Chapter 9

After dinner was over, I said goodnight to everyone, and returned to my house. As I walked through the village, my thoughts returned to what had been revealed to me. The fact that a beast came and killed the Patron was disturbing and made me wonder if there was something more to it. There was just not enough information for me to make an informed guess.

When I had returned to my home, I looked at what work needed to be completed. The north and east walls for the main floor were sturdy, there were small holes on the second floor, but nothing that could not wait a day. I had spent nearly two weeks working hard on my house, or killing ‘wolves’. I had earned a day of rest and recuperation after all that hard work. I entered the house and decided that tomorrow would be a day of relaxation. As I headed to the back door, I thought about where I would like to spend my day tomorrow. I recalled all the places I could visit that were near the village, and I remembered an area of the forest I had passed when I returned to Cartha. Once my day was decided, I went out to the back of the house, and gathered all my supplies. I placed the wood, nails, ladder, and tools in the top-floor rooms.

I had a peaceful night’s sleep, one without images of death and pain filling my thoughts and feelings. In fact, I could not remember if I had dreamed anything at all. I awoke feeling better than ever, a perfect way to start my day of rest. I hid my tools and the items Ruben had given me in the compartment in my room. I collected my bow, arrows, knife, and satchel. I then pulled a panel up from the hiding place, and placed all the Drectars I had there, save for the ones I would use to get some food. I closed the compartment, and made my way downstairs. I had a quick meal of some bread and the last of my fruit, and made my way outside. I locked up my house, after making sure that I had not left any wood or supplies outside, and made my way into the village, towards the market place. I greeted many as I made my way through town, saying ‘hi’, returning a wave. It was becoming more like the place I remembered from my childhood.

When I arrived at the market, my first stop was to the fish dealer. I looked at what he had for sale, and I asked him if he had a rod he could spare. I was fortunate that he had one and it only cost me four blue Drectars and was in good condition.

Blue Drectars are the lowest of our currency. Ten blues make a green, ten greens make a yellow, ten yellows make a red, and ten reds make a white - the highest of the Drectars. Only the Dran of our province might have a white Drectar in his treasury. That left me with six blue Drectars, and two green ones.

My next visit at the market was to the vegetable dealer. I got a bushel of apples, as well as a sprig of grapes and two bananas for a green Drectar. So far, I was getting good deals on the items that I had been purchasing. I had no doubt that they were giving me such good deals due to the help I had been giving the town.

I used the rest of my Drectars to get a blanket made from Pluta fur and a nice bottle of Ice Berry wine. I placed the food and wine in my satchel along with the broken-down rod, and made for the gate. As I passed Ruben’s shop, I stopped in to say hello, letting him know what I was up to, and to keep an eye on the house while I was gone. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the guards, but who knew if Brant had one in his pocket. Ruben told me not to worry, he would take care of the place, and I bade him a good day. I greeted the gate guard and let him know I would be out for most of the day. That way, the night guards would not be surprised to see me when I returned to the village tonight. We chatted a bit about the news of the day, which was mostly about my standing up to Brant, as I waited for the gate to go up. I bade him a good day as well, and made my way to the woods, giving a smile and a nod to the outer guards as I passed by.

I followed the path into the woods, enjoying the sights of the different trees, the sounds of the birds chirping. I loved the sounds of nature, the smell of dew in the air, the feel of a breeze that carries the life of the forest with it. After a while, I came to my first marker, a fallen-down log. On my return from Fardun, my mare had tired a few hours outside of town, and I had realized I was out of water. I made note of the log, so I would be able to find my way back. Now, I turned east and went into the brush, going deeper into the forest. The next marker I came across was a tree, which had split to make a ‘Y’. It was at this spot that I had heard and smelled the first signs of water. I turned southeast and continued along my hidden path to peace. I came across my final marker a few minutes later, a large boulder shaped like a wave. From here, it was only a few paces south. As I turned to continue, I could not shake the sense that I was being followed. Yet, when I turned and scanned the forest around me, there was nothing, and no one to be seen. I shrugged at the strangeness of it, and continued towards my destination, humming to myself.

I found it funny when I realized that the tune I was humming was the tune that Violet had hummed when I had been sleeping. I smiled and continued to hum the tune while I enjoyed the warm feelings that filled me. Memories of happier times with Violet and my parents filled my mind. I had thought I had lost all the happy memories of my parents to that one night of horror.

In no time, I came across my spot, and marveled once again at its beauty. Birch trees surrounded a small meadow, their leaves allowing just the right amount of sunlight to add majesty to the view. To my right, was a small waterfall, the rumble of the running water was soft and hypnotic. It fell into a small lake of crystal blue water; you could go to the deepest part and still see right to the bottom. The lake was about a kilometer in diameter and on its southern edge, the water flowed into a river that passed near the village. The sounds of birds chirping filled the air; you could hear them rustling the leaves as they passed. Smaller animals would pop out of the brush and run across the open ground, stopping for a second before jumping back into the dense bushes.

To my left was where I planned to place my camp. The meadow portion of this area was around four kilometers in diameter, with short green grass covering it. Along its exterior edges were collections of wild roses and tulips. It was a serene place, which I had vowed I would visit whenever I had a chance. I made my way into the meadow, laying my satchel and unfurled my blanket on a soft portion of the grass, near one of the flowerbeds. I looked around at where I had chosen to place my goods and saw it was the perfect place to be. Smiling, I took off my bow and quiver, placing them, standing up, against the flowerbed - its bushes were thick enough to support the weight. I sat down on my new blanket, kicked off my boots and dug through my satchel. I pulled out the bottle of Ice Berry wine, as well as an apple. Using my knife, I cut off a piece of apple, and bit into the delicious morsel. It was tart, yet sweet, and filled my mouth with flavor. I pulled out the cups that I had brought from home, uncorking the bottle, pouring myself a cup of wine. I took a sniff of it, the aroma was quite pleasing, and I then began to drink, enjoying the taste of the wine as I did. As I sat, enjoying my meal and drink, taking in the sights and sounds that were around me, I thought about all the things that had happened so far.

In the past few weeks, a lot had happened, I had finally returned home, and was reunited with my beautiful flower, Violet. It had not been until I saw her again, that I realized how much I had missed her. Unfortunately, there was also trouble that was brewing on the horizon. Brant would be a serious problem, and if I could not come to an understanding with him, things would no doubt get ugly. I do not know what I did to have him hate me so much, but I could care less about that. He seemed to be a person who thinks so highly of himself, he has no idea how low he has sunk. I thought about Ruben and his family - spending time with them were the best parts of my day. Enjoying a sense of family, again, after all these years. My elder parents had given me some of that, but nothing compared to when I was with Ruben and his family. Of course, the best parts of those moments were spent in the company of Violet. I could not help but notice that she was no longer the little girl I used to play with. In the time I had been gone, an amazingly beautiful woman had grown in her place. It was hard to reconcile my feelings. I loved being around her, my stomach fluttered when she laughed. I found myself looking at her body, feeling stirrings in my loins whenever I looked. I was unsure of my feelings, and of hers, and my thoughts began to fill with doubts.

I decided to wash away my thoughts and fear with a nice, cool dip in the water. I always found it to be soothing and helped me to clear my mind of the clutter that could drive a man mad. I looked around the meadow, since there was no sign of anyone - other than creatures, I decided to strip out of my clothing and swim naked. I returned the cups to the satchel, and began to remove my clothing. I carefully placed all my clothes in a pile next to my boots, and folded up my blanket. Since the fur of a Pluta is also used to make towels, the thick fur side will absorb the water, while the hide side will stay dry. Once I was sure everything would be ok where it was, I made my way towards the edge of the lake. I placed the blanket a few feet from the edge of the lake, and made my way into the cool water. The feel of the cool liquid felt good on my bare skin. I stood for a few moments, allowing my body to become accustomed to the temperature before moving further into the water. I enjoyed the feel of the gently moving water being pushed by the cascading waterfall. I lay on my back, and slowly began to move my arms and legs, swimming around in a circle. I stared at the sky, watching birds and clouds pass through the open air, allowing the water to wash away my worries.

I was enjoying my peaceful swim, when I was startled out of my peaceful activity. I heard two distinctive snaps in the woods. The first one was very soft, and sounded like any animal could have broken it. However, the second was closer, maybe a few feet from the edge of the meadow, and extremely loud. Due to my years as a forester, I could identify the thickness of a branch by the sound it made when snapped. The second branch that had snapped was thick; not many animals of the forest would be able to do that. My mind started racing at the possibilities of whom or what could be lurking in the bush. I began to think how I could get to my weapons quickly, however I could not think of a way that would not result in my death. I was stuck, naked, with someone or something lurking in the forest beyond.

“Whoever or whatever is out there,” I yelled to no one in particular, “step out of the tree line and show yourself.” I treaded water, wondering if I had over-played myself, when I heard movement in the trees to my left.

Who came out of the tree line was a bit shocking and unexpected. I was surprised, yet happy to see that it was Violet - she must have followed me from the village. That would explain why I had the feeling that someone was following me, but did not explain why I did not see her when I checked around me. I had done a thorough search of the forest when I got the feeling that I was being followed. Violet had never been any good at hiding, so why had I been unable to see her following me?

Looking at the ground, with a blush she said, “I am sorry I followed you. I overheard you talking to Papa, and I thought you would want company.”

I gave her a stern look, and replied,” If that is true, why is it you followed me? Why did you not let me know you were?”

This caused her to blush more, it was strange, and I had never noticed just how shy she had been lately. She had always been fun, energetic and outgoing, though those traits are still there, I noticed other things too. Part of her demeanor had changed in the time that we had been apart, and it was almost submissive in nature.

She would always look up when speaking, and then look back down at the ground. My comments usually elicited a blush, and she would then refuse to make eye contact. Then there was the fact that she would follow me around places, almost as a puppy follows its master. Though she had followed me everywhere when we were kids, I should not now be surprised at that, but something was telling me that this was for a different reason than it was when we were kids.

I had a thought, and asked, “Violet, just how long were you in the trees over there, and just how much did you see?”

I never thought she could turn a deeper shade of pink until I uttered those words. That was twice now, that she had looked upon me in a state of complete undress. It could just be her timing, but somehow it seemed to be more than that. It seemed more that she was actively trying to see me in a state of undress. She also did not shy away from instances that could reveal more of her body to me. I made my way to the edge of the water, my eyes focused on her as I went. I started to feel a slight uneasiness in my stomach, as I got closer to the edge of the water.

Steeling my nerves, I walked the rest of the way out, the water falling away to reveal my state of undress. The breeze that moved through the meadow brushed the cool water on my skin, sending chills across my body. Violet had turned a deeper shade of pink, yet watching her, I never once saw her eyes rise to look for more than a second.

I laughed a bit at the scene that was now playing out between us. I grabbed the blanket, using the absorbent side, and dried off. Once dry, I walked over to my clothes and put on my pants. Once I was dressed enough not to leave her distracted, I beckoned her over to join me for lunch. The bright smile I was coming to enjoy seeing appeared on her face, as she ran over to where I was now sitting. I could not help but watch as her bosom danced with each step. I took out some of the apples, grapes and bananas, and we sat there enjoying a nice meal together. I offered her some of the grapes from my satchel. As she approached and began opening her mouth, I tossed one in.