Chapter 3

In a glade away from the capital four individuals rest while enjoying lunch. “It’s a good thing we thought of getting something to eat before leaving.” a young woman with neck length brown hair and blue eyes says. The young man next to her nods in agreement as he chews a bite of a piece of bread.

“Although I think Vincent and Colin would have had just enough food to get us home,” he says light heartedly.

“I don’t know Luke. Sir Vincent has a big appetite.”, a brown haired boy responds.

“Is that so?”, the girl chuckles. Her eyes trail to another young man with dark brown hair across from her. His gray eyes are focused on the ground, glazed over with thought. He is only half listening to the others as his mind is swirling with questions.

“You aren’t eating.” the girl says to him. At the sound of her voice his head rises up. Silence passes between them before anyone speaks.

“Tell me again. How did you and Luke come to the conclusion you are related to me?” Vincent asks, referring to the young woman and man. Her eyes flicker between the ground and Vincent.

“That necklace you’re wearing. I noticed it when we first met. It’s a triple braided pattern, but the knots are what makes it unique,” she starts off, lifting her chin to gesture to the necklace around Vincent’s neck. “Three strings are used to make it and at equal intervals a knot is made until completed. That is a technique only members of our family know, but parents only will do it for their kids, so only members of our family will have one.”

“Amelia told me about it that night you guys arrived in Tymes. I thought you had just come across it. Because we always knew that our mother had a sister that left years ago.”, Luke chimes in.

“You mean stole.”, Vincent corrects. Luke shrugs in response.

“But I told him how you looked so much like each other, and instead we came to the possibility that you’re the son of our aunt and that you are our cousin. We only knew without a doubt when we saw you knew magic though.”, Amelia says.

“Well, all three of you do have similar auras.”, Colin adds quietly. Vincent listens in silence, rubbing the necklace between one of his fingers and thumb. His eyes drift down to it before he decides to reveal the necklace completely from inside of his shirt. Its tide around a clear crystal that shines in the sun. Amelia and Luke’s eyes widen in surprise.

“I can tell there is more to this than what its appearance lets on. When I first got it I sensed two energies that I felt like I should have recognised. Not only that, but the box was sealed by a charm that only I could open. If the two of you know about this then what makes it so special besides its uniqueness?”, Vincent questions them.

“Do you not believe us?”, Amelia responds. Vincent lets go of the necklace as he answers.

“No, I believe you or I should say a part of me knows you are telling the truth. I just wouldn’t have in a million years thought I would meet anybody that is actually related to me.”, Vincent admits somberly. He takes a breath and releases it.

“Well that’s why we are taking you and Colin home with us. Something like this Grandma Alice would want to know. Everyone will want to know in fact. She’ll be able to explain everything.”, Luke tells him.

“Not only that but you two are going to need somewhere to lie low after what happened in Tymes. We already have to keep moving as it is. After that you can head straight south to Harcata without losing too much time.”, Amelia says.

“Hmm, you are right about that.”, Vincent replies thoughtfully with his hand to his chin. He looks over to Colin. It is his family they need to get to to help. Feeling Vincent’s sight on him the boy turns to him and nods his head.

“Alright, how far away are we?” Vincent asks, turning back to Amelia and Luke. Luke looks behind him.

“About a day. Now that we’re out of the woods it’s really just plains around here. If you guys are good we can get going now,” he answers.

“I’m ready.”, Amelia says.

“Me too. What about you Colin?” Vincent says. The boy nods his head and gets to his feet. Vincent watches him for a moment, but doesn’t say anything. Instead he stands up and gets ready to continue on foot to Luke and Amelia’s home.

.............................................

A day later Vincent and the others reach the top of a ridge. They stop to catch their breath and rest. Vincent sets Colin down after carrying him the rest of the way.

“I could have made it, Sir Vincent,” he says after reaching the ground.

“You were starting to fall behind. It was no trouble for me to carry you.”, Vincent says to him. He hands him some water.

“I had made it most of the way though, but thank you.”, Colin replies stubbornly, but still takes the water. Vincent sighs.

“You’re welcome Colin,” he says.

“You certainly surprised me, young blood. I honestly didn’t expect you to make it as far as you did. I knew you were strong, but you may be stronger than I thought.”, Luke speaks up from where he was resting. Meanwhile, Amelia walks from the rest of the group to the edge of the crest.

“Look! We are here!” she calls back to them. “Ah, you were right Luke. We did come from the northwest.”, she sighs.

“Told you! That’s why we ended up having to climb this ridge!” he calls back in response. She returns to the others with bright eyes and raring to go.

“I thought we ended up coming more straight on from the west,” she defends

“You are certainly more energetic than I thought.” Vincent comments as he gets to his feet.

“And you are a quicker healer than I thought,” she responds back referring to how easily Vincent has dealt with the journey despite having taken an arrow to the leg and a spear to the shoulder back in Tymes.

“That’s because admittedly he’s better at magic then we gave him credit for.”, Luke clarifies ready to go. Vincent chuckles.

“I may not use it often, but I had a good teacher and have been learning it for three years now. Well, four now I think.”, Vincent admits thoughtfully. The group heads in the direction of the town as they continue to talk. A gust of wind blows from behind them and ruffles their clothes and hair.

“Really? We’ve been learning since we were ten years old.”, Amelia shares.

Once they reach the edge of the crest the quartect falls silent as Vincent takes his first look at Amelia and Luke’s town. A small lake sits to the left away from what Vincent guesses is a market area. Thick vegetation chokes its shallows. Around the lake are clusters of homes all around it. A man made stream can be seen leading from the lake to woods that start off beyond to the south. Further to the east of the homes and lake can be seen fields plowed and ready to be sewn.

“Those clusters around the lake are families. Each one basically owns a piece of land around the lake.”, Amelia tells him, pointing to the area around the lake. “The market is where outsiders and townsfolk gather to conduct business. The town’s pretty well off, but we don’t have the money for an amisher,” she explains. Vincent silently takes in the scenery resulting in a smile from Amelia.

“Well, no sense in just standing here. It’s nearly dinnertime and I can smell grandma and mother’s cooking.”, Luke says walking past Vincent and the others. A sense of anxiousness springs up in his chest as he follows. Not knowing what to expect when he arrives.

After reaching the bottom of the hill the group heads to the far side of the lake closest to the fields. On their way the townsfolk they pass by greet and welcome home Amelia and Luke. Calling out their names and waving to them. A few of them approach, but at the sight of Vincent some decide not to. Others throw curious looks his and Colin’s way.

“Hehehe, sorry. It’s not everyday someone new comes here that isn’t a merchant. For some people that means competition.”, Amelia explains. Vincent nods in understanding. His attention is really on Colin anyway.

“Are you okay?” he asks the boy.

“I’m fine.”, Colin answers looking up to Vincent.

“Just let me know if you become overwhelmed. I can put a shield up for you.”, Vincent tells him. By now he was familiar with Colin’s sensory technique and the risks of overload it posed to him.

“You don’t have to do that. I can stay focused, trust me.”, Colin quickly replies. Colin’s defensiveness catches Vincent off guard causing him to raise an eyebrow at the boy.

“What’s gotten into you?”, Vincent questions him. Colin’s eyes fall to the ground.

“Nothing. Sorry.”, Colin answers.

“Guys we’re here!”, Amelia says. Vincent and Colin’s attention goes from each other to in front of them. Amelia and Luke had pulled ahead of them a bit, and were standing a few paces away from a house. Vincent notices Luke keeps looking around nervously.

“Luke what are you-”

“LUKE!”, the shout interrupts Vincent’s question.

“Darn it, Vincent! I was so close.”, Luke says. At the same time a girl approaches Luke with a look of frustration. “Ah, Angelina. It’s good to see you.”, as soon as Luke stops speaking the girl slaps Luke across the face. The hit causes Vincent to flinch.

“That had to hurt.”, Colin comments with a hurt look of his own. The girl leaves right after not waiting for an explanation from Luke. He turns to the others.

“I...think I deserved that,” he says simply rubbing his cheek. A silent “ow” is formed by his mouth.

“You know you did. You made a promise to propose to multiple girls when you got back didn’t you?”, Amelia accuses him.

“I-I...refuse to answer that question.”, Luke retorts. Vincent shakes his head.

“Probably said he would use the enormous profit from you guys’ recent venture too.”, the voice comes in the direction of the house. Everyone turns around and sees a young man around Vincent’s age perhaps a year or two younger approaching them. He has chestnut brown hair and amber eyes. “She was just here looking for you,” he tells Luke as he stops by him.

“That’s why he was in a rush to leave.”, Amelia realizes.

“And why he was determined to make a huge profit,” Vincent adds.

“No. I actually thought I’d rearranged their memories.”, Luke defends himself under his breath.

“You did. Uncle overridden your spell.”, the guy informs him.

“What?!”, Luke exclaims, dropping his hand.

“Is he home, Stephon?”, Amelia asks.

“No. He and my father are at the fields planning this year’s crop. Mom, Aunt Ledia, and grandma just got back from the market. I was here watching the house and kids, and doing some work on the horses. We were expecting to hear from you guys days ago to come and get you from Harcata, but we didn’t. Everyone’s been really worried.”, Stephon informs her.

“We know. We had a bit of trouble. We had to come home by land and it ended up taking almost over a week to get here on foot. ”, Luke tells him.

“Hm, who’s this?”, Stephon responds by gesturing to Vincent and Colin with his chin. A hint of suspension in his voice. Amelia and Luke smile ignoring it.

“Pretty much the reason we are late and someone everyone is going to want to meet.”, Amelia starts off with excitement rising in her voice. A curious look appears on Stephon’s face, not quite following.

“Okay, Stephon, this is cousin Vincent. Cousin Vincent, this is cousin Stephon.” Luke announces.

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