Spring crept into summer and fall arrived. Before I realized, a year had passed. I grew taller and filled out a little, feeling more like a young woman than a gawky teenager.
My application to attend school was sent off, but even that wasn’t without conflict. Scylla and my father didn’t agree, and the one quick trip he made home from Jerusalem during that time to deal with it was disappointing. I barely saw him.
My father did win out on the choice of schools, but the delayed documents had yet to arrive. Scylla wouldn’t tell me more. I wondered if she just didn’t bother to follow through.
I settled into my new routine—doing my chores, avoiding Judd and my stepmother, spending quiet time with the animals, and enjoying long talks with Daniel when he wasn’t taking care of Nathan. That was his main duty, but often when he was in the field watching the sheep, I’d join him.
It had now been a long time since my father had been home. Did he love me? If so, how could he stay away for so many months that now stretched into more than a year?
It was evening time, and I had just returned with water from the well. Scylla called me into her private quarters. I set down the pail and walked past Nathan, who sat alone on the bench, rocking and crying.
Scylla’s voice was sharp. “Sit over there.”
I grabbed the bench and plopped down on the edge. What was percolating in that dark mind of hers?
“How dare you dishonor your father’s name, after all he’s done for you?”
“What are you talking about?” I looked around, embarrassed for anyone to hear.
Scylla held a drink in her hand and swayed as she addressed me. Her bloodshot eyes bore into me. “You know what you did. I thought you were a lady. You’re a tramp of the worst kind.”
“What?”
“Judd told me about you and Daniel.”
I stared at her. “What about Daniel? What are you talking about?”
“All the time you spend in the cave, sneaking in when no one is around. He said Daniel has made you crazy. He hears you talking in there, nonsense stuff, as if you could talk to the animals. We know Daniel came from the asylum, and he needs to go back there. I dismissed him this morning.”
“You what?”
“I told him to pack up his stuff and leave. We don’t need a lunatic like that around here.”
“I thought you liked Daniel.”
She ignored me. “Do you know what they do to a woman with loose morals?”
She didn’t wait for me to answer. “I know you’re from a distant country, but here they stone girls. Is that what you want?”
I shook my head.
“Word is out about you. I’d hate to see your splattered body sprawled out on the road. It would destroy your father’s reputation, cost him his job, and my inheritance—unless Judd gets it first. If I have my way, that won’t happen. I need to protect you. From now on, you’ll stay where I can see you.”
“Judd gets what?”
She didn’t answer me.
I had no idea what she was talking about. So Judd convinced her I was a tramp even though Daniel had never once been alone with me. Even in the cave, he always insisted the door be open—probably why Judd overheard too much.
Scylla wanted to lock me up, as if I were a bird in a cage. I bet she’d get rid of me if I weren’t Brutus’s daughter. “Where is Daniel?”
“He’s gone back to the loony house where he belongs.”
“You mean to Doctor Luke?”
She eyed me suspiciously. “How do you know him?”
I ignored her question. “What about Nathan?”
Scylla waved her hand in the air. “Judd can take care of him.”
“Like he took care of the animals?” Though Daniel refused to admit it, I knew Judd’s care was just short of abusing them.
Scylla clumsily set down her drink and stomped her foot. “I’ll not let you talk to me like that.”
I fidgeted with the egg I still kept in my pocket.
“You can’t even start school next week. The school rejected your application until we obtain your complete records, which your mother has refused to release. Doesn’t matter. I heard you were a lousy student anyway.”
“I could study here on my own,” I offered.
“If you were motivated enough. Your father is attempting to get an exception—he has the clout, he just doesn’t have the time to meet with the school officials.”
“Are you done?” I asked.
“As done as I’ll ever be.”
I walked to the door. Nathan sat on the bench with tears streaming down his face. Why didn’t I ask Daniel more questions about my brother? How much did Nathan know? Without a way to communicate, his thoughts would remain a mystery.
I slid over on the bench and hugged him. Did my father care about Nathan? Scylla would never send word about how upset he was. Nathan must have overheard Scylla talking with Daniel when she fired him.
Could my brother become violent if driven to exasperation? He was an annoyance to me when I first arrived, the guttural sounds he uttered because he couldn’t talk. Now I squeezed his hand to comfort him.
I could feel Scylla’s presence behind me, her fiery eyes spewing bullets into my back.
I whispered. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Nathan.”
He nodded.
After climbing the stairs, I paused—the dark memory returned and taunted me again.
Collapsing on the bed, I pulled the blanket up around my shoulders. Even though I wasn’t cold, I couldn’t quit shivering. Would I ever see Daniel again? Why hadn’t he said good-bye?
I took out the two golden nuggets from underneath the covers and examined them. How much were they worth? Even these couldn’t buy what I wanted—to see Daniel one last time and escape from my imprisonment. Where was the king in all of this?
The curse—that was it. I hated Judd. I conjured up images of knocking him down those stairs that haunted me. How could I get back at him?
I turned over the golden nuggets in my hand. Even in the dark light of the moon, their beauty transcended the shadows. Were they beautiful because they were valuable? No, it had to be more than that. They came from the king’s garden, and that was what made them beautiful. I could use them for money and run away—maybe start a new life.
And leave the animals here? I wanted to see my father one more time. If I ran away, I might never see Daniel, whom I fancied I loved, again.
I returned the golden nuggets to their safekeeping in the folds of the blankets. I couldn’t leave. I needed to say good-bye to Daniel. I arose, walked over to the table, and picked up the sheet of papyrus on which I’d been writing. I began today’s entry:
“Dear Dog, why did you put me in this hole in the wall? What do you want from me? Why did you give me such a hateful stepmother? If it weren’t for Daniel and the animals, I’d be beside myself with grief. Please show me what to do. Show me you care.”
I stood and peered out the small window. Where was the king of the garden? Did he return to his own kingdom, or was he still out there? The hills spread out on the horizon as far as I could see.
No, I wouldn’t leave. I wouldn’t give up. I would sneak down to the cave at night and visit the animals when Judd was asleep. It wasn’t like me to give up so easily. Besides, there was no way I’d leave without seeing Daniel one last time.
I composed more words from my thoughts as I walked back to the table:
“Dear Dog, you must have a sense of humor. Who else would send me back in time to meet a rabbit, a dog, a pig, and a donkey? To a land where a powerful king roams like a pauper and a handsome young man has smitten me with love. So I’ve met my father, but what about you? Don’t leave me here.”
Chapter 21
WORLDLY CROW – FRIEND OR FOE