Beyond the Willow Tree (Under MAJOR reconstruction)

Chapter 3: Traveling Winds

Beyond the Willow Tree 

Chapter 3: Traveling Winds 

The sun rose the next morning, shimmering into the room Willow was sleeping in. As the sun rose higher into the sky the rays landed on Willow's sleeping figure, awakening her. Drowsily, she sat up and rubbed her eyes before looking around the room. Panic and fear ensued her, running through her body like ice, as she tried to remember where she was. Before another moment could pass the memories of the previous night's events began to flood back to her. She began to calm down. Rising from the bed she walked over to the chest that the Wizard had stocked with clothes for her and picked out an outfit for the day. She put on a light green blouse with long sleeves, black riding breeches, a dark brown leather vest that laced up, and a pair of black riding boots. Although this was a style normally worn by men, Willow knew that she would be traveling and would need to be comfortable.  

After she got dressed Willow went to the dresser and grabbed the brush she had left there the night before and brushed the tangles out of her hair. On the dresser mirror there was a white ribbon dangling down the side. Willow took the ribbon and tied her hair up into a high ponytail, leaving a few strands to frame her face. She took a deep breath, looked at herself in the mirror one last time, and turned to leave the room. She walked down the stone corridor back into the room from the night before. The fire was still ablaze, and the chairs were where they were the night before. Although she had only been there one day she already felt at home. She took a seat by the fire.  

Soon after, a thought occurred to her. The Wizard was nowhere to be seen. "Wonder where he is..." she said curiously. An aroma of food found its way to her. She followed it into a room that she hadn't noticed before. It was hidden in the corner of the house, where one wouldn't really think to look. Once in the room she took a good look around. She noticed a water pump in the corner that ran down into a fountain well, crates that were marked beef, flour, eggs, and other food products, wooden shelves on the walls that had plates, bowls, and cups stacked on them and lastly her eyes fell upon the old Wizard who was standing in the middle of the room with two plates of food in his hands. "Wow Mr. Wizard! That smells delicious!" she yelled excitedly. The Wizard shoved a plate at her and turned his face away to hide a smile. He wasn't used to being complimented.  

Willow looked down at the plate filled with toast, boiled eggs, ham slices, and potatoes. The Wizard handed her a knife and fork, still looking away from her. He walked out of the room taking a seat in his chair by the fire. She followed him out and took the seat next to him. They both began to eat their breakfasts in silence. Willow avoided the meat on her plate, only eating the toast and potatoes. The Wizard looked at her with a frown. "Eat your eggs and ham child." He said.  

Shocked, Willow's gaze shot up from her food to the Wizards face. "I don't eat meat!" she yelled in shock at his comment.  

The Wizard shook his head. "Child I do not feed you this for my own amusement nor for your nourishment. When you are out traveling you will have no choice but to eat what is around you, and unfortunately not much of that will be vegetarian appropriate." He said sternly. Willow sighed, defeated. She knew he was right and she didn't want to offend the Wizard. She cut a piece of the egg and put it in her mouth, chewed on it for a moment before swallowing. The new tastes and flavors were enchanting to her. Then she tried the ham, it was even more delicious than the eggs, like little pieces of heaven. She finished the rest of her breakfast hastily. The Wizard was watching her as she ate, a grin forming on his face. "See child? That wasn't so bad now was it?" he said sneakily.  

Once both plates were empty, the Wizard took them back into the room and came back with a small wooden table, sitting it in between them. From his pocket the Wizard pulled out a folded up piece of parchment. He unfolded it and laid it out in front of her. "This is a map of our world." He said taking a seat in his chair, "It shows every story that is connected to our world represented by these islands." He said pointing to all the tiny specs scattered across the map stopping at one that was a little larger, "This one is Azira. This is where we are now." He informed her and moved his finger over to the largest island in the center. "This island in the middle is Cyrus. This is where your journey will take you. For in the center lies the tear in the bindings." He finished, pausing for a moment to let it all sink in.