Chapter 2

A few hours later, when the sky outside was its darkest yet, and the rain was coming down at it’s fiercest, Eevie woke. For a moment she just lay there, not understanding why she had woken so suddenly, and then she realized that she could hear something else outside, a new sound in the rain. It was horses hoofs, coming along the lane outside of Eevie’s window. She quickly got out of bed went to the window, it so dark that she had to be careful not to bump into Midni’s bed.

She looked out into the night and saw a shower of heavy rain, making it difficult to see anything beyond a few yards as the rain was so heavy. Eevie realised she was standing in something wet and looked down, the pans that Midni had put down earlier overflowing so much that almost all the floor was wet.

Eevie was about to get a towel or something to soak up the puddles, but then she heard it again, the clip clop of horses hoofs. She peered out through the curtains, her feet cold, and saw a dark shadow move up the lane, a horse pulling a black carriage. It stopped outside of Eevie’s window, just beyond the garden fence near were the chickens were. For a moment it just stood there, the horse looking miserable in the rain with only a thin cloth to cover it’s back, and the wheels of the carriage were beginning to sink into the mud of the lane. Then Eevie saw a cloaked figure run across the garden from the house, and Eevie was certain it was Brenna, trying to keep the rain off her hair. She went up to the carriage, stepping carefully across the muddy road, and the driver jumped down off the front and opened the carriage door.

A girl stepped out, wearing a very large coat and a big hat. Brenna hugged her, and she didn’t let go for a few seconds before she realised she was sinking in the mud and she quickly led the girl towards the cottage, going quickly but Eevie could tell that Brenna was going deliberately slowly, as if she was leading an elderly person across the garden. The driver began unloading bags and trunks from the carriage and followed Brenna and the girl across the garden.

Eevie was starting the shiver, and before Brenna and the girl disappeared from sight, the girls’ hat blew away in the wind and Eevie saw a flash of bright silvery light, the girls’ hair tumbling away from the bobble it was tied in. It seemed to glow in the darkness and rain, even though there was no moon to make her hair like that. Brenna quickly took off her own hat and put on the girls’ head, ushering her inside out of the cold. Eevie thought about going downstairs, to see Brenna and the cousin she had never met, but she knew that her grandmother would tell her off for being out of bed, and she didn’t want to meet the new girl while she was all sleepy and had dripping wet feet. Eevie walked carefully back to her own bed, getting under the warm covers. She was just about to get up and sort the floor out, but without her meaning to she fell asleep instantly.

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When Eevie went downstairs the next morning she had almost forgotten the arrival of her cousin, as when she had woken up that morning her dreams were still spinning around her head, and she had not gotten much sleep so she was tired and groggy. She thought she was the first one up, and was looking forward to sitting in the kitchen to listen to the birds outside, so was surprised to see her grandmother with a girl sitting at the kitchen table when she walked in.

“Good morning, Evemeer,” Brenna said cheerily, saying Eevie’s full name, which was pronounced ever-meer. Brenna drank some tea “Did you sleep well?”

Eevie nodded, her eyes completely focussed on the strange looking girl who sitting opposite Brenna and was looking very shy. She stood up and awkwardly shook Eevie’s hand, grinning sheepishly. At first glance Eevie thought she must be a lot younger than thirteen, as her face was so childlike and innocent that Eevie thought she looked like one of those angels from her muddy, page-missing, crumpled up story books. Her hair was almost white, an extremely pale blonde that was a couple of inches shorter than Eevie’s hair, which was just past her shoulders.

Dayona’s skin was pale, and had an almost unhealthy look, but at this moment it was flushed with embarrassment and shyness. But what was most unusual about Eevie’s cousins’ appearance were her eyes, they were pale blue, like a single drop of water, so her eyes almost looked transparent. They were big too, with long pale eyelashes and they stood out clearly on her thin pale face. As Eevie shook the girls’ hand she noticed how thin her wrists were, so thin that they looked like they could snap if Eevie shook her hand too hard. She was thin all over, tiny, like she had not had a decent meal in ages. But at that moment she seemed to have got over her embarrassment and was now beaming, and she said “Hello, Eevie. I’m Dayona,”

“Hello,” Eevie said, not really sure what to say next. There were an awkward few seconds that Eevie just stood there, praying for Brenna to say something. Dayona was looking embarrassed again.

“I’ll make the breakfast in a minute,” Brenna said “Do you want some tea, Eevie?”

“No thanks, I’m ok,” Eevie said. She sat down by Brenna’s seat, looking at Dayona and wondering if she looked anything like Thornah. No, she didn’t really. But when Dayona smiled again at Eevie she saw a hint of Brenna’s smile in there, the way Dayona smile was rather wide was just like when Brenna smiled.

“What’s the time, Grandmother?” Dayona asked. Brenna winced and turned around, saying “No one ever calls me grandmother, sweetheart. It makes me sound so old,”

Dayona looked a bit upset, as if she had just robbed a bank and was now feeling guilty about it. Brenna quickly said “Just call me Brenna, everyone else does. And it is seven o’clock”

Dayona nodded, looking a bit happier. Brenna was about to bend down and light the fireplace when Dayona leapt up and said “I’ll do it!”

Looking slightly shocked, Brenna said “No, dear, It’s fine. You sit down and have some rest. You arrived very late last night and it must have been tiring for you,”

“Please, I really want to help out, since I am going to be living here all summer. Can’t I do anything?”

“Um...” Brenna said, looking around “Why don’t you set the table for breakfast? Or maybe that would be too much”

“No, really, I want to help!” Dayona said, going to the cupboards and looking through them. Brenna gestured silently for Eevie to go and help, and she helped Dayona set the breakfast things out. Just when they were finished Dayona said “What else can I do? Do you have any chickens? Uncle Jimmy said you did, shall I go feed them?”

“Maybe not,” Eevie said “Our chickens are a bit, well...wild. They don’t really like strangers, so its best to just leave them alone,”

Dayona nodded, looking eagerly around the room. When she spotted the oven she said “Can I help you cook anything?”

“Well that’s a first!” Brenna laughed “My other grandchildren never offer to do the cooking with me”

“Yes I do!” Eevie said, outraged “But you always tell me to go away, or tell me I’m doing it wrong so you take over, even if I’m just whisking an egg or something,”

“I just like things doing a certain way,” Brenna said defensively. She began making the breakfast, just some left over bread from yesterday with some milk. She went to the hallway and yelled up the stairs, and Eevie could hear Markus and Midni stirring from their sleep. Dayona was still looking for things to do to help out, but Eevie whispered “Believe me, don’t volunteer to do anything, or else Brenna will make you do all the chores all summer,”

Dayona grinned, sitting down and fidgeting with her hands in her lap. She continued to look around in interest, her childlike angel face so pure that Eevie wasn’t sure if she was real or not. She guessed it might have something to do with her witch mother. Eevie saw how delicate she looked, so thin that she looked like she could break if she fell over. Maybe it was because of all those years staying indoors because of her health, or because she had never been to a school like the one Eevie went to. It made you tough, scared and wise, and she had never had any of that. It must be quite a shock to come into such a new place and meet people you had never seen before, all alone. Eevie almost longed for it, to see somewhere new, instead of the same surroundings that she had gotten so used to. No wonder her father missed the army so much, with all the travelling around. It must be so wonderful, being free.

Markus arrived downstairs first, almost falling over with shock when he saw Dayona, who was sitting next to Eevie looking as pale and excited as ever. She leapt up and quickly shook Markus’ hand, and Eevie saw how much smaller she was compared to him, him with his tallness and muscles because he was beginning to grow into a man, and her with her thinness in the extreme. He smiled and suddenly looked embarrassed that he was wearing nothing more than his underwear, and he quickly disappeared upstairs again and returned fully washed and dressed, though he had forgotten to brush his hair, that was all over the place as ususal.

“And what is Midniya doing this morning?” Brenna said lightly “Still asleep?”

“Looks like it,” Markus said “I could hear her snoring on my way down here,”

“Midni doesn’t snore!” Eevie said, but Markus was laughing, only kidding.

Midni soon strolled downstairs, looking as tired and as pale as ever. Her eyes widened when she saw the new person sitting at the table, and Dayona seemed slightly wary as she approached Midni to shake her hand. Markus was quite lean and tall, he also was quite strong, and could look quite intimidating if he wanted to, apart from his friendly hansom face that Dayona had obviously warmed to immediately, or she wouldn’t have shook his hand and greeted him like a new best friend.

Midni, on the other hand, was thin and willowy, her pale eyes bright and her skin pale, her hair long and black, and all of this put together made her look quite mysterious and intimidating, though Midni was always shyer than her brother when meeting strangers. She shook Dayona’s hand and quickly sat down beside Eevie, her closest friend, only murmuring a “nice to meet you,” before disappearing behind her curtain of dark hair. Dayona looked quite upset and wary as she sat down again, as anyone would be if they were met with Midni’s frosty greeting.

Brenna passed around the bread and glasses of milk, putting twice as much in front of Dayona than the others so a small mountain of food was on her plate in front of her. She peered around it nervously, wondering if she had to eat the whole thing. She looked quite worried until Brenna said “Oh, you don’t have to eat it all, sweetheart. But are looking a bit...thin. Didn’t my brother give you proper meals?”

“He did, but I never really like to eat much... I can’t really stomach much really. I don’t want to get fat,”

Markus and Midni gawped at her, and Eevie couldn’t stop herself doing it as well. Food was often scarce, you ate what you were given, no matter how much it was, as it was often uncertain when the next meal would be coming. There were children starving and hungry and even though Thornah’s job in the army had paid well and he was still getting money now the Barley family weren’t the richest people in the world, far from it. Brenna looked slightly confused for a moment, then Eevie saw a spark of anger appear in her grey eyes. But then she sighed and said politely, trying to control her outrage “well, eat as much as you can, Dayona,”

Dayona looked quite upset for a moment, clearly not understanding what she had said to make the room feel cold, and a silence that had followed her words. She had obviously grown up in a richer world than the place she was sitting in today, where you had the choice of eating or not. Why on earth would someone worry about their weight when they are thirteen? Eevie wondered, looking down at herself and realising she was no were near as thin as Dayona, but at least she was normal, naturally slender like Midni, but not to the extreme that Dayona was. Eevie then realised that Dayona was the weird one for thinking up such stupid ideas, not her.

“You won’t get fat if you eat breakfast, I-” Midni said, stopping herself before she called Dayona an idiot, which was a habit she had. Dayona didn’t look convinced, and didn’t say a word the whole time Markus, Midni and Eevie wolfed down the bread and milk, hungry as they always were in the mornings before a hard days work, and not touching any of her own. Eevie was starting to get annoyed now, as Brenna had baked that bread only the day before and it was the best tasting thing in the world, and all Dayona was doing was looking at it as if it was a huge slug slobbering over her plate. But she gave in soon enough, taking small bites and nibbles. When she swallowed she gasped “That is the most heavenly thing I have ever tasted!” So Brenna, obviously flattered, said “Why thank you! No one ever admires my cooking!”

“Yes we do!” Markus said, Midni and Eevie also glaring at her. Brenna chuckled and began washing the dishes, Eevie and her cousins helping her, Dayona a little too enthusiastically.

“Mind the plate!” Brenna yelled for the third time, as Dayona wasn’t holding them properly, as if it was too heavy for her. She was startled by Brenna’s voice and the plate tumbled out of her fingers, smashing onto the floor with a deafening crash.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Dayona cried, almost weeping. Eevie didn’t understand, she had dropped stuff millions of times before, and as her father always said don’t cry over spilt milk, or whiskey in his version, so Eevie was shocked to see Dayona clumsily picking up the broken pieces with tears in her eyes.

“Don’t worry about it, dear!” Brenna said, her face stunned as well. The last time Markus had dropped one of the cutlery he had whistled tunelessly and stared at a cobweb on the ceiling as he pushed the broken pieces under the side table with his foot. The pieces were still there, as a matter of fact. Eevie knelt down to help pick up the rest, smiling at Dayona and saying “Its fine. Don’t worry about it, I drop things all the time,”

“Believe me, she really does,” Midni smiled. Dayona looked up through her tears and said “Sorry. Just me being silly,”

For the next hour, Eevie, Midni and Markus showed Dayona around the cottage, and she was delighted with how light the place was, with its big windows letting in all the suns’ rays.

“Back home it was so much gloomier,” Dayona said “All the rooms were big and dark, with miserable paintings on the walls of people who looked like they were sucking on wasps. The house was left to Uncle Jimmy by his father, Brenna’s father, and apparently he was really boring and strict. Uncle Jimmy isn’t at all like that, he is so funny and kind, and he was so happy when he won all that money so he could travel, like he always wanted to do. I was too ill to go as well, though I would much rather have come here anyway, to meet you all.” She beamed at them “I know I’m ill a lot, but I really want to have fun this summer, see new things and everything. I’m really interested in flowers, though I never got to go outside much at home, as it rained almost every day and Uncle Jimmy didn’t want me catching a cold. Can we go and see the garden?” She added eagerly.

Eevie led Dayona back downstairs, after showing her the bedrooms. Dayona had already spent her first night in the guests’ bedroom, which was the smallest and cosiest of all the rooms, especially reserved for guests. They went outside and Eevie breathed in the refreshingly cool air, that cleared her sleepy head so she felt more awake and alive. Dayona immediately ran across the lawn, her bare feet slipping and sliding on the sodden grass, going over to the flowerbeds that were heavy with glittering raindrops and gazed at them all, her eyes full of awe.

“There so pretty!”

“I had to weed them all yesterday,” Eevie said “You can help me if you like, though its not very fun,”

“Id love to help! Shall I start now? Is that a weed? It doesn’t look like a weed, but it doesn’t have any flowers,”

“That one hasn’t bloomed yet,” Eevie said “And anyway, I thought you said you wanted to have fun this summer? I know, I’ll take you down to the woods with Markus and Midni, the bluebells would be out now and it will look dead pretty”

“Really! Id love to come. Are we going now? Should I bring anything?”

“Dayona!” Brenna yelled. Startled, Eevie and Dayona turned around. “Come back inside this instant! It’s too cold, and you are not even wearing any shoes!” Brenna said hysterically, beckoning for Dayona to come in. Dayona quickly ran inside, Eevie following. It wasn’t that cold, Eevie thought. Brenna let her run around the garden barefoot all the time, even if it had rained the night before.

When they went inside Brenna was already baking some more bread, the smell so overwhelmingly wonderful that Eevie stood there for a moment, breathing it in.

“So,” Brenna said “What are you lot doing today?

“We’re taking Dayona down to the woods to see the bluebells,” Eevie said, but quickly stopped when Brenna turned around with a look of horror on her face.

“You most certainly are not!”

“Why?”

“Because Dayona is not a well girl, Eevie! She can’t go off on one of your adventures, she’s too fragile!”

Eevie looked at Dayona, expecting her to be annoyed that Brenna spoke like she wasn’t in the room, but was surprised to see her looking quite normal, as if she was used to being talked about like that, like a frail old lady. Brenna seemed quite shocked that she had been so rude, and said to Dayona “You understand that you can’t go, don’t you? My brother wouldn’t at all be happy about you wandering off, especially into the woods. There are wolves and bears there, along many other things that I don’t care to think about”

“You don’t care when me and Markus go,” Eevie complained, raising one eyebrow.

“Well you’re used to it, you have been running off there with your cousins ever since you could walk, right under my nose. I can’t remember how many times I had to go looking for you, out of my mind with worry, and you were up a tree somewhere! Dayona simply can’t go with you, she is too ill!”

Dayona sat down at the table, looking glumly across the room. She must have been so excited, Eevie thought. She sat down next to Dayona and said “Don’t worry, when your feeling better well take you some other time,”

“Are you still going?” Dayona asked, her big pale blue eyes so sad. Eevie shook her head “No, we’ll stay here with you,”

Dayona smiled, but said “I don’t want to ruin your fun. You can bring me back some bluebells, I’ve never seen them before, well... only in books,”

This tugged at Eevie’s heart. Dayona was already turning into a prisoner all over again, and she looked sad, but her mouth was smiling, trying to hide her disappointment.

“Please, Brenna,” Eevie pleading “Well wrap Dayona up warm and we won’t climb any hills or anything, we’ll just go and see the bluebells, show her a bit of the village.”

Brenna didn’t look happy at all, and when Markus and Midni walked in, they looked from Eevie to Brenna to Dayona, trying to figure out what was going on.

“No, Eevie,” Brenna said sternly.

“But why? She’s fine, Dayona will be safe with us,”

“She is very tired from last night, having to travel all that way on her own. She really should still be in bed, with the curtains shut so she can rest,”

“But I’m not tired,” Dayona mumbled, staring at her hands in her lap.

“What’s going on?” Markus asked.

“Dayona wants to come and see the bluebells with us. They’ll be out now, but Brenna wont let her go,”

“Why?” Markus demanded, but Brenna shot him a sharp look so he stopped talking, knowing if he annoyed her too much she would start screaming.

“As I have just explained,” Brenna said in an exasperated voice “Dayona is too ill and fragile. It is dangerous in those woods,”

“You never stopped us going when we were young,” Midni said “You let us go all the time,”

“I didn’t have a choice! You all ran off when I wasn’t looking!” Brenna yelled hysterically, her face going red. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stop herself before she went into full-blown rant. Eevie and the others watched her closely, eyeing up the exits incase she really did blow up.

“Fine,” she snapped “Take her with you. But you are not to be gone more than a few hours, understood? And if anything happened, like she doesn’t feel well, bring her strait home. Take lots of food and water, don’t go drinking from the streams again,”

“I only did it because they dared me to!” Markus grinned.

“And I want you home by noon,”

“Noon? But it will take at least two hours to get there,” Markus said.

“No it wont,” Eevie said, confused “I only takes us an hour,”

“But we normally run part of the way, and Brenna doesn’t want Dayona to die of falling over all the many coats she will insist upon her wearing, will she?” Markus said. He and Midni sat down, and Dayona smiled at them.

“Well, you had all better hurry up and get changed. Or maybe Dayona should stay behind today... get some rest. She can go with you all tomorrow,” Brenna said.

“NO” Eevie said “She’s coming with us now, aren’t you Dayona?”

Dayona beamed at her, happy tears in her eyes. She hurriedly wiped them away and followed Eevie, Markus and Midni upstairs, as Midni and Eevie were still in their night things and Markus had only just realised he hadn’t brushed his hair. Eevie waited outside the door as Midni got changed (she was a very weirdly private person) and Eevie occupied herself with staring at a cobweb Markus had missed the day before, dancing in the breeze from the open window. It was starting to get warmer now, the air still moist and cool from the thunderstorm from last night but the clouds beginning to thin, so the sun could peep through the greyness occasionally and shine its glorious cool rays on the land.

When Midni stepped out of the door, wearing her black dress that made her look even more mysterious, she groaned and said “There are puddles everywhere, I got my socks soaked on my way to the door. I’m sorry but I knocked your jumper on the floor, so it’s a bit wet,”

Eevie went inside and saw her jumper on a coat hanger, dripping wet. Midni bit her lip and said “You can borrow one of mine,”

“No, I’ll ask Markus if he has something,” Eevie sighed. The jumper was too small for her anyway, because she had grown so fast in the past year. She had once been the smallest in the family, but in the past few months she had grown painfully so she was level with Midni now, who had always been a few inches taller when they were growing up. Eevie quickly mopped up most of the puddles and got changed into one of her dresses, a pale cream one that had a simple charm that made her like it so much. It was starting to get to small for her as well, the sleeves reaching past her elbows and the bottom of the dress at her knees, but she didn’t mind. She then went across the landing and knocked on Markus’ door.

“Come in,” he said. She stepped inside the bright, airy room, were Markus was looking in the mirror and trying the flatten his hair, except it kept springing back up again when he removed his hand.

“You try, it won’t stop being bouncy,” Markus complained, and Eevie laughed at her cousins annoyed face and went over to help. He smiled and said “Here you go, do your worst,”

He passed her a brush and Eevie tried to combe the hair into place, but it just wouldn’t stop being so thick and brown, flopping into his eyes all the time. Eevie then tried tipping some water onto it and flattening it, but it just stayed springy and now wet.

“Hey, that water is going down my back!” Markus said, shivering. Eevie giggled and said “Come on, lets go. Oh, wait, I need to borrow some of your clothes,”

“Well I can hardly call them my clothes any more, can I? You were them more than I do! You need to stop growing, Eevie. Turn back into that little squirt I used lean my arm on,”

He tried to lean his elbow on her head like she was a fence or something, but she had grown so much that he couldn’t do it anymore. He ruffled her hair and said “You know where my clothes are,” and Eevie went over to his chest of draws and pulled out a sweater, that was too big for Markus.

“What is this doing I here?” Eevie asked, taking a sniff at the material. Of course. It smelled of cigarettes and whiskey.

“That’s Uncle Thornah’s draw. His wardrobe is broken, isn’t it, so he put his stuff in there before he left”

Eevie nodded, stuffing the seater back into the draw and pulling out one of Markus’ jackets, that was crumpled and was too long for Eevie’s arms.

“That thing swamps you,” Markus said.

“I like it, Its so warm,” Eevie said, standing in front of the mirror and twirling around.

“Well, the sooner I get my clothes back, the better,” Markus laughed “Lets go,”

They went downstairs and found Dayona standing in the kitchen, looking like she daren’t move incase she fell over because Brenna had made her put on five massive thick wool coats, all swamping her and trailing along the ground behind her, her small head poking out of the top of the heavy coats so all you could see was her pale hair and forehead.

“She can’t go like that, Brenna,” Midni said, who was sitting at the table gulping down some tea, still looking exhausted.

“I can’t breath,” a muffled voice said from within the wool.

“Maybe five is too many,” Brenna muttered, who was looking at Dayona worriedly, clearly not wanting to take any chances incase a sudden blizzard swept through the forest, even though that was extremely unlikely, since it was May.

“One coat will do,” Eevie said “One of the shorter ones that doesn’t drag on the ground,”

“Oh alright,” Brenna mumbled angrily “I still don’t think this is a good idea, with Dayona in her condition,”

“What condition?” Midni said grumpily “Stop talking about her as if she is about to break any moment. She’ll be fine with us Brenna, we can take care of ourselves,”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” Brenna said “You three think your so grownup, but you are still children in my eyes, and it is my duty to take care of all of you. Now,” Brenna pulled the coats off Dayona, who had been wobbling dangerously for several minutes and when the coats were removed she gasped for air.

“I have packed you some food,” Brenna said “and I don’t want you to just leave the basket out there once you’ve eaten it all. I still haven’t got back the four others that you lost in those wretched woods. And I need you to pick up some supplies from the village,”

“Like what?” Markus asked.

“Just the usual - milk, sugar, meat. It won’t take you long. Oh, and I also want some beef to make a steak tonight,”

“Steak? But that costs a fortune!” Markus said, looking at Brenna as if she were mad.

“It’s a special occasion, with Dayona arriving,” Brenna looked at Dayona warmly “She is part of our family now,”

“Right. So how much beef are we talking about?” Markus said.

“Just ask Lenny, he’ll know,” Brenna said, giving him the money. Markus put the coins carefully in his wallet, and then in the inside pocket of his jacket. Midni went and got the basket full of food (“how much have you put in here, Bren! It weighs a ton!”) And Eevie put on her boots, that were the only shoes that actually fitted her at the moment. After Dayona was forced to wear a large heavy coat, that could fit another three people inside, they stepped outside in the morning sunshine and made their way across the garden, Brenna waving them goodbye with a anxious expression, as if she would rather have not let them go.

“Take care now!”

“Ok. We’ll be back at six, alright?” Markus called.

“Don’t be so cheeky!” Brenna scolded, seeing Markus laughing “No later than noon, you here me?”

“Fine, fine...” Markus reassured her.

This chapter was so so long.... personally i like the next part best, so its part 2