Fan Fiction ❯ The Emergence Of A Legend ❯ Chapter 2

Nikki Kelly

Disclaimer: All of the characters portrayed in this story are completely

fictional and the sole creations of moi. Any resemblance to any

living person or other fictional character is purely coincidental.

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Chapter Two

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Coress opened her eyes, still half-asleep. Then she yawned and sighed, happily closing her eyes once more. Mmmm. This bed is so comfortable, Coress thought to her self as she burrowed further under the blankets. It's so soft, and inviting, and... She suddenly sat straight up. This wasn't her bed. This wasn't her room. She looked around frantically, searching for some sort of recognizable object. Then she saw a pair of giant, dirty working boots in the corner, near the door. On the left side of the left boot, was a small, stitched, red star. They were Olban's, and Coress had done that. She laughed to herself, remembering how mad he had been, how she had "ruined his brand new boots!"

She lay back down into the mass of comfort, now feeling secure. Gradually, the memory faded from her mind, and she began to remember what had happened only (what she presumed to be) a few hours before. She remembered the absolutely serene look on Olban's face when he took her hand in his. His fingers had been so warm and inviting, while hers had been cold and shaking.

She remembered him wrapping her trembling hand around the ring that hung on his neck, and the curious glow it had emitted, as if it had known her approaching touch. She remembered how in that single moment, her body had felt totally free, and how all her worries had been just lifted away. She remembered that voice that had spoken to her. It had been so placid, so claming. It was that voice that had lulled her into such a deep sleep.

Coress abruptly sat up again. She thought of her older brother, who had shown her this magnificent wonder. Where was he now? Just thinking about their confrontation earlier gave her pain; she couldn't even imagine how he must have felt. She hadn't meant anything by the comment she had made, but she still felt utterly responsible.

Where could he be now? She knew that since his boots were in the room, he couldn't have possibly went out of the building. He never leaves without those stupid boots... After a moment of contemplating with her self as to what she should do, she finally heaved her legs out from underneath the covers. Goosebumps rose all over her body as her now bare feet pressed down on the cold wood floor.

The young girl wondered what time it could be. It had only been midmorning when she was fighting with that vulgar woman downstairs, but the chill she felt was that of early evening. As she entered the doorway, smells of the dinner meal filled her nostrils. She smiled happily, and slowly padded down the stairs leading to the kitchen behind her brother's shop.

Barnovo was poking at some meat set over the fire, while Olban was quietly setting the table. He laid down each dish with care, probably to avoid waking me up, Coress thought, smiling at the idea. She was just about to hide behind the door, to watch what they would do, but she decided against it. She had done enough sneaking for one day, and she didn't want to start any more trouble. Plus, she had to start preparing her self for the apologizing she was going to have to do.

Taking a deep breath, Coress stepped out from the shadows and cleared her throat to make her presence known. Olban immediately raised his head, to locate the sound, but Barnovo simply continued prodding at the savory smelling meat.

Olban smiled at her gently. "I thought you were gonna sleep forever. I was just about to call for Westin to see if you were dead,"

Sensing his playful mood, Coress decided to go along with it. "Hmmmm..... but how did you know that I was still up there? I could have snuck out the window and eloped or something, and you would never have noticed."

Olban smirked and let out a little laugh. "Ah, now that's where you're wrong! See me and ol' Barn over there have been takin turns goin up there and checkin on ya." Barnovo lifted up one hand slightly in acknowledgement of his name, and Olban chuckled once more.

"Oh," Coress said shortly, accepting that Olban had gotten the last laugh...this time. She sat down at her normal place at the little rectangular table, directly across from her brother. Barnovo sat between them, and to the side, as was his best place. He often played the role of moderator when the siblings got into one of their feuds.

Soon the meat was done, and Barnovo served it with freshly baked bread and some greens. They all settled down and began to eat. The weasel-like man ate as he usually did, without a sound. Coress and Olban, however, had always had some sort of discussion; but now they sat in silence, both thinking back on what had happened that day.

Olban was the first to finish, and he leaned back in his chair, looking at his sister thoughtfully. Coress had her head bowed down towards her plate, but she felt his eyes penetrating her. With a sigh, she looked up from her long awaited meal. "What?"

"I didn't say a thing!" Olban said slyly, grinning ear to ear, and his eyes gleaming.

"I know when you're watching me," Coress said in disgust. She pushed away her plate of food almost reluctantly, but too upset to eat any more. "And I also know that you wanna talk about today."

Barnovo glanced up from his dinner to look at Olban's expression for a moment. Seeming satisfied, he resumed eating.

"Okay. If that's what you want..." Olban said, looking at her with a boyish grin.

"Oh Olban! You're twenty-two! I thought you were supposed to be the mature one! Playing games is my thing, not yours. You have your shop, remember?"

"Oh yes, I remember very well." His face suddenly turned stern. "Judging from earlier, you must be a pro."

I didn't know Olban!" Coress frowned, searching for the words in her mind. "I was kidding, and I thought you were too! How was I supposed to know that you were expressing love for the first time in your life?!"

Barnovo again looked up, but this time his face was uncomfortable and he began to rise. "I...I think I'll go check the new shipments. You never know with those..."

Olban, who was now standing, cut him off. "Stay, Barn. You should hear this, maybe your input will help."

Obviously intimidated by the young man towering over him, Barnovo sat back down and stared at his plate. He did not eat another morsel that night.

"Oh, I get it. Is it time for another one of your lectures? Or do you wanna just scream at me again?" Coress shouted, her eyes blazing. She was also now on her feet.

"Is that what you want me to do? Huh? Will it be me instead of the wall this time? Do you wanna hit me instead? Huh? Do you? Do you?!" Coress's eyes had begun to gleam with tears.

But this time Olban regained his senses before anything could happen. He exhaled deeply and returned to his seat. He looked at Coress for a few moments, deep in thought. Coress just stood there, with her eyes starting to overflow. A single tear rolled down her cheek. The emotion-filled girl said nothing, however; she was awaiting her brother's response. He finally answered her in a deep, rich voice. "No, I don't."

Coress had, of course, expected that answer, but she had thought that maybe it would be filled with a little more pizzazz, so that she could say something smart in return. Instead, she could only sit back down at the table, and wait for her brother to continue.

But Olban said nothing. The three just sat there; the brother and sister staring at each other with deep concentration, while the dark little man shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He was the first person to speak. "You know, if neither one of you says something, we're going to end up sitting here all night long."

Coress and Olban both turned to glare at Barnovo, seemingly furious with him for breaking their silence.

Barnovo shrugged off their fierce looks, and relaxed back in his chair, looking pleased with him self. "Okay. I said something. Now it's time for one of you to say something."

Again, not a sound of human voice origin came from the house. Only the crickets' constant chirping made the time bearable. Barnovo let out his breath angrily. "Olban! Really! I had expected you to at least have more maturity than a girl of sixteen. This silent treatment isn't going to help in any way."

Olban glared at his friend. "You're not one of my parents, Barn. You can't tell me what to do and what not to do. And I'll deal with this as I damn well please!" Barnovo gave him a dubious look.

Coress sighed softly, and the words seemed to slip out of her mouth. "Maybe that's what we need."

Olban turned his attention back to his sister. "What did you say?" He had heard her last comment, but asked anyway.

"I said: maybe that's what we need. Parents, I mean," Coress repeated, not exactly knowing why she did.

"Why do you say that?" Olban said in a slightly harsh tone. But this time, he recovered quickly. "I'm sorry, but I just don't understand why you'd say something like that. I mean, I take care of you; I give you everything you need. And I love you more than anything in this world! Why could you possibly need parents?"

"I don't know. It's just...it's just that..." Coress didn't really know why she wanted parents. She could think of no logical reason. Her brother had been right; he did provide her with everything. But something was still missing, something big.

"If I may interrupt, I think I may know why Coress says she needs parents," Barnovo said quietly. He went on, "Parents do all of those things you said, Olban, but they also provide a few things more."

Olban looked at him questioningly, as did Coress. "Well then, please elaborate for us, Barn, don't just leave us hangin" Olban said with a slightly irritated tone to his voice.

"It's simple really. Although Miss Coress over here may disagree, she needs certain limits placed upon her, and she needs to be disciplined when she oversteps those limits."

"That's insane!" Coress half shouted, rising again from her chair.

"It is possible, I guess. All people need structure, and I must admit that I don't give her much." Olban had a thoughtful face as he considered the potentiality of Barnovo's suggestion. "But what else?"

Barnovo continued, "Well, then there is the fact that you can't give her certain...ummm...advice."

Olban looked genuinely puzzled. "What do you mean? I don't understand."

Barnovo sighed. `Oh come on, Olban. Just look at her." Both men turned to study Coress, who had seated herself once again. She shifted in her chair, uncomfortable with this sudden surplus of attention.

Olban was still confused, and Barnovo sighed once more. "Fine then, I'll put it bluntly. She's beautiful, Olban. Under all that clothes and mud and toughness is a gorgeous girl. She has so much potential, but you don't help her. It's not your fault really, she needs female influence, and you can't give it to her." Barnovo bowed his head, obviously slightly embarrassed over his outpouring of opinion.

Olban sat for a moment, his mouth hanging open. It was apparent that he was still absorbing all that had just been said. When he finally spoke, it was in a thoughtful tone. "I guess you're right, Barn."

He looked at Coress once more. She was leaning hard against her chair, her normally pale face still flushing over what the skinny man had said so plainly. Her sable hair flowed across one shoulder and danced in the breeze that came in the window. "She does need a woman's touch," he said finally, seeming to let out his breath as a sign of defeat.

"More like a mother's touch," Barnovo corrected softly. "You can try to be her father, but you can never replace her mother."

Olban nodded, and bit his lip. His eyes had begun to gleam slightly, at the ultimate recognition of the truth that had haunted him for years. He swiped his eyes with one hand, pretending to be exhausted. "Ya know, I'm getting really tired. I think I'll go to bed. Coress, could you clean up the dishes if you have a chance?"

Barnovo coughed, and gave his partner a meaningful glance. Olban immediately understood. "I mean, hurry up and clean those plates. And stay in the house tonight, you've caused a lot of trouble today, and I don't need you doin anything else."

Barnovo nodded approvingly, and Olban started to leave the room. He turned suddenly, though, when he reached the door. "Oh, and Coress?"

She looked at him blankly, still slightly taken aback by his new commanding attitude. "Hmmmm...ah, what?" she said, realizing that she was being spoken to.

Olban frowned slightly, and hesitated. But he took at deep breath and set his face to stone. "No more coming into the shop during business hours, you can use the back door. I don't need you harassing my customers anymore." And with that, he spun around and marched up the stairs.

Barnovo smiled and looked at Coress. "I think I'll go to bed, as well. And make sure you wash those dishes. I doubt your brother was kidding." Then he left the room too, leaving Coress standing alone.

She was still in a stunned position. What had happened? Her brother seemed like a new person. She had understood the whole take-command attitude, but what was with the whole mother thing? I don't need a mother, she thought. What would she do, abandon me like my other one did? Coress sighed deeply, and looked at he table full of dishes with half-eaten meals. It was going to be a long night.

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End of Chapter Two

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~~Okay, got another section done...I hope it pleases those of you that have been waiting for it...I wasn't as mean this time, I don't think it really leaves you hanging at the end...oh well, I have to be nice sometimes, don't I? I should have another chapter up soon...so please post any comments you have on this chapter to get me motivated to it!!! The comments have been really helpful thus far... and I just LOVE reading them!! It helps with my small ego...... Until next time!!! :)