Chapter 10:
A/N: IT'S BACK! Hello, lovelies! I'm sorry for the hiatus, but issues had forced me to, and lack of inspiration also benefited to the hiatus. However, it's returned! Something is revealed in this chapter with much reluctance because it will affect a later chapter, however, how much later I don't know. And someone's character is in here! I hope I didn't screw her up too badly!
It took a few weeks before Paarthunax would let Julidith back to Ivarstead. It took a lot of pleading, along with verbal fighting, before he finally caved in to her wants. With a victorious 'humph' and a grin, she turned and ran down the mountain path, her feet almost instinctively finding every safe part of the path. Every day, she would run down to Ivarstead, interacting with the people and, at the end of the day, go to Fridgar's study and sit with him. He had progressively grown friendlier towards her, though sometimes when she brought up pieces of her childhood he would get quiet and would need a light slap to return to reality.
Julidith loved it in Ivarstead – she had made friends with quite a few people, and she had even acquired an ankle-length dress from one of the Nordic women that lived there. Julidith had dirtied it up in only a few days, but she still loved it and wore it constantly. She even had her hair put up in a loose bun by the same woman. She was also starting to explore their foods – fish, various fruits, seasoned meats . . . it seemed too good for her. She was terribly used to eating raw goat meat, and if Paarthunax had 'heated' it, it would have been black and singed. She also found that these foods in Ivarstead filled her up more than the goat that she got to eat each day.
Fridgar taught her how to be semi-social; what to say and what not say; what to do and what not to do. She was confused on the rule, "Don't change outside," because she always did so, but he informed her that people didn't like seeing each other naked on a daily basis. "Unless they're married," He added with a snicker.
Ivarstead was her second home, and she loved it. She spent more time there than she did at the Throat of the World, and she was glad. She hated that cold place; having to sit around and do nothing all day besides train, practically starve, and then train again. Julidith felt like a real, human girl. She had even been friends with Fridgar for a full five months, and they had shared everything together. However, he seemed a bit more withdrawn than usual the past few days.
It was Morndas, around noon, when Julidith came back down to Ivarstead. When she got down the path, she saw Fridgar fiddling with something in his hands. Julidith smiled and waved, running to him. "Fridgar! What's in your hands?"
Fridgar jumped and moved his hands behind his back, blushing slightly. "D-don't scare me!" He scolded, sighing. "It's nothing important, just something I found in my old box."
"Let me see!"
"No!"
Julidith sighed and reached behind him, grabbing his hands. He squirmed, trying to get her hands off of him; however, she had a strong grip. They wrestled for a moment, before Julidith forced his hands to be in front of him and pushed him to the ground. He held onto the item in his hands as long as he could, though she managed to pry his fingers open and pull out the item. They both fell onto their rears and Fridgar let out a cry as Julidith held it up.
It was a rusted necklace, one with a half-broken chain and a faded butterfly on a small rock. Julidith's eyes widened slightly.
This looks exactly like the necklace that I lost when I was little . . .
"How did you get this?" She asked slowly, staring at it. When Fridgar didn't reply, she nearly shouted, "Where did you get this?!"
"I-I found it," He said, gulping, "in one of my old boxes."
"How was it in one of your boxes? This looks like a necklace that I had when I was little!"
"It's probably not! They made quite a few of these."
"No, I know my necklace when I see it. I had scratched off the colors and broke one of the little chain links with my nails."
Fridgar narrowed his eyes, then reached forward and snatched it from her. "I . . . I took it from someone."
"Who?" Julidith asked, leaning forward. She had a glare in her eyes, as if she knew something was up. It made the Nordic boy nervous.
"Well . . . you."
She clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. "You stole my necklace? Were you one of the ones who broke into my house and killed my parents, too?!"
"No, no!" He shook his head and got onto his knees, holding the necklace in his hands gently like he was afraid it would break. "I got it from you when you were little. You were about . . . six."
Julidith stayed silent, before standing up and brushing off her dress. "You're such a dirty liar, you know that? The only person who would even know about my necklace's whereabouts would be my brother."
Fridgar stood up quickly as well, nodding. "Exactly . . . that's what I'm trying to say, Julidith." He sighed and looked at the item in his hands. "I am your brother."
The girl in front of him gasped quietly, her hands dropping at her sides. She examined his face, and slowly began to match up the features of her older brother from her memories to Fridgar's. "P-prove it."
"Remember when father hit me?" Fridgar said, sighing. "That's when I decided to leave you. I would only make him angrier, and he'd take it out on you too. I took your necklace while you slept so I could remember you. I know it was a horrible move, but–"
He was cut off when he felt Julidith throw herself at him, the two of them falling to the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, and sobs came from her mouth.
"Fridgar . . . how could you hide yourself from me all this time?" She choked out quietly. Fridgar sighed again and wrapped his arms around her.
"It was for your safety, sister. You can't be around me . . ."
"Don't say that!" She cried, ignoring the stares they got from passing villagers. "We're siblings. We're supposed to be together."
He didn't reply to her; he only closed his eyes and rested his chin on her shoulder. He let her sob until no more sobs came from her, and even then she was still giving small hiccups. It hurt him to see her so sad, in a way, but he couldn't endanger her. Not again.
"Hello!"
Julidith waved frantically as a new person, one she had never seen before, came towards Ivarstead. Her brother had returned to his study, and with a lot of reluctantly, she let him. The person who came was a woman, although she looked to be two races combined in one. She had somewhat light skin, what seemed to be a quite lithe form, and her amber eyes seemed to pierce Julidith. The woman's hair was auburn, and it seemed to fit her quite well. When she didn't get a wave back, Julidith put down her hand, blushing slightly.
"Hello." The woman said coolly, not even bothering to glance at Julidith as she stopped next to the Nordic girl.
"What's your name, ma'am?"
". . . Athale. Athale Nyrix."
"Cool! What's your race?"
The woman turned to Julidith and frowned. "That's not important," She said, "now; can you go so I can get what I need?"
Julidith blinked a few times and nodded. "O-okay, ma'am. I'm sorry for asking."
Athale scoffed slightly and turned away, beginning to walk away – only to be stopped when a deafening roar filled the sky. It shook the ground, and Julidith recognized it right away.
"What in the gods–?!" Athale coughed, looking back at the Nordic girl as she began to run back to the path she had ran down earlier. With curiosity and slight stupidity, Athale followed behind, almost tripping when the roar sounded again. She got a swift glance from Julidith, but the Nord shook her head and continued on. To Athale, it was surprising how fast the young one could run.
"Where are you going?!" She shouted, and Julidith stopped.
"Go back," She ordered, "please, you can't come up here."
"Why not, child?!"
"It's–"
A third roar sounded, and Julidith shook her head again as she began running up the steps. "Go back!"
Athale stayed still for a moment, before sighing and running up the steps after the girl. This seemed like something someone older should take care of, not a child.
It was something she couldn't handle, not one bit. Especially not with some girl she had hardly known for more than five minutes.