The two siblings sat on their bed, an oil lamp illuminating the pile of sticks on the covers.
Kasia only half saw her surroundings. The King had... talked to them. Talked to HER! She could still feel the heat from his hand as it had touched her shoulder. Or so she imagined. More, His Grace had asked a favor of them. Asked something he could have asked of any woodworker, any skilled craftsman. Her eyes dropped into her lap. It was so... so...
"Why us?" Her brother's voice brought her out of whatever trance her mind had floated into. Liuz looked at her in confusion. "Why in the world did the King ask us to do this?"
"Because he did." Her brother frowned.
"We're not toymakers."
"We could be." She shrugged. "I mean, we're not going to be cutting wood all our lives. I know you don't want to end up doing that."
Liuz put his arms behind him, leaning back, eyes closed.
"I know..."
"So we do this. Maybe he rewards us. Maybe we set up shop somewhere. Maybe even in Nowy Warsaw. We make toys for all the new babies, as well as anything else we want. Start something that's ours."
"You mean the King's."
"If we get on his bad side, we'll never do anything."
The look he gave her was not a good one. Reaching out, she touched his knee.
"Please. It sounded like you liked the idea when you told it to me."
"I did." With a groan, he pushed himself upright, grabbing a stick. "OK. What do we have to do?"
"Make lots of doweling." Kasia grabbed her own stick. "Not from branches, I think. We'll have to cut boards down then round them."
Liuz groaned again, turning the stick over in his hand.
"Tymon's going to love that. Tie up the saw with this when orders are piling up."
"It's for His Grace."
"He'll still find it annoying."
"Tough." She found herself surprised at how that word came out. Liuz stared at her. Kasia shrugged. "The King wants us to do it, we do it. Tymon's getting his new gate, after all."
"True," he chuckled. Kasia looked at the thick sticks between them again. She had never made doweling, but it couldn't be hard. And they could just ask how to do it. A part of her, though, wanted to figure it out for herself. Make these Lincoln Logs, well, hers. Theirs. Do it their way.
Besides, it would help pass the time as she nursed her foot back to health.
A soft knock came from the door. Roda peeking in, eyes on the floor.
"I'm sorry, but Mother wants Liuz and I to go fetch water for the morning."
"Can't it wait till morning?" Liuz groaned, yawning. Roda shook her head, Kasia detecting a slight smile on her face.
"You know the answer."
"And you know the answer I want to give." Groaning a bit theatrically, he swung his legs around, standing. "OK, let's go."
Kasia watched as Roda held the door open for her brother. The older girl's eyes flicked back to her, the right winking. Kasia winked back. The door closed.
She shook her head. Her brother was many things, but observant regarding women he wasn't.
****
Liuz tried to understand his feelings.
Kasia was right. This was a great opportunity for them. A way to get ahead far earlier than he would have expected. He should be jumping for joy.
Yet something about the King bothered him.
He had never been able to explain it. Ever since that first view of him at the bridge, Liuz had felt something off about His Grace. Maybe it was his youth. Kings should be old, wise. Maybe it was something about Liuz's youth, a flaw in how he saw the world. Respect for those who ruled of all of Poland was slow in coming.
Liuz took a deep breath, letting the warm night air relax him. Let it go. Let all that go. His feelings for a customer could not matter. They would do the job. Create the best toy they could, take the reward and move forward. He owed it to Kasia.
"What are you thinking?"
Roda's voice startled him. She was walking beside him, stride matching his. Unlike him, she held her two empty water pails in her left hand, the hand closest to him empty. He shrugged.
"Nothing important." His eyes slowly panned the town ahead. Most of the first floor establishments were dark, what light there was coming from the upper living quarters. Few were out on the street, most of those couples holding hands. Liuz suddenly felt uncomfortable walking this close beside Roda.
"Are you going to leave?"
"What?" He looked at her. What kind of question was that?
"I mean, if you get into the good graces of the King..." Her eyes seemed to be focused on the fountain up ahead. He shrugged.
"Your mother would be happy."
"I wouldn't."
It took a few moments for her answer to sink in. He stopped.
"What?"
She stopped as well. He couldn't make out her expression fully in the semi-darkness. After a long moment, she shook her head.
"Nothing. Never mind. Let's get the water."
****
Kasia settled herself on the ground under the noon sun, foot only complaining momentarily. Limbs placed comfortably, she let out a sigh. Her hands adjusting her dress, she glanced around.
No King.
She laughed at herself. Of course there was no King! Why would there be? Even though this was the same place, there was no reason he'd be wandering by! His Grace probably wasn't even still here! He had important matters to take care of! So did she, so shouldn't she get started? Yes. Yes she should.
Picking up a thick stick from the pile she had brought, she placed the blade of her knife to it. Carefully, she slid it down the surface, bark peeling away. Kasia began to whittle.
How big should the Lincoln Logs be? That was the first question. They were for children, but she knew small hands could better handle large things. Plus, they had to be too large to eat, if not chew on. She laughed. Kids chew on everything. Father had loved showing which tooth marks around the house were hers.
Father. As always, she paused as the wave of sorrow passed over her. Closed her eyes. Let memory do its thing. Taking a deep breath, she opened them again. Back to work.
Looking down, she paused in her knife work. It did look like a log now, a small version of those the sawmill had been cutting for two years. Holding it up, she examined the round end. A little smaller than she would have liked. Still, she could experiment with the notch. How deep should it be? Yet another good question. Carefully putting her blade to the soft wood, she marked out a random width. She then began to remove the wood in between.
A chisel would be easier, but she had no way to secure the stick besides between her knees. That, from experience, was not a good idea. Besides, this was just practice. It didn't have to be great. Just... functional.
Slowly, three notches came into being. One at each end, and another in the middle. Looked good. She could see the potential of such a building toy. Flipping it over, she marked out another notch in the middle, directly under the top one. Her knife began chipping out wedges of wood.
A short crack appeared.
A random curse came from her lips as Kasia slumped her shoulders. She'd made a mistake, obviously. Dropping the knife, she raised the log up before her face. Ah. That was it. The notches were too deep. Not enough wood between them. That was fixable. Considering, she pulled down on each end of the stick, snapping it in two. She now had two logs with a notch. Convenient. Moving them together, she placed the notches together but at right angles. To her joy, they connected perfectly.
Well... no. Not perfectly. The bottom of the top log dropped more than half way down its mate. If she put in the other notch, there was no way another log would be able to fit snuggly. You couldn't make anything with it like this.
Hmm.
Tossing the sticks aside, Kasia smoothed a patch of dirt. She drew a circle with the point of her knife. Now, ideally if logs were set into notches on the top and bottom of this, you'd want those two logs to have their surfaces just barely touching. Like so. For such a connection, you would want the notches to be maybe a quarter of the radius deep...
****
"Kasia!"
It was not until the second shout of her name that the girl came out of the creative haze she had entered. She looked up from the half dozen Lincoln Logs she had carved, the two she now considered the right size and shape fitted together on the ground before her. Her first emotion was one of annoyance. Annoyance which changed to joy as her eyes landed on the waving furry figure.
Harveen.
The short Watu girl was coming towards her swiftly. She looked much as Kasia had last seen her, dark black fur broken up by light brown bands around her arms and legs. A vest of feathers covered her chest, seeming to flap as as she ran. As always, she wore no skirt. As Kasia watched, Harveen began to slow, small grey eyes narrowing. With a start, she realized her not rising was a bit insulting. Kasia quickly raised her arms, waving them in greeting.
"Harveen! I've missed you!"
A confused smile on her face, the Watu came up to her. Looking down, she cocked her head, wooden beads on leather thongs extending down towards the ground from the two half circle ears on top of her head.
"Can't you stand?"
"Smashed up my foot." Kasia moved her leg slightly, indicating the sock covered appendage. "Dropped a board on it."
"Oh!" Harveen dropped into a squat, the view before Kasia again making her wonder about the lack of a skirt, or anything, on her friend's lower area. Tentatively, Harveen reached out, hand hovering over the foot. "Can you walk?"
"With a crutch. As long as I don't put weight on it, I'm OK."
"Can I see?"
She considered a moment, blushing. Harveen had always been curious about Poles, what they looked like under those silly clothes. Kasia still couldn't believe she had satisfied that curiosity on her last visit. Nobody had found out, at least.
"Um, OK. Careful. It still hurts." Kasia reached down, slowly pulling off the sock. Her red puffy foot came into view. Harveen let out a hiss.
"Oh! That does look bad! Will you be OK?"
"Hope so. Not much I can do for now except see how it heals, not walk on it." She gently touched the skin. "Nothing really broke, they said."
"Good!" Harveen lowered her butt onto the ground, crossing her legs before her. Sliding over, she let her furry side touch Kasia. The girl let out a sigh, leaning into her friend as she put the sock back on.
"I've missed you."
"Missed you too. Everyone OK?"
"Yup. The baby was born. A boy."
"Good." The Watu picked up one of the discarded carvings from the grass, turning it over in her hands. Kasia looked past her to the distant wagons being unloaded.
"Your father still doesn't trust boats?"
"Heh." Her laugh came out a bit like a purr. "Dad just doesn't want to share any of his profit if he doesn't have to. He saves by bringing it here instead of shipping it from Daraja. Plus," she added, leaning her head towards Kasia, "he likes your tavern."
"Men," Kasia snorted. Harveen shrugged, fur rubbing nicely against her arm.
"I like it, too. The singing is fun." She took Kasia's hand, soft fingers spreading the hairless digits apart. "Your hands are so weird."
"At least I don't have claws."
"Claws are useful." Harveen ran one down her palm. It tickled more than scratched. "Very good for itching."
"Can you come over for dinner?" Kasia asked. Taking the Watu's hand in hers, she ran a short fingernail down the hairless palm. "I think I saw Roda buying some fish."
"They won't mind?"
Kasia had to grimace. Yes, Urszuli would mind. Tymon, it would depend on his mood, but Roda's mother could usually be counted on to at least protest anything she wasn't consulted on. Just showing up with Harveen would not be a good idea. Harveen nodded in sympathy.
"Come to the tavern, Kasia. Bring your brother."
"Hmmm." Letting go of her friend's hand, she picked up one of the Lincoln Logs. "That could work."
"What is that?" Harveen asked. Kasia grinned.
"Oh! I have to tell you about this!"
****
Liuz and Rafal rode on the back of the flat lumber wagon, legs dangling off the back as Tymon drove it away from the construction site.
Liuz closed his eyes, ignoring the bumps the oxen refused to go around. Another long, hard day. Since the new parts had been waiting for them at first light, Rafal and their Master repaired the second saw while Liuz had run the working saw as fast as he safely could. New orders, the result of the King's visit, flowed in. Even the restarting of the second saw only put them slightly less behind. They needed more saws. More workers. They needed Kasia...
"I wasn't born for this," Rafal said, softly. Liuz barely heard him over the rumble of the wheels. He nodded.
"I'm beginning to think that, myself."
"I wouldn't even be here if not for Mother." The slim boy shot a glance over his shoulder. Tymon seemed to be ignoring them. Liuz shrugged.
"What can you do?"
"Quit."
This time it was Liuz who shot a look at their master. He leaned in closer to Rafal.
"What?"
"I wanna quit."
"He'll toss you out."
"Mom..."
"His house, his rules."
"Don't care."
Liuz pulled back, regarding his not-quite friend. He was used to the grumbling. The complaints. This, though...
Rafal let his body drop back, laying down on the wagon floor. His head bounced up and down with every piece of uneven ground they moved over. Liuz shook his head, staying upright. He couldn't do something like that. Even if he felt that way, and he somewhat did. He had a job, and he had to do it to the best of his ability. His father would have insisted on it. You kept your promises, you fulfilled your obligations. Did that apply to those forced upon you by circumstance? Good question.
"Liuz!"
His sister's voice startled him. They were not yet home, even if the wagon was passing the street their house sat on. The wagon and its beasts had to be returned to the stable. He looked left. Kasia was hobbling quickly, a furry Watu at her side. He felt the wagon slow, Rafal pushing himself up beside him. Liuz slid off onto the ground, quickly moving towards Kasia.
"Hey! What's up?" Even as he said it he recognized Harveen. As if any other Watu could be accompanying his sister. "Harveen! Good to see you!"
She ran forward, feather vest flapping to give him a good view of her furry chest. Six nipples, three on a side, briefly came into view. The next moment she was hugging him, bottom of her head between his own nipples.
"Liuz!" She squeezed tight. Thankfully, she had never been that strong. Liuz endured the hug, smiling as Kasia shrugged even as she slowly used the crutch to come closer. He put his hands on Harveen's arms, trying to push her back.
"Everything going OK, Kasia?" She nodded still smiling. Her head swung to Tymon, still sitting in the driver's seat.
"Sorry for stopping you. Harveen couldn't wait."
His return smile was... tolerant. He nodded.
"That's OK. We'll meet you home." With a shake of the reins and a whack with his stick, he got the wagon moving again. Rafal looked on from the wagon bed as they moved away. Liuz's attention was forced to the two girls as Harveen finally released him.
"So," he said, cocking his head at the Watu, "how long are you here for?" She grimaced, sharp pointed teeth coming into view.
"Not long. Depends on Dad. If he gets drunk, it might be a few days."
"So what's the plan, then?" He looked at his sister. He knew they'd have something worked out already. Kasia grinned.
"I mentioned to Urszuli that I'd like Harveen to have dinner with us, unless she let us go have it with her family. Shockingly, she's letting us go with Harveen."
Liuz couldn't help but grin back. He crossed his arms across his chest.
"And, may I ask, where would that be?"
"Tavern!"
****
Loud.
That was all Liuz could notice about the Drunken Dragon. It was loud. A sea of conversation was drowning him, all unintelligible to his ears. How could anyone stand this? Yes, they served large mugs of beer and other drinks adult men seemed to prefer, and the women serving said drinks seemed to be exposing much more flesh than you would see on someone walking down the street, but those did not seem to be valid reasons. Even the food was not that great. It was good, yes, very edible, but in no way as good as what Urszuli, or even Roda, could cook. What was the upside?
Well, he was away from the house, out from under the gaze of Tymon. That WAS a plus.
They sat against the wall on a large bench, a long table before them. The chairs opposite them were empty, allowing a clear view of the Watu merchant and his companions dancing with two of the Polish girls while a man with a Koza played a reedy tune. Liuz just shook his head.
"Kasia says you met the King!" Harveen said, not quite shouting. He nodded, taking a short drink from his mug. It wasn't ale, but he wasn't sure what it was. He'd have to drink a bit more to conduct proper experimentation.
"Yeah. He wants some toys for the Princes."
"I've met a prince," she said, "but not a king."
"What prince?" Kasia asked, taking a sip of her own drink. Like every sip, it resulted in a slight grimace, but she kept drinking.
"Can't remember his name. He was traveling down the Royal Road, stopped in the same inn we were. Had a huge number of guards with him."
"Hmm." Liuz considered. "King James doesn't seem to like too many guards."
"At least here," Kasia corrected. "We've both seen large groups going through the main gate with him."
"Let's not talk about the King." Liuz took another sip. "Or work. Or anything."
"Can I ask if you have a mate yet?" Harveen's grey eyes seemed to twinkle in the lamp light. Liuz spit out what was in his mouth.
"What?!"
"Mate! Female companion! You're as big as others I have seen with females! Tell me!"
With a groan, he let his head fall back against the wall, eyes on the ceiling.
Maybe home was a better place to be.