Chapter XVI

As they walked, Rowan glanced back several times. All her nine years were spent in peace here in the valley, and she had grown to love everything about it; every blade of grass and every stone in the river, and all of the people she called her family and her friends. Such a love that one might ask themselves, ‘Would they fight for it? Would they die for it?’

The two of them headed back to the outskirts of the village when they were suddenly greeted by a young man, about his mid teenage years, rushing up to them. “Delmar!” he called out.

Delmar smiled as the boy stopped before them. “Morning, Matheus,” he replied.

Matheus caught his breath as fast as he could before speaking again. “Sorry to bother you,” he said coyly. “I was looking for your father.”

“He’s back at the cottage,” Delmar responded. “You remember Rowan, right?” He gestured to his sister beside him.

Matheus nodded with a grin. “Of course!” he replied heartily and turned his attention to the young Rowan. “You’re growing every day, little one!”

Rowan grew a wide smile and nodded back to him. Delmar laughed to himself and then drew back Matheus’ attention. “What do you need my father for?”

Matheus took a deep breath, almost as though he had to think about what he was trying to say. In the end, all he could manage was, “They’re here.”

Delmar raised his eyebrows. “The brothers?” he responded with curiosity.

Matheus shook his head. “All of them.”

“Who’s here?” Rowan asked up at him, but Delmar just ignored her.

“Who’s with them now?” Delmar inquired.

“Caine was entertaining them when I ran off to find you.”

“Where are they at?” Delmar asked, but just then, he looked out toward the village behind Matheus. The breath stopped in his throat for a second at the sight of three people marching toward them. Leading the group was a young man, about the same age as Delmar but with much lighter hair and a piercing gaze of hazel eyes.

Delmar made a sudden movement to step in front of his sister. Rowan leaned her head to look past him, but Delmar only adjusted himself, almost as if he was trying to block her from view.

“Caine,” Delmar uttered as they approached.

The light-haired boy smiled somewhat malevolently. “Hello, Delmar.” He leaned to the side as if mirroring Rowan’s position behind him. “Hello, Rowan.”

Rowan shrank back a little. She knew Caine well, as his family and hers had always been close, though it was Caine’s father who sympathized most with the Outsiders in their lands. Whatever the case, Caine had a tendency to leave Rowan in a state of intimidation, but this time, Delmar seemed to be deliberately concealing her.

“Would you care to tell me what’s going on?” Delmar said sternly, turning his attention to those accompanying Caine.

There were two more young men behind him. One of them was as tall as Delmar, the other about half a head shorter. They both had black hair and the same green eyes that stood out like the summer leaves. Rowan could not help but stare at them. This was the first time she had ever seen this people, but somehow knew who they were, and strangest of all, she felt as though she recognized their features. The shorter, younger of the two shifted his attention toward her and caught her gaze before Rowan ducked back behind her brother.

“I’m Ramon Morenno,” the older one said, placing his hand across his chest in a matter-of-fact manner. “This is my brother, Robert.”

“I know who you are,” Delmar growled. “Don’t act stupid with me. Just tell me what you’re doing in my valley.”

“We share this valley, remember?” Ramon responded. “Cool the hostility.”

“You share the mountains,” Delmar stepped forward and pointed at him, jabbing his finger lightly into his chest. “The valley is ours.”

Ramon scratched at the back of his head, feigning confusion. “Don’t you remember our fathers’ agreement to-”

“Damn your agreement!” Delmar cursed. “My father can believe what he wants, but as far as I’m concerned, you people have been nothing but trouble the entire time you’ve been here.”

“Delmar, with respect,” Caine stepped forward.

“Not now, Caine!” Delmar cut him off before turning to his friend. “Matheus, please take my sister home.”

“Of course,” Matheus nodded.

He took Rowan by the hand, firmly leading her away from the group and back into the village. He quietly urged her not to look back, and as they left, she heard the older of the brothers say, “I didn’t know you had a little sister.”

The cottage in which Rowan’s family lived was the biggest in Ravenna. The Chief’s home sat in the western corner of the village about half a mile from the market plaza in the center. Matheus led her through the gate in front of the cottage, neither of them noticing that it was already unlocked.

“Go inside, Rowan,” Matheus instructed her. “Go inside and don’t come out.”

“Why can’t I stay with Delmar?” Rowan whined, stamping her foot on the ground. “I’m old enough to know my family’s business.”

Matheus snickered a little. “It’s boring, Rowan. Trust me, you don’t wanna be a part of it.”

“Well, I can just ask my mother. She tells me everything.”

“You do that,” Matheus joked. “Just stay put, please. Delmar will be back soon.”

Rowan huffed as she turned and headed up the steps to the front door. She threw the door open, making herself heard as she entered. "Mother!" she called out in the tone of a needy child, but stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she closed the door.

Standing there, no further than the space between the foyer and the den, was Rowan’s parents. Her father was a tall and somewhat stocky man with a short, neatly trimmed beard that grayed with age along the edges. Delmar was definitely his spitting image. No one could say the same about Rowan, though. Standing at her husband’s side, Rowan’s mother contrasted in appearance with her unassuming brown hair and eyes. Whatever they had been saying, they stopped and stared at her as if they had not been expecting her to enter her own home.

Also staring at her, and standing opposite her parents, were two strangers she had never seen before. One of them was a man, around her father’s age, larger in height but not in mass, and far more menacing. Like the Morenno brothers she had seen earlier with Caine, these people were dressed in the clothing of the Outside, and she had a pretty good guess as to who they were.

The strangest looks, however, were coming from the woman who was with them. She was dwarfed by the man she was with, her clothing and overall appearance was far more tattered, and Rowan could have sworn she saw what looked like a bruise around her temple. Her green eyes matched those of the Morenno brothers, and as they locked with Rowan’s, she became breathless and glanced up at her husband with a look of anticipation.

“What’s going on?” Rowan murmured.

Before either of her parents could respond, the other man took a step toward her. “Who’s this?” he said in a low tone. “You never told me you had another child. She must be, what, 9, 10-years-old?”

The way he was speaking was unnerving to Rowan, as though he had known her in some way. Her father quickly stuck an arm out to stop him from taking another step.

“Hi, sweetie,” her mother said as calmly as she could. “Would you be a dear and go up to your room? Your father and I are busy.”

“But-” Rowan began.

“Now!” her father commanded over her. Rowan lowered her head hastily sulked over to the stairs. She lumbered up, casting a sideways glance through the bannister when she realized that nobody was watching her. Without thinking about what she was doing, Rowan ducked down as soon as she reached the top of the flight and peered down into the foyer, concealing her face as best she could.

“She’s a cutie,” the man said in a voice that was cold and by no means flattering. Looking at Rowan’s mother, he said, “She certainly doesn’t have your eyes.”

“You leave my wife and daughter out of this!” her father fired back. “That’s not what this is about.”

“I hope not,” he responded, glancing toward the woman beside him, “for your sake.”

The woman looked up at him, almost shaking. “Honey, I-”

“SHUT UP!” he boomed at her, which made Rowan jump where she hid. “Nobody is talking to you! We’ll have a little discussion about this later!”

“Morenno!” the Chief yelled over him. “Get on with your business or get out of my house!”

“Easy there, Chief. If you strain relations between our people even more than they already are-”

“Don’t hang that over our heads, Outsider!” Rowan’s mother jumped in. It always made Rowan proud to see her stand strong like that. “We allowed you to stay in our lands and live off of our resources.”

“Resources,” Morenno scoffed. “That’s rich. I wouldn’t be wasting my time here if you people weren’t slacking on your end of the bargain. Need I remind you that our agreement was that you provide us with wood, tools, food and the like and we protect you from threats beyond your borders.”

“What threats?” Rowan’s father challenged him. “You’ve done nothing but take advantage of our hospitality for years! That’s why we were forced to close our borders, and you’re not making this any easier on us! I have to look after my people just as much as you do yours.”

“That’s not my problem,” Morenno scowled. “Just live up to your end of the deal, or I can’t guarantee your safety.”

There was a deathlike silence that followed that penetrated even Rowan’s spirit, before her mother finally spoke up. “I think it’s time for you two to leave. Get out of my house now!” She had taken a menacing step forward but her husband raised an arm to calm her down.

“That’s right,” Morenno hissed under his breath. “Keep your bitch on her leash.”

Rowan gasped out loud at the sound of his obscene insult, unaware that she had almost given away that she had been spying.

“LEAVE!” her father screamed at the top of his lungs. At that point, Rowan saw fit to back away. She had seen enough already. As she slowly retreated to her room, she heard the front door open and the man called Morenno making his final, bone chilling remarks.

“Like I said, my wife and I are going to have a little chat on another subject. Heed my warning when I say this: if I find out that my suspicions are true, and you violated more than our agreement, I will see the wrath of the Outside brought down upon every single one of you.

He made good on those threats, Rowan thought to herself as she returned her mind to the present. To this day, she still had no idea what Morenno meant when he said that he suspected her father of violating more than just their agreement, but after all this time, it didn’t matter in the slightest. Not as far as she was concerned.

Sitting in her small quarters on that brisk spring night, Rowan’s mind kept going back through the devastating events of the past five years. Both her parents and the Morenno brothers’ had perished when this conflict began, and now Morenno’s anger with her father had trickled down to Ramon and Delmar, and through that, the brothers proceeded to destroy everything Rowan had come to know and love.

Her eyes were dry and raw. All the tears had been shed over the years. Sometimes it made her feel like nothing more than an empty shell; a vessel that needed to be filled by something, but by what? Some kind of closure, perhaps? Or Revenge? Rowan looked over at the wall where a long spear was supported. The very spear Delmar had crafted from the tree on the cliff. He had given it to her after everything else was taken from them - after her home was stolen and her people torn apart, like a blade thrust through the heart.

Rowan stared at the fine spear with narrow, vindictive eyes, and hoped to return the favor one day.