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STOLEN BY THE PAST Chapter Three: Upon returning to Elissarro with the heavy secret, Layana had tried to decipher it alone but had found no answers. Worried, she had written to Behan, asking him, and the other men in his company, to move to Elissarro. She claimed it was because she missed them all so much, but the real reason had been the haunting vision. Thankfully, Behan had accepted and only five weeks later they were arriving, one by one, ready to start afresh their lives with her. She hoped their presence was going to help her, too. A light flickered outside, breaking her from her thoughts. She looked out and saw a cart approaching, its lamp swaying back and for, lighting the way. Silas and Fina had arrived. And Had'Rian was not here to greet them. She hoped that Tajar's descriptions of Royne had been greatly exaggerated. Smoothing down the front of her dress, she headed to the door. "Take your coat," Dhalidya said from the table. "Yes, Dhalidya," she replied obediently. She pulled the garment down over her dress as she headed down the path. The cart was drawing to a halt when she arrived. It was a weak, well-used cart. Its wheels looked loose, the front board was shattered; even the horse pulling it looked old and tired. "Layana!" Silas exclaimed from the back of the open-top cart. Far too excited to wait for help, he jumped off the back and landed in a heap on the floor. Without embarrassment, he picked himself up and flung himself into Layana's arms. "Hello," Layana said, smiling. Silas's welcomes were always the best. "You've grown again," she said over his shoulder. |
"I have?" he asked, pulling away and looking down at himself. "How much?" "At least an inch," she lied. It was more like a quarter of an inch. He now reached her shoulders. His brown hair was as greasy as always, his small brown eyes alive with excitement. He would never be a heartbreaker, she thought, but his excitement for life made him beautiful. She turned away from him and smiled up at the man driving the cart. She knew it was Royne. He was a large man and when he jumped down from the front of the cart he landed with a thud. He wore big, thick boots that ran halfway up his calves. His green, weather-beaten trousers bulged around them and were tied around his waist with just a piece of string. The checked-shirt he wore had holes in it and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Layana's eyes roamed over his body, taking in his workman hands, hard and callused from his life spent on the farm. His cheeks were flushed from the wind, his greying hair thinning atop his wrinkled skin. "Hello," Layana finally said, trying to catch his roaming eyes as they searched the grounds thoroughly. "I am Layana," she added. From behind Royne came Fina. Wearing dirty, workman's dungarees, she landed ungracefully on her feet and took her father's hand. Her dirty-blonde hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail, making her face appear thinner than it actually was. "Hello," Layana said to the girl, hoping for a better reaction. "Hello," Fina breathed. Her eyes were round in awe. Layana remembered quite well how much the girl had stared at her during all of her visits to Fehn. Layana's name was legendary in Fehn, as it was all over the local lands. As Lucretious's daughter she was well known. "Where is Had'Rian?" Royne asked gruffly, sparing Layana one quick glance.
"He will be back shortly," Layana replied.
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