The house was warm inside, bordering on hot due to the fire in the hearth. Kelton quickly relieved himself of his pack and laid his cloak on top. It was one large room with a cloth divider running at its center, separating the sleeping area from the more functional portions. There were no windows, though a few finger-thick gaps near where the thatched roof met walls allowed some exchange of air with the outside. The smell of cooking meat caused Kelton's hunger to ignite.

"Be welcome," Sidal said. He was a lanky man, a hand taller than Kelton. His hair was a rich brown like his sister's and dusted on the sides with early gray. His pleasant tone was not matched with a smile that a guest would expect from a host. They were not entirely welcome.

"We thank you, kind sir," Gossamer said. "It has been awhile since we have eaten something warm. Mayhap, I could trade a story or two for a taste."

"You are a storyteller?" Sidal asked. A smile began to grow on his face.

"One of the best," Kelton replied.

"Then be truly welcome." Sidal came over to Gossamer and they grasped each other's wrists in greeting. "That is my wife, Dedra. She's responsible for what you smell. Her pots never disappoint." Dedra smiled without conviction as she stirred a large iron caldron hung near the fire. She was a petite woman with long yellow hair braided into a single tail lying down her back.

"This is Kelton," Marnice said. Sidal quickly exchanged the same greeting with Kelton, then returned to Gossamer.

"It's been awhile since I've heard a good tale. When I was young, there was an old woman who came every spring. She'd trade tales for coin or food. The whole town would gather so she only spoke them once." Sidal smiled as the memory grew in his mind. "Always she had new ones. You remember her Marnice?"

"Hara..Hariendia, I am thinking," Marnice replied.

"Hariendia, that's it." Sidal pointed proudly at his sister. "The woman could put us in another land as easy as sitting. Her voicings were so funny sometimes. Ahhh, but I was young. Mayhap, my memory is better than then the actual telling."

"Where's Zachary?" Kelton interrupted, casting his eyes around the room. He wanted to feel what it was like to hold Zachary again. Zachary didn't judge, he only smiled.

"Asleep," Dedra said, pointing to a pile of cloth not an arm's length from her. Kelton took a step forward, and Dedra's body shied from him. Kelton saw fear.

"I wished only to look upon him, but I can wait till he wakes," Kelton said backing away. There was something off with Dedra and Kelton was having trouble identifying it. An odd thing, not something that could be easily identified, something different, subtle.

"He is a friend," Marnice told Dedra.

"No harm in looking," Dedra said after a moment's reflection. She shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing. Kelton could see a stiffness that said otherwise. The draw of the child allowed him to ignore Dedra's doubts.

Zachary lay on his back, wrapped in the same cloth Kelton had carried him in. The bundle laid upon blankets that had been wadded at his sides to limit movement. Zachary's eyes were serenely closed, his mouth moving in his sleep as if he were chewing. Kelton knelt, wishing he could wake him and see his smile again.

"You never see a babe before?" Dedra asked.

"Not close," Kelton replied not taking his eyes off the child. "Marnice let me hold him. He's lighter than I thought."

"He's mine," Dedra whispered. The words held as much warning as information. They were spoken so no others heard them. Sidal, Marnice, and Gossamer were in a deep discussion about the finer points of storytelling, ignoring all else.

"I know your plight," Kelton whispered back. "I wish nothing from you. We will be gone by morning, sooner if you wish it."

"I wish it," Dedra said. Kelton stood slowly, the blackness of rejection invaded his chest sending unwanted feelings into his core. There was hatred in her words. He wanted to speak, to wipe away the awfulness she saw in him. There was no reason to it unless she saw the killings in his eyes. He turned away in shame.

"We must leave," Kelton announced and moved to his pack. His throat tightened, and he desired fresh air.

"People coming?" Gossamer asked, misinterpreting Kelton's abruptness. On instinct, Kelton felt outside of the cabin and verified they were alone. He shook his head.

"We are unwanted," Kelton answered. He donned his cloak and picked up his pack. The air was too thick inside. Distance would thin it out. Distance from Dedra.

"What did you say, sister?" Marnice yelled.

"He is the demon the Goddess seeks!" Dedra stood and pointed her wooden spoon at Kelton. "Begone, and we will be the better for it." Kelton felt hollow as if his insides were torn out. He felt her anger grow, his other sense of her darkened, though part of it remained oddly bright. The definition in the sense was new to him. It was if he were sensing two.

"I promised them a meal," Marnice argued. Gossamer was gathering his things quickly.

"Dedra, guests will not be leaving hungry," Sidal said, putting his arm on Gossamer's shoulder to slow him. Kelton had already stopped. His mind was trying to digest what his sense was telling him.

"I will not defy the Goddess," Dedra said. The spoon in her hand was shaking as she threatened Kelton with it. "I am her servant, and in this, I will not fail." The realization of what he was feeling struck Kelton all at once. He smiled, which Dedra took as a threat and backed away.

"You are with child," Kelton announced.

"And he is my child, demon," Dedra said, stepping in front of the sleeping Zachary. The spoon rose above her head. She meant to strike Kelton with it if he approached.

"She has a babe in her," Kelton told Marnice as if it were the most amazing thing in the world. "I can feel it. It's clean and bright like the sun." Marnice's hand covered her mouth. Gossamer grabbed at Kelton's wrist, trying to hurry their departure. Sidal blocked the door.

"What is he saying?" Sidal asked Marnice.

"Your wife be with child, you fool."

"How...?"

"Just know it to be true," Marnice told Sidal. "He says too much, but there is no falseness in him." Her eyes scolded Kelton, who was still ecstatic over the what he could sense. The unborn was overflowing now, easy to discern from its mother's glow. He wondered why he didn't feel it before. Its beauty was undeniable.

Dedra lowered the spoon and confusion replaced her anger. She looked aboat the others, some certain, Sidal's in shock. Her eyes settled on the smiling red-haired one.

"What did you say?"

"You carry a babe," Kelton said. "It's so beautiful." A tear ran down Dedra's cheek.

"You lie." There was no confidence in Dedra's words. Kelton shook his head, his smile never diminishing. It was so new to him. His sense was strengthening, the more experience with new things, the better the definition. As if he had always been looking from a distance and now he had moved closer.

"You are with child, sister," Marnice said as she moved toward Dedra. Her arms were open and intended to be filled. "Mayhap, that is why you have been witchy of late." The spoon fell to the floor, and Marnice embraced her sister. "The Goddess has kissed you, sweet sister." A flood of tears began.

"Well," Gossamer interjected, "it seems congratulations are in order." He shook Sidal's hand, wrist to wrist. "We'll leave you to it and be on our way." Sidal broke out of his shock but still blocked the door.

"You are who they are looking for," Sidal said to Kelton. For once, Kelton didn't answer. "You are no demon though."

"He's just a boy," Gossamer said. He tried to nudge Sidal away from the door without being forceful. It wasn't working.

"I am a father!" Sidal said. Kelton nodded. They shared a wide smile.

"I'm sorry," Dedra said to Kelton. She looked from over Marnice's shoulder. Her tears were real though Kelton saw something else in her eyes. Something mixed with relief that he didn't understand. He accepted the apology because it was spoken. Words were always enough in the past, usually voiced by him in regards to a hurt he caused Gossamer.

"It looks like we may stay after all." Gossamer surrendered, lowering his pack to the floor.

The stew tasted as marvelous as it smelled. Dedra was indeed a good cook, one that could rival Joycelyn in talent if not disposition. Zachary spent the meal in Marnice's arms. Dedra's newfound motherhood had ended the plan to give Zachary to her brother and sister. Her boy was hers again, and she wasn't letting go, almost as if she were trying to apologize to the babe.

"Sold the last cow." Sidal laughed. "Thought I might need the coin for the tax. Now the tax comes to us." He reached into his pocket and pulled silver coins from it. "I feel like a hold lord now, Travor felt the need to help and overpaid by two." He held the stack of coin over the table and let them fall one by one into a stack. "Now we can help others if need be."

"What is the worth of a cow?" Kelton asked.

"That old sow of mine? Three silver on a good day. Travor gave me five and still, I was short."

"He gave you two and three copper," Kelton said. He had heard the coin fall. Years of counting thieved monies in the dark were not forgotten.

"What do you say?"

"I heard it as well," Gossamer agreed. "You were taken, or your friend Travor was." Sidal spread the coin across the table, sifting through them. Kelton reached for one he knew was false and scraped it against one of the stones that held hot pots away from the wooden tabletop. He handed the coin back to Sidal now that some of the false silver was removed.

"They would have taken my head," Sidal said. He looked at Dedra. "And you would have been lucky to take the Wilted Rose."

"Travor is not a friend," Dedra spoke with conviction. "Our only friend when the Brethren come is the Goddess." Kelton found the decree odd. Friends should always be friends, no matter where the Brethren are.

"It matters not now. You don't need the coin or Zachary," Marnice said. She pulled Zachary in tighter and smiled at his tiny face. Kelton had a desire to hold him again but could tell it was not the time. There was something about the small one that intrigued him. There was no question as to Zachary's motives. He wished only to smile, and Kelton desired to make him do so.

"The Goddess will see that we will get more coin from the barren ones," Dedra said.

"And returning it once the Brethren be gone," Sidal said. Marnice nodded her agreement. Dedra wasn't as pleased with the idea.

"They are barren, unloved by the Goddess. Their coin is our right. The Brethren say it is so."

"We would have starved if it came to that for us," Sidal argued.

"And now we feast. They are all liars and swindlers like Travor. We are only taking our due. It's not my fault their bellies are empty." Dedra rubbed her belly as if it were a sacred thing. Kelton was about to interject his opinion on the subject. He was stopped by Gossamer's hand on his arm; a small squeeze told him it was not his place to join the conversation. Marnice also turned her eyes from the discussion.

"This is not the time for such talk," Sidal said. His eyes were stern, and Kelton could tell that Dedra was unconcerned about them. Her belly might as well had made her a queen. "Do you still wish to share a story?" Sidal asked Gossamer.

"After such a fine meal, I would consider it my shame to not." Gossamer stood, and his posture changed to one set for a telling. "You prefer comedies?" Sidal nodded and sat back in his chair. "Then I have a tale for you. One of a woman and her basket of bread."

Kelton smiled. It had been a long time since he had heard the story. It was one where Gossamer would assume the voices of an old woman and children. Gossamer was jousting with Sidar's memory of the storyteller from his youth. He was going to prove he was as talented. It was rare to watch Gossamer's vanity in full bloom.

Marince attracted Kelton with her eyes, looking down at Zachary then back at Kelton. She smiled as she slightly lifted her boy and tilted her head in question. Kelton nodded in agreement as Gossamer began his tale. Marince brought Zachary and laid him in Kelton's arms.

"He is awake now," Marnice whispered, then returned to her chair.

The story about thieving children tricking an old woman out of her loaves of bread had them all laughing. Kelton's smiles were all for Zachary. The boy enjoyed playing at tugging with Kelton's finger. Life was simple at that moment. There was no Brethren, no Choosing, or the King's own. A small pocket in the world where lived a small boy, a pocket that held nothing but toothless smiles and bright, inquisitive eyes.

The story and the laughter flowed around Kelton. He only half heard the tale, preferring instead the child's attention. It was at that moment he understood why a man would lie with a woman. If the boy in his arms were the result, then it was worth all the strangeness that would accompany such a deed.

"They be taking my last bread," Gossamer voiced the ancient female. He was slouched as an old woman might be. Sidal was trying to hold back his laughter. Dedra and Marnice had failed at it miserably, their eyes watering as they struggled to get a normal breath. "I be putting Magnis Root in this batch." Gossamer stirred an imaginary pot, miming adding ingredients. "Watery bowels be their reward for such thievery." Sidal lost it and almost fell off his chair.

Zachary's face became serious for a moment, then returned to his smiles. Kelton felt a warmth spread across his lap. He ignored his first thought of jumping up in a panic. It was done, and no movement would change it now. Zachary had no care he was lying in pee, and Gossamer's story didn't deserve to be ruined. At least, not before the town elders ate the tainted bread by mistake.

Gossamer's descriptions of the town's unwanted bowel movements keep everyone laughing. Zachary fed off what he heard and laughed with Kelton. For a moment, Kelton felt part of a family again.

"I give you your due," Sidal said when his laughter finally waned. "You are as good Hariendia, mayhap better. Worth the meal and a bite in the morning as well."

"Thank you, kind sir," Gossamer returned. Kelton could see the pleasure in Gossamer's face. Competing with a memory was a challenge he had proudly conquered.

"You are soaked." Marnice moved to Kelton and lifted Zachary from his lap. "Not have sense enough to get out of the rain?" Her smile made it a friendly jab.

"He was happy, and I didn't want to disturb the story."

"Well, off with those pants so they can dry by morning. Zachary is happy in his pee. Doesn't mean you need be." Dedra, straight faced, brought Kelton a cloth he could wrap around himself as he dropped his pants. Marnice took the pants outside and doused them with water. Dedra hung them by the fire. They did the same with Zachary's wet wrappings. Dedra was not happy about the labors. Marnice worked as if it were a trivial task.

They all shared some weak tea and idle conversation before settling in for the night. Sidal, Dedra, and Marnice on one side of the divider cloth, Gossamer and Kelton lay on the other. It was better than sleeping in the woods, though Sidal's snoring delayed Kelton's dreams.