《Fenrin's Tale - a third chronicle of the Children of the Bear》7. Eulogies

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The next two days, Jayln didn't even stay long enough to talk to. In, food, and out. Fenrin's pride wouldn't allow him to repeat his offer, so instead he let the bitterness, anger, and frustration pent up, becoming almost palpable in the small room.

He cursed every god he could think of. If the damned girl wouldn't listen to reason, he would either die here or be handed to Lyra. His mind reverted back to violent thoughts, looping daydream after daydream of breaking free and murdering his way back to his beloved wilds.

He was so engrossed in a particularly vivid dream where he caught Lyra wandering in his lands and held her in a small cell to mock, when the door opened to darkness and a figure slipped in. It had been hours since his daytime meal and Fenrin's senses went full alert at the off-schedule visit. The chair scraped against the floor as it was shifted then...a sniffle.

It was Jayln and she was crying.

"Hey, I'm trying to sleep here," Fenrin barked unsympathetically.

"I apologize for disturbing you. Just ignore me." Her voice was professional and calm but cracked at the end and she resumed her muffled sobs.

Fenrin waited, puzzled that she would show weakness in front of him. "If this is your version of torture, I'll let you know now it's not particularly effective. Neither disturbing my sleep or trying to gain sympathy will do anything for you."

"I'm not here because you are, I'm in here because no one else would come in," Jayln snapped. "Like I said, just ignore me."

"And what would the daughter of the village leaders need to hide for?" he asked, a tad intrigued.

Jayln sighed and Fenrin heard her soft boots shift on the floor. "You're not going to leave me alone are you?"

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"Call it payback. Also you came to me."

"Like I said, I didn't come because—forget it. I'm here to escape my friends’ unwanted sympathies."

"Sympathies?"

"My mother passed on a few hours ago."

Smelling a wounded animal, Fenrin’s his cruel side jumped at the chance to deal some damage to the person who put him in his foul mood.

"So a few mourners is all it takes to send Jayln crying to the corner. Would you like some sympathy from the big bad wolf? I suppose I could mourn her loss, one more tragic death I will never have a part in. So sad."

Jayln sucked in a breath and Fenrin could feel her losing her temper. He grinned. "How'd she die? Murdered brutally I hope?"

"She died peacefully in her sleep."

"Shame. There's nothing quite like coming home to find your mother hacked into pieces. It really stirs the blood."

"Is that what happened?"

Fenrin flinched. Dammit.

Jayln asked again, "To your mother? Is that why you never mention her?"

At a loss for a snappy comeback, Fenrin didn't answer though his silence did it for him.

"What was she like?" Jayln asked softly.

Fenrin’s bloodlust missed its mark and without thinking he answered, "She was beautiful."

His mouth moved, the words flowing out unbidden. His mind too exhausted from fighting itself to intervene. What did it matter anyway?

"Her hair was palest gold and her eyes emeralds. She was clever and calm. She loved one man with all of her being, with a devotion indescribable. But she was also selfish in her selflessness, loyal to a fault. She died happy, murdered protecting her lord. She was alone when she died, cut down by petty men scared of their own ambitions." He felt his own tears land on his hands in the dark. He'd never given his mother's eulogy. It had been buried in the black box Jayln had pried open.

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Jayln's voice spoke clearly, "Genevieve Harperdotter was a bold woman. She spoke what she thought and had an unshakable dream. She inspired others and made them see what they could do. She lived to her seventy seventh year."

The second eulogy disappeared into the darkness and Jayln's breathing calmed. They both sat quietly as the minutes ticked by, strangely comfortable in the darkness that seemed to promise to keep its secrets. Fenrin felt the last dregs of rage slip free of the black box, leaving just his mother's face and a collection of memories.

His mind returned to the matters at hand and he whispered, "You're going to have to kill me you know?"

"Wha—"

"You're never going to trust me enough to let me go and I'll go mad kept in here forever. Whether you know it or not, you never intended to make a deal with me. You've known you'll have to kill me, you're just too scared of the consequences to do the job. Well, I'm sick of waiting for you to make up your damn mind."

There was a pause and Jayln stood up. She started to open the door, Fenrin's light starved eyes picking up her outline even in the thin starlight.

"You're right.”

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