Shift

Chapter 32

32

They didn’t return unscathed. They’d lost many, about twenty, even though they’d taken many more forsaken lives. There were many funerals and mourning ceremonies for the dead. Vera regretted that these were the first acts she performed as Head of House, but at the same time there was rejoicing. Valdor was truly dead. The House of Avian had returned. No one had to live in fear anymore.

The gates of the wards were open all the time now, and birds again filled the trees. Vera walked to the pond a week after the great battle. She was exhausted, running a House was hard under normal circumstances, but they were also rebuilding an entire House. There was construction and lots of other work to be done. Maya and Lana had taken it upon themselves to try and find history about the House of Avian before Valdor’s time, to give back to the new House.

Sol had answered the mystery of the Avian who couldn’t shift as well. He believed that Valdor’s black magic had cancelled out his ability to shift. Valdor had kept the secret about shifting from the others as a result. Those who didn’t know they could shift never learned how to and the ability was lost through generations. Valdor never forced anyone to shift because he didn’t want anyone to know. Now though, Sol worked with Raven and many of the Avian to teach them how to shift again. Eventually they would regain the ability.

Vera sighed. She slipped between some shrubs and emerged at the pond. The tranquil atmosphere rejuvenated her almost instantly. She wasn’t the only one here though, Drake stood at the bird feeder, filling it with fresh seed.

“I thought you were helping with the construction,” She said, surprised.

“They have more than enough people.  I decided to be useful elsewhere,” He answered.

“I can see that,” she said, smiling.

“Here, watch this,” he said suddenly, and whistled. Three songbirds flew to him from the treetops and landed in his hand. Vera clapped in joy.

“Oh, they’re beautiful!” She cried.

“I was hoping you’d like them,” Drake said, pleased. Gently, he placed them on the roof of the bird house and they began to sing. “Care to dance?” he asked, holding out his hand. Smiling, Vera took his hand and they danced to the tune of the songbirds beside the pond.

***

Raven raced downstairs and nearly barrelled into Bane.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he answered. She blinked.

“Ok, what is it?” he grinned and shook his head.

“Do you really not know what a surprise is?” he asked.

“It’s something you give someone isn’t it?”

“Yes, but the person that gets the surprise doesn’t know about it until they get it.” Bane explained patiently.

“They why did you tell me? Didn’t you just ruin the surprise?” Bane sighed in exasperation and grabbed her hand, pulling her outside.

“Will you just come?” he cried.

“Of course,” she said, following him. They went outside to where a horse was saddled, waiting for them.

“I can’t ride,” Raven said nervously.

“Not a problem,” Bane replied, picking her up and swinging her into the saddle. He quickly mounted behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Don’t panic, just sit,” he said and nudged the horse into a trot. She leaned back into his grip. He could feel her heart racing, but as they got past the villages she started to enjoy it. He nudged the horse into a canter and she nearly fell off in shock.

“Ah!” she cried.

“It’s fine, feel the rhythm of the horse, see?” Bane reassured her. Soon they were crossing the brook and Raven recognised their surroundings,

“We’re heading towards the shack!” Raven remarked.

“I have no idea what you’re taking about,” Bane dismissed her. It was true, when they came to the spot where the shack used to be, there was now a sturdy cottage.

“Did you do this?” Raven cried as the horse slowed.

“It’s yours, if you like it,” Bane told her.

“It’s beautiful!” she cried. When the horse stopped she didn’t need any help, she dismounted by herself and headed straight for the front door. When she opened it she gasped. Inside he’d strengthened the frame and raised the ceiling. The mouldy walls were gone and the varnished wooden floor had an ornate rug thrown over it. He’d even collected furniture, a lacy sofa, a dark wooden end table and a rocking chair. The fireplace was cleaned and stocked with firewood and he’d added another room onto it. On inspection it turned out to be a cosy bedroom complete with queen-sized bed and feather doona.

She ran back outside to where Bane stood with his horse, trying to find the words to tell him how perfect it was.

“How did you do it?” she marvelled.

“It’s been a week, and once I cleaned it up it really didn’t need much work. I raised the ceiling while I was redoing the roof because the whole thing needed to come off anyway,” Bane was cut off by Raven’s kiss. While they’d shared small pecks before the battle this was their first true kiss and Bane was reluctant to break it, so he didn’t.

They stood in front of the cottage kissing under a cloudless sky with nothing at all to be scared of anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thank you for reading! If you got this far you must have been really determined so thank you for finishing it. I hope you enjoyed my story.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~