Sisters

[Aisha's perspective]

I woke at five in the morning, before it was fully light.

I was always the first person up in this house. The kitchen stove needed lighting, the bread dough needed kneading, and the spices for the stew had to be prepared in advance. These things couldn't wait for someone else to do them, because they were mine to do.

Housekeeper, cook, errand girl, everything.

I liked the feeling of being needed. During the years I spent under house arrest in the Shirone Kingdom, nobody needed me. Prince Pax kept me locked in a tower, and all I could do each day was wait. Wait for my brother to come and save me and Mom, wait for a tomorrow I didn't know would ever come.

Things were different now. Now I had things to do.

After Mom and I were forced apart, I escaped on my own.

There was a brief gap each day when Pax changed the guards. I watched that gap for two months, committing everything to memory: when the guards changed and how long the gap lasted. Two months was enough for me to work it all out.

That day, Pax went out to meet some envoy, and I slipped through a window on the side of the tower during the changing of the guard. The window was too small for an adult to fit through, but I was only six and had narrow shoulders, so I squeezed through. I twisted my foot when I landed, and the pain made me bite down on my sleeve.

The stables were on the west side of the courtyard. I picked a brown mare, the gentlest one there. Pax's study was next to the stables, and the door was unlocked. There were money pouches sitting on the desk. I took two. Enough to buy passage on a ship, enough to eat, enough to live until I found my brother.

Once I left the city gates, I didn't stop. I traveled by day and curled up in the bushes by the roadside at night. Once, a group of horsemen appeared in the distance. I led the horse into a ditch and buried my face in her mane, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of my throat. Luckily, they didn't see me.

When I reached Zant Port, I used Pax's money to buy the cheapest berth. My place was in the lower hold, packed in with the cargo. The sea wind was so salty it tasted bitter, and the whole ship rocked when the waves struck it. I curled up in a corner with my knees in my arms and threw up three times.

Brother, where are you... Brother, where are you...

I kept repeating it in my head until the ship docked.

The Begaritt Continent was even hotter than Shirone. The desert sun beat down until my scalp hurt, and the water in my waterskin was gone by the second day. I was leading my horse, so tired I could barely walk. My lips were dry and cracked, and my vision began to blur. For a moment, I wanted to sit down, just for a little while, but I thought of my brother.

I thought that he was probably looking for me too. When I thought of that...

I got back up.

Later, I met a caravan. They gave me water and took me to Rapan. On the day I arrived in Rapan, I saw my brother outside an inn.

He was missing a hand.

The kitchen fire was burning. I kneaded the dark bread dough and put it in the oven, then started cutting the meat. Every slice was about the same thickness. Mother had taught me that. She said you had to be organized to work quickly, work quickly to get more done, and get more done to be needed.

Being needed-that's my place in this house.

Heat poured from the stove opening, making my forehead sweat. I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows, wiped my hands on my apron, and began chopping onions. My eyes began to sting by the third one. I blinked a few times and kept cutting.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

Norn came down from the second floor, her hair still uncombed. She wore one of Brother's old shirts over her pajamas, so large she could have worn it as a dress. The stray tuft of hair on top of her head stuck up, as listless as she was.

"Aisha!" She ran to the kitchen doorway, her eyes shining. "Sister-in-law said she'd teach me the second form today! Want to join us?"

"But I don't know how to use a sword."

"Then learn!"

"Go on, Sister. I still have to watch the fire."

Norn pouted and ran off. Before long, the clatter of wooden sticks came from the courtyard, along with Sister-in-law's low, clipped voice: "Feet apart. That's it. Again."

I stood in the kitchen doorway, watching Norn run off. The old shirt swayed around her, its hem nearly reaching her knees.

Sister, you don't understand anything. You can learn swordsmanship, get stronger, and stand beside Brother openly and say, 'I'm family too.' But what about me? What can I do? Cook, wash clothes, clean. I'm just this family's maid.

I sighed and went back to the kitchen. The bread was almost done, so I took it out of the oven. My fingers touched the oven wall, and I hurriedly pinched my earlobes.

The toasty scent of bread filled the kitchen.

That morning, I went to brush Lady Zenith's hair.

She sat in a chair by the window, gazing outside. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell across her shoulders. Norn was practicing swordsmanship with Sister-in-law in the courtyard, and the clack of wooden sticks came through the window, mingled with Sister-in-law's brief instructions.

"My lady, I've come to brush your hair."

She didn't respond, but when I picked up the comb, her fingers moved slightly on her knee.

I stood behind her and brushed her hair, stroke by stroke, very gently, from the crown of her head to the ends. Her hair was fine and soft.

When I was halfway through, the corners of her mouth curved upward.

I saw it.

I crouched down and looked at her face. Her gaze was still unfocused, but she had definitely smiled.

She knows everything. She just can't say it. She can feel who's beside her, feel me brushing her hair, feel Norn practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard. She knows everything.

"My lady," I said softly, "breakfast today was stew and dark bread. I added rosemary grown locally in Sharia. Brother said it was delicious."

She didn't respond, but her fingers brushed the back of my hand.

Very lightly.

I turned my hand over and enclosed her fingers in my palm. Her hand was cool, and her fingers were slender. I held them for quite a while, until her fingers slowly withdrew on their own.

I'll do my best. No matter what it takes, I'll make my lady better, for Brother and for this family.

It wasn't until noon that Brother came out of his study.

He stood in the hallway and stretched, rubbing his neck with his right hand. His prosthetic hung at his side, the hand looking awkward in the light.

"Aisha, is lunch ready?"

"Almost, Brother. Go wash your hands first."

He paused as he passed the kitchen doorway and glanced at me.

"Thanks for all your hard work."

Then he reached out with his right hand and ruffled my hair.

My heart began to race.

His fingers lingered on top of my head for about two seconds. Their warmth passed through my hair to my scalp. After two seconds, he withdrew his hand and went into the kitchen.

I stood in the hallway, head bowed, staring at my apron.

Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it. Brother was just thanking me for my hard work, just like when he ruffles Norn's hair. A brother thanking his little sister for her hard work and ruffling her hair is perfectly normal. It doesn't mean anything.

I took a deep breath and went into the kitchen.

"Brother, help me carry the bowls out."

"Sure."

As he passed me with the bowls, I caught the faint scent of ink on him.

I know my place. I'm just a maid, his little sister. I shouldn't have other thoughts. But every time he smiles and ruffles my hair, something sprouts in my heart. It's like a seed that fell somewhere it shouldn't have and secretly began to grow after the rain fell on it. I try desperately to push it back down, but it always comes up again.

For dinner, I made roast meat, a plate of cheese, and freshly baked dark bread.

The whole family sat around the long table. Father tore his bread with his right hand, scattering crumbs all over the table. My lady sat beside him. She didn't eat, but she didn't refuse the piece of bread placed within her reach. Norn drank her soup quietly, occasionally looking up at my lady. Sister-in-law sat next to Brother, slowly tearing her bread. Sister Roxy sat in the middle of the table, eating in small bites.

I carried the last dish out of the kitchen and sat down at the farthest corner of the table.

"The soup's delicious today." Brother held the edge of his bowl with his prosthetic hand and scooped up a spoonful with his right. "Aisha, what did you add?"

"Bay leaves. There are some growing wild next to that crooked tree in the courtyard. Sister Roxy said they could be used in cooking."

"Mm, nice."

Roxy also took a spoonful of soup and nodded. "Just the right amount of bay leaf. Aisha, you're getting better and better at judging spices."

"Thank you, Sister Roxy!"

Paul took a sip of soup and put down his spoon. He wiped the corner of his mouth with his right hand and looked at everyone at the table.

"Rudeus, when are you and Eris planning to have your wedding...?"

The dinner table fell silent in an instant.

Sister-in-law's hand stopped in midair, half a piece of bread still between her teeth. Brother's spoon stopped too, and he glanced at Sister-in-law.

"I haven't decided yet," Brother said. "Let's talk about it after I enroll."

"You're already living together, and you're still in no hurry," Paul muttered.

Across the table, Norn kept her head down, her face buried low. Roxy held her bowl, her gaze shifting from Paul to Brother, then to Sister-in-law, before finally settling on her own bowl.

My grip tightened on my spoon, my fingers turning a little white from the force. The sound of the spoon striking the rim of my bowl was especially grating at the quiet dinner table.

The wedding, his wedding to Sister-in-law. Why? Why did my heart sink when I heard the word 'wedding'? No, this isn't right... Why does it hurt?

I loosened my grip on the spoon and went back to my soup. It was no longer hot, only lukewarm, but my throat felt a little tight as I swallowed.

No one noticed my reaction, because I always sat at the farthest corner of the table, I was always the last to sit down, and I always smiled and said, "It's nothing."