THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN
“Leave your home?” Elden asked, his thick white eyebrows bent in concern. “Where will you go?”
Rowan nodded, deep red hair shining against the flames. “I built this home with my own two hands not three years ago. We knew of a terrible curse in the shadow of Winterthorn, but we always believed it to be far enough away. It has been dormant for the past six hundred years, but something shifted just last year.”
Just last year? Did the death of Elden’s father feed the blight? Cause it to spread faster?
“It was as if the curse was given new life. It began to grow faster, stronger, until we can no longer ignore the threat it poses us. Most of the cows no longer give milk. The chicken’s eggs rot before we can eat them.” Scarlet’s eyes were far away as she stared into the fire. “We grow the blueberries and raspberries for the village, but even those turned to ash before the first snow fell.”
Scarlet and Rowan’s true generosity had almost gone unseen. They had fed us without thought for themselves. They had given us some of their last bits of food.
“The blight,” Elden said.
“You know of this curse?” Rowan’s gaze shot up to the king.
Elden nodded earnestly. “Yes. It has indeed quickened. The blight has now spread throughout the lands of Ravensong, even going so far as to darken the human realm.”
Scarlet’s hand flew to her mouth, “I had no idea the curse was so widespread.”
Elden turned to the fire. “This is the reason for our journey. We travel to Winterthorn in search of a cure. If we do not find it in the next week, you will be wise to travel as far from here as you can. Please tell your village that unless a cure is found, it will not be safe to remain.”
Scarlet’s cheeks flushed pink, yet she and Rowan nodded solemnly. Dread pooled in the room, taking all the previous cheer away with it in a mighty lurch.
“Do not give up hope. We will find a cure. Well, at least I have a great hope that we will.” Elden finished.
Scarlet looked to the front window, to the tumultuous storm outside. “We didn’t even cut down our Christmas tree this year since we were not planning on being here to celebrate.”
“You celebrate Christmas?” I asked Rowan, eyes wide.
“Oh yes.” Rowan wrapped his large arm around Scarlet’s shoulder, which she leaned into with an easy smile. “I am fully converted. It’s crazy the things you’ll do for the one you love. Though, it does help that presents are involved.”
“Yes,” Scarlet teased, “Presents and iced gingerbread cookies.”
“Oh yes.” Rowan smiled. “I’d do almost anything for those, too.”
The husband and wife shared an easy smile then. Their love was as evident as the affectionate expressions on their faces. I shifted next to Elden on the couch, now more aware than ever of how close together we sat. All he’d have to do was move his arm a little to the right and our hands would be touching.
Did I want him to?
After a lovely evening of easy chatter, Scarlet and Rowan left us with a couple thick blankets, then joined their children in the loft to sleep.
Elden and I prepared for the night in a strange silence, tiptoeing around the other as we laid out on the couches before the blazing fire. After several minutes of attempting to sleep, I turned to Elden.
“So, you were telling the truth,” I whispered, “about the maidens.”
Elden huffed out a small laugh. “Of course I was.”
“But why haven’t you fallen in love with any of them?” I asked.
Elden rolled over and stared at the ceiling, the oranges of the fire flashing on his sculpted face. He didn’t answer for a long while, and I thought he wouldn’t share. I’d been learning that the best way to get him to talk was to bring up random plants we came across on our journey. He loved sharing little snippets of information on the different species and I never grew tired of listening to him, but he broke the silence with his rumbling deep voice. “I believe my magic of transformation gives me a certain ability to read people. I can see through veiled expressions, down to a true feeling. For instance, I knew within moments of meeting the maiden this year, Lila, that she would not be easily convinced that I was not interested in a romantic relationship.”
“Then why did you take her?” I asked as I rolled onto my back and stared at the sloped ceiling.
“I could see pain, so much pain in her,” Elden said. “She needed an escape and believed Ravensong would be that chance for her. So, I gave her what she needed. Hopefully she will find her purpose on her own. I couldn’t be…too encouraging of a relationship between the two of us.”
Yes. Any kind of attention would have caused more pain for her in the end.
“And what were your first thoughts of me?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking, though I was afraid of what I would learn.
