’t forget Scarface and Xena’s children. It was reported that Scarface’s elder brother, Sylvester, took them. The benefits were for children of dead soldiers with no other family. The girls still had their uncle so they’d live well”.
The junior nodded as he spoke.
The General disagreed, “They deserved the reward as they lost both parents in the war. Scarface had said his kids didn’t know his brother before as they didn’t like each other. The kids deserved all the help we got and I won’t wait till fifteen years to give them this pension reward”.
The junior nodded again. His superior had made up his mind so nothing can be done about it.
“I’d find Sylvester’s location and send the reward there” he saluted.
“Give it to Evelyn, Scarface’s eldest daughter. Scarface next of kin after his wife, Xena, was Evelyn, not Sylvester. Remember that. She is an adult now so can handle the money” the General said.
His junior saluted again and left.
“I hope you’d forgive me my dear Scarface for neglecting your children when you gave your life to save your village and General” the General mourned.
******
Margaret was still panting. Scott waited for her patiently to catch her breath before asking what in the hell brought her back to the forest.
“Lydia is about getting married” Margaret struggled to say. There was no visible surprise in Scott’s face.
“You have to help us. Role-play as someone trying to marry her. But…” she paused to catch her breath. Her breath hitched when she remembered that Scott needed money to marry Lydia. No man could marry a girl at their village without having loads if gold.
“What?” Scott asked her when he saw the fear on her face.
“You are rich, right?” it was a honest question.
“Do I look like I am?” he asked back, a smirk playing on his lips.
She fell on him and started crying. All her running and screaming just to get to him. All her the positivity she was holding unto. All were wasted.
Scott wasn’t really understanding why she was crying but he consoled her either ways and asked to take her home.
Margaret agreed, holding unto a small pint of hope.
Halfway, he left to get something and came back to her with a bag.
Lydia was reciting her lines to her new family. The usual lines soon-to-be weds say to their in-laws.
Madam Lara’s smug didn’t leave her face and her son was having one of his own. Evelyn wished so hard she could slap the smug from their faces but it would not help anything.
She looked outside for the thirteenth time, hoping Margaret would be back with whatever, or whoever she left to bring.
She saw rather that her uncle was having a conversation with a man outside the door.
The man seemed like a soldier and looked uninterested in talking with her uncle but the old man seemed to be waging the soldier from coming in.
Evelyn nodded to Lydia to continue her recitals, the left to the door.
“Twisthat!” it escaped her lips. The soldier looked up at her and a big smile appeared on his face.
He saluted, “At your service, daughter of Xena”. They shared a short laughter after that.
Evelyn eyed her uncle wickedly. Why would be keeping such an important guest standing?
Twisthat was their father’s soldier friend. He usually played with them when he visited.
He was called “Twisthat” because during his trainee days, he used a hat with twisted edges to train.
It was a memorial gift from his late father that encouraged him. Twisthat became his name and he had accepted it.
It has been fifteen years since Evelyn saw him and she wondering what he was doing here.
Her brain reminded her of the short prayer she had made to the God to bring a helper that would deliver Lydia from the hellish marriage she was getting into.
Was he the answer? She led him towards the goat pen, away from her Uncle, to talk.
“I am sorry I didn’t bother find you girls after so long. I am here to repay the debts and to reward you the pension for your parents service” he went straight to the point.
Evelyn had already guessed that it was his reason. She always knew that at the end of fifteen years, she and her sister’s would be entitled to some rewards.
She had that as a backup plan because she knew the fifteen years would elapse within the next two months.
Twisthat brought out two silver boxes from his backpack, “For your both parents” he bowed. He began struggling to untie the bag’s rope that was fastened to his stomach.
Evelyn turned around to open the boxes and, not to her surprise anyway, she saw rows of gold bars arranged neatly inside.
A smug smile of her own appeared. Now she could kick asses with confidence.