Panae Hall was a typical cave of adolescence. A pungent odor of corn chips and peeled onion wafted from the dorm rooms and great hall into the hallway and lesser-used rooms. On days when they were outside and could keep the balcony and front doors open, it was not too malodorous. At night, however, the congealed sweat, salt and hormone gave the place a repugnant fetor. It was stank.
Ylli and Yolli walked in the door behind Mr. Andvari and frowned, looking at each other. Yolli, the younger of the two, plugged her nose with her hand. Ylli jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow. Pim and Maveith moved past and flopped down into the chairs at the table, dropping their packs.
“Did you bring in all the salt and packs?” asked Mr. Andvari as he led the girls through the bare hallway and into the great room littered with upturned backpacks, bandages, ointments, herbs, and firewood. Rarr was still in the corner with the dog, caressing it between sobs. The girls turned toward the door. “No. You stay here. The boys can unload the cart.” Pim rolled his eyes and Maveith sighed as they left the great room. “We need to get you girls your rooms. Do you want your own rooms or share?” Yolli shifted up against her older sister. “One room it is,” said Mr. Andvari. He took them down the hall and showed them the room next to Maveith’s. “We don’t have any more beds, but we’ve got plenty of blankets. You can make a pallet until we can make you some beds.” The girls had nothing with them so they all returned to the great room.
By then the great room was stacked with bags and trunks of salt along with the packs and bandages and other items. It was a mess. Maveith and Pim were lying on the floor next to Adrastos, who was napping. Ylli and Yolli looked around for a bit then moved around the room cleaning and organizing. Ylli grabbed the bags of salt and stacked them along a wall while Yolli picked up the bits of bandages and herbs.
“Girls, you aren’t our servants. Come and sit down,” said Mr. Andvari, but they ignored him. He went over to Ylli and touched her arm. She jerked suddenly and lowered her eyes to the floor. “It’s okay to rest,” he said. The girl stood motionless with her head bowed. Mr. Andvari noticed her reaction to his touch and nodded his head, taking a small step backwards. Ylli lifted her eyes and got back to work as if nothing happened. Mr. Andvari moved toward the pile of salt bags in the room and picked one up. Ylli dashed over and took the bag from his hand, then shuffled off to the corner and placed it with the others. Mr. Andvari took a deep breath and sat down at the table.
Within an hour the great room was cleaned and organized. Every pack was emptied, clothes folded, and the contents placed in each ward’s room neatly on the bed—or in the case of the new wards—on the floor. The girls found their way to the kitchen, pilfered through the cabinets and pantries, and filled two buckets with large amounts of water, vinegar, and hand-squeezed lemon juice. They started in the corner of the great room by the stove. The stone floor was black with soot until the girls scrubbed the floors clean with horse-hair brushes and rags.
Adrastos woke up, stretched and watched the girls for a while, still leaning against the wall. The longer she watched, the more agitated she became, taking long breaths, huffing, and muttering to herself. Finally, she stood up and clopped over to Mr. Andvari who was still sitting in a chair at the table. The little orea stood just a couple inches taller than her dwarf instructor. She folded her arms and huffed as he sat with his hands crisscrossed across his chest, his eyes closed.
“Yes, Adrastos?” He said without opening his eyes.
“Are we slavers now?” she snapped.
“No Adrastos, we are not now nor will we ever be slavers,” he said, his eyes still closed.
“Those girls are working for us like they are slaves,” she huffed. Mr. Andvari sighed and opened his eyes. He left his arms crisscrossed.
“I was uncomfortable with it at first,” he said calmly, looking up into her eyes. “I tried to help them clean. But for the first time, Ylli gave me a look.”
“What look?” questioned Adrastos.
“You were asleep when I picked up a bag of salt to help them move it.” He pointed to Ylli. “She slipped across that floor quicker than a mouse and grabbed that salt bag from me.” He uncrossed his arm and placed them on his knees, making him lean forward. “She shot me a look and I understood.”
“Understood what?” Adrastos snapped.
“These girls have been servants—slaves—to their father their whole life,” he said quietly. “They don’t speak unless they are spoken to. They don’t bother anyone. They cooked and cleaned and served their father. And if they did well, they didn’t get beat.” He tilted his head to the side and motioned toward them. Adrastos watched the girls work. They were efficient. They were fast. The way the girls cleaned was elegant, artful. “This is what they do and they do it well,” he said as he watched them. Then he turned back to Adrastos and looked into her eyes. “They aren’t cleaning because they have to. For the first time in their lives they are cleaning because they want to.”
“Why would they …” she shouted. Mr. Andvari raised his eyebrows and Adrastos stopped, changing her tone into a whisper. “Why would they want to clean?”
“It’s all about choice,” he said. “They don’t have to clean. We didn’t ask them to do any work. In fact, I told them to rest.” Mr. Andvari smiled and grabbed Adrastos’ hands. “These girls are working because they choose to. Because they want to. Because we, quite frankly, need someone to teach us to clean and organize. I mean, look at this place,” he said as he ran his hand around the room.
“We need them,” Adrastos realized.
“Yeah. We don’t know how to do that. Just watch them!” he exclaimed. “It takes me twice as long to clean and it’s only done half as well.”
“Their father needed them, too,” Adrastos noted.
“Choice and control. Life is all about choice and control,” he said. “They aren’t slaves or servants. Do you get that?”
“I guess so,” said Adrastos, still uncertain.
“Those two girls are doing us a kindness because we did one to them,” he reassured her. “By doing this for us, they are repaying what they see as their debt. That keeps us on equal ground.”
“Tit for tat,” she said.
“Quid pro quo,” he retorted. “It’s okay. They want to earn their keep and be equal. If we take that from them, then they go from being slaves to being poor and pitiful.”
“Okay. I still don’t like it,” she snorted.
“That’s okay,” Mr. Andvari stated. “Soon we will learn some cleaning skills from them. You won’t feel bad after you do some cleaning like that.”
Adrastos moaned, rolled her eyes and left his side to check on the dog. She kneeled next to Rarr, putting her hand on his back. She quietly observed the dog on the floor panting. He didn’t move much except for his quick breaths.
“Mr. Andvari, I think he’s hurting a lot.” Mr. Andvari stood up and walked over. Rarr’s breathing pattern matched the dog: fast, shallow breaths.
“I think you’re right, Adrastos,” he noted. “The medicine should have had time to work.” He turned to get some creamed kratom and ran into Pim, who was holding a triangular flask with a cork.
“Creamed kratom,” said Pim as he handed the vial to Mr. Andvari then walked away.
“Thanks, Pim.” Mr. Andvari opened the bottle and carefully poured out a splash into the dog’s mouth as it panted. The dog tried to lick, but still hurt from the face wound. “I think that will work.”
“Do you think he will be okay,” asked Adrastos.
“Truth?” he asked. Adrastos nodded reluctantly. “It’s too soon to know. Let’s see how it does overnight.”
“It?” she snapped.
“I’m sorry,” apologized Mr. Andvari. “He. Let’s see how he does overnight.”
“He needs a name,” Adrastos announced.” Rarr took his eyes off the dog and howled.
“That’s not a good idea,” said Mr. Andvari. “Not until we know if he will recover, anyway. Can we wait?”
Rarr jumped to his feet and howled again then continued panting in time with the dog. This time his pant had a grunt with it.
“Zeus!” Maveith chimed in from the floor.
These kids are going to name this dog and he’s going to die in the night. It’s going to make the pain hurt worse, thought Mr. Andvari.
“How about Samson?” suggested Pim.
Rarr dropped to the floor turning his attention back to the dog. He resumed petting and repeating friend in a rhythm.
“We could call him Three Toes,” said Maveith. “You know, because he only has three legs now.”
This is not a good idea, thought Mr. Andvari shaking his head. “Can we wait on this?” he said to deaf ears.
“Tyr would be good,” suggested Pim.
“What if we wait to name him. Just in case he doesn’t make it,” Mr. Andvari offered.
“Mr. Andvari!” the wards yelled together.
“Don’t say that,” Pim barked. “He’s not going to die.”
“What about Ajax,” Adrastos chimed in, giving Mr. Andvari a sideways glance.
“Ajax is good,” said Maveith.
Rarr continued to pant and chant. Friend. Friend. Friend.
These kids are bound and determined to name this dog. Might as well be a good name. “Phylos,” he said pointing to Rarr and the dog. “Phylos means friend in old Aether.” He put his finger to his lips then pointed at Rarr as the boy pant-chanted, caressing the dog softly.
“I like it,” said Adrastos.
“Yeah, I do too,” chimed in Pim. Adrastos walked over to Rarr and leaned down. She touched the boy’s shoulder.
“Rarr?” He looked up at her as he petted the dog. “What do you think if we named the dog Phylos? It means friend.”
Rarr hooted, stood up, spun in a circle three times, then sat back down. He caressed the dog again but this time chanted: Phylos. Phylos. Phylos. Phylos.
“I guess that settles that,” said Maveith. Mr. Andvari shook his head, afraid of the outcome. Then he thought of Penelopas down the hall.
“We should check on …”
“Already on it,” Pim interrupted already walking out the great room doors.
“Thanks Pim,” said Mr. Andvari said as he marveled at Pim’s intuition.
“We need someone awake at all times the next twenty-four hours to take care of Penelopas and … Phylos,” said Mr. Andvari. “I’m going to take first watch. I’ll wake Adrastos in a few hours. After that, I want you to take shifts every two hours. Rub Penelopas’s skin down with the tea Gaia gave us. Check on her every thirty minutes. Make sure the fire is strong and the room is blazing. Keep a kettle of water on the fire at all times. I want it so hot in there that when you go in you sweat like a dancing mule.”
Maveith snorted.
“Stay in here the rest of the time and keep an eye on the dog—I mean Phylos—and Rarr.” Mr. Andvari looked at Adrastos. “You need to go and get some sleep. You are up next. The rest of you need to get to bed, too. Your shift will come sooner than you want.” He shooed the kids to bed then went to the kitchen for a pitcher of water and two cups. Mr. Andvari set the cups on the table in the great room, poured them full, and gave one to Rarr. He then moved a chair next to Rarr and sat down. Mr. Andvari bent down and rubbed Rarr on the back. “It’s going to be okay, Rarr. We will do everything we can for Phylos.”
“Phylos,” Rarr repeated.
Penelopas laid in bed covered in blankets for three days, a constant fire roasting her room with heat and humidity. Her skin was still cool. Every two hours a ward brushed her skin with a tea-soaked sponge just as Gaia ordered. Penelopas did not toss or turn and her hands stayed wherever they were placed.
In the late evening of the third day, Ylli and Yolli snuck in to see Penelopas. They were not part of the rotation, but checked on her frequently anyway. Ylli went to Penelopas’s bedside and slipped her hands beneath the covers while Yolli stoked the fire.
“Her hypothermē broke,” whispered Ylli. “Feel.” Yolli dropped the bellows she used to stoke the fire and slipped her hands beneath the blankets feeling Penelopas’s arm. Yolli nodded to her sister. They pulled back the blankets and touched Penelopas’s legs. Warmth. They felt her neck and her ribs. Warmth.
Ylli snapped her head toward Yolli, grunted, and pointed two fingers toward the corner of the room. Yolli threw open the door and dashed down the hallway. As fast as she ran, she made no sound, not even when she opened the door. The halls, dorm rooms, kitchen, were all vacant. Pim was the only other person in Panae Hall. He was in the great room watching Phylos. Yolli ran in and stopped. Pim turned and looked at her.
“What?” he asked. Yolli lifted her hand above her head with her palm face down. “What?” Pim said again. He put down the potato he was peeling and walked to her. Yolli—her hair pulled back in a ponytail—ran her hand along her scalp then put her hand back up above her head. It was the same height as Mr. Andvari. Pim got it. “He’s outside. On top of Leftover Hall training everyone else.”
Yolli turned and sprinted down the hallway and out the front door. She slowed down at the stone staircase running along the outside of Panae Hall, but she made it to each one. She maneuvered the last stair and ran to Mr. Andvari, grabbing his hand and tugging.
“Yolli!” he said surprised. “Just a second,” he shooed her as he continued to instruct. Yolli moved in front of the dwarf and grabbed his belt with both hands and pulled. “Mr. Andvari handed his katana to Maveith. “What’s wrong?” She continued to pull on his belt. Her skinny face was drawn up and her eyes were squinty. “Okay. Show me, girl!” exclaimed Mr. Andvari. He dashed behind Yolli until the stairs. He grabbed her tiny body up and lunged down the stairs one foot per stair step. He hit the door and let Yolli go, following her into Panae Hall. She led him up the hallway and stopped at Penelopas’s door, which was wide open. Ylli and Pim stood like pillars on each side of the bed. Penelopas was sitting upright against the headboard. Mr. Andvari rushed to her side as Ylli moved out of his way.
Penelopas’s eyes stared into his eyes and she wept tears but made no sound.
“You are awake,” said Mr. Andvari as he gently wrapped his thick arms around her. He let go and looked at her. The girl continued her silent cry.
The rest of the wards poured in behind Mr. Andvari filling Penelopas’s room.
“It’s hot,” coughed Penelopas. Mr. Andvari harrumphed then smiled.
“It’s been hot for three days, little sister girl,” he laughed. “You could roast a pig in here with the heat we’ve had going.”
Adrastos made her way to the same side of the bed as Pim and took Penelopas’s hand. Maveith stayed at the foot of the bed and three steps back.
“It’s about time.” barked Adrastos. “Three days is a long time to lie around in bed.”
“Adrastos!” exclaimed Pim. “Why are you so rude all the time?”
“We were worried about you, Penelopas,” Mr. Andvari said softly.
“What happened?” asked Adrastos.
“Yeah, how did you do that?” wondered Maveith.
“Everyone out!” Mr. Andvari pointed to the door. “There’s plenty of time for questions later. Let our girl get her bearings.” The kids left Mr. Andvari alone in Penelopas’s room as he patted her arm. She laid back against the headboard and breathed deep. “You scared me,” Mr. Andvari recalled.
“What happened?”
“What do you remember?” he quizzed.
“I remember feeling really scared. And I remember men, bad men, everywhere.” She paused and looked at her body frantically. “Did they hurt me?”
“No. They didn’t hurt you at all. You’re okay.”
“Then why am I in bed? Why don’t I remember anything?”
“I’m not sure, exactly, Penelopas. It was … strange.”
“What do you mean, strange?” she asked. Mr. Andvari took a breath.
“Let’s talk later, when you feel better. Right now …”
“Don’t you leave me, Mr. Andvari. And don’t you dare placate me,” Penelopas said sternly. “I feel … I don’t feel right inside. I want to know what happened to me.”
“Well …” he said hesitantly.
“Don’t lie to me, commanded Penelopas. “I can’t handle it. You tell me the truth. All the truth.” Mr. Andvari pulled a stool over and sat down by her bed, still holding her hand. He nodded and took another breath.
“The bad men attacked us,” he said. “They were dog fighters.”
“I think I remember that,” she said longingly.
“You were by yourself, huddled on the ground covered by your cloak.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Then you stood up, pulled back your hood, and then … they,” he stopped.
“Then what, Andvari?” She snapped.
“You muttered something. I couldn’t tell what. But all of a sudden a war party of orea showed up from every part of the forest,” Mr. Andvari recalled. “They surrounded the men surrounding us.”
“I don’t understand,” Penelopas said puzzled. Mr Andvari took another deep breath.
“They weren’t real,” he said closing his eyes.
“Then where did they come from?” Penelopas asked still confused.
“You conjured them.” Mr. Andvari opened his eyes and studied Penelopas.
“No. I didn’t.
“You did, Penelopas. They came from you.”
“I couldn’t have.” Penelopas’s forehead was wrinkled, her eyes squinted. “I don’t know how to do that. It had to be someone else.”
“The orea were wreathed in flame. Red, gold and white swirled around them. The ….” He stopped because he couldn’t quite find the word. “The captain? The general? I’m not sure. Anyway, the leader stepped forward and threatened the dog fighters with death. They ran off into the woods. Left their cart and their fighting dogs. Everything.”
“And you think I did that?” she asked.
“You did, yes. I don’t know how, but you did.”
“Then what happened?”
“Well, you collapsed,” he said matter-of-factly. “You were barely breathing. We were pretty scared.”
“So what happened after all of that?”
“I put you in the cart, along with the dog they were torturing. The dog’s in the great room recovering.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Although I’m not sure he will survive,” Mr. Andvari said. “That’s another story. We rushed back here.”
“Adrastos said I’ve been out three days,” she said. “Is that right?”
“Three days. Gaia came and told us what to do.” Mr. Andvari pointed to the fireplace and tea pot. “We’ve kept a roasting fire the whole time. And rubbed you down every two hours with some root tea Gaia gave.”
“Oh.” Penelopas moaned.
“And we waited.” Penelopas wept and Mr. Andvari held her until she stopped. A knock came at the door. “What?” he shouted. “We’re still busy!”
“I have some soup and goat’s milk for Penelopas,” Pim said through the door. “And more tea, of course.” He opened the door, stepped inside, and set the tray down. He turned to Penelopas, smiled, and left, closing the door behind him.
Pim went into the great room to a crowd hovering over Phylos. Rarr was on his feet, hopping up and down and shouting the dog’s name over and over. Pim walked over and the dog was in a half-sit-half-lay awkward sprawl lapping up some broth Ylli made from some auroch femur bones. Phylos’ tongue darted in and out of the side of his mouth past his stitches and bandages, in a cockeyed flip-flap. A loose flap of skin popped up and down as his tongue lapped up the broth.
“It’s kinda gross,” said Adrastos.
“Watching you eat is gross,” said Pim. He bleated and pretended to scarf food, dropping bits of pretend food on the floor.
“Yeah, at least this dog keeps most of his food in his mouth,” added Maveith.
“Oh shut up, you two,” Adrastos laughed.
It might have been disgusting for a normal kid at the Iasos Unified Preparatory Abbey, but the Leftovers were used to outcasts tossed away by friends and family and scumbags alike. Disfigurements, disabilities, disappointments, parentless children, anger problems—none of it was abnormal for kids already tossed away by the world. An injured fighting dog with half a face was nothing. He ate. He survived. That’s all that mattered.
“They both made it through,” observed Pim. “Today is a good day.”
“Three days,” noted Maveith.
“Oh look, hims can add,” snarked Adrastos. Maveith smiled at her jest.
Rarr added a spin to his hop and flapped his arms a bit. He laid with Phylos the entire time. Adrastos had made a pallet on the floor for Rarr three days prior knowing he would never leave the dog’s side.
“We should celebrate,” said Maveith.
“Foggy Corpse!” shouted Pim. “And I can make some leek and potato chowder and fresh tsoureki.”
“Is that the braided sweet bread you make, Pim?” asked Adrastos. “I love that stuff; it’s the best.”
Mr. Andvari stood behind the cluster of kids. Penelopas was with him, using his arms for support. He didn’t like it, but she insisted on getting up.
“Looks like things are looking up,” said Pim as he moved to the other side of Penelopas and smiled at her.