Black Roses

Chapter 7

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Zaria was still listening. She knew for certain that he was talking about her. Whether he knew or not, Zaria wasn't planning to ask, she had finally found someone that at least accepted her presence, a friend, sort of. She had heard these stories many times, it no more affected her. But to be honest, she still was a little hurt and annoyed, but her stone face gave no signs of such emotions.

She pretended she was interested in the story, but she was just actually thinking about Ace. He had asked her about her necklace, and it was no doubt that she wanted answers from him about his silver bangle. But there needed to be more trust between them. As she broke her train of thought, she saw Ace mumbling to himself with his eyes gazing up towards the night sky. Zaria couldn't make out words, but he had long forgotten that Zaria was still here. It almost looked liked he was counting the stars, one by one, assuring the moon that she was not alone. Zaria hated to disturb him but she had to leave if she wanted to work tomorrow.

"Ace, you there? I'm sorry but I have to go now, I'll have to work in the morning. Why don't you come by tomorrow?" Her voice was purposely eager and rushed. Although it was true that she did need some sleep.

"Huh? What? Sorry yeah, goodnight. See you tomorrow." Ace woke from his trance with a shock. How long had be been like that for? He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He nodded a goodbye to Zaria. 

"I shall be counting the moments, I bet you will be too!" His grin stayed on his face as he took a bow and let the shadows engulf him.

Zaria took a swift glance back at Ace. He wiped away his drowsiness and snuck into the night in the opposite direction. Zaria took a deep breath and made her way to the inn. She smiled to herself when she got to her room, finally a friend. Despite wanting to think more about her day and the roses, she decided to sleep. She was going to need her energy and fire if she was going to convince that wretched woman into letting her stay and work for longer.

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Ace walked into the night. He hadn't gotten any information from Zaria. What did she know about the necklace and how much? Either way, he would have to meet her again. His mind drifted to the story he was telling earlier. Did people here actually believe there was some sort of witch in the woods? What lies! However, Ace couldn't ignore the fact that it was an amazing tale to tell.

As he walked through the night, the scenery began to shift. No longer were there peaceful town buildings with welcoming streets and softly dimmed lights that signified sleep. His eyes darted to his surroundings. Shadows danced as they sensed his tension. Ace could swear the trees were closing in, creating a dome, gradually blocking the clear sky. He could hear wisps of laughter in the wind as it made the leaves sway to and fro.

Such things fed on fear, Ace reminded himself. Show nothing. Ace had lived his whole life by just those two simple words. He could feel the woods trapping him, he could not go through that again. Breathe, show nothing. He gave out a long high pitched whistle. Ace swamped in relief when he heard the sound of running paws. The forest no longer felt like a shrinking cage, a smile appeared over his face.

"So that's where you ran off to. Here I got you some meat, its venison, your favourite," Ace threw a bag of meat towards the creature. "What? We strangers now? Go on eat up. I am gonna go back to the inn soon." The creature hesitantly took the meat in its jaws, purposely bearing his teeth.

He watched as chunks of meat disappeared down the wolf's throat. Splinter was the one thing that Ace trusted his life with. Splinter wasn't the animal that you kept on a leash or one that lived in your house. He had the liberty of roaming wherever he wished, but he normally stayed close to Ace. They may not seem like the best of friends, but you learn to love Splinter's grumpy attitude. Both of them had a long history together, most of Ace's childhood memories were filled with that furry face and of course, Ace's big brother, but that was a story for another time. 

The grass was fresh from the rain that came the night before, the sun looked happy to be back. How could it fulfill its duties when there were stubborn clouds in the way? Ace was practising his aim with a slingshot that he proudly made. He focused, eyes only on the coloured target he carved on the truck of a tree. But just as he was about to pull back the rubber string backed, he heard a strained howl coming from deep, in between the trees. Ace being young and naive and generally just being Ace, wondered off into the woods. 

He crawled over logs and rocks, still with his slingshot clutched in his hands, until his eyes landed on a lost, shivering, little wolf pup. It didn't take a genius to see that it was cold, hungry and in an enormous amount of pain. Ace stepped closer to find a splinter stuck in the wolf's paws which was being weighed down by a fallen log. The pup somehow got into more trouble than Ace would ever be in.

Ace still remembers the scared but grateful eyes that Splinter had on that day. He still remembers how dirty and tired his arms were from pushing himself under the log to keep it up long enough for Splinter to move away. How damp and cold Splinter's fur was when he was pulled out the damned bark stuck in Splinter's paws. The lost expression of 'where to go now' on Splinter's face as he cowered behind a tree and waited for Ace to leave. 

Ace couldn't contain the excitement he felt when he spotted little grey ears and a black snout poking around the tree he used as a target later in the day. It only took a second for those still ears to become joyful paws that her bouncing and near and eager to wet Ace's face with wolf slobber and have his clothes covered in fur. 

"You finish up, I'm gonna head back to the inn, see you soon," with a wave of his hand he slipped away into the night heading back to the inn with his head clouded with thoughts and questions to ask Zaria, next time he saw her. Splinter stared at Ace, as he walked back to the inn. As the last bit of meat vanished, Splinter sulked back into the shadows of woods.

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