Diana felt warm under the heavy wool blanket, the fireside golden and orange light reflecting against the old polished wood reminded her of a sunset. Orion made his reappearance look dry and less like a giant bedraggled rag. His green eyes looked more pronounced in the firelight, blond hair pulled back into a thick ponytail. It occurred to her that he was not just tall and muscular, but handsome too.
She turned away when he caught her staring, Diana painfully aware that she’d just been googling her host. He’d looked at her with real concern, asking how she felt.
How do I feel? She asked herself. Badly. Afraid. Frustrated. Uncertain. She felt all those things but for the first time in months, she felt safe.
Yet her future looked bleak. How much longer can she run away where everyone, even the people she once thought she could trust, was determined to take her brother’s side. Even when he was in the wrong. Even when what he intended to do was cruel, all to fix one of his hundreds of mistakes. Who could she turn to for help, when even the law refused to help her.
The woman put a smooth wooden bowl in her hands, its contents smelling of fresh herbs and vegetables. It was creamy, with bits of potatoes, turnips, and beets to fill you up.
“Eat this, my girl. Help get your strength back.” She assured her with a gentle tone. It reminded Diana of her earliest memory, where her mother held her close to chase away some childhood fears. The oddity of it all surprised her. She felt safer with these strangers than Diana ever would have with her own family.
Orion’s father walked in then. His coat was wet, dripping from the seams yet her remained bone dry. He kissed his wife in greeting and made his way over to greet his son when he saw Diana sitting by the fire. Orion would have found his expression hilarious, were it not under such uncomfortable circumstances. He stepped forward to introduce their guest.
“Uhh…father, this is Lady Diana Archer. She was lost in the woods and it started raining so I…”
He trailed off, too surprised at his father's calm. He looked between the two and did not speak for a heartbeat. Was he angry? What would he say? Oh, to know what he was thinking.
“Please excuse the state of me, I had just returned from the monastery so I must look a fright.” He turned around. “Orion, after dinner I’ll need your help unloading the carriage so that we may escort the lady Archer home.”
Diana, panicked, jumping upwards with a loud no! The room grew uncomfortable and quiet and admits the silence, Orion’s parents understood there was far more to the story than the two young people had let on. Composing herself, she replied calmly that she’d been visiting her cousin, a Lord, and Lady Wolfencraft. Their home was all the way in the city, she explained. Too far away to take her home when the family was quite near.
His father nodded his head, agreeing. Bit the look that passed between him and his son made Orion flinch. Oh, he was in trouble.
Father went to fetch Granny, looking so tiny and frail. Her mind was still as sharp as steel, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes when she saw Diana sitting at their table.
“My, my! What a lovely and fair maid who comes to grace us at our table. Orion, has a fair lass caught your heart at last?”
Everyone looked horrified, Orion most of all. Diana just chuckled, greeting the old woman courteously. “Alas, ma'am, I am not so fair a maid. My hair is too dark, and I’m more of a burden. Your grandson is a true gentleman.”
Granny laughed and Orion’s face was as red as a tulip in all bloom. They passed the evening in companionable conversation. Diana felt so at ease and so safe that for a short while she’d forgotten her fears and the reality she would have to return once their rain had ceased.
Please Lord, let it rain forever. She prayed heartily. It seemed that some higher power must have heard her because the rain would continue to pour from the heavens. The cold wind howled, and the sky was different shades of black and gray. Sometimes a ray of sunlight would peek through only for the sky to close up before anyone could enjoy themselves.
To everyone else, it was like being stuck in a cold, wet prison. For Diana, it was the sight and sound of freedom. Every drop was like a shield, keeping away her brother and prolonging her return to the small country estate she’d been banished to. She hoped the place would collapse under the wind and rain, with her brother in it. Yet her reprieve had the negative effect of spiking her anxiety. Once the rains had ceased, she would have to of back.
Moments like these, Diana felt that familiar pang of sorrow, like a knife in her heart. How desperately she missed her mother, craving her comforting presence and wisdom. That someone as wonderful as her mother has been cursed to have such a son like her brother broke her heart. She wouldn’t have allowed him to get away with any of the things he’d done if she was still with them.
Orion watched as the rain fell hard, like arrows on a battlefield, an army for Diana. He had not dared to ask her anything else about her brother or what happened that day. But the rain had a way of revealing things. Orion still had chores to do, never mind the weather. With every odd break in the rain, Orion would deliver the vegetables to the monastery, reaching some homey and wind they’d made. When Orion asks about any news from the village, Brother Tom loves to gossip, but he can’t give him any news.
The whole town is shut up, and few choose to venture out into the world. There is no news of anyone looking for Lady Diana. Or that anyone knew she had even gone missing.
That same evening, when there was still some tiny sliver of sunlight trying to force its way out before the sun itself was forced to set, he headed to town. Orion didn’t want to. In fact, he tried to get out of it. But Granny had caught a chill and since she was more susceptible to colds now and after the bitter winds of last winter, the family didn’t want to take any chances. Thus, Orion went to town, stopping by the apothecary, to pick up the special tonic and herbs she would be needing. He kept an eye and ear out for any news.
Still nothing. Just gossip about Mrs. Hudson’s son dithering about marriage to his long-time sweetheart, or how Mr. Carlyle finally asked widow Rosen out for coffee. All of it was harmless, nothing interesting. The more he thought of it, he thought it was all very strange. Where she once was the source of every conversation in the village yet no one spoke a word about her unprompted.
Odd, all of it was very odd. He had spoken with Mr. Barrow, a sweet-tempered and friendly man whom Orion enjoyed speaking with. He greeted Orion with his rosy-cheeked smile, asking questions about his family. All was well, except that Granny had caught a small cold. He’d come to collect the tonic and some extra herbs. Mint for fever, sage for sinus, with some honey to help it all go down easy.
I’ll add in a bit extra, to help it go down easier.” He said with a wink. Of course, he knew that Granny would like extra honey. Sometimes he wondered if Mr. Barrow was a witch himself. What an idea that would be. That all-consuming need for friendship, for someone to understand what it meant to be an oddity, to live on the outskirts and always live in fear that any neighbor would turn them over to the authorities.
Loneliness became an easy thing for one to live with, knowing all too well the consequences of revealing oneself to another person. How can it be worth it, when in an instant someone could throw you to the wolves out of fear and some coins? He asked himself. All Orion did was smile back and give his heartfelt thanks.
As he paid the apothecary, the doors opened wife thanks to a cool gust of wind. A person walked in and Orion went pale as sun-bleached bone.
That’s Diana’s brother.
He recognizes the scowl, the frown sending chills down his spine. It’s not unlike the For a split second he looks directly at Orion and all he can do is stare in dumbfounded terror.
“What are you staring at, boy?”
Orion blinked, realizing he was staring and he muttered his apologies before scooting away. It was Mr. Burrow who saved him.
“Pardon us, sir. It's just, well, I wasn’t expecting to see your lordship here.” He said.
Why was his Lordship chasing his sister through the woods? The question went unsaid though it hung in the air above him.
“What is it I can help you with?” Mr. Burrow asked.
"I need some, umm, laudanum, for my sister. She hasn’t been well.” He said.
Diana had made no mention of any other siblings and by the way, he spoke with Mr. Burrow, it was clear he was talking about Diana. Lady Diana needs it to sleep. He explained again.
Orion knew he was lying. Hands twitching, eyes darting away from Mr. Burrow, shoulders hunched. He looked like he was sweating though the day was cold and the rain had ceased for the afternoon. Orion knew liars. The way people did back then when they accused neighbors, rivals, friends, and even family of working the devil's crafts.
He was up to something. Distrust and suspicion, for some, could be a death sentence. For Orion and his kind, it meant living another day. He didn’t trust this man and he could better understand why Diana ran away from him that afternoon.
Orion made his way to the door with a final wave of goodbye to Mr. Burrow. All throughout his walk home, his mood had soured as he walked down the path to his cart. New paint peeled away from doors, flowers wilted in their gardens, dogs howled and cats ran in circles. No one believe that it was anything but the cold torrential rain that threatened to pour down yet again.
Yet in the back of Orion’s mind, he feared that these harmless things might come back to harm him. He couldn’t move fast enough as the rain came pouring down, on his heels like a rabid dog. He didn’t see Diana’s brother watching him go.