In the Shadow of Stanton
Disclaimer: I didn't come up with these characters (although you all already know that so I really shouldn't have to say it)
There will be slash (though not in this part). 'Nuff said.
***
Part Two: Bran
Bran was not a thinker. Bran was a doer. He worked hard at school during the day, and at clwyd farm the rest of the time, and so had little time for anything else. He liked it that way. Every once in a while his father or John Rowlands would suggest that he take a break and go run off with his friends or something. They didn't understand. Bran had no friends, other than the ancient Welsh hills and the sheep that spotted them. And Will Stanton. But Will wasn't there, he was at home in Buckinghamshire, leading a normal teenage life Bran supposed. But Will wasn't normal was he? No, he certainly didn't seem like your average English chap, but Bran had never quite been able to figure out why. When he thought about the previous summer, when Will and all the Drews as well had been there, he always felt like he had forgotten something important. This was why he tried not to think much at all, and filled his life with work.
"Looks like we're about done for the day." John Rowlands' voice came over the hedge that they were trying to tame. Bran looked up and realized that it was indeed beginning to get dark. He stood up slowly and stretched his back a little. The older man's voice continued. I've got to stop by David Evans' to tell him about the ewe that's hurt her leg. If you come along, I'm sure Jen could rustle up some tea for us both."
"Sure," replied Bran vaguely, and they trotted down the hillside toward the largest clump of farm buildings. When they reached the farmhouse they went in without knocking, to be greeted by the rich smells that would eventually become the Evans' supper. John Rowlands went off to talk with David, and Bran seated himself at the kitchen table.
"You must have worked hard today, Bran cariad. Let me get you a cup of tea," Jen said predictably.
"Diolch," Bran replied, "I could use something to warm me up. It may be spring officially, but the actual warmth takes a while to get up into these hills." As he sipped his tea, Jen took another seat at the table and began opening the day's post.
"Look at this one," she exclaimed. "It's from the Drews. Weren't they the ones with all the kids that you and Will went about with last summer? They stayed on that awful golf course over in Aberdyfi."
"Yes," said Bran, his interest peaked. "What on earth could they be writing for?" Jen perused the letter, her eyebrows raising as she came near the end. When she was finished she put the letter down on the table and sighed slightly.
"Well, that's the oddest post we've had in a while," she stated simply. "Apparently Simon, the oldest one, had some sort of collapse in the woods behind his school. The doctors don't know quite what made it happen, but they said that he needs some place to get away from his everyday life to get his strength back." Bran thought he could see where this was going as Jen continued her explanation. "So then, I guess, the youngest one jumps up and says why not with those relations of Will's that we visited last summer. The parents thought it was absurd at first, but after a while they simply couldn't find anyone else for him to stay with. So they wrote to the Stantons in Buckinghamshire to ask them if it was possible, which it turns out they thought it was." Jen looked up at Bran after finishing and gave him a look that said Well, what do you think of that?
"That does seem a bit odd, doesn't it," Bran responded quietly, unsure of what one was supposed to say at a time like that.
"Well, we'll have to think about it," Jen said in a final sort of tone, and folded up the letter and pushed it aside.
***
That night as Bran undressed and got into bed, he found himself thinking about the letter that the Evans' had received. Thinking about Simon made him think about the previous summer, something he usually tried not to do. He always felt a terrible sense of loss when he did so, though he couldn't think why. He felt that he should feel more sad about the summer before, when his dog Cafall had been shot, but instead his sense of loss from last summer was much more intense. It all had to do with Will. Simon had to do with Will too, but he seemed much more of a follower than someone who caused things like Will did.
Simon. He was the oldest one and had seemed very sure of himself, Bran remembered. In fact a little too sure, bordering on arrogant. Careful Bran, you don't want to be the pot calling the kettle black. People called Bran arrogant too, but that didn't mean he had to like it as a quality in Simon. If Simon came to stay with the Evans', bran had a sneaking suspicion that he, as the only other boy around, would be stuck with being Simon's companion. Well, things could be worse. He'd just have to think of things that would be entertaining for a convalescent, arrogant, English boy. Oh God. Bran groaned as he rolled over and tried to go to sleep.