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Chapter 21: A Den of Traitors
🕑 Added 2025-06-23 13:49:46 +0000 UTCWhile Rylan was a little more distracted during his shift than usual, he managed to keep most of his attention on the food he was preparing. He’d written his letter and had asked one of the busboys to drop it off at Leahna’s workplace—if only to keep it away from their nosy father. He’d sown his rice, now he was just going to let the crops sprout where they may.
That didn’t stop his stomach from twisting at the thought of his sister reading his words. Rylan just hoped Artoran had been right, and that he hadn’t made a fool of himself...
By the time his shift was over, he was thus a little more tired than usual, and considering going to bed early. However, as he stepped out of the kitchen, he was met by Fylsa.
“That girl is here again!” she whispered, seeming significantly less excited than last time as she indicated the door to the little side room with her thumb. “Says she received your letter and wants to see you?”
Rylan blinked. ‘Arphin!’ he sent upstairs. ‘Weren’t you supposed to be looking out for Leahna?!’
[Hmm? Oh! Sorry, Boss! Izzy and I were just—Nooo, stop that!] Arphin laughed. [I’m getting dizzy, Izzy!]
Shaking his head, Rylan focused back on Fylsa, who was pouting at him a little.
“So...” she drawled. “Should I be congratulating you?”
“Ehm... actually, that’s my sister,” Rylan said, deciding it was probably prudent to head off any weird gossip.
He’d previously taken Fylsa aside to inform her that, while he appreciated her attention, he currently wasn’t looking for any form of romance, and hoped they could remain friends.
She had taken it quite gamely. She also hadn’t stopped flirting with him in the slightest, seeming to find his reactions quite amusing.
Fylsa’s mood immediately seemed to improve. “Well, it’s clear you both come from good stock; she’s so pretty!”
“Thanks,” Rylan replied dryly. “Now if you’ll excuse me...”
“Of course, of course!”
With some trepidation, he opened the door and entered the small room. Leahna was standing next to the other entrance, and smiled the moment she saw him.
Rylan felt a smile creeping onto his own face as well. Reaching up to scratch his neck, he walked up to her. “So. I take it you got my letter.”
“I did,” she replied, before biting her lip. “Did you mean all that?”
Rylan nodded.
Glancing up and blinking a few times, Leahna let out a sigh. Her eyes looked suspiciously wet. “I’m sorry. I’ve been a clodpoll too.”
“You haven’t,” Rylan promised, shaking his head. “Or, well... no more than was warranted by the circumstances. Either way, it’s fine. Consider it fog under the bow, because I really do want to start over.”
“It’s not fine,” Leahna said brusquely. “But we’ll just have to make up for lost time. Because I want to get to know you, too.”
Even if he expected as much at this point, hearing her actually say it suffused his chest with a warm feeling.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, glancing at the door to the bar where he strongly suspected Fylsa was listening in again. “Well... would you like to see my loft?”
Happy as Rylan was with his spacious loft apartment, there was one thing he hadn’t accounted for when he invited his sister up.
Since Arphin and Izzy had been playing again, it looked like a small tornado had blown through, with pillows, blankets, and sheets of paper strewn about the floor.
Seeing the mess, he let out a quiet groan.
“What happened here?” Leahna asked in shock. “Have you been burgled?! Wait... why is there a floating... is that the runegear you told us about?”
[Uh... sorry Boss!] Arphin sent, slowly spinning through the air, with Izzy right next to him. At least the inquisitive spirit had stopped creating more chaos at the moment, and seemed to just be observing.
Rylan sucked on his teeth, then made a decision. “It’s fine, I’ll explain in a second,” he said, ushering her in and securely closing the door behind them. “Would you like a drink?”
He settled his bewildered sister on the couch with a mug of fresh mint water, and sat down next to her with a sigh.
“So... I’m going to share something with you,” he said at last. “Before I do, however, I need you to understand that this is one of my best-kept secrets, and that I’m not sharing it with you lightly. You can’t tell anyone about this, all right?”
Leahna stared at him wide-eyed. “Not even Dad?”
Rylan cocked his head to the side. “I suppose he can know, too. But I’d like to tell him myself, if you don’t mind.”
“So you’re sharing this with me first?” Leahna asked, sounding pleasantly surprised. “Well, what is it?”
“It’s two things, actually, or rather, two beings that I’d like you to meet.”
As he said that, Rylan lifted his hand and tugged on Arphin’s node. In an instant, the blade disappeared with a pop, and reappeared in his hand.
[Oh boy oh boy, this is awesome!] Arphin ranted. [I’m so stoked we get to meet your family, Boss!]
‘Me too, Arphin.’
“So,” Rylan said, flipping the blade and offering it to Leahna, who hesitantly accepted it. “This is Arphin. He’s actually not just a runegear, but a spiritgear.”
Leahna’s mouth fell open, as Arphin excitedly vibrated in her hand twice. “You’re kidding me, I... wait, I hear something. Is he... is he talking to me?!”
Rylan perked up. “Arphin, are you trying to talk her? I didn’t know you could do that!”
[Yeah, I’ve been practising communicating with Izzy!] the blade sent proudly. [I’ve been waiting to try it on another human!]
“Nice job, bud,” Rylan said with a smile, before turning to the yellow blob in question, who was hovering a little hesitantly in the room. “Would you like to introduce yourself as well? Leahna’s very nice—well, she can be...”
“Hey!” Leahna protested. “I was nothing but polite! Also, who are you...” She blinked as Izzy brushed by her, sending some of her long hairs fluttering. “Huh?”
“And that’s Izzy,” Rylan said fondly. “She’s a little wind spirit that kinda imprinted on me when I became a Quinthar. She’s been following me around and helping out ever since, even though it took me a while to notice.”
“You befriended a spirit?” Leahna asked, flabbergasted.
Rylan shrugged. “It kinda just happened. She’s a little shy, and she doesn’t really speak the way Arphin does, but she loves sharing her experiences if you ask about them.”
“Ehm, all right. Did you... have a nice day, Izzy?”
Hearing her name, Izzy darted back in, seeming a little more confident. She stretched out a little yellow pseudopod towards Leahna’s chest, and touched the dim white light within.
Leahna blinked rapidly. “Oh, wow. So you watched him write my letter... Oh, not that one? Wait, are some of these papers on the floor failed drafts?”
She reached for one that was right in front of the couch, but Rylan was faster, and snatched it away.
“Ignore those!” he said quickly, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks. “They’re not drafts, just, uh, grocery lists and stuff.”
Leahna narrowed her eyes at him, a smirk tugging on her lips. “Are they now?”
“Yup.”
A slight breeze picked up another sheet of paper and blew it straight into Leahna’s hands.
Izzy, you traitor!
“Liar!” she cheered triumphantly. “It says ‘Dear sister’ at the top! Wait, are these all drafts?!”
Rylan snatched it out of her hands. “Dad said you were peculiar about proper handwriting, all right?”
Leahna got up off the couch with a mischievous glint in her eyes, right as Izzy blew up another draft for her to grab and quickly skim. “Wow, I can see why you trashed this one!”
“That’s it!”
Rylan jumped up and chased after her, reaching for the paper. Shrieking with laughter, Leahna ducked under his arm and ran the other way, snatching up more drafts to critique.
“You misspelt ‘adequately’?”
“It’s not a word I use a lot, all right?!”
Truth be told, Rylan wasn’t trying too hard to catch up to Leahna as he chased her across the room. He didn’t accidentally want to hurt her and frankly, he was having too much fun, despite the ribbing he was getting.
Now this... this is what he’d imagined having a sibling might be like.
Despite the woven mats dampening the sound, running around on the floor of bamboo planks still produced quite a bit of noise, so after a minute or two, some thumps came from downstairs.
Panting lightly, Rylan slowed down on the opposite side of his bed. “Right. We should keep it down. My boss has a newborn. So if you could just hand those over now...”
“Or you could give up and let me read them,” Leahna retorted, teasingly wiggling the stack of letters just out of his reach. “Or better yet, let me keep them! I’m thinking of making a scrapbook...”
Narrowing his eyes, Rylan dove onto his bed and made a wild grab for the stack. Leahna tried to snatch them away, but she was too slow, and he managed to grab a fistful of paper with one hand.
They wrestled for control, but Leahna was frankly laughing too hard to really give it her all. After a short struggle, she gave in and surrendered her prize.
Triumphant, Rylan rolled off the bed and dumped the drafts in his paper bin where they belonged. And when Izzy playfully darted over to blow them out again, he shut the lid and put a heavy paperweight on top.
She quickly gave up, and returned to playing with Arphin.
Shaking his head, Rylan made his way back over to the couch where he sat down next to Leahna with an exaggerated sigh.
Ignoring her snickers, he took a moment to catch his breath.
After a while, she turned towards him. “Thank you,” she said softly. “For sharing this with me. I won’t tell a spirit.”
“I know,” Rylan replied with a smile.
Leahna seemed to hesitate for a moment, picking at some lint on her dress, before she glanced up at him again. “I’ve been thinking about what you wrote all afternoon. About never having had a family before. It sounds pretty lonely.”
Rylan scratched at his jaw, considering that. “I wasn’t that lonely. I did have friends. And I guess I was more sheltered and pampered than I knew.”
He considered leaving it at that, but found himself wanting to continue, to share a bit more.
“Having said that,” he continued slowly. “There was always this... gnawing, inside of me. I just kept wondering, why was I abandoned? Why didn’t my family, you know, want me? Learning that I wasn’t actually abandoned so much as hidden... well, it was a relief, really. But I guess it didn’t immediately undo all those years of pining, either.”
She nodded. “You deserved better. From the Thistlethorns as well as from me.”
Rylan shrugged. “It’s fine. To be honest, I wasn’t any more prepared to deal with your existence than you were with mine.”
“Still. I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
Leahna let out a sigh, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She seemed to be brooding on something, so Rylan gave her a moment, just watching quietly.
“You know,” she said eventually. “I was actually pretty lonely at times, growing up. Especially after... after mom passed. And believe it or not, one of the things I used to fantasise about a lot at the time, was what it would be like to have a sibling.”
Rylan sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “I did the same.”
“We’re a fine pair of clodpolls, aren’t we?”
“Well, I guess we know the source, our common factor,” Rylan joked.
Leahna smiled. “He really is a clodpoll, isn’t he? Getting both our moms pregnant at once...” She shook her head.
“Well,” Rylan said earnestly. “I’m glad he did.”
She glanced at him, her face pensive. “Are you really?”
His brows drew together. “What do you mean? Of course I am!”
“Well...” She shifted on the couch a little, seeming to be searching for words. “I overheard what you asked him, the first time you visited. About whether he would’ve married your mother if she’d gotten pregnant first.”
Rylan winced. “That’s not... I’m sorry about that, it was kinda tactless. I only wanted to know how he’d felt about Helen. I’m sure my life would’ve been very different if things had turned out that way, but I wouldn’t trade it for where I am now, let alone for your existence. I swear.”
Leahna seemed to relax a little at that, the corners of her mouth curling up. “Good. Then I’m glad too.”
Rylan swallowed. “Even after what happened to Dad?”
“That’s not on you,” she replied immediately. “That’s on the Talons for being a bunch of clodmongers. Seriously, you can’t blame yourself for their actions; it’s not like you chose to be born!”
“Thank you,” he replied, some tension leaving his shoulders. “That means a lot, coming from you.”
Leahna bumped him with her shoulder, but then her smile faded again. “You know, I was seven when my mom got sick. Losing her was... devastating.” She shook her head, pain flashing across her face. “When Dad had gotten hurt, and could barely move... I was scared shitless. In a way, I still am. I don’t mind taking care of him, I really don’t, it’s just... what if I screw up? What if his health deteriorates because of something I did or failed to do? That’s what keeps me up at night sometimes.”
“Hey,” Rylan said, reaching over and putting his hand on her knee. “We’re going to get him better. Together, yeah?”
Her smile this time put the ones before to shame. “Yeah. We are.” She glanced out the window, her brows furrowing slightly. “Actually, I should probably go check up on him, get him ready for bed.”
“Right.”
They both got up, and Rylan followed her towards the door.
Leahna pulled on her shoes and he held out her coat the way Master Gullfeather had taught him.
Leahna accepted it with a playful curtsy. “So... I was thinking I might come home on my lunchbreak tomorrow. If you don’t mind, that is; I wouldn’t want to intrude on your time with Dad.”
“You’re always welcome to join,” Rylan promised. “I’ll be sure to make plenty.”
“Great.”
Leahna held out her arms, and Rylan stepped in for a hug. It felt a bit clumsy, and he was probably not squeezing hard enough for a proper embrace, but they would have time to practise.
Drawing back, she reached out to ruffle his hair, a self-satisfied smirk on her face.
“Did you seriously just do that?”
Leahna lifted her chin. “As your older sister, it is my right and duty. See you tomorrow!” A gust of wind billowed her hair as she pulled open the door. “Bye Izzy, bye Arphin!”
And after one last wave, the door shut behind her, and Rylan let out a sigh.
He had a sister. And he may be biased, but he thought she was kinda awesome.
And sneaky too. Because by the time he realised the stack of drafts in his paper bin had mysteriously disappeared, she was long gone.
You too, Arphin?!
Author's note:
Traitors. Traitors everywhere. ^^
Thankfully, I have you guys to count on. ;)
Thanks for reading!
Comments
StarOfTime
I'm so glad theyre spending more time together
Fabian
Thanks for the chapter! I really enjoyed this one!
