Family of Outcasts by Aaron McLeod (best fantasy books to read TXT) 📕

He was heading up the stairs with the mug in his hands when he almost bumped into Jade. Jade’s face was caked with mud and she was staring at Gregory with an expressionless face. She hugged his leg tight and wouldn’t let go. Gregory placed the mug down on one of the steps and sat down to hug Jade back.

“Gregory, is Sister Hanalos going to die?” She asked calmly. Gregory pulled his head back to look at Jade.

“No little daisy,” He replied. “She’s just hurting a lot, that’s all. A little bit of rest and medicine and she’ll be all better.”

“Are you sure? I thought that all old people die and Sister Hanalos is very old.”

“I’m very sure. She may be old, but she still has many years left in her. I promise you.”

“You swear?”

“I swear.”

Jade’s face lightened up with a big smile and she hugged Gregory again. Gregory picked up the mug of ginger tea and continued up the stairs as Jade ran down. He turned to the right and entered Hanalos’s room. She was staring at a little straw doll in her hand. It was the same doll that Ariana had bought Jade at the carnival. Gregory walked over to Hanalos’s bed, pulled up a stool and sat down.

“Here you go. This should help. Just be careful, it’s hot.” He said, passing the mug to Hanalos. She placed the doll down and took the mug. Taking a small sip of the hot liquid, she leaned her head back and let out a small sigh.

“Thank you Gregory.” She said.

“It was my mother’s idea when I was a wee lad. It would get rid of all the aches and pains in a person’s bones.”

            Hanalos smiled a little. She took another sip of the tea.

            “Hanalos, you can’t keep on straining yourself so much. You need to rest. Let Arthur take care of everyone himself for a few days.”

            “And become like those old hags who rely on the young to take care of them? I’d rather cut off my own legs than that.” Hanalos scoffed. Gregory shook his head and started to walk out.

            “Just try and get some rest. I’ll take care of them.” Gregory left the bedroom. Hanalos continued to sip the tea as she looked at the window. It was wide open, letting in a lot of light into the room. She could hear the children laughing outside. It made her smile a little. The pain was beginning to subside in her legs and she shifted her position a little. Hanalos placed the mug onto her bedside table and laid herself down on her back. Gradually she could feel her eyelids become heavier until finally she had fallen asleep.

For the next two weeks, Hanalos continued to rest while Gregory took care of the children. Twice, every day, he would come up to Hanalos’s bedchamber and give her a mug of the ginger tea. It would always ease the pain in her bones and would help her sleep through most evenings. However it wasn’t enough to stop the pain all together. Sometimes she’d wake in the night and call for him because the pain had returned, though that was only occasionally. Each night before she went to sleep, she’d ask Jade to come up and try and read to her. Jade had wanted to start reading and they had decided that they would practice every night before bed. Hanalos would leave her to try and figure out how to pronounce each word, offering assistance whenever Jade struggled a lot with a word. Jade was very bright for a three year old and she had learned how to read and write much faster than all the others when they were at her age. It always brought a smile on Hanalos’s face whenever Jade walked in with a giant story book that was half her height. Often times the stories would be about the beautiful fairies that lived in the elven forests or the classic story of a brave knight saving a fair maiden from an evil king or dragon.

            Gradually, Hanalos managed to walk around a little with only a slight bit of pain. However, she’d always have to return to bed or sit down afterwards. If she had to use the steps, Gregory would carry her up and down, but soon she could go up them herself. The days passed on slowly and each time they went by she could walk a little farther on her own. It brought a lot of joy back to all of the other orphans and to Gregory. Soon, Hanalos was back to most of her duties, leaving the more strenuous work to everyone else.

            It was midday when she found Ariana in the courtyard sitting in the sunlight. She often found her like that, just sitting quietly when all her work was done and she was alone. Hanalos often times wondered if Ariana was thinking about her life before the hunter found her alone. She never spoke of the hunter that much.

            Maybe she cannot remember. She was very young when he died. Hanalos thought to herself. Hanalos sat beside Ariana, who was leaning back and had her eyes closed from the sun’s rays.

            Ariana turned her head and smiled. “Good day Sister Hanalos.”

            “Good day Ariana” Hanalos replied, observance Ariana’s choice of attire. Ariana was wearing a simple set of clothing, most of it made out of woolen cloth. The color around her neck was pale green, while the rest of the dress was a dull blue color. The arms were white and slightly stained from dirt. Then she noticed Ariana’s right hand. There was a bandage wrapped round the palm of her hand. “What happened to your hand?”

            “Oh this?” Ariana lifted her hand up. “I cut it with one of the kitchen knives by accident. It’s nothing serious.”

            “Are you sure? Even a little cut can turn nasty with an infection. Let me look.”

Ariana removed the bandage from her hand. The cut was on the top of her hand and wasn’t very deep, but did go across from the left to the right almost completely. From all the blood on the other side of the bandage, she figured it had bled a lot, but not enough to seep through the bandage. That was good.

            “It doesn’t seem that bad, like you said. But I suggest that you keep an eye on it just in case. Keep it clean and change your bandage every-“

            “Morning and night. Yes.” Ariana interrupted. “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Hanalos tied the bandage around Ariana’s hand again. “It’s quite alright little blossom.” She said smiling. “I seems like only yesterday that I found you wandering around on the road, sick with fever, covered with scrapes and bruises and unbelievably hungry. And now look at you. You’re almost a grown woman.”

            Ariana hugged her tightly as tears started to form in Hanalos’s eyes. “And I am grateful for everything you have done for us. We always will be.”

            They continued to sit there in silence. They did not say a word. The only noises were from the birds flying around and the wind brushing against their hair. It was completely peaceful.

            “But sir, I told you, she is not well. She is resting and cannot speak to anyone.” They suddenly heard Gregory speaking.

            “That remains to be seen Friar Gregory.” An unfamiliar voice replied to him. There was the sound of multiple footsteps approaching the courtyard. Hanalos and Ariana stood up and saw the people approaching.

            The unknown man was a priest of the Church. He was dressed in brown robes. A rope belt was wrapped around his waist and the hood was pulled down from his head. His head and face were completely shaven. This helped show off the stern demeanor he carried with him. Behind him were soldiers garbed in striped, red and black fabric, with leather gloves, plate boots, plate chest guards and comb morion helmets atop their heads. At their sides were sheathed broadswords, holding onto their sheaths to prevent them from hitting anyone.

            The priest stopped and looked at Hanalos. He then looked at Gregory, said something inaudible and then approached Hanalos.

            “How may I help you, Father?” She asked him.

            “Good day Sister Hanalos. I trust everything is well?” He asked. His honeyed voice bothered Hanalos slightly.

            “I have been having some pain, but nothing serious.”

            “I see.” He looked back at Gregory with a slightly surprised expression. “That is good then. I take it this is one of the orphans?”

            “Yes of course.” Hanalos turned to Ariana. “Ariana, don’t be rude. Greet the good man.” Ariana turned to face the priest, who was now smiling at her and slightly bowing his head.

            “Greetings to you, Father…” She just realized that he hadn’t said his name.

            “Forgive me. I am Father Hammond. Me and these fin men are here to seek respite from the long road to the capital, and to inspect the current state of Greymoor. I trust everything has been prepared?”

            “I beg your pardon, Father Hammond. I was not aware that you would be arriving at all.” Hanalos said, now confused.

            “You weren’t? But I was told that Father Gregory had informed you.”

            “No. This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

            “Tis a shame. But I will have to make due I suppose.” Father Hammond motioned to Friar Gregory to approach. Gregory approached slowly with his head hung low. “Is it true that you did not inform Sister Hanalos of my arrival?”

            “Aye.” He replied softly, keeping his head down.

            “And why didn’t you?”

            Gregory hesitated. He lifted his head a little to look at Hanalos. Letting out a big sigh, he finally said “Based on the research of a local healer, I have come to the conclusion that Sister Hanalos is suffering from a disease of the bones and has been working herself far too much. I felt that not telling her would help avoid further strain on herself and any prevent further interference with her duties.”

Hanalos stood there glaring at Gregory. She didn’t speak a single word, or make a single gesture. Her face was blank and expressionless the entire time. She felt like slapping Gregory across the face, yelling and screaming at him to get out and never come back. But she didn’t. Instead she stayed calm and expressionless. Hammond put his hand on Gregory’s shoulder and patted it, then motioned for him to go back to the soldiers.

            “I do apologize for that,” He said, pulling his gloves off. “Friars can be very difficult to trust. I hope this hasn’t caused any inconveniences for you.”

            Hanalos faced Hammond, finally smiling. “It is no trouble. Ariana, can you see Father Hammond to one of the spare bedrooms? I must have a word with Gregory.”

            “Of course, Sister Hanalos. It’s right this way Father Hammond.” Ariana responded, walking towards the doors that lead to the main hall. Hammond followed suit,