A Kiss in the Shadows

A Kiss in the Shadows: Chapter six

☽ Chapter six☾

I ended up back at home, goose flesh rising on my skin from the prowling chill of the weather. I slammed the small wooden door with enough force to make the whole structure quake almost as if in fear. I was grumbling to myself as I set work to make dinner.

I pulled out a small knife and started peeling potatoes and carrots that I had bartered for at the market a few days ago. I was biting my lip in irritation, soon realizing that the carrot I had been peeling was now a pile of shreds.

I grumbled to myself and started a new one. After I had viciously mutilated a few more vegetables I decided I should take a break. I sighed and let my head fall in my hands. I am such a bloody mess.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice someone had entered the house until I heard the door close. Out of instinct before a thought even registered in my head; I threw the knife and it sailed through the air before sticking in the wood workings of the wall a mere centimeter from the person’s head. I gaped in shock and noticed my father, he didn’t even seem fazed.

He pulled the knife out of the wall and walked over quietly, expressionless as always. When he was near me he stabbed the dull blade into the wooden table and walked off. I would have honestly preferred it if he yelled at me.

I sighed and got to work on dinner (this time actually being able to do it). After I put everything in the melting pot I bent down to start a fire. I took the two stones and with the lightest strike they set the kindling in the fireplace aflame. I looked down at the stones in surprise after a moment and put them away. It warmed the room slightly in the process but you could still feel the cold lurking around in the air.

While humming a simple tune I heard a small tap tap tap, my head swiveled quickly to the wood shutters of the window. I walked over thinking I was probably going to see Philip or Mason. God forbid it be either of those bastards. Carefully I creaked open the shutters only to see neither, but a small falcon.

A paper rolled into a capsule tied to its foot. I smiled broadly; it was a letter from my grandmother. This falcon I could recognize anywhere, it was snow white with small black feathers decorating it in a delicate pattern. But what made it so special was the exotic and abnormally long tail feathers it adorned, each feather was at least the length of my arm.

I cooed to Aries softly and offered him my arm; he stepped onto it with a light shriek. Gently he perched on my forearm his talons not piercing my skin. With my index finger I stroked is soft head, my grandmother had bought this falcon for us to communicate with since she was so far away. She let me name him I had chosen the name Aries since it was both me and my grandmother’s astrological sign.

Aries flew off my arm and landed on the table awaiting me to feed him while I found him a piece of bread. When I placed it in front of him he looked at me in confusion and let out another one of his shrieks.

“Sorry but I don’t keep rodents on hand.” I raised my hands in surrender at the bird. Strange I know, but Aries is just different from regular birds. After a moment of processing this Aries went down to take a bite of the bread, or so I thought. He actually just nudged it off the table refusing to eat it. I pinched the bridge of my nose and muttered to myself again.

“Fine, after dinner I’ll go out and get something for you to eat.” Aries seemed satisfied with this so I removed the letter from him and he flew off to somewhere else in the house. I ran my hand on the familiar wax seal that lay on every letter I received from her .it was a delicate red with the design of a wreathe of flowers surrounding a crescent moon. I unraveled the paper and smoothed it on the table. I smiled when I recognized my grandmother’s familiar elegant hand.