Chapter 4 - Sister's Pain

The light was fading fast as the last dregs of a summer dusk bled into night. Groyven absently listened to the creak of the sails above, walking along the deck, carrying a small basket at his side. He passed a couple of the crewmen making the rounds, lighting lanterns. He smiled to himself, he had stayed with Sialin for the rest of the afternoon. After she taught him the basics of manipulating air currents, he had eaten supper with her on the deck, looking out over the water. He walked past the main mast thinking about the wash of the sunset on her face as she spoken with him, her words coming back clear as if she had just uttered them.

“You remind me of someone I met years ago, Little Prince. Maybe it is my memory shifting… He was so determined, direct and yet a mystery. I was instantly taken by him.” she looked out at the sea as the sun touched the waves.

“You have potential, Little Prince. In but a few years you could have power like he did. If you focus on mastering those strands in the thread, you could be a force of nature. I would like to guide you on that path.” she said.

Groyven’s curiosity was piqued, “Is he like us? Does he have a thread like us?”

She rested her chin on her hand and looked at him, “So inquisitive! Do you wish to hear of your competition?”

She smiled teasingly, watching his blush deepen, “He might. It matters not. He caught my heart before I understood destiny’s path. He has a quality… We will find each other again.” she said while stretching.

“But what happens if you don’t?” asked Groyven, concerned.

Sialin looked at him, her amber eyes flickering with blue flame, “If I don’t?” she smiled, meeting his eyes, “Then I will find another, I will not deign for lesser standards.”

Groyven straightened slightly, a movement that she did not miss, a smile grew on her face and in her eyes.

“Regardless, that is all in the future.” she chuckled to herself, musing, “For all we know, it could even be you, Little Prince. Grow in mind, body and spirit; overcome his shadow, and I would happily…wait.” she looked at Groyven, his face flushed red and with the glow of the setting sun it looked like he had set himself on fire.

Something turned over inside of her; she frowned, quickly glancing at the distant coastline, feeling the breath catch in her throat as her eyes were drawn to the land.

Meeting Groyven's eyes, she smiled again, “But, why am I telling you this, Little Prince? Have you charmed me so, to have become so loose with my thoughts?” she ruffled his hair and gave him a warm hug.

The basket bumped at his leg. He could still feel her embrace, warm and lingering, her scent on his clothes. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He was exhausted and spent, even his movements seemed slow in the oppressively warm evening air after Sialin’s lessons. He did not understand how, but every time he had wavered she had touched him and his energy had returned. Reaching the stairs that headed below deck, he descended. He made his way, his back to the crew that were setting up for the night, talking quietly among themselves, lanterns spreading a warm light throughout.

Making his way along a short passage, he passed a series of doors that led to some small private rooms, each with a berth. Set for private passengers, they were for the spell runners and the first mate’s use when the Fiddle was free of those paying for passage. The final door led Selera’s cabin that they shared. It was the largest, by a fraction. Groyven slowly opened the door, being careful to not disturb his sister if she was sleeping.

Tiffaniel sat on the bed, her back against the wall, staring at the open door in the darkness. A faint glow in her eyes, the room cooler than the passage. She watched Groyven reach out, lighting the lamp, bathing the room in a soft glow. Tiffaniel’s eyes reflected that light as she stayed in the shadows of the corner.

“Ven?” she said, her voice quiet.

“Tiff, I brought some food for you. Darius said that he hadn’t seen you, so I thought you might still be sleeping.” he said, his back still turned.

“What took you so long, Ven?” Tiffaniel said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Groyven unpacked the basket and laid its contents on the small table he had folded down from the wall.

“I was talking with Sialin, I now know why we both have such trouble with the small things. I will show you.” he said with a smile, turning to her.

She shrunk back a little, “Really? All that time with Sialin?” she said in a small, but guarded voice, “I understand. She is…”

Groyven spoke excitedly, “Did you know that she can make the ship move against the wind? She taught me how. I think you can do the same thing Tiff. See, we have…”

Tiffaniel withdrew further, a stony expression on her face, hugging her knees to her chest, “Can you stop talking? I don’t want to know, I don’t care what you talked about with her.”

“Tiff?” Groyven asked, concerned.

“Why is everything so easy for you?”

“Tiff, what is wrong? Easy? For me?” he looked at her with a confused expression.

“I hate it, no one gets angry with you.” she said from the shadows, the bite in her voice clear.

Groyven looked at her, taking a step closer, “Tiff?”

“I hate that everyone is trying to be nice. I hate that you are listening to them. You should be listening to me, I am your twin. Our parents would not agree with this, these people are trying to act like them. Trying to take us away from them, away from here.”

Groyven stood still, his brows furrowed, pain in his eyes.

“Ven, can’t you see it? They are trying to take you away from me.” she said, her voice cracking with a quavering edge on the edge of panic, she balled her fists, digging her nails into her palms.

“Tiff, why are you doing this?” asked Groyven guardedly.

“He is not our father, Groyven. No matter how much he acts the way he does, he is not father. And Selera is our sister, not our mother. Before Mother and Father died, we barely saw her, we barely knew her. She was just a name, distant, just a name Mother and Father talked about.”

Groyven sat on the edge of the bed, watching her, “She had her own life Tiff, she is over fifteen years older than us. She is not trying to replace Mother, she is trying her best to raise us as our elder sister. She lost her parents too, Tiff.”

Tiffaniel’s voice grew shrill and took on a hysteric edge, “And the Captain, who does he think he is? Trying to act like Father. Trying to…”

Groyven stood, anger growing in his voice, “He is right, you are not ready to understand. All you do is attack those who love you, instead of opening your ears and eyes. They are protecting us, Tiff! The whole crew are protecting us. They are all keeping us safe. We know nothing of the world outside of the Enclave and the ruins that Mother and Father dragged us to. We know nothing, Tiff!”

The air in the room suddenly grew fridgid, “You are right, you know nothing. You don’t know what I am thinking. Nobody does.” said Tiffaniel in a quiet, aggressive tone.

Groyven’s face screwed up at his sister’s incredulity, “I don’t know? We are twins Tiff, we have shared everything. I know you are angry with Mother and Father, that they left us. I know you feel that Selera and the Captain are trying to replace Mother and Father. That nobody understands your pain.”

“I…I, won’t let them.” said Tiffaniel in denial.

“Tiff, they are trying to help us if you would let them. You should let Selera tell us about our parents, retell her memories of them and our time together. You like to forget, she lost her parents too. But she still has us, and we have her. She is trying so hard to make it easier, even when she is in pain.” Groyven said, finding it hard to believe what he was hearing.

“She got to you, she…” said Tiffaniel with a shrill voice.

“Got to me? No Tiff, she did not get to me. Our elder sister uprooted her life to take care of us. She brought the Captain, the crew and the ship here, expecting it to be only a week or two. Like it or not, Tiff, Selera is our elder sister. Without her, we would have been split up and sent to an orphanage, or be living off scraps as street urchins, or dead. Is that what you want?” he said, rounding on her, “She is our sister Tiff, our sister! Or are you forgetting how the Enclave treated us, how they wanted to throw us away like rubbish? Without her, that’s all we’d be.” he said, his breath in short bursts.

Tiffaniel glared at him from the corner, her eyes glowing with white light, “I don’t want to talk to you, you are not my brother, I hate you! You are letting them replace Mother and Father. I won’t let them, I won’t be like you, I won’t forget my parents.” she said with acid in her voice, ice now creeping over the bedding toward him.

Groyven nodded, his movements slow. A deep throbbing roar slowly built in his ears as he struggled to breathe. Tiffaniel was screaming at him, but he couldn’t hear her words, just the sound of his heart beating and the terrible roaring in his head. Hot, burning tears came to his eyes and ran down his cheeks as Tiffaniel started throwing things at him. He slowly willed his feet and legs into movement, backing away towards the door, one arm up guarding his face and the other reaching for the latch.

“Get out! I hate you! I hate her!” Tiffaniel screamed, throwing the basket he brought.

It crashed into the door as he closed it. Leaning against the wall in the passage, he calmed his breathing. Fighting back tears, small tendrils of steam rising from him as he forcibly took deep breaths. He twitched involuntarily as he heard Tiffaniel raging in their shared room. He looked down the short passage as a door opened, the first mate Darius emerged and beckoned to him to come closer.

“I am so sorry, Darius. She…” Groyven stopped as Darius held up a hand to shush him.

The first mate nodded, putting a large hand on Groyven’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, Master Groyven, I have first watch at the helm anyhow.”

He closed the door behind him and led Groyven out and up the stairs to the deck and back into the night air.

They stopped in the shadows, Darius sighing heavily, patting Groyven’s shoulder and speaking, “Try not to worry ‘bout that sister of yours, I accidentally overheard, well, I think we all did. Well said, lad. She just needs more time, she’ll come about and true in the end. Though, I heard she got frosty with Sialin this afternoon and got put in her place.” he nodded to the deck of the helm, “I’ll keep an eye out from the helm, you go and walk it off, boy. Listen to the sounds of the waves off the prow, it is calming. If you can’t find solace, I’ll be up there ‘till midnight. Now go.”

Groyven nodded numbly, watching Darius make his way to the helm. Groyven’s steps wavered, still shaking with nerves and pent up anger. After a few moments of listening to the wind in the rigging, he found himself walking in the direction of the Captain’s cabin. Standing in a pool of light thrown by a lantern, he sighed deeply before approaching the double doors. He moved to knock, but stilled his hand, hearing movement in the room beyond. He frowned somewhat as he couldn’t hear voices.

Groyven bent and looked though the keyhole, the room blurry until he could see clearly. Noticing movement, he changed his angle to see his elder sister, Selera. She was in a state of undress, her jet-black hair falling around her as she straddled the Captain. He could see her leaning down, kissing the Captain passionately and moving in time to his movements. She sat up, her movements almost frantic, shuddering, her back arched. Groyven frowned, a brief moment later she started moving again, rocking her hips, breathing in short gasps with her hands on the Captain’s chest. Suddenly, her face was clear as it turned slightly; her blue eyes piercing, looking at the door.