The Starling and the Hatter by Annette K. Larsen EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Author: Annette K. Larsen
- Language: English
- Formats: PDF / EPUB
- Status: Available for Download
- Series: None
- Price: Free
- File Size: 2 MB
Elise
I rifled through the contents of the wagon, stuffing fistfuls of my
belongings into my satchel. The voices yelling back and forth outside were
a mercy. I didn’t have to sneak and be quiet, I could just be fast. Speed was
what I needed most if I were going to escape my brothers.
At first I only grabbed my belongings. Clothing, shoes, a hairbrush, a
bundle of dried meat and nuts, a water pouch, and a thin bedroll. Then the
jangle of a purse caught my attention. Money. Of course I had to take
money with me. I grabbed the purse and took a few precious seconds to
look for more. Leaving my brothers was my first priority, but money would
get me much farther. I found another handful of coins and a gold brooch.
They’d be furious to find me gone, and even more furious when they
realized I’d taken any coins, but I didn’t feel guilty. I’d earned this money.
As one of the three infamous Wolfe siblings, I’d performed and bewitched
and collected coins from audiences that were always dazzled by the act we
put on. Our unique wagon had been built to resemble a great beast or wolf,
and I always played the damsel in distress in our dramatic act. It was a
performance we’d worked hard to hone and improve, and the audience
loved it.
I was done being the damsel in distress.
Looking around the dark wagon interior one more time, I wrapped my
cloak around me and threw the satchel across my back. I’d lived my life in
this wagon, curled up in my corner. I’d done everything I was told in
exchange for the assurance that my brothers would take care of me. But
today, they had been the ones to injure me. They’d been the ones to throw
me in the hold beneath the wagon as punishment for daring to stand up for
someone. The only reason I was free now was due to the kindness of a
complete stranger.
I owed my brothers nothing but contempt, and I refused to live under the
combined misery of their violent hands and oppressive heels any longer.
So I slipped out the door and down the two small steps at the back of the
wagon, grateful that the strangers who had pulled me from the hold still had
my brothers restrained and distracted.
I jumped to the ground and ran into the woods, thankful for the dark night
that hid me. The village of Murrwood was just north of here, which meant I
would have to skirt the peddlers’ camp in order to go there. I didn’t expect
anyone would notice my departure. They were all captivated by the
spectacle of my brothers arguing with those they had wronged. So I hurried
through the trees, anxious to put as much space between me and my
brothers as possible.
“Elise!”
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