Frightful Hospitality

Chapter One

Anaiah looked out of the railcar window at the passing trees. They had made it from one end of the Greater Forest to the other in an hour and a half. She was amazed that something steam-powered could travel faster than a pegasus drawn carriage. Not that she had ever ridden in one. That was a pastime for rich people in the city.

It had been crowded when she boarded the railcar, since everyone else seemed to want to know what all the buzz about the new transportation method was. Anaiah's little sister had shown the most excitement of all.

Anaiah frowned when she realized it had been too quiet for too long. She turned and found the seat next to her empty, and grumbled to herself. Her sister, Fayola had moved during the few seconds she was distracted, and was now lurking in the aisle, a few seats up.

"Fayola, stop bothering that man," Anaiah said, and stood up quickly to grab her sister by the shoulder, and pull her away from the other passenger. She noticed a bar of chocolate peeking out of the man's bag and realized that that must have gotten Fayola's attention. She guided her sister toward their seats and said to the man, "I'm sorry, sir. It's close to her snack time."

Being nearly ten years older than her sister, Anaiah often had to be the one to apologize to strangers when Fayola went around being intrusive and looking like a sweet child who didn't know any better. She should have known better. She had been urged to keep herself under control, but didn't seem to grasp the concept of personal space.

The man looked at them good naturedly, as if he had a grandchild Fayola's age. He said, "I have some chocolate if either of you would like it."

"I would," Fayola said.

"No," Anaiah said, then gave a quick smile to the man, "Thank you, but this is our stop. I'm sure there are meal plans already."

"I hope so. Wouldn't want you to collapse," he said, and she tried hard not to let her smile drop, as she guided her sister away. She knew why he said it, and such comments had never stopped being annoying. She just wanted to get off the railcar.

Another man nearby stood to help when he saw Anaiah reaching for her and Fayola's bags in the overhead rack. He looked very concerned by her thin appearance—just like the other man—and offered to carry their bags off for them when the railcar stopped, but she politely declined. She guided Fayola toward the exit of the railcar, and Fayola said, "I wanted the chocolate."

"You don't need to eat everything that looks good," Anaiah said. Overeating was a habit of Fayola's, and she was a round little person because of it, but that was not the problem. Her problem was her lack of regard for how she got the food.

If Anaiah could be so carefree about her family's clearly set etiquette, she might not always have people offering to take her in and feed her.

As Fayola stood in front of her, Anaiah put a hand on each side of her pouting sister's face, and leaned Fayola's head back to look into her eyes. Anaiah said, "You should not have been over there, and you should not take things from strangers."

"He seemed nice."

"Well, he must have been, not to get annoyed by you standing at his elbow, but not everyone is so nice," she said.

The railcar rolled to a stop and the conductor opened the door. They didn't really have to search to find the tall man with the neatly trimmed beard at the back of the platform, near the road. An old man seemed to be talking to him and shaking his hand, probably telling him how nice it was to see him with free time, since he was so dedicated to work.

The old man excused himself and went to meet whoever he had been waiting for and their uncle's attention turned to them. As expected, his expression stayed neutral upon seeing them. That was until Fayola looked directly at him and let out a loud cheer as she jumped onto the platform. He closed his eyes and put his hand to his temple. He had asked them to be discreet, so they could get back to his house as soon as possible without anyone trying to meet them or asking too many questions, but Fayola didn't last a second.