Checking on the children and seeking clues

For Stone Keep and its Citizens
Kriztina
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:09 pm
Guild: Knights
Temple: Chivalry/Light

Checking on the children and seeking clues

Post by Kriztina »

Kriztina left the outpost, wandering through Stonekeep checking on the guards on duty. Kollin was busy checking other things out and the least she could do was help him in this task, make sure the guards were doing their vigilant duty. Each one she spoke to seemed to have the same information, they were looking for clues but nothing was being found. For some reason, she just couldn’t imagine there being no trails or clues left behind at all. A person doesn’t just disappear, let alone two.

The next set of guards she spoke to were around the home that the children were staying in. She asked about how things were going, if there were any strange occurrences, anything that was of possible interest at all. They shook their heads and said they hadn’t noticed anything different at all, except they could hear crying and screaming inside at times. Nobody was inside but the kids. Nobody had come or gone without them knowing of it.

Pondering this information, she just had to ask, “Did anyone go in to check on them? Make sure things were alright? Find out if they needed anything?

The guards looked from her, to each other and back to her shaking their heads. “Nobody told us we could speak to them. We were told to make sure nobody goes in or out, nothing more or less.

She so badly wanted to reach out and slap them both but that wasn’t proper conduct for a Lady, let alone a superior within the guild. Instead, she muttered under her breath while getting her composure. When she finally spoke there was just a slight bite to her tone, “I will be sure to inform Master Kollin that his guards do not have the insight to check on children when they heard loud screaming or crying because their orders didn’t specifically tell them that a child’s well-being was in need of checking on when such a thing occurs. Consider yourselves both on report.” Taking a deep breath before she continues, she told them, “I’m going to go inside and check on them. If anyone comes looking for me, make sure they know where I am.” She stared them down until they both responded, “Yes m’lady.

Still muttering under her breath, she left the two guards on duty outside while going to the front door and knocking. There was hesitation about opening the door, but she finally got them to do it when she explained to them who she was. The oldest boy had answered the door, “Yes ma’am, how can I help you?

Her bright smile responded to the question, “It is I that am hoping to do something for you. I hear there is some screaming and crying going on. Is everything ok?

The boy sighed and asked her to come inside. He closed the door behind him and took her to the living room. She looked around as she followed him to the couch, it was kept immaculately clean for kids. “Please take a seat. I finally have my little brother down for a nap. He hasn’t been sleeping very well lately.

With a tilt of her head, she looked at him concerned. “Why hasn’t he been sleeping well? Is it just because of your mother missing?

He shrugged his shoulders, “I am sure that is part of it. There is more. I know there is, but he won’t talk to me, or anyone else for that matter. Wish I knew what it was because I think it keeps him up at night. I haven’t slept a full night since mother has been gone. The closest I came is when we slept in her bed together. I know I’m supposed to be strong for him, but I’m at the end of my rope and …” He broke off, wiping tears from his cheeks.

Without a word, she moved over and put an arm around the boy in a motherly way. He was, after all, just a boy who was forced to take on some very adult activities for his even younger sibling. She was so impressed with what a wonderful job he was doing. She couldn’t fault him for the yelling, he was probably losing control. “Would you like a little help? I would be happy to stick around a day or two and help. Maybe he will talk to me? If you wanted, could get you out...maybe stay at the Knights Outpost so you can attempt to get some decent rest without the responsibility on your shoulders? I think you need to decompress a little for someone so young. You would still be in town so if you wanted to check on him or anything, you could do so.

He looked up at her, “I…..wo….” he stops and sighs, “I’m sor...ry….I…..can’t.

She instantly knew this was something he wanted to do but felt the burden of responsibility on his shoulders and didn’t want to disappoint his mother or cause more trouble for his brother. “Try it for one night. I will stay with him and I’ll have a guard get you if anything happens. You have my word of Honor.

His sigh was deep and full of hope at the same time, “I...accept. Promise you will care for him as if he was your own?

Her chuckle filled the room but didn’t get loud enough to wake the boy, “You have my word.” She squeezed him gently for reassurance. “Pack a bag and meet me at the door. I’ll have one of the guards take you to the outpost. Things will be just fine.

He quickly left the couch and went to his room to pack a small bag to take with him to the outpost.

While he was packing up, Kriztina called one of the guards over and started talking to him about the situation. “I am sending the oldest to the outpost for a day, maybe two. He needs to decompress and not be so bogged down with such adult responsibilities. I’m going to stay here with the his younger brother, maybe I can get him to talk to me. Seems he is having nightmares, but they may be clues too. I’ll try to get through to him. Please let Kollin know where I am, he may wish to join me and be his “protector”. Kids like that type of thing. Makes them feel safe when they don’t think they are.

The guard nodded and motioned behind her. There stood the oldest child with his bag in hand. He still seemed apprehensive, and yet determined, about going to the outpost and resting well for the night. His smile was half there, but he was kind as he greeted the guard. Kriztina moved so he could leave the house and reassured him that his baby brother would be just fine, giving him a wink.

She watched as the two left, talking away as if they were best friends along the way. She saw the other guard standing vigilant at his post before going back inside. She kept a hand on a small dagger at her waist since she put her sword up, away from the sight of children. Without thinking too much about it, she walked around the house checking things out, looking for clues from within to find out if there was anything going on she could decipher from everything.
Lady Kriztina
Duchess of Abrams Landing
Kriztina
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:09 pm
Guild: Knights
Temple: Chivalry/Light

Re: Checking on the children and seeking clues

Post by Kriztina »

It had been an hour or so that she was spending going through the house when she heard a scream. She moved with haste but not too quickly, she didn’t want to scare him. Stopping at the door, she slowly entered it to see him pointing outside the window where the sun was starting to go down. Not wanting to scare him further, she stayed there. “Hello. I’m Kriztina from the Knights. I’ve come to stay with you a little bit and try to help. Do you mind if I come in and sit with you?

He shook his head without really showing he fully understood what she said. He was still staring out the window. Slowly, she sat down beside him. “What’s wrong, little man?

He turned to look up at her, tears streaming down his face, fear evident in his eyes through the redness the crying caused, “The monster is outside my window!

Her eyes followed his finger to the window and the shadows that were outside. She saw them moving but not what was causing them. Without giving it much thought, she wrapped her arms around him, “It will be alright. Why don’t we go out to the kitchen and get something to eat and you can tell me about them? I’d like to know more. Could you do that?

She was looking down at him when he turned towards her. Her smile met his eyes and he slowly started to smile back at her and nodded, “O…..k…” was all he said. Slowly she got up and put her hand out for him to take. He did so and they walked out of the room together.

They got to the kitchen and looked around. Pondering as she looked through the cupboards, she asked, “What do you want to eat?

With a kid’s sweet grin, he went to the icebox and found some fresh eggs sitting there, “I want these! My brother said I couldn’t have them because they are for breakfast. I like breakfast all the time.

With a chuckle she took the eggs and put them up so they were easy to reach. “Want to help me?

Together, they went through the motions of getting the pan, a bit of grease and breaking the eggs. She let him help her whip them up, pour them in and even stir them over the fire. In the end, he was the one that made his own eggs, giggling all the time and talking about how mommy and brother had never let him do it before. Her plan to get him to loosen up with her seemed to be working thus far, hopefully he would talk to her afterwards.

His eggs prepared, she asked what he wanted to drink with his eggs, “Fresh juice!

Tilting her head side to side with a nod she figured ‘why not’. “Of course, we can do that!

He found everything that was needed, going from one cabinet to a cupboard and then another. He gathered a couple oranges, a cup and the squeezer. There was so much pride in what he was doing, she wasn’t going to stop him. He seemed to be so excited. This had him out of his normal zone, he was having fun and not thinking about what scared him. This was needed. She cut the oranges in half for him and then let him show her how it was done, as if she’d never used one before. She’d “oooo” and “aaaaah” for him as if he was teaching her the greatest thing since she learned to break an egg without leaving shells in it. He squeezed the orange with the juicer as hard as he could, not getting much from it. She asked him to help her do it and together, they squeezed with all their might, getting a lot more juice from the orange. They did that with three more halves and got him a glass of fresh juice.

Together they sat at the table and he told her a bunch of stories about his mother and what she would do for him….tell him stories at night...take him to school….clean his clothes and room….make his dinner. He sniffled once but continued eating till it was all gone, finished his juice then got up from the table. “Time to wash dishes.

Her laughter filled the room, “Alright, how do we go about doing that?” Together, they went through the motions. He helped her get the water in the tub, thankful they had indoor plumbing for this job.

They put the soap in and he got a cloth, scrubbing the dishes clean until he could see his reflection, “That’s how you know it is clean.

Once the dishes were clean, dried and put away properly, they chose to sit on the couch with the window curtains covering them fully. He sat down beside her, as close as he could get. She put a comforting arm around him, “Want to tell me a story?

He looked up at her a bit puzzled, “From a book?

The smile she put on met his gaze, “No, not from a book. You would tell me a story that you make up in your brain. Can you do that?

His bottom lip stuck out a bit as he pondered her question. “Yes….I think I can.

Again she smiled, pulled him a bit closer with her arm around him, “Please do. I’ll keep you safe from anything as you tell me the story.

I was in the woods playing, my ma told us to be careful there. Bad things are in the woods. We get home and ma would cook us food. Bad things would not come for food. They stayed outside and watched us eat. They would would ma do things. The scared me so much I couldn’t even cry. I would just sit and see them outisde. Nobody would listen to me when I tried to tell them. They would say I was seeing things but I did see them. They would sit outside my window and talk. I just couldn’t understand or hear them so I didn’t know what they were saying.


Kriztina listened and figured it was some sort of shadow that he was seeing from his window, but the shadow of what or whom was the question. “Would you know them if you ever saw them again?” She doubted he would. He stated they were just shadows, but perhaps they are just shadows in his waking mind and she could get him to open up about their looks some other time.

He nodded he would and this was reassuring, but there was still the whole thing that they had no further description than they are shadows. She had to think of another way to get information from a kid.

Since she was there with him, he was feeling comfortable and safe. Together they sat on the couch and fell asleep, her arm around him and him nestled up against her. Many times she had sat with her own kids and grandkids like this. In the morning, she would make sure he got together with his brother and hopefully between now and then, she’d have something come to mind to help open this kid up.
Lady Kriztina
Duchess of Abrams Landing

Return to “Stone Keep”