Child of Thrae: Chapter 2

Chapter Two:
In Plain Sight
Kimaru was rushed into the main room, Lovelace and his wife trailing behind her and the men. The knocking had become louder, and the shadows of pacing guards could be seen through the covered windows. The florist motioned towards a bookcase that was positioned facing towards the front door, near the foot of the stairs that led to the second floor. The lanky man pulled it away from the wall and Kimaru stepped into the opening he had made.
The wall was hollowed out behind there, and Kimaru took her position at the back of the hollow as the lanky man swung the bookcase back into place. There were several holes in the backboard through which Kimaru could look through, right over the few books, to see the front door. Marra took her position at the top of the stairs, appearing concerned, as Lovelace calmly smoothed his apron and opened the door. In strode twelve of the King’s guard and behind them followed the King.
“My Liege,” Lovelace proclaimed as he bowed in the man’s presence. The King dismissed his groveling with a curt flick of his hand as his green eyes darted back and forth around the room. Meanwhile, the guards searched everywhere they could, until the entire room was overturned. They prepared to invade the remaining space of the house before the King stopped them. He turned to Lovelace, his greyed beard coiling around his scowl, and narrowed his eyes.
“Where is she?”
“I beg pardon, my Liege?” Lovelace said respectfully.
“The child, the one that was seen running this way through the town. Where is she? Are you hiding her?” Kimaru trembled from behind the bookcase, her breathing becoming too heavy to conceal as a wave of panic swept through her.
“You mean the child that the Sielbeling wants?” the florist admonished. The King glared at him, trying to break whatever façade he thought Lovelace was fronting him. “The Sielbeling has cursed my eldest with the eternal sleep,” Lovelace finally stated. “I would not wish to keep from it what it wants if it means my son would return to me.” Marra clung to the banister at the top of the stares, tears blurring her vision. The King gave her a halfhearted glance and then returned his stare to Lovelace.
“I have seen many a man turn on their word,” he growled. “Are you one of those men?”
“I am not, your Liege,” Lovelace exclaimed.
“Answer wisely, florist.” The King kept a gloved hand tight on the hilt of his magnificent sword. Lovelace paid no mind to it though, as he held the King’s accusing glare. Kimaru watched the two, feeling the tension between them grow before a loud thud broke the static silence.  At the other side of the room, beneath a table strewn with plant clippings, there was a trunk. It moved slightly as something within it stirred.
The King motioned towards it with a grand wave of his hand and the guards warily moved towards the moving trunk. Everyone froze as several of them pulled it from underneath the table and positioned it towards the King. He gave Lovelace a haughty smile, though the florist did not return it, and instead began to compulsively wipe his hands on his dirty apron.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” The King barked to his guards. “Bring the child to me.” Kimaru wondered, as the men pulled back the lid, what could be in that trunk. Or who? The trunk was filled with many white quilts and the guards began to rifle through them until they found something. One of the guards hastily snatched up the object as the other guard began to pull the quilts from it. The rest of them stood alert, their spears poised and ready for attack. To their dismay, a small boy returned the stare of the guard who had pulled him from the trunk.
The King arched a thick eyebrow, amusement and anger flickering across his face before he motioned for the guard to set the child down. Kimaru bit her lip and held her breath even tighter as the King knelt down in front of the child, the youngest Lovelace. He smiled at the boy, but the child’s pallid face did not change as the King’s had.
“And what is your name, young sir?” he said politely to the child.
“Arlie,” the boy whispered as he kept his giant brown eyes locked on the King’s wiry grayed beard.
“Tell me, Arlie,” the King said slyly. “Do you know what the Sielbeling is?” The boy stood motionless for a while, barely seeming to breathe, before he responded.
“The Sielbeling is a monster. It ate my brother’s soul,” he murmured, turning to look at his father. Lovelace returned the blank stare, his fidgeting with the apron ceasing in that moment. The King straightened his back and continued on.
“Have you seen Kimareah, the child from the trees? Has she been in your house?”
“The child from the trees?” the boy murmured, looking up from the King’s beard to stare at his mother. “Mama says she’s just a legend. And I believe her.” The King’s cheeks grew red as the boy had not yielded the answer he wanted.
“She is not a legend,” the King growled. “She is real and I believe your father is hiding her. Has he hidden her here, before, in this shop?” Arlie met the King’s stare this time, matching the intensity that they held. He did not respond to this, as it was evident that he had nothing more to say. The King gritted his teeth, and said nothing more to the child as he stood to survey the room once more. Kimaru moved to better see Arlie through the hole, and in consequence, she bumped into the back board of the bookcase.
One of the guards suddenly turned in her direction, as the girl tightly covered her mouth, unable to slow the rapid beating of her heart. The King caught his guard’s stare and strode towards the bookcase. Some of the guard followed him, but then dispersed into the rest of the house. Kimaru’s heart now beat even faster as she heard them clanking around in the back rooms. From the corner of her eye, she could see the panic that Lovelace was trying so hard to conceal. He discretely rubbed his sweaty palms on his apron again, but no one took any notice as they all watched where the King would go.
Kimaru shrunk as far back into the wall as she could, every inch of her body drenched in sweat. The guards readied themselves as the King reached out to the bookcase. The girl closed her eyes and cowered, waiting for the moment when he would push aside the shelf and find her there, hiding like a wounded animal.
She swallowed the lump in her throat, feeling the chill of her fear make her body tremble. The bookcase did not move though. Kimaru suddenly heard his voice as she cautiously stood and peered through the hole. The King stood directly in front of her, his head turned to Lovelace as he was speaking. He turned back, eyed something on the shelf, and then took down a book. Kimaru fell back into the wall, her relief almost instantly calming her, as the King strode towards Lovelace, thumbing through the book he had just taken.
“A pity,” he murmured to the florist, “that you would have lost this lovely home if we had found the child here.” The King, though he towered over Lovelace, met the man’s stare almost directly. “I suppose you are fortunate that we did not find her here this time.” He took one final glance around the room, and then strode out the open door.
When the last of the guards left, Kimaru frantically began to force her way out from behind the bookcase. Arlie turned in surprise, his eyes widening further, as the girl rushed towards him. She collapsed before the boy and pulled him into a tight embrace. The boy smiled as she tousled his brow hair. He whispered something to her, and the two began to giggle. Before long, Lovelace approached Kimaru, wary of breaking the reunion.
“We need to talk,” he murmured. The girl caught the regret in his tone, and her blood ran cold. Releasing Arlie into the care of his mother, the girl followed Lovelace into the back room they had been previous. The florist brushed aside some dirt on one of the tables, and then retrieved a stack of clay pots that had been sitting at the corner of the table for as long as Kimaru could remember. He started to arrange them, and the girl understood that something was not right. He wouldn’t avoid talking to her directly unless something was very wrong.
“Child,” Kimaru spat as Lovelace continued to work on his project. “I am no child. Perhaps several years ago, but not anymore. Who does he think he is, calling me a –” The girl jumped as Lovelace brought one of the pots down upon the table.
“You must leave!” he exclaimed. Kimaru’s blood ran cold as he turned to face her.
“What?”
“Kimaru,” Lovelace said more delicately. “My family is not safe. You are not safe. It’s time to leave.”
“I’m not sure I like where this is going,” the girl growled, her skin prickling as the florist moved closer. He took her tiny hands in his and held them tight.
“I’ll alert the others,” he said, looking off into the distance before focusing on her again. “This will not please the elders, but it has to be done.”
“And what about the Sielbeling?” Kimaru murmured. “It will not stop until I belong to it again.”
“And you will not stop until it is dead, I know,” Lovelace responded nervously. “We will find a way to destroy it.”
“No,” Kimaru snapped. “That is my battle and mine alone! It has always been!”
“No!” Lovelace responded with more force. “This is no longer your battle! It is time for you to leave Thrae, Kimaru,” he explained. “It is time.”