Thorns & Roses

2.

It was already dusk when the young man got out of the enchanted mist. The time flowed differently in the two dimensions. Minutes at the magical forest corresponded to hours at the rest of the world. He tried to come back to her, but the haze had already disappeared, along with the chance to be with her again. With a mix of contradictory feelings such as excitement and sadness, he went back to the village. The sensation of tiredness grew up with each step, making his body beg for sleep. He entered the butcher's house. The sweet smell of a rudimentary potato soup filled the air and he started drooling, realizing how hungry he was. His stomach growled in agreement. The house was small with only one floor, two bedrooms, one kitchen and little else. He went to the kitchen and found his host sitting at the dining table watching his wife cooking, helped by their daughter. The girl was a couple of years younger than the guest, but she was as tall as him. She had short, light brown hair with blonde strands, hazel eyes and some golden freckles speckled on the face. She was also very shy, but hardworking. On the kitchen's floor, a young boy was playing with some pieces of wood while laughing and making lots of noise. He had hazel eyes and freckles just like his sister, but his hair was completely blonde. They were a happy family, just like the hunter's once was. He greeted them and sat down beside the butcher.

- No luck, huh? - said the host when he realized his guest was empty-handed.

- Yeah - he responded, resting his head on his arms - No luck indeed.

- Oh, don't worry - said the lady while tasting the meal - Tomorrow is a new day. We all have our down days, once in a while.

- Eda is right, my boy.

- I'm always right, Howard. We've been married for twenty years. You should know that already.

The three laughed. A few minutes later, the dinner was ready. The girl, Lillian, sat beside the hunter while the older woman sat beside the husband. The young boy, Tommy, fitted between his mother and his sister. The potato soup, hot bread and roasted meat were served with the trivial conversations of their daily life. Edric was silent during all the meal, eating in a mechanical way, his thoughts flowing far away from that home, to the green-eyed fairy he'd met that day. His mind was constantly going back to the moment he saw her, like an endless loop. He had never seen such beauty before that he fell in love since the first second he lied his eyes on her. He thought that maybe it was a spell, but he didn't care. He wanted to see her again and he would find a way to do so, preferably without dying. When the meal ended, he helped Lillian to clean the dishes. The girl never looked him in the eye and, every time they touched, she would blush while he would simply give her an empty smile. He said goodbye to the family and retired to the corner of the kitchen nearer the fire, fitting himself between two heavy woolen blankets and his inseparable bag as a cushion. Though the freezing cold made it difficult to sleep, the little heat and the crackling sound that the fire badly suppressed provided helped him to fall asleep. At the start, it was a deep sleep without dreams. But then, the nightmares came.

He was just standing in the dark, no sound, no cold nor warmth. It was empty, a big black nothing. Then, he heard a choking cry in the distance and followed it. The cry was getting louder and louder while he was blindly moving forward, running desperately to find the person in need. He finally saw a light coming from nowhere and a child-like shadowing figure, but he stumbled in the nothingness and fell on something hard, like a polished stone ground. He raised his head and realized that the child was not alone. Another figure, an adult man, shaped like a beast, was standing next to him, his mouth opening and closing as if was scolding the little one, beating the boy once, twice... The child's high pitch screams begging for mercy were dreadful, capable to transmit the suffering to whoever listened to them. Then, the man vanished, and a light shaped like a woman appeared in his place. She embraced the child, comforting him with her warmth and kindness. Edric knew how this dream would end. His mother would always come to save him through the dark times. He finally stood up, observing with a smile the heartwarming scene while the light that involve the child and the woman started to disappear, revealing their identities. The boy had black hair and deep blue eyes, now red because of his cry. Edric was seeing his own child self, embraced by the woman who brought him to the world, with golden hair, deep blue eyes like her son and her favorite red dress. The little boy ended up falling asleep on her lap, cuddled in her arms, his image starting to fade away. When the child was no longer there, the woman stood up and made her way to him, bringing light and warmth with each step. A wide-open space, the garden of his childhood filled with green grass and flowers of all colors, took the place of the dark emptiness. Then, she caressed his face and hugged him, and he hugged her in return, making him forget everything he just saw. Only she mattered, nothing else. In that moment, she became his shelter, the home he longer to go back to.

He woke up with tears in his eyes. He always wakes with them every time he has that nightmare. Even when he tries to run away from his past, he haunts him in nightmares and bad, painful memories. He got out of the bed and dressed up. Rays of early daylight were coming from the window, illuminating the whole room. Just like the day before, he left the house when everyone was still sleeping and, just like the day before, he went to the woods without anyone realizing it. The magical haze was covering the forest, just like the day before. On a big granite rock, a black tiny bird was chirping a familiar melody, the same melody the lady of the woods was singing. He approached the little bird and recognized the jackdaw with the broken wing.

- Well, it's not broken anymore - he stated, petting the flying animal.

The jackdaw flew away, through the mist, disappearing without a trace. Edric wanted to follow it, but at the same time, he wanted to respect the demands of his love. With that thought in mind, he shouted to the cold air:

- I'd like to hunt in your forest. I promise to just take what I need, nothing else. Do I have your permission?

For some moments, nothing happened except for the rays of light shifting with the movements of the mist and the canopy of the trees, making a magnificent dance of light and shadow. Then, the fog started to fade, like it was getting sucked by some giant mythical creature, reveling a forest dressed in grey and white, frost and snow, with thin black trees randomly splattered. It would seem wonderful to anyone, like an unrealistic painting, but to him, after seeing the one filled with magic, it was only a cheap copy.

- Thank you! - he shouted, somehow disappointed, and entered the forest.

On the other side of the enchanted haze, the jackdaw just landed on the shoulder of forest's maiden. She smiled at it, greeting it, made her way to the top of the waterfall, following a path of large flat stones, and stood there, looking to the crystal-clear water. With her right hand raised and some magical words, the gem on her ring started to glow and random images of the outside world started to show up on the lake's water. First, she observed the villagers, everyone giving his best to survive to the freezing and ruthless season. Second, she took a quick peek on her homeland, Avalon, the great kingdom of the fairies. Although she promised never to go back, she couldn't help but feel homesick. She changed the images of the lake one last time. Now, it was the hunter who she was observing, carefully, keeping a close eye to each and every detail of the hunt. She had to admit he was talent, moving fast but graceful, confident but silent, like a wild predator. His preys didn't have any chance against him. She was fascinated by him, incapable of taking her eyes away from him. Later, like promised, he left the woods with just the necessary for the village, but not without looking back one last time, hoping to see the fairy who stole his heart. She saw him leave and, when she was ready to leave her spot, the waters of the lake turned black and unruly. In the center, premonitions of a grand storm appeared, the hardworking people she cared about suffering because of that disaster. The images went by in the flash and the water turned from black to transparent again. Tired because of the shock and the discharge of magic, she fell on her knees, breathing hard and her heart beating fast.

- I'm their guardian - she whispered - I must help them. Their counting on me!

She stood up and made her way to the clearing. The prophecy still had a few days until it happens, so she still had time. She would find a way to help them, it didn't matter how.