Dragon Fire - Book 2 [discontinued due to rewrite]

Chapter 8

Eva proved much more accommodating over the next few days and Estelle followed her lead dutifully.

Marcie spent her time chopping the new wood in the shed and Estelle and Eva would find any excuse to slip away from their work (harvesting the last of the summer fruit for market) to watch her and chat.

Mostly they questioned her on her life in the village. Their fascination was clear.

Once Estelle asked if she knew who their grandfather was. Marcie had to tell them, truthfully, that she had no idea. Simeon was much older than her and she knew of no man who would have an affair with a trader, although, she knew it to happen. Breen, she knew, had many an admirer in travelling merchants. Although of course, they were men.

She made a mental note to ask Simeon of his mother had ever divulged clues as to his sires identity, but from the sounds of it, his mother was not the kind to share.

Around midday the boys gave up working in the heat and feasted on berries and nuts under the trees in the orchard. The girls were happy to join them and they amused themselves for a few hours throwing nuts in the air and watching Reid (who was fifteen) catch them in his mouth,

"His dream is to join The Carny" Estelle told Marcie after he caught a nut thrown by ten-year-old Juniper, which required him to leap backwards in the air then do a backwards roll which he completed with a bow, grinning triumphantly around his mouthful of nuts.

"Carny?" Marcie inquired,

"Travelling performers" Eva piped up, "They travel around all the cities, villages and hamlets, dancing, making music, performing magic and the like"

"Have you ever seen them?" Marcie asked, fascinated,

"Of course," Eva scoffed, "They come through every year, around the end of the hot season, we all go up to the village to watch them. They stay for a few days then go off, following the warm weather"

"Mother will never allow it" Estelle said haughtily,

As though summoned by the mention of her role, Gwinn appeared, stalking across the fields,

"So help me, if yea lot be lazin around again..." she called loudly, and her children made a hasty escape.

The sun was lengthening and yet the heat would not abate. Marcie splashed water on her face from the well with relief then heard someone call her name. She turned and saw Eva beckon from the orchard. Wiping her face on her shirt she followed.

Eva ran off beyond the orchard to where a small stream ran out of the forest and widened into a shallow pool. The water was clear and gently trickled across the stones.

Estelle was already there, stripping out of her brown dress she smiled when she saw Marcie.

"Isnt it lovely" Eva said, hastily pulling her boots off,

"Should we be here?" Marcie asked, glancing behind her, "If your mother finds us she will-"

"Oh I already tole er" Eva said impatiently, "I said to er I did, its disgustin, its too bloody hot, I stink and my hair is knotting its so unclean an well...she soon listened"

The water did look inviting so Marcie shrugged and started unlacing her boots. Estelle waded into the water carefully then sank to her neck with a sigh of relief. Eva arranged her dress neatly on a low branch off the ground and unpinned her hair from its bun before joining her sister.

Marcie peeled her sticky shirt off her back and folded it carefully next to her trousers and boots. Then waded into the water, sinking to her waist with her own sigh of relief, only then did she see the look of shock on both the girls faces and remembered the mark upon her chest and shoulder,