Crisse covered his mouth to hide his jaw-cracking yawn. He was tired of waking up before the craking of dawn. Luckily, he could rest the next two days and sleep a bit more.
Just thinking that he still had to tutor the brat of the Lincon family at Two Stone Village for a couple more months drained his energy. The teen could barely do math and his writing was atrocious yet he was adept at bullying others just because his father had lots of money and land.
Well, Crisse's father was once a renowned tutor in a grand city and the young man did not go around with his nose in the air, bragging about someone else's achievements. At least, the one time he did brag about his father to other kids, he was severely scolded by the man. His dad told him that it was natural to be proud of him, but it was a hundred times better if Crisse bragged about his own achievements. Which made complete sense to his once young mind.
That was why, Crisse could finally brag that he got an important teaching post at Silver City. It was not at the same institution his father used to work at, but it was close to it. Granted, he was going to start as an assistant, basically the teacher's errand boy; however, the pay was much better than being a tutor for village teens who could barely tell left from right.
Crisse sighed. If only he would have had the chance to teach the youngest Edris…
Crisse was one year older than Lucas, so it could be said that he shared ages with the three eldest brothers. When his family just moved to Yellow Leaf Village, he was curious about the children who did not play like other children and instead worked, farmed and… begged around.
His dad and mom never discouraged him from getting close to Lucas or Joseph, but he had no idea how and what to talk to them.
Although Lucas was more talkative in his childhood, he was still too... restrained; more so because he was the one left in charge of the house, taking care of both Joseph and baby Felix, after Ethan started working at town. And Joseph was too much of a rambunctious child for Crisse, who grew up with his strict yet mild parents.
Back then, he mostly watched them from afar and helped them when he could: like when other kids started badmouthing them.
He was only one child, though, and he could not silence hundreds of mouths. Furthermore, he was not mature enough to comprehend that, back then, his eventual silence when mocking words were spat in the brothers' direction just so he would not be equally ostracized completely fractured whatever friendship he attempted to build with the brothers.
And then, as they all grew up, and wild gossips about the brothers spread, he was too busy with his studies to extend a friendly hand to the brothers.
Now, they were just neighbors who nodded at each other but never shared any meaningful or idle conversation. It was awkward.
Though, if Crisse would have had a thicker skin, then he would have offered himself to teach Felix for free instead of being trapped with the Two Stone Village brat. According to his dad, Felix had a lot of potential. The old man discovered that after talking with Isabelle, the mysterious woman who suddenly appeared in the brothers' lives.
Crisse had gotten glimpses of the woman whenever she arrived at the house to address his dad about some matter at town. He was unable to hear anything about their conversations, yet every time she left, his dad just sighed and grumbled about the Edris brothers not doing a proper job.
Many times, he had asked his dad how and when the woman popped up, but his old man just waved him away, claiming he had to ask the family itself to know. Again, if Crisse had thicker skin, then he would have.
Maybe, before leaving to Silver City, he could mend whatever relationship he had with the brothers.
As that thought crossed his mind, neighing came from behind. Crisse startled. He was used to the lowing of cows, honking of ducks, snorting of pigs and clucking of chickens, but it was rare to hear a horse neigh. Where…?
'Four warriors once descended the mountain. Their robes flapped in the wind, dancing like an incoming storm.
They were the storm. They were strength. Fearless in their steps. With eyes that burned with determination, with power, with will.
The land trembled under their might. Skies opened to gaze upon them. Their feats written in blood.
For they were the warriors, the saviors, the enemy, the demons that roamed this world. And their path was one of brilliance and darkness, of honor and disgrace.
Their spirits remained. Their stories told. Even when the mountain claimed them once again.'
It was a short story Crisse once read in one of his mother's books. He had been a child back then; one who had spent days and nights dreaming of those warriors, wondering how they would look, how mighty they were. Obviously, time washed away those childish notions, yet now…
Now there they were: dressed the same; all different in appearance and demeanor but with the same determination.
One of them glanced at him.
The other nodded at him.
The third completely ignored him.
The last cheekily smiled.
Their backs seemed wider, bathed in the morning light, and their steps carried purpose. It was a dashing scene that left Crisse perplexed for a moment until he realized who the four were. He was baffled as to why they were dressed like that until he remembered a passing grumbled comment from his father: 'the Edris are marrying soon, but they haven't told me when'.
"It's today," Crisse breathed. Then with more certainty, he reiterated: "It's today!" And he ran back to his house to let his father know.
Darvo Ryon almost choked on his tea. Isolde, the daughter-in-law and Crisse's wife, hurried to help the older man. Crisse sheepishly looked at his coughing father, thinking that maybe bursting into the yard yelling 'the Edris are marrying today with a horse!' was not his smartest moment.
So, once his father stopped coughing half his lung, Crisse slowly explained what he saw back at the village's entrance. The Edris brothers were getting married today, and they were leading a horse-pulled cart.
Then, under his father's upset gaze, he left. He still had to tutor that brat after all. Crisse sighed. Maybe he could just stop tutoring and laze around at home until his move. That seemed like a splendid idea that he had to mull over once he was back home.
Back home, Isolde looked at her disgruntled father-in-law. She hesitated, opening and closing her mouth to offer some words of comfort, but ultimately decided to leave her father-in-law alone to sulk. She was no scholar like her husband and could not speak well, so it was best to occupy herself with other chores.
These brats! The Chief inwardly fumed. He was aware that they would marry soon, they had said so in passing more times than he could count, their expressions blissfully smug. But they did not deem themselves to tell him, the Chief, when exactly that would be.
He had discovered about the matter the same day as the whole village did! Right when the brothers paraded in their nice clothes and leading a horse-cart decorated in red and white to town.
As it was usual in Yellow Leaf Village, whenever there was a wedding, the Chief had to say a few words to congratulate the married couple in their home. But what words was he going to say as he had not prepared them, and at what home as he had not been invited? He could not be so shameless as to arrive at their house just like that!
That was why he could only wait for the group of people to pass by his house and bless their marriage right on the road. On the road! When had marriage blessings downgraded to such extent?!
Oh, when I see them… He sat fuming for a whole morning. Then, as he mentally prepared a good scolding for the Edris brothers, his thoughts halted due to a commotion outside on the main road. It's noon; why aren't these people eating in their homes? What are they making a fuss for? With his mood already soured, he could not think anything good about others.
"It's really them!"
"They look so well!"
"Bah, just appearances!"
"A horse-cart!"
"A carriage!"
The Chief frowned, confused by the villagers' words. What's that thing about a carriage? Had the brothers not gone to town with a cart? His doubts were enlightened when he finally saw the group slowly moving down the main road.
The four brothers surrounded a horse-pulled cart, on which Isabelle comfortably sat. At first sight, the horse-cart was well-made. Sturdy and cozy. If that was something the brothers bought for the family, then that meant they were finally doing better. There were also the clothes. Darvo did not think too much about the attires after hearing his son's description, yet he finally realized what all the fuss was about.
They looked like a group of townspeople – even city people, he dared say – who were getting married.
Then, there was the carriage. There really was a carriage! It was driven by a man who looked like a servant; as luxurious as the one that had stopped in front of the brothers' house a while ago. Sadly, no one knew who rode it as much as they tried to pry into the matter.
The Chief, much like most of the villagers, could only gape.
This focused attention made the brothers a bit uncomfortable. It followed them from the moment they entered the village; when a group of kids noticed them. After snapping out of their shock, the boys and girls ran to their respective houses to tell their parents what they saw.
The adults were obviously skeptical, harshly scolding the kids for telling lies. However, being worn down by the children's insistence, whoever was in the house eventually came out to see what the kids were yapping about. The first batch of adults gaped, then exclaimed, and finally hurried to the other houses to share the gossip.
It was a chain reaction. Rinse and repeat. Disbelief. Shock. Sharing. So, halfway into the village, the Edris family and their guests had gathered two rows of onlookers who whispered, stared and pointed at them.
The brothers tried to look unaffected, but it was becoming a hard task as more and more people gathered. Their courage did not waver, though, as they took note of Isabelle's aloofness. Thanks to her, they were able to walk through the village with nary a problem.
Isabelle certainly had no time to think of what the villagers were doing and speaking as her mind wandered to the food waiting for her at home. She was famished!
Hunger even made her eyes swivel through the crowd to distract herself, until they caught sight of a person. It was her; the woman who wanted to cling to Joseph like a plague despite her martial status stood among the onlookers. The bulge of her stomach had grown considerably, not able to hide the pregnancy any longer.
Isabelle wondered for a moment how the husband had reacted to the news of her affair, but seeing the woman silently cry while staring at Joseph, the thought died then and there. It was not worth her time to waste on people who never learned. She looked ahead and noticed the respectful figure of the Chief standing in the middle of the road.
What is he doing?
Seeing the Chief and his thunderous expression, the brothers winced. Immersed in their bubble of happiness as they were finally getting a Wife, none had remembered to tell the Chief the exact date of the celebration. Ethan glanced at his brothers, whose gazes wandered away, not willing to be the ones to speak with the Chief. The eldest brother sighed, resigned of his fate, before walking ahead.
He stopped in front of the Chief, bowed, and spoke a few words. The Chief stared at him for a moment with that stormy expression until he nodded. Only then the old man stepped aside and let the cart and carriage pass by. Lucas, Joseph and Felix bowed at the Chief. Isabelle did too; not really knowing they had messed up.
Finally at home, Lucas immediately helped Isabelle down the cart. She sighed once her feet touched the ground, happy to be back.
Even though she was traveling by cart, she was exhausted; her only thought was to lie down and not wake up until next day. Not that she had any complaints about the cart: it was a spacious thing which could carry one person at the front, two if they squeezed together. Behind, in the wide space that seemingly was used to carry things could also carry three to four more people.
Her only concern was the horse pulling the cart. It was still a colt, somewhat small and thin. The brothers had said not to overthink it, that animals grew rapidly. She agreed with that statement, but the colt still needed plenty of care and food before being put to work as intended. It was also going to need a name!
"Welcome back!"
The loud greeting startled Isabelle out of her thoughts. A woman carrying a baby came out of the house, grinning widely at the group. A chubby woman. As chubby as herself.
"We are back." Isabelle replied out of habit. Then, she blinked and turned to Lucas, silently asking him who the woman was.
The second brother was not given the time to reply as the woman continued speaking. "Monthe's at the plot. He's just carried the food. You're on time to eat." Vieve said, looking at all the people who were also invited. She did a double take at the carriage from where a woman with a distinguished disposition came down.
Actually, everybody…
"Oh, what a lovely sight this is!" Mrs. Attile exclaimed, looking around at the trees with their yellow leaves, at the homely and humble house and at the pen with bunnies. There were even flowers! It was totally different from her town house that was just a building with a few potted plants and barely a tree or two at the small courtyard with trimmed and boring grass.
Corey and David's kids, girls of eight and six and a boy of three, were also curious of their new surroundings. They had already been curious as they rode on the carriage with their parents and the talkative lady. Used as they were to see houses upon houses with plants only in pots and endless alleyways back at town, the unending greenery and wild flowers was novel to them.
With their feet on the ground…
"Marcel! Ary!" Corey called out to the youngest kids as they ran into the yard to explore. "Karin, go after your sister and brother." The oldest girl need not be told twice before running after her siblings.
"You do know she's going to join them, right?" David chuckled at the sight of his children being so lively. Towns were a bit too hectic for them to go around in the streets, so their outings were limited. A new environment quickly caught their mischievous attention. A new environment in which he was unaware if there were dangers. His worried gaze immediately landed on the nearest brother.
Being subjected to such gaze, Felix straightened. "Right!" He said and hurried after the kids, hoping they would not find the traps around the house that could hurt them. He needed to be fast in catching them!
"Well, then." Isabelle clapped to get the adults' attention, "I guess we can move to the place of celebration," and led the way to the back of the house, where a part of the fence was taken down to access the already walled plot. There were still some trees that needed to be cut down for the patch, but everything was already cleaned and inspected.
The plot had a little inclination towards the back, where the birch trees were. It gave the chosen place for the meal a complete view of the plot, the mountain on the side, and the bustling village on the other.
"You're here!" Monthe greeted the incoming group, pausing a moment to stare at the elegantly-attired bride and grooms. Well, damn, who knew these guys could look like this! He inwardly exclaimed. "Congratulations on your marriage! My Wife and I are happy to be invited to celebrate with you. After this, I hope we all become friends." He said, making everybody smile and nod.
It might have been words said in the spur of the moment, but they did set a deep friendship between all the people gathered there.
"Don't start eating without us!" Felix's voice sounded as he appeared carrying a boy in his arms while the pair of girls followed behind him.
"We still have to wait for the Chief, anyway." Ethan reassured him.
"He is coming?" Isabelle asked surprised.
"Of course, he has to come. It's tradition for the Chief to bless the married couple, or well, group in our case." Joseph explained, already in position to eat. Those potato balls were not enough to fill his teeth, much less his stomach, which was noisily making itself known.
As they waited, the food was served after they sat on the wood benches that were draped with a cloth. They, obviously, left a stool at the head of the table for the Chief to sit. Luckily, they did not have to wait long as the old man arrived moments later with a bottle of homemade wine and a new set of cups as a present for the newlyweds, something he had to scavenge from the things he had storaged in his house.
With everybody finally gathered, and as he stood at the place where the brothers gestured was his, the Chief looked around and nodded at the unknown faces in greeting, which was returned in kind. His gaze then settled on the marrying group. Taking a deep breath, he could finally make his speech.
"You rotten brats think that just because you're already hairy you can't tell me things?!"