Breaks and Books

XX

Close by the old shack in the forest, a flat slab of stone sat beside a pine tree. The stone curved downwards, but it was smooth and positioned in such a way that the sun beat down on it in the morning and heated it up. It was almost as if it was built specifically for sitting. It was certainly Arnold's favorite place to sit. Occasionally he felt guilty about chasing a sunbathing lizard away so he could take his spot. But then, if he sat very still, sometimes they came back and joined him again.

Arnold liked to sit on the slab of stone when he had some free time and think about things. Life, his friends. His grandparents. Sometimes he would daydream about his parents going on fantastic adventures with him. But sometimes he would just enjoy his surroundings, listen to the pigeons which cooed in the trees around him, and wonder who had once lived in the shack. He knew, based on past conversations, that Gerald has some of his own ideas about who lived in the shack. Maybe Gerald was right, and it really had belonged to a Pigeon Man.

On this particular morning, Arnold had a lot on his mind. Above him, a light breeze wove its way through the trees, occasionally gusting strongly enough to stretch down to his stone seat and touch him. He idly gazed up as sunlight broke up flickering splotches of leafy shape and color. Normally he would be enraptured with his beautiful surroundings, but Arnold happened to be distracted enough by his thoughts that he could have been sitting in a pigsty without knowing the difference.

Cecile, Helga. Helga, Cecile. It was a lot to wrap his head around. How could it be possible that two people could rouse such different feelings in him, and then turn out to be the same person? More importantly, how the heck had he missed that? It had to have been the veil, he reassured himself. Or the dim torchlight in the castle. I mean, how could anybody tell who was who at that festival?

Arnold heard some leaves crunching nearby and turned to see Friar Simmons approaching from the edge of the forest. Beyond him, the village was close enough that Arnold could see the tops of buildings through the tree branches. He went to the shack when he got the chance so he could enjoy some time alone, but Friar Simmons was a welcome visitor.

"Hello, Friar Simmons."

"Hello Arnold. I notice you like being alone by the shack here in the forest sometimes. You're braver than some of the other villagers, with all the stories they tell about the forest. Even Ernie complains when he has to go cut trees."

Arnold laughed. "I guess it just feels peaceful out here to me. Even at night, I wouldn't say it's very threatening."

"Tell me, Arnold – what are you doing out here today?"

"Just thinking a little."

Friar Simmons nodded and tilted his head towards the rock on which Arnold was sitting, silently asking if he could sit as well. The rock was big enough for the two of them, and Arnold scooted aside to make some room as Friar Simmons shifted his cloak a little and took a seat.

"Thinking? About what, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well – you know Helga, right?"

"I certainly do," said Friar Simmons. He had noticed how often the merchant's daughter from the town near the castle came to visit Hill's Wood. More particularly, he had noticed how much attention she gave Arnold. She was a special girl, Friar Simmons believed. With a very special way of expressing herself, which sometimes happened to annoy the other villagers to no end.

"I thought she never showed up to the castle festival, but I found out yesterday that apparently she was there in disguise. I even hung out with her for most of the night and didn't realize it. I wonder why she would do something like that? Was she trying to fool me?"

Friar Simmons pondered the information.

"The only way to know for sure would be to ask her."

"Yeah," agreed Arnold. It was the answer he had been expecting, and he knew it himself, but the thought of trying to clear things up with her after their fight, and his realization of what had happened at the festival, as a little daunting.

"She's in a monastery now though," he said. "Her father sent her there. It's this whole big thing. I was thinking of visiting the castle and trying to sort things out – I have some other things to take care of with Lady Rhonda and Lord Thaddeus anyway."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment as Arnold thought about the Helga he had known for so many years. The Helga who could be okay sometimes, but often seemed to come to the village just to give him a hard time.

"Did you ever get the feeling that Helga was interested in me, Friar Simmons?"

"Oh yes. I don't know how you didn't notice it yourself, Arnold."

The two of them looked back at the sound of more twigs and leaves being crunched underfoot. This time, Arnold's cousin Arnie was arriving from the village. Arnold wondered if maybe his spot by the shack was a little less secluded than he had thought. Either that or this was just his day for visitors. He was not quite as fine with his private time being interrupted by Arnie as he had been with the arrival of Friar Simmons.

"Hello Arnie."

"It's good to see you again, cousin," droned Arnie. "I wanted to come and talk to you about some things."

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"Helga."

Arnold repressed a groan as Friar Simmons looked at him with a mixture of interest and sympathy. Apparently, Simmons could already see that Arnold's cousin was on the strange side, and that the two of them were not very close. Arnold knew that his cousin had been rejected by Helga, and he got the feeling that things were about to get even more awkward than they would have been otherwise.

"I wanted to give you my blessing with Helga. You will be very happy with her."

That wasn't quite what Arnold had been expecting to hear.

"Uh, well, I don't know if I even – what do you mean? I thought you liked her? Or at least, I thought you liked Cecile?"

Arnie frowned. After a moment, he took a step towards the rock and motioned that he wanted to take a seat. Friar Simmons moved aside, and Arnie sat between the two of them. The rock definitely did not have enough space for three people, but Arnold was too timid to object, and Arnie had already gotten comfortable. Arnold had to be content with hanging half off the rock as the three of them sat together, one leg propping his body up to prevent him from falling onto the ground,.

"You told me that Cecile's cousin lived in town, and I went to Helga's house to ask her parents for her hand in marriage. That was when I realized they were the same person. I have to admit that I was a little hasty because I had seen the way you and Cecile were enjoying the festival together, and I thought you might be in competition with me. After Helga rejected my offer, I knew it was true – she likes you. The two of you are meant for each other.

"And besides," Arnie continued before Arnold could object that he had never even thought about Helga that way, "I was wealthy even before I went to the war in the east, but now that I have returned, my wealth knows no limits. I have been very lucky in life, and it would be wrong of me to try to take what little happiness you might achieve as a lowly peasant with Helga by your side."

Arnold took in what his cousin had said, not sure if he should thank him for what he supposed was meant as a gracious gesture. Arnie got up after a moment and looked back in the direction of Hill's Wood, and beyond it, the castle.

"I have to take my leave now. I do not want to overstay my welcome at the castle with Lady Rhonda and Lord Thaddeus, as much as they insist that they love my presence, and I must return to my lands. Lulu and Rhoda and the other nobles from my land will worry if I am absent for too long. I wanted to say goodbye to you and wish you luck before I left."

"Thanks Arnie. And thanks for telling me what you knew about my family earlier."

"It was my pleasure. Gnnk. We will meet again soon, I hope."

Arnold gave his cousin a genuine nod – as unsettling as Arnie was, he was still family.

"Until next time."

Friar Simmons continued to sit on the rock for a few more moments, listening to the chirps of birds and rustle of leaves with a pleasant smile on his face, until he decided that it might be a good idea to follow Arnie's example. "I guess you came out here for a little alone time," he said to his companion. "I hope you get things figured out. I have faith in you, Arnold!"

"Thanks, Friar Simmons."

Arnold was left to himself again after Friar Simmons left, with only the forest for company. Friar Simmons' advice had been right – Arnold definitely needed to talk to Helga about things. But first things first. He needed to go back to the castle and find some answers.

Arnold enjoyed his surroundings for a few more moments before he got to leave. If he strained, he could hear the occasional faint shout or word of conversation coming from the nearby village. As he sat, a lone pigeon flew down from a nearby tree and perched on the edge of Arnold's rock slab seat. He watched it, keeping still so as not to scare it away, and the bird blinked at him a few times before greeting him with a short coo!

Arnold looked up at the tree tops surrounding him. Although he was alone beside the shack, sometimes he got the feeling that he was not so alone.

"So you agree with Friar Simmons, huh pigeon?"

Coo!

Arnold laughed, and the pigeon flew back into the trees, although it did not seem frightened by him.

"Alright, alright. I'm going."

XX

Helga felt the sheets ripped away as cold air rushed over her exposed body. A single candle illuminated the darkness of her dormitory room. It was held by Abbess Slovak. The Abbess stood at a small wooden table beside Helga's bed and lit the candle there with her own.

"Time to get up!" she announced. "Welcome to your first day in the order, sister. Say your morning prayers and get ready for breakfast in the refectory."

Abbess Slovak left Helga alone in her room as she groaned and looked up at the flickering shadows over the stone ceiling. She managed to roll herself out of bed, falling with a somewhat painful plop on the cold floor, and got into the habit the sisters had given her when she took her vows the other day. She was not looking forward to her first day in the monastery. From what little she had heard from her fellow sisters, she would be doing a lot of sweeping, dusting, butter-churning, weed-pulling, and other menial tasks for the rest of the day as a new member of the order. But that was alright, Helga thought. This would not be permanent.

She looked furtively at the entrance to her room, and after making sure that Abbess Slovak had left, she pulled an oddly-shaped rock from her habit. The rock was the one thing she had managed to keep with her upon entering the monastery. She caressed it lovingly with the palm of her hand, knowing that if she had to be stuck here for any length of time, the stone would be her one source of comfort aside from her imagination.

"Oh Arnold," she whispered to the rock, "give me the strength to make it through this terrible ordeal, and soon I will be free to enjoy your wonderful presence once more! They think they can hold me here, but the love I hold for you can never be restrained!"

Helga frowned as her fervent monologue was brought down to earth by the memory of her last content with Arnold. They hadn't exactly parted on good terms – who knows what would happen if she did get out. She was beginning to form an idea of what she might do, but as much as her romantic side hated to admit to it, there was no telling if Arnold would play any role.

"What's going on in there?" asked a tall, squeaky-voiced nun who poked her head into the door.

Helga recognized the nun as one of the praying girls who had given her an encouraging nod the other day when she was first checking the monastery out with her father. The girl's voice was almost comically high, and something about it struck Helga as bizarre – almost as if it were a high-pitched version of her own voice.

"Uh, nothing's going on in here, nope!"

"You're going to be late to the breakfast."

"I'm coming, hold your horses!"

Helga stowed the rock back in her habit. The tall girl had obviously seen it, but fortunately she made no comment about it. They began to walk together down the dormitory hallway on their way to the dining room.

"What's your name?" Helga asked the other sister.

"Sheena."

"Well, nice to meet you."

"We're all happy to have a new sister in the order," said Sheena. "Although I heard that you didn't really join voluntarily?"

Helga shook her head. "Nope. Dad threw me in here as punishment for being too cheeky."

"That's just terrible! Well, I know this must seem horrible to you then, but it does get better eventually. It can be sort of fun as long as Abbess Slovak doesn't catch you talking too much."

"I hate to break it to you sister, but I won't be here for very long."

"No?"

"That's right. I already got an escape plan in mind."

Sheena pursed her lips in confusion. "Well, if all you want to do is escape, you could probably just run to the front door and open it."

"Well, yeah. That was my escape plan, actually."

"Oh."

Helga wondered if she could get in trouble for talking to Sheena about leaving the monastery, but even if she had just met the girl, something about her seemed trustworthy. She had a sort of friendly but timid countenance, and Helga knew that if Sheena told the Abbess about her plans, she would just end up running for the door anyway. It wasn't really leaving the monastery that had been on Helga's mind, anyway – it was what she was going to do afterwards. Going back to her family was no longer an option, but Helga had something else in mind.

First, however, a little breakfast couldn't hurt.

She entered the refectory with Sheena and the two of them took a pair of empty seats in the middle of one of the long oaken dining tables. The tables were already mostly filled with a number of sisters waiting for the morning prayers before they could eat their meals. Helga did not have to wait long before Abbess Slovak appeared at the head of the room and led the prayer. She got in a few discreet bites of her gruel before the prayer was finished, and once Abbess Slovak mouthed the final 'amen', Helga dug in.

"What are you going to do when you leave the monastery?" whispered Sheena in between spoonfuls of gruel.

"Pay a visit to the Lady Rhonda and Lord Thaddeus's castle, maybe grab a few gold pieces, and then I don't know. Go somewhere else, far away from here."

Sheena thought about Helga's vague plan with a certain admiration. She didn't mind life in the monastery – it fit her quiet personality fairly well – but she admired someone who was so willing to throw away anything solid in her life to face the unknown. Helga sounded like quite the risk-taker. But then, maybe Helga no longer had a choice.

"What was that rock you had in your habit?"

Helga paused for a moment. Her secret love for Arnold was not exactly the kind of thing she shared openly – Phoebe was really the only person who knew about it – but then, Helga was feeling strangely adventurous. It was as if she had nothing left to lose. And it wasn't like she would be seeing Sheena again after today, anyway. She glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to their whispers, making note of Abbess Slovak's position at the end of the tables, and gingerly edged the rock out of her undergarments to give Sheena a glance.

"It's a rock in the shape of the head of this peasant who lives in the hamlet of Hill's Wood. I'm madly in love with him."

Sheena stared at the object. It looked like a rock to her.

"Does he know you love him?"

"No."

"Why don't you tell him?"

Helga stammered a little, not sure how to answer such a direction question.

"It's, uh – it's complicated," she explained.

"Hmm."

Sheena felt a sense of adventure by proxy rising up within herself. She had no plans to leave the monastery, but something about this new sister was very exciting. The love story, the planned adventure to distant lands; stealing from Lady Rhonda; the flippant, sarcastic voice that sounded surprisingly like a lower-pitched version of her own voice - all of it had piqued Sheena's interest. She wanted to help her new sister out.

"You know the river out in the forest, beyond that hamlet you mentioned?"

"Yeah."

"I have this uncle who's a boat captain. He lives in the middle of the river, in a little house on Elk Island. He makes a lot of money ferrying people across the river – I'm sure you could hide with him for a while if you needed any help."

"Good to know."

Helga ate her gruel, noticing Abbess Slovak passing by and giving the two of them a stern look. Apparently she had noticed they were whispering to each other. After the Abbess passed by, Helga leaned in towards her new acquaintance and spoke quietly.

"What about you? You wanna make a run for it with me?"

"Oh, I'm afraid not," whispered Sheena. "I'm not nearly as adventurous as you are. And really it's not bad to live here if you have the right temperament. You get all the food you need, you're safe, you don't have to marry some ugly guy you don't like. Abbess Slovak is a little mean, but she's very old – she'll die before long!"

Helga almost choked on a mouthful of gruel upon hearing the way Sheena threw out her last comment in such a bright and cheery manner. She was liking this sister already. She almost regretted that she would be leaving so soon. But, as she watched Abbess Slovak passing around to the other side of the room, Helga thought it was just about time to make a break for it. Her breakfast was finished, and there was no point in stalling.

"It was nice meeting you Sheena," she said. "Thanks for the kind words."

"You too, Helga! I hope things work out for you. You should tell Arnold how you feel."

Helga snorted. "We'll see."

Sheena watched as Helga got up from her table, belched loudly, and made a sudden break for the refectory doorway. Abbess Slovak shouted out at the fleeing figure, but it was only moments before Sheena heard the front entrance of the monastery being opened. She returned to her gruel with a faint smile. As far as days in the monastery went, this was already an interesting one.

XX

Arnold stopped in the shadow of the gatehouse, looking up at the guard towers on each side of the castle gates. A guard glanced down at him, the tip of his helmet protruding out from above. For all Arnold knew, the guards had been ordered to keep any bow-headed visitors out of the castle.

"I'm here to see Lord Thaddeus and Lady Rhonda."

"Yeah, whatever."

Apparently, his worries were unfounded.

The gates opened and Arnold passed through the castle courtyard to the doors of the Great Hall. He steeled himself for the approaching encounter with Lady Rhonda- even if Lord Thaddeus answered the door first, he would have to speak to Rhonda eventually.

Perhaps he would be torn from limb from limb. Perhaps he would be thrown into the dungeon, doomed to be manacled to a damp wall with Torvald the chicken stealer for the rest of his life. Of course, now that the image had come to mind, he was having trouble deciding if it would be better or worse than clod farming. Hopefully he wouldn't have to find out. Arnold raised his fist to knock on the doors.

"You again?"

Lady Rhonda opened the doors before Arnold had even knocked.

"What is it you want?"

It was almost as if Lady Rhonda had been waiting at the door for him. Arnold was at a loss for words.

"You're here to learn about your family or something, because it was wrong of me to kick you out when you have a right to know? Oh my God, fine, just give me a break! Come in, come in, follow me."

Rhonda left the doors open and walked back into the Great Hall for a moment before realizing that Arnold was still standing out in the courtyard in confusion. She looked back and waved her hand impatiently.

"Come with me, peasant!"

XX

The time was fast approaching to infiltrate the castle and take what was rightfully hers. Well, not exactly rightfully hers, but what did castles need treasure rooms for anyway? If the treasure was just stored in a room, how important could it be? That was reason enough for Helga to help herself to a little of it. Before she did, however, she had to say goodbye to her best friend.

Phoebe answered Helga's knock on the door, her parents being away in town.

"Helga! What are you doing out of the monastery?"

"Uh, I kinda broke out. Can we go inside before somebody sees me?"

The two of them went into Phoebe's room, and before Phoebe could say anything, Helga pulled her into an embrace that left her short of breath. Phoebe had wanted to hug Helga when she saw her at the door, but seeing Helga had taken her by surprise – when she had heard the news that Helga had been put into the monastery, she had wondered if she would even be able to visit her best friend.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Phoebe, I just came to say goodbye. I'm going to try to sneak into the castle and steal some gold or treasure or something before I leave. I saw a treasure room when I was running around in there with Arnold at the festival the other day, and I'll need something I can use to pay my expenses when I get out of here."

"Out of where?"

"Out of town, Pheebs. I left the monastery even though my dad put me there, so it's not like I can move back home. Abbess Slovak is one mean old lady too, she's gonna come down on me like a ton of bricks. I have nowhere to go, and I can't very well hide in your room for years, so I have to find my way elsewhere. At least I can grab a bunch of loot from those rich suckers before I leave."

"But Helga, where will you go?"

"I don't really know. I could try to find my sister and Duke Doug, even though I still don't think Duke Doug is a real Duke. But I guess it's an option."

'"I thought you hated your sister?"

"Well, sort of. I mean, she's a pain, but she isn't bad sometimes. Otherwise I don't know what I'll do. Probably steal a horse and ride off into the forest until I find something interesting. I doubt my dad would let me go back home now, even if I wanted to."

Phoebe thought the plan seemed a little wild and reckless, even for Helga, but she also knew that her best friend was impossible to budge once she had her mind set on something. Phoebe also knew enough about Helga's father to know that if Helga had fled the monastery, she was probably in trouble. She wanted to think of something that could let her friend stay, something that would fix her situation, but the clarity of mind that Phoebe normally enjoyed was gone.

"What about Arnold?"

Helga shook her head.

"Arnold doesn't like me, Phoebe. I tried to see him one last time before I went to the monastery, and it didn't end well. There's no use with him. He wouldn't want to leave his village, anyway – he's not like that, you know? He cares too much about people, he wouldn't want to leave them behind."

Phoebe could see Helga's point. Her friend got up as if she was about to leave, but Phoebe grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Helga, wait, I – this is all happening so fast. There's nothing I can do to stop you?"

"I don't see any other options for me, Phoebe."

"Are you going to come back and visit, at least? Maybe I can speak with your parents, or try to talk to Lady Rhonda and Lord Curly and make your situation a little easier. I'm sure something can be done. They just have to hear a logical argument and see a little reason!"

Helga appreciated Phoebe's well-wishing, but she didn't see any of it being any use. Still, she was sure she could come back and visit someday, as long as she could get away with her castle heist without being caught and thrown into the dungeons. She just needed to leave her life behind for a while. She needed to find some way to be who she wanted to be, without being forced into a life that others wanted for her.

"Thanks for trying to help Phoebe, but it wouldn't work. Don't worry,we'll see each other again someday. I'll miss you until then."

Phoebe sniffed, holding back tears as she embraced Helga again.

"I'll miss you too."

XX

Lady Rhonda's story drew to a close as she sat in the room with Arnold. It was surprising to hear Lady Rhonda be so honest and up front about her own parents, about Arnold's family and his past after having kicked him out of the castle in such a rage earlier, but Arnold supposed she must have had some time to think about things.

He looked around the room in which his parents had once lived. It was up a stairway in a tower where Lady Rhonda had led him before beginning her recollections of his family. The bed where they had slept was still there, as was the basket in which he had been placed as a baby. The room was sparsely decorated otherwise, not that any rooms in the castle were that heavily decorated, but Arnold could almost feel his parents' presence in the stone walls, the dusty floor, even on the bed in which he sat and the wooden chair in which Lady Rhonda sat across from him. They were right beside him, and yet they were unimaginably far away.

"And that's why I didn't want you go come to the festival," said Lady Rhonda as she wrapped up her tale of Arnold's past and what she knew of his parents. "I mean, partly because you are a peasant, and let's be honest, you're not going to fit in with anybody I know. But partly it was because I felt guilty. What my parents did was wrong, and I guess I didn't want to be reminded of it by seeing you. I just wanted to forget about things, but I guess that wouldn't be fair to you."

Arnold kept looking at the room, trying to imagine his parents in it from what he remembered of the portrait he had seen in the store room downstairs. Lord Thaddeus had gone down to get the portrait, along with anything else that might have belonged to his parents, so Arnold was looking forward to getting a visual aid in a moment. The more he imagined, the more he thought he could recall memories of the distant past.

Over there in the corner, just a wisp of an image. Himself, as a toddler, laughing as his father attacked him with a toy wooden horse. Arnold looked down at the bed on which he was sitting. Again, the faintest of images: his mother Stella telling him a bed time story as he drifted to sleep. He had lived in the castle so long ago, long before he could remember anything, that Arnold wasn't sure if the room was starting to bring back real memories or if they were just the wishes of his imagination. They certainly seemed real.

"So what can I do to make things right?" Lady Rhonda asked. "Maybe some gold pieces from the treasury? Or maybe I can restore your grandparent's land to you. I mean, as long as you farm it and give me some payment in dirt clods. I'm not just giving away a bunch of land for free here."

Arnold was surprised at the offer. Despite trying to look on the bright side of things, Arnold had come to the castle expecting there was a good chance he would just be kicked out yet again, at best. Now it looked like he was not only learning about his family, but he was about to become wealthy in the process. Wealthy for a peasant anyway.

"Lady Rhonda, that's an incredible offer. I don't know if I can accept it!"

Arnold immediately regretted speaking. What was he doing, turning down such a rare opportunity?

"Well, okay, if you really don't -"

"Uh, wait, no. I accept your offer, it's very generous of you."

Lady Rhonda stammered a bit and then nodded politely.

Arnold thought about what had just happened; if he was about to get his grandparent's lands, did that mean he would be moving out of Hill's Wood? Something about it did not sit well with him. The fact that he was getting so lucky while his friends and fellow villagers would remain in poverty just didn't seem right.

"Lady Rhonda, can I ask you something else instead?"

"Certainly."

"Where is this land that my grandparents used to own?"

"It is beyond your hamlet. There was once a path in the forest, although it's probably overgrown now. But if one goes a few miles into the forest and passes the river that runs through it, the land is on the other side. Not an ideal place to live, but your grandparents were a little strange."

"Well," said Arnold, "Could I share it with Hill's Wood? I know that I was born into nobility, but the people who live there are very close to me, and they didn't choose their lives any more than I did. I'd like to give them the gold, and if they could all be allowed to use the land with me, I'm sure we could improve our lives and turn out a few dirt clods for you in the process."

Lady Rhonda had trouble understanding why Arnold was worrying so much about peasants now that he had discovered his noble origins, but maybe there was something to it. Contrary to everything she had been taught by her parents, everything she had been taught to believe, Lady Rhonda was beginning to see that maybe all people were people in the end, and they all deserved a chance at happiness. Even if most of them would have no idea what to do with Lady Rhonda's wealth, fabulous clothing, and castle, of course.

"I don't see any problem with that," she told Arnold.

Their conversation ended, and the sound of grunting and groaning took its place as Lord Thaddeus dragged a chest through the door. The portrait of Arnold's parents was also strapped to his back. From the looks of it, he had pulled his cargo all the way up the tower stairway.

"Good lord, Curly, you could have gotten an attendant to help you with that."

"Oh, it's alright."

Lord Thaddeus pushed the chest into the middle of the room and opened it as Lady Rhonda and Arnold drew closer. "This belonged to your parents," he said as he unstrapped the portrait from his back and placed it into the room. "And I suppose this belongs in the room. Lady Rhonda's parents cleaned a number of things out when your parents were, uh – well, when they left, but they never really used this room for anything since then. Maybe it can be a place where you can stay whenever you visit."

"I can visit?"

"Well, certainly," Lord Thaddeus said. "I don't see why not."

He looked at his wife for support, who nodded her assent with a slight grimace.

Arnold sifted through the items that belonged to his parents. There was not much: some clothing, knick knacks, medicinal supplies that he assumed they must have used in their role as court physicians to the Lloyds, a few books that looked interesting but were perhaps a bit above Arnold's reading level. Arnold picked up one knick knack that immediately caught his attention. A small wooden horse. Maybe some of his memories were real after all.

As he dug deeper into the chest, he found an unmarked book that caught his attention more than any of the others. It was not a book about medicine or history. He opened it up and noticed the signature in the front cover, and as he began to read, he realized what it was.

"Something interesting?" asked Lord Thaddeus.

"It's my father's diary."

Arnold began to read through the pages with an insatiable hunger for his past. His father's voice rose up from the book and spoke of many adventures, some of which Arnold recognized from stories that his grandparents had told him as a child in Hill's Wood. He began to wonder how many of the tall tales he fondly remembered Grandpa Phil telling him really had a basis in truth. Arnold tried to restrain himself as he read. He did not want to read the whole diary as Lady Rhonda and Lord Thaddeus stood awkwardly around, but the temptation was almost impossible to resist.

As he flipped through the pages he caught a glimpse of his parents. Who they were, what they liked, what they thought. He stopped on a page long enough to read of his father meeting his mother for the first time. Tripping awkwardly down the side of a hill as a first impression, an equally awkward courtship. And, finally: love.

The journal's pages flipped past him in a blur as he caught just enough to give him an image of his father's life. The diary spanned over a number of years, and as the pages reached their end, Arnold caught snippets of more worrying things. References to the great sickness in the south, bitter comments about the Lloyds and their harsh treatment, the way they didn't understand Miles and Stella's need for independence. The diary came abruptly to a halt, still dated many years ago, and Arnold flipped through several blank pages.

As he came to the back cover, however, a piece of parchment slipped out. Arnold picked up the parchment and stared at it as Lady Rhonda and Lord Thaddeus peered curiously over his shoulders.

It was a map.

XX


Notes - Since this is where the series ended, that's the end of the story!

Ok no, just kidding.