Unconsciously leaning forward to hear more clearly, Anders put his weight against a small dead limb. Suddenly it snapped. He began to slide out from his hiding place, nearly exposing himself. Luckily, he grabbed hold of a low-hanging branch just in time; this one did not break.
Upon hearing the branch break, the man in black abruptly stopped talking and turned toward the hillside. He looked directly where Anders knelt in hiding. Anders didn’t move, hoping the dim lighting and vegetation would conceal him.
“Did you hear that?” the man asked Theodor as he stared at the clump of trees.
Turning around to see what the man was staring at, Theodor answered, “I didn’t hear anything.”
“We are being watched,” the man in black said shortly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. No one knows we’re here,” Theodor said turning to face the man once again. The man, however, had disappeared leaving Theodor standing alone in the rain. He turned back and stared for a while at the slope, scanning for whatever it was the stranger had heard.
Anders’ heart nearly beat out of his chest. It seemed so loud; he was surprised Theodor couldn’t hear it. Theodor kept his gaze on the vegetation where Anders hid and even took a step toward him. A rabbit darted out from its hiding place just below where Anders crouched. It scurried across the open slope, through the rainfall, and down into its hole.
Theodor stopped his advancement and said to himself, “stupid rabbit.” He left the clearing and headed back toward the house. Anders waited to make sure he was well out of sight before leaving his hiding place. Then he ran back through the woods as fast as he could.
While hurrying back toward the house, he thought to himself, what did they mean an evil was crawling back into the land? Who was it Theodor needed to tell something to and why had he decided not to do it? Was the man talking about his cousin, Thomas? And who was it they were talking about hiding in the shadows? The thoughts swirled in his head as ran.
Anders knew he had to beat Theodor back to the house. If he didn’t get back before his uncle, Thomas and Kirsten would ask him questions. If they asked him the right questions, they were sure to uncover that he had not been helping Theodor with the chores. Anders didn’t want to risk his uncle or cousins discovering his spying. The secret his uncle was keeping from them might damage their family’s relationship, even more than the death of Thomas and Kirsten’s mother had just three years ago; that was the last thing he wanted.
When Anders opened the door he saw Thomas tending the fire and Kirsten setting the dinner table, both unaware of Anders’ newly discovered secret. Shaking off water like a wet dog, Anders closed the door behind him.
“Where’s father?” Thomas asked noticing Theodor wasn’t with him.
“He was just behind me. I’m sure he’ll be in shortly,” Anders answered, relieved to know he’d made it back before his uncle. He rushed to his room to dry off and change into dry clothes. In his room, Anders looked at his reflection in the small mirror on the wall next to his closet. He quickly practiced a straight-faced expression as he imagined how talking to his uncle would go. Throwing on a dry shirt and rubbing the water out of his thick brown hair, Anders practiced his unsurprised face one more time before returning to the dining room. Joining his cousins at the table, he smiled lightly at them, trying to avoid any suspicious looks from their piercing blue eyes.
Soon, Theodor was wiping his muddy boots on the floor mat and shedding his saturated outer layers. Hanging his coat to dry, placing his boots by the crackling fire, and taking a seat at the dinner table, he acted as if nothing was different from any other day.
Once they were all gathered at the table, he asked, “Tell me about your day. What happened?”
Thomas recounted the day’s events as Kirsten and Anders began to hungrily inhale their sausage and potato dinner. He told his father how he and Anders had caught the most salmon they’d ever brought in while fishing. He also bragged that because of his heroism and ability to remain calm, he had saved them from almost sinking in the storm.
“Is that so?” Theodor said astonished, his thick eyebrows rising to expose the bright blue hue of his eyes.
“Nope,” Anders said through a mouthful of sausage. “He was shaking like a baby. I nearly had to bail the water out myself and row us back to shore at the same time.” He smiled at his cousin, who turned red in the face.
Thomas scowled at Anders’ brotherly banter and stuck the tip of his tongue out through his pursed lips in his direction.
“I just tell it how it happened,” Anders said, still smiling at his younger cousin. “We did catch quite a lot of fish out there today,” he added to Thomas’ credit. “Should be able to make some good money at the festival tomorrow.”
Theodor congratulated them on their success and told Thomas he was sure his version of the story wasn’t far from the truth.
After dinner, when the four of them turned in for the night, Anders lay in bed thinking about what Theodor was hiding from them. The conversation he’d overheard with the strange man kept replaying in his head. Anders lay awake late into the night thinking through all of the possible explanations for what he’d heard. He wondered if he should tell Kirsten or Thomas about it. He fell asleep not knowing what he would do with the sensitive information.
The rising sun beamed golden rays across Highborn Bay as it warmed thin patches of snow left behind from the heavy winter. The storm had passed during the night. Songbirds sang and spread their wings, flying through the clear blue skies. Anders awoke to floorboards squeaking under Kirsten and Thomas’ feet. They shuffled over to the kitchen and began preparing the morning meal of eggs, sausage, bread and Anders’ favorite tea loaded with caffeine called mate. Theodor always pronounced it wrong and Anders grew tired of correcting him, “It’s mah-teh, not matee,” he would say irritated.
He was still half asleep when he joined his cousins around the table. Unlike his uncle, who’d already been up for a half hour, Anders was not much of a morning person until he had his mate. Theodor walked in through the front door in his usual chipper mood. He had just finished the morning chores.
“Good morning,” he said, rubbing the top of Kirsten’s head, messing up her shoulder-length hair.
“Stop that!” she whined and ducked her head to the side, attempting to avoid her father’s playful hand.
“How are we feeling this morning? Ready to go to the biannual Grandwood Festival?” Theodor asked, still chuckling at Kirsten’s reaction.
“I’ll let you know once I’ve finished my mah-teh,” Anders replied emphasizing the syllables for his uncle. He held the mug tightly, his hands wrapped around its warmth.
“You’ll want to be at the festival’s market early if you are wanting to sell all of your salmon,” Theodor said while pouring himself a hot cup of tea. He gently blew on it and said, “tasty stuff this matee.” He glanced at Anders who shook his head and smiled. Kirsten, Thomas and Anders agreed with him about getting an early start but remained seated waiting for the caffeine to take effect.
Thomas was the first to leave the table. Anders watched him bring the horse and carriage around to the front door and load up their baskets of salmon. He wondered if he should talk with Theodor about the argument with the stranger he overheard the night before. But when he turned to look at his uncle, who was laughing at something Kirsten had said, he decided it was not the right time.
Anders took one last swig of his tea and said with a hint of sarcasm, “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go to town; we need to be at the festival early if we are to sell all of our hard-earned salmon.” Theodor smiled exposing his tea-stained teeth in acknowledgement of Anders’ remark.
Anders jumped into the back of the wagon alongside Kirsten. Theodor and Thomas rode up front on the wagon’s bench seat.
“And… we’re off,” Theodor said with reins in hand.
The crisp morning air washed over their fair-skinned faces as they trotted down the road to the City of Grandwood. The dirt road followed the edge of the forest as it wound through rolling foothills. The city was nestled neatly between the Pelagic Ocean and the Grandwood Mountains. After nearly a half-hour of riding, they crested a hill, able to see the sunlight glinting off the city’s many rooftops and buildings.
It was the first time any of them had seen Grandwood since the arrival of the thousands of visitors for the biannual festival and Grandwood Games. At the far end of the city, Anders could see the masses of vendors’ and visitors’ tents that had sprung up over the last several days. The temporary gathering extended down the beach, nearly doubling the size of the coastal city.
“Anders, do you think you’re ready for the competition?” Theodor asked. “It begins tomorrow.”
“I’m nervous,” he began. “I’m also confident I will finish this year. My goal is to complete the event, not to win. Although winning would be nice,” he added smiling.
“The Grandwood Games is the most fierce and challenging competition of any in the five nations,” Theodor spoke as if he was an announcer for the event. “This is the fiftieth year it’s been held and nearly half the contestants don’t complete it. Of course you know that because you were one of them last time,” he chuckled lightly looking back at Anders. “You were lucky I knew the judges and they made an exception for you. After how it ended for you though, I would never advise anyone to compete while still under age. Just try to relax and enjoy the festivities while you can. There will be plenty of time to be nervous tomorrow,” he said trying to buoy his nephew’s confidence.
“I’ll be betting on you, so you’d better do well this year,” Kirsten chimed in. “And if you decide not to compete at the last minute, I will take your place. I may need to disguise myself so the judges think it’s you, but I could pull it off,” she said with great self-confidence.
