Blood Legacy: The Story of Ryan by Kerri Hawkins

their wagon.
    “Would you be wanting a ride for a ways?”
    The boy had a natural distrust of anyone who would do a good deed without compensation, but his exhaustion was too great. He nodded dumbly, not even bothering to ask where the two were going. It no longer mattered to him.
    The farmer tied the boy’s horse to the rear of the wagon, and the horse began to happily munch on the hay there. The farmer’s wife helped the lad into the bed of the wagon and he collapsed into the heap of warm hay. The farmer’s wife clucked to herself and covered him with a heavy wool blanket. The boy was too tired even to thank her, and collapsed into a deep and dreamless sleep.
     
     
     
    The Man watched the cart pull into his courtyard. The heavy gate clanged closed behind it. He moved down the steps to greet the farmer and his wife, nodding his thanks. He glanced into the rear of the cart, knowing what was there before he did so.
    The figure was sprawled in the hay, only the tousled hair peaking out from underneath the blanket the farmer’s wife had laid upon it.
    Soldiers stepped forward to assist but he waved them back. Effortlessly, he lifted the figure from the hay and much to the surprise of everyone present, carried the figure himself. All watched in silence as the dark-haired man carried the prone figure in his arms, across the courtyard, then all the way up the stone stairs.
    He laid the figure down on the hard bed amongst the soft coverlets. The figure stirred but did not waken. He nodded to the nursemaid who had followed him into the room.
    “This is your new charge. A hot bath and clean clothes will make a good start.”
    The nurse eyed the prone figure. “Is the boy ill? Will he awaken soon?”
    The man smiled. “The ‘boy’ is not ill, but sleep will not release this one anytime soon.”
    The nursemaid nodded and the man left for an adjoining room. A brief time passed, and he was not surprised to hear screams echo down the stone hallways. She came rushing into his room.
    “My lord, you must come quickly. The boy has suffered some grievous injury!”
    The man smiled, not the least bit perturbed by her hysteria. “And what type of injury would that be?”
    The woman swallowed hard. This would be difficult. “I’m afraid he’s lost his manhood, my lord.”
    The man shook his head. It continually amazed him that this people would accept the extraordinary over the obvious. “Miriam, he has not lost his manhood, because ‘he’ is not a ‘he.’”
    Understanding was slow to dawn on Miriam. She had to repeat his lordship’s words several times silently to herself before she realized what he was saying.
    Victor nodded when he was certain she understood his meaning, but he wanted to clarify it just in case. “I am quite aware the boy in the next room is not a boy, but a girl. Her name is Rhian. Now, please continue your care for her.”
     
     
     
    Susan awoke, her head on the console in front of her. She panicked for a moment, thinking she had forgotten Jason, then remembered that Neda had picked him up hours ago. She stared groggily at the clock, mentally ticking away the hours she had been asleep. She glanced through the window at the prone figure. She might as well have gone home.
    She left her lab, nodding to a security guard who was making his rounds in the hallway. She plucked self-consciously at her hair, wondering what it looked like after her lengthy nap. She went into the women’s lounge and washed her face. The hair was not as bad as she expected.
    She dried her hands and tossed the paper towel into the trash. She walked the length of the hallway a few times to get the blood flowing, then ran her security card through the reader and re-entered the lab.
    The control booth door whispered closed behind her as she sat down heavily in her chair. She leaned forward to pick up her glass of water, an act she would not complete. 
    Her hand hovered in the air, grasping a phantom glass of water, its image