Dullahan

5 - Bedtime Story - 1

HE COULD BARELY SEE by the time Leola came knocking on the door, the sun outside the small window having set, plunging him into darkness. He hadn't noticed, so distracted was he by the horse and the imagined games. He looked up in surprise at the sudden light that shone into the room, staring up at Leola's illuminated face in the doorway. She held a swinging lantern, the candle inside dancing and waving with the motion. "Are you hungry?" she asked, and Eldred noticed for the first time the smell that wafted from the hallway beyond. Food- warm, and spiced- waited downstairs.

Without a second thought he stood, bringing the horse with him as Leola led the way back downstairs, at a pace almost too slow for Eldred, who had started to notice the hunger that gnawed at his insides. They entered the kitchen, a wave of heat hitting Eldred as they passed the threshold, and Eldred took in a deep breath of the savoury smell of dinner. Ness had stood from the table, her glove replaced on her hand, needle gone back to wherever she had conjured it from.

"I am going to tend to Ardghal," she said as the pair of them entered. Leola waved a dismissive hand, and Ness left through the back door. The atmosphere seemed to warm further with her departure, and Eldred wondered if more hand passed between the old woman and his so-called guardian while he had been upstairs.

His musings were quickly forgotten as Leola fetched him a plate of warm, cooked food.

After the pair of them had finished- the conversation sparse through the duration of the meal, Eldred too focused on eating to put more than a passing effort into answering Leola's questions- Ness returned, her arrival heralded by the draft of cold air that blew through the house, making the fire waver and dance. The old woman fell quiet after that, lips pressed into a line, watching Ness carefully.

"Everything to your satisfaction?" she asked after a long pause, as Ness drew up beside the table.

The armoured figure shrugged. "Ardghal is well."

Eldred attempted to suppress a yawn, succeeding at first, only to be ambushed by a second yawn almost immediately following the first. His eyes watered, and he wiped his face with his sleeve, blinking to stop tears falling from his eyes.

"I think perhaps you should sleep," Ness said as the second yawn concluded, but he shook his head.

"'M not-" he yawned again, annoyed with his own body as it betrayed his words, "-I don't want to go to bed yet," he amended, looking up at Ness with defiance.

They stood, looking at each other. "You have had a long day, and you need sleep in order to recover properly," she insisted, and gestured toward the door.

He shook his head. He was tired, he couldn't deny that, but he didn't want to go just because Ness had told him to. "I'm not tired," he managed to say, this time without yawning mid-way through.

"What if I told you a story?" Leola piped up from the opposite side of the table. Eldred's eyes widened at the possibility, and he started to nod.

Ness shifted her weight to her other foot, but didn't say anything.

"About what?" he asked, although he was already fairly sure that he wanted to hear whatever story the old woman wanted to tell.

A smile spread across her face, her gaze flicking to Ness for a moment, "A true one, and one about love and sacrifice-" some of his enthusiasm waned, expression falling- "and about war and bloodshed," she added a little hurriedly, successfully recapturing his attention. Leola glanced at Ness again, a challenge in her eyes. "Right! Upstairs we go- I'll only tell you this story if you are under the covers by the time I get up there, alright?"