A Tale of Flynnigan Ryder
Chapter 11
Author's Note
So, I am very slowly but also surely getting to the completion of this tale. Once again, apoplgies for how long this is taking, but I am determined to finish! I have started on my next chapter, so please keep either bugging me or reminding me - via review works well, that is what finally reminded me that I was still in the middle of this chapter!
Also, if there are any glaring discrepencies from the earlier story, please point them out to me so I can fix them! I've only had time for a cursory glance at the earlier chapters, and sometimes I would miss what you will see. Thank you! And thanks for sticking with me!
...
"The master is finally letting us eat?" Candi breathed as the bell clanged suddenly from the kitchen. Christopher was, unsurprisingly, still clinging to
her, which made it more difficult for her to continue her patching, but she was managing. "It seems too early," she murmured to herself this time, and
the girls with her couldn't be certain whether she was talking of literal supper time or of the fact that not one, but two of their number had been swept
away on the river - wasn't it time to be mourning them instead of eating? To be certain, they were all starved by now, but the loss of those extra two
cast a dark pall over the whole little assembly. It was difficult even now to think of food. But of course, how silly of her. From the perspective of
Antoine, it had been - given the shadows that she could see from the window - probably slightly more than an hour now, probably closer to two, so it
really wasn't all that early after all. Candi ignored the stinging in her eyes and drew the thread into a knot, breaking it with her teeth. She inspected
the patch and went through the rush of thoughts and requirements that had been thrust upon her in the space of what? Eight hours? The girls had
helped with the patching, and the few who were too young had helped the boys to make the beds. They were all done and filing out. She coaxed
Christopher back into his shirt after slipping the needle into its place in the curtain. She wondered absently why there were more boy orphans than
girl, how many of them had been foundlings...but she didn't see how that affected anything. She knew why there would be more boy foundlings.
People in these parts often thought of boys as trouble. What irked her was what she knew about boys, and how... people just had to take the trouble
to raise them. Like Ryden's parents had done for him, or Kay had done for Eugene and everyone else in the orphanage. How her own parents had
done for her.
Candi glanced up to see that everyone else had gone, and she bundled Christopher into her arms, heading for the door. She had one more thing to do before lining up. She had yet to check
in on Darren. She wasn't completely certain that she wanted to. The boys had said told her that Antoine had hurt him and that his ear was bleeding, and she knew form reading and from
experience that it could mean a more minor injury or…it was something that would kill him by the morning, and she would have lost another of her friends. She stood up and smoothed her
skirt, relieved that the master was not raging in there and chasing them out of the room. She heard Darren's voice and saw him shooing the rest boys ahead of him, though it did not go
unnoticed by her, however, that he most certainly swayed on his feet for a moment. She found herself frowning thoughtfully, but she said nothing as she shooed the girls out in front of her.
There was no line up in the hall tonight, and Darren and Candi looked curiously at each other as they were waved into the dining hall by the kitchen maids. Darren reached discretely for the
handle of the girls' room as he passed it and found that the door had been locked. He forced his face to remain the same, however, but wondered whether he would be right in assuming
that either Kay or Eugene - or even both - were being kept hidden in that room. How could he contrive to watch the room when they were all supposed to be in the dining hall? If he
pretended that he felt worse than he did, than the Master would likely postpone his plans - or lock him in his room as he rid himself of them. No, he would have to keep thinking, and it
would have been easier if he were steadier on his feet. Ryden may have known what had happened to him when the master had hit his head so hard, but Darren did not. He felt tired, but a
voice in his head demanded calmly that he stay awake. He needed to stay awake. So, he had stayed awake, and he resolved that he would stay awake the whole night anyway to watch the
doings of the master and to watch for any chance of finding out what had happened to Kay or to Eugene.
"Darren?"
"Locked," he whispered, hoping that she could hear him.
"Kay?" She whispered. Darren shrugged. Candi's eyes ran over the little gathering. There had to be someone that she could tell to sneak out. She would be noticed, as would Darren.
Christopher was still a subject of interest. Mary. The tree climber, the all around daredevil. "I have an idea, Darren." She whispered again when she was certain that the master was not
watching them.
"Candi, what are you planning?"
"Remember the tree outside, the one that touches the house?"
"Yeah?"
"It's right by the Master's bedroom. That's where Eugene is, right?"
"Yes."
"After dark, we can have her unlock his door from the inside, and then climb on the roof and stay there so the master can't find her."
"All night?"
"No, she can climb down to us after the Master has gone to bed. You know that he won't let us sleep in our rooms tonight anyway. And he usually
goes around inspecting everything until well into the night."
"You're right," Darren nodded. His eyes still had a dazed look about them, and
Candi was worried about him too. "What about the girls' room?"
"Huh?"
"Can she get in there? Kay may be…"
"That window is low. Maybe we should have-"
"What are you two muttering about?" A voice hissed suddenly behind them. Darren didn't startle, because the voice had not immediately registered
in his ears, but Candi had to do everything in her power not to jump and cry out in surprise.
"The visit of the magistrate, of course, sir."
"What window were you speaking of?"
"The window in the barn, sir. We had hoped to make a sort of entertainment for…only I just remembered that we can not," Darren muttered in
affected disappointment and surprise. For a moment, Candi forgot that they had not been discussing just that, he looked so genuinely disappointed.
In their earnest discussion, she had forgotten that the barn had nearly been burned down with the still trembling little Christopher inside of it.
"He would have no time for your foolishness in any event, you little fools," Antoine sneered at them. "You have only to smile, to be happy and well
fed, and all will go well. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," Darren and Candi nodded meekly, though in light of the events of the last twelve hours, it would be a cold day in Hades before they would
cower before their master any more. At least, that was their resolve. Antoine gave them a sharp nod before moving on through the hall into the
kitchen. Was Eugene in the cellar? Kay?
"Talk to Mary. My hearing is still a little spotty." Candi nodded. But of course, even without his hearing impairment, Candi was the obvious choice.
Although far less prolifically than Eugene, Darren and Ryden were some of the few who sometimes stood against the cruelty of the master. Rabble
rousers. Candi had never been a rabble rouser.
Taking her food with her, she walked smoothly to the last table in the row and sat among the younger girls.
"Mary?"
"Candi?" The younger girl sputtered. Candi shook her head at the shock. Mary shouldn't be getting worked up about being talked to by her. It wasn't
as if she were someone special like Kay, after all. She was just Candi.
"I've got a job for you."
—
They had been walking forever, or at least it felt like forever. It was difficult to say anymore. There had been a time not so long ago when Ryden had made frequent trips through these very
woods, and he would walk miles in a day. But now, he was not certain that he and Abby had covered even two miles of distance - though it may have been more for all of the twisting and
turning that they had done - and he was ready to drop. Naturally, that could have been as a result of what they'd all had to live through that day, and his unexpected swim in a turbulent
river-
"Ryden, I'm cold," the small girl whined, sniffling and wiping her nose with the back of her hand.
"It won't be much further, Abby. We're sure to come across to the bridge soon, alright? Maybe we'll see the king there."
"But he isn't supposed to come until its tomorrow, Ryden. The king could be a hundred miles away still, and we don't have a horse," she whined. Ryden nodded. It was true of course - well,
surely he was not a hundred miles away, but the point stood, though there was the hope in his heart that the king was perhaps ahead of schedule. He could be there tonight. What a
surprise that would be for the Master! Ryden would hate to miss the look on his face. They had to come to the bridge soon, he knew that it was not far. He knew this path, that shrub, that
tree…it made him remember his father; his good, kind parents and how he would go through these woods with them. It was usually he and his father alone, his parents had both of them
been considered old and his mother liking to chase them out of the house when she could to dry the fruit and make up the stores for the winter without the two of them getting in the way
of her delicate work. They could help when she needed it, she always told them, but not now. And it was fine at the time, the boy had enjoyed that much time with his father and watching
him help people, learning to do it himself. And then there was the fire. He wouldn't have minded so much if they had lost all of their things, but the bitter fact was that he was the only one
who had been able to get away in time. His parents had not been able to get out. Ryden had lost everything. Beside him Abbey stumbled, and rather than righting her, Ryden lifted her into
his arms.
"I know you're tired, Abby. So am I, but we just have to keep going just for a little while longer, okay? Just a little bit."
"Can we go over to the fire?"
"Fire?" Ryden replied with some alarm. It was not yet evening, though it had to be getting late though the sun was not yet setting, he had seen no fire, and he had not really expected to
see one. It was the peak of summer, after all. "Where?"
"Right in front of us?"
"In front-"
"Who goes there?" A loud, unfamiliar voice demanded of the two children. The boy yelped, and the girl reacted by shouting her name.
—
Eugene awoke with a start, wondering, at first, where on earth he was. His back screamed agony at him and made him remember, and the boy was quick to cut off a cry of pain. Slowly, he
reached his hands above his head he felt each corner and the lid, just to be certain that he was still in the chest at the foot of the bed in the Master's room. It hurt, but not as much as it
coulkd have, and he knew that. He had Kay, Darren, and Ryden to thank for that. And Ryden had found him, but they didn't know where Kay was. He let out a long, slow breath and placed
his hands against the lid of a box that could far too easily become his coffin. It wasn't going to be his coffin, and he was going to find Kay. He pushed on the lid, but his hands fell
immediately back to his mouth to cut off the scream the wanted to tear out of his throat. He couldn't let Antoine know that he was awake. He couldn't let Antoine know that he might not
die this time either. Instead, tears crept out of the corners of his eyes and rushed down the sides of his face and into his hair, the combination of physical and emotional pain too much for
the boy to bear. He'd had too much time to himself if his emotions were beginning to creep out, but he was not going to let that stop him. He just couldn't move, not quite yet. He would be
prepared for the tearing feeling in his shoulders next time. He would be ready for it, and he would get out.
But where was Ryden?
—
"The girl is Abby. And the boy only screamed, but I assume that he has a name."
"I did not scream!" The boy insisted. "And my name is Ryden, not like you need to know," he grumbled the last bit.
"I imagine that you can let me be the judge of that," the tall man answered, his eyes studying them curiously while he held his hands behind his back. "I can see that you stumbled upon
our encampment by accident, but what were you doing wandering in the woods so late?"
"We…we got lost," Abby answered somewhat truthfully before Ryden had decided upon what he wanted to answer the stranger.
"I do not know this part of the country well," the man replied readily, moving his hands from behind his back and stroking his beard, "but perhaps we can do something to help you on your
way. Perhaps, though, you should stay here tonight and have supper with us."
"No. We appreciate the offer, sir, but we - we are trying to meet with someone."
"Oh?"
"Yes. If it is all the same to you, we would rather you let us go."
"Ryden, I want to eat some real food," Abby shouted in her whisper shout. It was really more shout than whisper. Ryden's reply was much quieter, but possibly more distinct since it came
out in an angry hiss.
"Abby, don't be rude!"
"But I'm hungry!"
"But we just ate-"
"I hardly think wild asparagus a substitute for roasted meat," the man countered the boy, brushing a piece of the named plant from Ryden's shirt as he did so. "You are welcome to stay, if
you like."
"Abby, don't you dare say yes."
"But-"
"We don't know them, Abby! You can't just trust everyone that we meet!"
"You're brother is right, of course," their host - or was it their captor? - smiled with some maliciousness as he spoke, taking a step closer.
"Oh Fredrick! Stop teasing them!" A new voice admonished the man, and the next moment a woman entered the tent from behind him. "Don't you see that they are terrified?" She turned
to Ryden and Abbey then, and the first thing that Ryden noticed was her large, green eyes. The lady smiled at them. "I apologize for my husband's foolishness, my dears. He was the
youngest and has had little time with children. Do you live close by?"
"Y-yes," Ryden admitted. He wasn't certain that they weren't robbers, and he wasn't at all certain whether their company would, in the end, be better or worse than that of Antoine. But the
lady looked so nice - and so did her husband when he wasn't trying to look scary. Ryden scowled at him for good measure.
"Where? Is your father a miller? A farmer?" The woman continued.
"Our fathers are dead. We're orphans."
"Abby!" Ryden hissed, going very pale. He looked up in fear at the two adults, and was immediately confused by the looks of concern and consternation upon their faces as they appeared
to be having a conversation of sorts by only looking at each other.
"You live in the orphanage nearby?" The woman urged.
"We used to. Abby fell in the river and I jumped in after her because I'm a strong swimmer, but Antoine was just as happy to leave us both for dead as he would have been to have only the
one of us gone for good. We'll make our our way, we aren't going back."
"And who did you hope to meet?"
"The magistrate is coming tomorrow, and we believe that the king is coming as well, finally. I - I had hoped to reach him before morning, to tell him that they need to find Kay and Eugene
before they die."
"Find them?" The man intoned. Ryden wondered whether the concern on his face were real.
"Before they die? What has happened to them?"
"Kay is sick, and she has been for a long time, but…Eugene told us that she wouldn't be at the orphanage for much longer."
"And this Eugene?"
"He's a little older than I am, and he stands up to the master sometimes. More times than the rest of us. The master beat him again. I think that its because he hid so Bobby would be
adopted instead of him."
"He doesn't want to be-"
"He takes care of us the best way that he can, and Bobby was new. He got Bobby away from Antoine as quickly as he could, and the master was probably angry because he hates Eugene. I
don't…I don't actually know. This is the first time that Eugene has been hurt this bad," the boy added in a whisper. Then he turned his face angrily at the pair and shouted, "Why do you
care what I have to say? I'm wasting time here, I have to speak to the king! We have to leave now, Abby!"
"But Ryden!"
"No more buts!"
"Ryden, You need to listen!"
"What?"
"That is the king!"
"What?!"
"It's King Fredrick!"
"How would you know, Abby?"
"Because my mamma painted him once, and I remember!"
"But…are you really sure, Abby?" He whispered.
"Well, you can leave and search for me if you like, but that is up to you," Fredrick said suddenly, and when Ryden looked up he realized that the man was now arrayed in a manner of finery
that he had not been before, and the woman whom he could only suppose to be the man's wife was fastening a chain of office at the man's neck. "I am away to visit this 'Master' of yours
with all speed. He should not expect me until sometime tomorrow, but if he has gotten away with these actions for years, then he almost certainly has an accomplice, and I can only
assume that he would have forewarning that I had meant to come early in the morning. He will certainly not expect to see me tonight."
"Are you…really the king?" Ryden gasped. The king smiled and nodded to the boy.
"I can imagine why you would never want to return to that place, but -"
"I will come with you, sir! You may need help finding Eugene, and Antoine injured the only other boy who may be able to lead you to him.
"And you, Abby?"
"I want to stay with Ryden," the young girl whispered, taking the older boy's hand.
"Fitzroy, get some provisions from the cook, bread and cheese if he has nothing prepared that can be brought. Howard, please see to our horses. Byron, the carriage for these two."
"I can ride," Ryden grumbled.
"I have no doubt, but I don't need you to fall off of your horse as we ride. Come."
He hoisted the little girl onto his shoulders before the boy could shout a protest. Perhaps he did not know that Abby was of about the same age as the king's daughter must be, if she were
still alive.
"How long will it take us to get there?" Ryden wondered aloud as he followed the king outside. Within the tent he had been warm, and he shuddered in the evening air. Fitzroy approached
at that moment bearing a paper package, but instead of handing it to Ryden, who found his mouth watering at the prospect of more than just raw wild vegetables, the man made a beeline
for the king, gave some sort of report or made a request - something that took him long enough and far enough from Ryden that he was unable to do so until the carriage had pulled up
beside him and Abby - and Byron was helping them into the carriage. Now at last Howard handed them the package, told them not to eat too quickly, and closed the door. Ryden was too
starved either to frown or to shake his head in reaction, and instead tore into the paper, well aware that he would have to share the food with Abby, and knowing also that even if he hadn't
had to, there was no way that he would be able to finish all of the food there. With the paper torn away, they stared, gaping for a moment. Ryden, in all of his traveling, had never seen a
thing quite like this.
"Its cake," Abby gasped in wonder, though she still did not touch it. "Hurry and get the other food so we can eat it!" She breathed in a high whisper that hissed both in her throat and from
between her teeth. But despite what they had been through, looking at the treat made Ryden feel a surge of guilt rise from his belly.
"But-" he began weakly.
"-what about everyone else…" she finished Ryden's sentence dismally. Ryden nodded.
"That is for you. There is plenty more for everyone else."
Both children startled at the sound of a voice that was not their own, and Abby nearly swept the dinner from Ryden's lap and open hands. The queen's face - for that is who she must be if
the tall man was the king - appeared in the window after her voice had been heard. In the faint glow tha illuminated the inside of the carriage, she saw two wide eyed, half starved children,
but Ryden could not in turn read all of the emotion in the large green eyes of the kind woman in finery. He blamed the deepening twilight for this, and he blamed the noise of Abby eating,
and the emotions that assailed them all after the fire. Her brow was creased ever slightly, an action that certainly meant very many things, but there was sadness, to be certain, but unless
he was missing his guess, there was anger there aswell. Surely her majesty could not be angry with himself or Abby? As if to answer his wondering, the queen spoke again. "Is it enough
food for you both?" Ryden balked. Of course, the answer on the tip of his tongue was affirmative, and to be certain it truly was more than he could eat alone without making himself sick.
But he was not speaking to the master, he forced himself to reason. He knew the bend in her brow for certain, and he realized only now how well he knew it, because he saw it in himself
and the other children who had known their parents. It was a look of sadness. She could not be like Antoine. He could speak to her without fear. She could not be counted on to beat him
for stepping out of line. Still, he would...have to force himself to speak to her, though he had been under Antoine for so much less time. Now he wondered at the question, trying to filter
out the defense mechanism that had built up as a result of the Master. Was she asking him if this was an amount greater than he would normally see, or was she simply being polite? How
should he answer her?
"We don't get half this much even at Christmas!" Abbey blurted out with crumbs sprinkling out of her lips and onto the beautiful carpet that lined the floor of the coach, unhampered by
etiquette and still eying the cake passionately as she chomped on bread that looked far lighter and tastier than what they were used to eating. It was like the loaves his mother used to
bake for his family. Without another word, the Abby tore into the meat, but starving as he was, Ryden spared his attention for the queen's face. She had turned away a little, but he knew
that he had seen as a pained look passed over the face of the queen while the anger hardened in her eyes. Ryden knew at that moment, how good a thing that it was the
she was on his side.
