The Way We Fall

Chapter 94 (Tigris)

Tigris held out her hand, stopping a spry young man from grabbing another log. He glared up at her with accusing eyes. Tigris felt a stab of guilt as she stared back at him unflinchingly.

"I'm sorry. It's only two logs per family right now." she told the man.

"This is ridiculous! Two logs won't last us through the night!" he snapped.

Tigris held his burning gaze until he huffed and moved along, holding his bundle of wood close to his chest. A large crowd of people spanned the streets, forming a mass extending from the wood storage facility, all the way out past the castle gates. Tigris had organised the knights along the length of the crowd, handing out a few logs per person. The rest of the meagre supply was being held in the castle, away from the rot that was currently spreading through the forest and the wood storage facility.

The woodcutter expected to be out of wood in a few days.

Roche hauled a few more logs, handing them to an elderly woman. Her rich brown skin glistened with sweat, and she'd taken off her cloak to cool down. "Has it ever been this bad before?" she asked through panting breaths.

Tigris' worry fluttered in her chest like a trapped butterfly. "Never. We need to find something else to burn."

Roche tilted her head in thought. At that moment, shrieks began to sound down the street.

"Tigris!" Aodh called over the cacophony, "Come here, quick!"

Unease clenched her heart like a vise. Roche jogged with her towards the courtyard. Tigris' heart sank like a stone in her chest at Aodh's serious expression. He beckoned them over to the sounds of screaming.

"What happened?" Tigris asked

"It's the pipes. They've all burst from the cold," Aodh explained, "The lower town's flooding fast."

They skidded to a stop. People were running, water pooling up to their knees and soaking through their clothes. Children shrieked as the icy water bit into their skin. Knights were running around, herding citizens up towards the castle. Amongst the mess, Tigris could see logs floating, abandoned by people in their haste to get away from the surging waters.

Icy water lapped against Tigris' leather shoes, an unpleasant chill rocketing up her ankles. The sensation dragged her out of her stupor.

"I need one squadron to help civilians get to the upper town! The rest of you, save as much of the wood as you can!" Tigris ordered loud enough that her voice carried over the noise. The knights hurried to follow her command as Aodh turned to her.

"There's nowhere in the upper town to house all these people. No one will take them in with the wood shortage. It'll take up too much fuel for any normal citizen to bring more people into their homes." he whispered worriedly.

Tigris felt a headache forming between her brows. "We can't leave them here, the water will make them freeze or drown."

"But the upper town won't take them!" Aodh argued, "There's just not enough wood there."

"We have extra in the castle." Roche suggested quietly. Aodh glared at her fiercely.

"That's not extra! That's needed to keep the entirety of the castle warm. In case you haven't noticed, the castle is huge!" he snapped.

An idea struck Tigris. "The castle has extra rooms, though."

"You really think that the same nobles who were terrified of losing their luxury pork will let commoners into the castle?" Aodh protested, his eyes rounding, "Tigris, that's insane."

"The alternative is letting all these people freeze, Aodh! They're going into the castle!" Tigris snapped. Her brother's jaw clenched for a moment, but he couldn't find a better answer. Tigris turned towards the knights, "Bring them to the castle gates!"