It was May, when the soldiers came.

Father always left early in the morning. He woke before the sun did. So it was I who Edward poked awake, with demands for breakfast. He was already fully dressed, and grinning.

Edward is incapable of doing anything quietly, so soon Rose was awake, and hopping into the kitchen, her hair resembling a windswept bird's nest. The combined noise of Rose, Edward, breakfast cooking, and my incessant "Shhs!"'s was also enough to wake Juliet. Her bawls were added to the din.

I heaped fried eggs onto three pot plates, but some milk on the boil, then went to fetch Juliet from her crib. "Ssh," I whispered, "Morning, Jules."

"Arial, Edward's stolen my egg, Arial- Edward, don't eat it, stop it, give it back!"

I rolled my eyes, hoisted the sniffling Juliet onto my arm, so she was peering over my shoulder, and walked into the kitchen again. The milk was boiling, and Edward was dancing around, holding Rose's plate above his head.

"Edward, give it i back i ," Rose whined, running after him. "It's a sin to steal, it's a sin!"

Edward stuck his tongue out, and ran past me. I pulled the plate from his hands as he ran past, and handed it back to Rose, who smirked.

"Edward, go and take some bread to Father."

Edward scowled, as I settled Juliet carefully on the table, and went to pour the milk into a bottle.

"Why me?"

"Because you sinned, Edward," Rose said, primly, eating her egg. "You'll have to come with me and Arial to church now, to apologise to God."

"No chance," Edward said, grabbed the bread from the cupboard, and ran out of the front door into the street.

"Meet us outside the Church, Edward!" I called after him.

"He'll go to Hell, Arial, won't he?" Rose said, rocking on her chair dolefully. I filled Juliet's bottle, and started to feed her it. Little droplets of milk spilled out of her tiny little mouth, and she giggled.

"Let's hope not, Rosie."

Rose finished, stood up, and placed her empty plate in the water bucket.

"The Bible says people who sin go to hell."

"Edward isn't a bad person, Rosie. Come on, sit, let me do your hair, then you can go and dress."

She sat down heavily on her chair, while I laid Juliet on the table again, fetched a brush and some ribbon, and walked over to Rose.

"We'll have to pray for him," Rose said resignedly. I smiled. Rose planned to be a nun when she grew up. "Really, really hard. I don't want him to go to Hell."

I brushed her hair, and started to plait it. Juliet was gurgling on the table.

"Arial," Rose asked, "who do you love?"

I was startled by this question.

"Well, you, and Edward and Father, and Jules-"

"No, I meant, boys. You know, boys who you would like to marry."

I thought, as I twisted her hair around.

"No-one, really. Why?"

"I just wondered. Do you think Vater will marry again?"

Vater is Father.

"No. He loved Mother very much."

I tied the ribbon around her hair.

"Arial, is mother in heaven?"

"Definitely," I said, smiling at Rose, as she turned and looked at me.

"Promise?"

"Promise, Rosie, now stop preaching at me and get dressed, love."

She smiled at me, and skipped off. I picked up Juliet, placed her back into her cot, and went to get dressed myself. I pondered Rose's questions deeply. Would Father marry again? I hoped not. It would be like a replacement for mother, and I couldn't bear that. Would I marry? Well, certainly not anyone in Karminrote Gatter, the only boys here were either desperately dull or irritatingly arrogant. Did I even want to marry?

"Arial, hurry up, we'll be late!" Rose called, and I hurriedly pinned my hair back, tied the strings of my dress, and slipped my shoes on.

Rose was waiting in the kitchen, Juliet dangling precariously over her shoulder. I hastily rescued the chubby little thing, and we left.

Edward wasn't waiting at the Church. We entered, and Rose ran to the front pew, grabbing a Bible and curling up. I glanced around. He wasn't here. I sighed.

"Rosie," I called, walking quickly up to her, "Take Juliet, I have to go and find Edward." I handed over Juliet, who was blowing spit bubbles. Rose bit her lip.

"Be quick, Arial. I don't want you to go to Hell, either."

"I will, promise. I won't go to Hell, don't worry!"

And I left the Church, heading to Fathers Tailor shop.

I reached it in five minutes. Father was there, chewing the bread Edward had given him, but Edward wasn't there.

"Don't worry. Arial," Father said, smiling, "He'll have run off to the fields, he's always doing something potentially dangerous."

He was sewing the hemline of a red satin dress, a hot iron on the stove in the corner of the shop.

"Rose is at Church, with Juliet," I told him, "I'll just go and see if Edward's outside the Gates, then I'll go back."

"No worries," Father said, biting the thread and setting down his needle. "I'll go and accompany the girls. You find Edward, and come and join us."

He kissed my cheek, and we set off in different directions.

Edward's favourite place to go is Patience's Pasture, a field belonging to the Church. No-one ever goes there, as it's a mile or so from the village, so he has it all to himself. I set off towards it, enjoying the hot sun and bright sunlight.

I reached the Pasture, but he wasn't there. I frowned. Maybe he'd gone off on another excursion. He was so i unreliable. i .

But then something happened that stopped me in my tracks.

BOOM.