Starlight

Chapter 2 Dinner

We walk out of the house and about ten meters to next house on the left and nock on the wooden door. A woman with blond hair that reaches her shoulders opens it and smiles.

"Grandfather, Peter, come on in! Supper is almost ready. You too, don't be shy." She says happily.

That last bit she says to me, but I can clearly hear the underlying tone of distrust, if ever so slightly.

I choose to ignore that for now, if only because two little children, from about the age of three, come running outside to hug Peter and Mychal.

"Uncle Peter! Great-grandfather! You're here! Who are you? You look like mother!" The girl says with a smile and a glimmer in her eyes, practically jumping and I giggle even though I don't know her.

"Calm down, calm down, Lima. Don't scare her away with your over-enthusiasm..." A man says from behind Peter's sister. He tries to sound strict, but I can clearly hear the laughter in his voice. Under that I can hear another tone, but I can't quite figure out what it is.

Still, I stumble back by hearing that deep voice and Peter has to put a firm but gentle hand on my back so I don't fall as I trip over a rock. We smile a small smile at each other and follow the rest inside.

After we enter, we're immediately in the combined living- and dining-room. On the right there is a wooden table with six chairs of the same material, two of them with a lot of pillows. Probably for the children. On the left there is a couch, two comfortable chairs and a low wooden table.

"Amelia, Brian, thank you for having an extra guest. Lucy, this are Peter's sister Amelia, her husband Brian and the little twins Lima and Liam. It is Amelia's clothes you're wearing..." Mychal says and I nod.

"Thank you for having me."

"Our pleasure, My Lady Lucy. Please sit, all of you. Dinner is almost ready." Brain states and we do as he says.

Thoughts run through my head. Why do I get the feeling that Amelia doesn't trust me? And her husband, Brian? He seems nice, but what's up with that dark undertone? What was or is his job? I look up as dinner is served.

It was a simple meal of mashed potatoes, green beans and a bit of meat, but it was tasty all the same.

"So, Lucy, where are you from? What happened to you?" Amelia asks when we are done and start on a cup of hot chocolate. It is one of the most lovely things I have ever tasted.

"I-I'm sorry?" I stammer, woken up from my thoughts at the sound of the stern voice and Peter and Mychal call out: "Amelia!" Brian just sits in his chair, tense. The children hold their breath.

"Amelia, I told you, she doesn't know. She lost her memory!" Mychal says strict and the women scoffs.

"So she says. How do we know if that's the truth?"

"Because I looked her in the eyes and her reactions are genuine, Amelia!" Peter says and I hear a change in his voice. I am grateful for it, but I look at Brian from the corner of my eyes and see something strange. He is watching me.

"Do you recognise me, Sir? From a job outside the Tribe?" I ask and there is a moment of tense silence as we all look at him. Then he clears his throat.

"O-of course not, My Lady. And I was a Master of Weapons in the Royal City of Sync. At the Royal Palace..."

"A Weapons Master? I thought you were a Guard?" Mychal says and Brian nods.

"Aye, I was both. A Guard at first, then an Apprentice Weapons Master too. When the old Master of Weapons passed ten years ago, the job was offered to me and I accepted. I was twenty at that time."

"Is that why you keep calling Lucy 'My Lady', Brian?" Peter asks him and the man quickly glances my way, before looking back at Peter. Was that doubt in his eyes?

"I think so. Because of my rise in the ranks I became more and more involved with the Royal Family. When the young Prince came to me for training in Weapons shortly after that I came to know him. He was ten at that time and after only three years he became quite skilled. He was normally one to follow the rules and so I was surprised that one evening he came to me, together with his sister, the than fifteen-year-old Princess, to train her as well. In secret, because their parents didn't want girls to fight. I could not refuse and after two years they were each other's match. But then the King discovered it and I was sent away under the lie of re-stationing after promoting my own Apprentice. I traveled down the river and joined the Byre-Tribe..." He quickly ends and it is quiet for a moment.

"Is that when you met mother, father?" Asks the little Liam and the man chuckles.

"That's right. There were other Tribes I could have joined, but it just had to be the one where your mother came from. I met her on the road, we fell in love and I came with her. And now it's time for you to go to bed." He says and hurries the twins into one of the other rooms.

"Lucy, I want to apologise for my behaviour. Because of my husband's past, I suppose I sometimes am a bit too distrusting. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you to not remember anything. I hope you can forgive me." Amelia says and I nod.

"Of course. I completely understand. Like I said to Peter earlier, it must be hard to trust an outsider with no memory..."