The Protector

Chapter 9

"Can we keep it, father?" Asked Genevieve, looking at the baby bird lying in the makeshift nest she had made for it. She was catching a breath from training with her father.

Darius had told her it was a baby falcon, similar to the sigil of the Dortagues. She had picked it up that morning from the edge of the riverbank. It pushed it's beak against her whenever she touched it. It seemed to think she was its mother.

It had been a couple of years since Darius and Genna had left the cottage by the forest and come to live in this village. She had turned twelve now.

"Well, it's likely separated from its mother, so I suppose you can keep it." He said.

He got up from his stool and stood up, taking a defensive stance. "Now concentrate!" He said, swinging a wooden stick at her side. The hood obstructed her peripheral vision, so she had learnt to recognise movement by feeling and sound alone.

She blocked the blow with her own stick, matching strike for strike. She was getting better, working hard on her training. In the morning, Darius would make her practice her reading and printing. He bought her books and scripts from the town nearby.

In the afternoon, she helped him carry the heavy wood from the forest to the village to sell off. It helped build her strength. Then Darius would train her for battles with heavy wooden sticks. He would let her rest for two hours before dinner, then take her to the forest at night to practice archery with arrows she had carved for herself in the moonlight.

She was becoming strong, but her true strength lay in her speed and wit. At times she would display speed and cunning tactics that would baffle Darius himself.

He was glad she had started making friends, now that they were surrounded by people. The hood was a deterrent to that, though, as many of the villagers saw it as a sign of the pox . For lack of a better explanation, they had let it be.

Superstitious mothers were afraid of letting their children close to her, afraid she would bring them bad luck.

Nevertheless, there were some good people around. Genna had made friends with the neighbours' son, Ollie, whose father worked as a woodcutter along with Darius.

He looked out the window to see the sun setting. She could go out for a break now.

"I think that's enough for today. Well done Genna." He said, giving her a pat on her head.

He watched her run outside to Ollie's house, to show him her new friend.

***

The cool wind blew over the river, bringing a bit of moisture with it. Genna loved the spray of the water as it rushed past the rocks in the shallows, just a few meters from where they sat at the bank, holding the baby falcon.

The sun had Just set, the deep violet of the evening taking over the reds of the evening. A few stars twinkled in the sky among a handful of clouds. Her hood made it seem darker than it was, but she was habitual of it now. She lay back on the grass, putting her hands behind her head.

"What should I name him, Ollie?" She asked as he stroked the little bird's head.

Ollie was a skinny boy, a couple of years older than Genna. He was tall and lanky, with reddish-brown hair, lots of freckles and a huge smile. They had become really good friends since they had met, often playing and meeting by the trees near the Black river when she finished training with Darius.

He often asked Genna why she didn't play with him as often as the others. As much as she wanted to tell her friend, she couldn't. She just told him that father needed help with his work, so she helped him as much as she could.

"I don't know, maybe Fally?" Said Ollie, distractedly.

"Fally? Well that's a silly name for falcon." She laughed a little, then stopped, noticing his distracted behavior, she asked "What's wrong, Ollie?"

"Genna, we are best friends, right? Do you trust me?" He asked her, looking at her hooded face.

"What sort of question is that? Of course I trust you. What makes you think I don't?" She asked, putting the baby owl on her lap.

"Then why won't you take your hood off in front of me? You know I don't care if you're ugly or scarred or burnt or whatever." He asked, his hand reaching towards her hood.

"I..." She hesitated "I can't. I trust you, but I can't" She said, sitting up, away from his hand.

"Why not? That means you don't actually trust me! You never tell me anything. Zeke was right!" He said, angrily.

Zeke was the village bad boy, about Ollie's age. He was always getting into trouble and picking on Genna. When he found that his ways didn't bother her much, he started finding ways to get at Ollie.

His thick blonde hair and green eyes had older girls swooning. And just like the other girls, Genna thought he was as devastatingly handsome as a young girl finds her first crush.

"You know Zeke said that just to annoy you, Ollie. How could you fall for that?" She asked, exasperated. "Besides, I promised father I wouldn't take my hood off for anyone. I can't break that promise, no matter what. You know that."

"Fine" He said angrily, getting up from next to her.

"Ollie, where are you going?" Genna asked, getting up with him.

She heard laughter from one side of the trees and saw Zeke and his troublemaking friends next to him.

"Finally, Ollie runs away from Poxy." Genna cringed at the name he called her to annoy her.

He turned to Genna. His handsome face breaking into a grin. "Hmm, I wonder what caused the fighting."

"Get lost, Zeke. This is between the two of us." Replied Ollie, getting between him and Genna. His long hands were tightened into fists.

"Aww. What's wrong, Ollie?" Asked Zeke, stepping forward, grinning. "Did she get the pox on your díck?"

The other guys started howling in laughter.

Out of nowhere, Ollie's fist collided with his nose.

Before anyone could register what was happening, Genna took Ollie's hand and ran into the trees towards their houses, putting the bird in her shirt's pocket. They kept running, frantically into the forest. Genna knew it well, but they could hear Zeke and his friends following close behind. The trees were not thick enough for cover and they would be seen soon if they didn't hide.

Genna pulled Ollie towards a slope in the path and he tripped on a stone sending them flying into a large bush. Their skins were smarting from the scratches, but they both held their tongues till they heard Zeke and his gang run right past them. Genna made sure the bird was alright.

A few minutes passed by, them both lying in the bush awkwardly. Then they burst out laughing.

"You should have seen the look on his face," Cried Ollie, tears running down his face from laughter.

"We're lucky we fell into this bush. Who knows what they might have done to us?" She crouched, making herself more comfortable. "Thank you, Ollie." She said, taking his hand.

He smiled, rubbing his free hand on her head. "What are friends for?" He said.

"Well, I won't be needing you to defend me next time." She said proudly, trying to stand up from the bushes. "I'm strong enough to defend myself."

"Fine, we'll see about that." Said Ollie, tackling her to the ground. They rolled off the little slope, laughing.

***

Genna went home to find her father carving out an arrow with an obsidian blade. The blade material shone in the firelight just like the eyes of the little bird.

"Obsidian." She whispered to it.

A/N: Well, here's the next bit of the story. Genna is growing up. What do you think? Let me know. Please remember to vote of you liked the chapter. It will make my day! And thanks for reading!