| Iced Over, part 4 |
| It was only 3 o'clock, but the sky had already turned to gray. Martie's stomach grumbled angrily as she held the meat over the fire. Oscar had, with some assistance from a huge axe, brought down a door for firewood. They had speared the somewhat slimy deer meat with the pokers and were now scorching it. Oscar moodily tossed another chunk of splintered wood into the fire. "Hey, Os?" Martie pulled her poker out of the fire and turned to the boy next to her. "Why do you live wit' your Uncle, 'stead of your parents?" He scowled. "Why should I tell you? I dunno your story, so why should you know mine?" "Fine, ya wanna know my story?" Martie waited for a response, and when none came, she continued. "I don' mind tellin' ya, but I'm gonna need a bit ta get me words together." Oscar just stared into the fire. Martie sighed and began gnawing on her meat. }}i{{ BACK AT THE LODGING HOUSE }}i{{ "If those apes do anything to Anita and Martie..." Snoddy was in a rage. "She's the only family I've got in this blasted country! I'll murder those fools!" "Calm down, wouldja, Snod?" Pip exclaimed. "Martie's a big girl, she can take care a herself an' Anita jus' fine." "Yeah, an' she does throw a mean hook." Hart laughed. "Remember the time she hauled off an' walloped Skit right in the kisser?" Skittery yelped. "Hey, shut up! That wasn't funny, I wasn't expectin' it, a'right?" "S'okay, Skit. Remember, cuz I had ta fix your kisser..." Hart grinned at him. "A'right youse two, get a room!" Hack swooped his hands between them. "Listen, Snoddy, I don' like dem two goons any moah den you do. Dey nevah gave me back my hat, an' I'se pretty mad about that. But, even wit' their shoes on, those two know dat the two a dem is less than... umm... well, less than all a us!" Snoddy nodded and shrugged. "Any a youse, uh, wantin' some food? 'S near about 6 o'clock." Kloppman cringed as the noisy group tromped down the stairs to the dining room. "Guess that was a yes..." }}i{{ }}i{{ Oscar dumped a bucketful of snow onto the fire. It hissed and spat, but quickly went out. He tossed the bucket aside with a clang, and went to lay beside Martie. Already, the room was dark and cold, like a tomb. "So you want me to tell you my story." Martie spoke quietly. "Well, I've gotten my words together, so now you gotta listen." She exhaled and a dream-like cloud of air surrounded her words. "I was born in Ireland, the Emerald Isle. My parents, Kyle and Angela O'Graidy, fled when I was barely one, to escape religious oppression from the south. That's why I don't sound Irish. " I loved my parents. My father was tall, with dark hair and dark eyes, and a wonderful smile. He loved my mother and I with his whole heart, and he would play his fiddle, and we would dance. "My mother was beautiful, as well. She had red hair, and eyes as clear and as green as the sea. Her skin was smoother than rosepetals. She constantly smothered me with love, with hugs and kisses and the smallest of gifts, like wildflowers, and bits of ribbon. Some days, she would let me brush her hair. I would brush it and brush it until it was as soft as her voice. "That's what I loved most about my mother. Her voice was magical; it flew me to places on the Emerald Isle, and to Tiernanog, my favorite. It was always singing and laughing and telling me how much she loved me. Then she got sick. I was only 6. "I dunno what she had, nor why she was sick. All I knew was that her lungs had blood in them, and she couldn't breathe right. She always coughed, day and night, coughing. Then one night, as I was drifting off to sleep, she stopped. I saw her that night. She came to my room, all dressed in white, with her hair down and her eyes shining like the stars. She looked like the Lady of The Rogue Castle. She can to me, kissed my forehead, and stroked my hair. She said to me, ' Have no fear, my little one. I'm alright now, I've no more pain. But I canna stay. Always remember, I will take care of you and love you with all me heart, wherever you go, and whatever you do. I love you, Airen...' "Then, she was gone. And I heard a terrible sound come from her room. A strangled wail, like a soul that had lost all it had of any worth. I got up and looked in. My da' was kneeling beside her, sobbing. I didn't know why he was so upset. He stood up, still shaking with his tears, put on his hat and jacket, and left. "I sat beside my dead mother and sang to her. I sang the story of the Leirtein Faeries who ruled the Isle long before mortals ever appeared." Martie paused and wiped her eyes. Oscar started, "That... that's real--" "It's not done yet..." |
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