Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 5)

"It seems he was the wise man of the village, then?"

"Yeah," Ky nodded. "We didn't really have an official, but everyone listened to Mr. Myrond and made him deal with the soldiers when the governor sent them with messages, but he couldn't read so he'd bring the letters to Papa and he'd read it to them and they'd discuss and figure out what to do. He was also the..." Ky hesitated. Papa wouldn't like this part of the new-Ky. She wasn't bought in, at least not fully, like he would have wanted for her. "He wasn't a religious leader per se, but he knew a lot about the Holy Book and used to go around town reading it to whoever wanted to hear. I started doing it for him after he got paralyzed, but people would always go to him if they had any questions about it or needed help to stop fighting with their spouse."

"A man of many talents and roles, then. That's a fascinating way to be, for certain."

"He knew a lot about a lot," she agreed with a nod. She was bragging at this point. She knew she was. She knew she needed to stop. And yet praise for Papa just spewed out of her like a spout with no valve. "He was merchant's son when he was growing up, then had to learn how to be a farmer after he met Mama and then had to learn to be a basketweaver after he got hurt. It was a lot. But he was good at everything."

Gaius raised an eyebrow; he'd heard no mention of Ky's mother before. "What was your mother like?" Was he putting pressure on a sore spot? Almost definitely. But he was curious; he wanted to know more about his niece, and a mother seemed an odd thing to leave out. Though he couldn't be one to judge on that front.

She visibly deflated. "...I don't know. She died giving birth to me so I never met her." She was silent for a moment, unwilling to kill the mood like she'd already done so many times. "But Papa said she was the most beautiful woman on the planet and very kind and gentle and funny and that she loved animals and that she would have liked me very much because I was a lot like her, apparently, back when I was... when I wasn't like I am now..." Broken. "And she was also good at everything, according to him. He always said she was twice as good as he could ever be, which I can't really imagine really, but I think she must have been really great, too, if Papa loved her so much."

"She sounds like she was a marvelous woman," Gaius said gently. "I'm sure what your Papa says is true. You seem to have had a wonderful family back in the South."

She smiled sadly. She really had. It stung that she didn't have it anymore. But, then, she also had a wonderful family here in the North. She needed to keep reminding herself of that as often as it took until her reflex was to brag about the Loquiturs as much as she bragged about Mama and Papa.

"I really did," she agreed with a nod, then hesitated. "I mean... Papa's family were jerks. Papa said that Mama's parents took him in like a son and were truly wonderful before they passed away -- but I never met them, either. But Papa was amazing -- and he was usually right about things -- so I imagine Mama and her parents were as great as he said."

"That sounds remarkably similar to what Sara and Anneke's families did for me and Tomhas," Gaius replied. "I expect your grandparents were excellent people."

Ky nodded in agreement. "I'm sure Mama's parents were. The stories I've heard of them make them seem very kind -- which makes sense, given how gentle I'm told Mama was."

She'd never met Papa's parents, either, but she disliked them strongly. She didn't have any idea whether they were still alive or not, but they wanted nothing to do with her and the feeling was mutual. She didn't know how to reconcile how wonderful Papa was with how terrible his family was.

"Gentle people often beget gentle people, in my experience." Though how Tomhas had turned out so sweet was still a mystery to Gaius.

Ky nodded. She certainly hoped she wasn't going to be the one to ruin that streak. She'd been so close to carrying the legacy to a third generation and having the potential to nurture it into a fourth, and now she was, just... she sighed softly. Broken. She'd broken the good thing that they had going.

Gaius glanced at her, brow furrowed. She seemed melancholic again. Had he said something wrong? Or was it simply her natural state of being?

Or, she supposed, Aleth had broken it. Broken her. Ruined everything like he always did. Even now. He continued to ruin her life from the grave. And he was never going to stop. The bastard was going to follow her around every moment of her entire life until either she or the gods sent her away from this world. She hoped it would be soon. Hoped—

She glanced at Gaius and saw his expression and realized he’d been eavesdropping on her thoughts. Again. It made her feel guilty— but then the guilt morphed into annoyance. Who was he, to tell her what she was allowed to think? Allowed to feel?

“I’m allowed to think about it,” she said sourly. Her arm and her heart both ached entirely too much for her to care how disrespectful that had been. He was being the rude one by trying to police her thoughts. “You’re the one who said I could feel however I want.”

"Pardon?" Gaius blinked, startled. "Forgive me; you looked upset. I didn't say you couldn't be; I was just concerned I'd misspoken."