Chapter 5

It seemed like a thousand years passed before Sunday finally arrived, and while Genty was nearly as excited for Aaron to attend the cross-roads event as he was himself, his mother seemed apprehensive. With Channing off with his new wife and Genty promising she’d only stay at home as long as Aaron was there, Bree seemed in no hurry to see her youngest off and wed.

He wouldn’t go far, though. His granddad had arranged for him to rent a plot of land a bit closer to the mountain but within easy walking distance to his mother’s home. The land would need cleared, which would take time and effort, but everyone would join in building a new home and removing the rocks and other debris; in Killarney, they each took care of one another the best they could.

“Look at you!” Genty exclaimed as Aaron made his way outside to meet her. “You’ve pressed your trousers and patched your shirt!”

Aaron shrugged as if he didn’t feel the culminating moment of significance on the horizon. “I wanted to look nice.”

“I think everyone will agree you’ve done that,” Genty replied, linking her arm through his. She wore a pale-yellow dress her mother had recently handed down, and though it was a bit worn, it fit her nicely. The summer sun was just beginning to disappear as they began to wind their way down the path.

“Aaron! Genty!” their mother called, causing them both to turn and take a few steps back as she rushed to meet them. “Do be careful,” their slightly out-of-breath ma warned. “You know they will be out by the time you head home, and they are getting brasher. Don’t assume that because you belong to the Order you will be protected.”

“We will be careful, Ma, we promise,” Genty assured their mother, though it didn’t seem to do much good as her mother still looked concerned.

She continued. “Just a few days ago they attacked in broad daylight in the middle of the road. Claimed one as their own and left the other to suffer and die out in the hot sun.”

“Ma, we’ll be fine,” Aaron assured her, though he wasn’t certain how he would ensure this to be so. If the Dark Ones chose them, what could one even do to protect oneself?

With a hug of each of them, Bree turned and walked back toward the house, leaving Genty and Aaron both to shake their heads and continue on their way.

“I think word of the failed potata crop has left her a bit… off,” Genty said quietly, once they were out of hearing distance.

Aaron had to agree. Though they’d yet to suffer any bad crops in their own field, others had, and he knew it was likely just a matter of time. He’d urged his granddad to diversify, plant a bit of something else, but other seed was hard to come by, and what little other vegetables were planted never did as well as the potato when they had a good crop.

As they approached others making their way down the road to the dance, Aaron pushed thoughts of his mother, the failing potatoes, and even the Dark Ones away, and trying not to let his nerves get the best of him, he began to think about the possibility of dancing the evening away with the beautiful Aislyn O’Malley.

The sun was kissing the horizon, changing the sky to shades of orange and pink and turning a rather warm day into a pleasant evening. By the time they reached the cross-roads, several dozen others, mostly young people around Aaron’s age, had congregated and some had even begun to dance to the festive tune the fiddler who sat on a stool off to the side whittled on his instrument. Torches and a bonfire provided enough light to see which smiling face belonged to whom, though spying Aislyn standing off to the side in a long checkered skirt and pink shirtwaist, her hair done up in a crown around her head, Aaron was certain he would have seen her if the only light were the twinkling stars.

It wasn’t Aislyn who initially welcomed him, however. Kian skipped over, a drink in one hand, the other entwined with that of the lovely Shannon Dunne. “Aaron! Genty! You’re here. You finally made him come,” he said, looking at the older sister as he jabbed his friend playfully in the side, letting go of Shannon, not the mead. “It’s past time for you to show your face.”

Aaron couldn’t help but smile. “I am here,” he confirmed, his arms open wide. “I hope that you will still remember when you see me tomorrow, though as large as that mug is, I’m not certain you will.”

“He never does,” Shannon offered with a laugh, her freckled face contorting a bit with the heartiness of her glee. She was tall and thin, even taller than Kian, with long strawberry blonde hair, and though Aaron never found her particularly pretty, she was a good match for his friend. He was certain Kian would be announcing an engagement soon, and Aaron looked forward to having him as a neighbor on the new plots the landlord had just agreed to lease nearer the lake once he had Aislyn’s hand as well.

“I’m going to join my friends,” Genty said with a smile and pat atop her brother’s head as she bounded away to join some of the older revelers. Some might say she was too old to still be attending such dances, certainly too old now to ever find a husband, but Aaron watched the faces of several gentlemen light up as Genty skipped over and knew that she could still marry if she chose to. Clearly, she had been intending to keep a promise not to abandon him.

Glancing across the crowd, he saw that Aislyn was looking at him, and everyone else faded away. Without a response to Kian’s question if he wanted a drink or Shannon’s comment on how lovely the sky was, he worked his way over to where she stood with a few other young lasses from the village, dodging a couple of dancers as he did so.

The other girls grew quiet as he approached, though he hardly even noticed their smiles and snickers as he focused in on the lovely face he’d come to see. Her lips parted in a grin when he came to a stop before her, and he felt warmth radiate throughout his body, certain his face was beaming.

“Good evening, Miss O’Malley,” he said, dipping his head before her. “How are you this fine night?”

“I’m well, thank you,” she said, her green eyes twinkling in the starlight. “I see you’ve forgotten our conversation earlier in the week.”

Her voice had a teasing lilt to it, and as he took a step closer so that he could both hear and see her better, he asked, “What’s that?”

“I told you to call me Aislyn,” she reminded him. “I guess you’ve forgotten that we even met.” She sighed, but her eyes gave away the play.

Forgetting that the other girls were even present, he replied, “Oh, believe me, I shall not forget our conversation should I live to be a hundred and one, Miss Aislyn.” Even in the dim light, he could see that his comment brought a blush to her skin, and he couldn’t help but smile as she twisted her hands together nervously. “Besides, had I forgotten our conversation, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Perhaps you’ve come at the invitation of another lass,” she offered, peering up at him through her lashes.

Aaron looked around for a moment before saying, “Are there other lasses here? I hadn’t noticed?”

Despite the remark completely disregarding them, her friends awed even louder than Aislyn did herself, and as the music began to shift, Aaron stretched out his hand and asked, “Will you dance with me?”

Aislyn’s ruby red lips pulled to the side in a crooked smile. “I will,” she said, placing her hand in his, and with no more thoughts of who may comment on his dancing skills, Aaron led her to the makeshift dance floor.