The Chosen (14 page)

Kathryn’s mind was sent back in time to the day Jasmine had taken her from the Blackwoods and remembered the house that had appeared out of nowhere. At leas
t
tha
t
mystery was now solved.

“Won’t that make people suspicious?” Tyler asked.

“Normally it might, but the magic also distorts their perceptions so that they believe that they’ve traveled different distances.”

“So,” David said slowly. “Only we can see it, but other Guardians can enter?”

“Exactly. You can see out and observe travelers around, but they can’t see in. You can make as much noise as you want to and they still won’t notice you’re here. Smoke from your cooking fires won’t be seen or smelled.”

“That is awesome!” Natalie exclaimed.

“That doesn’t mean you can be totally reckless when returning to the meadow. You must make every effort to keep from being followed,” Jasse said sternly. “There are those who have gifts, those who were not fit to be Guardians, and out of bitterness use their gifts for malevolence. They can move through the barrier,” he warned.

“Can the shield ever be removed?” Tyler asked suddenly.

Jasse hesitated. “It is possible to remove the shield, but it would take the combined power of two or more Elves, therefore it is highly unlikely that an enemy could remove it.” He paused, then continued, “It is required of the Guardians to patrol every radian there is daylight. How you choose to do it is up to you.”

“No night patrols?” David asked quickly, “None at all?”

Jasse winked at him. “Oh you could throw a couple in here and there, you know, keep the locals guessing. There’s also one other…organizational issue, if you will.”

“Oh?” Matt lifted an eyebrow. “I can’t wait to hear what this new rule is. Is it any like the crazy ones back at school that were utterly useless and ridiculous?”

Jasse lifted his own brow in response. “Contrary to what Matt believes,” he said, amused, “Every rule we imposed on you had a reason. You just never took the time to postulate what that reason might be?”

“What possible reason could there be to telling us to ‘pick up our sword’ and then immediately ‘put down our sword’ over and over a million times?” Matt demanded.

“Keeping to the original discussion topic,” Jasse said smoothly, ignoring the redhead, “this may seem a bit detail managed, but when it comes to room assignments there are two rooms that are specifically set aside for the family leader and his lieutenant.” At his words, Natalie’s face took on a pout which only soured more as he continued, “David and Kathryn’s rooms will be on the second floor. Everyone can pick whichever other room they would like, but the rooms on the second floor must be reserved for the family leader and the lieutenant.”

When he finished, Natalie wasn’t the only one upset. “How can a room be reserved for the lieutenant when most families don’t know who that will be until after they’ve lived together for several months?” Kathryn asked, speaking for the first time.

“Most families get a general sense on the journey to their new homes,” Jasse replied. “And the room assignments can always be flexible…so long as the lieutenant is in that particular room.” He eyed Kathryn for a moment before adding, “and don’t even think of trying to switch rooms once I leave. The Council chose you and David to lead this family,” he took a moment to look David in the eye. “That means you two will have additional duties and responsibilities. The rooms are furnished to serve those needs.”

“Understood,” David said calmly before Kathryn could try to argue her way into a room on the fifth floor.

That discussion ended, they began the arduous task of assigning rooms. Natalie insisted on sharing a tower with Lindsey while Amy wanted to be close to Kathryn’s room. Tyler refused to be in the same wing as Matt and then came the inevitable discussion of which guy would share a tower with two girls. Finally it was decided that Natalie, Lindsey, and Rachel would share the southwest tower; Jenna, Cass, and Amy would share the northeast; Daniel, Tyler, and Luke would take the southeast; and Matt, Leia, and Elizabeth would live in the northwest tower.

“Good luck,” Tyler muttered to Leia and Elizabeth. “If you smell smoke, get out as fast as you can.”

Elizabeth stared at him. “What does
that
mean?”

“
He
,” Tyler pointed to where Matt was in a lively discussion over school regulations with Daniel, “is a pyromaniac. Be careful.”

Elizabeth and Leia exchanged worried looks.

 
Jasse stayed until sunset, advising the new Guardians as to how to meet the expectations of the council, as well as the nobles, then he was off, bidding them farewell as he rode away.

“We might as well turn in,” David said as he closed the door. “We’ve got a lot to do tomorrow.”

The family said goodnight to each other and each went and claimed their bedrooms.

Kathryn entered her room cautiously, half expecting something lurking within the flickering shadows brought to life by her candle’s small flame to leap out and attack her. Or maybe that was just the aftermath of feeling Natalie’s enraged glare on her for the entire evening. It had started when Jasse had announced the two rooms reserved for the family leader and his lieutenant and had gotten worse throughout the evening. She’d been careful about training it on Kathryn when others were looking, but Kathryn would swear that she still felt it burning between her shoulder blades.

Granted it had taken her a few minutes to figure out
why
Natalie had been giving her glares that she hadn’t seen since the Black—
No
, she told herself sternly
Don’t go there
. Thinking about it would only make the nightmares stronger. Squaring her shoulders she stepped further into the room. It wasn’t
her
fault that she’d been permanently assigned to the room Natalie had wanted.

Although, why Natalie had wanted this room was a mystery to her. It was plain and sparsely furnished. A bed and a wooden chest at its feet sat against one wall with a desk and chair positioned opposite it. Bracing the door on either side were an armoire and a washbasin. The last wall was dominated by a large window with shutters, currently open to catch the last ray of the dying sun. There was nothing within the four walls that gave it any sort of character and the furniture, while sturdy, was as plain as the walls themselves.

Setting her own meager belongings on the floor, she began a methodical inspection of every nook and cranny. A few floorboards were loose, creaking under her feet as she walked, those would have to be repaired. Opening the chest at the foot of the bed, she lowered her candle to inspect the interior. The polished cedar gleamed from years of use and loving care. At first glance it appeared empty, but closer inspection gave hints at what had been stored within. The smell of oil and weapon polish suggested smaller weapons had been kept in the chest. Nestled in the corners were piles of what appeared to be dust, but when Kathryn raced her fingers through were revealed to be small animal hairs.

Confused, she closed the lid. Crossing the small expanse she took a closer look at the desk.

And found herself staring at a note.

I highly recommend cold weather furs, boots, and cloaks.

Beneath was a sketch of what Kathryn vaguely recognized as the landscape in front of the house…only covered in meters of snow. Included in the drawing were caricatures of people, whom she could only assume were the previous family, struggling valiantly through the cold and wet snow. The courtesy of the previous occupant, as well as the humorous faces carefully inked onto the paper surprised a soft laugh from her. At least that explained the animal furs in the chest.

Setting the paper down, she sat down on the floor and began the process of organizing her belongings. It was a short task, she carried very little with her, and Destiny had already claimed a bedpost for the night, her head tucked quietly under a wing. Following her companion’s example, she crawled beneath the foreign sheets.

Before the moons had fully risen all fourteen were fast asleep.

The next morning Kathryn woke early as was her habit. Letting Destiny out, she dressed quickly and threw her hair back into a bun. Quietly, so as not to disturb anyone, she slipped downstairs to the kitchen and made herself some herbal tea. She sat quietly for several minutes, contemplating all that had happened in the last week before she was joined by David.

“Good morning.” He ran a hand over his sleep tousled hair and down his face as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Slightly annoyed at having her peace and quiet disturbed, Kathryn masked her displeasure by pouring him a cup of tea.

Before Jasse had left, he had reserved a few words for her; asking, n
o
beggin
g
, her to try and accept this group of strangers as her new family…as well as cautioning her that being cold and distant would not assist in forming relationships.

As she handed David his cup she was determined to try and follow Jasse’s advice. “Did I wake you?” she asked quietly, while the rest of her mind tried to convince her that the words that just come out of her mouth had been inane and utterly ridiculous.

“No. For some reason I just woke early today.” He took a sip of the tea, thankfully unable to hear her mental war. “Thanks.”

Kathryn nodded an acknowledgement before returning to her own cup. Now came the difficult part. Never one for small talk, Kathryn was comfortable sitting in complete silence however she had noticed that very few shared her preference. Unfortunately when it came to initiating a conversation she had little to no experience. As the silence lingered she studied him out of the corner of her eye. If she didn’t know any better she would have thought David was Jasse’s son, they both had the same black hair, green eyes, and build. She shook her head mentally. He even had some of Jasse’s mannerisms down perfectly, like the raised eyebrow Jasse would give her when he expected something of her.

“Did you sleep well?” His unexpected question felt like a thunderclap in the tiny room.

Kathryn nodded. “Yes, thank you,” she paused a moment and then asked, “You?” That was what normal people asked, wasn’t it?

David shook his head. “I felt like I was up all night trying to figure out how to manage to cover an entire day without exhausting everyone.”

“And did you?” She sipped at her tea
.
Why can’t you just enjoy the peace and quiet of the early mornin
g
?

“I’ve got a rough idea. I would appreciate it if you would listen and give me some feedback.”

Kathryn put down her cup, prepared to listen. He wanted to talk about work
—
tha
t
she could handle. However the minute he, or anyone, brought up personal issues, and inevitably they would, she wa
s
out of ther
e
. There was only so much conversation she was willing to play a part of.

“I’ll want your honest opinion,” David warned.

“You’ll get it,” she assured him, wondering if she had eve
r
no
t
given an honest opinion since joining the Guardians. The days of silence for her were long over.

“I was thinking of dividing up the family into four teams of three. Each would have an equal shift.”

Kathryn frowned slightly. “That’s only twelve members, what about the other two?”

“That’s you and me. We would each take two teams a day, alternating rotations. This enables each team to have either you or me present in case an executive decision needs to be made.”

Kathryn nodded slowly, thinking his logic through thoroughly. “It could work,” she said finally.

“The first team would begin at dawn and the last team would return at nightfall,” he explained.

“What do you plan to do when the seasons change and the daylight lasts longer?” Kathryn was finding work to be an easy conversation topic. As long as David stayed on this topic, she could handle it without feeling inept.

Taken aback, David paused. He obviously hadn’t considered that. “Good point,” he conceded. “I didn’t even think about that.” He paused, thinking carefully. “I guess we could add half a radian, or whatever amount is needed, to each shift to compensate for the extra daylight.”

“Who do you have on each shift?” she asked, standing. Moving to the kitchen, she rummaged through the cupboards until she found some nuts and dried berries. Grabbing a bowl she scooped two handfuls of the snack into the wooden dish and brought it back out to the table.

David ran a hand through his hair. She was beginning to suspect that it was his tell for when he was hesitant or uncomfortable. “I’ve got a preliminary idea, but it’s not solid yet.” He eyed the food as well as Kathryn. To take his attention off of her, she pushed the bowl more within his reach. He grabbed a handful, but didn’t raise his hand to his mouth.

Kathryn waited for him to explain.

“The first shift would go from dawn to the fourth radian of the morning. I noticed that you’re an early riser so I put you down as well as Matt, Jenna, and Rachel.” He nodded toward the large clock that hung on the wall, thirteen radians visible on its face. He dropped a few of the nuts and berries into his mouth.

She nodded. “Sounds like a workable arrangement.
”
Keep him moving
,
she ordered herself
,
move his observations away from yo
u
.

“I put you guys together because during the last couple days you were always the first ones up.”

“Keen observation,” she murmured and then said, “You don’t have to justify every decision to me.” She wasn’t interested in hearing all of his observations on her personal habits. Then again, maybe she did so she would know which ones to make note of and change. It was an idea worth contemplating later.

“Yes I do if I want to make sure I’m making decisions that are mutually beneficial,” he replied.

She tipped her head in acknowledgement, and then continued. “Who do you have down for the second shift?”

“That would be Cassandra, Lindsey, Elizabeth, and myself.”

“And why did you choose them?” If he felt the need to explain, then least she could do would be to prompt him. And if she prompted him, then just maybe she could keep the conversation away from her.

“They were hard to place, not exactly morning people, neither night owls. I gambled and placed them in the moderate morning.”

“I take it then that each shift is four radians?” she asked since he hadn’t bothered to clarify that detail.

He nodded. “Approximately, yes. With thirteen radians during the day split over four shifts, it doesn’t exactly come out in whole radians.”

She nodded, which David took as an agreement and continued. “Third shift would be you, Amy, Daniel, and Leia. Leia and Daniel seemed to be more afternoon people and Amy’s your friend. I thought you might prefer a known face in the coming days.”

Kathryn looked at her cup. “Thank you,” she said stiffly
.
Perhaps a little too observant?

David found her reaction surprising, was or wasn’t she pleased to have Amy on her team? Perhaps she didn’t like that he’d picked up on their friendship so quickly, in either case he continued quickly. “Fourth shift has me, Tyler, Luke, and Natalie.”

Looking up quickly, she asked, “Any particular reason you put Natalie on a team with all guys?”
…
Although better him than me
.
Kathryn contemplated the idea of being stuck on a shift with Natalie for four radians and considered herself fortunate at such a lucky escape.

“That was a hard decision,” he admitted. “In the end I decided that the three of us guys would have a much better chance of overpowering her or protecting her in case something goes wrong.”

“Natalie does seem the least mature of the group,” Kathryn muttered softly. So softly that David barely heard her.

He nodded, paused and then asked, “What do you think?”

She took another sip of her tea. “I think it’s a workable arrangement, at least for now. Once we get the lay of the land immediately around our new home the excursions by the teams will probably extend into days. There are a lot of outlying villages and farms that can’t be reached in four radians.”

David mulled this new thought over in his mind and nodded in agreement.

Kathryn continued, trying her hand at some humor, “now we just get to tell the rest of the team the plan and hope we don’t have a mutiny on our hands.”

David chuckled softly and the two sat quietly until the first rays of the sun streamed in through the windows. In small groups the rest of the Dragons joined them, Amy and Jenna being among the first, Natalie and Lindsey the last.

As soon as they were all up, or at least showing signs of being awake, Cassandra ran into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast.

By the time Natalie and Lindsey joined the rest of them, the sun was up and breakfast was on the table.

Breakfast was a friendly, if a bit formal affair. Very few of the family knew each other well enough to truly relax in each other’s presence and it showed. David hoped that after a month or so they would be laughing and joking around the table like a large extended family.

After breakfast was over and the dishes cleared David told the rest what he had informed Kathryn earlier. To his immense pleasure the rest of the Dragons accepted his plan almost immediately
.
So far everything seems to be running smoothl
y
, he thought happily
,
even Kathryn seems to be warming up. I would never have considered her capable of making a joke before this morning.

“Well,” David commented after the conversation had died down. “I wasn’t expecting that discussion to be over so soon, but since it is we have another group/team effort to discuss.”

“What’s that?” Cassandra asked.

“Chore assignments.”

Natalie, Lindsey, and Luke moaned theatrically. “Already?” Lindsey asked petulantly.

David grinned at them. “We can’t wait until next week or even until tomorrow if we want to sustain ourselves. Does anyone have any preferences?”

“Can I cook?” Cassandra asked timidly.

He smiled at her. “If you continue to cook the way you did this morning, consider the job yours, the biscuits were delicious.”

Cassandra blushed, but smiled in delight.

“I think we need more than one cook,” Luke spoke up. “As much as Cass loves to cook, we’re going to need someone else who can prepare meals, especially in the early mornings and later evenings.”

David nodded. “Good point. Anyone else like to cook?”

“I can do it,” Matt volunteered, surprising everyone.

David didn’t know a single man who would willingly put himself in the kitchen. Most noblemen considered it beneath their station and the common men preferred to believe that it was the woman’s duty to feed the family. “Great. You two can work out your own schedule plan. Now, I’m going to assume that we all know how to milk a cow,” he looked at the rest of the group and when no one bothered to correct him, not even Luke, he continued, “we need milk every day and since the cows and some of the goats need to be milked twice a day we’ll assign two people to a day. One will milk first thing in the morning; the second will milk in the afternoon.”

No one seemed to have a serious problem with that arrangement and the days and times were quickly distributed.

By mid-morning they had the rest of the chores divvied up. Kathryn, Amy, Leia, and Jenna would manage the garden, Daniel, Elizabeth, and Rachel would tend the sheep, pribbles, and goats. Natalie and Lindsey would collect the eggs and tend to the fowl, Matt and Cass would take care of everything related to the kitchen. Tyler, Luke, and David would handle the butchering or skinning of any meat caught or slaughtered as well as tend the beef cattle and the pigs. The boys would take care of the barn work and the girls would maintain the house. However each Guardian would tend to their own horse. The mounts were chosen by the rider soon after birth and trained together so that by the time the trainee was ready to be placed into a family, the rider and horse thought, rode, and fought as one. The horses themselves were descended from the Elven herds, how the bloodline refused to die out no one was sure, but a Guardian’s horse lived nearly as long a natural life as a Guardian would, provided it wasn’t killed in battle.

“Does anyone else have anything to add?” David asked.

“I think we need nicknames,” Natalie exclaimed loudly from the far end of the table.

Tyler, taking a sip of water, choked on his drink. “What?” he gasped between coughs. David, who had barely escaped a similar display, arched a brow to echo the older boy’s dismayed question.

Natalie turned on him. “When we’re out on patrol we can’t just call each other by our regular names, what if someone overhears us?”

“Our identities would be revealed!” Lindsey exclaimed catching on to her friend’s idea.

“Exactly!” Natalie cried triumphantly.