𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑓 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 | 𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐒𝐎𝐍

2 ⋆✶⋆ The Offer

Black clouds drenched the earth as I closed up the hole in the ground. Once hadn't been enough, no, now there were two graves outside of my home.  I was holding my now youngest brother's hand and we said some prayers and a few kinds words. Even though his voice cracked a couple of times while singing a lament in a foreign language we did not know the meaning of, it was still what I'd needed. To say one last, proper goodbye, in our family's way. He'd always be the face of my guilt, but at least I could let him rest.

"I'm sorry." A sudden low, manly voice whispered.

We turned around to see who it was, but saw nothing. Steven and I shrugged it off as our minds being swallowed up by grief.

My other brother, Fred, hadn't come. His head was big and he thought himself to be too old to grieve the death of a sibling. It was quite humorous in my eyes, because he was only fifteen. But I  had respected his wishes. If I knew him at all, he'd wait until everyone was gone or asleep and would pay his respects in his own way. He never wanted to show that he cared, he wanted to be like a knight with tough armor on. I don't think he knew that they mourned their fallen soldiers as well, but they never showed it. Return from war had to be victorious, a celebration. Black clothes would ruin the atmosphere.

And like them I picked up my weapons, which weren't made of steel and marched on, even if every step weighed heavier. I walked to the small paddock behind our house, where a black mare stood, huddled against the wall to have shelter under the protrusive straw eave.

"Yvaine!" Two pointed ears turned towards my direction and a small bristle escaped her nostrils. Slowly and a bit hesitant the massive horse stalked over to the gate and pushed her soft nose against my outstretched hand. Her head was twice as big as my hands and looked small in comparison.

"We've got a long day ahead of us girl," I stroked her over her neck lovingly and swung the saddle on, then fastened the girth. In the bags attached to it I quickly hid a loaf of bread. With her big eyes she stared at me hopefully, that I'd brought her a carrot, but the I had to disappoint her with empty hands. "maybe tonight," I said.

I put one foot in the leather stirrups, grabbed the rope hanging loosely around her neck and pushed my calves against her belly, short but tight. She sprinted off in a trot immediately, but eventually fell back into step. I allowed it, because with the muddy forest paths as underground it would be likely we'd slip if we went any faster. Once I'd gotten the stone I had my eye on, we would travel over the stone road that led directly to Whitby.

There wasn't a soul that roamed the forest this afternoon and even if they did, I had pulled the cowl of my cloak so deep, they would not see my face. Groaning internally I thought of the clothes hidden in the hollow tree trunk and how drenched they must be by now. Great.

I jumped off into the soft moss of my outpost and led Yvaine a bit further into a thicker grown part of the woods. Somewhere the trees would form a canopy for her to shelter under.

Cold heat spread through my veins when I thought of the night I had ahead of me. I returned to my hideout and fished out the tunic, pants, shawl and boots. Relief went over me when I felt they had only gotten wet a bit. I hurriedly changed into it and then sneaked over to the house. My heart was beating so loud I thought the whole street could hear it and would raise alarm. It didn't happen, so I assumed it was just my nerves. The wooden steps croaked on some spots, so I was sure to keep close to the wall when going up. Out of the pockets of my trousers I got a screwdriver, screwed off the lock and pushed the door open.

The room was faintly lit by the shine of the moon, just enough for me to tell where a piece of furniture stood, so I wouldn't bump into it. I stalked towards the flower pot, my pulse spiking when I turned it around. I let out a sigh, there laid the iron key, just as I had seen it last night.