Forgotten Vale

Chapter 3

Pippa lay on her back and watched the clouds as they seemingly floated across the sky. Her eyelids were just beginning to shut sleepily when a hand shook her. She opened her eyes and glanced up at the person. Her brother Peter, tall, blonde, and freckled, grinned down at her.

"Come on Pip, we have to get back to work," Peter said. Pippa groaned and closed her eyes again.

"Five more minutes?" she pleaded.

"No."

With a sigh, Pippa rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself to her feet. Her hair, wavy and golden in the sunlight, brushed against her waist.

"I miss the times when we were able to have fun all day," Pippa reminisced. "When we were able to enjoy the day, and not have to stay inside and work."

"That's part of growing up," Peter explained. "We have to eat, you know."

"I know."

Pippa smiled at her brother sadly. She remembered the day their father died. He was still quite young, but unfortunately he had been weakened by a bout of chickenpox. When he died, Peter had to take over the forge and continue the business. Peter had only been fourteen at the time. And ever since then, Pippa helped Peter by keeping house and selling homegrown vegetables.

Pippa walked Peter back to the shop, which was basically an addition to the house. She was tempted to watch him work but she decided she had wasted enough time that day and got to work immediately. She started on their supper. Carrot and onion soup with a bit of broiled bear meat. If there was one thing Pippa couldn't stand, it was bear meat. Bear meat was tough and tasteless and just plain difficult to cook with. She struggled to find creative ways to use it, other than to feed it to her friend Calum; who would even eat it raw.

Once she started cooking the soup, Pippa found a few extra minutes to work on a fleece sweater she was knitting for her friend Calum. Every year, she had to knit him a new one since he outgrew the old ones. Calum grew at an annoyingly unnatural speed. Probably due to the fact that he was a shape-shifter. Pippa still remembered the day she met him. It had been a cold evening six years before, and Pippa was preparing to start the fire. That's when she heard the howling of the wind. Except it wasn't the wind. When she went to investigate, she found a wolf pup out on her front porch. Feeling pity for him, she brought him into the house and fed him warm broth. After feeding him, she walked away for a minute. When she came back, she found a nine-year-old boy sitting in the exact spot of the wolf pup, huddled up in a rug. Pippa loaned the boy some clothes then listened to his story. And somehow during that whole ordeal, they became best friends.

In the evening, Peter finally closed down the forge and joined Pippa for supper. After giving thanks to the Creator, they ate the soup and bear meat.

"Mrs. Adelson sends her greetings," Peter told Pippa. "She also gave me some flowers to put in the shop."

"How sweet of her," Pippa replied with a smile. "She's always so thoughtful. I think I'll visit her tomorrow and see if she needs anything."

"Don't forget, we're going to Church tomorrow," Peter told her.

"Then I'll visit her after we go to Church," Pippa said. "Ever since her husband died she seems so lonely."

Peter shrugged and continued eating. At that moment, somebody knocked on the door. Pippa looked up in surprise and put her fork down.

"I'll get it," Peter said. He stood up and walked over to the door. Pippa quickly smoothed her dress down self-consciously.