| |
Arabella was fortunate to live just down the road from Braylen. They’d been friends since Arabella was nine, just after her grandmother died. Braylen lived in a grand estate with his parents. The property was gated, and as a child Braylen was never allowed outside without a guardian. He was an only child and heir to a ship-building fortune.
A few days after Grandma Emmelyn died, Arabella’s father found a tiny orange and white kitten mewling pitifully inside the stable. He gave Arabella the kitten to cheer her up. Arabella loved the kitten immediately and named him Murray. Murray was too young to survive without his mother, so Arabella fed him milk every day out of a dropper.
Three weeks later, Murray snuck out of the house. As Arabella ran after him, a new horse her father had brought home reared up at the sight of the kitten. Murray’s fur puffed up at the sight of the giant, whinnying horse and he took off down the road. Arabella raced after him, her breath burning in her throat. When Murray reached a tall gate with McGavern across the top, he slipped through the wrought iron bars.
Arabella tearfully called for Murray to come back. He had been her only solace since Grandma Emmelyn died. She couldn’t fit through the bars, and the gate was locked. The little guard shelter was empty. She sat down on the grass outside the gate, worn out.
“Is this your cat?” a young boy’s voice called out.
Arabella turned, and there was a skinny boy with floppy hair holding an orange and white kitten. Arabella scrambled to her feet. She wiped the tears from her face. Murray was shy, and usually hid from strangers, yet he seemed perfectly content to let the boy hold him.
“Yes!” Arabella said happily. “Thank you for catching him. He got scared of a horse and ran away.”
“You’re welcome, the boy replied. He gave her a lopsided grin as he handed Murray through the gate. “What’s his name?”
Arabella snuggled Murray to her chest, feeling her racing heart slow down. “Murray,” she responded. “What’s your name?”
“Braylen.”
“I’m Arabella,” she said. “How old are you? I’ve never seen you at school.”
Braylen’s face reddened. “I’m ten. I have tutors. I do all my schoolwork here.”
“That sounds lonely.”
Braylen shrugged. “It is. I’d rather go to school with everyone else.”
“I could come visit you sometimes,” Arabella offered shyly. “I live just down the road.”
Braylen’s face brightened. “I’d like that. Can you come tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Arabella agreed. “I can come over after school, around three-thirty.”
“Great!” Braylen said enthusiastically.
Murray began to squirm. “I have to go,” Arabella said. “’Bye, Braylen!”
“See you tomorrow!” he called.
After that, Arabella went to Braylen’s house often. Sometimes her sisters would accompany her. At first, Braylen’s parents’ cavernous mansion amazed her, but after a while, she grew accustomed to it, and she, Braylen, and her sisters would play hide-and-go seek amongst the beautiful decor.
At the entrance to the McGavern estate, the guard, Henry, opened the gate for her. “Evening, Miss,” the elderly man greeted Arabella.
“Hi, Henry,” she said warmly. “How is Estelle?” Henry had been the guard the whole time she knew Braylen. She’d gotten to know his wife quite well.
“Good, good,” Henry said. “You have yourself a nice visit, Miss Arabella.”
“Thank you, Henry.”
Arabella nudged Gus in the direction of Braylen’s workshop on the outskirts of the property. It had been a playhouse for him as a child. She dismounted and knocked on the door of the workshop. “Bray?” she called.
A few seconds later, the door swung open, and a tall, lanky man with sandy-brown hair and green eyes grinned at her. “Aira!” he said happily.
“Hi, Bray.”
“Come on in.”
She stepped into the workshop. There were floor-to-ceiling shelves along one wall. When Braylen was a child, they’d been filled with toys. Now vials of herbs, potions, and liquid extracts filled the space. On a long table in the center of the room, there was a large bowl surrounded by measuring spoons, measuring cups, and several vials of liquid.
Braylen’s father wanted him to go into the family ship-building business, but Braylen was more interested in becoming a great potion maker. Unfortunately for Braylen, he wasn’t very good at it. He had a short attention span, and often misread spells.
“What are you making, Bray?” she inquired as she hoisted herself up on a stool at the table.
He flitted around, adding a little of this and a little of that to the bowl. “Oh, a potion for Ebstene. He gave me some spells to practice. This one is for heartburn.”
“Sounds fun,” Arabella commented wryly.
Braylen smirked.
“So, guess who I saw in town today?” Arabella asked as she fiddled with one of the vials on the table.
“Haydia?” Braylen guessed. He made a face.
Arabella laughed. “Well, yes, unfortunately. But that doesn’t matter. Noah’s back.”
Braylen turned to face her. A drop of liquid dripped off the end of the dropper in his hand into the bowl, unnoticed. “And?”
“He said he might see me at the Moose,” Arabella said.
Braylen raised an eyebrow. “It is the only tavern in town.”
Arabella brightened. “So odds are I’ll run into him there eventually, right?”
Braylen laughed. “That’s what I like about you, Aira. You always believe everything will turn out the way you want it to.”
Arabella grinned. Just then, a fizzling sound came from the bowl behind Braylen. He spun around and looked at the liquid inside, which had turned a muddy brown. He scratched his head. “Huh. Ebstene said this was supposed to turn bright purple. I must have done something wrong.” He frowned at the offensive bowl of brown liquid.
Arabella suppressed a smile. This sort of thing happened to Braylen a lot.
“Well, I guess this means it’s time for a break,” Braylen said, shrugging nonchalantly. “Cocktail hour?”
“No time like the present,” Arabella agreed. She followed Braylen up to the house, where they sipped sangrias in the backyard garden. The garden was illuminated with lanterns. When she began to feel sleepy, Braylen walked her and Gus back to the front gate.
Arabella hopped up on Gus and he plodded back toward The Highlands. He knew the way. Arabella found herself looking forward to her shift at the Moose tomorrow night, hoping that Noah would stop by.