Lunar Flare Book 2: Midnight Eclipse

Chapter 8

Thedrick awoke feeling incredibly comfortable and warm. He stretched out his small body as he yawned and opened his eyes. Then he suddenly realised where he was, and memories from the previous night came rushing back to him, causing him to almost jolt upright. He froze in place as he turned his head slightly to look up at Joy, who was sitting up in the bed and looking down at him while smiling. Thedrick nervously returned her smile.

"Hello sweetheart, are you feeling better?" Joy asked cheerily

Thedrick opened his mouth to try and speak but the words died in his throat, so he just quickly nodded instead. He was worried if he said anything he might somehow ruin this perfect miracle that had happened to him.

Joy reached out towards him and patted him on the head gently. "That's good to hear. We better get up now, and I can check on your feet and change your bandages," she said as she tried to run her hands through his hair, but her fingers got caught on the tangles. "And brush your hair as well it seems. Maybe get some food into you?"

Thedrick was about to lie about not being hungry, but Joy was already hopping out of bed and getting properly dressed again to go outside in the cold, so Thedrick stayed quiet. Soon she turned back to him and then pulled him to the edge of the bed so she could kneel down and unwrap the bandages on his feet. She checked over the wounds, then moved away for a moment to grab something, coming back with a bucket of water, cloth and bandages again, proceeding to clean and bandage up Thedrick's feet once more.

Then Joy went and found a brush, and she sat Thedrick on her lap while she attempted to tame his wild hair. Thedrick winced as she worked the knots out, unable to help some tears springing into his eyes from the pain. While she was working through it her fingers brushed over Thedrick's pointed ear, and when she stopped to feel it, panic gripped Thedrick's heart. Joy leaned down next to his head to look at the ear, parting the surrounding hair to see it.

"Oh! You're an elf!" she exclaimed in surprise before smiling. "That's why you're so small." She continued to brush out his hair as if nothing had happened, humming to herself merrily.

Once she had tamed the mess as much as she was able, Joy pulled a woollen hat down over Thedrick's head. "Are you ready to meet everyone else?" she asked as she got to her feet. Thedrick nodded hesitantly, and Joy picked him up, resting him on her hip and carrying him out of the caravan and into the cool morning air.

Thedrick saw that everyone else was gathered around the campfire. The large man Clay was chatting away with the smaller blonde fellow and the young girl. The twins and the masked person were listening to their conversation. Some of them were eating breakfast that seemed to have been cooked over the fire. As Joy approached the group they quieted down, turning to look up at her and Thedrick.

"Alright everyone, this is Thedrick," she introduced him simply, smiling down at the others. Thedrick gave them a nervous smile in return as he clung to Joy.

"Thedrick, this is my husband Clay, and our daughter Loretta," Joy started, nodding towards the large man and the little girl. "The twins are Bo and Beau." The twins offered Thedrick the same blank expressions they had the previous night.

"I'm Jacques!" the blonde-haired man offered, grinning at Thedrick. "And this is Maverick. Much like the twins, they don't really talk, but I assure you they are happy to meet you too!" He gestured to the masked figure, who's mask had a simple smiling expression now, different from how it looked yesterday.

"We're a group of travelling performers," Joy explained as she took a seat on a log next to the campfire, placing Thedrick on her knee. He clung to her for balance and security. "We tour around all the countries and kingdoms, displaying our talents."