The days were brighter here, the weather warmer. The tough grass of this area, browned by the sun, waved lazily across the plains. Eithwyn rode her own horse now, the one left behind by Thaelan as it happened. He wouldn't need it anymore. In the days since, the girl had perked up considerably, the terror she had felt atop the cliff in the Wildemore had been put behind her as surely as summer rain, her rainbow bright personality back in full force once she had eaten a warm meal and taken some rest.
Silver was not in quite so good a way, not that she would allow that to show before the child. Her ribs ached, her back ached and her right arm was trussed up in a sling. She had done her best to pop the shoulder back into place when she had found the chance, but something about it didn't quite sit right. She needed someone else, someone with stronger arms and a firmer grip than a six year old girl. Hopefully, she would find that here.
She led them on in through the tall gates of Harwick, pausing to stable the horses and retrieve her satchel, before taking to the streets. A few judicious questions, the answers accompanied by distrusful and curious stares, led her to a house in the south east area. Expecting little good to come of this, but hoping for Eithwyn's sake that fortune would smile, she knocked upon the door.
"Yes? Hello?" a woman's voice sounded as the door swung inward.
"Hildi?" Silver enquired.
The woman froze at the sight before her, eyes widened in shock as she took in the state of Silver and the shy but smiling face of the child.
"Ah, y-yes," she stammered eventually. "Sairona? Is that you?"
"It is," she replied wearily.
Hildi took a quick look around at the staring faces of the passers by and stepped smartly to the side, composing herself again. "You'd better come in."
Silver motioned for Eithwyn to go ahead of her but the girl shook her head, preferring to trail in Silver's wake. They were led through to a small kitchen, clean and tidy, the smell of roasting meat assailing their nostrils.
"And who is this pretty girl?" Hildi enquired as she hung a kettle above the fireplace. "Your daughter?"
"Randir's," Silver corrected.
"Why is she with you? What happened?"
Silver's answer was grim silence followed by a pointed nod toward the child. Hildi, realising that something was amiss, smiled brightly. She wiped her hands on a cloth, took a plate down from a shelf and placed upon it two small oatcakes.
"You must be starving!" she observed, offering the plate to the girl. "You know, I have a little boy about your age. He's in the next room. Why don't you go on through and say hello and each of you can have an oatcake!"
Eithwyn looked to Silver for permission. At the ensuing nod, the girl's face lit up and off she ran to find a new friend.
"I suspect you have quite the tale to tell," Hildi remarked as she turned back to prepare a tisane. "Best tell me all about it."
Silver did so, sparing no scorn for her meetings with Yanna and Thaelan but at least trying to sound a little more symathetic for the fates of their father and Randir. Hildi listened in silence, busying herself with her task. When the tisane was brewed, she poured two cups, placing one before Silver and another at the opposite side of the small table before moving around and, with a look for confirmation, took hold of Silver's arm, forcing the ball of her shoulder back into the socket with a sickening crunch.
Silver bit back a groan, refusing to allow her pain to carry through to the next room. Nothing should be allowed to interrupt Eithwyn's first chance to simply be a child since she had been forced to leave her home. Still, it took a few minutes and a blinking away of moisture for Silver to find her voice again.
"As much as I wish the circumstances were better," Hildi sat down in her chair, elbows propped on the table and cup held up between her fingers, just below her lips. "I'm glad you're here."
"You are?" Silver almost spat her tisane across the table. That was the last thing she had expected to hear from any sibling of hers.
"Yes, I..." Hildi paused, tapping one finger against the rim of her cup, a frown etching deep lines across her brow. "I won't make excuses for what happened back then save to say that I knew no better. I've grown up a lot since then. I've had a lot of time to think.
"After I married," she continued, gaze drifting toward the room where the children played. "We moved here. So far removed from it all, it wasn't too difficult to distance myself from the family, but I could never forget what we had done. I... I'm sorry, Sairona. I'm sorry for my part in it. I'm sorry for everything that they, that we, put you through."
Silver leaned back in her chair, lips pressed tightly closed to prevent her mouth from hanging open. Of all the things she had expected to hear, of all the things she had thought she would face, this had never been amongst them. An apology? Now? Here? After everything? How did this change anything? How could it change anything? It couldn't erase the nightmares and the sleepless nights. It couldn't soften the blows she had experienced, both physical and emotional. It couldn't give her back her childhood or take away her pain.
"I forgive you."
The words, quietly spoken, passed through her lips on a soft breath. Hildi snapped her gaze back to Silver, just as surprised to hear them as Silver was to say them. Placing her cup down, she moved around the table once more and, mindful of injury, bent down and wrapped her half-sibling in a warm embrace.
"Thank you," Hildi whispered, hot tears wetting Silver's shoulder from the face pressed close. "Thank you."
Silver hesitated. This wasn't how she had expected things to go. This wasn't what should happen. Where were the screams and the yells? Where were the recriminations, the accusing fingers and barbed insults? Where were the theatrics, the passing of the blame, the attempts to position herself and the rest of the family as the victims of Silver's evils? None of these things were forthcoming. None of the old hatreds surfaced. Closing her eyes as they welled with moisture, Silver wrapped her good arm about Hildi, holding her tight and just like that her tension slipped away.
When finally Hildil pulled back, Silver cleared her throat and took up her cup once more. Hildi daubed at her wet eyes with the cloth she previously used to wipe her hands and returned to her chair, a smile upon her lips.
"So, Sairona," she began with a last sniffle.
"Silver," she corrected her gently. "I go by Silver now."
"Because of the eyes?" Hildi enquired, one eyebrow raised. "It suits you. So, Silver, will you be taking Eithwyn with you?"
"I had thought about it," Silver admitted with some reluctance for her own words. "But I shouldn't. The road ahead of me is a long one and, brave though she is, she's still but a young girl who has lost all that she loved. Her home is here, in Rohan, with her own people."
Hildi, nodding along in agreement, made the offer without hesitation. "She can stay here with us. Aethan would benefit from having a sister, as she would from having him, I think. And... well.. I always wanted a little girl."
Silver glanced around. The house was not particularly large and far from oppulent, but it was comfortable and cared for, clean and tidy, and she could hear the giggles drifting through from the other room. The children had swiftly become friends, it seemed. In the short time that they had been together, Silver had come to care for Eithwyn, her innocence and inner strength. She knew that the child should be loved and protected, taught and nurtured... and she knew that she was not the right person to do that, no matter how she might want to.
"That would be for the best," she sighed, pushing herself to her feet. "I'll go say my goodbyes."
"You won't stay a while?"
"I can't," Silver shook her head firmly. "It would only make it harder for the girl when I did leave and I have a long way yet to go."
Hildi nodded her understanding and hung back to watch as Silver went to the doorway, calling through for the girl. Eithwyn came running, her face painted with a wide smile, merry and bright.
"This will be your new home," Silver spoke softly, kneeling before the girl. "Hildi is your aunt, a sister to your father, and she will take care of you now."
"But," Eithwyn protested, her bottom lip beginning to quiver. "But why can't I stay with you?"
"I wish that you could, my dear," Silver told her honestly. "But you're better off here. I can't give you what you need, but your aunt, uncle and cousin can."
Eithwyn nodded, not understanding perhaps, but not arguing further, her gaze dropping sadly down to the floor. "I'll miss you."
"And I you." Rummaging around in her satchel, Silver pulled free a small pendant wrought of mithril and shaped like star. "This is very old," she explained as she carefuly slipped the chain over the childs head to hang about her neck. "I found it in a land far far away from here. I want you to have it. Something to remember me by."
The child looked down at the trinket in wonder, then darted forward to wrap her little arms around Silvers neck in a hug tight enough to choke. It was a long while before she could bring herself to pull away. Even then, it took all the willpower she had. She laid a kiss atop Eithwyn's head, smiling as she reassured the child that she would never forget her, she would think of her every day, and then ushered her back in to play with her cousin.
Turning, Silver caught sight of Hildi who, having watched the tender scene, was now leaning against the table with the cloth bunched up over her mouth to prevent audible blubbering. Silver took a deep breath to steady herself and reached into her satchel once more, pulling out a large pouch of coin.
"For her," Silver spoke sternly. "To aid in her upbringing and help your family for taking her in. Be kind to her, Hildi. Be good to her."
"I will," Hildi sniffled solemnly.
Silver nodded, straightened her back and departed in silence. She didn't dare look back lest she change her mind and return for the girl. She didn't dare look back lest her churning emotions overwhelm her, bringing her to tears in the street. She only looked ahead.
