The Song of Blood and Bone

Chapter Two

Tension hung in the air as Aliyah stared down her parents. At this point Aliyah is tired of the lies and just wants to know the truth. So, standing her ground, she looks at her Father. Rynn’s salt and pepper hair is a curly mess and his emerald eyes contains sadness. His posture is as stiff as a statue. Finally he turns to Hazel.

“It’s time she knows,” he looks at her but quickly looks away. “Please sit, you’re staining yourself.” Aliyah had to admit that every bone in her body is groaning and every muscle aching. So she sat in hand carved chair bedside them.

“Honey before-“

“We found you on our porch. It was a stormy night, we didn’t lie about that. We heard banging in the middle of the night and went to check it out. When we opened the door there you were. Your name was written in the mud. So we quickly wiped it away and brought you inside. After a few months no one came for you so we asked the few who knew the truth in town to keep quiet about the situation and decided to raise you as our own. Your mother and I had been struggling to conceive for awhile, so we decided then and there that we would love you like our own.” Her father choked out an explanation. “This doesn’t mean we love you less than your siblings. We love all of you equally and its not easy to tell you this. We weren’t going to tell you. After your accident we knew that we had to tell you. Your mother and I were scared you would feel different or unloved. Remember you are always loved.”

Silence filled the room and Aliyah looked out the window. It wasn’t her parent fault, however she felt betrayed. It wasn’t that they had kept it from her and truth be told it wasn’t her parents. Aliyah knew deep down that her parents were not at fault, but she couldn’t help feel angry with them. She rubbed her face and looked at the items for dinner sitting there forgotten. The sun started to go down already so she silently got up, not knowing what to think, and started to chop some vegetables.

“Aliyah?” Her mom questioned.

“Do you want to light the candles? It’ll be getting dark soon and I’m afraid if I reach up to far my stitches will tear.” She refuses to look at Hazel as she digs through their vegetable basket.

“Aliyah, can you say something?” Rynn says.

“My siblings will be inside any moment. As far as I’m concerned I’m not your daughter, but they don’t need to know that. Now please help me light the candles.” She replied coldly, but she didn’t know why she was being so harsh. In her mind she knew that she shouldn’t be. Closing her eyes for a second she sighs than slides all of her freshly chopped vegetables inside the little cauldron and started the fire underneath.

“Can you put some water in the pot? I do not want the veggies to burn but the bucket is too heavy.” She asks Rynn. He nodded, raked his hand through his hair then completed the task.

Aliyah grabbed a few spices from the cupboard and put just a pinch in it. They couldn’t afford a lot of spices, because they were so in demand but Wesley often helped them get spices. Wesley has been a trader in the market since the town was built and now he’s training his granddaughter to to the same. After doing that she grabbed the freshly bought meat chopped it up and threw it in the pot. Because they didn’t have newer technology they couldn’t keep their meat cool so its rare when they eat meat. It’s not that they couldn’t afford the meat, it was the commute back and forth from the market. It was a little less than half a days walk from their cabin. But sometimes their father allowed them to use Zero. Zero is an older horse, and her colt now grown is Aliyah’s horse. If it wasn’t for Aliyah’s horse she wouldn’t be able to make it to her work at the tavern.

As if on cue all of the kids entered the house. They thundered through the door not caring about the rules. Chatter filled the room as well as laughter but Aliyah, Hazel, and Rynn did their own things in silence.

“Sissy?” Piper looked up at Aliyah. She’s 12 years old, but still calls Aliyah sissy.

“What would you like?”

“Are you going to die?”

Aliyah was shocked that she’d ask such a thing, but she didn’t really understand medicine. Nor did she understand how people really die Hazel and Rynn tried to keep her away from it as long as possible.

“No. I’ll just be hurt for awhile. Like when Bradley broke his arm and had to wear that weird thing for awhile.”

Pipers mouth formed a little o. She skipped off to the others he little black curls bouncing on her shoulders. Piper always looked so much like her father that it was almost a spitting image. Though she had her mother’s honey suckle eyes and her beautiful skin. Lesley was the one that looks exactly like her mother. And Bradley was a spitting image of his father too. But Aliyah had always been the weird on with brown hair, blue eyes, and naturally tan skin.

Aliyah looked at the three of them play assassins and guards protecting princess Piper. Though Leslie is only a year younger than Aliyah, she has always been so playful. That was what everyone loved so much about her.

After the sun had disappeared and the moon was up the dinner was ready. Hazel dished out the bowls to everyone and it was scarfed down. The freshly cooked bread was everyone’s favorite. After dinner all the kids retired to their room full and ready for tomorrow. Aliyah too slipped to her shared bedroom.

She sat on her bed and put her shirt in her mouth. She took the bandage on her side and carefully put healing salve an her wound.

“Leslie?”

“Yeah?” She asked with a yawn.

“Can you please put the bandage on I’m having a hard time.”

Leslie hopped up and Aliyah laid down for better access. Once Leslie was done Aliyah thanked her and they went to bed.