The Beastkeeper's Bride

18: A Spectral Meeting

18: A Spectral Meeting

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Millie glared at the pixie lounging indolently against the sill of the window, bathed in a soft glow of sunlight. She was sure the fiend had hidden her boot, resulting in a futile search about the cottage to no avail. Huffing a breathy sigh, she relented and, with one last glance at the slumbering beastkeeper sprawled in the pallet she had recently vacated, she exited the cottage as silently as possible so as not to disturb him, tucking the journal she had been taking notes in the previous day under her arm as she did.

It seemed that the beastkeepers were notoriously late to rise as when she stepped outside she found three bodies wrapped in spreads and blankets about the fireplace, snoring uproariously.

She grinned and trod past them lightly- barefoot thanks to the unrepentant pixies who were following her path curiously. Intending to while away a few hours journaling and documenting some of the species that surrounded the cottage, Millie made her way into the peripheral trees and lightly across the soft earth until she found the same grove that she had frequented the day prior.

When she had found the grove before, she had sat quietly on the soft grass and allowed all manners of small creatures to approach her with caution. The bara had been boldest but soon another creature had appeared and though that encounter had been less than favourable in Millie's opinion, she hoped now that more creatures would be confident enough to approach her. She was curious of all that made up the beastkeepers and Blayne's words assured her that she would be safe within his parameters. She found herself feeling useful if she were able to document some of the creatures that she came across and fill the journal with the anecdotes and descriptions to save as a record of reference for future generations to come, human or Other.

It also kept her mind busy, her thoughts preoccupied, and she did not dwell long on more pressing feelings of her grief and anguish.

The grove was a small clearing in the trees surrounded by the wooden planks used to make walking over the soft mulch easier when the earth was damp. Mille sat down and spread the book open on her knees on the page that she had left off last. She completed her sketch of the horrid little worm-like creature and added the pertinent details about its unfortunate malodorous attributes, and then she waited and surveyed her surroundings patiently.

The bara was first to approach, curiously flitting across the grove and lingering close, darting back and forth and being generally cute and playful as they grew more comfortable in her presence. She took down a few notes about them, adding more details about their adorable appearance and their activities before turning a new page and waiting some more. It wasn't long before the bara suddenly disappeared, scampering quickly into the undergrowth and the trees, and a tingling sensation of awareness trickled over her neck and spine. This sensation was familiar, and she had felt it before. It was the same as the one she felt in the pool the first time Blayne had thrown her in and it was the same as the night of the púca, and she felt that she was being watched but the feeling was not ominous- it was not threatening or foreboding.

Millie scanned the borders of the trees, her eyes dipping into the deep shadows and foliage of the bracken and the boughs of the trees, searching her surroundings as carefully as she could. Intrinsically she knew that she was not alone, that something powerful and perhaps something sentient was watching her or sharing her presence that morning. Slowly the quiet rustle of the bracken caught attention to the left and she turned her head to behold something that made her breath catch in her throat and her heart come to a shuddering halt within her chest.

The first thing she noticed about the creature was its sheer size. If Millie were to stand, it would possibly reach the height of her shoulders and it did not exactly look the friendly sort of beast. She wondered if she should feel terror, but none was forthcoming, though she wasn't entirely stupid when she exercised caution and alertness as she considered the creature emerging from the forest before her.