The Forestwalker

by Sarah Wheeler

Table of Contents

Chapter 19

Time stood still as Gareth's father held him close. His grip was tight and strong, but Gareth didn't care, because he too was holding onto his father as tightly as he could. He could feel his father's tears dripping into his hair, but he didn't mind that either: he was sure that he was leaving a large wet patch where his face was buried in the shoulder of his father's jacket. The two of them were still and silent for a long time, content just to be in one another's presence, but finally Gareth's father held him up at arm's length and set him on his feet again. He was grinning broadly even as tears continued to stream down his cheeks. Gareth stared up at his father, still having trouble believing all this was really happening, and opened his mouth to say... something, anything to break the silence.

“Da... I'm... I'm so sorry.” He hadn't meant for his first words to his father to be an apology, but once he had spoken, he couldn't help but continue until he had gotten all the guilt he had been carrying with him for the last five years off his chest. “I'm so sorry for getting lost, and for being gone for so long, and... I wanted to come home, I really did, but I couldn't, and... and... I never expected to see you again...” He trailed off, dropping his eyes in shame. How could he ever explain to his father how he had chosen slavery over freedom in order to help Kastor and Shanna? How could he expect his father to understand? How much had Tara and Kastor told his father, anyway?

“You have nothing to apologize for, lad. Nothing at all.” Before Gareth could look up, his father's arms were around him again. Gareth buried his face in the front of his father's jacket, taking in the familiar feel and smell of the soft green wool and trying hard to keep from crying again. “You were a captive and a slave; it's enough that you survived. I know you would have come home if you could. You're here now; that's all that matters. It truly is a miracle.”

At that, Gareth stepped back and looked up at his father in confusion. “You mean... you didn't know I was going to be here? You weren't here waiting for me? But... Kastor...” He turned back towards the tree trunk, hoping to ask Kastor for an explanation, but Kastor was nowhere to be seen.

When Gareth turned back to his father, his smile had been replaced by a puzzled frown. “I came along to help Tara and that young outsider boy free Holly Lightsong and the other slaves from that caravan,” he said. “I was up here keeping watch for any slavers in order to keep the groups of escaped captives safe as they traveled towards the rendezvous point. I had no idea you were among the captives on that caravan. If I had, I would have insisted on going along instead of agreeing to be left behind.” He was slowly guiding Gareth over to the hollow where the branch they were standing on met the tree's trunk as he spoke. “How did you end up on that caravan anyway? Have you been out there the whole time?” he asked as he sat down and gestured for Gareth to do the same.

Gareth didn't sit, though. Could it be that his father didn't know? Had Kastor been able to conceal his true relationship to Gareth from his father? For a moment, Gareth considered continuing the lie and never telling his father that he had been Kastor's slave. But he was free now, and he was home with his family, and there was no reason to start his new life with a lie. “No, sir,” he said heavily as he sat down. “I was only with that caravan for about a week. And as to how I got there... I presume if you knew about Holly that you met her older brother Devon?” His father nodded slowly, looking more confused by the second. “I don't want to speak ill of the misguided, but raiding the caravan to get Holly back was not his first plan. He had been in contact with those slavers before, and they convinced him that Holly and Nora would be given their freedom if he brought them other captives in exchange. He lured me away from Kastor and the others and turned me over to those slavers a week ago, and he meant to give them Kastor and Shanna as well. I don't know how his plans were foiled – Kastor hasn't told me yet – but he's lucky that they were, because those slavers never had any intention of letting his sister go in exchange for us. They had planned simply to take him captive too. I hope I get a chance to tell him that...” He trailed off introspectively, wondering what he would say to Devon when he saw him again, now that everything had turned out better than he could have expected.

“I don't understand, son.” His father's voice, heavy with confusion, broke through Gareth's thoughts. “You were here in the forest already? Were you coming home? How do you know Kastor?”

Gareth's face felt hot with shame. He looked away from his father. “It's... a very long story, sir, but... well... Kastor is... was... my... my master.” He forced himself to keep explaining, ignoring the shocked look on his father's face. “Kastor's mother is very sick, and a few months ago she went to see a doctor in Pan'sho'Ke. His father was moving the whole household there by merchant caravan, but it was attacked by bandits while traveling through Eshara and Kastor, Shanna, and I were the only ones who escaped. After several run-ins with bandits and slavers as we tried to make our way to safety, I convinced Kastor to let me lead them west through the forest, because I knew we would be safe here. I... I wasn't coming home, Da, I'm sorry.” His voice shrank to a bare whisper as his father stared blankly at him. “I wanted to – you don't know how badly – but I couldn't. Kastor and Shanna needed me... they wouldn't have survived without me. Maybe I don't owe them anything – I am... was nothing but their slave, after all – but they're good kids, and they deserve to go home to their family too. I hoped... dreamed that Kastor would set me free in appreciation for all I had done for him and I could come home, but I didn't want you and Mum to know I was here if I couldn't come home. It hurt so much just to be back in the forest again... I didn't want to cause you any more pain. I am sorry, Da. I really am.” He was trying to be stoic about all this, but he suddenly found he couldn't hold his tears of shame back any longer. He pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his head in them so that his father wouldn't see him crying.

But he had barely hidden his face when his father's arms were around him again, pulling Gareth into his lap and holding him close, rocking him as if he were a small child all over again. “Oh son, you have nothing to be sorry for, I swear. It is I who should be apologizing to you. All of us, the adults who should have been protecting you and all the other lost children from the dangers that lurk beyond our borders, owe you a great apology. And we will find a way to make it up to all of you, I promise. We've hidden in these trees for too long, hoping they would leave us alone even as they get bolder, but no longer. Now we will fight back, protect our borders and our families, and make it so those outsiders no longer see our forest as an easy place to get their slaves. I'm sorry it comes too late to spare you the last five years of pain, but I will find a way to make it up to you, I promise.”

Gareth laid his head against his father's chest and wiped his eyes on his sleeve, not really caring that he did little more than smear dirt across his face. “It wasn't your fault, Da. I was careless, and I got lost. I just didn't want you to think that I'd forgotten about you, or that I wanted to be Kastor's slave. I just didn't want you to find me only to lose me all over again. But Kastor has freed me now, and he was glad to do it. That makes up for everything. All I want now is to go home and see Mum again and let her know I'm okay.”

“She's going to be over the treetops to see you again,” Gareth's father laughed as he pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and handed it to his son so he could clean his face properly. “Assuming that sweet little girl hasn't spilled the beans about knowing you to her yet.”

“Shanna's staying with you?” Gareth asked, surprised – though, when he considered it, it seemed like the most logically safe place for her to be. He was glad at least that Kastor had found a way to safely leave her behind; a five-year-old girl had no place in a caravan raid.

“I didn't see much of her before we left the village, but she seemed like a sweet little girl... and she was very good with Gwen too.” A small, curious smile played across his father's face as he said this.

“Gwen? Who's Gwen?”

“You mean Kastor didn't tell you?” Gareth's father asked innocently, his smile widening as he looked down at his son. “Gwen's your little sister, Gareth, and she's going to be so excited to finally meet her big brother.”

“I have a little sister?” Gareth's heart leaped into his throat. The questions spilled out of him like a flood. “What's she look like? How old is she? Does she... Does she know about me?” His voice trailed off on that last question. Had his parents had a baby in order to replace him, like he'd always feared they would?

“Of course she knows about you, Gareth,” his father said as he ruffled Gareth's hair. “She's only two years old, but we've told her all about you, and she's always wanted her big brother to come home.” He hugged Gareth again. “Imagine it: our whole family back together again! It almost seems too good to be true!”

But it was true, Gareth rejoiced silently as he relaxed in his father's arms. He was home, and his life was his own once again. He could do anything now, be anyone... There was so much lost time to make up for. His friends would all be well into their chosen apprenticeships by now. Did they remember him? It didn't matter. He couldn't focus too much on what he had lost, all he'd missed out on, or he'd never move forward and learn how to be free again. Besides, there were the other freed slaves to think about, and Cesra...

Gareth suddenly sat bolt upright, jerking out of his father's arms in his haste. He had almost forgotten about Cesra! He wouldn't have to leave the younger boy behind now! “Is everything alright, son?” his father asked as Gareth jumped to his feet.

“Yes, everything's great!” Gareth said, turning around and helping his father up. “Can we go back to the others now? There's someone I want you to meet.”

“Absolutely,” his father said after a glance back towards the grasslands. “It looks like everyone's made it into the forest safely, so we'd best make ourselves scarce before those slavers come looking for their missing captives.” He took Gareth's hand as they turned to head back into the trees, though it seemed to be simply for an excuse to stay close to his son. Just before they stepped around the tree's trunk, though, his father stopped and pulled out the knife he'd left there in Gareth's memory. “Here, son. This belongs to you. Welcome home.” He handed the knife to Gareth with the same amount of solemnity as he'd had when he'd first presented it to Gareth a week before his eighth birthday. Gareth smiled up at his father through eyes bright with tears of happiness and gripped his hand tightly as they returned to the camp where the others were waiting.

When they reached the camp in the small clearing, they found that everyone was sound asleep except for Kastor, who was sitting with his back against one of the trees keeping an eye on everything. When he saw Gareth and his father entering the clearing, he smiled briefly, then got up and turned to leave.

“Kastor, wait,” Gareth called out, letting go of his father's hand and running to his former master. Kastor turned back, surprised, and Gareth stopped in front of him, awkwardly clasping his hands behind his back. He was finding it hard to look Kastor in the eye, but he finally raised his head and saw that Kastor was having the same trouble. “Thank you for finding my family. Thank you for letting me come home,” Gareth said, hoping that Kastor would be able to accept him as an equal now. Over the last few months he had come to see Kastor as more than just his master, and he suspected that Kastor had begun to see him as more than just a slave. Would they be able to move beyond the last five years and find common ground as equals and – hopefully, possibly - friends?

Kastor looked up with a guilty expression on his face, his eyes still not meeting Gareth's. “You have nothing to thank me for,” he said with a shrug. “If I had been any kind of a decent person, I would have done this months ago... years... I never would have had a slave in the first place. I am sorry for how horribly I treated you, Gareth. I can never make that up to you, I know, but I hope you can some day find it in your heart to forgive me.” Then, he did meet Gareth's eyes, and a small, hesitant smile momentarily creased his lips. “For what it's worth, you've been free since Devrost; I was just too much of a coward to tell you so. I thought if I did that you would leave me and Shanna and go back to your family. You're...” Suddenly, his voice cracked, and he stared self-consciously down at his feet again as his face turned red. “You're the only friend I've ever had, Gareth, and I didn't want to lose that. But now I have my family back, so it's only right that you have yours. Just... don't forget me, alright? The new me, I mean; the one you helped me become. Because that's the person that will be going back to the outside world and doing whatever I can to fight slavery out there while you protect your people from it here.”

“You don't seriously think I'd ever forget you, do you?” Gareth said with a laugh, and before Kastor could react, Gareth stepped up and hugged him. Kastor jumped in surprise, but then he looked up and unhesitatingly returned Gareth's friendly embrace.

When they stepped away again a few seconds later, all of Kastor's self-consciousness was gone. He smiled gratefully at his friend. “Thank you, Gareth, for making me a better person. I'll never forget that... or you.”

“You sound like you're saying goodbye,” Gareth gently chided him, “but no one's going anywhere yet. We still have a lot of work to do, you and I. Don't write off my help so soon, okay? Or my friendship.”

The half-disbelieving, earnest gratitude on Kastor's face was so heartbreakingly sincere that it would have been painful if Gareth hadn't been so happy. Apparently, Kastor had been just as afraid of losing Gareth's friendship by freeing him as Gareth had been afraid of losing his by being freed. As a first step towards showing Kastor that he had gained and not lost by doing the right thing, Gareth put an arm around his friend's shoulders and steered Kastor gently over to where his father was still standing on the edge of the clearing, watching everything. “I know you've already met, but I think it's time I made the formal introductions,” he said, forcefully ignoring Kastor's obvious reluctance to face the man he had hidden some very important information from. “Kastor, I believe you already know my father, Malcolm Elmwalker. Da, this is Kastor Crane, my friend and the person who made it possible for me to come home. I owe him my life and my freedom; nothing else he ever was or ever did matters now.” He gave both his father and Kastor significant looks as he said this, and he was relieved to see understanding in his father's eyes and unmeasurable gratitude in Kastor's. As they turned to look at one another, Gareth stepped back and allowed this second introduction to proceed of its own accord.

Kastor spoke first, squirming uncomfortably and staring down at his hands as he did so. “I'm sorry for not telling you the whole truth about myself, sir, or that I knew Gareth. I didn't tell you who I was to him because I was afraid that you wouldn't help me or take care of my sister if you knew. It was Tara's idea not to tell you that Gareth was one of the slavers' captives, though; she didn't want you to risk yourself, since you have a family and all.” He scuffed his big toe in the dirt as Gareth's father continued to stare silently at him. “I promise, sir, that as soon as this is all over, my sister and I will be leaving here and we won't ever bother you or your family again.”

Gareth's father continued to study Kastor critically for a few silent moments, but then his blank face broke into its familiar warm smile. “It's alright, lad,” he said as he stepped up and put an arm around Kastor's shoulders. “You aren't responsible for my son becoming a slave, but you are responsible for setting him free and bringing him home to his family. That makes you alright in my eyes. My offer from before still stands: you and your sister are welcome to stay with our family for as long as you like; our home and all we have is yours.”

“Thank you, sir,” Kastor said as he looked up at Gareth' father with shining eyes. “I don't deserve it, but... thanks.”

Gareth breathed a sigh of relief as he ran over to join his father and Kastor. His father put his other arm around his son's shoulders, then stared down at each of the boys in turn. “I think we all have a lot to talk about, but it can wait until we're all back home. Tara and Gavin should be back any minute, shouldn't they?” he asked Kastor, and Kastor nodded. Then he turned to Gareth. “What was it you wanted to show me, son?”

His eyes shining with excitement, Gareth grabbed his father's hand and dragged him over to where Cesra was sleeping, resisting the urge to say, “Look what I found, Da! Can we keep him?” Instead, he said, “Da, this is Cesra.” As he and his father sat down next to the small boy's bed, Gareth explained, “All the other people they rescued from the caravan were captives, and all the other kids here were taken from their homes like I was, but Cesra is different. He was born a slave. He's never known any life but slavery, he has no home or family to return to, he's going to need a lot of help adjusting to freedom, and I promised him I'd find him the best family in the world to stay with. I'll understand if you don't want another kid to take care of, with Gwen and the fact that I'm actually coming home now, but...”

His father didn't even let him finish his final thought. “Are you kidding? We'd love to have him.” He hugged Gareth again and ruffled his hair. “Do you realize you've gone from thinking you were an only child to having a younger brother and sister in the space of half an hour?” he asked with a laugh, and Gareth laughed too.

Their laughter woke Cesra up. “Gareth?” he whispered, sounding frightened and disoriented.

“Don't worry, Cesra, it's alright,” Gareth soothed him. “There's someone here I want you to meet.”

“Hello, Cesra,” Gareth's father said, taking a cue from Gareth and speaking softly as he smiled down at the little boy. “I'm Gareth's father, Malcolm Elmwalker.”

Cesra's eyes flicked up to Gareth's father's face, then dropped subserviently. “Sir,” he said softly with a nod of his head.

Gareth's father blinked in surprise, then his smile turned sad. “I understand my son made you a promise,” he said. “How would you like to come home with us?”

Cesra nodded slowly. “As you wish, sir. I am very well-trained, sir.”

The smile slipped momentarily from Gareth's father's face, but he recovered quickly. “Oh, lad, that's not what I meant. You're no one's slave any more. How would you like to join our family? My wife Helena and I have always wanted another son, and I know that Gareth would love to have a little brother. You'd have a little sister, too, named Gwen. So whaddya say, kid? We'd love for you to be a part of our family, if you'll have us.”

Now it was Cesra's turn to blink in surprise. He looked up, not at Gareth's father, but at Gareth. “Really? You mean it?” he asked, sounding like he still didn't believe that any of this was real.

“I promised you the best family in the world, Cesra,” Gareth said with a sincere grin, “and I only know one – mine. How'd you like to be my brother?”

“I... I think I'd like that,” Cesra said as a small smile slowly crossed his face. Then, he finally looked up at Gareth's father. “Would that make you my papa?”

Gareth's father blinked hard, fighting back tears, but his smile never wavered. “Yes, it would, Cesra.” Gareth had to swallow the lump that formed in his own throat as a look of unbridled joy bloomed on Cesra's face. He thought that giving Cesra his freedom would be the best feeling in the world, but giving Cesra a family and getting to be his older brother surpassed all of that. As his father sat with Cesra and began to tell him all about his new home and family, Gareth got up and went to find some water. The other children were beginning to stir, and he expected that they would all be moving out soon. He hoped that Tara would get here soon; Cesra was hiding it well, but he was obviously in a lot of pain.

“Gareth? Gareth!” The familiar voice broke through his thoughts two seconds before he was tackled from behind. “You're alright! I can't believe it!”

Gareth's face burned with embarrassment, but he was overjoyed to see Tara again. When she let him go and he turned around to look at her, he was glad to see Gavin standing just behind her. “Hey, Gareth,” Gavin said, looking away guiltily.

“I'm glad to see you guys are okay,” Gareth said, grinning at both of them. “And I understand I have you to thank for finding my family?” he asked Tara.

Tara nodded, then her eyes went wide. “Kastor told you? But... does your father know about him? I know you said you didn't want them to know, and I made sure not to tell him about you, but... he wanted to help anyway.”

“It's alright, Tara. I'm glad you found him. Kastor... Kastor set me free. I can go home now. I don't think that would have happened if you hadn't found my family, so...” Screwing up his courage, he stepped forward and hugged her. “Thank you, Tara.”

Tara blushed bright red. It was the first time Gareth had ever seen her self-conscious or embarrassed. “I'm just glad we got you back,” she said, grinning shyly and looking at the ground. Then she frowned. “After what happened... I could Kill Devon!” Her shout woke most of the clearing, and Gavin put a hand on his shoulder to calm her down.

“She almost did,” he said, chewing his lip and looking away from Gareth. “He's gonna have that black eye for a long time.” He laughed, but it was thin and nervous, and he was having a hard time looking Gareth in the eye. “I'm so sorry for what he did, Gareth,” he finally stammered. “If I had even thought that was what he had in mind, I never would have let him come with us.”

“Don't worry about it, Gavin,” Gareth said, giving his friend a reassuring smile. “What Devon did wasn't your fault. But... I still don't know what happened. How did you find out what he did? How did you stop him from doing the same to Kastor and Shanna?” He looked over at Kastor, who had joined them and was looking relieved to see Tara and Gavin as well. “Kastor promised me answers, but things have been a little busy since we got here. Can someone give me the short version, at least?”

“Well, it was all Tara's doing, really,” Kastor said, at the same time as Tara said, “Well, it was all Kastor's doing, really.” Then, they looked at each other and shrugged, grinning awkwardly.

“To be fair, it was really Shanna who knew something was wrong,” Tara said. “She was the one who noticed that you had left everything behind except your chains, which made no sense. It was Kastor who put two and two together, but Devon had Gavin convinced that you had run away, and it wasn't until I came back with news that I had found your family and talked to everyone in order to get the whole story about what had happened while I was gone that we were able to put all the pieces together. We realized that Devon had done something to you, and when I confronted him about it, his guilty conscience got the better of him and he told us everything.”

“And... what did you do to him?” Gareth asked, looking around. “Besides punching him in the face, that is.” He smiled as he said that. Tara had done what he had been planning to do; he supposed he'd have to come up with some other plan for Devon. Though, given that Devon's betrayal of him had ultimately led to his freedom, he might end up thanking Devon instead.

“He's under house arrest back in your village,” Kastor said. “He wanted to come with us, but we couldn't trust him.” He looked at Tara and Gavin, who both nodded at him, then said, “We decided that you get to be the one who decides what to do with him when we get back, given what he did to you.”

“Thanks,” Gareth said. Then, “I'm glad you guys didn't get taken by the slavers, but why did you risk taking on the caravan? And how did you manage it?”

“We risked it because we could,” Tara said proudly. “We couldn't use your name, but we used Holly's and Nora's, and learning that two of our children were being held as slaves in a caravan just off their borders set a fire under all the people we've been talking to for the last few weeks, along with everyone who's ever lost someone to the slavers. We finally found what we needed to get people to fight back... a chance to actually make a difference. And now that we've succeeded, we're going to keep fighting until those nomads never bother us again.”

“And as for how we managed it...” Kastor said, grinning mischievously, “well... I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I just stole your plan.”

“My plan? What plan?” Gareth asked. Kastor didn't look the least bit embarrassed; in fact, he looked extremely pleased with himself.

“The one you used to get me and Shanna away from those slavers a few months ago, of course,” Kastor said, grinning with pride. “We followed them for about a week, learning their routines and making plans with the volunteers that were gathering back here in the forest to get all the captives away safely. When we finally had everything organized, we drugged their beer with dreamlace powder, waited for them to fall asleep, then took out the few who were still on guard with drugged darts. Once the camp was silent, we called in the groups of volunteers who were hiding out in the grassland, freed you and all the other slaves and captives, and returned to the forest in scattered groups in order to confuse and delay them once they wake up... which they hopefully haven't even done yet.” He saw how impressed Gareth was and shrugged uncomfortably, looking suddenly perplexed. “It seems so simple now, but I was terrified the whole time that something would go wrong and I would lose you. And watching you working for them...” He looked away, and so did Gareth. Thinking about Kastor watching him work as a slave for those men, being abused every day for no reason at all, watching them replace his chains and dress him in a slave's uniform again... No. He shook his head forcefully. That part of his life was behind him, over and done forever. He wasn't going to dwell on it, and he certainly wasn't going to be ashamed or embarrassed over stuff that he'd had no control over.

“Well, that's all over and done with,” he said, putting an arm around Kastor's shoulder and smiling at him to cheer him up, “and I think it's high time we all went home so you can be thanked properly. How's that sound?”

“All I want is a good night's sleep somewhere other than the ground,” Kastor said, returning Gareth's grin. “Come on, let's get you home!”

As Kastor and Gavin went to help John and Evan get all the other children ready for they journey into the trees, Gareth took Tara over to where his father was still looking after Cesra. Cesra was smiling and nodding as Gareth's father told him all about life in the forest, asking questions every once in a while and even managing to look Gareth's father in the eye most of the time, but his face was pale as a sheet and covered with sweat. “He needs a doctor,” Gareth whispered to Tara, “but pain medicine should hold him until we get to the village.”

“He looks really bad,” she said in a low voice. “Are you sure he'll be alright?”

“Yes. He's held up this long; he's a strong kid. And I'm going to do everything I can to help him. He's going to be my little brother!”

“Really?” Tara asked. “That's great! Did... did you da tell you about Gwen?”

“Yeah,” Gareth grinned. “I'm a big brother twice over today. I can't wait to meet her.”

Tara introduced herself to Cesra as one of Gareth's friends and asked him gently about his injuries as she examined him, changed some of his bandages, and gave him plenty of pain medicine. Cesra withdrew a bit at first, but Tara's smile and friendly personality relaxed him quite a bit even before the painkillers kicked in. He even thanked her and asked her if he'd get to see her again when she got up to go.

“Absolutely, sweetie,” she said, looking up at Gareth with a brief, dazzling smile as she did so. “I think you're going to be seeing a lot of me, as a mater of fact.” Then, she leaned over and kissed Cesra on the cheek. “Now you rest and get better, and you let me know if anything hurts, alright?” Cesra nodded, looking stunned, but he was smiling, and his eyes followed Tara as she went to look after the other children.

All of the other children were awake and getting ready to travel up into the trees. Holly and Nora were experienced forest-dwellers, so they could take care of themselves up there, but Gavin, Tara and Kastor were going to keep an eye on them anyway since they were several years out of practice. John Snowfire was carrying Adela on his back in a safety harness, and John's brother Evan was going to help Mischa climb into the trees and keep him safe by means of a rope around his waist the way Gavin had done with Kastor and Shanna when they had first come into the forest. Tara passed Gareth a hammock stretcher, and he and his father helped make Cesra comfortable in it and secured him between them. “Don't be scared, Cesra,” Gareth said as the younger boy's eyes flickered between him and the tree towering in front of them. “We'll keep you safe, and you'll be home before you know it.” Fortunately, Cesra finally seemed to trust what Gareth told him. He nodded his understanding after only one more brief glance upward, then closed his eyes and relaxed even as Gareth and his father began to climb the tree.

It was slow going, moving along the branches with several inexperienced people in tow. Fortunately, Cesra slept under the influence of the painkillers, so Gareth and his father were able to turn all their energies towards carrying the injured boy. Gareth wished he had been able to rest like the others, but he was still riding high on the adrenaline rush of freedom and the excitement of being able to go home and see his family again, and he suspected that those feelings would take him as far as he needed to go. No one expended any energy in conversing, but the silence was heavy with happy anticipation, and everyone pushed themselves hard in order to reach the village without having to stop for the night. It was just after dark when they finally reached the village. John and Evan took Holly, Nora, Mischa, and Adela over to a friend's house to spend the night, and Tara, Gavin, and Kastor followed Gareth, his father, and Cesra to Gareth's house, which was exactly where Gareth remembered it being.

As they were crossing the final walkway and Gareth was wondering what he was going to say to his mother when he saw her again, he suddenly remembered that he wasn't the only one who was supposed to be reunited with his family. His father was carrying Cesra, who was still sound asleep, in his arms now, so Gareth dropped back to talk to Kastor, who was bringing up the rear of their procession and had gotten a nervous look on his face again.

“Kastor, I forgot to ask,” Gareth said in a low voice, “but where's your father? Wasn't Tara supposed to bring him along to meet up with us out in the forest?”

“Oh, he's alright,” Kastor reassured him. “He wanted to come, but apparently a lot of the escaped captives were looking to him as a leader and he didn't want to abandon them, so he decided to stay after Tara reassured him that Shanna and I were safe and well. He should be here first thing tomorrow morning, though. I can't wait to see him, but this is better, I think. I wouldn't want our reunion to overshadow yours, and I want your freedom to be clearly established so that he can't come in and take it away from you... Not that he would, I'm sure,” he added hastily as a worried frown crossed Gareth's face.

“Well, I'm glad to know he made it away safely,” Gareth said. He looked up to see that the others had stopped just short of his front door and were waiting expectantly for him. He grabbed Kastor's hand. “Come on; I bet Shanna's dying to see both of us again.”

Kastor shook his head and gently pulled his hand out of Gareth's. “No, Gareth. This is your moment. You go. We'll all be right behind you, but nothing should get in the way of you seeing your mother again.” Gareth agreed reluctantly, but only because he heard the catch in Kastor's voice when he'd said the word 'mother.' He was acutely reminded of the fact that Kastor's family was nothing like his own, and that, for all his prosperity, he was a lonely boy who'd never known the love of a family like Gareth had. Gareth hoped that spending some time here with his family would give Kastor some of what he had been missing from his own parents, and he hoped even more desperately that Kastor's mother had found the cure she had been searching for in Pan'sho'Ke and that Kastor would return home to find his family whole again too.

Under the expectant stares of all his friends, Gareth headed for his own front door, but when he placed his hand on the carved wooden handle, he found he couldn't bring himself to open it. He wasn't sure why; his brain was telling him to open it, but his hand had seized up and wouldn't obey him. He stood there paralyzed for several small eternities before a hand on his shoulder broke him out of his indecisive stupor. He looked up to see his father standing next to him, Cesra cradled in one arm. He had shooed the other children back to keep them from staring. “Go on, son,” he said, ruffling Gareth's hair. “She's been waiting five years for this. There's nothing to be nervous about; seeing you will make her the happiest person in the world.”

With a smile for his father, Gareth took a deep breath, relaxed, and pushed open the door. The bright sitting room was full of happy chatter, but before Gareth even had time to take in the scene before him, there was a loud crash followed by a deafening silence. Gareth looked up at dark-haired woman who was standing over the wash basin next to the fireplace and looking at him with disbelief. Tears sprang to his eyes even as he smiled at her. “Hi, mum. I'm home.”

The next thing he knew, he was in his mother's arms, and he didn't bother to hold back his own tears of joy as she sobbed happily, “Gareth? Oh, Gareth! I can't believe it's you! You're really home? Oh, my sweet boy, how I've missed you!” Then, Shanna was there, clutching at his legs, and Kastor, Tara, Gavin, and his father were crowding into the house behind him, and the next ten minutes were a blur of laughter and tears, hugs and kisses, joyous chatter and noise. Before he had time to process everything, Gareth found himself sitting on one of the cushions around the fire with his mother and father next to him and everyone else surrounding him. He looked around the room and was surprised to see that very little had changed. It was almost as if he had never left, he realized as his mother hugged him again. Now, if only he could go back to being eight years old again...

“And who's the little one?” his mother asked as she looked over at his father, who was still holding Cesra. “He looks hurt. Is he alright?”

Gareth's father was making Cesra comfortable on one of the cushions next to Gareth. “I suppose introductions are in order aren't they?” he said as he smiled down at Cesra, who had been woken up by all the commotion and was now blinking owlishly around at the room at all the people laughing and talking. “Helena, this is Cesra... our new son.”

“Our son?” Gareth's mother asked, sounding confused, but before Gareth or his father could explain, Cesra's gaze turned to her. “Are you gonna be my mama?” he asked in a soft, plaintive voice. Gareth's mother looked at him in surprise, then gave him a smile brimming with tears. She hugged him gently, then turned to her husband and son, waiting for an explanation. Gareth gave her one, as brief as he could, and before he could even finish telling her Cesra's story, she was crying again and had picked Cesra up and was rocking him back to sleep. “Of course I'll be your mama, dearheart,” she told Cesra once Gareth had finished his story. Then, she stood up with him in her arms. “I'm going to put him to bed, and we'll take him to the doctor first thing in the morning. Don't you worry, dear,” she said softly to Cesra as he looked up at her, confused and unsure of what to say or do. “You're home now, and we'll take very good care of you here. Are you hungry? I'll make you some soup and bring it to you as soon as you're safely tucked in bed, okay?” Cesra nodded, at a loss for words, and cast a worried look over at Gareth, but Gareth gave him a smile and a reassuring nod that relaxed him as he and his new mother disappeared into the back bedroom.

As soon as Gareth's mother was gone, Shanna ran up to him and flung herself into his arms. She had been hanging back with Kastor, trying not to intrude on Gareth's reunion with his parents, but now that it seemed to be over, she was obviously desperate to talk to him. “I'm so glad you're okay!” she cried as she hugged him tightly around the neck. “I was the first one who knew you hadn't run away, but nobody would listen to me. I didn't tell anyone about you while you were gone. Were they surprised? They looked surprised.”

“I think they were very surprised, miss,” Gareth said as he hugged her, “and I'm glad you're okay too. You saved yourself and Kastor by knowing me so well.”

“Is that boy really your brother now?” Shanna asked. “I heard you tell your mama that he doesn't have any family. Can you make someone part of your family just by saying so?”

“Well, there isn't anyone to tell us we can't,” Gareth said, “and he needs a family to help him learn how to be free. I couldn't think of one better than mine.”

Shanna nodded gravely, then got a sad, thoughtful look on her face. “Kas said he set you free. Does that mean you're going to be staying here with your family?”

“Yes, miss, it does,” Gareth said, hugging her again, “and I will miss you very much, but I will never forget you.”

“Can... can we stay here in the forest and become part of your family too?” she asked, sounding on the verge of tears.

“But... what about your family, Miss Shanna? What about your mother and father? I know you miss them, and I'm sure they are waiting for you and Kastor to come home, just like mine were waiting for me. Why don't you want to go back to your own family?”

“Kas thinks Mama's dead,” Shanna said softly after a long silence. “He won't tell me so, but I heard him talking to your mama about her before he left to rescue you and the other slaves. And I don't know how we're ever going to find Papa. He could be anywhere in the world by now, and he's probably a slave, and... we don't have a family any more, except for each other, and you, so...” She started crying softly.

Gareth held her close and stared in confusion over at Kastor, who was talking to Gavin and didn't notice Gareth talking to his sister. Why hadn't Kastor told her that their father had been found? “Miss Shanna,” he said encouragingly as he patted her on the back, “It's not as bad as all that. Your father...”

He was interrupted by a loud knock on the door that silenced everyone. All heads swiveled around, and Gareth's father got slowly to his feet, looking puzzled. “Who could that be?” he asked as the knock sounded again, a little more hesitantly, then he crossed the room and opened the door.

The man standing in the doorway was tall, thin, and haggard, with grey-streaked brown hair and a deeply lined face, dressed in brown burlap rags, but everyone in the room who knew him recognized him immediately. Kastor stared, speechless and grinning, and Shanna stopped crying with a little gulp of surprise. “Papa?” she asked softly, breaking the stunned silence, and when Teskar Crane turned to her with a surprised but overjoyed look on his face, she squirmed immediately off of Gareth's lap and ran to her father as fast as her legs could carry her. “Papa!”

Kastor was right on her heels, and the two children crashed into their father simultaneously, almost knocking him over as they embraced him. Gareth's father stepped back in surprise from the exuberant reunion, and everyone's smiles grew even wider as those that had not recognized Teskar Crane realized that Kastor and Shanna had just been reunited with the father they had never expected to see again. Gareth was overjoyed for all of them, but a knot of nervousness began to grow in his stomach as he looked at his maybe-not-so-former master. Kastor's word that he was free was all well and good, but the argument could be made that Teskar, being his true master as the one who had purchased him, could rescind that decision, and as long as Gareth still wore his collar and shackles there was nothing he could do to protest such a decision. He could not imagine Master Teskar being that heartless, but his mind was so used to thinking practically and expecting the worst that he couldn't help himself.

In anticipation of that worst-case scenario, he got to his feet and bowed his head respectfully when Master Teskar finally turned his attention away from his children and noticed him. Gareth could feel everyone's eyes on the two of them, and the expression on his father's face was particularly stark as he realized exactly who this stranger that had just entered his house was to his son. Out of the corner of his eye, Gareth saw his mother return from the back room and open her mouth to question the commotion. When she saw the look on her husband's face, her eyes went wide and she almost stepped forward to give Teskar a piece of her mind before Gareth's father stopped her with a hand on her arm.

The silence lengthened uncomfortably as everyone stared at Teskar and Gareth, Teskar stared at Gareth, and Gareth stared at the floor, but Teskar finally decided to break it. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, then reached into his shirt and pulled out a small wad of cloth. “Here, boy, I believe this belongs to you,” he said in a hoarse, hesitant voice.

Gareth looked up briefly as he took his old green knit scarf from his master, the one that had hidden Kastor's knife. “Thank you, sir,” he said softly as he dropped his eyes again. “I am sorry that things didn't go as I had planned, sir, but I am glad that you made it away safely all the same.”

The next thing he knew, Teskar was on his knees in front of him and had wrapped him in a rib-crushing hug. “Thank you, Gareth, for keeping my children safe and for finding me and bringing me back to them.” He let Gareth go and sat back on his heels, looking like he wanted to say something but was unsure of how to begin. Gareth looked back down at his feet, clutching at the scarf in his hands nervously. He was desperately hoping that Teskar would confirm the freedom that Kastor had promised him, but Teskar seemed reluctant to do so.

Kastor finally broke the uncomfortable standoff. “Father?” he said softly as he stepped up and put a hand on his father's shoulder. “Father, I set Gareth free. I know it wasn't my place, but after everything he's done for us... he deserves his freedom. Also, I don't want us owning any more slaves ever again.”

Teskar turned to his son, beaming. “Of course, son,” he said, as if there had never been any question. Then, he turned back to Gareth and put a hand under his chin, lifting his head up until the two of them were eye-to-eye. “You're free, lad. There's no need for you to be subservient to me or anyone else any more. You saved me and my children; that would have been more than enough even if I hadn't just experienced the hell that my people have put you and so many others through. I don't expect anything now, but do you think you may some day find it in your heart to forgive me?”

Gareth felt relief wash over him like a waterfall as he grinned understandingly at Teskar. “I already have, sir. You weren't responsible for me becoming a slave, you were a very kind master, and if you hadn't bought me, I wouldn't be here right now, free and back home with my family.”

“Your... family?” Teskar seemed to realize for the first time that the room was full of people. He stood up suddenly and turned to Gareth's parents, looking unusually humble and embarrassed under their polite but somewhat critical stares.

Gareth stepped up immediately to break the ice. He was tired of all the awkward uncertainties; they were all equals here now. “Mum, Da, this is Kastor and Shanna's father, Teskar Crane. Mister Crane, these are my parents, Malcolm and Helena Elmwalker.”

“I humbly thank you for your hospitality, sir, ma'am,” Teskar said, bowing his head respectfully to Gareth's parents, “and I will be forever in your debt for looking after my children for me. If there is anything I can do to repay you for your kindness and generosity, please let me know.”

The hard looks had begun to melt from Gareth's parents' faces even before Teskar had spoken, and by the time he was done, they had been replaced by warm smiles. Gareth's father stepped forward with his hand outstretched. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Crane, and bringing our son home to us is repayment enough, believe me. You have wonderful children, and I'm glad to see you safe and reunited with them.”

“Come and have a seat by the fire, all of you,” Gareth's mother chimed in as she shooed them all back to their seats. “You all look exhausted and half-starved. A good meal and a good night's sleep is in order now; everything else can wait 'til morning.” With Shanna's help, she heated up a big pot of stew for all of them. While the food was cooking, Kastor, Tara, and Gavin talked amongst themselves about ways of getting all the other captives they had freed home to their families, and Teskar made conversation with Gareth's father by asking questions about the village and how it was run. Gareth sat back, basking in the warm normalcy of the scene for a few moments, but soon he wished he had someone to talk to also. That was when he remembered Cesra. He wondered how his new brother was doing. He got up from his seat and went over to the fire.

“Mum? How's Cesra doing?” he asked when his mother looked up to see him standing there.

Tears sprang to her eyes, and she hugged him spontaneously. “You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice again, sweetheart,” she said, though Gareth rather thought he did as he hugged her back. “Cesra's resting right now. I was going to bring him some supper as soon as everyone else was fed.”

“Could... could I do it, please? I don't feel like I've explained everything very well to him. He's still not comfortable with freedom; I don't want him to get scared again.”

“I think he'd really like that,” his mother said as she turned back to the fire and spooned some stew into a wooden bowl. “He was asking about you as I left the room, and I was a little worried about leaving him alone.”

“Don't worry, Mum, I'm going to do my best to help him adjust,” Gareth said as he took the bowl of stew and a cup full of warm goat's milk from his mother. Then, on a joy-spiked impulse, he went up on his toes and kissed her on the cheek. “I'm so glad to be home,” he said as she gave him another tearful smile and ruffled his hair.

“Not as glad as we are to have you back, dear.”

Gareth slipped unobtrusively out of the living room and down the hallway to his parents' bedroom with Cesra's supper. When he entered the room, Cesra was lying in a hammock strung up in a far corner, pretending to be asleep. Gareth was glad that his mother had left a candle burning for some light. When he came in, Cesra's eyes snapped open and a panicked look momentarily crossed his face before he recognized Gareth.

“Hey, Cesra,” Gareth said with a smile as he pulled a chair away from the wall and sat down next to the younger boy. “Want some dinner?”

“Yes, please,” Cesra said eagerly.

“You don't have to be scared, Cesra,” Gareth said as he began to feed Cesra his stew and milk. “You're home now, and you have a brand new family who will take good care of you. I promise you that everything's going to be better from now on. You do believe me, don't you?”

Cesra considered this for a minute, then he nodded slowly. “I guess so,” he said, a bit uncertainly. “Everyone seems so nice, but...” He dropped his eyes and whispered, “I don't belong here, Gareth. I'm a slave; everyone always said that was the only thing I was good for.”

“Well, they were wrong, Cesra,” Gareth said, trying not to let the surge of anger he felt towards the bastards who had done this to Cesra bleed through into his voice. “They wanted you to believe that so that you would never ask why you were a slave or want anything better for your life. But you are good for other things, Cesra. You're still just a kid; you can be or do anything you want. Here in the forest, you'll get to go to school, where you'll learn how to read and write and all sorts of other things. Everyone who lives here has a job; in a few years, you'll get to go around to all the grown-ups in the village and learn about what they do, and then you can decide what you want to learn how to do and become someone's apprentice. You could be a farmer, or a carpenter, or a doctor, or anything you want. You've got your whole life ahead of you, Cesra, but you don't have to rush into anything. The important thing is that you're free, and you have a family, and I'll always look after you, just like a big brother should.”

“I'm glad you're my brother now,” Cesra said, looking much happier and more relaxed. “And my new mama and papa seem really nice.” He yawned widely as he finished his last spoonful of soup. “I'm really sleepy now.”

Gareth coaxed him to drink the last of his milk. “Do you need any more medicine?” he asked as he moved the chair back and tucked Cesra into his blankets again.

“No, I'm f...f...fine,” Cesra said through another big yawn. Just as Gareth was moving to blow out the candle and let him sleep, though, he reached out his good hand and touched Gareth on the arm. “I think this is yours,” he said.

Gareth turned and saw that Cesra was holding Kastor's pocketknife. “How did you...?” he asked as he took it, amazed. He could have sworn it had been left behind at the slave caravan, tucked away in the blankets he had left on Cesra's stretcher.

“I found it last night after you went to sleep, and I figured you were trying to hide it from Master Ara, so I hid it in my shirt. I thought it might be important for the escape. Did I do good?”

Gareth hugged Cesra carefully. “You did great, Cesra. Sleep well.” Then he extinguished the candle and let Cesra sleep. He sighed softly with relief as he left the room. Despite Cesra's own fears about being freed, he had obviously wanted to help the rest of them, and a part of him had obviously wanted to escape as well. And it seemed that all of Gareth's reassurances were finally getting through to him. Maybe this transition wouldn't be as difficult for Cesra as he had expected it to be.

When he got back to the living room, everyone was digging in to his mother's delicious stew. Gareth saw that his mother was waiting for him with the biggest bowl; she came over and led him back to his seat personally, then sat down next to him and watched him with bright eyes and a beaming smile as he ate. Gareth dug into his bowl with ravenous hunger, but he savored every bite. He had forgotten just how good his mother's cooking was. Everyone had seconds, emptying out the large stew pot. Then, they all helped Gareth's mother wash the dishes before heading off to bed.

Gareth's father had slipped out of the house while they were all having supper and had returned with an armload of extra hammocks. “Kastor and Gavin, you two can sleep in Gareth's room, and Tara, you can share the girls' room with Shanna and the baby. Just make sure you don't wake her when you go in there, alright? Mister Crane, you're welcome to sleep out here, if you like. I'm afraid all the rooms are a little crowded right now with this many guests.”

“That sounds just fine to me,” Teskar said, making himself comfortable across the cushions along the back wall as Gareth's mother handed him a blanket. “Thank you again for your hospitality, ma'am. We will do our best to make other arrangements tomorrow”

“Oh, there's no need for that,” Gareth's mother reassured him, smiling at the aborted protests and sighs of relief from Kastor and Shanna. “This is only temporary, because your arrival was so unexpected. We'll sort everyone out in the morning.”

All the other children stepped back with knowing looks as Gareth followed his father up the rope ladder to the second floor. He couldn't wait to see his room again. His father handed him a lamp as he went in to what was presumably Gwen's room across the hall to hang an extra hammock for Tara, and Gareth pushed aside the curtain of wooden beads covering his door, excited without a trace of self-consciousness despite the fact that Gavin and Kastor were right on his heels.

His room was exactly as he had left it, at least as far as he could remember. Gareth hung the lamp on its ceiling hook in the middle of the room, then stared transfixed as the light fell on his bow and arrows, still hanging right where he'd left them. He walked slowly over to them, his eyes tracing the delicate carvings that wound around the bow as he pulled his knife out of the waistband of his pants and hung it by the hilt on the hooks set into the wall especially for it just next to the bow. He would have stared at them forever, but then his eye was caught by the carved wooden washbasin, then by his shelf full of schoolbooks, then by his hammock, then... His eye was arrested by something that hadn't been there before: a carved wooden chest where his old dresser had been. He went to his knees reverently in front of it. It was covered with vines and elm leaves, all delicately and beautifully painted, and he opened it to find half a dozen pairs of short sheepskin pants, cream-colored linen shirts, and dark green wool jackets, all embroidered with bright green elm leaves the same color as his eyes. These were the clothes, all hand-made by his mother, that he would have worn after coming back from his trip into the forest. Salt water pricked his eyelids as his picked up one of the shirts and unfolded it, feeling its soft fabric spill through his fingers in sharp contrast to the rough brown burlap he wore now. How he would have loved to put it on! But it had been made for his eight-year-old self, he realized with disappointment as he laid it carefully back in the trunk, and would no longer fit him. These clothes were destined to forever go unworn, he supposed, and he felt like he would have to earn the right to wear ones like them all over again, since his coming-of-age journey had gone so horribly wrong.

“I'm sure your mother is already planning to make you brand new ones.” Gareth turned to see his father standing behind him, beaming, his arms full of hammocks and blankets. “Somehow I don't think those ones will fit you any more.”

“I'm... surprised you kept them,” Gareth admitted sheepishly as he closed the trunk, “and that nothing else in here has changed.”

“Well...” His father's grin softened sadly. “I suppose it was our way of never giving up hope that you would come home. It seems to have worked, though,” he said, brightening again briefly, but then he lapsed into silence again.

“When did you get so tall?” he asked, breaking that silence as Gareth helped him hang hammocks for Kastor and Gavin in the empty corners of his room.

“Dunno,” Gareth said with a casual shrug. “I guess I just grew a little bit every day... just like the trees in the forest do. But don't worry,” he said with a smile for his father, “I've still got a lot of growing to do.”

“I don't doubt it, son,” his father said, ruffling Gareth's hair again, “but you seem awfully grown-up already.”

“Not by choice,” Gareth said with a sigh, unconsciously touching the iron collar around his neck. “I think I'd like the chance to be a kid again if I could.” If that was even possible for him any more. He'd erase the lat five years if he could, but he couldn't deny how his time away from home – his time as a slave – had changed him, and he didn't think he should try to forget it anyway, even though most of those memories were bleak and painful.

His father seemed to know what he was thinking. He hugged Gareth again, then picked him up and tucked him into his hammock. Gareth thought it was a bit funny how his parents seemed to alternate between treating him like a grown-up, like an eight-year-old, and like a little kid, as if they couldn't quite remember how old he was, but it was a small price to pay to have them back again, and he was sure they would find their equilibrium again eventually... as would he. So he kissed his father goodnight, and he ignored Gavin and Kastor's snickers as they came into the room and climbed into their own hammocks, and as he blew out the lamp and curled up in his blankets, he was thinking only of his future as a free man and of how happy he was to finally be home.