A/N: Hello, world. Me again. Remember me? Probably not. Anyway, I'm finally updating. I have two other chapters that are complete, they're just waiting to be betaed. As always, my eternal gratefulness goes to EstelWolfe for putting up with my missing words and lack of commas.

Rahlei of Her Own Destiny

Searching

Chapter Seven

Rahlei's search for work brought her to a run-down tailoring establishment.

A grizzled old man came hobbling out from behind the counter.

"Wha' do ye want?" he demanded, his eyes cold.

"I- I'm looking for work," Rahlei stuttered.

The man adjusted his spectacles. "Can ye sew?"

Rahlei cocked her eyebrow. Why on earth would she be here if she couldn't? "Yes," she said finally.

"Good. There's some mending in the back that needs to be tended to. I'll pay ye a noble a week if you show up on time and do well."

Rahlei followed him to a back room where piles upon piles of clothes lay.

"Ye can start here," he said, motioning towards one corner of the room. "Me missus took ill three weeks back and died five days later. The mending was her job, so it's started to pile up," he explained.

Rahlei gaped at the amount of mending that needed to be done. What had she been thinking? Mending was her least favorite form of sewing.

So Rahlei set to work. After twelve hours of stitching, she could stand it no longer. She got up and went to tell the man she was finished for the day. She had only just put her materials away when he came hobbling back to survey her work.

"Very nice," he said with a slight smile. "You'll do quite well. My name is Jahmes Retnz. What's yers?"

"Rahlei," she said softly, surprised at his sudden change of attitude.

"Do ye have a place to stay?" The man asked.

Rahlei flushed. "No."

"There's a spare room in the far back. It's naught but a bed and a table but yer welcome to it in addition to your pay if ye keep up the good work."

"Thank you, I would appreciate that," Rahlei said, forcing a smile.

Ethan rode up to the house late in the afternoon. He had made good time. Port Caynn and back in five days. As soon as he saw the house he suspected something was amiss. It was very quiet. He saw no movement or light in the windows, and no smoke came from the chimney. A bad feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. Had something happened to Rahlei? He dismounted and tied the horse to the porch railing and hurried inside.

It was silent.

"Rahlei?" he called, striding through the rooms of the house, searching for any sign of life.

Perhaps she had gone to visit friends, he thought hopefully. He went back to the door to unsaddle his tired horse when he saw the note. He picked it up with slightly shaking fingers and read it.

Gone.

She had left.

"Oh gods, what am I going to do?" he asked the still air. He looked at the note again. "Horse?" He slammed his hat back on his head and ran outside. Ethan remounted his horse and rode into the pasture. He knew his horses like the back of his hand. He counted and, just as he had figured, one was missing. He scanned the herd, using the process of elimination, and sighed. She had taken one of his best Paint mares. Rahlei had good tastes, if nothing else, he decided, riding back to the barn to unsaddle his mount.

Back in the house he debated what to do over a bowl of leftover stew. He knew from observation and hearsay that Matthew was not the easiest person to get along with – especially when you were a rebellious girl like Rahlei. Ethan had a fair amount of healing gift and knew from the day he had met her that Rahlei had more bruises and scrapes than the average person should. Putting two and two together, Ethan had concluded that Matthew was less than gentle when doling out punishments. He had thought that her experience with men might perhaps complicate a relationship between them, but he never thought she'd do something as daft as running away.

Ethan also knew that Matthew kept a tight reign on his household and Rahlei had likely had little experience with the city. But that was where she had probably gone. In search of work, no doubt. But then what? He wondered. What was she planning on doing? Ethan mopped up the last of his stew with a piece of bread and went to bed, resolving to think more on the matter in the morning.

He rode into the city the next morning in search of his wife. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if he found her. He mostly just wanted to make sure she was all right. Stopping at the first pub he came to, Ethan went inside, curling his lip at the smell and commotion inside.

"What can I get you, good sir?" The bartender asked.

"Nothing. I'm looking for a girl. She's about five and a half feet, brown hair and eyes. May have been looking for work. Did she come in here?"

The bartender screwed up his eyes in thought. "I don't think anyone – wait, yeah. Someone did. Just a little snip of a thing. She was looking for work. I didn't need any help, though, and sent her on her way."

"Do you know where she might have gone?" Ethan asked hopefully.

"Sorry, lad. She didn't say a word after that."

Ethan nodded and flipped a coin to the man before leaving.

By the end of the day, Ethan's pockets were empty from flipping coins to people giving him possible leads to the whereabouts of Rahlei. Admitting defeat for that day, he went back home, determined to find her the next day.

The next morning continued much as the last. He went from place to place, searching, feeling as though he were retracing the steps of a mystery. It was nearing dusk when Ethan decided it was time to call it a day again and try once more tomorrow. As he rode past the tailor's store he stopped, remembering he had dropped off breeches to be mended several weeks ago. Tying the horse to the hitching post, he went inside.

He didn't see anything at first in the dingy light, but he heard the shuffle of approaching footsteps.

"Ah, Ethan. What brings ye here?" Jahmes asked.

"Hello, Jahmes. I was wondering if my breeches were ready."

"Breeches…? Hmm. Let me go see."

The old man shuffled away, returning a few minutes later.

"Here they are, lad. It'll be five coppers."

Ethan took the breeches and paid the money.

"How 'ave things been going with ye then?" Jahmes asked.

"Oh, can't complain," Ethan replied. "Just got back from a horse delivery."

"Oh? How many?"

"Fifty head. Nice trip, no problems."

"That's nice."

"Well, I'll be seeing you around then, Jahmes."

"Aye, see you 'round."

Ethan turned to go.

"Oh, Jahmes?"

"Eh?"

"Um…I've been looking for someone for the last couple days."

"Oh?"

"Yes, a girl named Rahlei. Brown hair, eyes."

The tailor was silent a moment. "Rahlei," he repeated finally, scratching his chin in thought. "She's Matthew's girl, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is."

"Oh, Betty," Jahmes called into the room behind him. "Have ye seen Matthew's Rahlei recently?"

Rahlei jumped at the sound of her own name. She hadn't been paying attention to the talk going on outside her room, but a flicker of intuition told her that Ethan was out there asking about her. She held the dress that she was mending to her mouth.

"Muh-uh," she called, hoping it didn't sound like her own voice.

"Sorry Ethan," Jahmes apologized. "I'll let ye know if we see her."

"Thank you, Jahmes. I would appreciate that."

Ethan tipped his hat and left the shop.

Jahmes rubbed his hands together with relief. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he was going to find out.

"Lass, may I have a word with ye?"

Rahlei slowly put her sewing down, glancing hesitantly at her employer.

"What'd Ethan want with ye?"

A few noises emitted from Rahlei's mouth, none of the legible.

"Well?" he asked gruffly.

"He's my husband," she said finally. She took a deep breath before rushing on. "I was forced to marry him so I ran away."

"Ye ran away 'cause you didn't want to be living with him anymore?"

"No, I ran away because I was forced into living with him."

"Well lass, I won't say you had just cause. A girl ought to take what's given to her. But without ye I'd have no one to mend, so I'm grateful just the same." He patted her shoulder and left the room.

Rahlei broke into silent tears as she put her things away.