Lost Lighte

Chapter 4

Dinner was ready another hour later, and Tilya sat down after serving them each a bowl of pottage and a chunk of bread. Lukas had offered to serve the meal since she cooked it, but she had declined and insisted he helped clean up afterwards instead.

The circular dining table was just big enough for three people to eat at and Reese, sitting with Lukas to his left, was staring up at the man as he chewed his bread and kicked his feet boyishly. “So your name is Lukas?” Reese asked him. Tilya stared at the boy for a moment before looking up at Lukas, silently observing.

“That is correct.” Lukas affirmed with a nod. He peeked at Tilya. “This meal is delicious, by the way.” He took a generous bite out of his bread after saturating it in the pottage.

“So how do you know my sister?” Reese interrupted, his stare unbroken. The older man shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I--”

“We met at the market.” Tilya cut in quickly, then shoved a large spoonful of pottage into her mouth. She pleaded with her eyes for Lukas to play along.

“Uh… Yes, we met at the market.” Lukas agreed, nodding. “I was… a frequent merchant there.”

Reese’s eyes narrowed. “You were a frequent merchant? Then surely you must’ve made enough money to afford your own lodging.”

“Reese!” Tilya hissed, giving him a stern look. So much for him being on his best behavior. Reese ignored her and continued to gaze up at Lukas.

“Clever boy, you are.” Lukas began, chuckling. He swished his pottage around in its bowl. “Indeed, I was a merchant there. I sold leather boots.” Reese craned his neck towards the front door, where Lukas's tattered and worn boots sat beside it. He arched a brow suspiciously. “Whatever you say.” Tilya’s hope that that would be the end of the conversation was shortly lived.

“So if you were a merchant that sold leather boots, why are you staying with us?” '

Tilya slammed her hand on the table which made Reese jump and turn his head to her direction. “I think you should finish eating dinner and head to bed.” her voice held no warmth as she glared at him. The boy opened his mouth to speak but Lukas put a hand out to interrupt.

“It’s okay, Tilya.” he started gently before looking back down at Reese. “To be honest with you, my home life wasn’t the best. So I ran away. I had met your sister at the market some time ago and, seeing as she frequents it often, we are well acquainted with each other. I explained to her my situation and she offered to take me in for a while.” A soft smile graced Lukas's lips when he finished.

Reese just stared at him in silence. Tilya sighed through her nostrils and continued eating.

A few minutes later, after Reese finished his meal, he mumbled an apology before walking inside the bedroom and shutting the door.

“I am so sorry.” Tilya quickly said, shaking her head in disbelief of Reese’s actions. “Reese can be protective of me, but he’s never acted like that before.”

“It’s alright. I understand where he’s coming from; he cares about his sister.” Lukas responded, finishing his last bit of bread. He stood and gathered all of their empty bowls and spoons, walking to the kitchen and cleaning them with a soapy cloth in the sink full of water.

“Again, dinner was wonderful. I really appreciate it… It feels like forever since I’ve had a proper meal.” Lukas said, concentrating on the cutlery in his hands.

Tilya pushed her chair in and stood beside him, leaning against the counter. “They didn’t feed you well back ho-- back at that place?” she asked, crossing her arms. She’d be surprised if he considered his family’s house a home. Lukas peeked at her from the edge of his vision, and Tilya was awed again by the thickness of those lashes that hung above his grey eyes.

“You could say that. It was the same thing every night. A small piece of bread and a small bowl of some disgusting liquid they tried to pass off as soup. It may as well have been piss.” Tilya cringed and shook her head at the thought of that.

“I’ll finish cleaning up and then head to bed. You should get some rest yourself.” he spoke again, moving onto the wooden mugs they had used for their beverages.

Tilya nodded awkwardly and turned, walking into the bedroom with Reese and shutting the door.

That night, she had a nightmare unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

************

When Tilya stepped out of her bedroom the next morning, she saw Lukas sweeping the last bits of dirt out of the house. The cobwebs in the corners of the walls were gone, the kitchen counters and cabinets were scrubbed clean, even the hay inside of the bench padding seemed renewed. Tilya had never seen the cabin so tidy.

Lukas shut the door of the cabin once finished and turned his head to look at her, a bright smile on his face. “Good morning. I hope you slept well.”

Tilya toyed with the fabric of her simple white cotton dress. “Good morning… You’ve been keeping busy, I see. Did you even sleep?” she asked, taking one last look around the cabin.

A deep laugh escaped from the man. “Of course I did, but I’ve never needed much sleep to function properly.” Lukas replied, setting the straw broom in the corner behind the door. He brushed some residual dust from his tunic.

“I’ll be heading to the market today to sell my squash.” Tilya started, walking over to the baskets of butternut squash and inspecting them. “You can stay here, or come along if you’d like.” She used her palm to remove some soil she had missed from one of them.

“I would love to come along with you.” Lukas agreed. “Is there anything I can help you with?” Stepping closer to her now, he noticed her bloodshot eyes and the dark circles underneath them. The red contrasting against the turquoise color of her irises was jarring.

“If you could wheel the wagon up here so I can assemble these squash on it, that would be fantastic. It’s in the shed.” Tilya answered, looking up at him, a smirk playing at her pink lips. “I’m sure you know where that is.”

Lukas huffed a chuckle and nodded. “I’ll get right on it.” And he was out the door, returning with the wagon a few minutes later.

Twenty minutes after that, Tilya had neatly arranged the squash in an appealing-enough fashion and was on her way to the market with Lukas.

At first Tilya thought she was being paranoid as more patrons than usual seemed to be paying attention to her stall. She had only been at the market for an hour and had already sold two times the amount than she normally would. Lukas stood beside her, giving passersby sweet smiles.

Then Tilya realized he was the reason for her extra business, evident by the young women coming up to their stall under the guise of wanting to buy squash-- though they spent more time flirting with Lukas than inspecting her produce.

Tilya’s eyes drifted up to his face as she held a sign that advertised her squash for six coppers each. Sure, he was handsome. He had those thick lashes, and those stunning grey eyes, and his lips were full and looked soft. The planes of his face were structured without being too harsh, and his skin was even and smooth, a product of his youthfulness. She wondered what his hair was like under the hat he always wore.

“You seem quite popular.” Tilya stated quietly, and Lukas turned his attention away from the group of girls who were ogling him from a few meters away. “You mean people aren’t always this friendly?” he responded, his eyebrows raising.

“Not at all.” Tilya replied simply, looking out into the crowd now. A strong wind blew past her bare legs, swishing her cotton dress around her knees. She pulled her winter coat tightly against her with a free hand and made a mental note to buy a pair of thick trousers before walking back to the cabin. If it was the end of November and the weather was already this harsh, she knew the quicker she bought winter-appropriate attire, the better.

Two heads caught Tilya’s attention among the crowd and she noticed it was the two young women from that day at the market, when she discovered what fae auctions were. A chill went down her spine as she watched them float from stall to stall, keeping close to each other and giggling among themselves. Tilya wondered if they had attended that auction back in late August.

She witnessed the moment that Lukas caught the blonde’s eye, and she nudged her friend. They were both looking at him now, and Tilya stiffened as she watched them approach. Stalking him from among the crowd like lioness's in a grassy field.

The blonde was wearing a frilly white chemise with a green cote on top, decorated with golden embroidery, the fabric brushing against the cobblestone. Multiple strands of pearls wrapped around her neck, and on her ears hung vibrant emerald jewels. The top part of her shining golden hair was situated with elaborate braids circling the crown of her head, and the wavy hair beneath it was left free to hang down her chest and back. Two chunks hung down from the top of her hairline to frame her face. Tilya couldn’t help but feel inferior to her beauty.

“Good morning, sir.” The woman purred, smiling sweetly up at Lukas. “Why is it that I haven’t seen you before?” She lifted a lacy white fan to her face to cover her blush, the fan matching the lace of the gloves she wore.

Lukas shifted awkwardly and laughed. “You could say I don’t get out much.” He glanced at Tilya who was preoccupied with speaking to a customer.

“My name is Katherine.” The blonde said, stepping in front of his line of sight. “Katherine Durst. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Katherine gave him a feline smile and offered her hand out for him to kiss. He politely obliged. “On the contrary, the pleasure is all mine, Miss Katherine. My name is Lukas Burdock.”

“I can’t say I’ve heard of that house before, Mr. Burdock.” Katherine said to him, tapping her chin thoughtfully. She swished her gown back and forth playfully, the petticoat she wore underneath giving it more volume than normal. Lukas studied her attire, which did not go unnoticed by her. “What brings you to the market today, hmm?”

Lukas placed a hand on top of the wagon that held the squash. “I’m here to accompany my friend while she sells her produce.” He smiled proudly and looked over at Tilya again, who was staring at Katherine’s brunette friend as she poked one of the squash with a disgusted expression.

Katherine scowled at Tilya and put a hand on her hip. “That sounds miserably boring. Why don’t you come along with me and my friend here? We can have some tea in my garden.” Katherine’s friend smiled from behind her, and Lukas was surprised to find that she was wearing a nearly identical outfit to Katherine’s.

Instead of a green cote and accessories, hers was replaced by a deep red, and where Katherine wore strands of pearls around her neck, her friend had a gleaming silver and gold chain with large garnets dangling from it. Her lacy gloves were black and over her middle finger was a large garnet ring. Her long brunette hair was left down, save for one braid that looped over her head from ear to ear.

“Eleanore Tisby. Charmed.” The brunette purred, bowing gracefully. “May I say, your eyes are stunning.” Katherine gave Eleanore a hard nudge and smiled at Lukas. “Pay her no mind. Her lips can be as loose as a corrupted maidservant.” The glare she passed at her friend vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “So what say you to my offer?” Another playful smile. A cat stalking it’s prey.

Lukas stuck his hands in the pockets of his trousers and took a step away from the pair, his body language a stark contrast to the pleasant expression on his face. “I appreciate your offer, but I have a prior engagement with my friend, here.” He gestured to Tilya, who was silently watching the exchange.

Katherine blinked and turned to look at her once again, her judging gaze trailing from Tilya’s face, to her shoes, and back up again. “And… Who might you be?” she asked, splaying her fan out and flapping it in front of her gently.

Tilya took a deep breath and set her shoulders. “Tilya Woodrow.” she stated simply.

Eleanore stifled a laugh with her gloved hand. “The daughter of that disgraced blacksmith? I thought you looked familiar, but all trash looks the same to me.”

It took everything in Tilya not to lunge at her. Instead, she gripped the wooden sign tightly, her face flushing in anger.

Katherine was next to chuckle smugly, fanning herself. “That explains the wagon. Forced to do manual labor to feed your family, are we? Poor thing… I almost feel bad for you for having such a deadbeat father.” Another laugh.

Tilya heard her heartbeat in her ears as her blood pressure rose. She glared at them silently as she tried to control her breathing.

Katherine looked to her friend as Eleanore said, “Sir Burdock here is probably escorting her out of pity, she should be grateful someone so dashing is gracing her with their presence.” They both let out a grating laugh and Tilya had had enough. She threw her wooden sign into the nearly empty wagon and snatched it up by its handle. Without a word to them, or Lukas, she began trudging back to the cabin. The sound of their laughter was fading more and more as she escaped, and it was all Tilya could do not to cry.

Lukas, shocked by the behavior of the women, disregarded them as they tried to make him stay, and followed after Tilya hurriedly. “Tilya! Tily--” He slammed into a husky man wearing a purple velvet coat and matching hat, who was passing by, and offered him a quick apology, but continued after Tilya.

The man picked up his mahogany walking cane and turned to look back at Lukas, snarling.