12 Chapter 12: Like a Chicken (1/2)

SALEM: Things became quiet after she fell asleep.

The sounds of the cart wheels turning. The silence of the morning. Her gentle breathing.

I glanced back and she had curled up into a ball, her hands drawn to her chest. With her eyes closed, she almost looked like a normal human girl. Almost. Her hair was still silver. Like an angel. Maybe she could sprout wings too.

Like a chicken.

”Why are you in such a hurry?”

To think she'd cut right to the core of the matter. Maybe she wasn't as dumb as she seemed. Maybe she was actually smart, cunning even, but pretending to be carefree.

I should be more careful around her. There's more to her than a sharp tongue and a carefree smile.

”Why are you in such a hurry?”

I heaved out a deep breath. Deliver Elina. Collect payment. Use payment to hire a doctor for Yulia. But can I make it in time? She looked fragile when I left her in Merkelborough. Pale. A weak cough.

Elina said she used her medicines to keep the people of Altheim alive. Maybe I could strike a deal with her.

Hah. Hah.

I could never tell her about my sister. She'd kill Yulia before healing her. To get revenge.

It was best to keep Yulia's existence a secret.

She might look like an angel when she was asleep in the corn, but when she was awake she was the devil.

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I stand corrected. She wasn't the devil when she woke up. She was something else.

A yawn. A drawn out sigh. The squealing sounds of stretching.

She said, ”I'm hungry.”

She was a glutton.

I glanced back. ”What?”

”I'm hungry.”

”Then eat something.”

”We should have lunch.”

I pointed to the back with my thumb. ”Plenty of food there. Corn, corn and more corn. Help yourself.”

”But we had corn for dinner and breakfast.”

”It's good for lunch too.” Then I added, ”It's either that or fresh air.”

I could almost hear the wheels in her mind turning. Searching for the words that would help her get her way.

She said, ”Fine.”

Didn't expect that. I figured she'd push back. Bemoan my lack of manners. Treating a lady like a dog. Use every word in her arsenal to nag me.

Then she said, ”You still haven't told me why you are in such a hurry to make lots of money.”