Come Love A Stranger

Two

“This shall be your home till the King sends for your presence, we shall come get you when that happens and please Lord Josiah, do not make it difficult by trying to run away for we shall find you and when we do, we shall carry out the rules of Vagadon by beheading you at sight,” the general announced and turned on his horse to return back to the kingdom with his men.
“Have we really lost everything, mother?” Mariah asked, staring at what shall now be their home till whenever the king sends for them. The house was too small compared to the one she had grown up in, it was surrounded by trees and it looked so forgotten, how can someone live in a place like this? With the cracks on the wall, the vines growing on the walls and the roof looked like it needed to be changed fifty years ago. Just watching the house brought tears to her eyes and soon, they were trailing down her cheeks.
“Do not worry, it would only be temporary, once the king finds out that your father is innocent, we shall be allowed into the kingdom again and we can live as we used to,” Lydia answered.
“I do not like it here, mother,” Roderick complained.
“Please endure my dear, it shall be okay soon,” she patted his head.
Josiah heaved a sigh, it still sound strange to him that the king he had known and served since they were lads couldn’t even trust him and immediately believed that he wanted to kill him and take his place. Now, he has to step down from his glory to live in such deserted house with his family, how humiliating can this be? Watching as the whole kingdom spat and shooed at them when they were being escorted out of the kingdom? Never has he been humiliated like that in his life.
He heaved yet another sigh and turned to his family, “come my dears, let us settle into our new home.”
“But father…”
“Don’t worry, Mariah, everything shall be okay soon, you will see,” he smiled to her but Mariah could see the pain visible in his eyes.
She decided not to make things too difficult for him and nodded, “yes, father,” she smiled softly at him and picked up her bag, she looked at the track that leads to Vagadon and then at the forest that was not far from their new house. She could remember all the stories that had been told to her about the forest when she was a child and how she had dreamt of the creatures crawling out of it to harm her. She heaved a sigh and shook her head; it was nothing but fairytales, she told herself and went into the house, followed by her family.
***
It was difficult settling into the house for Mariah and her family and also the fact that they have to do everything by themselves now made it more difficult. Cleaning and dusting the house to make it more livable worn them out and when they were done, Mariah wished she could go back to their house and have her handmaidens fix a bath for her but of course, that was not possible anymore, she is just like them in status now.
She imitated them in the way they fix her baths and fixed a bath for herself, when she was done, she dressed into one of her evening gowns to join her family for dinner. No one spoke at the table, everyone was so tired and sulking on how their life had turned out to be and they all wished the king would send for them soon and put them off their misery. But that prayer wasn’t answered, for days turned into weeks and no one, not even the general visited them for once.

Within the weeks that passed, Mariah adapted to her new lifestyle, to her, nothing could be worse than the life she was living now, she was a lady who turned into a peasant and who chances of getting married into a noble family have long been forgotten. Although sometimes, she often hear her mother crying and complaining to her father that not only would she not be married by a noble lord but that she wouldn’t be married at all, for who shall marry the daughter of the man who tried to kill the king?
Mariah thought that she should be affected by that fact like her mother but she realized that she wasn’t worried at all; she had never looked forward to getting married and only wanted to satisfy her mother and also be deemed a worthy lady. Their new home might be beneath their status but she found out that she was actually at peace living there. Now she doesn’t need to dress beautiful to impress anybody, neither does she need to think of what to say or smile when she doesn’t want to smile just so men would see that she has a beautiful smile. She doesn’t need to eat so little when in group even though she might be starving and want to finish the food on her plate, now she behaves like she wants to, talk like she wants to, act like she wants to without a care in the world of who is watching her and studying what she was doing.
Although her mother would often say to her, “that is not a way a lady should speak, Mariah.” Or “that is not how a lady should act, Mariah.” And she would often reply to her, “but I am no longer a lady, mother.”
One of the things Mariah finds fascinating in their new home was the forest, when she was a child, frightening stories had been told about it which made the people of Vagadon so afraid of the forest including her but these few days of living near to it changed her mind. She loves staring at it from her window at night and strolling in it by day and sometimes at night, after dinner, she would actually walk into it to watch the trees and the sleeping birds and animals.
Her mother would tell her several times not to wander around but she never listens and then her mother started telling her not go deeper and that she has been heeding to but with a thought to one day try it, but even though she had thought about, she had never really tried.
One reason she loves the forest was the fact that she actually feels like she belongs there, at first she had found it strange but with time, she started enjoying the feeling, even though she still wonders why.
She looked up at the sky from the log she sat on and noticed that it was already late and she got up to walk back home. She saw her mother pacing around in front of the house and knew she was waiting for her, she smiled and walked up to her.
Lydia was relieved when she saw her and she quickly pulled her into her arms, “Mariah, where have you been? I was so worried.”
“I’m sorry mother, I didn’t know when it got so late,” she replied.
“Please Mariah, stay away from the forest, have you forgotten the stories told about it?”
“I will be fine, mother,” she smiled and kissed her cheek, “goodnight mother,” she left her outside and entered the house. She went straight to her room and changed into her nightwear, she walked to the window and she gasped immediately she opened the worn out curtain. Sitting on her window was a black bird with gold and black eyes, the gold round the black and glowing. Mariah was surprised for a bird to have such eyes but before she could examine it better, the bird flapped its wings and flew away.
She watched it fly to the direction of the forest and wondered why its eyes were strange but yet fascinating and also why it would be sitting on her window. She couldn’t think of an answer and soon she was staring up at the beautiful night sky and the bird with strange eyes long forgotten.