“Miruna! Hurry back inside, or you’ll catch cold!”
A young girl, no more than fourteen years old, squats beside a small pond in the grounds of the family home. If anyone asked, she’d say she’s just looking at the tadpoles, but in actuality, she’s looking for a toad to scare her brothers with. Her long brown hair is messily tied back in a braid, which is stained with mud; her brown eyes carefully comb through the grass, looking to locate their target.
“Miruna!” The voice grows closer.
Her formerly white dress is stained all sorts of shades between mud brown and grass green, while her shoes have long since been deserted somewhere in the tall grass. Suddenly—movement! A toad! The girl goes low to the ground and prepares to pounce, like an animal hunting its prey. Nothing stands between her and this toad.
“Miruna!”
The toad, spooked by the nearby voice, quickly hops back into hiding, lost forever.
“Aw, Elisei, I almost caught it!”
“Finally, you pay attention to me. Catching toads again, are we?”
The girl looks up from her position and stares at almost a mirror image of her own features; only this reflection is a bit older and a bit exasperated.
Miruna giggles, “Yup!”
“Well, I hope I wasn’t the target of one of your toad-related pranks this time.”
“Nope! This one was for Sorin!”
“Leave the poor boy alone, would you? His body can’t handle such frights.”
“Ugh, okay…”
Elisei holds his hand out to help her up, and Miruna grabs it with her muddy hands.
“Eugh!” The boy recoils with disgust, quickly withdrawing his hand and wiping it down his pants.
“You didn’t even give me a chance to get up!”
“Get up on your own; I don’t want that mud anywhere near me.”
“Is it okay if I get it on Iacob’s stuff, then?”
“You know what? Yes, it is; that brat has been tormenting me all week with that damned toy sword of his.”
Miruna laughs and begins to plot her next prank. Surely hiding the toy sword would work? After all, Iacob’s the one who keeps swatting her and Elisei with it.
“I see that the mind of the most cunning Bellerose is already hard at work planning her next step.”
“Huh? Oh! Quit it, Elisei!”
The boy chuckles but quickly stops as Miruna threatens to stomp on the muddy ground, hard. Unwilling to get splashed by the disgusting sludge, he begins tactical negotiations to appease his younger sister. “You know, dinner is almost ready.”
Miruna perks up as if she were a dog.
“I’m sure I could sneak past the cook and grab some bread and cheese from the pantry if you agree to prank Iacob.” He continues.
“Hmm…” Miruna makes a big show of considering this proposition, even though her answer to food has and always will be a resounding “Yes!”
“Now, I’ll head off to the kitchen while you make yourself look presentable, quickly.”
Miruna mock curtsies and runs off into the family home, no doubt tracking mud and all sorts of things inside. Something for the maids to deal with later.
Elisei lets out a deep exhale. The young man can attest to the fact that younger siblings are simply just exhausting sometimes. With his parents busy training their eldest, he, the next in line, was forced to become a bit of a babysitter towards his younger siblings. The maids could take care of mostly everything, except for things such as Miruna’s pranks, Iacob’s incessant annoyances, and Sorin’s insecurities.
Truth be told, Elisei did harbor some envy towards his elder brother, Adrian. Being a firstborn Bellerose meant learning the art of Night Hunting, something Adrian excelled at. But at the end of it all, he’d learned to treasure these somewhat peaceful days with his younger siblings, even if they did annoy him occasionally.
Before he can lose himself in his thoughts any further, though, he spots something dark, glistening in the tall grass.
“She forgot her shoes…”
“’Scuse me!” Miruna says as she barrels through the manor’s front door, illuminated by the setting sun.
One of the maids gasps at her appearance (and manners, frankly), but Miruna pays it no mind.
The child runs up the central staircase and turns right, dashing into her room. Being the only female heir was difficult, but it did have a perk: she didn’t, or couldn’t, share a room. Adrian and Elisei had their own, but Iacob and Sorin had to share, to Sorin’s distaste.
She makes her way to the bath and cleans herself of all the mud covering her body. Her hair proves to be much trickier, however, as she spends far too much time untangling it than she’d like. Her parents and elder brothers have often talked about cutting it, but she liked it long; it made her look like Adrian, save for the blond hair, and he wasn’t forced to tie it back.
Miruna gets herself dressed by grabbing the first dress that she can find in her closet. She likes paying attention to what she’s dressing in, but now, Elisei’s promise of bread and cheese is far more important.
A knock at her door lets her know that promise has been fulfilled.
“Elisei!” Miruna gleefully says as she opens the door.
“I’ve come to deliver the payment for your pranking services.” He says in a serious tone, though he’s obviously joking around.
Miruna decides to play along. “Why, thank you.” She grabs a loaf of bread with cheese laid atop it. “This humble Bellerose will ensure that Iacob’s actions do not go unpunished.”
Elisei chuckles and mocks, “Humble?”
“Oh, shush! Let me eat my food in peace.” She protests.
“Alright, alright, humble little Mimi.” Elisei says as he bites into his own serving of ‘pillaged’ food.
“Stop! I’m too old to be called that!”
“Miruna, we’ll both reach our sixties, and I’ll still call you Mimi when you particularly deserve it.” He teases.
“If you keep it up, you won’t live to see thirty!”
“Fine, twist my arm, won’t you? I’ll stop.”
“Good!” Miruna smiles triumphantly.
“For now.”
“Ugh!”
The two continue to argue in between bites of food, not out of malice or annoyance, but, deeply, out of love for each other as family.
“I think I can prank Iacob during dinner.”
“During? Mother and Father will be present, Miruna. You won’t be able to get away with anything at dinner.” Elisei inquires, confused.
“I know. But you know who isn’t going to be present at dinner? Sorin.”
“I’m not sure I follow, but go on.”
“Sorin wouldn’t pass up the chance to get back at Iacob for something. So I’ll bring his dinner up to him and ask him where Iacob stashes his toy sword away while we’re all eating. He has to know.” The young girl explains.
“Cunning and resourceful, remind me to never get on your bad side, Mimi.”
“Well, you’re about to!”
“Oh! So scary!”
Miruna stares at him, unimpressed. “Thanks for the food, Eli.”
“You’re very welcome. Now, it’s time to execute your plan.”
Dinner at the Bellerose family manor always starts out as a messy affair. Mostly due to Iacob. The young boy always chats up a storm to Adrian, trying to pry Nightbeast Hunting techniques out of him. Either that or he attempts to convince their mother, Iasmina, to be taught things she’d only teach her firstborn. Little Iacob might prove the bravest of the family by even daring to ask such things.
Iasmina Eva Bellerose is a woman who could only be described as ‘severe.’ The only child of her father, she had no choice in becoming one of the strongest Nightbeast Hunters in the world. She reflects her strict upbringing on her children, namely the new generation’s Night Hunter, Adrian. Who’d rather spend a peaceful life with his beloved, Călina. However, that is a secret that is his and his alone.
Their father, Eugen, however, is much more lenient when it comes to such things. Formerly a town doctor, he’s taught all of his children how to treat wounds, from the most basic to some of the more dangerous ones.
After everyone’s managed to settle down, Iasmina, from the head of the table, alone, framed by her husband and Adrian, utters a few words of prayer as the maids bring in the food for the family. Roast chicken, numerous salads, and plates of baked sweet potatoes are scattered all over the dinner table.
Poor Eugen is tasked with getting Iacob settled down beside him, aided by Elisei, who sits at the far end of said side of the table. Călina, Adrian’s bride-to-be, giggles at the show in front of her as Miruna steps up from her seat beside her and heads towards one of the maids who is making her way up the stairs, but not before asking permission.
“Mother?”
“What is it?” She asks impatiently.
“May I bring dinner up to Sorin tonight?”
“Miruna, that is what the maids are for, child.”
Eugen grabs Iasmina’s hand. “Dear, I think it would be a good opportunity for the children to bond.”
Iasmina considers this “Fine, I’ll allow it.” She snaps her fingers and points at one of the maids. “You. Give that tray to Miruna.”
“Yes, Lady Iasmina.” The maid replies.
Miruna carefully picks up the tray, struggling to balance it under her mother’s scrutiny, but manages to hold it without spilling anything.
“You.” Iasmina says, pointing to the same maid as earlier, “Follow her until she arrives at Iacob and Sorin’s room, and make sure she doesn’t dawdle.”
“Yes, Lady Iasmina.” Comes the same answer as always.
The maid, a relatively new hire, trails behind Miruna as she makes her way to her destination. Thinking nobody would hear her, she sighs and says, “My name is Renata, not ‘You.’” Except somebody does hear her, Miruna.
Miruna looks back at her, and Renata gasps, “Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean anything by such a comment.”
“Miss Renata, I won’t tell.” Miruna promises.
The maid, Renata, exhales. “Thank you, Lady Miruna.”
“You don’t have to call me Lady! Just let me talk to Sorin a bit.”
“Of course, Miruna. But make it quick, for both of our sakes.”
“I will!”
“What is it?” Miruna is greeted by Sorin, currently absorbed in a book; his shoulder-length blond hair droops forwards. He’s somehow managed to inherit his father’s appearance but has the same severe personality as his mother.
The boy has grown up isolated from the rest of his family due to a condition he was born with. A ‘heart murmur,’ Miruna’s father called it. As far as Miruna understands it, this means that Sorin’s body is quite delicate, and he must avoid strenuous activity. Books are his sanctuary, a way to experience adventures he feels he cannot. It’s also had the side effect of making him an unusually verbose child, especially for a ten-year-old.
“I brought you your food, Sorin!” Miruna says cheerfully.
“Great, thank you. Please leave it over there.” Sorin doesn’t look up from his book.
After a beat of silence from both of them, the boy asks, “What is it you want?”
“I want to know where Iacob put his toy sword.”
“And why should I tell you that?” Sorin looks up from his book; despite being hidden behind his glasses, his gaze is still piercing.
“So you can get back at him for making you faint that one time.” Miruna negotiates.
“Sure, I’ll talk.”
“Really!?”
“Yes, as long as you get me something from the kitchen next time, too.” Sorin remarks.
“What!? How did you know?”
“You have crumbs all over your face.”
Miruna, embarrassed, hurries to scrub her face of any crumbs, but none are to be found.
“Good job falling for it.” He chuckles.
“Sorin! Seriously, how did you know?”
“I heard Elisei talking about sneaking into the kitchen for you, but I didn’t quite catch what he actually went in to grab. I had the window open at the time.” Sorin says as he goes back to his book.
“Okay, okay, you caught us.” Miruna huffs. “I promise next time we’ll get something for you too. Now, where’s the sword?”
“I don’t see any food around here.”
“I just brought you your dinner.”
“You know what I mean. Come back tomorrow with something from the kitchen, and maybe I’ll tell you.” Sorin turns another page in his book.
Before Miruna can argue any further, she hears knocking at the door. “Miruna, you should be heading back downstairs, or else we’ll be made to face Lady Iasmina’s wrath.”
“Coming!” Miruna calls out before turning to Sorin, “I’ll be back with food from the kitchen tomorrow.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Sorin says as Miruna exits the room.
Luckily, Miruna, and Renata as well, don’t face any consequences. Well, Miruna does face one consequence: her chicken has gone room temperature. But compared to her mother’s wrath, it’s a small price to pay. Plus, her plans against Iacob have finally begun to progress. All she needs now is to provide Sorin with his named price, and at dinnertime tomorrow, Iacob’s toy sword will be well hidden somewhere.
After dinner, Miruna relays the update in her plans to Elisei.
“So I’m going to need you to sneak into the kitchen again.”
“Two days in a row? You know that’s impossible. The cook will be more on guard after having the pantry raided earlier tonight.” Elisei explains.
“I know, but that’s the only way.”
“Hmm, I think… That you should be able to solve this on your own.”
“You’re the one who asked me to do this!” Miruna complains.
“I know, and I’m in no rush.” Elisei says nonchalantly.
“This is one of your tests again, isn’t it?” Miruna pouts.
“Oh! You caught me!” The boy raises both of his hands in mock surprise.
“What are you testing now?”
“Your cunning and resourcefulness, of course.”
“I knew it! What you said to me earlier was all just for a test!” Miruna crosses her arms.
Elisei chuckles, “Sort of. I am tired of Iacob whacking me with his toy sword, though. That is true.”
“I’ll prank him so good he won’t attack us with his toy sword ever again!” She says, full of resolve.
“Such ambition from my baby sister.”
“Quit it!” Miruna says, or, she meant to say until she started yawning mid-sentence, so the end result actually ended up sounding more like “Quih ih!”
“And like all baby siblings, it’s time for bed.” Elisei continues his teasing.
“Fine…”
Rest always comes easily to Miruna. After all, her room is away from her brothers’, who sleep in the west wing of the manor. She shares the east wing with her parents and, for the moment, Călina as well, and she’ll accept being a bit quieter any day of the week over dealing with the west wing’s chaos.
Her room is messy despite the maids’ efforts; there’s always some object out of place in there. Currently, a book on etiquette lies abandoned face down on the bedside table, something Miruna found dreadfully boring but was sent down as mandatory reading from her mother. She’d much rather spend her days outside than reading, something she and Iasmina disagree on.
Now if the books were about hunting Nightbeasts, that’d be a different story. But being the only female heir to the Bellerose name, she’d been pushed into becoming a ‘proper lady’ by her mother several times. All of these attempts end up being negated by an afternoon of playing outside in the woods instead of learning what ‘little ladies ought to do.’
It’s always worse when Adrian is away on a Nightbeast Hunting mission, however. Since her mother’s attention is no longer on him, she cracks down on the house rules, hard. Why, the other month she had to spend a week confined to the manor itself until she learned proper balance when walking.
Iasmina is already talking about finding a suitor and arranging a marriage in the future, to Miruna’s chagrin. Adrian is already about to be married; why should she have to worry about that as well? As far as Miruna knows, the idea of marriage disinterests her.
With all these thoughts swirling in her mind, she dreams of adventuring in the forest, only to find a clearing full of books and essays about a lady’s etiquette and being forced to do the most nonsensical things to be able to leave. Such as balancing a cup of tea on top of her head.
Miruna awakens the next day and goes about her morning routine. After breakfast, she decides to go outside to play only to be barred by one of the maids. It seems Mother is teaching Adrian something, and nobody is allowed to interrupt. The curious young girl climbs up to the west wing to be able to view Adrian’s training through the window. Călina is sitting upstairs as well.
Călina turns away from the window and greets her, “Why, hello Miruna!”
“Hi, Miss Călina.” Miruna says as she sits down beside her.
Călina’s long black hair shines, illuminated by the morning sun. Fitting, considering her personality is warm just like it. Beloved by the whole family, Miruna herself was overjoyed when she and Adrian announced that they were to be married soon. She used to be a seamstress in the nearby town, which is how she met Adrian. Part of his overcoat was damaged while he was Night Hunting in the town, and she’d offered to fix it for him as thanks, which Adrian accepted. Ever since, instead of asking one of the maids to mend his clothes, he’d go into town just to see Călina.
Miruna can’t make out the words being said outside, but it looks like her mother is teaching Adrian a new technique to use with his whip. Using the whip to swing from tree to tree, he’s taken to it like a fish swimming in the ocean.
“Amazing, isn’t he?” Călina comments.
“Well, he is my elder brother!” Miruna says with pride in her voice.
“That he is!” Călina strokes Miruna’s hair, “You know, I’m truly thankful that your family has welcomed me the way it has. It’s been wonderful living here.”
“That’s because you’re wonderful, Miss Călina!”
“You’re wonderful too, brave little Miruna.”
The peaceful moment shared between the two is interrupted by Iacob barreling down the hallway to look out the window.
“Is he using his sword?” He asks, with his own toy sword in hand, ready to mimic any techniques he can lay his eyes upon.
“It’s the whip this time, Iacob.” Miruna answers.
“Aw…” he pouts, laying his sword down in disappointment.
Călina tries to appease the young boy. “Well, I’m sure there’s still plenty to learn just from observing the way he moves.”
“Yeah, but the sword is way cooler.”
“Of course you’d think that.” Miruna says while pointing at the boy’s toy sword.
Iacob pays her comment no mind as he continues observing Adrian. Practice seems to be wrapping up since Adrian picked up on the technique so easily.
“Man, I didn’t get to learn anything this time.” Iacob complains.
“There’s always tomorrow.” Călina says as she ruffles his hair.
Iacob ducks out of the way and picks up his toy sword off the ground. With how often he has it in hand, it should be considered part of him by now.
“That was boring.” Iacob yawns, “Miruna, practice with me!”
“With what? I don’t have anything.”
“En garde!” He starts swatting at Miruna’s feet.
“Ow! Iacob, quit it!”
Călina moves to defuse the situation by grabbing Iacob’s toy sword but has her hands swatted instead. “Ouch! Iacob! Give me the sword.”
“You’re not my mother!” Iacob says as he keeps on attacking Miruna with his sword.
“Iacob, you’re the worst! Seriously, stop it!” Miruna yells as she tries to block his blows.
Iacob laughs, “You’re such a girl! You’ll never be strong like Adrian!” And shows no signs of stopping.
“What does Miruna being a girl have anything to do with strength?” Adrian asks as he walks towards the group, no doubt having heard the ruckus from downstairs.
“Adrian!” The group of three calls out.
“Iacob. Go to your room.” Adrian says with authority.
Iacob protests, “What? But I'm right!”
“Room, now.”
“Fine.”
Iacob leaves the hall and enters his and Sorin’s room, head down and disillusioned, his blue eyes filling with tears.
Adrian pats Miruna on the head, greeting her, and moves to give Călina a kiss.
“Hello, Adrian.” Călina pecks him on the nose in return.
“Blegh.” Miruna mocks.
“How rude you are to your rescuer!” Adrian jokes. He has his mother’s long blond hair and his father’s blue eyes. A perfect combination of them both in appearance and in personality, the young man is relaxed in demeanor but can get serious in an instant if the need arises.
Adrian checks Călina’s hands, where she was swatted, and then moves to check Miruna’s legs in the area where Iacob hit her with his sword. “Călina, dear, your hands will be fine. Little Miruna, however, I am afraid that bruises may form where you were struck.”
“It really hurt!” Miruna sobs, just a little.
“Oh, come here, Miruna.” Adrian envelops the little girl in a warm hug, rubbing circles on her shoulder, while Călina slowly strokes her hair.
“We should do something about that toy sword of his.” She comments.
“I shall talk to Mother about the matter; do not worry yourselves.” Adrian says, formality seared into him by his mother.
Miruna extricates herself from the hug, not wanting to seem weak; Adrian frowns but says nothing.
“Miruna. You are strong. You are as much of a Bellerose as I am; do not forget that.”
“I know…” She sniffles.
“Hmm… Shall I teach you how to swing a sword properly after lunch?”
“Won’t Mother get angry?”
“It will be okay. It is just self-defense, and we shall practice with sticks.”
“Okay!” Miruna nods, eager.
Miruna all but inhales her food at the table. Her mother raises an eyebrow at her, and she’s forced to eat at a normal pace, while Elisei giggles at the display. Adrian gives her a knowing smile and a wink.
Once everyone has finished eating, Adrian speaks up. “Mother, I will be teaching Miruna some self-defense today.”
“Hmm… Very well.” She concedes.
“What about me?” Iacob protests.
“I’ve heard about the incident with your toy sword, Iacob; you are to be confined to your room until dinner.” Iasmina says.
Iacob, clearly unhappy, slams down his eating utensils on the table and runs up the stairs, a worried-looking Elisei trailing behind him.
Iasmina lets out a sigh of irritation.
After a moment, Adrian stands up and walks towards Miruna. “Shall we go, then?”
“Yes!”
The two make their way outside, and Miruna sits atop the steps while Adrian finds fittingly sized sticks for today’s practice. He quickly finds some in the forest and hands one to Miruna.
“Alright, show me how you would swing a sword.”
Miruna swings the stick downwards at an angle but is overeager and almost falls forwards. “Oops.”
“Not bad! Not bad.”
“R-really?” Miruna blushes with pride.
“You’re at a good starting point; you clearly have the strength for it considering the swiftness of your swing. What needs work is the rest of your body.”
“How so?”
“I shall demonstrate.” Adrian quickly and effortlessly swings his stick, able to return to his starting position effortlessly. “Did you spot any differences in how I swung against how you did?”
“Umm…” Miruna trails off.
“The difference was that I moved my body alongside my sword—er, stick. You should still let your stick lead you, but move with it. If you strike forwards, move forwards with it and twist your body. Then all you need is strength to move back to your starting position.” Adrian explains.
“I think I understand. Let me try again.”
“Go ahead.”
Miruna tries once more, again swinging it at a downwards angle; this time, however, she manages to return to her starting position, but not without a little difficulty.
“Very good!” Adrian congratulates the girl, “You’re almost there; I just need to teach you something else.”
“What is it?” Miruna asks.
“You should let the weight of the stick and gravity do the work when you’re swinging downwards, or else you will tire quickly.”
Miruna tries again, this time completing the task almost effortlessly. “Like this?”
“Excellent!” Adrian claps.
“Really!?” Miruna beams.
“Really.” Adrian says as he pats her on the head and ruffles her hair a little bit. “Now, let’s practice some other types of swings, but not so many as for you to get exhausted.”
“Okay!”
The two continue practicing downward swings, upward swings, side swings, and thrusts until the sun begins to set. Once Miruna notices this, she abruptly stops and remembers her promise to Sorin from the previous night.
“Done for today?” Adrian asks.
“Y-yeah! I promised Sorin something.”
“Well then, I won’t keep you.”
“Thank you for today, Adrian!”
“Always, little lady.”
Miruna hurries towards the kitchen and begins to strategize the pantry raid. She’ll go for bread and some cut meat today, possibly to make a sandwich with; she doesn’t know. She begins to sneak inside until she spots a familiar face: Renata.
“Hi, Miss Renata!” She cheerfully greets the maid.
“Oh? Hello, Lady Miruna. To what do I owe your presence here?” The young woman smiles.
“It’s a secret…” Miruna debates telling her the truth but does so anyway: “I couldn’t ask you to look the other way as I grab some food from the pantry, could I?”
“Hmm… Well, I do owe you a favor.”
“You do?” Miruna asks, incredulous.
“Yes, why just the other night I remember complaining about something, and you kept quiet about it. Oh, I wonder what it could have been.” She says with some amount of sarcasm.
“Oh! Right!” Miruna grins, rubbing her nose.
“Go right ahead, Lady Miruna; just don’t grab too much.”
Miruna makes her way inside the pantry and takes a long look around it. First, she grabs some bread and books it right to the salami, but now that time is on her side, she takes another look. She makes sure to grab some ham as well as some cheese and puts everything in a small bag.
When she steps outside, Renata is still the only one in the kitchen, who seems to be scribbling something on a piece of paper.
Miruna slowly walks up to her and asks, “What is it you’re doing?”
“Oh! I’m drawing.” Renata replies.
“May I see?”
“No, you may not. It’s not finished yet.”
“Aw, come on, please?”
“No.” She insists, not looking up from her task.
“May I at least know what it is?” Miruna shifts in place.
“Fine. It’s you, but it’s unfinished, so I don’t want you to see it yet.”
“That’s so cool!”
“You haven’t even seen it yet.” Renata chuckles.
“But still!”
“I’ll be sure to show you when it’s done… Probably after dinner at this point.” She continues to draw.
“I’m excited!” Miruna says as she prances around the kitchen.
“Well, you better be excited somewhere else before someone sees you with that pilfered food.” Renata laughs.
“You’re right!” Miruna gasps. “See you, Miss Renata.”
“Until later, Lady Miruna.”
Miruna walks up the stairs over to Sorin and Iacob’s room. As it’s right before dinnertime, Iacob’s been set free of his bedroom and now roams the manor as usual, probably annoying Elisei. She knocks on the door, but nobody answers.
“Sorin? Hello?”
She’s met only by silence. She knocks again. Silence, again. Worried, she opens the door only to find a crying Sorin, lying down on his bed.
“Sorin! What’s happened?” Miruna asks as she hurries to his bedside.
“Miruna…” He acknowledges her presence, but not much else.
“Is it your heart again?”
“Yes… Iacob forced me to… Play with him… I didn’t want to… But…” Sorin explains in between sobs.
“What happened?”
“He… Struck my back… Really hard… It scared me a lot… So I had to lie down… I think I fainted…” Sorin continues to sob, while Miruna envelops him in a hug.
“It’s okay, I’m here now, and I brought food.”
“Thanks… Miruna…”
Miruna grasps her bag and opens it a little to show off its contents. “Look, I’ve got us bread, salami, ham, and some cheese as well.”
Sorin smiles through his shortness of breath, “You kept… Your promise…”
“Well, of course I did!”
Sorin coughs, “Iacob’s toy sword… Is under his… Bedside drawers…”
“Who cares about that right now? I’m worried about you, Sorin.” Miruna places her hand on his forehead, as if checking for a fever. He’s not warm.
“I’m just… A little dizzy now… It’ll go away…”
“Here, I’ll grab you one of your books and read it to you.” Miruna offers.
“It’s okay… I would rather not read right now… Iacob broke my glasses anyway…” Sorin sobs just a little.
“He what!?”
“Yes, he—”
“That’s it! We’re tossing that toy sword of his, and I know just the place!” Miruna says, angrily.
“Where?”
“Into the pond!”
“But that’s outside… And I want to be there to see it…”
“Don’t worry.” Miruna reassures him, “I’ll carry you outside with me.”
“What if the maids see us…?” He asks.
“They won’t. They’re too busy getting ready for dinner, anyway.”
“Okay.” Sorin, seemingly recovered, puts on his glasses, one of the lenses cracked. “I can still see a little.”
Miruna grabs the toy sword from under the bedside drawer and positions herself with her back facing Sorin. “Here, stand up on the bed, wrap your arms around my neck, and carry the toy sword and food for me, and I’ll pick up your legs.”
Sorin does just that. “Ready.” He says, loot in hand.
“Let’s go.” Miruna steps outside of the room.
“We should do this quickly, before they call us for dinner.” Miruna says quietly as she sneaks around the manor grounds.
Sorin nods.
Once they finally arrive at the pond, Miruna sets Sorin down on the ground and sits beside him. “Do you want to throw it, or should I?” She asks, referring to the toy sword.
“I’d like to throw it.” Sorin says, resolved.
“Here you go.” Miruna hands over the toy sword.
Sorin shakily stands up and winds up his throw. He lets go, and the toy sword makes it a good two meters into the pond, invisible under the dark, murky water. After the throw, he falls back down onto the soft earth with a quiet thud.
“Good job!” Miruna exclaims.
“Thanks…”
The two sit there for a few moments before Miruna grabs the bag of food and begins shaking it. “Dinner is taking a while; do you want a sandwich?”
“Yes.”
Sorin makes himself two sandwiches with ham and cheese, avoiding the salami altogether, and begins to eat. Miruna mimics him but makes hers with all three ingredients instead, even eating some of the salami by itself.
“Sorry, I forgot you didn’t like salami.”
“It’s okay. You’ve brought plenty of food, far more than what was needed to get me to tell you where the toy sword was hidden. Today, I probably would have told you for free.” Sorin says in between bites of sandwich.
“Yeah, but if I didn’t, then we wouldn’t be eating outside like this, would we?”
“You’re correct. It’s… nice. To eat with someone.” Sorin speaks quietly.
“And it’s nice not to be at the dinner table with Mother looking at my every move. We should do this more often.” Miruna moves onto her second sandwich.
“If they don’t catch us.”
“They won’t. I have an ally in the kitchen: a maid named ‘Renata.’”
“I’ll remember the name, then.” Sorin follows Miruna’s lead and begins his second sandwich as well.
A moment of silence passes by until Miruna speaks up once more.
“Being outside is nice, isn’t it?” Miruna asks.
“It is… I wish I were able to leave whenever I’d like.”
“I’ll ask Mother and Father tomorrow if we can arrange something. I’m outside a lot, so I’m sure they’d let you tag along. We have to get those glasses fixed as well.”
Sorin remembers the state that his glasses are in. “Damned Iacob.” He grumbles.
Miruna chuckles at hearing her much younger brother speak in such a way.
“It’d be nice to at least read by the shade.”
“I’m sure they’d let you do that!”
“I hope so.” Sorin yawns.
Miruna smiles and turns to look at him until she notices something strange: his back is illuminated by something, like a torch.
Miruna stands up so she can turn around and look. “I think they’ve come to look for us—”
The light source is much larger than she imagined. It covers the entire manor. She stands stock still.
“Miruna?” Sorin asks but receives no answer, so he stands up as well. “Smoke…”
Fire.