The Brave One

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

William kicked one of the trees, chipping a piece of bark from the tree’s thick trunk. How could I have been so foolish? He continued to rage inwardly about his mistake of letting the girl leave while clearing the fire pit.

He picked up one of the rocks he had used to encircle the flames and tested its weight in his hand. The rock twirled easily in the air. He gripped the rough stone in his equally rough palm and pitched it through the tree tops, sending it deeper into the forest. The flexing of his arm felt effective to let go of some of his anger. One after the other, he threw the fire stones far into the wood.

The only reason he had started back to the village was to find out who this woman was. The only thing he knew of her was she was a skilled huntress and lusted in life. She was as breathtakingly beautiful as the ocean and just as untamable. She was strong. She was stubborn. She was rash and unforgiving yet merciful. She was everything he found maddening, yet he wanted her.

William thought for a moment. He wanted her. It felt right. She tested him and outsmarted him. She defended herself when he unknowingly attacked her and she had remained without complaint though her soles were tarnished black. Her hair, her strength, her courage. Even her somewhat exotic accent had fascinated him. Very much like his own tone but with longer vowels and dancing statements. She was imperfection in the most stunning way. He grabbed his bag and headed in the direction of the population that shunned him to find the woman who had just run away in the literal form.

William rolled his eyes and bowed his head. What was his world coming to?

Evera came to a halt to catch her breath. She had been running long and hard over the hours. Her endurance training in Morag had prepared for events such as these. Silently, she cursed herself for again recalling her home. It wasn’t a true home for it hummed with terrible and lonely memories. She could remember the beginning of her new life when she left her childhood house and entered the wretched place.

Nights became shorter and mornings were agonizingly earlier. Training started immediately. If you were the best of class you were treated with gifts, such as embroidered clothing and silver jewels. At lower rankings, you were regarded as failures. Everyone is well aware failures are disciplined and the punishments grew worse with age.

In the beginning years, the punishment was stolen blankets to make you cool in the night or smaller portions in meals. In the age she was in now, failures and mistakes were reprimanded with hard blows to the face, leaving burning cheeks and bruising to show off your disgrace. Twelve years of living in Morag taught Evera that it was best to be in the middle, even if it meant hiding some of her abilities. The middle of the group was left alone, and that fit well with her.

A twig snapped high in a tree --no doubt belonging to a woodland creature-- returning her thoughts to the present. The wind sighed, causing Evera to feel at ease. She didn’t want to find the jewel. What would happen if she found it? What would happen if she didn’t? Would the High Assembly send for her capture? Or would they ignore one radical Fae? Too many possibilities and each as likely and unlikely as the next. Nothing was certain, which meant everything was possible.

Evera found a steady walking pace and began to sing her soothing song quietly. She remembered not where she had heard the wondrous music but it always comfort her.

Above in the branches, they wait for you

Above where the vines grow wild

Above in the branches, Songs come in two

Above where the brown eyes smiled

Above where brown eyes smiled

She doubted it was a lullaby her pretend mother use to sing. That woman only cared of having flawlessly cleaned rooms and perfectly stitched clothing. Not ever would she even be caught singing, much less a song of her kind.

It had not come from her new life in Morag, though it still surprised her how precise the song was. The color of her eyes was the only reason she was part of the severe Unseelie court. All Fae-kind were separated by eye color. Green eyes were separated to the Unseelie and Brown were sent to Sealy. Blue eyes, which were uncommon, were Solitary Fae, trained in Ceilidh, the High Assembly's haven, until 15 winters old. They were then sent off to live among Humans alone. Any other eye color would be given to the gypsies. Evera desired for more than half of her life to have been born with purple, yellow, or even grey eyes.

Down in the ruins, they wait for you

Down where the roots spread free

Down in the ruins, where lonely love grew

Down where the green eyes see

Down there, the green eyes see

She sang the song quietly to herself as she walked the dense forest. Trees were becoming more spread out and the deer paths were widening. Evera could smell the distant markets before she saw the path just beyond the branches. She had reached the edge of the forest.

If the moon was hidden behind nighttime clouds or if the stars had been dim, William would not have risked walking the hours of darkness for a nameless girl he had only met. But the night was beautifully lit by the moon and the air seemed less frigid. The creamy pale rays fell through the tree tops, casting dribbles of light every so often. William knew the girl had to have stopped by now. He would continue through the night to catch her before she entered the village.

Another hour of walking and William could catch glimpse of the village lights. The girl must have entered. Where could she be now? He scratched the back of his head. What could he do to find her? People did not welcome him easy. If he went about, asking for that woman, she’d be the next target of their cruelty for just being known with him.

He turned around and walked a slight way into the forest to set camp. His nightly fire was started quick enough giving him plenty of time to think on what to do next. Without real thought, he took his mother’s necklace from his pack and held it firmly in his palm.