✓ | Girls of a Feather | #OpenNovellaContest2019

| eleven |

Aleta

"Wees stil!" Elke hissed, clamping a hand over Aleta's gaping mouth. "You don't want to attract Antsje Pluk's attention, begrepen?"

Aleta gulped, but she nodded and kept quiet as the other girl removed her hand. She couldn't stop herself from running her eyes up and down Elke's body. Even though it had been years, the dancer didn't seem a day older than she had been when she had disappeared from the village, but that was impossible.

You've seen a lot of impossible things lately, Aleta reminded herself, almost grinning as the realization struck her. Despite her logic-craving mind, she couldn't deny it. She had witnessed magic, something she never would have believed existed

"Sorry," she whispered, averting her eyes as she realized she was still staring at Elke.

"It's alright." Elke shrugged, the fabric of Aleta's shirt shifting across her skin. On her, the simple cloth seemed like silk. "I forgot how unsettling the transformation can be. I should have told you what to expect."

There's a lot you should have told me, Aleta thought, though she didn't say it aloud.

"Anyway, we should start moving," Aleta suggested, changing the subject. She nodded toward the sun crowning the sky, wincing as she realized just how high it perched. They had lost nearly half the day already. But Elke already seemed so uncomfortable, and Aleta didn't want to add to her misery.

She and Elke returned to the glen, where they ate a meager breakfast of foraged berries and bread before packing up and setting off.

Aleta almost sent her bag flying as she tried to hoist it over her shoulder. It felt suspiciously lighter than before. There was no way the clothes Elke had borrowed had lessened the weight by so much. Aleta glanced at the older girl out of the corner of her eyes, but if Elke was hiding something, she couldn't tell.

The two girls walked in an awkward silence until mid afternoon. They rested beneath a tall, stately tree while they ate. Despite the hunger pawing at her insides, Aleta only managed to nibble at her cheese and honey-laden bread. She couldn't stand it when people were upset with her, and she hated the tension between her and Elke. After all of this time, they should have been friends, but Elke didn't give Aleta the warm, comforting feeling that Annemie did.

"Elke," Aleta began, setting her food down, "I-"

"Wees stil!" Elke whispered harshly, but she didn't need to clamp a hand over Aleta's mouth this time. Aleta froze, willing her body to stay as still and quiet as a mouse. She strained her ears, but she couldn't hear the cause of Elke's alarm. Then, there came the quiet sound of hoofbeats.

"What is that?" Aleta whispered as loudly as she dared, but Elke was too focused to answer. The older girl's eyes were closed and her palms were pressed to the dirt, as if she was listening to the forest.

Elke's eyes snapped open. "Run!" She leapt to her feet in one fluid motion, but Aleta's brain had yet to comprehend the dancer's command. "I said run!" Elke shouted, yanking the younger girl to her feet.

Instinctively, Aleta threw her bag over her shoulder and shoved the remnants of their meal into her arms. She stumbled after Elke, their hands still interlocked as they ran. With the older girl leading her, Aleta hazarded a glance over her shoulder. What she saw nearly made her stop with bewilderment.

A large boar with thick golden bristles and long ivory tusks padded into the glen, its snout pressed to the dirt. It raised its thick head to stare at her, and Aleta yelped as she tripped and tumbled to the ground, bringing Elke crashing down with her. They lay in a winded tangle of limbs. 

Elke was the first to act. She pushed herself to her feet and pulled Aleta up with her.

The boar continued to stare at them. Aleta was too afraid to move.

Elke pressed her hand over Aleta's and leaned in close. "When I say drie, we run. Got it?" Aleta nodded. "Slowly," Elke cautioned, her warm breath tickling Aleta's ear. At that moment, the boar decided to charge. "Drie!" Elke shouted, completely skipping one and two.

They ran and ran, tripping over branches and rocks, but they kept their balance. Fear had made Aleta as nimble as Elke, and she didn't dare stumble. She wasn't entirely sure Elke would come back for her if she did.

Finally, when even Elke's breaths escaped in winded huffs, they stopped. They had no choice. Before them, the ground fell away and met a gurgling river. The slope was too steep to skid down. There was nowhere else to go.

"The bread," Elke whispered as the boar barreled closer, "get out your ontbijtkoek."

"My honey bread?" Aleta repeated, her brows furrowed with confusion.

"That's what the boar is after," Elke hissed. "Use it to lure the beast away!" Aleta had no time to further question the strange instructions further. She held the bread in front of her with two fingers, darting a scared look at Elke, but the older girl's lips had sealed with fear.

The boar was close, too close. Aleta had no time to think. Making sure to keep the bread far in front of her, she darted to the side, away from Elke and the cliff, and waited in front of a thick tree. When the boar was near enough for her to hear its steps like her own heartbeat, she shut her eyes and jumped to the side.

For a panicked moment, she lost her footing and slipped, teetering near the cliff's edge. Just in time, a warm pair of hands grabbed her arms and pulled her away and into a hug.

"We're ok," Elke breathed, her silky hair brushing against Aleta's cheek. "You did it!"

"What?" Aleta asked, letting her bag drop to the ground with a thud.

Elke laughed and nodded toward the tree Aleta had leaped away from. The boar pawed at the ground, its hooves raking angry gashes in the dirt, but it was trapped. Its shining white tusks were firmly embedded in the tree trunk's bark, and despite its struggling, it could not get loose.

"I did it," Aleta said, the ghost of a smile creeping across her face.

Elke picked up the slice of ontbijtkoek that had fallen by the boar and brought it close to the creature's face. The boar snarled, and the dancer shoved the bread into its mouth. The animal tried to resist, but Elke crammed it in until the boar had no choice but to swallow. Within a few seconds of consuming the ontbijtkoek, the wild animal slumped against the tree, asleep.

"We did it," Aleta repeated, staring at the slumbering creature.

They had defeated the golden boar. For the first time, Aleta felt confidence kindle in her heart. She could be brave. She could be strong. She could save her sister.

[ a / n ]

aaa i know it's been awhile since i've updated and i'm sorry! i've been really busy this week because i'm trying out for the tennis team, and last week i was rushing to finish my entry for the doodle for google contest, so i didn't have a lot of time left for writing.

the conflict of the boar was something I stole from a Dutch fairytale (i believe it's called 'the boar with the golden bristles'?). obviously, i've adapted all the fairytales this novella is based off of, but please let me know if anything is inaccurate/offensive!

as always, thank you all so much for reading! <3