Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 4)

"I'll check!" Tasia shouted, sprinting towards it.

Aashi stood politely next to one of the bookshelves, watching. Tadaaki stood next to her, hand on her back. The books meant nothing to either of them. They knew fully well they contained magic they could only imagine. But there was no point in reminding themselves of the fact they had no idea how to read.



"He was so confused," Zander said. "He didn't know where he was or who had you or what the hell was going on. Just that you were being hurt."

Ky cringed, sobering. "Yeah..."

"Aleth, was, ah, well-connected," Ky said carefully.

"I knew what Aleth was," Zander said. He'd had run-ins with the bastard in the past. Aleth had an annoying habit of getting in his way. "I mean, I didn't know he was a rapist. And I didn't know he had you... but I know what he was. He had a wide network."

Ky nodded. "So, ah, Aleth wanted to threaten me into submission and, ah, well..." She dropped her gaze. "I didn't mean to. But he hurt me and I caved and told him about our township."

"Which wasn't your fault, at all," Zander said firmly. He hid it well, but he was getting increasingly agitated. Ky had a high pain tolerance; and an insanely strong loyalty to her papa and her friends. She wouldn't have told a monster like Aleth unless he was really hurting her.

"Yeah, but, uh, he tried to get to Papa to threaten me, but, he, uh..." She glanced back up at him.

"I know," Zander said gently, softening as he looked at her. She sighed.

"Yeah, so Aleth brought Mr. Myrond instead and I... I kept lying." She flushed, embarrassed at her past actions. "And I lied and said I didn't know him. So Aleth decided he was going to lash him to test whether I knew him or not."

Zander's face twitched.

"And I couldn't just let that happen," Ky concluded. Obviously. "It was my own fault it'd gotten to that point--"

"Nothing about any of this is your fault," Zander interrupted.

"Well..." It was, whether he'd admit it or not. "Either way. Aleth said he was either going to whip me or kill Mr. Myrond, and I obviously couldn't let that happen, so, uh..."

Tomhas crossed his arms, grinning. One of his favorite things about kids was their capacity to learn and the ease with which they could do it. He marveled at the wonder in their eyes.

Tasia eagerly took a book off the shelf. "There's no bear on this one!" She looked up at Tomhas and held the book up for him to see.


Zander let out a breath, forcing himself to stay calm. Ky was going to shut down if she saw he was getting angry.

That was the exact kind of thing Ky would do. She was always so eager to throw herself squarely into taking the blame for things whether they were her fault or not. And raising the stakes...

"So you accepted your lashing," Zander concluded, feeling sick to his stomach. Myrond had said Ky volunteered to take the beating on his behalf, but there'd been a language barrier and Ky had refused to tell him what was going on that led to her taking his beating.

"Yeah..." Ky shrugged, blushing. "And then, well, ah... that's when Myrond told me about... uh... Papa."

"Gods," Zander breathed. What a terrible way to hear about your father committing suicide -- right after you'd gotten whipped because a monster was attacking your friend. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah. I mean..." Ky shrugged again. "But then, ah, after that, I got less stubborn. Because I knew Aleth could and would hurt people I cared about, if I didn't listen to him. So I started actually behaving myself."

"Keep looking," he suggested. "It has to be somewhere!"

"Okay!" Tasia eagerly began pulling books off the shelf to check if they had bears on them.

"Be gentle," Aashi reminded when she was getting too excited.

Tasia calmed a bit, and kept looking.



"Did he keep lashing you?" Zander asked, forcing himself to stay neutral. Non-judgmental.

"No." Ky shook her head, glad she could be honest about that. "That only happened once."

"But he kept beating you?"

"... yeah," she admitted.

"Did he do anything else?"

Ky rubbed her face. "I don't want to be doing this, Zander. Today is supposed to be happy and I'm already so stressed about everything and I don't want to think about Aleth or the past year."

Zander looked at her for a moment, then dipped his head. "I'm sorry. You're right."

So, that was a yes. He'd put a bookmark in that one. What else had the sick bastard thought up for her? What else was there to do to some after you'd raped and whipped and beaten them?

Tomhas walked over to Tadaaki and Aashi. "Hey there." He smiled.

"Hey." Tadaaki smiled and nodded to him. "Looks like we've got a reader in the works."



"So what are you most looking forward to?" Zander asked, deciding to humor her request to move on.

"For it to be over," Ky said with a sigh.

Zander laughed a little. "You used to love being the center of attention."

She sobered. "... I don't like it anymore."

Zander watched her, heart breaking a little more. Gods, why hadn't been able to find her? He should have put the pieces together from what Myrond told him... okay, that was unreasonable -- Myrond could only describe a brunette with glasses and a spiteful sneer. It wasn't much to go off.

"It's good to let people celebrate you," Zander said gently. "Think of it as a birthday."

Ky smiled sadly. "I haven't had one of those in a while, either."

"Seems so." Tomhas grinned. "She'll be a quick learner, I can already see. And I bet you will be as well, if you want."

Tadaaki blushed a little and smiled. "I hope so. Reading's never been too important to me, but now I want to learn just to spite him... and to be able to help Tasia. I really do want her to have the right skills to become anything she could possibly want. And I feel like reading is a huge step in the right direction."



"Oh, Ky..." Zander said helplessly, sighing as he looked at her. This was all his fault. He'd tried his best to get her back -- but his best hadn't been enough. And one of the people he loved most in the entire world had suffered because of his incompetence. He'd never forgive himself.

"It's okay." Ky shook it off, forcing herself to smile. To push down the negative feelings. "It ain't no thang."

"It very much is a 'thang'," Zander argued. "And I'm going to spoil you absolutely rotten for your sweet sixteen."

Ky laughed.

"Just you wait," Zander said. He had no idea what he was going to do -- and he was trying to stay playful now -- but he wasn't joking. Tomhas probably lavished more gifts on his children than Zander ever possibly could -- but he'd sure add to whatever Tomhas wanted to give her. Maybe he would take her on a trip -- she'd seemed eager for that one. "I'll blow your mind."

"Can't wait," Ky said with a grin. "I really don't need gifts, though. You just being here is enough. The adoption is enough. I don't need all these gifts people keep wanting to give me."

"Mm... just let people do nice things for you," Zander said gently. Yet another change between the old Ky and this new anxious model. She used to get so excited for presents he brought her. He'd brought her one this time that was going to hit her in the feels. He wasn't sure when he should bestow it on her. Now? After the ceremony? "It's a small way we can prove we love you."

That made Ky feel weird. Did the Loquiturs love her? The Ashes? That felt like a strong word. Like... well, she did love them. But it felt too soon to say that. "I already know you do. I don't need proof."

"You're a crow, Ky," Zander said with a little smile. "We both know you collect little trinkets that remind you of people and then fiddle with them over and over again as often as you miss the person."

Ky hesitated. She certainly did use to be like that. It'd been so long since she'd been allowed to own anything. She certainly didn't have any special items these days. Tomhas and Anneke gave her everything she could ever possibly want -- but they weren't keepsakes. Perhaps this ceremony would change that.

Maybe the gift-giving wouldn't be all bad after all. She didn't know how to accept gifts without feeling awkward. But maybe this would give her things that were special. A connection between her and her new family.

"It's a useful skill," he pointed out. "Even if you don't read very often. If you need to write a letter or something to communicate, it's especially important."

"That's very true," Tadaaki agreed. "It'll be nice to have someone in town who can read. We occasionally get edicts from the Official over our township and no one can read them, so we have to trust a paraphrase from the messenger. It's frustrating."


Fuck it. They were alone now. He'd just give her the gift in private. He knew there'd be a ceremony later and maybe it'd be more politically correct to bestow it upon her then alongside the rest of the family. But this was going to be a special moment. Something between Ky and her old family.

"Speaking of gifts..." Zander pulled a pouch out from his pocket. "Here."

"I think you're supposed to wait for later," Ky said hesitantly.

Zander shook his head slightly. "They don't need to be a part of this gift."

Ky hesitated another moment, then took it from him. There was a hard box inside. She slowly pulled it out. It took her a moment to process what she was looking at. It was a small weaved wooden box, maybe two hands-width across and one wide.

It was good quality. The weaving was tight. Flawless. It looked like Papa's -- her stomach fluttered. Was it? It couldn't be. Her throat felt tight as she slowly unraveled the twine securing the lid.

The inside of the box was reinforced with actual wood, not just the weaving. The inside of the lid had a dragonfly burnt into the wood. She knew that dragonfly. She'd drawn the picture for Papa when she was probably no older than five or six, but he'd insisted on keeping it nailed to the wall above his bed to the day she was taken. It was exactly the same one -- the same shaky lines, the stupid smile she'd added.

And below it, in Papa's handwriting, also burnt into the wood: Forever and always ♥️

She burst into tears.

Spoiler

"In my experience you should be careful trusting a messenger," Tomhas said gravely. "There was one in my wife's village, who had a rather short career. He tried to insert a tax to be delivered to messengers in one edict and everybody paid him until the Reeve found out."

(hahah :') h e a r t b r e a k e r)

"Yeah... it makes all of us uneasy, that's for sure," Tadaaki agreed with a nod. "Not to mention then we have to try to remember what they said and what it all meant. There are always so many words on the letters, and none of us know what they say."



So many emotions crashed into Ky at once. Zander stood and then sat down on the couch next to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She kept the box clutched close to her chest with her left arm but wrapped her right wrapped around him tightly as she sobbed into his chest.

There was something left from Papa. He'd made this. His hands had touched this wood. His mind had designed this especially for her. His heart had perceived what would mean the most to her.

Forever and always. Her sobbing redoubled. That was their phrase. Their phrase. Papa never liked the 'love you more' game -- instead, they shared that phrase together. They loved each other more than life itself -- forever and always. She was more than his sunshine -- she was his moon and his stars, too. Forever and always. That's what he said to her. Every single night. Forever and always.

(Oh my god this poor baby)

"Yes, exactly! It's impractical and inconvenient, not to mention designed to keep you all compliant. It's shameful."

(haha I was planning to have something like this in cannon but couldn't figure out what -- but I think I'll keep this haha)

Tadaaki nodded vigorously. It was refreshing for a noble to recognize how utterly infuriating they could be to the peasants like Tadaaki and his family and Ky. That their lives mattered too and were made so much harder by stunts like these. "I couldn't agree more!



"I miss him," she gasped.

"I know." Zander held her even closer. "I know you do."

"I loved him so much," she wailed, clinging to him.

"He loved you just as much," Zander promised. "Maybe more."

They sat for several long, slow minutes before Ky could get herself under control -- she was falling to pieces just murmuring how much she loved and missed him, with Zander assuring her that he'd felt the same way about her.

She finally pulled away from him slightly, swallowing hard and sniffling, trying to get herself put back together. She wiped her face with her right hand, then realized there was something inside the box.

A pendant with a thin leather string.

She pulled it out and looked down at it. Papa had carved this one, too. He didn't do that professionally, but he liked to whittle for fun. He'd made her plenty of toys when she was little -- and as she grew, he started making toys for the other little kids in town.

But this was his work. No doubt about it. It was a little crescent moon on the left, with a sun carved to right, and stars scattered around them. Her fingers brushed across the back and she felt something else was carved in the back: You are more ~Papa

She dissolved into a puddle of tears again.