Hunted

VIII. The Meeting

Two weeks had passed since the destruction of the castle and Serela's narrow escape from the soldiers who had tried to kill her.

She and Reha had both been watchful, the everyday noises and sounds of the cottage and surrounding woods causing them to jump in fear that this was it, the moment when the man in black would return for whatever his dark purpose was.

Still, Serela refused to be cowed by the fear. While the children were too wary of meeting at her former place of instruction, she resumed teaching them in the barn on their homestead, just a short walk from the cottage which housed their tools for the garden and a few sheep for the wool to make clothes. The chicken coop also stood nearby, providing an endless source of entertainment for the children as they chased them throughout the yard, making a game of who could catch the fastest one, and it made Serela smile to remember her and Lana playing something similar in their youth.

While in the village she had run into Lana's parents, who informed her that the job she had taken in Andui was working out so well for her, and that they hoped to move there with her when she had saved up enough money to settle herself, which should be soon, and would Serela like to go with them? When they made the move?

She swallowed at the thought of leaving this place, of leaving her mother and the cottage and 20 years worth of memories behind. She missed her friend yes, but in a way she felt a friendship with this place, with the trees and birds and animals and the people of the village, she felt a deep kinship with all that this planet offered and possessed. It was her home, from birth until now, and she hoped she would one day marry and raise children of her own on it's soil.

A ball flew towards her and she deflected it just in time before it would have hit her in the face. "Be careful, Karo!"

The little boy looked down at the ground sheepishly, his foot kicking at the dirt, "Sorry," he said genuinely.

Serala walked over to him and gave his a small side hug on his shoulders, "It's alright Karo, you just have to watch where you throw things or someone could get hurt. You wouldn't want to hurt anyone, would you?"

"Sometimes," he mumbled, and she stooped down to listen to him finish his thoughts, "Only when people are mean to me, like my brother. Then sometimes I do want to hurt them. Is that bad?" his eyes searched her face for some form of affirmation that he was not some monster.

"We all deal with people and things that are difficult," Serela began, "But what distinguishes the Light from the Dark is how we react to those things, what we do with them. Do we allow them to change us into something we're not, into something we deep down do not wish to be? Or do we press on in spite of them, determined to pursue the Light whatever the cost?"

Her words affected him deeply, and as she stood up he buried his face into her waist, the dampness of his tears wetting the fabric there. Serela held his hands in hers and looked down affectionately, ignoring the noise from the others as she gave him these few moments of undivided attention and comfort. His mother had died last spring and his father was a hard man, ruling him and his two brothers with an iron fist. She knew that life was harder for him in many ways than it had ever been for her. Although people always talked about the importance of a father for his son and mothers for daughters, she knew that deep down, a boy still desperately needed his mother.

When he let go and ventured back to the other children she decided to dismiss them early today. She felt inspired to go out for a hunt, and to meditate under her familiar tree for the first time since her ordeal weeks ago. The sun was almost directly above them and she wanted to get moving if she was going to make it there with enough time for both.

Giving Karo one last, heartfelt hug, she watched them file onto the path back to the village, some racing the whole way back while others held hands or stopped to look at flowers along the way.