Helga McDool's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

Helga moves the girl from the shed to the east barn before dawn, carrying water and clean cloth in a wooden bucket. The boy is already awake when she arrives, spreading fresh straw in the corner stall. He glances at the girl, then at Helga, and nods once before returning to his work. Nathan Snake arrives just after sunrise, walking his horse up the long path from the road. He stops at the old stone memorial wall Ivor's grandfather built years ago to mark the boundary of the family land. Helga sees him from the barn door and walks out to meet him. He's holding a sealed envelope in one hand, the wax thick and unbroken. He doesn't speak right away. When he does, his voice is quiet. "I need to ask something I have no right to ask." Helga waits. He looks past her toward the small stone chapel that sits at the edge of the property, half-hidden by overgrown vines. "There's someone in there. She's been there since last night. I didn't know where else to bring her." Helga feels the weight settle in her chest. She wants to say yes. She wants to open the door wide and let everyone in. But the riders came yesterday, and Ivor drew his sword, and now Nathan has brought someone else without asking first. She glances back at the east barn where the girl and the boy are hidden. Then she looks at Nathan. "How many people know she's here?" Nathan shakes his head. "Just me." Helga takes the envelope from his hand and breaks the seal. Inside is a letter written in a careful hand, asking for sanctuary for a woman who witnessed something she shouldn't have. Helga folds it closed. "The riders will come back," she says. Nathan nods. "I know." She looks at him for a long moment, then turns toward the chapel. "We move her to the barn before noon. And you tell me everything." Nathan follows her across the yard. Helga opens the barn door and calls the boy over. She explains what needs to happen — two people hidden instead of one, both out of sight, both fed and watched. The boy listens and agrees without hesitation. Helga feels something shift inside her. This is no longer a farm where she shelters one person at a time in secret. This is something bigger, something that will draw attention whether she wants it or not. The riders already marked the property. Nathan just added another reason for them to return. But Helga has made her choice, and there's no turning back now. She walks Nathan to the edge of the property and watches him leave. Then she goes inside to pray.