Another Time

Chapter One

That day, the farm was beautiful. It was a scene cut straight from a painting, a gift granted to the mortals by the greatest painters of all, the Golden Goddesses. The fields were a perfect blend of golden straw and light green grass. They swayed in the faint breeze, burying the farmer up to his knees in stalks. The sky was a refreshing blue, free of clouds and other distractions. The only thing gracing the chilled canvas of the sky was the sun, a warm sphere of divine fire.

This sun warmed the farmer's skin, adding to his already hearty tan. The golden light danced in his blue eyes, a mirrored reflection of the sky above. A contented smile filled his face, his own inner brightness shining through in the curve of his lips.

He was handsome, dreamily so. He had straw blond hair, kept pulled out of his face by a length of green ribbon. Beautiful laugh lines foretold of his happiness, daring to do battle with the couple scars that foretold of a trialing childhood. Sweat dotted his brow and dripped down his temple. He was strong, the rough tan shirt he wore struggling to keep his muscles contained.

The farmer wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. It had been a hard day of work, spent running about the farm and tending to the cows. He'd woken before the break of dawn and had seldom taken a moment to rest. But the sun was starting to set now, fading away in a burst of magnificent orange. It was time to start heading home.

The farmer's smile grew as he turned his attention to a farm house off in the distance. If he hurried back, perhaps he'd have time to make his wife a lovely dinner, or at least attempt to anyway. With a shake of his head, the farmer let out a full laugh. No, trying to make dinner was a horrible idea. Last time he'd tried to make dinner unsupervised, he'd nearly burned down the house.

Shaking his head again, the farmer looked around. He was trying to catch sight of his adventurous horse. He'd let her out so she could stretch her legs and run wild. But now it was time for the farmer to return home. He didn't see his horse... She'd probably just wandered farther away than he'd realized. No matter, he'd just have to call her back.

He searched the grass, humming slightly to himself. After a moment, he found what he was looking for. Reaching down, he plucked a peculiar looking reed. It was hollow with little holes pricking the tan surface. Its shape, were it not hollow, would have made it an excellent slingshot.

The farmer brought the reed to his lips, blowing out a few pitchy notes. He sighed in frustration before trying again. Finally, a few sweet notes sounded. With a nod of satisfaction, he began to play. The tune that whistled from the reed was simple yet joyful and charming. The farmer played the melody a few times, improvising on the main theme. As he did so, his thoughts turned to his beautiful wife and how perfect the melody had sounded when it came from her lips instead. Though he had seen her multiple times throughout the day, his heart ached with how intensely he missed her and longed to see her. Not only did his heart ache, but it was filled with joy. He was going home to see her soon! And... Within a year he was going to be a father, and then he'd have an excuse to never leave his wife's side.

Lowering his hand and dropping the reed, the farmer looked around again.

"Epona! Where are you?" he called out. He couldn't see her, not even a hazy silhouette of her in the distance. Where the devil had she run off to? This wasn't like her...

Nervously, the farmer tried to sing the song he'd just been playing. His voice was low, gravelly. He had a beautiful singing voice, though he stumbled over a few of the notes. Confirming his suspicions, no horse came running through the fields towards him.

"Epona!?" Something was wrong, something was most definitely wrong...

Something was. A warning flashed in the farmer's mind as his hero instincts kicked in. He shifted his stance to something more reasonable were he to be attacked. As his hands settled into fists, he scanned his surroundings for the foe his gut was warning him about. He needn't have bothered, for what worried him wasn't something that could be fought off. The farmer closed his eyes as he was struck by an invisible force that knocked him to his knees. He felt like his skin was splitting, like his blood was gushing out in a rush to replace all the air he breathed. He grew dizzy, his world spinning. And then, it all went blank. 

A/N: First chapter done! Anyone else curious about what's going to happen next? Don't forget to comment and vote if you like the story.

-M