The Legend of Valtera Excerpt
The stars were fading, their light slowly eclipsed by the rising sun in the east. Prea Reed was laying on the cold ground, her legs dangling over the edge of the cliff. She was bundled up in a thick sweater, pulling the sleeves down over her hands to keep them warm as she bounced her booted feet against the craggy rock surface. Brisk wind swept over her face and body, brushing against her skin, calling up gooseflesh under her sweater.
It was a quiet morning save for the splashing of seawater against the rocks below. It was an in between time, where nightlife prepared for slumber and all other life had yet to wake. Prea was alone, appreciating the silence and the shifting sky.
Dawn approached on the horizon and Prea bid farewell to the night stars as they finally completed their disappearing act in the growing brightness. It was a beautiful sight, as she found most dawn’s were—the melding rainbow of colors painting the sky as the sun began to crest above the ocean’s surface, washing everything in a golden glow.
Prea sat up as the sun rose higher and higher, but where she normally felt hope and happiness at the yellow light, today she felt uneasy. The longer she waited, the more red the sky became and an old saying buzzed silently in the back of her mind: “Red sky at night, Sailor’s delight. Red sky at morning, Sailor take warning.” The thought brought a sinking feeling into the pit of her stomach. It’s just a saying, it doesn’t mean anything, Prea reminded herself.
She took comfort in the familiarity of the land and the taste of trees and salt on the sea breeze as the morning spring air surrounded her. Her father, Garon Reed, had been at sea for about a month, his crew making the first voyage of the new year to Rodor in the north and she was anxiously awaiting their return. Prea stood quietly by the cliff, waiting and praying, until the sun told her it was time to head back inside.
She turned from the lightening sky and walked away from the cliff’s edge, moving knowingly through the forest as she returned home. Their house was situated on a decent plot of land surrounded by trees, on the cliffs overlooking the Bay of Aldin. Prea’s father had worked hard his entire life to provide for his family and he bought this land so that they would always be able to watch for his ship on the horizon.
The Reed home was modest, yet roomy, especially now that there were only three permanent inhabitants year round. It was simple and quaint, much like the rest of the buildings in their town of Beech, which happened to be one of the larger towns in their rustic nation of Valtera.
When Prea returned to the kitchen, her younger sister Alvie was sitting at the table enjoying her breakfast. “Good morning,” she greeted Alvie and poured herself a cup of tea.
“Morning,” Alvie responded, without looking up from the book she was reading. Leaning against the counter, Prea studied her sister. While both were petite, with pale skin and large, round eyes, the similarities stopped there. Prea had small, soft features along with wavy blonde hair and grassy green eyes just like their father. Her sister’s features were delicately angular and she took after their mother, her hair a lighter shade of brown, but just as straight, and her eyes an icy cool shade of blue.
Alvie had finished school at sixteen and had been working at the infirmary for almost a year now. She was the most intelligent person Prea knew and had a knack with medicines, herbs and gardening. Feeling her gaze, Alvie lifted her head and her eyes held a silent question. When Prea said nothing, her eyes shifted back to her book.
“Is Carr still in bed?” Prea inquired after their little brother.
“He isn’t down here, now is he?” she retorted sharply.
“No, he isn’t,” Prea muttered as she exited the kitchen, climbing upstairs to check on Carr. Prea knocked on his door, opening it quietly. “Carr? Cricket, it’s time to get up.” A short groan was all she heard from her eight-year-old brother. “Come on. You have to get up,” she chided as she sat down on the edge of his bed.
Rolling away from her, Carr pleaded, “I don’t want to get up. Five more minutes. Please. Just five more, Prea.”
“No. I already gave you your extra five minutes before I came up here. You’ve really got to get up,” she said, standing up and yanking his sheets off him.
“What are you doing? It’s cold,” he complained, as he rolled over and looked up at her. He crossed his arms, frowning at her with injustice in his blue eyes.
“Do I have to throw you over my shoulder and drag you downstairs, tickling you until you can’t breathe? Because I can do that,” Prea threatened lightly.
His frown vanished as he jumped out of bed giggling, his blond curls bouncing. “I’d like to see you try.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” Prea laughed as he ran out of the room. That was a familiar morning ritual, begging and pleading on both sides before he would happily get out of bed. Some days it lasted longer than others. Apparently today was a good day.
Prea followed him down to make sure he did eat breakfast. He was shoveling so much food into his mouth, he started coughing. “You all right there, Carr?” she asked. It took him a few moments to respond as the coughing continued, before he could get out, “Yes, I’m fine.” She studied him for a minute longer. “Have you been coughing a lot lately?”
“Not that much. Not as bad as before.” He seems fine, Prea assured herself.
“I’m going to get ready. Once you’re done, Carr, go upstairs and get dressed,” she ordered and went upstairs without waiting for a response.
***
Prea came downstairs wearing a tunic, trousers and boots. Thankfully, Carr was fully dressed, his coat on and bag in hand. “All ready to go?” Prea asked as she put her own coat on. He nodded. “All right. We’ll see you tonight, Alvie.”
“Bye Alvie,” Carr called and they were off.
Carr broke the silence quickly. “When’s Papa coming home?” Prea looked over at the boy who had their father’s curly golden hair.
“Any day now.”
“And Leal will be home too?” Carr asked after their father’s second in command.
“Yes, Leal will be home too,” Prea smiled.
Leal was more than Garon’s second in command, he belonged to Prea. Leal had met their father on one of his voyages to Delmar three years ago, and he returned to Alder as one of the crew. He came to dinner that first night back and had changed her life forever.
“He’s been teaching me all the different knots and how to fish in the river.”
“Oh really?” Prea asked innocently, as if she had no idea of their adventures.
“Yes, and he promised he would take me fishing as soon as he returns,” he proclaimed excitedly.
“Well, that sounds wonderful.”
Carr quieted down as they crossed the street, heading towards the school which was located in the center of Beech. After a few more moments, Carr wondered, “Are you going to marry Leal? Because then he’d really be my brother.” That was the remarkable thing about Carr; no matter what was going on or how difficult he could be, he had an uncanny ability to say the right thing at the right moment to make you feel instantly better.
A smile spread across her face. “Someday. That’s the plan.”
As the two neared the schoolyard, Carr sped ahead towards his friends, but suddenly slowed down which was cause for concern. As Prea kneeled down in front of him, he was right in the midst of a coughing fit.
“Carr. Breathe, just breathe.” Prea could see the panic creep into his face as he looked at her. “Listen to me, listen to my voice,” she soothed as she grasped his hands and held tight. Prea recited the poem from the legend of Valtera, prodding Carr to say it with her until his coughing stopped and his breathing steadied. It was the only thing that worked, having an almost magical effect on him. She stood, releasing his hands. “Please, Carr, take it easy. You can always come and find me if you need to. Okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” he replied as he turned to his name being called. “I have to go.”
Prea remained where she stood for a few moments as she waited for her own panic to subside. He hadn’t had a fit like that in a while. It had really seemed like he was getting better, not that they had known what was wrong with him to begin with. The fits came and went with no rhyme or reason to speak of, but Prea had learned how to manage them.
Another moment of steady breathing and Prea still couldn’t shake this feeling that something important was about to happen. She couldn’t dwell too long though, as she heard her students calling, “Ms. Prea, Ms. Prea.” She pushed the feeling down and walked into the school.
Prea had followed in her mother’s footsteps, becoming a teacher after she finished her schooling at sixteen. Isa Reed was beautiful, loving and told the best stories. She had instilled in her children, especially Prea, a deep appreciation and respect for the land, nature and Valtera itself. To carry on her memory, Prea taught history and geography, the subjects she and her mother loved most, to the next generation.
Hours later, school ended and Prea stepped out into the sunny schoolyard. Scanning the space, she found Carr playing with his friends over by the wall. “Prea? Can we stay for a while? I want to play,” Carr called.
“That’s fine, as long as you’re careful,” she replied and went to sit down and enjoy the lovely afternoon. A bird’s chirping brought the young teacher out of her reverie and back to the schoolyard. “Carr, come on, it’s time to go,” she called. “We can stop and see Beda on the way home.”
Carr said farewell to his friends and hurried over. “Really? Yay. She always has sweets for me.” Of course she does, Prea thought.
The two strolled down the streets and through town, past the goldsmith and the locksmith, the printer and the clockmaker, taking the long way home by the tailor’s shop Beda’s family owned. They entered, the bell ringing, as Carr hurried to the back of the store calling, “Beda?” Prea followed and found her oldest friend smiling behind the counter, her flaming red curls in stark contrast to sharp features and cool grey eyes as she greeted her brother.
“Hello there, Carr. Here’s a little something for you,” she said, as she covertly handed him something Prea assumed to be sweets. Carr took the secret parcel and aimlessly wandered around the store, talking and singing to himself.
“And hello to you as well, Prea. This is a nice surprise.”
“It was a spur of the moment decision and you know Carr loves to come visit you. You shouldn’t give him sweets, though.”
Beda knew her better than anyone and wasn’t convinced by her response. “What’s wrong, Prea?” That ominous feeling still lingered and she was quiet for another moment as her friend studied her. Beda raised her eyebrow, silently prodding.
“I’m not really sure,” Prea answered softly. “I feel as though something is…that something is going to happen.” Beda just watched, waiting for her friend to elaborate. “Do you remember the first time I came in here?” Prea asked as she watched her brother wander the store, chirping away. It’s why she called him cricket.
Beda laughed. “Of course I remember. That was the day I went from being an only child, to having a sister.”
“You were a lot like Carr.” Prea chuckled. “Wandering and babbling in your own little world.”
“Obviously. I was forced to come here, so I made it my imaginary play world where I could have all my fun. And stay sane, now that I look back on it.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad?” Prea wondered.
“It wasn’t bad, per se. Life got infinitely better after that day, though. I finally had a friend,” Beda confessed. “I thank the heavens I was only three at the time.”
“You’ve gotten far more than friendship over the years,” Prea added. “Probably more than you bargained for.”
“We’re family,” Beda answered simply.
“That we are,” Prea said smiling.
Changing the subject Beda asked, “When are your father and Leal returning?”
Prea smiled again. “Any day now. I keep watch every morning and evening. And Dal’s keeping watch down at the docks. He’ll let me know the minute they arrive.”
Carr and Prea said goodbye to Beda sometime later and quickly returned home as the sun began to set in the distance. She closed the door behind her, grateful to finally be home.
“Carr, go put your stuff away and then you can play while I cook dinner,” she said and her brother ran off. I’ll have some time to myself now, she thought, looking at the clock. Alvie wouldn’t be home for another hour or so.
Prea quietly hummed to herself, as the sky grew steadily darker. She soon heard the door open, Alvie arriving home from the infirmary. Prea glanced back as her sister entered the room. “Hello Alvie. You’re home late.”
“Yes. We had a group come into the infirmary right as I was leaving, so I stayed to help,” Alvie responded.
“Was it serious?” Prea asked.
Alvie paused, considering her answer. “It was a little unusual, but nothing serious. A few herbal remedies and they were good to go.”
“That’s always good to hear,” Prea said. “Dinner is almost ready. Can you please go get Carr?” Alvie left, returning minutes later with her brother.
“Come you two. Dinner is served,” Prea said, putting food out on the dining table.
A few hours after dinner, Prea put Carr to bed and headed outside once again. The sun had set and the stars were shining overhead as she strolled through the trees towards the cliffs. A chill ran up her spine and she looked around, scanning the dark forest. It was too quiet. The usual forest sounds, the crickets and the birds, were absent beneath the night sky. That’s odd, she’d never heard it so quiet before. She stepped through the last line of trees and came out atop the cliffs, the sea below calm under the glow of the moon. Prea sat down on the edge and looked out at the horizon.
She was uneasy; things just didn’t feel right. Papa and Leal were gone too much and she needed them home. She tried to be grateful for what she had, tried not to complain about what she didn’t, and tried to trust that everything would turn out all right. For the past five years, Prea had done the best she could with what life had given her. She had done as Papa asked and taken care of her siblings. But right now, this feeling in the pit of her stomach, made her want Papa and Leal home to take care of her.
Prea stood, looked up and performed the ritual she had learned from her mother. Isa Reed had opened and closed her day standing watch over the bay, calling on the sun, moon and stars to keep her father safe while he was at sea. As did she, Prea’s day didn’t feel complete unless it began and ended with this tradition. She whispered her mother’s spell on the breeze,
“I bid you farewell atop the cliffs,
And pray, my love, your return is swift
My waking thought at every dawn
Dear sun, please keep my love from harm
I call upon the stars each night
To steer your path if wrong to right
If all else fails and you are blind
Look to the heavens and quiet your mind
Listen close for my whisper on the wind
It will lead you back to the Bay of Aldin.”
She remained still for a moment, staring towards the sky as she said goodnight to her mother up in the stars.
*If you’d like to read more, check out The Legend of Valtera on Amazon*
