I thought it was a stroke of genius when I created the Hertling twins, but I guess it was necessity.  When you have a story about twelve-year-olds, you can’t just have two.  You need a third so that you have a triangle.  I simply made the third child a pair of twins.

I introduced the twins in book 1, and they become major parts of the story in book 3, running around Port Dechantagne with Senta and Graham.  In book 2, I got to preview that a bit and I found myself with a chance to play with Hertzal a bit.

Usually when characters interact with the twins, they are interacting with Hero, Hertzal’s sister, because Hertzal doesn’t talk.  He hasn’t talked since witnessing his parents’ murders.  Here is Hertzal in a rare scene without his sister.

When the sandwiches had been completed, Senta delivered Zurfina’s to the appropriate location.  Then she put away the ingredients by hand and sat down at the table to enjoy hers.  She was only on her second bite when there was a knock at the door.    As she opened it, the cold air from outside blew across her bare shins and feet.  It had stopped snowing a couple of days before, but it was still cold out and the world was still covered with a thick blanket of white.  Standing outside and shivering was Hertzal Hertling.

“Hertzal!” squealed Senta, giving him a great hug.  “Where is your sister?  Didn’t she come with you?”

Hertzal remained as quiet as he always did, but shook his head.  Two years before, when he and his two sisters had escaped their former homeland of Freedonia, their parents had both been killed by soldiers.  Hertzal, who up until that time has seemed a perfectly normal boy, had lost his voice.  And there seemed to be no reason to expect its return any time soon.

“Come in and get warm.”  Senta pulled the boy into the house and closed the door after him.  “Are you hungry?”

Hertzal shrugged.

Taking this as an affirmative, Senta cut her sandwich in half and gave him the portion with no bite taken out of it.

“I’ll put on some tea.”

Hertzal took a bite of the sandwich and smiled with his blue lips closed.

Senta put the pot on the cast iron stove.

“Nothing’s wrong, is it?” she asked.

Hertzal shook his head.

“It’s only that I don’t see you very often by yourself.”

She crossed back to the stove and sat down.

“What’s Hero doing?”

He shrugged.

“Do you know where Graham is?”

He shook his head.

“So… kind of hard to have a conversation with you.”

Hertzal looked down at the table, took a bite of his sandwich and nodded sadly.

“That’s okay.  Really.  I don’t mind.” 

The kettle on the stove started to whistle, and Senta went and got it.  She transferred the water to a teapot, put loose leaves of tea into an infuser and dropped the infuser into the teapot as well.  Then she brought the pot and two cups to the table.

“You know, I bet I can be as quiet as you.”

Hertzal shook his head.

“Let’s see.  Ready, set.”  She silently mouthed the word “go.”

They finished their sandwiches and tea, looking back and forth at one another.  Afterwards Hertzal helped Senta take the plates, cups, and teapot to the sink and wash them.  Then Senta took him by the hand and led him to the bookcase next to Bessemer’s corner and pulled a wooden box from the bottom shelf.  With a flourish, she pointed to the words burned into the top of the box that spelled out “checkers.”  Hertzal smiled and they sat down to set up the board and begin the first of several games.  By mid-afternoon Hertzal had won six while Senta had won four.  He looked at her and cocked his head to the side.

“I didn’t let you win!” She slapped both hands to her mouth.  “Kafira!  You tricked me.”

Hertzal shrugged.  

“Are you going to stay for tea?”

Hertzal looked at the ceiling.

“I don’t think Zurfina will be down again today.  When she goes up to her study, she usually stays a good long while.”

He looked left, right, and then down near his feet.

“No.  Bessemer is out hunting or flying or some such.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m not worried.  Fina says that he’s old enough to stay out of trouble.”

He raised the other eyebrow.

“No, I don’t believe it either.”

Hertzal jerked his head in the direction of the door.

“I don’t think your sister would like it if I came to your house for tea.  Honor, I mean.  I don’t think she likes me.”

He nodded.

“Well, if you’re sure.”

Nodding again, the boy got up and began putting on his coat.  Senta searched around for her own outer clothing and boots, as well as the snowshoes that Graham had given her.  When they were both suitably bundled, they headed out the door into the snow.

“So when are your moving in to your new place?”

Hertzal stared at her.

“You’re already there?  When did you move in?”

He held up two fingers.

“The day before yesterday?  You should have called me.  I could have helped you.”

He shrugged.

“Yeah.  I guess you guys didn’t really have all that much stuff to move.  It’s like me when I got here.  I didn’t have anything but my doll and the clothes that Fina gave me.”

Hetzal nodded knowingly.

“You know, I guess it’s not so hard to hold a conversation with you after all.”