The Collector and Her Steed

Chapter 3

Bells chimed off in the distance as the sun cast an orange glow across the valley, signaling to the town that the meeting time was nigh. Slipping into a faded black floor length dress, Mira rushed from her room. Hopping down the stairs on one foot, she slipped on one shoe with the second following suit once at the bottom of the stairs. She quickly made her way out of the building and rushed off towards the church where she saw in the distance small groups of people were walking towards.

With a fluidity of grace Mira made her way up the large hill, catching up to a group of younger folks to whomst she introduced herself to. Making idle talk as they walked, it was said in passing that they worshipped a woman they called Miranda. That name alone gave her a mild pause as her mother's mentor was also named Miranda. It had been a while since she last saw the woman, so she was hoping it was indeed the same Miranda so she could meet with her once more. As the group neared the top of the hill Mira spotted Luiza in the distance, walking from what she assumed was her house. A man had his arm around hers and spoke in hushed tones, a smile adorning both of their faces. Breaking off from the group she had attached herself to, she jogged over to Luiza and what she assumed was her husband.

"Good evening Luiza" she cheerfully called out as she approached the couple.

Looking away from her husband, Luiza smiled brightly and led her husband over, "Good evening Mira, Ernest this is the new member of the town I was talking about." Luiza spoke to her husband before returning her attention to Mira. "Mira, this is my husband Ernest. Ernest dear, this is Mirabela."

After Mira and Ernest shook hands Luiza began leading them back towards the church so as to not arrive late. Once inside it was fairly cramped however once people began taking their places the tightness eased up. As Mira took in her surroundings she noticed images of five different people at the front of the church. Looking over them her eyes landed on the one in the middle. Leaning close to Luiza she whispered softly "Is that this Miranda I've heard of?"

Giving a curt nod Luiza whispered back, "That is Mother Miranda and the Four Lords of the village, I'll tell you about them later" and with that she went silent.

Roughly an hour had gone by before they were allowed to stand back up and mingle amongst themselves before heading back out for the night. Luiza introduced Mira to a few more people, a few of them clearly not in favour of having an outsider amongst them. After some explaining about her situation, they were a little more welcoming towards Mira but not by much. As everyone began filing back out, Luiza led Mira to the front of the church.

Motioning to the first picture Luiza began speaking, "This is Salvatore Moreau, he's the lord of the reservoir. He's rarely seen away from there and only leaves when summoned by Mother Miranda." Moving to the second image she continued, "this is Lady Dimitrescu of the castle Dimitrescu. Her and her daughters live in the castle by themselves, other than the occasional girl who ventures up there looking for work. They never return so once again I caution you against doing dealings with them." Taking a step forward she moved past the image in the middle and started again with the fourth. "This is Donna Beneviento, the doll maker. Also pictured is her doll Angie. She lives outside of the town up in the mists. Again few people who venture that way return back." Grimacing slightly she moved on to the fifth image. "This is Karl Heisenberg. On your way into town I assume you saw the large factory that was surrounded by scrap metal, he lives there. Together these are the four lords of the village." Turning to Mira she smiled. "And that brings us to Mother Miranda, she has protected our village for decades along with her lords. We give them praise every week and of course make offerings and other sorts of worship in our own time. I do believe she was your mother's mentor as she used to have visitors who would visit every other year or so until about ten years ago. Since then we haven't really had any outsiders other than a man we call the Duke. He comes and goes, bringing a bounty of items that us villagers are always happy to have. Food, weapons, other goods. All in all this is a quiet village."

"Alright so each of these lords controls a different area of the village, correct? I'm guessing they come from long lines of wealthy families that have lived in the area?" Mira asked, her eyes glancing over the images of the lords before they landed on Heisenberg. There was just something about him that drew her eyes back each time she tried looking away.
"Yes, I guess you could say that. Each of their families have worked together for generations to keep the village safe." Luiza spoke, glancing out of a window that overlooked the village. "Well we should be heading out, it is getting quite dark and there are wild animals that wander into the village at night."
With that Luiza led Mira and her husband, who had been waiting near the rear door for the two to finish, outside. Saying their parting words the couple waved goodbye to Mira as she headed back down the hill to her pub.

Once inside her pub she lit a few candles for light and made her way upstairs so she could bathe and get ready for a long needed slumber. Slipping her black dress off and folding it she went off to start her bath. Cool air blew in through a cracked window as the tub began filling, the spring air bringing in the smell of flowers in bloom. Taking a deep breath Mira stepped into the tub and slowly sunk down into the soothing waters. A long, low howl filled the night as she turned the tap off. A few returning howls followed suit, each one sounding nearer than the last.

After relaxing a bit and washing off the dirt from her body, Mira climbed out of the tub and began drying herself off. Sudden goose prickles covered her body as a loud snarl rang out near the pub and the sudden feeling of someone watching her overcame her as she wrapped a towel around her body. Taking a moment to peer out the bathroom window, she saw a dark shape duck into the undergrowth. "Hmm, that must be one bold wolf out there," she mutters as she steps back away from the window. Pulling the curtains back together and making sure the window was closed she headed out into her bedroom. Sliding into a nightgown she crawls into bed and blows out her candle. Slowly she fell asleep to the sound of the spring breeze blowing through the trees outside.