The West Family

Prologue- Evening, Summer 1783  In a dimly lit room with twin beds, two little boys sit in their white cotton nightshirts, whispering back and forth excitedly. A tall man walks into the doorway and just watched the two children. He had a strong build that was covered in a white long sleeve shirt, black pants, and black work boots. His hair was dark brown and appeared black in the low candlelight. His stormy gray eyes looked upon the two chatting boys with undisguised joy and love. It was obvious to anyone who saw the scene that this was a father staring at his pride and joys. The boys were identical in height and facial features. Their cheeks rosy, noses button-like, their eyes wide and blue like crystal lakes, with equal messy mops of brown hair. A perfect mixture of a man and his wife. “Alright, Malik. Moris, it is time for bed, so tuck in.” The man says finally entering the room completely, his voice strong, deep, and soothing all at once. Both boys turned to look at the man equally wide smiles appearing on their faces. “Alright, father.” They say in unison while crawling to the tops of their beds and sliding underneath the multiple layers of covers that they once sat on. “Father, will you tell us the story about Ariona and Beriasa again?”  Malik asked once settled in. “Yes, will you father,” Moris added quickly. The man smiles and shakes his head in amusement then sits on Malik’s bed. “Alright, I'll tell you the story again but after this, you must go straight to sleep okay? Your mother will not be happy with me if you two did not get enough sleep before school.” He smiled. “Okay!” the children yell cheerfully. “It all began in the early summer months of 1769, a few years before you two were born…...” He looked at both boys with a twinkle in his eyes.                             Chapter 1  A young man and his wife sat in their living room. It was a warm afternoon. They had their windows open letting in the breeze and the smell of fresh pine from the woods around them. The man was reading a novel and the woman was sketching him with charcoal on paper. It was a quiet day, but there was a static in the air that had them on edge. The man looked up to see his wife’s content face as she looked at her drawing with a strong focus. The man was just about ready to pass it off as nothing when they heard a scream so loud that it caused them both to jump out of their seats. “Dear Lord, was that a woman's scream Kevin?” The wife asked her husband, fear evident in her voice. “I do believe it was Clare. I'm goin’ to go see what's goin’ on? You wait out on the porch, just in case I come back with an injured person.” He spoke quickly. “Alright darlin’, but please be careful.” She spoke with worry in her voice. Kevin nodded and quickly walked to the door, grabbed his shotgun, and ran out to the woods where he thought the scream had come from. Kevin ran about five minutes away from his house when he came upon a scene that made his blood boil. A few of the young men from the town were punching, kicking, and pinning down two young women. At first glance, Kevin noticed that both women were beautiful despite the bruises forming on their faces. The older of the two women were being pinned down on her stomach, while the younger girl was trying to kick her attackers away but was being overpowered. “You stupid whores, we're going to show you your places. You will do what we tell you from now on.” The biggest of the men said getting ready to unfasten his belt. Kevin seeing this action let off a warning shot into the air causing all action to stop. “Just what do you think you're doing here Albert? You and your boys forcing yourselves on defenseless women now. Your mamas would be ashamed of you.” Kevin hissed. The one Kevin addressed as Albert was a big burly man, who was known for having a temper when told no. He was also the one trying to undo his pants to r**e one of the women. “These little trollops decided to tell me they didn't want to spend some time with me and the boys when we asked all polite like, so we decided to teach them that they're supposed to obey good upstanding men when ordered about, right boys?” Albert says receiving chuckles from the three men with him. Kevin snarled and c****d his gun ready to fire if need be. “Now you listen here you shits you're going to get off these women and go back to your homes right now and never bother them again or I'll be letting off a few shots in each of you,” Kevin said glaring intensely as Albert started to laugh, which made the others laugh as well believing their leader had the situation under control. “You wouldn't dare Kevin, you know who my father is, I could make your life very difficult. So, do us both a favor and run along to that pretty little wife of yours while we take care of business here.” Albert cheeked cockily, turning his attention back to the woman beneath him. Kevin simply smirked and fired his gun, grazing Albert in his left shoulder. Albert screamed loudly and got off the older of the two women. The three other men let the younger girl go and went to help their fallen leader. The two women gathered themselves quickly and hid behind Kevin. “Now are we done here or am I going to have to shoot you all.” Kevin grinned, seeing the shocked look on Albert’s face. Albert got up holding his wounded shoulder and surrounded by his followers with a furious glare on his face. “Fine, you win for now, but you'll be sorry West. Mark my words.” He spat and then signaled for a retreat. Kevin watched the men leave and once he was sure they wouldn't return he lowered his gun and turned to check up on the two women he saved. “Are you both alright?” He asked taking in their appearances completely. The older of the two had short black hair that was cut in a pixie style, she had creamy, slightly tanned skin, and piercing emerald eyes, and full red lips. She was kind of tall for a woman standing around 5'9 he could almost look her in the eyes without looking down. She wore a simple blue dress that hugged her curvy body. The younger girl was the opposite of the older woman in about every way. She had long, flowing, pale blonde hair, pale skin, ocean blue eyes, and cupids bow, pink lips. She stood at about 5'3 and had subtle curves which were emphasized by the dark green dress she wore. They both had bruised cheeks and he was sure they had bruises on their bodies as well. However, their beauty still left him slightly stunned speechless. As he was more worried about their well beings, he shook the feeling off. “We are fine. If it were not for your kindness, sir. We both have slight bruises and cuts, but we will be back to full health in a few days. Thank you, truly for coming to our aid.” The older of the two answered his question. “It was no problem, those goons had no right doing those things to you both and if you have nowhere else to go, me and the missus would be happy to house you until you are well again to travel.” Kevin smiled scratching the back of his head. “Oh no,” the woman began, “We do not want to impose, you have done enough as is.” She smiled warmly. “Nonsense!” Kevin exclaims, “It is truly no trouble at all if you both don't mind sharing a room. Plus, my wife is the best cook in town, you'll be good as new in no time.” Both women smiled and agreed to stay with Kevin and his wife. As Kevin lead the way back to his house, he realized he hadn't asked the two women their names and he could hear his mother lecturing him in his head about being polite. He chuckled slightly before looking over at the two women. “I just realized I never asked your names; would you mind telling me them so I can introduce you proper like to my wife. She would kill me if I didn’t ask. My name is Kevin by the way.” He smiled as the two women giggled at his forgetfulness. “My name is Ariona Korveus. I figured that was your name. One of the men so happened to speak it earlier.” The older woman replied with a smile. “My name is Beriasa Reen.” The younger one spoke softly. “Those are some very unique names. They suit you both well.” Kevin replied with a smile as they continued with their journey. It didn't take them long to reach the house and as they got closer, they saw Clare pacing back and forth with worry etched on her face. “Clare!” Kevin yelled getting the woman's attention. Clare stopped her pacing and all the worry left her face as she saw Kevin approaching. She ran off the porch and into his arms hugging him close while closing her eyes and taking in his scent. This allowed the newcomers to get a good look at her. She was 5'4 and had average curves, golden blonde curls that touched her shoulders, and when she opened her eyes again, Ariona and Beriasa saw that she had beautiful sky-blue eyes. Once Clare was reassured that her husband was alright, she took notice of the two women with him. “I'm so sorry, where are my manners? I'm Clare. I'm assuming it was you two we heard screaming earlier. How about we move this into the living room, and we can get you both cleaned up?” Clare smiled as she motioned them to the house. Kevin smiled at his wife's caring nature and directed them all into the house. He closed the door behind them as his wife walked them to the living room. “I am not sure if my clothes will fit you, but it would be better than the ones you have on.” Clare smiled. “It is alright. If you have a restroom, Beriasa can mend our clothing.” Ariona spoke as she rose. “Of course,” Clare looked up at Ariona, “right this way.” Clare leads them up the stairs to the second floor and handed them face towels. Clare smiled as she went back downstairs to find her husband standing in the window with worry written in his eyes. “What’s the matter, my love?” She wrapped her arms around his waist, smearing some of the charcoal on his shirt from hers. “I shot Albert in the shoulder.” He sighed. “Oh, well we will cross that road together when it comes. No need to worry. How about I cook up a nice hot meal and you go take a warm bath once the two young women have come down?” She smiled up at him and kissed his cheek. “You always know best.” He chuckled as he turned around to hold her tight in his strong embrace. “That I do.” Clare smiled as she walked to the kitchen and her white summer dress flowing around her knees. Kevin smiled as he made his way upstairs to find a change of clothing. On his way to their bedroom, the bathroom door opened. His breath caught in his chest as Ariona walked from the bathroom. She looked up at him from looking down to adjust her dress and he was mesmerized by her now bright emerald eyes that seemed to look into his soul. He shook his head slightly and smiled. “My wife is waiting downstairs for you both. I am going to freshen up a bit and then I will be right down.” He spoke before walking to the room. “Lady Ariona, we do not have food left. I must apologize for dropping it.” Beriasa spoke. “There is no need for that young one. We will make do. Come we are being rude to our honored hostess.” She smiled down at the young woman before making her way down the stairs. Ariona walked into the living room and looked to her right to see the archway to the kitchen area. As she stepped closer, she could see Clare slightly dancing to a tune in her head. “We are both grateful for you and your husband,” Ariona spoke softly as to not frighten Clare. “No need. We would never leave someone to be hurt. I didn’t catch your names. My husband is not very good when it comes to remembering his manners.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “I am Ariona and this is Beriasa.” Ariona shook her hand. “Beautiful names. Are you two sisters?” Clare spoke as she started chopping up some carrots. “No. We are travelers.” Ariona tried to answer her question without giving away too much. She was still not sure about them and didn’t want to end up in another dangerous situation. Clare could sense her apprehension and decided not to press too much. “You have a beautiful home,” Beriasa spoke softly as they took a seat in the wooden stools. “Thank you. Kevin built this home for us with his father. They did it all by themselves. It is a special joy of ours and it is far enough away from everyone to avoid the townsfolk.” She turned around to stir what was in the pot. Clare went back to cutting more vegetables when Kevin came downstairs and into the kitchen. “It smells good in here. I can’t wait to eat.” Kevin spoke as he walked around to the pot. “If it would be alright, we would like to retire to our shared room. It has been a long day and we are very tired.” Ariona looked to them both. “Of course, we understand. Kevin, please take them to their room. Get some rest.” Clare smiled as Kevin walked out with the young women right behind him. Kevin walked back up the stairs and walked down to the room past his own bedroom. He stopped at the closet door on the right and grabbed a few blankets and sheets. He kept walking to the next door and walked inside. “This is your room. We know it isn’t much, but we hope that it will do. Here are some blankets if either of you want to take the floor.” Kevin spoke as the youngest one took the extra blankets to make a pallet near the foot of the bed. “Thank you. We are honored to be able to sleep somewhere safe.” Ariona placed her hand on his shoulder in a strong grip. Kevin smiled as he walked back out the door and shut it. He couldn’t help but hear the smaller one speaks. “Lady Ariona, you are weak?” He heard her speak. “I will be fine young one. My strength will return soon.” Ariona spoke. “Would you braid my hair for the night, Lady Ariona?” Beriasa asked. “Yes, child. We must keep our distance and stay sharp.” She spoke with a rougher tone. “Yes, Lady Ariona. Are you upset? I know you are not happy with what happened today. It was my fault. I begged to pick those flowers out there. If I were not such a bother to you then you may have heard them before they struck.” Beriasa all but whispered. “Nonsense. I will not hear any of this from you Beriasa. I agreed and it was my duty to protect us. I failed and shall learn from my mistakes. Rest, we have to conserve energy.” Ariona spoke last. Kevin looked down at his feet in confusion at what he had heard. He wasn’t sure of what to make of it. He walked back down to find his wife making bowls of vegetable porridge. “What’s on your mind?” Clare spoke without even looking up from her task. “I heard somethings that I don’t think were for me to hear. Beriasa called Ariona, Lady Ariona. What if she is some runaway royalist?” Kevin sat at the table. “You know better than to eavesdrop Kevin West and I know that your mother would beat you silly if she heard you casting judgment on another human being. I will say this once. Eat your food and don’t go looking for answers you are not prepared to hear.” Clare spoke before eating a spoon full of her food. Kevin’s smile spread across his face to the point where it almost hurt. He loved this woman to the ends of the world and further. He ate his food, cleared the dishes, and walked to their room with his wife’s hand firmly placed in his.