Sticks and stones (not official title) - Chapter 1

Instructions

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^‘The smell of fish and fruit aren’t the best combo’ I say to myself as a wander through the market, bustling with busy merchants and slow and quiet browsers. The small kingdom of Gelliwen is best know for its fruits, but being by the water increases their fish marketing. ‘In and out, Vale. That’s all you have to do.’ I make my way to the small fish selling stall hidden in the shadows of the alleyway behind it. The cart is positioned in such a way that the two houses on either side block the light from it all day long. As I approach the stall, a short man with a large hat glances up at me. “Gresquien, Fain.” I say as I offer him a small smile while going thought the pockets of my sweater I made sure was the grey color of storm clouds so I didn’t stand out to much.. “Gresquien, Vallentine.” he reply’s, offering a curt nod in return. “This your last pickup?” “Sure is.” I reply without looking up at him. Finally, I pull a crumpled piece of parchment out of my pocket and hand it to him. Fain gives it a quick glance before opening a secret door in his cart. “ ‘Er you go.” he says as he places 8 gold chips on the cart. I nod in thanks. “Well then, Aceteste Fain” I say as I turn around and stride away. I reach the ticket cart quickly and buy the soonest ship back to Sarqora, itching to get back to Rhea. Luckily, I planned my week stay perfectly, landing my leaving time just before the the boat is scheduled to leave the port. I sprint onto the boat and make it just in time to see the wooden bridge get thrown to the side and feel the ship pull off the doc. The salty air tastes fresh as I inhale it again, a sent that never gets old. ‘Or one that I never forget.’ I shake my head as if to get the thought away, instead looking back out towards the sea. As we reach my home land, I feel my stomach drop. Just as I always do, I begin to panic about something happening to Rhea. She could of been hurt or worse, killed. As soon as the boat docs I sprint toward our little makeshift home. “I’m home!” I yell quietly, lacing my voice in sugar just as I always do for my little sister. “Vale!” she squeals as she runs out of the house, nearly knocking breaking the nearby window of the apartment. Honestly, I wouldn’t even call it an apartment, being nearly the size of a closet. There is one single bed in the middle that me and Rhea have shared for almost 2 years now. The wallpaper is molding and peeling and the floor creaks with every step. I watch as Rhea runs towards me crouching down to her level so she can hug me. Her cocoa colored hair tickles my nose as she laughs into my shoulder. When she turns to look at me, her face is serious, even though her hazel eyes sparkle with happiness. “You were gone for sooo long.” she groans. A smile lights up her face as I flick her nose. She giggles with joy. ‘Oh how I’ve missed that sound’ “It was only two weeks, silly!” I say, watching her smile go bigger before she tries to hide it under another serious face but fails. She pushes herself from my arms to sit on the bed that takes up almost the whole room. “How’d you hold up while I was gone?” I ask her, glad that gets a big smile back on her face. She shrugs. “Not bad.” Rhea giggles. “Rheannia Lillie Woscken, you little frog, if you don’t tell me what happened, ill-” i run towards her, with my hands outstretched to tickle her. She laughs and runs away squealing. After a full 10 minutes of chasing, we plop down onto panting but still laughing. We lay together for a while before she curls into my arms. She lays there and I feel her little 6 year breathing slow. When I think shes asleep, i start to feel my own eyelids droop. As I fall asleep, I hear her whisper quietly “I love you.” and tense up, wishing I could say it back to her. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^