Emyr blinked in surprise as this girl embraced him whispering, "Just... be careful..." before rushing off. She sounded so sad. It wasn't like they knew each other so why was she so sad? Setting his mind to the task of surviving another day he tried to push the human from his thoughts was difficult. No matter how hard he tried his mind kept wandering back to her. A feeling, like a low hum had started, in the back of his mind last night that kept looping his thoughts back around to the girl. It was slowly becoming aggravating as he had more important thing to think about than some girl.
Pulling his mind free for a moment he figured he should at least start by cleaning himself. Washing away the dirt and gore from the last few days without disturbing the bandages was awkward. Normally he'd just find a good sand bar in the river and scrub himself clean but he didn't want to risk opening his wounds again or disrupting the makeshift bandages. It had been her only petticoat she had said.
Was she so poor she couldn't afford more than one undergarment? As much as he hated to admit it, as he found the fashions of a lady's underthings to be bizarre, annoying, fickle and it seemed that humans had similar need to have useless undergarments. Fashion was never his strong point. He felt a twinge of guilt for depriving the girl of her modesty. Chiding himself for his thought Emyr told himself when he got things settled he could buy her a dozen of the things.
Yet he wondered if she was truly going to be okay walking home by herself. Being so small and helpless it wouldn't take much to overpower her. Thoughts of all manner of creatures chasing her set him on edge. Trying to reason with himself he told himself that she was not his concern and it was all in his head. Yet he felt drawn to protect her. Startled birds took off from someplace across the river making him tense up. With an annoyed sigh, he hurried off the direction she had gone.
While the forest wasn't too thick with underbrush the river provided pockets if thickets he could move between as he followed path. It wasn't like she was hard to track as she did nothing to conceal her path. Then there was the pace that she set, it was slow and uneven. Was she badly injured? She hadn't seemed that injured this morning but then he didn't exactly examine her. Did he even know what to look for? Human bodies where not as sturdy as his kind and broke so easily. What if she ended up collapsing? It was a good thing he had decided to follow if only to see that she got safely home.
Coming to a road Emyr had to focus his thoughts on the task at hand. Remembering he girl had said that she had to cross the river he hobbled over the bridge and along the side of the road. The girl's trail mingled with so many others it made him nervous that he had lost her until he picked up another one of her foot prints or a whiff of her that still lingered. So engrossed in sorting her tracks out from the mangled mess of foot prints and the myriad of smells Emyr almost didn't notice two men approach on horseback bows in one hand reins in the other. It was a miracle that he managed to get himself concealed in time.
"... is almost complete flooded out. It might be okay but if we get any more rain it's going to drown my wheat," one of the men said. "I hear yah. My whole south pasture is flooded out. I got some grain stored up but it won't last long enough for the corn to come in. I was counting on the wheat being ready next month," said the other. "I'm just happy the Primrose girl is okay," came the former and the second hummed a response. "Been a shame if something happened to her. Sweet girl." The second man hummed a reply again, "Mmmhhmm. She shouldn't have been off alone like that and er'body knows it. No man should be out at night a lone, let alone a lass like her. Pity she is wasted on the useless wretch of a man. That man doesn't deserve her. I know Williams look out for her but man got his own family to care for."
"Say," came the first, "Your eldest is about her age, isn't he? He taken a fancy to her?"
"Can't say. Did dance with her at the spring fair. Why?"
"Maybe you could encourage him to go check on her. Help her to town and such. She is a real sweet girl and he is a good lad. Wouldn't take much."
"Mmhrmm. She'd make a fine wife for Jack. I'll speak to him when I get home. Mary will be thrilled."
Emyr had to stifle a growl as the thought of another man touching the girl. Why do you care? A voice in his head nagged him and he had to stop another annoyed rumble in his chest. The horses must have heard him as they started to prance. "Whoa, whoa easy now." The men each spoke searching the area. Each readied an arrow. The first man guided his horse in a loose circle with his knees eyes flicking from his mounts ears to brush were Emyr was crouched. In a quick motion, there was a thwak as an arrow hit the tree to his left and shortly one hit the ground to his right. A rabbit that had thought itself safely hidden burst from nearby and dashed cross the road.
"Sweet mercy. Little hopper about scared the pants off me," the second man laughed. "Yeah," the first didn't seem so sure, "Miss Primrose did say she was attacked by a wolf. And something got the horses spooked."
"Might not be a bad idea to get some boys together and clear up some thicker parts along the road. Wolves don't always walk on four legs these days."
"Mmmhrm," the first said before clucking his mount to a trot followed by the other man. The man stopped once and intently searched the area where Emyr was hidden before kicking his mount's sides and disappearing down the road.
It was a long time before Emyr moved. This time he was warier of his movements. It wasn't long before he came across a small house. The girl was standing outside speaking with and older woman. A man was checking the saddle on a horse as another struggled to figure out how to get up on his. A slight growl left his throat as the man picked her up and placed her on the animal with ease. Contemplating how many pieces the man should be Emyr let out a low rumble again that only settled when the man walked over to the older woman and gave her a kiss.
Following was tricky as Emyr struggled to get close enough to over hear the conversation but not too close to scare their horses. Picking out a bit here and there, he figured out that the wobbly man was her father by the way he never stopped blubbering and apologizing while the other was their neighbor and married to the woman. At last they came to another house and after a few words the other man helped down and after some insisting from the girl left as she helped her father inside. Spotting a large building behind the house gave him an idea.
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A/N
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Another day another chapter. Like I said I am going to try for a chapter a day for the next five to seven days just to get some substance to this story. After that I will have a better idea on what will become my regular posting schedule.
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You faithful and in need of a head exam,
Shana
Posted 10/13/17
Edited 10-14-17 Added media
Edited 10-10-17 Descriptive errors.
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The Lost Daughter of the Crystal Throne
Fantasy"I trust you know a dragon's abilities are effected by their color? In the end they broke off into clans by color. The blues took the coast, the reds and yellows to the west, the browns and blacks took the mountains, the greens took the forest to th...
