Eleanor’s breath caught in her throat as she waited, and waited, nearly choking on the silence until—
“Pumpkin man!” one of the children screamed, pointing at Osiris, encouraging all the other children to run towards him.
“Woah!” another little boy yelled, skidding to a stop in front of Osiris as he looked at his shadows now swaying gently behind him. “Can you move stuff with those?”
“Yes,” Osiris nodded, taking a cautious step forward, “actually I—”
“I bet you’re really good at What Time Is It Mr. Wolf! Let’s play!” a young girl yelled.
“But don’t use your shadows, that’s cheating!” the first boy commanded.
“Nuh-uh,” the girl shot back, “I want him to lift me if he catches me! I want to fly!”
Suddenly all the children began barking orders of playing their games of chase or ‘flying’.
Eleanor’s eyes flicked over to Osiris, half expecting the chaos of it all to be too much, but as she looked at him, he was smiling and nodding at the children, already starting to pick a few up with his shadows.
Before she could say anything, the children whisked him away.
Eleanor laughed as she watched Osiris trying to keep up with them.
“Good job, Horseman.”
The carriage wheelsrattled as they waved goodbye to Eddy and the children, a few little ones screaming for ‘Pumpkin Man’ to come back soon, as they started on their way home.
So… Eddy was Edith Woodcraft…
Eleanor watched as the forest became lost to darkness, something that would have terrified her less than a month ago.
In only a month, she had tasted freedom on her lips and felt love on her heart. Only now, as the nights grew cold, was she reminded of their deal.
“Stay here until my next harvest. It will be in thirty days.”
Thirty days had seemed like an eternity but now, she knew it would never be enough.She had avoided the topic all together, afraid of what he would do if she were to bring it up. He had proven to be true to his word, and she did not know if he would break it now. Even if she wanted him to. The deadline of their deal was today, when he delivered his harvest to Eddy, and so, she knew she could not avoid the conversation any longer.
“You know,” Eleanor started, watching the darkening forest around them as Osiris gave a flick of the reins, “after Eddy left, all women were raised with a set of rules to keep us obedient and ‘safe’. Rules on manners, and grace and patience,” she said, watching Osiris, his head sitting comfortably beside him. Even without it, she knew he was watching her. He always was. “Even rules on leaving the house. They would tell us that those who wander in the dark, the Horseman will make his mark. Osiris,” she continued, placing her hands on his, his shadows coiling around her arm. “I am so happy I broke the rules. I am so lucky that you found me. I… I do not wish to go home. Or anywhere else if you are not there.”
“Why are you saying this?” he asked, pulling on the reins, slowing them to a stop next to a large boulder. Osiris turned his body, giving her his full attention as his shadows wrapped further up her arm and around her hips.
“Well,” she mumbled, looking down at her dress, trying to avoid his knowing watch. “The end of our deal is approaching, and—”
“And?” his voice was low and rumbling, as if the very idea that she had questioned if he wanted her was an offense. “I thought I told you, Eleanor, you are mine now. I shall not ever let you go. Never.”
Tears began to prick Eleanor’s eyes as his hand lifted to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.
“You are my Symphony. Each day you give me, where I am lucky enough to see your cheeks painted with pink, is a gift I will cherish.”
Eleanor leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed. “Osiris—”
A stick snapping startled them from behind, both ripping away from one another as they spun to the source of the noise.
A chill crept down her spine and her heart dropped, as she was frozen in fraught silence when her eyes fell uponhim. On what he held in his hands.
“Eleanor,” her uncle warned, aiming his musket at Osiris.
“Stand back!”
27
