Chapter 14

Back at the orphanage, the boys ran into Marcus. Peter had been adopted a couple of weeks ago by a couple whose child had died. Since he left, Marcus had been meaner than ever. He didn't hit them anymore, his taunts were much more subtle.

"What are you looking at, you freak?" Marcus was quick to jump on Eugene. Trying to undermine any confidence he had managed to build. "And you, Flynn, don't you have something better to do?"

"Come on, Eugene. Let's just go to bed. It's late."

Eugene didn't answer, but followed Flynn silently to their room.

The next morning, Flynn was already up and gone when Eugene got up. Unfortunately, Marcus was still there.

"So, Eugene, aren't you tired of tagging along with your brother? You know he doesn't really want you there anymore since he's got friends to play with instead of you. He even told me so as he left to join them this morning."

By now Eugene had gotten so scared of Marcus he couldn't even speak but his eyes showed Marcus that he was trying hard not to believe this obvious lie even if he was worried that it might be true. So he decided at that moment to walk out of the room and read some of the books in the small library or maybe even spend some time with the animals in the barn.

After everything he had been through this morning with Marcus, Eugene decided to try to hide from him by going to the barn. At least the animals there wouldn't pick on him. And it was a lot more likely that he would run into Marcus again if he stayed inside – even in the library.

When Eugene got to the barn, he quietly let himself in and shut the door behind him. He waited a few minutes for his eyes to adjust, then he made his way silently to the nearest horse stall. There were only a few horses in the entire barn, but Eugene made sure he spent plenty of time with each of them.

After spending hours in the barn, Eugene heard the bell that said it was time for lunch. He wasn't hungry but knew he had to at least pretend to eat so Flynn didn't get suspicious.

"Hey, Eugene. Where were you all morning? I looked for you for over an hour," Flynn said.

"I was helping out in the library." Eugene responded.

Are you alright, Eugene? I saw Marcus this morning and he looked way too pleased with himself. I'm sure he was up to no good.

Of course, I'm all right, Flynn. Why wouldn't I be? I know Marcus won't really hurt me now. You took care of that when you beat him up the last time.

That did seem to change things didn't it? I told you I would always be there to protect you.

Yep, you sure did, Flynn. Do you ever, you know, get tired of always having to protect me? Cause that's what some of the other kids are saying. That you only protect me cause you promised.

I don't protect you because I promised, Eugene. You're my brother and I love you. Besides, brothers stick together.

While Eugene was talking to his brother, it was easy to see that Flynn meant what he said. Eugene found it pretty easy to believe in the bond that he had shared with Flynn all his life. But, there were times, like this morning, when he wasn't so sure that Flynn wasn't starting to resent him. Still, they were brothers no matter what.

Later that night, after Flynn had gone to bed, Marcus cornered Eugene again. Once again, he started in on the protection issue.

"Well, Eugene, have you finally realized I was right? Flynn has better things to do than protect you all the time. He has friends now. Which is more than I can say for you. When are you gonna just grow up?" Marcus sneered at Eugene. "What a little crybaby."

Instead of responding, Eugene just pushed past Marcus and climbed into bed. He knew once he was there, that Marcus would shut up so Flynn didn't hear the snide comments. After a while, Eugene finally fell asleep, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

The next morning dawned and the boys were once again alerted to the fact that they had a visitor. This time it was the queen. She had come to read to them – well all the orphans really, but she wanted to see the twins first. After a small bit of awkwardness, the twins settled in with the queen in the small library – surrounded by a few of the younger children. The tales of Flynnigan Ryder had never sounded so good as when the Queen made sure to give each character in the story their own speaking voice.

The queen quickly became a frequent visitor. While she didn't make up stories about the orphans' favorite hero, she was becoming more and more talented with voicing the stories. Each time she visited, she had more and more of the children come to listen to her storytelling.

About a month after that first visit, Flynn and Eugene were looking forward to the Queen's upcoming visit – she came at least twice a week, sometimes more – when they were summoned to Miss Anne's office for a visitor.

"Hi, Miss Anne. We were told there was a visitor to see us." As usual Flynn was the one to speak for both of them.

"Yes, boys, please come in. The Captain is here and needs to talk to you. Captain, I will be in the hall if you need me." Miss Anne was quick to offer the use of her office.

"Thank you, Miss Anne, but that won't be necessary. I think it might be best if the boys and I take a walk." The Captain's refusal was gently phrased so as not to hurt anyone's feelings.

Once outside, the trio headed for the barn. There were no other orphans wandering around so the Captain felt it was the best place to let the boys know about their mother's fate.

"Boys, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but it looks like your mother is dead. There is a report of a woman heard screaming about a house fire and her sons, but that woman was killed in the fire – she had run back to save her children. No one realized that her children had already escaped before she ran back in until it was too late. The only remains were hers."

Flynn and Eugene's faces were the picture of shock and horror. Neither had ever really thought that their mother could be dead but it seemed to be true.

That's it, Flynn. We'll never see Mom again. Eugene was heartbroken. He had been determined to find his mother, and now it looked like he had, but she wasn't alive.

I know, Eugene. But we'll always be together. Brothers, remember?

The silent communication took only seconds. Before the boys could react any further, the Captain pulled both into a spontaneous hug. After consoling them for a few minutes, the Captain realized he had to let them go and get back to work. Reluctantly, he released them.

"Boys, remember if you need anything to let me know. I have to get back to work now." With that, the captain turned and walked out of the barn, making the walk back to the main township in silence.