Ch5: The Turn-Around

The Dance. The Gun. The Dream

He took her hand and smiled as a faint blush arose on her cheeks before she nodded and rose from her seat at the table. Darwin truly did not know what he was doing, merely acting on instinct, and as they walked hand in hand to the open space before the tables he started to wonder what he was doing… what his brother would think…
Darwin bowed before her, a small courtesy. The small band of musicians that had stood quietly in a corner until now started playing a slow tune, embedding the room in a fog of emotional tones. Rhonda looked troubled and as he took her in his arms, her head against his chest, she whispered.
“I can’t dance… Darwin, I have never done anything like it…”
He smiled and pushed her away far enough for her to see it, but close enough for his whispers to reach her.
“Just close your eyes and dance like nobody’s watching, I’ll be right here to help you.”
He took her hand, swung her around slowly, making her feet feel the music and soon she no longer closed her eyes for him, but looked him straight in the eyes while he led her all over the dance floor. Soon other joined them, yet they remained in their own world, and it was theirs to rule.

That night she left long after her father did, dancing, talking and laughing with the dark haired stranger, time passing without either of them noticing, yet soon the Mayor had had enough and shoved them both out with an angry face. At that part Darwin smiled and apologized to the older man, who only mumbled a response before shutting the doors behind them. They stood before each other for a few seconds, just smiling like fools before reality caught up with them.
“Yet again I must leave you for the dawn’s sweet light, my lady, though this time I won’t need to say goodnight from afar”
He smiled charmingly, took her hand, and gave it a light kiss, although the second the contact broke,   she took a chance and with a hand on his neck, she kissed him on the lips. It wasn’t a very deep kiss, but it was enough for him to gasp in surprise. As they reluctantly left each other’s lips, they smiled in surprise, both in shock. Rhonda was the first to recover and, when she did, she smiled teasingly and said.
“Now that’s a kiss my Darwin” Then turned around and walked towards her home.
Long after she had left, Darwin still stood there, smiling like a goof and when he finally turned around and began his walk to his camp he whispered the words to himself…
“My Darwin….”

She opened the door silently, and found her Father in kitchen, watching her in silence… judging her… yet he said nothing at all as she slowly walked up the stairs to her bed. She fell asleep with a gigantic smile on her face.
Tonight had been good.

The days that followed were like nothing Rhonda had ever experienced before. Darwin seemed to make all her worries disappear, just by being close, or by giving her a simple smile. Darius however avoided both his daughter and her new… friend as much as he possibly could. The meals were spent in silence, each on their side of the table, and the few words father and daughter spoke to each other were always about work.
Darwin was never mentioned.

Darius focused all his energy into his work, but the small repairs he did for his fellow farmers bored him. How could he go back to making hoes, and repairing horseshoes after his success with Vicis?
He needed more.
He needed to discover the mysteries of the runes… But how? He couldn’t simply imbue common farming tools with runes of unknown effect or he would end up making a scythe which harvest souls, and thereby making the next Grim Reaper  out of a common farmer…
The thought amused him.

Days passed and the thoughts did not leave his mind, Darius figured that it was better to trouble himself with thoughts of runes, weapons and mystery than thinking about what his daughter might be doing this instant. Something that his old mentor once had said arose from deep within his memory…. Yet, he could not quite recall what it had been; it was like remembering a forgotten dream… Something about the property of metal… or was it the capability of mankind? The line of thoughts was interrupted when the door to his smith opened and a man entered.  The blonde from the feast…
The brother of Rhonda’s….friend.
“Mr.… Caretto was it?” Of course it was, the name hadn’t been far from my mind since that night, Darius thought.
“Right you are, Mr. Jones! Pleasant little shop you have here, and a constant income of work, presume, you being the only smith around and all!” The boy laughed…. Well, boy might be the wrong term to use, Marwin being almost…. Five-and-twenty? Darius did not know.  The older man smiled, as he studied the younger before him, tall, fit, a charming smile, he could see why the girls gave him such longing looks, yet… there was something unsettling about him, Darius knew not what it was.
“The work is constant, and the pay brings food to my table. But hoes, and horseshoes can only take you that far, as I’m sure you can understand.”
“Bored, Mr. Jones?” The question was asked as a jape, but Darius answered truthfully as he shrugged.
“Vicis was the highlight of the past 10 years, but I’m the only one to blame, a quiet life is satisfying in itself.”
“The sword! Aye, I can see what you mean, a true masterpiece, if you don’t mind me saying! That actually brings me to the topic I came to see you for. I have a job for you.”
“A job?” He raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if this was a joke, yet Marwin only nodded in full sincerity. The younger man unfolded a yellowing parchment on the counter between the two of them and pointed at the advanced piece of machinery on it.
“I need you to make this.” He said it simply, but nothing of what Darius saw, was simple. This was no simple farmer’s tool.
This was a weapon.
“Do you know what you have here?” Darius asked, astounded by the sheer complexion of what he saw.
“The cure for your boredom, I reckon”
Marwin smiled.

The dawn broke and Darius was already up, waiting for the older brother Caretto to bring him what he had promised, and if it was anything of what he had said it would be, it’d be worth it. The materials needed for the work was nothing too rare, except for one vital part of it… it was a certain metal, a metal which not even his own Mentor had even seen... and Darius was only minutes away from exceeding him at that point. The ore was rare, so rare that there was none of it here, not even in this part of the world… maybe it didn’t even exist on this world…  People had different names for it everywhere… God Tears, dream-dust, Margerius… Entire tribes worshiped it as some gift from the gods, the Archmagi used the dust for their most advanced spells, and even the few remaining alchemists used it for their search of the Philosopher ’s Stone. But one thing was clear to everyone;
It was rare
So rare that only a handful of tools had been created from it throughout the legends…. And now, Marwin was bringing him an entire bar…

The blonde man let the cloth-covered bar drop on the counter, making Darius jump high… He hadn’t even noticed him entering…
“All set?” the younger asked.
Darius nodded and unfolded the Margerius bar and let a finger trace along the smooth red surface. A heat seemed to erupt from deep within its core, not enough to burn you, just enough to make you know it’s there.
“Consider it as payment aswell, whatever’s left after you’re done, is yours for the keeping”
“You can’t mean… “
The blonde man interrupted him.
“I do mean it. Honest pay for honest work.”
Marwin smiled, turned around and left.
Not for the first time since Marwin entered the shop, Darius felt uneasy about the task ahead…  He glanced at the bar before him…
An entire bar…

Rhonda spent the day in the smith, when all she wanted to do was leave. Her Father had let all the work that he had started to fall on her now… for the last three days she had basically run the shop… was this his petty punishment for spending her free time with Darwin? Father could be so stubborn at times… He didn’t even allow her to know what he was working on….
“Four turns on each… Three…. No, no, no… six pinches of dust… Three on each, yes…” Father muttered to himself, but she could wait no longer.
“I need to leave early… I… got a thing…” She said, interrupting his deep thinking.
He sighed, and turned around.
“It’s that boy again huh? The Caretto boy?” His tone was demeaning, and she could feel her blood boiling at the sound of it.
“Yes, and his name is Darwin, and he’s special to me…”
He chuckled, shook his head and gave her a sad look.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re very… precious to him too…” He turned around, still chuckling.
“What’s that supposed to mean…?”
“Ever thought how many towns like this he’s passed through? How many ladies thought she was special to him? Haven’t thought of that have you? He’s a man, he’s leaving soon, and you’re a pretty girl, what do you think I mean?”
The words hit her like a slap, and she could feel tears burning behind her eyes. I will not cry, not in front of him.
“I can see now why Mother couldn’t live with you…”
She left before he could respond.

Marwin entered the shop and this time the older man heard it. He stood at the counter, cleaning the device from the sot… The darkened metal was elegant in its advanced simplicity. Darius hadn’t ever seen anything like it.
“Caretto, before I hand this over to you, you’re gonna tell me what the fuck I’ve created here and what it’s for….”
“You’ve crafted a gun.  What it’s for? Why shooting preys of course! What else?” The blonde man smiled, but Darius no longer fell for it… The smile never reached his eyes.
The blonde man let a single shell drop on the counter, as if to prove a well stated argument.
“Show me”

Ten meters away from them were six empty bottles. Marwin brought out eight shells from his pocket and loaded the newly crafted gun, cocked it and fired. Once, twice, thrice in a quick pace, before spinning, as if avoiding bullets, and mid-spin cocking it again, and firing another three shots. A single bottle remained when he was done.
“Five out of six, not bad Mr. Caretto.”
“Throw another bottle up in the air, Jones”
Without a word, Darius threw a seventh bottle high in the air. Waiting, the younger man aimed carefully and at the right moment fired.  Both the sixth and seventh bottle exploded in a rain of glass.
“I never leave a prey standing.”

The older Caretto left the shop without a second glance, holding his new toy in his hands. Marwin had named it there and then. Chas, after the magi’s word for Bringer, he said, and Darius couldn’t help but wonder what on earth he was bringing. As the door closed, Darius took the shell which Marwin had left on the counter and went deeper into the shop before removing the cloth from his secret project.
The twin of Chas; 
Sheth

The girl came to him in tears, red-eyed and with hair a mess; she was still the most beautiful woman Darwin had ever seen. When she finished telling him about her father and his cruel words, a rage had built up within the otherwise calm man. They were seated by the river, at the very same spot at which she had first seen him. It had become a safe haven for the two of them, where nobody else came, where they could just be themselves.

A big jumble of emotions stirred within Rhonda, it was all too much… How dared he judge her?! She was a woman grown and could take care of herself! It did not matter; she knew the true Darwin, and not the phantom which her Father believed in! Her Darwin was sweet, caring, and ever-smiling and nothing like the idiot that Father tried to convince her he was. She could barely see Darwin through the haze the tears had created, but she felt him, so close to her… and it almost made the thoughts of her Father go away…. Almost.

Time went by and soon she was smiling again, he had that effect on her, she just couldn’t hide her smile, no matter how hard of a day she had had. Though soon, the sun was setting and Rhonda knew that she had to return, no matter how idiotic her Father was. She rolled over and kissed him deeply, wanting the moment to last, yet the moment ran through their fingers and with a whimper, she rose and started to walk away.

From Marwin’s hiding spot, a little bit away, he saw every movement they made, and the second she rose, he started to doubt his brother. Had he forgotten, or was he simply on his way to refusing an order? He was just about to take matters into his own hands when Darwin called for her, and she, the sorry excuse for a vessel, turned around, smiling for her lover. The smile disappeared the second Darwin whispered in her ear. It was as if a light, a candle within her had been snuffed out.
She was there, but Rhonda was gone.

Darius stood in the doorway when he spotted Rhonda. She was walking slowly, arms hanging by her sides, and empty eyes. The stubborn girl won’t even say a word to me if I know her correctl, Darius thought as the empty eyed girl walked right past him and up to her room.
Stubborn girl….

When the black-haired hunter entered the camp, he noticed that he was awaited. His brother stood, leaning against the wooden post of his tent. The elder brother started to applaud slowly and ironic, as his little-brother entered the camp.
“Bravo, what a performance ladies and gents, truly amazing performance by Caretto the Younger!”
“I did what I had to do”
A grim facial expression had formed on the young man’s face as he saddled his horse.

The smith’s dreams were troublesome, which was odd because he never ever dreamt… He could never quite recall when he last dreamt, and this dream, he wouldn’t want to recall. He saw a plagued land beneath him, the fields were a sickly green, and the towns were rotten and the people dead… Yet they did not remain dead for long… Soon, dead men rose and wandered freely, spreading the plague wherever they went, until nothing else remained. The dream twisted, and he now saw a tower in the center of it all, and at the top, Rhonda was screaming, screaming in agony as her flesh ripped apart.
“Awake!”
The voice shuddered the entire dream, like the voice of a god commanding the mortals.
“Awake you son of a fool!”
Darius awoke at the sound of horses outside and panic erupted from a place deep within him, for no apparent reason. It was the dead of night, yet there seemed to be a distant glow outside… Darius quickly pulled himself out of the bed and quickly out of the door, but what met him was part of his darkest nightmare.

“Look who’ve come to see you off!”
The rider laughed, a deep, sadistic laugh of a mad man.
Marwin.
But he was not alone.
On the two horses, there were three. The smile of Marwin was twisted, but Darwin did not smile, he did not even look, bu the most hurtful image was the devilish smile of Rhonda, seated behind Darwin. Sheth was suddenly at hand, but Darius had no memory of pulling it. The shell was loaded and in sheer desperation, Darius shot.
Empty shell.
He shot again, and again, and again, yet the weapon gave him disappointing clicks as response, and no shot fired. Marwin laughed again, pulled Chas from his belt and shot a single shot. 

The last he knew was the image of Darwin and Marwin, riding away with his daughter. Marwin with Chas raised in his hand, and Darwin with the stolen Vicis, although it was shining blood red….

Ch4: The warmth of a Stranger

The Sword. The Travelers. The Stranger.

Her heart was beating rapidly as she opened her eyes, she swore, she had fallen asleep even though she promised herself that she wouldn’t. The sun was long up and she couldn’t find a single reason for why Father would have let her sleep this long. He, who usually was so strict, so firm about never oversleeping, always to be on time, had let her sleep well past dawn. She would have usually rejoiced over the idea of catching another few hours of sleep, but today, when it really mattered, she cursed wildly as she put on her best boots and braided her hair. Halfway outside the door she swore once again out of frustration, she had forgotten something quite vital…
Her shirt.

Rhonda was breathing heavily as she swung the door open to Father’s smith. The air was thick with heat and she could hear the familiar sound of the hammer against the anvil. When he looked up to see who entered he saw her daughter, red faced and with eyes that said one thing only: she was not amused… He looked down again to focus on the work, which today could have been a simple day’s work, but Darius was not much for making things easy. The blade he worked on was just an ornament sword that the mayor had asked, and paid handsomely for. The blade would never see battle, but Darius did not care. He made each of his tools and weapons as if they were to face hell and still be of use. The blade was by all means nice to look at, but if you were to see it in the hands of your opponent, it’d put fear in your heart. The blade was a masterpiece, weapons and especially swords had always been Darius’ passion. It was not the average slash blade, it had a sharp edge and a sturdy parry side, the sharp end had a small curve upwards with barbs for extreme damage to the flesh and entrails, which ended with such a sharp end that it hurt only to look at it. The entire sword was covered with Runes in deep black, stamped into the metal itself.

Rune craft allowed a smith to enhance his work with powers to make them indestructible, untouchable to time’s toll and even more, if you were willing to learn. The craft had taken years and years for Darius to learn, with a mentor who’s discipline were to be matched with the Monks who lived in the deep mountains.  The time was well spent though, now his blades were the sharpest, his metal, the hardest, and his knowledge the greatest within this part of the world.

He was now making a finishing touch, and, even if he never would admit it, he was experimenting. He wanted it to make an impression to those who saw it, and he thought he knew how…  There was a technic that his mentor had been trying to teach him when his mentorship so suddenly… ended. The runes were hard to interpret, and each line had a thousand meanings, depending on the combinations.

He let a small grunt escape him as the final rune was stamped into the cooling metal and he felt calmness surge through his body as he grabbed the blade. Darius smiled at the emotion, he had succeeded; now this blade would calm its wielder no matter the situation… but what happened next was beyond what he imagined…  A blue glow started to shimmer along the blade, erupting from the hilt, slowly reaching out towards the sharp edge. Darius swung the blade and found it with amazing balance, this was truly his finest work.

Rhonda peeked from the counter at her father’s latest work. The blade was truly a masterpiece belonging with the legend, beyond anything he had ever done, and now it would spend the rest of eternity in a fat mayor’s office…  She sighed, she had never understood why he had wished for this life, making tools and ornaments in a small village, when his work could have been praised all over the world.  Rhonda asked herself for the millionth time what Marles had to offer her in the future. Would she too become one of the housewives to one of the townsmen? Or maybe even to a councilmember? She shuddered at the thought of the fat bellied men in the council, who had more hair on their back than on their head… Maybe she would inherit the smith his father…  No, she couldn’t think like that. Her father was still strong… and with plenty of hair on his head….

Her thoughts were pushed aside as her curiosity built about the blade in her father’s hand.
“That blade, it’s special, isn’t it?”
Her Father looked up, the blade still at hand, and faced her daughter.
“The runes within it is connected with its wielder, and only when he or she is in complete balance with him- or herself can the blade reach it’s true potential. When it’s at balance, it’s quicker, lighter, truer and far deadlier, because it also means that the wielder, is in full control. The blade shines of blue, when it’s at home. “

Her eyes widened as he spoke, never had she thought her father’s talents to extend to this point. To her, the blue shine had only been another piece of the ornament. This was… magical, yet she dared not say the word at his presence. He had tried to explain the difference between what he did, and what magic was when she had asked many years ago.
The basics of it had been this:
Runes take their strength from certain sources, depending on what rune. Strengthening metal has their source in the metal itself, while some drain power from the user, and the most advanced runes takes their energy from the target. Those who uses runeweapons does not need knowledge about these types of sources to use the weapon, the only one who needs to know is the runecrafter himself.
Magic is a much different matter. To use magic, you need to build up a different type of energy within yourself to even be able to grasp the art of magic. Each time you use from this pool, it drains you, and will destroy you if not used carefully. It cannot be used without training, and even after years it would still drain you even with the simplest of spells. Her father had described this craft as a mad-man’s work, and that only a true fool can master the arts.
Rhonda had learned never to bring the subject up again.

Darius held the shining blade towards the light, the runes showing clearly, he thought for a name. A name fitting a masterpiece. He turned it, let it shine from new angles, trying to catch the meaning of the sword he had created , and just as he was about to abandon the quest, the name hit him.
“Vicis.”
The name made the entire sword to hum in approval.
Vicis had awoken.

Both father, as daughter jumped when a boy of 14 ran straight through the door, breathing heavily,  and making little sense.
“The riders, m’lord! The riders!”
Rhonda could almost hear her heart racing, could he mean…?
“I am no lord of yours, nor are you a squire, so cut the nonsense. What matter are you speaking of, boy? I have little time for babbling fools!” His voice was rough and irritated to any but Rhonda, she knew he was only entertaining himself by messing with the boy’s head.
The boy gulped, stared with blood red cheeks at the big smith who was now towering over him, sword in hand.
“The…erhm…. T-there’s r-riders coming in from the east, m’lord” His eyes went big as he slipped his tongue, and as Darius took another step towards him, he scrambled to get out the door as fast as his feet could.  By the time the sound of his running feet faded, both father and daughter was crying from laughter.

By the time that the riders were spotted by the villagers, they had gathered quite an audience. Villagers, shopkeepers, farmers and councilmember, medicine men, and rambling fools, all had come to meet the riders. Rumors was running wild about who they might be, traders, outlaws,  travelers,  but in all honesty: no one had a single clue.  Not even Rhonda knew, even after her encounter during the night… yet, her heart was beating faster than it had ever done before… what was happening to her?

As the riders grew bigger in the distance, the mayor, sitting on a fat horse which seemed to fit the obese man on top of it, rode forward to greet them, followed by two council members. Rhonda’s heart was quickening even further, would he recognize her?  Would he greet her..? No, of course not… They had agreed…  She sighed… So many confusing feelings inside of her…

The Mayor rode forward further, meeting the riders at a safe distance. As they met, all five of them stopped, stood in place for some short seconds, then headed back for town. The Mayor rode first, with the riders behind him. If only she could get a glimpse of him…  

As they reached the village, the Mayor waved a hand towards the two riders.
“These two men are travelers, and should be treated with all the respect of Marles. They of course will be staying in the Mayor Mansion and…”
“Actually, sire, we’d very much prefer our own camp, we will have it set up before twilight falls.”
The voice was rough and stern, yet in no way unfriendly… yet it was not his voice…
“Nonsense my boy, nonsense… I’ll have some of our finest men set up this camp of yours in no time!” The Mayor’s voice was prickled with pride, most likely because of his title as “Sire”, Rhonda only found it amusing, the fat man was truly easily pleased…
The traveler seemed to accept the offer, and as soon as the jobs had been appointed, the Mayor invited the travelers into his… so called mansion for breaking their fast with him. Rhonda guessed that this was partly a courtesy from the Mayor’s part, partly to save the strangers from the farmers curious looks and questions, but mostly because he himself wanted to ask said questions first.
She didn’t even get a glimpse of him… She sighed as she returned with Father…

Darius smiled a proudly as the Mayor unsheathed Vicis before the council, glowing a faint blue, not anywhere the strong glow it had when Darius had grabbed. The council was struck with awe at the sight, even if Rhonda had to hold back her laughter as the fat, bald man held the sword, the scene was just too comical.

“You truly outdid yourself this time Mr. Jones! You truly did!” said the man holding the blade, the rest of the council nodding in agreement,  but on the other hand, Rhonda thought, these men would agree with anything the Mayor said.
“It was all my pleasure, sire, all for the good spirit of the Council.”
“Truly…” The Mayor gave Father a suspicious, it was unlike Darius to speak so… formal…  but Rhonda realized that her Father only teased him the slightest, by adding another comical touch to the already hilarious display of human delusion.

Rhonda could hold her tongue nor curious mind no longer.
“Mr. Mayor, where may the strangers be at?” Her voice sounded small in this hall of men, foolish even coming from a smith’s daughter…
“Rhonda, this is not the…” Her Father injected, shooting a sharp, yet discreet, glance her way.
“Oh Darius, she’s just a curious little girl….” She felt sick as he said it like that… and the way he looked at her only made it worse... The disgusting little git probably got a stiffy under the table right this moment... if he could get it up, that is…
He continued.
“Well, the strangers, Darwin and Marwin are currently at their camp, resting from their travels, and for the great feast in their honor tonight!” He smiled his disgusting, rotting smile again at her, eying her once more all over, before he directed his gaze to her unnoticing Father.
“That actually brings me to my next point, the feast are mostly for the councilmembers and our families… but seeing your work here today, and years of faithful service for Marles, we’d like to officially invite you both over for this grandiose feast. Tonight.”
The moment Darius saw the grin and pleading eyes of his daughter, he knew he was defeated.

She walked into her Father’s room, where he lay on the plain featherbed, dressed and ready. As she entered he was stunned, utterly stunned by what he saw.
She was getting nervous where she stood in the entrance, worried about his silence… Rhonda had found the dress far tucked away… She had never seen it before.  It was brightly green, with white details showering over her shoulder down her front and back, in the pattern of flowers.
“Well…? What do you think…?” She laughed nervously…
“You… look just like your mom…” He smiled brightly, yet his eyes sparkled with the memory of his wife... Rhonda looked so much like her this moment, wearing her wedding dress and all…
Rhonda had only seen her Father this emotional a handful of times… she knew not how to react… so she sat down next to him…
“You look like the day I met her… She was just so beautiful…  and it makes my heart break not to be able to hold her in my arms… ever again…”
She hugged him, and a single tear forced its way down her cheek, ´but his had dried up long ago…

They entered the hall and was astounded to see it bathe in light, candles lit every corner and people was mingling in heaps…  yet people seemed to avoid Darius and his daughter. They simply did not fit. The only person who seemed interested in the newly arrived was the Mayor, of course…  He was always close by Rhonda, giving her compliments at all time, and she accepted them with courtesy, if nothing more. That’s when the door opened and the two men walked in.

The older of them had a bright mane of golden hair, sparkling blue eyes that looked like the river water during the summer heat, a smiling mouth and a strong jaw, and a strong body which showed years of hard work and it had rewarded with muscles that showed even through the fabric of the suit, yet it was not him that Rhonda’s eyes reached for.

The younger brother, because they were obviously related, wore very strong traits to his brother, with the exception of the black raven hair on his head. He too had a sparkling eyes, but they were a deeper shade of blue, and they were darting around the room, analyzing its guests and hosts… He too wore a muscular body, although his was slim, slender muscular in defiance to his brother’s big bulky once…
Simply said, Rhonda couldn’t keep her eyes off him.
And as his eyes met her, she knew.
This was the man from the shore.

The brothers greeted all of the guests in turn, starting from the end of the hall to the part in which the mayor and the Jones stood, Rhonda’s heart beating furiously with each second that the men came closer...

Then, as they finished small talking and shaking hands with the couple to their left, the brothers came to them.
“Marwin Caretto but you can call me Marwin, my sweet Lady”  The blonde man had a firm handshake and a bright smile.
“Rhonda Jones” She said shortly, only having eyes for the black haired brother, and as the brother stepped aside to greet her Father, the younger brother stood before her.
Rhonda reached out to shake his hand, but as he grasped it, he took it to his lips and gave it a gently kiss.
“Hello my lady”
“Hello stranger”
“Call me Darwin”

Ch3: The colors of the Night

The Quest. The Brothers. The Whispers.

The search was over. We had found what we were looking for… well…what he was looking for anyways... I wasn’t too sure about my feelings. I lacked the dedication that my brother had; the only thing I felt was the admiration for my older brother. He of course kept telling me about the dreams, about the glory they would share…yet I couldn’t simply obey such a command without having my doubts… what was asked of me was immense…
The village lay just a day’s travel ahead and my doubt kept growing… I kept looking over my back as I felt…almost watched, as if some magi farsighted me… but that was ridiculous of course thanks to our necklaces.  My brother obviously noticed it, yet said nothing to ease my discomfort.
As we closed in on the village, we stopped for the night in a nearby glade. We could have traveled through the night, but we had decided not to. We both agreed that it would be a more dramatic entrance if there already was rumors about them, and if they arrived mid-day and not mid-night.

The feeling that had been growing inside of me during the day was by this point so intense that it blurred all other thoughts into a desperate paranoia…  Not only that, but I found myself hearing quiet whispers all around me… at first it was like a mere whisper, something that easily could have been the subtle natural whispers of the wind, yet it was growing into something you could not ignore… I could sometimes catch a word or even a fragment of a phrase, but nothing more. As I lay awake that night, I could hear the voice getting lauder and incredibly enough, more sensual, like the caress of a lover. After realizing that sleep was out of the question, I got up, took a quick glance at my brother. who was already deep asleep, I wandered off into the forest.  The whispers grew as I walked further and further away from my older brother, it was almost as if the whispers had grown to a full-out scream within my head.
The forest thinned out to a riverbank, I sat down on one of the rocks and looked across the river.  I saw lights in the distance, torches and such, none of the non-burning lights which I and my brother had seen in some of the mayor cities on our travels. This place was so far off; I’d be surprised if they even knew of them.
The torches belonged to a smaller farm as far as I could tell, and I was struck with a weird case of homesickness, although I had no house to go back to, and the only family was my brother. It felt strange; looking at the farm on the other side of the river, knowing that I would never be able to settle down, have a family… The thought of the farm was as unreachable as the actual house was now, the river could not be crossed.
A darker shade of the rocks on the other side caught my eye and I swore under my breath for not noticing earlier, had it been an archer I would surely be dead by now… Fortunately it wasn’t, and the being had not seen me yet. From this distance I couldn’t tell the gender, but it was definitely a human. It appeared to be looking at the stars, which I now noticed was clearly visible. I didn’t know why, but I wanted to get its attention… I whispered that I must be mad while picking up a few rocks from the beach and started to throw them into the water. Soon enough the human rose from the rock it was sitting on, that’s when I could determine the gender, since I don’t think any male in his rightful mind would be wearing a dress, and certainly not at this hour! She went as close to the river as she dared. I could see her more clearly now, we weren’t that far away from each other now. Dark hair which reached as far down as her waist, a slender body from what I could tell from what the dress uncovered, she couldn’t be older than 18.
Simply put; she was the most beautiful woman I had ever met.
I waved to her from where I was sitting on the protruding stone, she waved back but I noticed that she was slightly uneasy… yet who wouldn’t be to see a waving man in the middle of the forest , at midnight.
“Do not fear, young maiden, I’m not to hurt you in any way. “ I said as clearly as I could in the tongue used in this part of the world, and found that the voice carried over the waters with ease. It was a silent night.
“You speak fair, stranger, yet Marles is a distant little town, and we do not see strangers often. I have myself not seen more than a few strangers in all my life, therefor I hope you beg me pardon if I seem apprehensive.”
She sat down on the opposite side of the river as I was struck speechless by the whole situation, her beauty combined with her alluring voice made her into the very face of all that I loved.
She continued.
“You are not from around here, are you? And I don’t mean Marles, I would have known your face if you were, but not from this part of the world even? “ The curiosity was obvious, yet I found it invigorating… too long had I been stuck with only my brother. He had no interest in any of what intrigued me the most; it had damped my natural eagerness for knowledge.
I bowed my head as I answered.
“Right you are, my lady. What betrayed me? My clothes? My foreign looks? Maybe my speech even? Or was it simply my dazzling smile?” I regretted my words even before I even finished, it was a stupid comment, so stupid, yet I kept the smile I had put on for the sake of the comment, it would otherwise reveal my stupidity even more.
I was amazed when I saw her turn her head from me and even more when I noticed a small change of color on her cheeks. Amazing…
“None of it. Your clothes may be strange for us, but there are many hunters even here, your looks might have revealed it if I were to study them more closely, yet from this range it’s hard to tell. Your speech is as perfect as your smile.”  I was more than dazed from her words, and even more so when I realized that my heart had skipped a few beats, what was happening to me?
“You see, I have a small gift, a gift I’ve had for as long as I can remember, I can sense men and women around me, sense their minds, their mood, mostly. It’s like seeing the purest color of the person. Yours is different from any I’ve ever touched, all we who live here have a certain tint which is easily recognized. You don’t have it.” She said it, and I was deeply moved by how easily she opened up to me.
“What color am I then?”
She tilted her head slightly and looked at me intensely…
“You’re very odd… your color is a bright red…yet it has been altered with… it looks like it’s getting darker by the minute… I’ve never seen anything like it!”
I was astonished… The words felt like they described me like nothing else… I was yet again speechless.

We talked for hours, about all, about nothing; we laughed at times, yet were close to tears at others. I told her parts of my life, far from everything… She revealed about her mother’s demise, her father who had buried himself in his profession after his wife had died… it seemed like she revealed everything to me.
As I realized that the sun would shatter the horizon in just minutes, we took our farewell, but before she went her way I asked her one last thing.
“Later today, me and my brother will be arriving in your town, please don’t ask me why, but I will need you to promise me to greet me like this night never happened. My brother shall not know of us!”
She nodded and funny enough, she laughed. I gave her a confused glance and as she stopped, she explained.
“You used the word: us. Not you and I, but us. I liked it, don’t you dare to think otherwise, but you don’t seem like the man who would use the word “us” expect when it’s serious.”
I blushed, I had not even noticed! She had really grown on me this night, and it pained me to leave.
“I like to see it as us, and we might see what Fate has in store for us…”
“So we shall, but we both should be going, dawn is at hand and we both have places to be.”
“Farewell, my lady.”
“Farewell, stranger.”

As I ran back to camp, I realized too different things: the whispers hadn’t been heard all night which I was relieved to find out. Yet the second thing pained me greatly…
I did not even know her name…