"The cursed one."
"Demon witch."
They all had whispered upon seeing her walk around the village since young.
"Yet they had every reason to be sceptical of what I am..."She thought.
The young woman let out a soft sigh and stretched out onto the bed, her arms stretching beside her. She felt the space was empty and the blanket in its place rumpled. Her husband was a quiet man— also an early riser. His scent filled the sheets she slept in, an earthy masculine scent that made her smile. They worked well together and grew comfortable with each other over time. On some days, she would take up the task of skinning the animals they caught, her husband would be the one to hunt, the roles had shifted back and forth like this for the past couple of years.
Today she would hunt.
She rose from the bed, her feet immediately touching the floor as the mattress they slept on was thin. She could hear the sound of strong metal connecting roughly with hard oak wood. It didn't take her long to familiarise the loud thuds, to her husband chopping wood for today's fire. She placed her cold palms onto her cheeks, fighting away the tiredness so she could begin her day. Slowly moving towards the wooden dresser her husband had carved for her, she began to pick out the clothes she would need for today. While she dressed and removed her rugged night dress, she checked on her little Dove.
Brushing a hand on her pearly soft skin, the woman couldn't help but smile. It was six years ago that she had been blessed with her little Dove, it had been the most painful of nights. She had been seven months pregnant and fear lingered in the air. She had never seen her husband look so lost. Her little Dove was born prematurely. She had been so delicate and fragile that her husband refused to hold her for the first two months. She couldn't blame him, as she had felt the same fear. She'd be lyingif this did not cause a sense of protectiveness for her Dove. She felt blessed as the labour was the worst part but what had come after made up for it all. She would go through the pain over and over again if it meant that she could keep her little Dove in her loving arms.
The young child smiled sleepily and then looked up into her mother's eyes. Batting her eyelashes as if she was trying to bat the sleep away. Her warm molten eyes looked into her own and the young mother couldn't help but have her heart fill with the most delightful warmth upon seeing it, the same eyes she had inherited from her father.
"Will you come hunting with me this morning, my little Dove?" the mother asked with a kind and gentle voice, softly pushing back the fair hair that was just like hers. The young girl stretched her little limbs and gave a sheepish grin. "I promised Pa that I'd help him with the rabbits we caught yesterday." The mother tipped her head back and laughed wholeheartedly.
"So your father has already taken you for himself today. What a smart man." The young mother smiled and then patted down her little Dove's hair, moving over to the narrow table that held her bow and arrows. The little girl couldn't help but giggle and rub her eyes.
"Don't worry, Mama, I will come with you tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow and even the day after that!" the little girl exclaimed, beginning to get her energy. The mother nodded with a sense of pride, kneeling down to her precious Dove. "Who's your favourite. Pa or Mama?"
"MAMA!" Her little Dove squealed. The young mother made a dive to tickle her sides, just above her little Dove's delicate ribs was the spot that could make her burst into giggles. The young mother reluctantly pulled away, giving her child a soft sweet smile and brought her in for a gentle hug. The little girlclung onto her mother with arms wrapped around her neck. The mother faintly kissed her forehead.
"The sun shines so bright," she whispered, waiting for her little Dove to complete the vow.
"Because the sun loves her Dove very much," the small girl whispered back with a smile. With her day already made, now with steady feet, the young mother stood tall and gripped her bow and arrows in her arms, readying it to put it over her shoulder. She felt a strange reluctance that made her body want to stay with her child, but she knew she had to start with her day and get food for tomorrow’s dinner.
"Get ready then, sweet Dove, your father must be waiting. Be careful with the blades, keep an eye on how Pa handles the rabbits. Okay?" the young mother reminded, almost a foot out of the door now.
"Yes, Mama," the sweet Dove said, her voice small and understanding.
She smiled at the reply and then sighed longingly as she left the small cabin. The birds were quiet today, there was a slight wind that made the tree leaves brush side to side. The gentle howl of the wind made its way to her ears and she closed her eyes. Listening to it, as if she could almost hear its hushed whispers and yet no matter how much she concentrated, the young woman couldn't decipher what was being said. She opened her eyes and inhaled the fresh air that surrounded her, walking slowly to the burly man in front of a tree stump that now had another thick oak log on top of it.
Thud. Thud.
With each swing of the axe that connected to the wood, she blinked. The sound of metal chopping oak, now louder to the ear. She placed a firm palm onto the lower back of her husband. His broad back almost covered the sight of the scene in front of her, he was a big man. Over the years of being with him, she hadrealised how lovely they were together. She had come just under his eyes, those lovely brown eyes that were like her little Dove's.
The man tensed slightly at the feeling on his back and slammed his axe onto the stump in front of him. He turned around and gazed upon his wife. They had married when he was twenty-three and she just eighteen. At his age, it was unusual in their village for a man not to have already taken a wife. He had first seen her on his very first night watch as a guard of Jaakobar.
He had only been fifteen then when he saw an old woman with a young girl by her side, she had been new to their little village. Jaakobar was free land, ruled by no lord or under any kingdom. They were free folk who resided in the deep greens of the eastern part of the Corat forest. They served and ruled for no one but their own people, they believed in peace and solitude but it did not mean that they did not know how to defend themselves.
The husband loved his wife, she had been so different from every other girl in the village, even though she had been vile with her words, had a temper that flared and such passionate flames within her eyes, he couldn't help but fall in love with her even more.
The young woman brought her palm up to touch his rough beard. His silence was golden, as there was always so much meaning he had with his actions and when he did speak, it was with importance and intent. She had given him a family and for that he would forever be grateful and treasure every moment.
"I heard, you know? Dove says you're her favourite only because she doesn't want you to feel bad that her Pa is her favourite." Her husband deeply chuckled. The young woman raised an eyebrow at this.
"We shall see about that after I have come from the market with something sweet in hand," she challenged deviously. He couldn't help but chuckle more and bring her in for a deep hug. While in their embrace he softly spoke, "I'm being called to jointhe night watch today, there has been talk; some of the king's men were near the territory."
She pulled away a bit and sighed irritably. "Why won't they just let us be?!"
Her husband squeezed her tighter against him. "The king wants as much land as he can get, the more he rules, the better are the chances that he can soon rule the whole of Terran as one continent."
The thought of this made the young woman tense and hold her husband closer to her. "I could always come and help too, at the night watch," she said with a set jaw.
Her husband only shook his head and glanced down at her. "Our little Dove needs you, you're her favourite after all," he spoke with softness.
