The Stillness of the Sky Read Online Free

and drunk from the stream, she settled in across from me, watching as I sucked the last bits of juice from the core. I tossed the remnant downstream and settled my gaze on her.
    “I’m Jack. What’s your name?”
    “Prudence Minkov,” she replied, so quietly I barely heard it above the crackling fire.
    “Are you out here by yourself?”
    She nodded.
    “On purpose or on accident?”
    Prudence sniffled as a tear rolled down her dirty cheek. “I got lost. We were visiting my uncle and I ran after a deer in the woods. I don’t know how to get back. I thought I could find the road we took to get there, and I know it isn’t far, but I’ve been walking in circles all day and I can’t find it.” Her words disappeared into hiccupping sobs.
    The poor girl must’ve been terrified to have been out there on her own. Unsure if it would help, I rummaged around in my pack until I found my mother’s brush. I crossed over and sat beside her, gently pulling twigs and leaves from her wild, red hair. “I know where the main road is from here. I can show you in the morning if you’d like.
    “You could?” she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.
    “Sure,” I said with a smile. “It’s a bit too dangerous to go after dark, though, so we’ll have to wait until dawn. Would that be okay?”
    Prudence flung her arms around my middle, sobbing hysterically. “Thank you so much! I’ve been so scared out here. I’ve never even been to the woods outside of Torell! I’m in so much trouble, Jack!”
    I chuckled and rubbed her back. “I think your parents will be far more relieved you’re all right than angry you ran off.” I winced. If I were talking about my own father, those words would’ve been a lie. My father would’ve simply beaten me until I couldn’t walk anymore.
    Pushing the thought aside, I pulled back from her iron hold. “Did you say you’re from Torell? The capital city?”
    She nodded and wiped her face with her sleeve. “My parents are tailors. They make clothes for the palace there sometimes.” I hadn’t noticed before, but, upon closer inspection, the ripped and dirty fabric of her pale blue dress was the finest I’d seen in a very long time, including on my trips to Breen.
    “And what about you?” I asked. “What do you like to do?”
    She grinned and ducked her head. “I make dolls with their scraps. Mama says I do well with it, but it’s only for fun. I like to make them look like people I meet.”
    I grinned, imagining what I’d look like as a doll. “Well, I’ll see that you can get back to business first thing in the morning.” I turned to her and held up the brush. “But I wouldn’t send you back to your parents looking crazed. I’m fair with braiding if you’ll let me.”
    She sniffled and swiped at her nose again, nodding a little. I worked through each knot and snag in her hair, removing the bits of nature that lodged themselves in her tresses. Each strand glowed in the firelight, and I softly sang a melody my mother taught me as a child.  

    Still thy worries, restless child,
    Let your heart sink into peace.
    Shadows are not things to fear,
    But faces of friends unseen.
    Feel not but love as sleep descends.
    I’m with you all the night.
    Still thy worries, restless child,
    The morrow brings sunshine again.

    Before long, her head dropped to her bent knees and her breathing slowed with the rhythm of sleep. Once I finished the circle of braiding around the back of her head, I eased her down atop a pillow of moss. I yawned and stretched, then laid down beside her. I was asleep in seconds.

    “Which way?” I asked. I was fairly certain we’d be continuing down the road the way I was headed, as I hadn’t passed any houses the day before, but it was entirely possible I’d missed something.
    “That way,” Prudence said, pointing the direction I’d thought it likely was.
    We set off walking. “You’re certain?”
    She nodded enthusiastically, bouncing a bit as she went.