Rat Song

Chapter 3

Days after the children returned, life in Hamelin inched toward a sense of normalcy. Horses and oxen hauled merchants' wares to the market, and parents brought their children along to replenish their homes with ample toys and trinkets. Rows of stalls that sold everything from loaves of bread studded with cranberries and raisins to hand-painted tops carved out of wood hoped to tempt their newest and youngest customers.

While the children had returned, the shadow of their disappearance still lingered over the town. Families fussed over their youngest members as if they feared they might wander away again if they weren't bribed with candy and toys. Even once distant brothers and sisters took time off from their apprenticeships to try to engage their siblings in all manner of games and mischief.

For their part, the children tiptoed through the town as if the smallest misstep would make them disappear. No longer did they snatch feathers from the farmers' chickens, splash in muddy puddles, or yank each other's hair. Instead, they followed their families without saying a word, trailing after them like tiny ghosts.

Once upon a time, William used to let Emma run through the market and peek at any booths that tickled her fancy. Sooner or later, she'd return with a fistful of dandelions and a spring in her step. Not even her getting lost among the crowds could keep her away from him for long. With Hamelin being as small as it was, everyone knew Emma's proper place was by her brother's side.

Those carefree days were long behind him. William led Emma by the hand, keeping her close lest she wander away from him once again.

He needn't have bothered. Despite her eager agreement to join him on his errands, Emma scarcely lifted her eyes from the ground. Where once she would have rushed to show him every blooming flower or wandering ladybug, now nothing seemed to catch her attention.

"Are you feeling well?" William asked. His satchel weighed heavily with the supplies he'd bought from Mr. Stein. The oats and potatoes would hold them over until the Harvest Festival filled the market with autumn's bounty, and the cheese would be a fine way to further celebrate Emma's return. 

"I guess." Emma kicked at the ground, sending orange and yellow leaves leaping into the air. Before she'd disappeared, she would have sprinted through the fallen leaves in a giggling frenzy, but now she stuck to William's side without so much as asking him to visit the toy maker and his marionettes.

A weight as heavy as his father's anvil settled in William's stomach. Something was definitely bothering her. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" he said gently. "I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." He'd kept his fair share of secrets. None save his guitar and the Tantalus knew all his sorrows.

Emma glanced around before motioning for William to bend down. "Your nose looks like it really hurts," she whispered in his ear.

William breathed a sigh of relief that eased the tension out of his shoulders. "What, this?" He pointed to his nose, still red and swollen from being elbowed in the river. "Nothing time can't fix."

"Shouldn't you go see Dr. H—"

"No need to worry him," William said hurriedly. Anxious laughter bubbled past his lips as other townsfolk turned to stare at them. "I'll be fine."

He had to be. A visit to Dr. Hughes meant Father wouldn't let him out of his sight for weeks afterward. Something as mild as a broken nose wasn't worth the pain that could come after. He'd tended to far worse injuries on his own just fine.

Emma scrunched up her nose. "But—"

"Look!" William pointed to a stall with a bright blue sign depicting a loaf of bread. "We'd better go visit Mrs. Norton before she runs out of bear bread."