Mash finds himself on the wrong side

Surr snapped his fingers once, making a low pop that might have sounded like a twig breaking at a distance, but from up close was clearly produced by a hand. All four boys stopped as one and turned their faces into the wind, like young stags.

Mash hoped the others could not hear his heart pound. When they were not stock still and listening, they all swaggered and laughed so boldly that Mash was certain he was the only one who was afraid.

It did not help to tell himself that the later it grew, the less likely they were to meet the khírrón so far from their towers. If Mash and his friends could find themselves on the wrong side of the lake after sunset, there was no reason why the khírrón could not find themselves on the wrong side of the river as well.

The breeze came up and ruffled his hair like his mother’s gentle fingers, but nothing else stirred. The wind slipped easily through the bare branches of the trees, and the pines were impenetrable and unmoved.

At last Surr sighed, “Never mind.”

“Stinking Mother!” Zem cried. “We won’t get back before the moon tops the trees if this keeps up!”

“We won’t get back before the sun does,” Vin grinned. “Hope you brought your blankets, boys.”

“And your dolly, girls,” Zem laughed at Mash.

“Shut up!” Surr barked. “I keep thinking I hear something.”

“You keep thinking,” Zem grumbled and charged ahead, but he took no more than five steps before he nearly walked into Surr’s “something”, in the form of two little elven girls.

“Stinking Mother!” he spluttered. “Where did you come from?”

“You weren’t looking for us!” the curly-​​headed one cooed. “We just had to sneak.”

“But we were looking for you!” the other girl laughed. “And we found you!”

The curly-​​haired girl threw back her head, threw forward her hip, and cried, “Hel–lo there, Surr! Remember us?”

“Surr!” Zem laughed. “My friend! Won’t you introduce us to your five-​​year-​​old sweethearts?”

“We are not five!” Curly-​​Hair protested.

“And we are not sweethearts,” the other huffed. “Whatever that means – I don’t think we’re it at all. Do you, Kia?”

“No, I do not.”

“So! Tell them, Surr,” the girl commanded.

“That’s right,” Zem smiled. “Tell us, Surr.”

“Well, um,” Surr mumbled, “This is Kia, and, uh, Hilla.”

“Hila!” the little one shrieked.

“Hush, girls,” Mash said anxiously. “We don’t want anyone to hear us.”

“Who would hear?” Kia asked breezily.

“So, ah, I guess I should have asked you whether your brought your dolly,” Zem said to Surr. “I didn’t know you liked to play with little girls.”

“We do not want to play with you,” Kia said imperiously. “We want to ask for help for our friend.”

“Lord Lar’s son!” Hila intoned, shuddering with self-​​importance.

“Lar doesn’t have a son,” Zem sneered. “He doesn’t even like kids.”

“He does so!” Kia cried aloud, making Mash cringe again.

“He likes that man-​​child, though,” Vin sniffed.

“He does not,” Zem said. “I almost feel sorry for the poor kid sometimes.”

“My father says he’s so mean to him just because he’s trying to hide how he does like him. He sleeps in the kid’s room sometimes.”

“Maybe he’s just sleeping with old Elara,” Zem giggled.

Kia rolled her eyes at this distraction. “Listen to me, boys!” she demanded. “He does so have a son and he is so my friend. Tell them, Surr. His mama is a woman, but his father is Lord Lar. Tell them.”

“He does not!” Vin cried. “What do you know about it, little girls? I never saw you before!”

“So?” Kia retorted. “I never saw you before, but that doesn’t mean you’re a liar!”

“Shut up, everyone,” Surr sighed. “He does have a son. With a woman. And your father told us so,” he said to Vin.

“He did,” Mash admitted, out of loyalty to his brother.

Vin scowled, perhaps at the idea that his father would tell something to Surr and Mash that he would not tell to his own son.

“Well I don’t believe it. I think my father was just teasing you. Come on, Zem. I don’t feel like standing around and talking to a couple of little girls.”

“Or three or four,” Zem chuckled.

“Well, I guess we better go,” Surr said sheepishly to the girls.

“No way!” Kia cried. “You said you would help him!”

“And he needs help!” Hila added.

“Are you coming, Mash?” Vin asked.

Mash shrugged helplessly. He did not like to leave his brother – he did not want the boys to split up at all – but he did not like the idea of Lar having a son – still less a son with a woman – still less a son that Surr would have discussed with strange girls.

Zem snorted and threw up his arms in disgust. “Come find us when you’re done with your dolls, or whatever you like to do with little girls.”

“You probably don’t want to know,” Vin laughed wickedly as they walked off.

“What is this about?” Surr barked at the girls.

The girls were not intimidated. “You said you would take him to see his father,” Kia said accusingly.

“Lord Lar!” Hila added.

Mash was stricken with a sentiment of having been betrayed, though he could not say whether it was by Lar or by his brother. More than anything he now wished the boys had stayed together and never stopped for the girls.

“You talked to Lar about that?” he murmured.

Surr laughed uneasily and did not look at him. “Listen, girls, I didn’t really mean that…”

“But you have to help him!” Hila’s wails rang along the high stone walls of the slope, making Mash squirm in agonized fear.

“The men don’t love him!” Kia protested. “It was his bird-​​day and he didn’t get any cake or toys at all.”

“And they locked his new mama up in a box and put her underneath the castle.”

“On his bird-​​day,” Kia said grimly.

“What’s a bird-​​day?” Mash asked.

“Listen, girls,” Surr said, “I think Lar changed his mind about that…”

“Did you talk to Lar about this?” Mash asked again.

“But you said!” Kia whined.

“You said he could ride your horse, and us too!”

“What did you say, Surr?” Mash asked.

He stared at his brother with all the force of his eyes, willing him to look and to answer.

Surr did not look and did not answer, but he seemed to feel the weight of the stare, for his face was white, and even his lips had gone blue-​​pale.

Mash began to dread that his brother had done some terrible, unspeakable thing in one of his moments of unaccountable animosity towards their father’s dearest friend.

He pleaded, “Surr…”

“He said he would take Kilos to see Lord Lar!” Kia said. “He said Lord Lar wanted to see him. And I think he should, since the men don’t love him. Tell him, Surr.”

Surr was still silent, still blue-​​white, still staring out over the heads of the little girls. At last Mash turned his head and saw what had horrified his brother. They stood together then, their hearts pounding together, their bodies stock still with the fatal immobility of two deer before two hunters.

“Tell him!” Kia commanded. “Surr! What? What?”