Chapter four

Chapter four;

He found out. Quince had found out about Lissie’s father, Lissie knew it. She had seen him many times after the night in the barn, and he acted strange around her now. She knew it must be because he knew her secret. She couldn’t stand it. She wished he would tell her he knew, or say something that may imply he knew. Something that would ease Lissie’s mind from this horrible state of uncertainty.

He always smiled at her in a very cocky manner, and would act nervous when she confronted him. Lissie was disappointed with her brother; she had hoped to have someone to ‘hang out’ with. She didn’t want to hang out with him; she would avoid him to any measure.

Lissie washed her bowl from her Goat’s milk by the sink. Her father inspected each one closely, so she had to do a through job. There was a light knocking on the door, and Lissie’s ears perked. She dropped her bowl into the water and made her way to the door. It was probably someone who owed her father money.

“Yes?” Lissie asked as she opened the door. To her disappointment, it was Quince.

“Hello.” He smiled at her, with his arms hiding something behind his back.

“Oh I thought you were someone who owed us money. I’m disappointed, honestly.” Lissie slouched her posture. At that very moment, Lissie heard her father’s steps from the stairs. Lissie jumped at Quince, and pushed him away from the door.

“Whose there?” Her father asked, and Lissie panicked.

“N-no one!” Lissie glared at Quince not to talk, and shut the door behind her. “Must have been some prank.” Lissie returned to the sink. To Lissie’s relief, he didn’t check. She tried not to sound too relieved, though.

When her father finished peeking over Lissie’s shoulder to make sure she was doing a well enough job on the dishes, he returned to his study upstairs. Lissie cautiously walked over to the door, and opened it again. Quince was still there, although now he stood a ways away from the actual door.

“Is it safe? When your mind started to scream; ‘trouble, trouble, panic, hide, secret,’ I thought I should probably leave. But I have to tell you something first.”

“Oh, if you must. Make it fast.” From behind his back, he pulled out a single rose. “What’s that?”

“I saw it in the barn, and I thought it strange that a single, beautiful flower would exist in such a nasty place. And it reminded me of you.”

“That’s awfully corny.” Lissie squinted her eyes. “Now what’s your point?”

“I know I’ve only known you for not even a month, but I think I like you. A lot, actually.” Lissie was disgusted.

“Don’t you know?” She said rather loud. She came out of her house, and closed the door behind her.

“Know what? The only thing I know is that you always try so hard to guard your thoughts from me. I thought maybe it’s because you like�"“

“Quince, don’t I look familiar?” Lissie squinted her eyes.

“Oddly, yes. But not like anyone I can name.”

“Your mom, Quince. Think about your mom.” Quince’s eyes became wide.

“Yes, yes. You do look a lot like her. What of it? Do you mean to imply I’m attracted to woman like my mother? Is that repulsive?”

“That’s not really what makes you repulsing.” Lissie answered.

“Oh, thanks.” Quince said sarcastically. “Way to make a boy whose about to confess feel great about himself.”

“Are you really that dumb? You’d think you would have figured it out by now. I’ve been screaming it my head this whole time.”

“I can’t read minds as clearly as you think. It only comes out in short phrases.”

“What are the phrases in my head right now?”

“Mom, Dad, brother, you, mother, look alike.” Lissie stopped him.

“You honestly can’t put those together!” Lissie threw her hands in the air. “Sweet mercy, you’re so stupid!”

“Thank you.”

“You’re a mind reader, and I honestly have to tell it to your face.” Lissie balanced her hands on her hips. “My father is your father. Your mother is my mother. Comprende?”

“You’re saying…That you’re my…”

“Sister! I’m your sister!” Lissie nearly yelled.

“But then that means-“

“This match you’re trying to assign yourself with me is impossible!”

“How do you know that your father is my father?” Quince hoped there was still some hope left.

“He told me. He wouldn’t lie about it, either. And he also wouldn’t lie when he said he’d give me hell if I told you. I thought you could take a hint, you’re a mind reader.”

“Sorry. Just because I’m a mind reader doesn’t mean I’m a good one.” He gave her an empty expression. “So we have the same parents, then?”

“No. Your mom is my mom and my father is my father. Your mother, on the other hand, is some lost mage woman on the run.”

“What?” Quince had dropped the rose now. He had stepped on it without letting Lissie see.

“Come to the barn.” And so Lissie told Quince the whole story. How His father had been ‘drunk’ or so he claims, how Lissie’s mother who loved her so abandon them for Quince�"and how it had gone undetected by the both of them for so long. Quince didn’t ask any questions, and he didn’t look at Lissie.

“You can’t tell your mother�"my mother.” Lissie squinted her eyes. “If she finds out you know there’s no stopping her from confronting my�"our father about it. He’ll beat the both of us till we’re crippled.”

“Yes, I guess that’s right.” He paused and looked up at the sky. “What of this thievery he’s forced upon you?”

“I don’t mind it. It’s an easy way to get free money. It’s the killing part I’m not always so thrilled about. After awhile, though, that isn’t so bad. He says he has some ‘huge mission’ for me. I pray to Eeris that it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“But you’ll still do it, then?” He asked, disappointed. “What if it’s something like ‘kill the prince!’?”

“Then it should be done. I don’t doubt my father’s reasons. He never kills someone without a reason.”

“What of that woman last week? What did she do to be worthy of dying?” Quince asked. Lissie paused.

“She�"owed him.”

“Her life?” Quince gapped at her. Lissie didn’t reply. Quince annoyed her, very much. She got up, and motioned that he should leave, too.

That night she didn’t sleep on the roof. Too many things had happened recently. She didn’t have time to keep a clear mind and gaze up at the stars.