Hello everyone! I am SO SO SO sorry this has taken me FOREVER to post! I hope you will read and enjoy. I am done with school after next week, so the chapters will be posted more regularly after that! I'd like to thank those who have helped me with this story and help keep me motivated to write it, even if I cannot update on a regular basis!
I digress. Onto the story that you all have waited so patiently for!
Chapter 10: A Kindness
In the weeks following the dinner with the Royal family, Birk spent most of his afternoons with Sofia. He'd go to the castle each day after she got home from school and they would talk about her day, play games, and have tea parties; there was even a day they even raced on the obstacle course. Sofia beat him handily of course, but they shared a good laugh. They spent a lot of time in Sofia's secret garden; it was there Birk told her about his family in Ledstrana. She was so excited to learn about her other half-siblings, although she never thought of them that way. To her they were her brother and sister as much as Amber and James were, even though she had had no blood relation to Roland's children.
A few days after that, Birk knew he needed to start figuring out how to get Sofia's amulet. He felt like a tar pit even thinking about it, wreaking with guilt and sticky enough to trap any whom came near.
Vasilia appeared to him at the end of the second week as he was heading home from the castle. Birk was walking in the quiet night through the deserted streets on his way back to the inn.
His pocket watch buzzed violently. Birk jumped and fumbled for it in his inner coat pocket. He dashed into an alleyway and opened it, a small bead of sweat forming on his brow. Even though there was no one around, he wanted to be sure no one heard or saw his conversation. The witch's head appeared on the face of the clock, looking very cross.
"Birk!" She spat. "I know that I said I would give you a month before I start starving your family, but it seems to me that you have completely forgotten about them with all your gallivanting about with your precious Princess." Vasilia rested a long, slender finger on her cheek. "Hmm, perhaps I should just kill them now, it doesn't seem like it'd make much of a difference for you."
Birk gritted his teeth. "You witch! You can't kill them, you need me to get that stupid amulet for you!"
Vasilia laughed maniacally, "You think I need you? Oh, that is very, how do you say? Cute. You know I could easily get the amulet by myself. But I choose to indulge myself with the pleasure of watching you suffer while you deceive your precious Printsessa." A crooked smile crept onto her face. "Or there are other ways of motivation. Oh, it would be fun to slice into the soft flesh of Anya." she paused briefly. "But don't worry, I'd spare your children. They'd get a front row seat. Yes, that would be good. Don't you think so? Oh, they could live out the rest of their lives with their precious minds plagued by the exhibition. That is, if I could wait long enough for them to starve." She let out a throaty chuckle. "Oh, but don't worry lapushka, at least you will have your new family."
Her face vanished in a cloud of black smoke from the clock face. Birk clenched his jaw, tears dripping from his eyes. He knew she wouldn't hesitate to follow through with her threats. She wouldn't even give him a warning. No, wait. This was his warning. For all he knew, he could return to Ledstrana tomorrow with the amulet in hand and find his wife slaughtered! Birk tried to calm down. She was crazy, but not reckless. Despite what she said about not needing Birk, he knew she would rather not dirty her hands unnecessarily. Despite her despicable tendencies, she was still a woman of her word, and she hadn't said anything about reducing his time frame. Although, Birk figured that if she didn't see some perceptible progress in getting the amulet, she would not hesitate to follow through with her threats immediately.
He had to act now, but how? He still wished to secure the amulet while keeping his relationship with Sofia intact. With her compassion, could it be possible that telling the truth would convince Sofia to give him the amulet willingly? "No, that's just stupid." Birk said to himself. "But what if I…" Maybe I could ask Sofia to go to Ledstrana with me for a few days. That way, Vasilia would think I'm making a plan, and I could make sure she has not gone back on her word. "That might just work… I'd just need to convince Miranda." Birk paused for a moment. "Right now, this is my only shot. I'll ask Sofia tomorrow, then maybe she can talk to her mom." Birk let out a groan. No, that's just too backwards. Talk to Miranda first. She'll say no, more than likely, but it's the right thing to do. Birk chuckled. Yeah, the right thing, that's a laugh. The sensation of hot tar leaking out of his gut crippled him and he clutched his stomach. The pain was only unbearable for a moment though before the heat died down and instead, just felt like thick, black goo floating around in his stomach. He walked slowly, hauling the weight of his guilt back to the inn where he was staying.
The inn was fairly small, but it was warm and comfortable. It had a small tavern on the ground floor with a few small paintings and one deer head adorning the walls. There were also small lanterns placed on each table and a small furnace that kept the building heated. As Birk walked through the door, the kind, young waitress greeted him in her thick accent. "Well hello there again Mr. Mystery!"
"Mr. Mystery?" Birk asked confused, "Marjorie, I told you my name. It's Birk."
"Oh, I'm not talking about that." She said playfully. "How was your trip to the castle today?"
Birk opened his mouth to answer, but remembered that he hadn't told anyone in town about his business at the castle. "How did you know I was at the castle?" he asked incredulously.
Marjorie grinned slapping the towel she had been using on the counter. "I knew it! There were some rumors floating around town about a mysterious man in a trench coat going to the castle every day. Since you're the only stranger I know who wears a trench coat around here, I thought it must be you." She smirked and rested her elbows on the bar as she gave her curly, blonde locks a toss.
Birk scratched his head and smiled half-heartedly. "I guess I should have seen that coming, huh?" There was a brief silence between the two as the waitress gave him a playfully suspicious smirk. Birk still stood in the doorway of the inn feeling caught in Marjorie's stare. Birk somewhat shrank into his coat shoving his hands deep into his pockets.
"So! Birk." Said Marjorie suddenly, bouncing back upright. "Ye must have some pretty important business there at the castle to be going every day since ye got here." She came around the bar and leaned on one of the stools crossing her arms.
"Uh, yeah." Was all Birk could muster.
Marjorie's grin widened, "Really? What kind of business, if ye dinnae mind me asking?"
Birk thought for a second. He definitely didn't want to tell anyone the true reason why he was here. It would just cause a scene and make things extremely complicated for Miranda, which would most likely cause her to permanently push him out of her life. And that wasn't even including his mission from Vasilia.
"Just here on diplomatic relations." He said trying to sound casual.
Marjorie raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in thought for a second. "Then why are ye staying in a ratty old inn like ours?" she asked.
Birk glanced all around the inn, "I think you and I have different ideas of 'ratty." He said.
"It's ratty compared to the castle." She replied, her voice tinted with sass. Birk glanced around the tavern again, mostly trying to avoid Marjorie's gaze. "Don't diplomats normally go hand in hand with royalty?" she said eyeing him suspiciously.
Birk frowned, cursing inwardly for his shoddy excuse. Just then Marjorie's face lit up.
"Ye must be undercover!" She said snapping her fingers.
Birk still didn't know what to do; he just stared at her wide-eyed. In a way, he was undercover, and he did have a secret no one else could know; a horrifying secret. The hot tar began bubbling up in his stomach again.
Marjorie slouched onto the bar and then sighed. "Ah, nevermind. That cannae be it. A spy winnae let me think he was a spy."
Birk breathed an unintentionally audible sigh and the heat began to recede. She turned her head sharply at him. "But just cause you're a spy, disnae mean ye have nothing to hide." She said raising an eyebrow once again.
There was a brief pause. Something about the way this young girl was prying him for secrets, rather rudely, finally snapped him out of his stupor. Maybe it was his fatherly instincts kicking in again. Whatever it was, Birk was grateful to be able to think and speak coherently again. He raised his eyebrows. "Everyone has their secrets." He said nonchalantly. "It's normally courteous not to draw too much attention to them." He took a step forward, side-smiling at the girl. Marjorie blushed slightly.
Birk chuckled. "It's alright, Marjorie. Next time, maybe don't pay so much attention to the rumors around town. You're bound to get yourself in trouble one day."
There was a brief silence. The girl smiled, but then knit her eyebrows together thoughtfully. "Pardon me for prying again, but I have to know. Ye are the man that goes to the castle everyday though, right?"
Birk sighed. "I guess since the whole village knows, there's no point in lying. Yes, I am."
Marjorie's eyes lit up. "I knew it!"
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be retiring for the night." Said Birk sidestepping the waitress to go up the stairs.
"Oh, alright. Goodnight Mr. Balthazar. Or perhaps I should call ye Sir Balthazar?" she giggled.
Birk turned his head and raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm definitely not a knight. Nice try though." He gave her one last smile before turning around and walking up the staircase.
His room was on the end of the hallway. In regards to an inn, the room was moderately sized. It had a double bed that seemed too large, especially for one person, a wooden nightstand, a writing desk, and a worn armchair in the far corner. However, the size of it was something Birk was not accustomed to, it was still large compared to his meager home. If he were to put all of these objects in his Anya's room, there would be no room for them to walk.
Birk undressed and settled into the bed, hugging one of the extra pillows, hoping it would help ease the ache he felt for his wife and children. It didn't, but Birk, nevertheless, quickly drifted off to sleep.
Despite the warmth of the inn's furnace and abundant blankets on the bed, Birk awoke the same way he had since he left Ledstrana, too tired and missing the familiar warmth beside him. He also had an extremely strange dream; he didn't remember much of it. He really only remembered black tar, a collision, and a flash of some flowers at the end; he also remembered the feeling of hopelessness, release, and then joy the dream evoked, but even those were fading fast.
He rubbed his sleepy eyes as he looked at the clock on the wall. It was five in the morning. Birk groaned. Damn.
He spent most of the morning trying to regain the sleep he had lost to no avail. He would toss and turn, and just when he was about to fall asleep, a horrifying thought would scream in his mind and he would be jolted out of his sleepy stupor. After about three hours of trying to get back to sleep, Birk decided to dress and go downstairs to eat.
Marjorie was at the counter taking guests' orders. When she saw Birk, she grinned at him, "Good morning! Here for some breakfast are ye?" asked Marjorie cheerily.
"Just some tea please." Birk replied, his voice rather hoarse from not getting enough sleep. Marjorie smiled at him before she disappeared behind a curtain that lead to the kitchen.
As Birk waited for the girl to return, he busied himself by watching her brother who hustled about the inn bringing plates of bread and butter to each table. The breakfast in Enchancia was not much different than in Ledstrana with its breads and tea, but Birk missed the small rolls Anya often made called pirozhkis. They were fried dough, filled with deliciously seasoned vegetables, and on occasion, meat and cheese when they could afford such luxuries. Birk's mouth started to water at the thought.
Marjorie returned and placed a teacup in front of him. Birk looked up at her and smiled, "Thank you." he said. She returned the smile and brought a plate that had a small golden-brown roll on it.
"I made ye something special. It might not be as good as you remember, but I figured ye could use something to remind ye of home." she said kindly as she set it down next to his tea.
Birk stared at the roll wide-eyed. "Th-thank you."
Marjorie flashed him a wide grin before she left to take orders from the other guests who were still arriving for their complimentary meal.
Birk turned his attention back to the bun in front of him. He pulled it closer and inhaled its scent. He could already tell, from the way the dough was rolled, that it was an imitation, but he was grateful for it. He brought it to his lips and inhaled again, this time he was surprised to smell the meat that was inside. His eyes widened, "She really went all out." He said quietly to himself.
He took his first bite, and to his surprise, gooey cheese dripped both onto his chin and plate from the opposite side of the roll. Birk hummed in satisfaction. It definitely was not how he remembered Anya making them, and the dough did not taste the same, but it was delicious. He had never had a pirozhki filled to overflowing with gooey cheese and such juicy meat. If he and Anya could ever afford so much to fill each one with this much meat and cheese, he'd have to tell her to make them like this, at least for the childrem.
Birk ate his meal slowly, enjoying his tea and savoring every bite of the Enchancian pirozhki. Marjorie came up to him when he had just taken a bite, "How do ye like it?" she asked, gazing at him expectantly.
Birk just smiled wide and nodded emphatically.
"Oh good! I wasnae sure if I stuffed it too much."
Birk finished chewing and then swallowed, "It's a little messier than normal, but it's delicious!" he said as some meat juice dripped onto his hand.
"Oh! I'll go get ye a napkin." She said and then hurried off.
By the time she returned, Birk had just put the last bite in his mouth and was licking his fingers. She set the cloth down next to him and leaned on the counter. "So, how did my peeroshki compare?"
Her pronunciation of the word was awkward at best, but Birk smiled and used the napkin to wipe his hands. "It was unlike any I've ever had, but it was delicious. It made my morning. Thank you, Marjorie."
"You're welcome!" Marjorie beamed. She then leaned closer to Birk, and taking his plate, lowered her voice. "So, are ye off to the castle again the day?"
Birk breathed a laugh. "There's no point in lying to you now, is there?"
Marjorie smirked and shook her head.
Birk smirked back at her. "In that case, yes, I am. But I can't go until So… until the afternoon." He was so close to saying, 'until Sofia gets out of school.' It was a strange sensation; it almost felt normal to be so candid about his daughter, as if he really were her regular old dad. It also felt strange how Marjorie was sort of a part of this new normalcy. He had had many conversations with her. It was during one of them, he told her about his family and the pirozhkis. It unnerved him that he had disclosed so much private information to this young girl. He suspected that if he kept it up, he was bound to reveal the identity of his first daughter sooner or later. Birk heaved a heavy sigh and looked down at his empty tea cup.
"What's wrong?" Marjorie asked.
"Nothing. I have to go now." Said Birk curtly. He swiftly stood up and put a small silver coin on the table. "Thank you for the pirozhki." He managed a meager smile as he turned to leave.
Birk imagined her looking at his back with a mixture of confusion and hurt as he walked out of the inn, but he refused to even glance at her. He had gotten too comfortable here, revealed too much. He had a job to do and he couldn't risk getting anyone else involved.
Birk went just outside the village, where there no one would disturb him and spent the rest of his free day thinking of how he was going to convince Miranda to let Sofia go with him to Ledstrana. When he had fully formulated his plan, it was almost noon, so he decided to head to the castle and speak with Miranda. Birk got up from under the tree he had been lounging under for the past few hours and dusted himself off. Even if she was as stubborn as ever, Birk was confident she would say yes to his proposal, and if she didn't, she'd end up changing her mind when Sofia asked her the same question. He hoped.
