Six Of Foxes (Six Foxes)

Ken

Two days after Krista came out of the infirmary, Ken was able to reach her. He was sitting alone, his legs crossed, his back propped up beside the ship, sipping a cup of tea.

    Ken approached Krista with a limp. "I want to show you something."

    "I'm fine, thanks for asking," Krista said, looking up to Ken. "How are you?"

    Ken felt the corners of his lips lift. "It's amazing." He lowered himself beside Krista and put down his wand.

    "Your feet hurt?"

    "It's okay. It's." Ken opened a picture sheet of Reyn's prison sector among them. Most of Reyn's plans show the Royalemerald from above, but the prison image appears sideways, with piled floors.

    "I've seen it" said Krista. He aimed his finger at the floor plan from the basement to the roof. "Six floors up to the chimney."

    "You willing?"

    Krista's dark-colored eyebrows shot up. "Is there another option?"

    "No."

    "So, if I can't, will you tell Aye to turn around?"

    "I'm going to find another option" said Ken. "What's up, but I'm not gonna give up."

    "You know I'm capable of Ken, and you know I won't resist. So, why are you asking?"

    I've been looking for reasons to talk to you for two days.

    "I want to make sure that you know what you're going to face and that you've learned this plan."

    "Will there be a test?"

    "Yes" said Ken. "If you fail, we'll all be trapped in Barchen's prison."

    "Hmmmm," Krista said, then sipped her tea. "And I'm gonna die." He closed his eyes while leaning his head against the hull of the ship. "What I'm worried about is that our escape route is there's only one way out."

    Ken's leaning into the hull. "Me too" he admitted as he stretched his injured leg. "But that is exactly how the people of Baarchen built it."

    "You trust Aye?"

    Ken glanced at Krista. "Is there any reason not to believe it?"

    "No, but if only the septicaye didn't wait in port--"

    "I believe it enough."

    "He owes you?"

    Ken nodded. He circled around, and said, "While he is a pirate, he has a sister who lives near Feiling and must live, the crew leave him because his heart is soft. His ship, the cargo, all gone. I gave him money."

    "You're good, yeah."

    Ken narrowed his eyes. "I'm not a character in the story of children who do prank and steal from the rich to pity the poor. There is information to be obtained and information to be collected. Aye knew the naval routes as well as the back of her own hand."

    "Ken never gave for free" Krista said, her eyes fixed on Ken. "I know, but the point is, if the septicaye is intercepted, we can't leave 'udeshleg."

    Tell me you believe. Ken wants Krista to say that. This job was another one with a job he had tried before. Every doubt that Krista expressed was natural and merely echoed the fear that had been plucked in Ken's head. He rebuked the girl before leaving Moontown, saying he could brand a new spider for the job if Krista doubted it. Ken wants Krista to tell him she believes Ken can, that Ken was able to get him into the Royalemerald and get them out safely and completely as he had done in his previous work with the rest of the crew. Ken wants Krista to tell him she believes in Ken.

    But, Krista just said, "I heard that Rav Frederic told us to get shot at in the harbor."

    A wave of disappointment struck Ken. "Then?"

    "Don't think I didn't notice that you like to go after him, Ken."

    "He's just a regular boss, just a Krisbow thug."

    "It's not just that. When you challenge other gangs, it's just a matter of business. But when it comes to Rav Frederic, it's personal."

    Lately, Ken doesn't know exactly why he opened his mouth. He never told anyone, never said the word out loud. But now, Ken stared at the screen above them and said, "He killed my brother."

    She did not need to look at Krista's face to feel that the girl was shaken. "You got a sister?"

    "There's a lot I used to have" Ken muttered.

    "I'm so sorry."

    Does he want Krista's sympathy? Is that why he told the girl?

    "Ken--" Krista hesitated. What will the girl do now? Try patting Ken's arm to cheer him up? Saying that he understands?

    "I'll pray for her" said Krista. "To be at peace there, if not here."

    Ken looked. They were sitting so close together that their shoulders almost touched. Krista's eyes were so brown that they were almost black and, once in a while, her hair was down. She always curled her hair tightly. Being this close to someone else should give Ken goosebumps. However, the young man thought, What will happen if I get closer?

    "I don't want your prayers" said Ken.

    "Then what do you want?"

    The old answer came to his mind. Of money. Revenges. Keiko's voice is no longer ringing in my head forever. However, the answer was different from his inner voice, overstretched, uninvited. You're. Cristae. You're.

    Ken shrugged and turned. "Death is buried under my own heap of gold."

    Krista sighs. "Then I pray you get what you want."

    "Pray again?" ask Ken. "And what do you want, Cat?"

    "Lift a foot from Moontown and never hear that name again."

    Good, Ken will have to find a new spider, but at least his attention will no longer be distracted by this one. "That sixty million cairo of yours can grant your wish" Ken said. "So pray that the weather is good and the guards are stupid. You don't need to say my name in your prayers."

<<>><<>><<>>

    Ken limps into the bow, irritated to himself and angry at Krista. Why did he come to the girl? Why did he tell you about Keiko? For days he was upset and unfocused. He was used to being overshadowed by his Cat - who fed crows outside his bedroom window, who sharpened knives while he worked at his desk, who rebuked him with Zemeni proverbs. He doesn't want Krista. He wants his routine back to the way it was before.

    Ken's propped up to the ship's fence. She wished that she had said nothing about her brother. The few words that just now had evoked memories that were clamoring for his attention. After their father died, the tax ran out which drained his money. Keiko sold their farm. The money they get is not much, because some of the money is paid for debt. At the very least, the rest were sufficient to drive them safely to Moontown and provide for them for some time.

~Next Ken 2