Patrol 2: Lost & Found

Chapter 24

"Your mother's a little... intense," Vania ventured quietly as Eddin carefully helped her into the chair in the front of a small cluster of padded wooden chairs, all facing an open space backed by a large window.

A group of people wheeled out a small carriage-shaped cart, the curtains drawn closed, and parked it in the middle of the open area. They began moving crates and arranging boxes behind the carriage.

"Yeah. Being responsible for thousands of lives tends to drain the mirth out of a person," Eddin agreed. "If she has a long enough break from work, she'll lighten up a little." He grabbed a cushioned stool and placed it in front of her chair. "Footrest?"

"No. Thank you. I'm fine." Vania settled carefully into her seat, leaning slightly forward, away from the straight back of the chair.

More footsteps sounded throughout the room as more of the audience arrived.

Laria hopped into the chair beside Vania's, arms clutching all four of her knight figures. "Aren't you so excited, Vania? We're gonna see Mallea in action!" Earl, the lion, padded in silently and laid at Laria's swinging feet.

Laria's mother chuckled softly as she took the chair on the other side of her daughter. "You'll have to bear with her excitement; puppet troupes hardly ever perform in our neighborhood, so most of the tales of Lady Mallea Laria has seen acted out were performed by her father, when he'd sneak her into his workshop." She sighed, eyeing the figures in Laria's arms. "He designed those, you know. The bards made Lady Mallea famous, but it was Adar who gave her a face. And, due to their popularity, his boss wouldn't let him keep any of them, even the cracked or chipped ones, since they would sell, no matter their condition. Unlike other toys Adar worked on." She sighed. "He used to take all the damaged toys his boss claimed wouldn't sell and give them out to the kids around home; when Cavin came to stay with us, Adar began giving them to Cavin to hand out..."

"Here, Mom, you hold Andvar!" Laria thrust the figure into her mother's lap. Bouncing in her seat, Laria pushed a figure into Vania's lap. "Vania! You take Mallea!" Laria bounced up in her seat, ending with her knees beneath her and turned to the seats behind them, where T'kanna and A'lei'iana sat. She looked around, then spotted Eddin beside her mother, who was sniffling softly. "Eddin! You can hold Quorkin during the show!"

Eddin smiled and stepped over to Laria. "Why, thank you, Laria. You're very kind. I'll take good care of him for you during the show." He returned to Laria's mother, handing her a kerchief and offering her a footrest, which she gratefully accepted, propping her bandaged legs up and leaning deeply back into the chair as she continued to sniffle. He quietly moved to the back row to sit behind Vania.

"I'm so grateful to your coworker, who gave these to Laria..." Laria's mother murmured, looking at the knight in her lap. "Something to remember her father by..."

"Laria...how come you're never Lady Mallea?" Vania asked the fidgety child beside her.

"Because Lady Trivana looks like me!" Laria proclaimed. She thrust the figure up close to Vania's face. "See?"

"Um," Vania carefully took the figure and held it at the comfortable distance to her face, examining the details. "Well, she is tydring, I can see that now. I didn't notice before..." Vania eyed the longer arms and broader shoulders of the lady knight figure she held. Stars in different clusters and constellations were painted on the breastplate of the armor and on the knight's shield. Pink hair peeked out from beneath the helmet's crest. "She has your fairy hair."

"Yup!" Laria grinned broadly, still bouncing on her seat cushion.

Examining the figure closer, Vania frowned slightly and squinted. Is that a tail? It's a bit hard to tell—it blends in with her armor. And if it is, then does this knight also have— Vania gripped the figure carefully and pulled on the helmet, which slid off slowly, mussing the pink hair. She carefully brushed the hair around, revealing the cougar ears carved flat into the top of the knight's head. So, he made a popular figurine look like his Marked daughter...but he did it subtlely, so most people probably never even noticed... She smoothed the pink hair down and replaced the helmet, handing the figure back to Laria.