The first thing Lucian saw the next morning was light flooding through the window beside his bed. The curtains hung limply to the sides, and a caterpillar crawled around on the ledge, before making its way onto the blankets covering his knees.
Lucian watched it for a few moments, as his head cleared from sleep. Outside somewhere, on his father's fields, a flock of birds chirped out good morning and pecked around in the grass.
"Wake up, Lu!" He grinned mischievously and held his arms open wide as his sister dashed into his corner of the room and pulled herself next to him. Lucian pressed his lips to her hair and wrapped his arms around her waist, settling her between his knees carefully.
"Do you see that?" He whispered, pointing towards the caterpillar going about its business on the sheets. Little Maleah pressed her palms to her mouth in disbelief, and pulled herself away, determined to pick up the little critter.
"So small!" She cried, as it crawled around her tiny fingers. Lucian rested his chin upon her shoulders and laughed.
"Yes, it is. But not for long. Oh, be careful with it," For a moment they were both in awe, watching, until suddenly it felt and plopped onto Maleah's toes. She wriggled them and chuckled.
"It tickles, and it's kind of furry," She said in disbelief, picking it up again. Lucian's hands found hers, and he plucked the caterpillar from her fingers and set it on the ledge again. Maleah turned her head and pouted at him.
"Oh come now, the little thing is on a journey. We mustn't keep it from its destination," He scolded good-naturedly. She pushed past him in a huff and set her bare feet on the floor.
After awhile she said, "Destination?" Lucian swung himself over the side of the bed, creaking and moaning as he did so and explained, "Well yes. The caterpillar doesn't stay like that forever. When it feels it's the right time, it wraps itself up somewhere comfortable and safe. And then after a time, it turns into a butterfly. A much more beautiful and elegant little creature that flutters about,"
Maleah made a face and said, "You left out a lot," but he noticed that she seemed pleased. They fell silent after that, sitting side by side in contentment. Then suddenly, Lucian glanced out the window and spoke up, "It seems much later than it should be. Did Mama call for me before I woke up just now?"
She shook her head. "Noooo…I think she said something about letting you sleep a bit longer, since you came home late, last night," she looked up towards him with her innocent, sea-blue eyes and added casually, "You missed dinner,"
Lucian's stomach growled.
"Besides," she continued, glancing down to her feet, "I'm sure she feels bad,"
Her brother grabbed her elbow a bit frantically and turned her towards him. "For what?" He asked, suspiciously. Maleah pulled away and stood in front of him, her pale blonde hair streaming from her shoulders.
"Stop protecting me from what she makes Papa do to you, Lucian. I heard you knocking at the door last night,"
Lucian also stood up and towered over her, pointing a finger at her up-turned nose. "And you shouldn't be awake at such an hour, listening to adult conversations," He replied quietly.
"I am an adult," She spat back, in common sisterly fashion. Turning on her heels, Maleah stormed past the hung sheets , her nightgown flailing behind her. Lucian ran his fingers through his hair, laughing softly to himself.
"Lu-u-u-u-cian!" It was his mother.
He groaned inwardly and descended down the rickety steps into the kitchen. Mama was bustling around the table, cleaning up the last remains of her husbands breakfast. The oven was letting off too much heat already and so Lucian kept to the shadows.
"Your father has already left to consult with some of the other men leaving for Crell tomorrow. He wants you to join him," She said, scooping up dishes and dropping them into a wide basin set atop a ledge beside the stove.
"So I guess there's no field work today," Lucian muttered to himself.
"Probably not. At least not this morning," Mama's skirts clung to her legs as she moved around obstacles, one of them being Maleah who flew to take her place at the table. "If you have any coins, you should take them to the town square and place a request,"
Lucian folded his arms against himself and inhaled slowly, filling his nose with the scent of the day's bread already baking. It permeated the room, which by nightfall, usually smelled of ashes, coal and dust from the day's work.
"What exactly should I request?" He asked pointedly.
"A ribbon for my hair," Maleah offered.
Mama straightened up, and flashed him a heated look. "Perhaps something that we need!" he gaze fell upon her daughter in disgust, "A waste of money that would be," Maleah slipped a spoonful of weak porridge into her mouth and fell silent.
"Then why did you bother telling me? I doubt you'd let me under this roof if I didn't ask for something that benefited everyone," Lucian returned angrily. Mama went on wiping down the dishes in the basin, her back to him.
"You should know better, that's why. Asking someone to purchase something so…material,"- and here her eyes darted towards Maleah- "won't do anyone any good," She moved towards the cupboards, devoid of anything homely and edible, and started piling breakfast plates, "besides. You are young yet, and you have a lot to learn about how to handle your money,"
Lucian scoffed and thought to himself, "But Father told me that I was a man,"
"I'm sorry, Mama" Maleah said meekly, and Mama squeezed her shoulder kindly as she passed by her. She stopped and turned to Lucian again.
"You should get yourself over to the town square quickly. No telling how many others are lining up already,"
He nodded, and climbed the stairs back up to his bed to unhook his day clothes from the wall.