Kaija: Queen of Stone

19.5

I didn't want to stay in the woods during the night, but there was not much of a choice for us. The bird called again, a distance away and my stomach dropped. Something about the lyrical cry made me uneasy and yet, I was enticed to find the source of it.

I approached Arawn as everyone flanked in different directions, tending to their tasks.

"Already causing problems," I said with a slight smile.

He rolled his eyes, pressing harder on his nose. "I am surprised you are speaking to me."

"You wanted trust," I whispered. "This is trust."

He looked me over, then returned his gaze to the trees. "Since we are speaking about trust and telling stories, I have a story to tell you."

"A story?"

"Rodi mentioned she had one," he sighed. "But my tale is far worse."

"Why?"

"Because it isn't a legend," he replied. "It really happened."

"I thought most legends were history," I replied with a raised brow.

He laughed. "Some are. This one I know isn't one."

"How so?"

"I lived it."

I felt a lump in my throat.

"I had a family at one point," he replied. "A father, a mother, and-" he paused, his voice flattening. "A sister."

"What happened to them?"

His face blanched. "They died."

"I am sorry to hear that."

"My parents were of old age," he replied. "They lived a good life under the eyes of Baria. As for my sister..."

"What happened to her?"

He sniffled, pressing harder on his nose. Blood soaked his blouse. "She started to cough one morning," he began. "It was a soft cough that no one would think anything of. Then as the days turned into nights, the cough progressed, growing more violent and soon, blood expelled from her mouth. She..." His voice broke off. He blinked, finding himself again. "She was bed ridden," he explained. "Baria helped me to make her as comfortable as possible. We gave her a room in the castle. Mind you this was years before she found Hona or Jonga. This was years before servants lived in the castle. It was just Baria."

"She helped you?"

He sniffled. "To the best of her ability. There was no healer known. The healer of life was not born yet, not even thought of. My sister spent her days sleeping and nights coughing. I spent my nights by her side, saddled in the nook under the window, listening to her coughs. Then during the last night, there was silence. Everything was still and peaceful. There was no more coughing, and the only life in the room was mine. When I saw her awful pale face, the life inside of me died. My sister was the only thing I had left. She was the reason I lived still and then, she was gone."

"I am sorry to hear that."

He continued, lost in his grief. "Baria came to my aid the following morning, she comforted me, and right then, I knew, I would serve her like my father before me and his."

"I respect that you've told me this but what does this have to do with trust?"

"It's more so vulnerability," he answered, staring in my direction. "Being vulnerable to people tends to instill trust."

"I see."

"I hope you do not take offense to this, Queen Mara, but I wish that you would be more like Baria," he whispered. "There was kindness under the queen of stone. A queen may rule with a mighty fist, but nothing is mightier than tenderness."