Chapter 3.12

Elbows digging into his legs, chin leaning on his steepled fingers, Ethan stared off towards the running water of the river. The light of the waning moon provided some light to the gathered brothers. Lucas, Felix and Joseph had washed long ago, yet all three waited for Ethan to drag him to the river where Lucas recounted what happened in the afternoon.

After long moments of silence, he sighed and looked at his brothers with something akin to sadness. "I'm sorry." He apologized to his surprised brothers. "It's because of me that you…"

"No." Joseph cut him off.

He might not be the most mature brother, or the most responsible like Lucas and Ethan, yet he was the one who introspected the most when he knew he did something bad or was in the wrong. That was how he was able to stop sleeping around with married women; after the Chief's scolding and his brothers' constant advises.

With Isabelle's words, he once again thought about his actions, what brought him to them, why he reacted like that, and what he could do to be better, to not make the same mistake.

He had apologized to Felix for his attitude from the past few days. And while awkward, as he was still searching for his footing among his older brothers, Felix also apologized to Joseph for being mean and that he would share anything with him but his clothes.

Joseph, then, realized what Isabelle was trying to say: their childhood could have been better.

There was no one to blame for that. True, they could blame their irresponsible father for drinking too much, but the man did not ask to be ran over by a horse. They could blame the person riding the horse, but what could the person do? Take care of a stranger's orphaned kids? Give them money that would have most likely be cheated off by the villagers?

Things happened. The four accepted that. They could not go around raging about the injustice and become trapped in petty feelings as if the world owned them everything. Like that, they would not have gotten where they stood. It had been their willing sacrifices that saw them still alive sixteen years after tragedy struck their family.

So, no, Joseph was not going to accept his brother's apology. "You did nothin' wrong." He claimed, crossing his arms over his chest, glaring at Ethan. "We just… We grew up with only a roof above our heads and barely filled our bellies, so we're possessive of what little else we have." He slowly tried to explain himself. "We're also used to losin', so…" He directly looked at Ethan, who also understood the loss of hope after seeing yet another woman leave.

"So, what we get from Isabelle's even more precious." Ethan finished for his brother.

"But, is that so bad?" Felix interjected, earning his brothers' gazes. He shrank a bit, but continued. "We do things for Isabelle 'cause we like her, and she does things for us 'cause she likes us. Right?" He asked, a bit unsure at the end.

"We do." Ethan nodded, sure that all four felt the same for her. "Still, let's not make this a competition." He was finally able to see the problem. Each of them wanted to hoard her; her attention, her affection, her gifts. Granted, there were things too personal to share, but she should not be seen as a possession to own.

The other three frowned, but nodded; each coming to their own conclusions.

When they returned to the house, Isabelle was already asleep. As expected. So, they also settled down in bed, with Felix taking his place beside her.

Next morning found Lucas staring at Isabelle on the bed as she carefully sewed the garments she had been working on the previous day.

Early morning brought a Spring shower, so it was chilly outside. Because the seasons were moving onto a warmer climate, none of the brothers thought she might have needed warmer clothes. They had their own old but trusty padded jackets to fend off the cold, yet she had nothing but her thick sheets.

So, she remained in bed until the weather got warmer.

Joseph was at the patch while Felix tinkered in the kitchen fermenting something.

A few days ago, when Lucas sold game to Monthe, he had asked the bulkier man about methods to preserve food. Monthe gave him three options he himself used: pickling, fermenting and preserving. One used vinegar, the other salt, and the last used either sugar or lemon juice. Depending on the vegetable, that was the method they could use.

So, with the same money he gained from the sold game, Lucas took the assertive decision to buy more sugar and salt, and got spooked by the price of vinegar but still bought a medium jar. Strangely, while doing his purchases, he felt an unsettling gaze on him. However, as he saw no one trying to harm him or rob him, he put the feeling aside and made his way back home.

Once back, he recounted what he was told to his brothers and the three started their own preserving task. That mostly fell onto Felix's shoulders.

Sconced in the warm sheets, Isabelle felt at peace, even with her finger throbbing from time to time. Lucas' presence was very soothing – even with his staring. He was not attentive and bold like Ethan, sensual and feisty like Joseph, or a chatterbox full of vibrant energy like Felix. He was just there. Silent but present.

"Are you happy?" The only problem of him not talking that much was that he came up with questions or statements out of nowhere. As if a whole conversation took place in his head and he would only voice out random parts of it.

Isabelle did not immediately reply, but she did glance at him to let him know she had heard him. She did the last stitches on the piece she was working on and put it down. He, thankfully, did not mind the prolonged silence and patiently waited. That was one thing she liked about him, his patience; things with him were slow, but well thought out.

Very sure.

"I cannot always be happy. There will be times I will be angry, or sad. There will also be times I will want to be alone, and that I will be frustrated. I will feel many things. I just hope I go through all that together with you all." She finally told him with a small smile on her face.

Lucas sat up with a solemn expression. His mind churned with all sort of thoughts, as his heart raced in his chest. It was not the answer he expected, but it was so much better. He hummed and nodded. "I understand. As long as we're together." He concluded.

Isabelle put her sewing tools away, done with her garments and crawled on the bed towards him. She planted herself on his lap, grabbed his chin and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. "That is right." She whispered, noticing his darkening eyes. She brushed his beard and thought it needed a trim.

Lucas rested his hands on her hips and stared at her lips, clearly expressing what he wanted. She demurely smiled and leaned closer…

"Lucas!" Felix barged into the house. "Joseph's fighting!" He exclaimed; sweating and panting, his expression one of urgency.

Lucas regretfully guided Isabelle back on the bed and stood. "Where?" He asked as he quickly put on his shoes. Then, he rushed out, followed by Felix, and way behind Isabelle also followed.

I had no idea they could walk so fast!

"The patch. Some guys were in it and..." Felix quickly explained what he knew.

When he had gone to the patch to ask Joseph if more lemons could be picked, he had heard his brother yelling at another person. Next thing he knew, the two were rolling on the ground, throwing punches and kicks. That was when he decided to bring Lucas to help. After all, the teen had never fought in his life. Not a physical fight, anyway. 

Isabelle, who had lagged behind, was worried. Fights were a messy matter. Things could go wrong in every possible way. The closer she got to the patch, the better she could see that people were already gathered around it. They were talking, watching something with excitement, pointing and snickering. There were some women screaming at the forefront with one being louder than the others.

Isabelle had to push her way through the villagers to get to the center of the situation. What she saw took her breath away and filled her with great sadness. The whole patch… was completely destroyed. And, in the middle of it, Joseph was still fighting with a man. He looked worse for wear, with a split lip and a swelling eye, yet the other guy was more miserable.

Lucas was withstanding the screaming, verbal abuse of a middle-aged woman. Felix had no idea what to do: if he had to stop Joseph's fight or help Lucas in saying a few words to the woman as his brother could not seem to come up with a single retort. Amidst the chaos, Isabelle clearly made out that woman's figure.

Milly noticed the other's intense stare and avoided it, looking worriedly in Joseph's direction. She never thought… She and everybody around startled when a voice spoke up, rather loudly.

"What the hell are you doing, Joseph?!" Isabelle cried out. She was loud enough to silence everybody around her. Even the fighting men stopped and looked at her. "Why have you not broken his legs and arms, yet?" She imperiously demanded.

Joseph was stunned for a moment before grinning, showing bloodied teeth. Gasps and alarmed words rang out as he grabbed a stone from the side and rose it towards the whimpering man on the ground.

"STOP! Stop, you dog!" The middle-aged woman shrieked. There was a sickening crunch and a wail. "You… you..." Pale, the woman shakily pointed at Joseph, who threw the stone aside after breaking the man's hand. He swayed a bit on his feet, but steadied himself with Felix's help, who dragged him towards Lucas in search of protection.

"That is what he gets for breaking into others' property and ruining a family's livelihood." Isabelle somberly said, glancing at everybody who gathered and did nothing to stop what the trespasser had done. They shuffled and avoided her pointed gaze.

"You, you whore!" The middle-aged woman, who turned out to be Mrs. Ekore, hissed, pointing at Isabelle.

Isabelle was taken by surprise the last time the woman spat vitriol at her, but she was ready this time. "Save that for your daughter, the actual whore in this whole story." She snapped.

"How dare you!" Mrs. Ekore fumed and ran towards Isabelle with the intent of hitting her, but she was stopped by Lucas. "Release me, you filthy dog!"

"What's going on here?!" A new voice boomed. Everybody cowered at it, knowing well to whom it belonged.

The Chief had arrived.

"'twas Joseph, Chief! We just wanted to help 'im, an' he became crazy, throwin' punches and all!" A young man who followed the Chief immediately cried out. "My brother…" He trailed off, paling as he finally noticed the state his brother was in.

Mrs. Ekore took that moment to start sobbing. "My poor boy!… We want justice, Chief! That villainous woman told Joseph ta break my Randy's head with a stone."

"What?!" The young man ran towards the apparently fainted Randy. "Blood.. There's blood!"

Isabelle coldly watched their whole drama, not willing to deal with them any longer. She might shave years of her precious life if she continued mingling with them. "If you believe what they say, I will lose all respect for you, Chief." The people around gasped. The Chief put his sharp gaze on her. "This whole mess started with her." She claimed, pointing at Milly, who did nothing but curl on herself.

"Stop spoutin' lies! It's all you!" Mrs. Ekore covered her daughter with her body.

Ignoring the screams of the deluded lady, Isabelle continued: "She had an affair with a servant, resulting in a child. And, just because her husband is cheating on her with a cousin, she wanted to make the child pass as Joseph's." She had no qualms in unveiling the whole matter to all and sunder. If they wanted to play dirty, then they had to be ready to roll in the mud.

"Lies! How can ye tell such lies?!" Mrs. Ekore yelled, as if being loud would help her cover the truth. Many spectators looked at the two with meaningful gazes. Everybody knew how Milly used to look for Joseph before being married off in a hurry. The new woman also boldly and candidly spoke, so there could be some truth in her words despite Mrs. Ekore saying the contrary.

"Whether I am lying or not, you know all too well." Isabelle rejoined. "I could have put the matter aside if your daughter got away from Joseph. Not only has she ruined her own marriage, she wants to ruin another person's relationship. And… For whatever reason, you did this." She gestured at the destroyed patch.

"We only wanted to help!" The young man tried to maintain his statement, shaking like a leaf as things got so out of control.

"Yes, you helped a family of five have nothing to eat in the future. Are you going to share your food with us? Are you going to feed us until the next harvest?" Isabelle questioned him. The young man only glanced at his mother, asking for help. "Since you cannot do it, then compensate for the damages."

"Compen… Ye were the one who hurt my son! You told that dog to break his arms and legs!" Mrs. Ekore screeched.

"Either you compensate, or I ruin your patch!" Isabelle demanded, unyielding. "We are just dogs anyway. We have nothing to lose." She grinned at the middle-aged lady, who looked ready to faint from rage.