Temple Palace

Chapter 5: Tracer

Trey took another long glance to the girl beside him. She was full of surprises. He didn't quite know how to handle her strange ways.

Like how she called him Tracer. He had always been Trey, since he could remember. But she called him Tracer, and she said it like a prayer. Like he was some messiah.

And all the things she talked about, him being a kidnapped child. She must have the wrong person. After breakfast was over he would take her aside and break the news to her gently. She was a nice girl, but he wasn't who she wanted him to be.

He looked around the table. His family sat, eyes down taking careful quiet bites. Nobody had been brave enough to break the icy silence. The servants came in and out of the room, the only ones to talk.

"So dear, what is your name?" His mother asked.

"Tek." Tek smiled and took a sip from her water glass. She was the only one who seemed to be enjoying the meal.

"How... original." She smiled. His mother, Maria, was never known to be rude to a guest. Sometimes she just didn't realize how she was coming off.

"It's a nickname." Tek said as an explanation.

"And how do you know Trey?" Everyone around the table looked up waiting for her answer. Of course they all would have come to their own conclusions already. Now was a chance to find out the truth.

"A friend of a friend." She said. Everyone looked disappointed and a bit skeptical. Trey knew about Tek's philosophy of never lying, and the way she had explained it she hadn't needed to lie.

"A friend I would know?" His mother prodded. Trey realized from her voice that she wasn't going to drop the subject easily.

"Could you pass the blueberries, Mother?" He asked quickly. Nodding to the bowl sitting right in front of her. She narrowed her eye suspiciously at him.

"You hate blueberries. Ever since you were little. I can't understand why you would like them now."

"Really, how little? I've lately realized that I can't remember much of my childhood." They faced each other down. Trey could see that he had somehow hit a nerve with his mother. And Maria could see that Trey was hiding something from her. They both soon realized that neither one would budge for the other.

Maria had an explosive personality, and an expectation to always get what she wanted. It helped when being the Chief's wife. The soldiers all knew to avoid her when she wanted something, or they might get sucked into helping her. And it was never easy work. She was like a dog that would never let go after biting.

Trey had always thought that he inherited her determination, but he was beginning to realize that might not be the case. Taking into account his parents avoidance of talking about his childhood, and their evasiveness when he asked questions, something wasn't adding up. But Tek couldn't be right, could she? That would make his entire life a lie.

His sister Rosie tried to break the silence. "So Tek, what time did you come over this morning? It's awfully early for house calls." Maria and Trey looked away from each other, grateful for the distraction because it meant neither one of them needed to accept defeat.

"Actually," Tek answered animatedly, "I stayed the night."

Rosie spit the coffee she had been drinking out. At the head of the table the Chief's face turned bright red.

Maria again turned and challenged her son. "You brought her to our table! Where is your respect for this family?!"

Trey didn't know how to respond. All around the table his family had looks of shock and outrage. Berta, his childhood nurse was shaking her head back and forth sadly. The only happy face seemed to be Tek's. She was smiling coyly at him, her head resting on her clasped fingers, elbows resting on the edge of the table. She seemed to find the whole affair quite amusing.