Angel & Hero

9. Danger in the forest

Emée's Point of View

We both went to bed right after diner, tired from our trips through the forest. Going to sleep was hard, I wasn't used to the noise of the forest anymore and the thought of insects crawling on me spooked me. I was also still a bit afraid of what Léni could do, and what if Alexandre came in our sleep?

I woke up after a short night to the sound of Léni opening the door with his arms full of wood. I internally awed, this man was something! I didn't quite understand him but it seemed his heart didn't hold an ounce of evil.

He smiled at me, his blue eyes twinkling with some kind of happiness I couldn't explain. I stretched in a very classy way, I probably looked ridiculous next to the royal manners of the heroes he was used to see. In my contemplation, I had forgotten to greet him.

"Hello Emée, how did you sleep?" He asked.

"Hello, I slept well, thank you. What about you?"

"Very well. I went to take some wood for the day, do you want to eat something? There are still some berries left." Ever since he came, I felt like he was the one who took care of me.

"Yes, I'll take them thank you." I washed my face and ate a bit. I wasn't used to living with someone and my shyness didn't really help me to make small talk.

He cleared his throat. "What do you want to eat for lunch?"

"I'll see what we have, which reminds me I have to start working on the garden." I spoke my thoughts aloud. "But don't worry, I'll make lunch, just tell me what's good with you."

"No please, I want to help. I feel bad enough for occupying your house uninvited."

"It's not much of a house... It was the first thing given to me when I arrived in the Alderia. I made some reparations but it's still an old cabin."

I could see the surprise on his face. Normally, creatures live in their respective communities in harmony because you never know when someone's going to leave to join the stars. So nobody is abandoned until the end of their life. Except when you're not very well seen by the community because of their gift.

"My power might be wanted by Alexandre but you know it's not very useful for Angels."

This face looked even more shocked than before, did he not know about my gift?

"What do you mean wanted by Alexandre?"

"I... Let's not talk about it." He looked at me and smiled reassuringly but I could see that he wanted answers.

"Fine, I'm going to take water. You can start whatever you had planned." He said.

"Are you sure? I can do it."

"No I don't mind it, it changes from life at the castle."

He left the cabin, I dressed in a simple white dress that already had spots on it because I planned on working outside. The dress went until my calves, I didn't really want my underwear to show when I bent down, the short sleeves and the thin cotton fabric prevented me from getting too hot while working. I tied the straps around my waist and went to look for the tools in the outside cupboard. I hoped I still had some dry seeds to plant.

Fortunately, the earth wasn't dry so it was easy to turn over. I rebuilt the outlines of the vegetable garden with the ancient boards of wood and took off the small rocks that could bother the roots of the plants.

After some time I had managed to plants carrots, radish, tomatoes and even salad. Léni still wasn't back and I was getting worried. I was hungry so it must have been some time since he left.