The Battlefield

Meeting The One

The next day, after Miriam had breakfast with Alena and Julius, she realised she still hadn't met the fourth candidate of Alena's family, Luca.
She knew the family from brief encounters when she was younger, but that was at least a decade and a half ago.

Miriam was out in the courtyard to pick berries for lunch as an accompaniment.

Soon after, Alena approached Miriam. "Julius and I have to go to the market as one of our servants has called in sick so we have to buy some necessities ourselves. Mia is still asleep, feel free to keep yourself engaged however you like," she said eyeing the overflowing basket with a smile. "You know what, I think I'll teach you my great grandma's recipe involving berries, " she said looking excited without waiting for Miriam to reply.
Miriam was genuinely happy, it was time to learn some new recipes herself to help her in the future.
"Sure, now you guys go do what you need to, don't worry, I'll be fine," Miriam replied with a smile as she watched her go towards her beaming husband.
Alena was a beautiful lady in her forties. She had high cheekbones and blue green eyes. Her silky brown-blonde hair which was always styled so perfectly was a feature many women were jealous of.
After the couple left, Miriam strolled into the house, and set the basket in the kitchen.
'It's time to explore,' Miriam thought as she started to walk from door to door. The house contained at least ten to fifteen rooms.
The first room was the master bedroom, she didn't go inside as she didn't want to invade her hosts
privacy, but she could see the backyard from here, another beautiful side of it, she decided to visit it before they returned.
The next one was a bathroom. It was rare to have a bathroom in your own home, people usually used the communal bathroom.

Miriam merrily took one step into the rooms then closed the doors, it didn't feel moralistic to have a tour of the house without the official one where the hosts have to show the guest around first.
The next room looked like a store room, with old broken chairs and furniture strewn everywhere and cobwebs were strung from one end to the other end of the room. It held a musty smell, suddenly, a spider dangled in mid air in front of her nose. She restrained a scream as to not wake up the sleeping child. Miriam closed the door, not wanting to explore any further. Wanting fresh air, she hurried out to the back. After multiple deep breaths, she relaxed.

Miriam strolled through the abundant berries in bushes and vegetable patches which seemed to be producing anew. As the family lived In an isolated hill, it saved time as they didn't have to travel into the town square to purchase veggies and fruits.

Walking further, she was met with the view that was similar to the one from the master bedroom.

There were rows of multi-coloured roses which stood tall and proud. A stone bench was placed in the middle of one of the rows, away from anyone's view if they were to look through the windows.
Miriam sat on the bench, enjoying the tranquil atmosphere; the grey-blue sky, the birds lulling songs, the bugs chatters and the water flowing from a nearby mountain stream.
It really was perfect.
A butterfly caught this young woman's interest. She spent so much time dwelling and in her own problems and thoughts that she hardly had time to enjoy the little things nature presented her with.
Miriam crept up to the insect, so close, inspecting every slight flutter if it's wings. A clap of thunder made her jump, and the butterfly flew away on to a rose further down.
She held down her frustration, having a goal in mind she was determined to achieve.
She would hold the butterfly on her palm, and she'd keep trying until she'd achieved it.

She took bigger, yet quiet steps towards a the rose. Her breathing slowed as she knew how sensitive the creature can be.
She bent down to the rose's level, her hair falling on her shoulders.
It was a beautiful rose. With yellow petals with red on it's edges. The colours matched her clothing, a yellow cotton, full length and long sleeves dress with a red sash around her waist. Her satin textured, waist length, chestnut brown hair was let out except a single, thin braid ran in the middle of her hair made from the hair that graced the side of her head so it wouldn't fall in her eyes.
Miriam put forward her index finger, hoping the butterfly would just hop on it.
The delicate wings of the butterfly fluttered, scaring Miriam. She was going to hold an actual insect in her hand, the most beautiful one at that. Her finger shook, ever so slightly.
She took deeper and slower breaths as her finger moved closer.
Miriam was so intent on catching the butterfly she didn't realise someone else had joined her company.
The person's hand snaked around her waist, and their other hand tightly held the hand close to the butterfly, and pushed their head closer to hers, making Miriam emit a soft gasp from her pink lips at the sudden contact of this unknown person.