Chapter 10

Shade's POV

Shade

Chapter 10

 

                Apples, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and a lucky find of a fish in his trap, a perfect spring harvest, and enough that he was able to relax and have a snack. Shade strode through the forest, relaxing and listening to the calls of early morning birds. So early and he was already done… the harvest had been better this year than last, the wild berries riper sooner than usual and juicer than he had tasted in a long time. The fish, he would slowly roast it over the fire, salt it and spice it with the few spices he had, and then eat it in his own time, enjoying the luxury. He grinned outright without thinking about it. Yes, this was a very good thing. He could go back to his hut and see if any of his potatoes, carrots, or cabbages were yet ripe. The tomatoes would take a little more time, he knew, but that was well enough. Now he even had a strawberry plant to place in his garden. He might even have time today to fix the floor.

                Shade stopped and looked back over his shoulder. He was sure that he had just see a flash of silver and red. It couldn’t possibly be something that grew here, at least nothing he had ever seen. His eyes at long last found the source of the sudden change in color. Through a gap in the roots of an old oak he saw lay a strange girl, curled against the wall of the little hollow she slept in. He ran a hand over his eyes, and then looked again, for surely he was hallucinating, but there the girl still lay. He set down the basket of produce and took a few hesitant steps toward the hollow, being careful to keep quiet. He looked more closely. The girl had long silver hair and strangely sharp, curved ears. Her face vaguely reminded him of that of a cat, and in her hand, which he now saw had claws rather than nails, she gripped a long, sharp looking knife, which on one side was edged with dried blood. She wore a long silver cloak and tight black, ripped pants, but her torso was neatly bandaged. The hint of red he had seen was where she bled through it.

He stared at her for a long while, caught in indecision. He glanced longingly back at his hand woven basket of produce. If he took her in, no matter how pretty and desperate she was, she would consume a portion of his harvest, especially being wounded as she was. He didn’t even know who she was, who was she to intrude on his peace and happiness? He glared at her, angry at the decision he was being forced to make. Just seconds ago he had been making his way back to his humble hut with ample supplies and now his curiosity had landed him with this. He would have to double back and get more food, and he would have to sleep on his own floor and clean her wounds, wrap on new bandages and bring down any fever she had. No, he didn’t have the resources or time to bring her in and help her, no matter how much she asked for it. 

                He was up to stand and leave when the girl’s grey-blue eyes flickered open, drowsily searching her surroundings, finally landing on his face. They stared at each other and then she jumped up, narrowly avoiding hitting her head on the top of the Hollow. Out of it she came and shade jumped back, landing with a thud as he tripped over a root. His hand searched for something to defend himself as the girl, the furious creature, raced toward him. At last his hand found the rough texture of a rock and he gripped it. The beast came closer and he raised his hand, pulling his arm back, he threw the rock at its head, and just as it stopped and said “Wait a mo-” , it was wacked by the rock on its bandaged forehead with a hard thunk. Its eyes rolled and it went limp, falling back onto the ground, looking as small and helpless as when he had found it. He sat gasping for a time, barely able to comprehend what had just happened.

                When he finally caught his breath he sat staring at it, thinking about what had happened. What had it been about to say? It had looked confused and angry when it had stopped, in fact it had looked as if it were not, in fact, a beast. He stared at it, or her, for a while longer and decided to take her home. He had, in truth, been planning to all along, as he told himself. It was just a matter of seeing what she was about. In the light of the event, he decided that she would be effectively harmless if he took her to his hut and strapped her down. He didn’t think she meant harm, but had most probably just been confused. Either way, he couldn’t have her wondering around in his little haven, disrupting the harvest and scaring away all the fish.

                He bent down and picked her up, stopping only once in shock at how light she was and to look back longingly at the basket or food he could no longer carry, then decided on coming back after he settled the girl in. Yes, and possibly, if he strapped her down tightly enough, he could go harvest some more…

Author's Note

The credit for this chapter goes to my partner, this is her character and her writing, I do not take credit for anything except minor editing and help in creating the plot line. My partner owns the rights to characters: Misty and Shade.

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[Rhianne Ney]

just few typos in here