Chapter 3 I've seen you Before
The next morning Raver sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"Hey, Raver, ma wants us to pick up the pies after breakfast" Gherin said from around the corner of the attic room.
"Sure" he said. He tumbled out of bed and straightened his blanket before pulling on some clean clothing.
At the ladder stair leading down to the second floor he hesitated. remembering what had happened yesterday. He sighed and continued down, he'd like to see Hermal spout his nastiness while his brother and sister were there.
He smiled thinking about what had happened last spring when Gherin had heard Hermal teasing some of the younger children. When he had pushed Samara down, Gherin had given him a beating he wouldn't forget.
Now that he thought about it, that's when he had started with the witchboy comments. He sighed again and started down the front stairs following the scent of fried bacon fat and fresh bread.
Raver ate quickly finishing before the rest, he squirmed in his chair impatient to get started.
"Sit still Raver" his father said. He quieted and tried to stay still, but it was hard, the others were so slow. It seemed to take forever before the they finished and they were excused.
"Come on" he said to Gherin and Carra, he ran ahead and waited until they had walked to the Bakery. The three of them entered and Raver went to the table with their order .
He waited impatiently while Carra gossiped with Lorimal's wife and Gherin looked over the pies that Lorimal always put on display, with the guard stationed in town, there were always buyer's for these pies and a reason for the extra baking.
Finally, the three of them were leaving, carrying the pies in the woven bags Carra had brought. "Raver, get back here, you're going in the wrong direction" his brother shouted as he started walking fast towards their house.
"What" he asked when he turned back to his brother and sister.
"We're taking these to the guard station" he said.
"Why, official guests always stay with us" Raver said confused.
"Not this time" his brother said. "The order's were that the Heralds stay with the guards".
Raver shook his head , but followed, he didn't care why, he was glad for an excuse to visit the guard barracks. Maybe Garen would show him some more moves with his sword.
When they arrived, the man on watch waved them to the kitchens with their load. It was Garen who was on kitchen duty. "Hey, cousins, how are things going in town" he asked Gherin.
Raver grinned he remembered the story about how Aunt Angrea and their mother were pregnant at the same time, both sisters wanted to name their sons after grandpa so they ended up using two versions of the same name.
Gherin grinned "About the same like always".
"When are the Heralds coming" Raver asked Garen.
"They've been traveling faster than expected, so they're not actually staying here" he said.
"Can we have the berry pies then" Raver asked, not wanting to let the opportunity pass by.
"Raver" his sister gasped embarrassed by her little brother.
Garen smiled "They might be stopping for lunch, and anyway if they don't eat them, I'm afraid the guards will, they like berry pies too".
"Oh" Raver said, disapointed.
They heard a commotion then. "I told you they travel fast" Garen said, as he cocked his head, listening to the shouted order's and sound of guardsmen scrambling to get ready for their guest.
By the time Raver got to the door, he saw the white horses of the heralds arriving at the edge of town. When they got close enough to see them clearly, Raver's eyes got wide. They were the couple from his vision.
The man had black hair and blue eyes, he was almost too pretty for a man. The woman wasn't as pretty as the man, but there was something about her that looked like him, maybe they were cousin's. She brushed back her reddish brown hair from her face as they arrived at the barracks.
Raver shrank back and watched them from the shadows. Now that he'd seen them, they looked too nice for what was going to happen to them. He wanted to warn them, but the same thing that gave him his vision's held him back, and he knew what was to happen, had to happen. He turned back to the kitchen with tears in his eyes.
"Raver" his brother called after him when he ran through the kitchen and out the back door "Don't you want to see the Herald's". Raver didn't answer, he just kept running until he got to the tree by the house. His eyes blurry with tears, he climbed by memory and feel, finally dropping to the roof where he could cry without anyone seeing him.
He wouldn't have been able to tell them why he was crying, though he felt like his heart was breaking.