“And then Mrs. Fletcher came in insisting that we give her a full refund since the stain did nae come out. Ye should have seen the way she squawked, waving her arms around like a mad hen.”
“What did yer mother do?” Taryn asked with a laugh.
“She was a genius! She implied that Mrs. Fletcher simply did nae ken how tae clean her own clothes. Och, Taryn, I swear I have never seen anyone with a face so red. I thought she was fit to burst.”
Laura had a way about her that exuded joy unlike anyone Taryn had ever met before. When she spoke, her entire face lit up in animation, no matter what story she was telling. It left Taryn feeling a little more like a normal person and a little less like a pawn in her parent’s schemes.
“Look!” Laura squealed with a jump. “There it is.”
Taryn followed the direction of her friend’s pointed finger to a little patch of grass that had been encircled by small white mushrooms. Cocking her head, Taryn studied it, not entirely sure what Laura was so excited about.
“A bunch of mushrooms?” Taryn drawled slowly in her confusion.
“Nae just some mushrooms,” Laura said with a shake of her head. “This is a fairy ring. It is said that any time ye see a circle of mushrooms like this, a village of wee fairies live underneath it.”
Taryn stepped closer to get a better look, but Laura’s hand on her shoulder stopped her from getting too close.
“Careful! Ye dinnae want to step inside and break the circle,” she warned.
“Why nae?”
“Well, the fairy circle brings good luck to those who find them but to anyone who disturbs them,” Laura answered, her voice dropping to a whisper as if she didn’t want the mythical creatures overhearing them. “It traps them inside the circle and drives them mad.”
Taryn huffed, ruefully thinking that she was already trapped inside her own kind of fairy circle, with madness creeping closer every day.
“Some people think it is a portal to another land,” Laura continued, oblivious to Taryn’s thoughts. “But I think that is just a legend they tell bairns to get them to sleep.”
“What if it is nae?” Taryn asked, unable to keep the wistfulness from her eyes or voice.
Laura turned, taking her eyes off the fairy circle for the first time since they stumbled on it, to study her friend.
“Would ye want to get away from here? What if the place it sends ye is worse? What would that mean for the clan if ye were to disappear?”
The questions tumbled out of her in a rush, but they didn’t faze Taryn.
“I dinnae think there is a worse place than this, Laura,” she answered softly. “And the clan would be fine without me. I am nothing but a prized pig up for sale.”
“What would I do without ye?”
The sadness in her friend’s question made Taryn look away from the mushrooms too.
“Ye would be fine without me too,” Taryn promised. “Ye have so many friends in the village, and ye always have such fun stories every time I visit. Yer life would be nae less interesting.”
“I might ken other people,” Laura spoke gently in a moment of honesty. “But they are nae my friends the way ye are.”
“Well,” Taryn replied after a moment of searching. “It is a good thing that the fairy circle legends are just fables for bairns. I am nae going anywhere anytime soon. Besides, even if I were, I would need to ken how to defend myself a wee bit better. Shall we return to our usual game?”
With a wide smile, Laura nodded and her vivacious personality reemerged.
The pair tramped through the trees a bit further, leaving all talks of fairies and long journeys behind them, as they went off in search of their typical hiding ground. Several months back, Laura had managed to sneak out one of her brother’s old bows that was now too small for him. It was the perfect size for the two young women, though, as they notched arrows and played in a way that made them feel much younger than their actual age.
“Och, my arm is sore,” Taryn complained after letting go of what must have been the dozenth arrow in the last hour.
Neither of them knew much about the art of archery, but that didn’t stop them from trying anyway. Taryn wanted to gain more independence and Laura wanted to try to keep up with her older brother.
“Aye, mine is too. Do ye think we are doing something wrong?”
“I’ll say.”
The rich voice cut through the air and made Taryn forget all about her aching muscles.
“James,” Laura greeted smoothly, as if she weren’t bothered at all by the fuming look he wore. “What are ye doing here?”
