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haebinHere is the next chapter of my Fic "The Mistress of the Shadowland" and I really hope you'll enjoy it. ♥
Sadly I didn't have the chance to write something today but I hope that things will go better tomorrow. :)
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Before the first rays of dawn touched the land, Anwyn sat on her bed and quietly opened her wardrobe. Although the sea breeze brought a pleasant coolness, the last two days had been so warm that she decided to wear a light green linen skirt and a white blouse with short sleeves.
She planned to collect wood in the forest together with Trálír which she would store in the cellar for the winter.
Blackwater's winters were cruel and you had to be well prepared for them. If you didn't have enough firewood for even one night, you wouldn't live to see the next morning. The smell of death would not only attract wolves or bears, but also many creatures from the depths of the sea that would feast on the bodies of the dead.
But Anwyn didn't want to think about that as she slipped out of the house barefoot and wearing only a simple linen nightgown. She closed the door carefully behind her and walked to the spring.
She looked around in the dawn and realized that there was no one or anything near her.
Anwyn stripped off her nightdress and underwear and stood in the small stream that reached just above her knees.
She took a deep breath as the spring water was fresh but cold. With narrowed eyes, she dropped to her knees and began to wash herself. On the pile of fresh clothes lay one of Anwyn's most prized possessions. A bar of lavender soap which her father had given her for her 15th birthday and which she guarded like a dragon a mighty treasure of gold.
Anwyn dipped her hair in the water and began to wash herself carefully with the soap. Even though the day promised to be warm, the spring water was so cold that Anwyn hurried to get out of the stream, dried herself quickly with a linen towel and get dressed. She combed her hair, which reached her waist, and decided to wear it in a braid, as she had the feeling that her locks looked like a pile of birds' nests once they were dry.
With a smile, she looked up at the sun rising over the woods and bathing the sky in a fiery red.
She could hardly contain her excitement because Trálír had announced his arrival for early midday.
He had found her in the forest on this day exactly four weeks ago and since then his visits had become a regular part of Anwyn's daily routine. Her ankle had long since healed, but the High Elf insisted on continuing to help her. She had no idea what his motives were, but she was glad for his presence. Since her childhood, Anwyn had only known her father and the few villagers she met on the market once a week. The residents of the small village were reserved and no more than a few words were exchanged.
Anwyn's life consisted of living with her father, her daily work and dealing with Oksa, the donkey and the two goats.
And then Trálír, the High Elf, had appeared and after the initial mistrust she harboured towards him, she quickly realized that the prejudices of the humans did not apply to him.
The young elf was neither condescending nor judgmental, he was interested in Anwyn and her life.
At first she thought Trálír was making fun of her when he asked what work she had to do, but to her surprise his interest was genuine.
And to her own disbelief, Anwyn had to admit to herself that she enjoyed his presence. So far he hadn't said much about himself, only that he lived at Blackwater Castle, looked after the horses and went hunting.
His answers to her questions were always short but never unkind.
Only two days ago, he had confessed to her that his existence at the castle felt like being in a dungeon and that he enjoyed every minute in the forest, in the silence, more than the contact with the elves around him.
The look in his blue-green eyes was filled with melancholy and Anwyn would have liked to comfort him, but she didn't know how. She had always been taught since childhood that High Elves did not appreciate the presence of humans.
After this confession, he had said goodbye to Anwyn, climbed into the saddle and asked for her permission to visit her again. Her heart stumbled for a moment, then she gave her consent.
Anwyn grabbed her laundry and walked back to the house. When she opened the door, she looked at her father in surprise, who gazed at her with serious eyes.
"It's not even dawn yet and you're already awake?"
His voice was dark from sleep.
Anwyn went to her clothes box at the end of her bed and put the soap in it. She put her worn clothes on top of the box so she wouldn't forget to wash them afterwards. "I have a lot planned for today, Father," she said, trying not to sound as if she had been caught doing something forbidden. "First I'll prepare your breakfast, then I'll take care of the laundry, the goats need to be fed and put out to pasture and then I want to go into the forest and collect wood for the winter," she explained and reached for two wooden plates and mugs on the shelf above her bed, which she then placed on the table.
"We'll gather wood for the winter together, Anwyn," her father said, looking at her attentively.
"Oh father, I can go into the forest on several days and collect dry wood. It's better for you if you don't have to carry such heavy loads."
With a grumble, the old man nodded and sat down at the table. Anwyn breathed a sigh of relief as she placed the bread she had just bought yesterday, some honey and jam on the table. She sat down and cut herself a slice, which she spread with the sweet honey.
In silence, Anwyn and her father ate breakfast and when they had finished, she got up, grabbed the dishes and took them outside where she placed them in a small tin tub half filled with water. Anwyn got down on her knees and started washing plates, cups and knives while she listened to her father getting ready for his daily work at the sea. As he stepped out of the house, he stopped short and looked at her questioningly.
"Father?" Anwyn's voice was worried as she couldn't interpret his look. "Is something troubling you?"
The old fisherman shook his head and gave his daughter a loving smile. "Be careful in the forest, Anwyn. Promise me that."
"Of course," she replied, watching as her father nodded to her and then walked towards the shore. Anwyn frowned for a moment, wondering why he had chosen those words. She was often alone in the forest, especially all those years when Tralir hadn't played a role in her life.
She often foraged for mushrooms, fruit and wild herbs. She used the first two things as additional food and the wild herbs as spices and teas
Sometimes she brought them to Olghar, the healer of the village, who used the herbs for ointments, infusions and creams.
Many a night Anwyn dreamed of asking the old man to teach her all he knew and she suspected he would be open to it, but her father was old and needed her help. Anwyn could not leave him alone and had therefore decided that her wish to heal and help would remain a wish. Nevertheless, she visited Olghar from time to time and was allowed to borrow books on healing and the power of plants, which she read with serious interest in her limited free time. When the old healer had too much pig fat, he gave her the rest, which she could use to make her own ointments to relieve the pain in her father's arthritic joints.
She was also always given a few copper coins for the herbs, which she hid in an old leather bag under her mattress.
Now Anwyn took the dishes out of the tub, dried them and went back into the house where she put them back on the shelf. Since she reckoned that she would still have time until the High Elf arrived, she began to lay the blankets on the wooden frame to air them out, then she took the old broom and swept out the large room, where there were two large wooden boxes, a small table with two chairs, a stool and in the two back corners of the house were the sleeping quarters of her father and herself. There were some shelves on the walls and lots of dried herbs and food were attached to them.
When one of them left the house and walked along the narrow path between it and the stable, there were two flaps on the side.
To enter the cellar, they had to bend over and open it to the side with all their strength, after which they could climb the stairs and enter the surprisingly large cellar. There, her father and Anwyn kept everything they needed for the fall and winter, such as wood, canned food, thick clothes for the winter and the like.
After Anwyn had swept the room clean, she put the used clothes in a basket and carried them to the spring to wash them. Although it was still quite early in the morning and the heat of the day was not yet apparent, Anwyn could feel the sweat on the back of her neck. After wringing out the laundry and spreading it out on some large stones lying nearby, she scooped up some water with her hands and rubbed it on the back of her neck.
Finally, she went back, fed the animals and let them out into the run. She was standing by the fence and scratching Oska's ears extensively when she heard the snorting of Arod, who was already announcing his arrival and thus ruining Trálír's surprise appearance.
Smiling, Anwyn patted the donkey's back, then turned and raised her hand in greeting.
"Trálír," she called out delightedly.
Her gaze swept over him, who was dismounting from his stallion at that moment, dressed in dark brown leather trousers and a white shirt with a V-collar. Eyelets were worked into the fabric at intervals of just two centimeters and connected by a narrow cord made of suede.
Trálír's hair was tied back at the nape of his neck and cascaded down his back. He smiled as he leashed the stallion's reins at the stable door and strode towards her.
"Anwyn, it's good to see you," he greeted her with a gentle smile.
"I can say the same for myself," she replied, clearing her throat sheepishly. Anwyn felt her cheeks turn red, stepped past him and in front of Arod, who looked at her with upturned ears and dark brown eyes. She carefully raised her hand towards his nostrils and offered him her palm. Arod took a step towards her and laid his head in her palm. He gave a relaxed growl and Anwyn smiled.
"He likes you," she heard Trálír say and looked up at him as he suddenly stood next to her. "Arod is very picky when it comes to who gets his attention and who doesn't."
"He's a beautiful animal," Anwyn whispered and stroked his fur gently.
"Yes, he is," Trálír replied. "But today he will have to earn our attention. I have already harnessed a kumt* to him and I will stretch a large cloth between the chains in the forest so that we can store the branches on it and Arod can pull them to the house."
"Normally that's the work of a cold-blooded stallion, right?," Anwyn replied and Trálír raised an eyebrow in surprise at this knowledge. "Arod doesn't look like he's used to such work."
"Arod has many talents. He's not often used as a back horse but he knows the work."
He grabbed the reins and led his stallion back onto the path.
"Oh, wait a minute," Anwyn called suddenly and ran back into the house. When she stepped out again and pulled the door shut behind her, she was carrying a basket in the crook of her arm.
"To eat on the way," she explained to Trálír and joined him.
As they walked together towards the forest, Anwyn asked with interest about his morning and Trálír told her that after getting up he had taken care of the horses in the stables and then helped the hunting master feed the hounds.
He concealed the fact that this was no work for the heir to the ruler, just like the breakfast they had eaten together with his father and brother in icy silence. He also kept quiet about the history lessons with the First Monk.
"And that was all the work you had to do?" Anwyn asked, carefully climbing over a few thin branches lying on the ground. As they walked closer and closer to the forest, the sandy bay receded and was replaced by the forest floor, which was littered with a mixture of leaves, needles and other plant layers.
"I'll go hunting after I've helped you," Trálír said quickly and Anwyn frowned.
"You don't have a bow or arrow with you. Are you going to throw yourself at a bear and hope its heart fails?"
Trálír laughed out loud and Anwyn grinned.
"Well, we High Elves have certain talents that are not well known. Our charm on bears has a stupefying effect."
"It should be the same with boars, shouldn't it?"
"If I encounter a boar, I would like to have a sword at hand," Trálír replied.
"Since you have neither bow nor arrow and there is no sword in sight, you will probably have to make do with my hand when I reach for you to escape," Anwyn said lightly and smiled.
"I would not oppose that," the tall Elf replied and smiled. Anwyn's cheeks reddened slightly and she glanced quickly past him into the increasingly dense forest. He felt her heartbeat quicken as well as her breathing.
"I think we should stop here," Trálír said and looked at the clearing that suddenly opened up in front of them. "I could attach Arod's reins to the big oak tree and stretch the cloth between the chains so that we can put the wood we've collected on it."
Anwyn nodded.
They walked into the clearing together and Arod followed his master obediently. While Trálír leaned forward to stretch the cloth he had mentioned, Anwyn put down her basket and let her gaze glide over the clearing. She was already beginning to pick up thin deadwood around Arod, as it was only permitted for people to gather branches in this land. The felling of trees was reserved only for the Elves and for the people which lived at the castle or worked for it. While Anwyn gathered the wood, she kept glancing at Trálír, who stretched the cloth with skillful hands, finally straightened up and gave her a look. His smile was warm and he gave her an encouraging nod.
For the next few hours, they were both absorbed in their work and worked their way across the clearing to the edge where the forest became more impenetrable again. The tall trees made it pleasantly cool and the pile of wood on the stretched cloth grew larger and larger.
"Let's take a little break," Trálír called to Anwyn, who was just reaching for another branch lying on the ground a few meters away from him. She nodded in reply, walked over to Arod and lowered the pile of wood in her arms onto the already impressively grown heap. She wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled as Trálír dropped his collected wood to the ground as well.
Anwyn looked around and, to her surprise, pointed to a large beech tree with a few primroses growing next to its trunk. Instantly she remembered her second meeting with the elf and the flowers he had brought her. She went to her basket, picked it up and walked to the spot she had chosen. She took a blanket out of it and laid it on the floor, then knelt down and brought all sorts of things to light.
Tralir watched in surprise as she placed a loaf of bread and ham, cheese, honey, wild strawberries, butter, eggs and milk on the blanket and then looked up at him.
"I know it's not much," she said apologetically. "But I hope it's enough to fill you up."
Trálír settled down next to her and shook his head.
"That would be enough for a family of four."
To his own surprise, he was uncomfortable that Anwyn had gone to such trouble, for he knew that neither cheese nor ham could be bought cheaply.
It would have been easy for him to go to the castle pantry and help himself, but the thought had not occurred to him.
"You shouldn't have gone to such trouble," he said quietly as Anwyn cut the bread. "Dried fish and some water would have sufficed."
"I've seen, processed, dried and eaten so many fish in my life that I was happy to do without."
She reached for the butter and spread it on the slices of bread.
"And I wanted it to be something special," she whispered, avoiding his gaze. Trálír smiled.
"It is," he replied.
Cheese and ham were also cut into pieces and Anwyn looked at him invitingly.
"Help yourself."
Trálír reached for a slice of bread and took a bite.
"I know ham and cheese aren't cheap," he said, chewing and reaching for a piece of cheese. "Did you spend a lot on this meal?"
"It doesn't matter," Anwyn replied, sheepishly brushing a strand of hair from her face that had come loose from her braided pigtail.
He nodded and respected her answer, asking no further questions although he suspected that she had sacrificed part of her savings. Trálír knew that her father's pay barely allowed for coin to be set aside. "How do you know that only a cold-blooded horse can do good work as a back horse? Many an elf has no idea," he said, changing the direction of the conversation.
"When I was young, we had a mare that was trained as a back horse. Saelind was a beautiful white mare. Not big, but with a strong spirit," Anwyn replied and poured the milk into two wooden mugs. "She was already old when I was born, but she lived until I was seven. I learned to ride on her."
"You can ride?" Trálír asked in surprise and Anwyn nodded shyly in reply.
"You surprise me with each passing day that I get to know you, Anwyn."
She looked up and met Tralir's gaze from deep-set blue-green eyes.
"I thank the gods that I crossed your path four weeks ago."
"You should rather thank the root I stumbled over," Anwyn replied with a grin and handed Trálír the cup of milk. He laughed, raised the cup and toasted her. "To the root!"
"To the root," she repeated with a cheeky grin.
Then they both enjoyed their meal together until they were full. With the last bite, Trálír let out a contented sigh and sank onto his back.
"That was the best meal I've had in a long time," he said with his eyes closed. Anwyn, who was sitting next to him, supported herself with her hands and looked at the elf. Her eyes slid over his hairline to his finely arched dark eyebrows. His eyelashes were long, his nose narrow and his lips finely curved.
Anwyn felt the urge to touch the elf's smooth skin with her fingertips and feel the warmth of his body. If she were brave like many a woman, she would lean over and gently touch his lips with hers, but she unconsciously shook her head and called herself to her senses.
Instead, she did as Trálír did and let herself sink onto her back.
They both lay on the blanket with their eyes closed and listened to each other's breathing.
Trálír, who had the ability to sense what his counterpart was thinking and feeling, had decided not to do so and to trust his instincts. A small branch, or perhaps a stone, pricked his shoulder and he shifted slightly to the right to reposition himself when he suddenly felt Anwyn's warm skin on his little finger. He opened his eyes and saw out of the corner of it that his hand and hers were touching. His heartbeat quickened as he made the decision to touch his little finger to hers and gently encircle it.
He held his breath but Anwyn did not withdraw her hand. Instead, he heard her breathing quicken as well.
And this confirmed Tralir's decision to take the next step by clasping her hand and intertwining their fingers.
Tralir waited with a pounding heart for Anwyn's reaction, but again she did not withdraw her hand.
Slowly, the Elf straightened up and looked at Anwyn lying next to him with her eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell slightly and her cheeks were a little a bit flushed. Gently, Trálír leaned over her and supported himself with his left arm so that his weight would not burden her. A few centimeters from her face, he paused and asked her softly: "Anwyn? Will you give me your permission?"
She opened her eyes, her gaze was warm and full of affection. A smile that warmed Trálír's heart was her answer and as he leaned forward. Anwyn closed her eyes.
His lips gently touched her lower lip and their first kiss was full of innocence. The grip of her fingers on Trálír's right hand tightened as his lips pressed gently against hers.
*****
* = A horse collar is a part of a horse harness that is used to distribute the load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plough. The collar often supports and pads a pair of curved metal or wooden pieces, called hames, to which the traces of the harness are attached. The collar allows the horse to use its full strength when pulling, essentially enabling the animal to push forward with its hindquarters into the collar. If wearing a yoke or a breastcollar, the horse had to pull with its less-powerful shoulders. The collar had another advantage over the yoke as it reduced pressure on the horse's windpipe.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Sadly I didn't have the chance to write something today but I hope that things will go better tomorrow. :)
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Before the first rays of dawn touched the land, Anwyn sat on her bed and quietly opened her wardrobe. Although the sea breeze brought a pleasant coolness, the last two days had been so warm that she decided to wear a light green linen skirt and a white blouse with short sleeves.
She planned to collect wood in the forest together with Trálír which she would store in the cellar for the winter.
Blackwater's winters were cruel and you had to be well prepared for them. If you didn't have enough firewood for even one night, you wouldn't live to see the next morning. The smell of death would not only attract wolves or bears, but also many creatures from the depths of the sea that would feast on the bodies of the dead.
But Anwyn didn't want to think about that as she slipped out of the house barefoot and wearing only a simple linen nightgown. She closed the door carefully behind her and walked to the spring.
She looked around in the dawn and realized that there was no one or anything near her.
Anwyn stripped off her nightdress and underwear and stood in the small stream that reached just above her knees.
She took a deep breath as the spring water was fresh but cold. With narrowed eyes, she dropped to her knees and began to wash herself. On the pile of fresh clothes lay one of Anwyn's most prized possessions. A bar of lavender soap which her father had given her for her 15th birthday and which she guarded like a dragon a mighty treasure of gold.
Anwyn dipped her hair in the water and began to wash herself carefully with the soap. Even though the day promised to be warm, the spring water was so cold that Anwyn hurried to get out of the stream, dried herself quickly with a linen towel and get dressed. She combed her hair, which reached her waist, and decided to wear it in a braid, as she had the feeling that her locks looked like a pile of birds' nests once they were dry.
With a smile, she looked up at the sun rising over the woods and bathing the sky in a fiery red.
She could hardly contain her excitement because Trálír had announced his arrival for early midday.
He had found her in the forest on this day exactly four weeks ago and since then his visits had become a regular part of Anwyn's daily routine. Her ankle had long since healed, but the High Elf insisted on continuing to help her. She had no idea what his motives were, but she was glad for his presence. Since her childhood, Anwyn had only known her father and the few villagers she met on the market once a week. The residents of the small village were reserved and no more than a few words were exchanged.
Anwyn's life consisted of living with her father, her daily work and dealing with Oksa, the donkey and the two goats.
And then Trálír, the High Elf, had appeared and after the initial mistrust she harboured towards him, she quickly realized that the prejudices of the humans did not apply to him.
The young elf was neither condescending nor judgmental, he was interested in Anwyn and her life.
At first she thought Trálír was making fun of her when he asked what work she had to do, but to her surprise his interest was genuine.
And to her own disbelief, Anwyn had to admit to herself that she enjoyed his presence. So far he hadn't said much about himself, only that he lived at Blackwater Castle, looked after the horses and went hunting.
His answers to her questions were always short but never unkind.
Only two days ago, he had confessed to her that his existence at the castle felt like being in a dungeon and that he enjoyed every minute in the forest, in the silence, more than the contact with the elves around him.
The look in his blue-green eyes was filled with melancholy and Anwyn would have liked to comfort him, but she didn't know how. She had always been taught since childhood that High Elves did not appreciate the presence of humans.
After this confession, he had said goodbye to Anwyn, climbed into the saddle and asked for her permission to visit her again. Her heart stumbled for a moment, then she gave her consent.
Anwyn grabbed her laundry and walked back to the house. When she opened the door, she looked at her father in surprise, who gazed at her with serious eyes.
"It's not even dawn yet and you're already awake?"
His voice was dark from sleep.
Anwyn went to her clothes box at the end of her bed and put the soap in it. She put her worn clothes on top of the box so she wouldn't forget to wash them afterwards. "I have a lot planned for today, Father," she said, trying not to sound as if she had been caught doing something forbidden. "First I'll prepare your breakfast, then I'll take care of the laundry, the goats need to be fed and put out to pasture and then I want to go into the forest and collect wood for the winter," she explained and reached for two wooden plates and mugs on the shelf above her bed, which she then placed on the table.
"We'll gather wood for the winter together, Anwyn," her father said, looking at her attentively.
"Oh father, I can go into the forest on several days and collect dry wood. It's better for you if you don't have to carry such heavy loads."
With a grumble, the old man nodded and sat down at the table. Anwyn breathed a sigh of relief as she placed the bread she had just bought yesterday, some honey and jam on the table. She sat down and cut herself a slice, which she spread with the sweet honey.
In silence, Anwyn and her father ate breakfast and when they had finished, she got up, grabbed the dishes and took them outside where she placed them in a small tin tub half filled with water. Anwyn got down on her knees and started washing plates, cups and knives while she listened to her father getting ready for his daily work at the sea. As he stepped out of the house, he stopped short and looked at her questioningly.
"Father?" Anwyn's voice was worried as she couldn't interpret his look. "Is something troubling you?"
The old fisherman shook his head and gave his daughter a loving smile. "Be careful in the forest, Anwyn. Promise me that."
"Of course," she replied, watching as her father nodded to her and then walked towards the shore. Anwyn frowned for a moment, wondering why he had chosen those words. She was often alone in the forest, especially all those years when Tralir hadn't played a role in her life.
She often foraged for mushrooms, fruit and wild herbs. She used the first two things as additional food and the wild herbs as spices and teas
Sometimes she brought them to Olghar, the healer of the village, who used the herbs for ointments, infusions and creams.
Many a night Anwyn dreamed of asking the old man to teach her all he knew and she suspected he would be open to it, but her father was old and needed her help. Anwyn could not leave him alone and had therefore decided that her wish to heal and help would remain a wish. Nevertheless, she visited Olghar from time to time and was allowed to borrow books on healing and the power of plants, which she read with serious interest in her limited free time. When the old healer had too much pig fat, he gave her the rest, which she could use to make her own ointments to relieve the pain in her father's arthritic joints.
She was also always given a few copper coins for the herbs, which she hid in an old leather bag under her mattress.
Now Anwyn took the dishes out of the tub, dried them and went back into the house where she put them back on the shelf. Since she reckoned that she would still have time until the High Elf arrived, she began to lay the blankets on the wooden frame to air them out, then she took the old broom and swept out the large room, where there were two large wooden boxes, a small table with two chairs, a stool and in the two back corners of the house were the sleeping quarters of her father and herself. There were some shelves on the walls and lots of dried herbs and food were attached to them.
When one of them left the house and walked along the narrow path between it and the stable, there were two flaps on the side.
To enter the cellar, they had to bend over and open it to the side with all their strength, after which they could climb the stairs and enter the surprisingly large cellar. There, her father and Anwyn kept everything they needed for the fall and winter, such as wood, canned food, thick clothes for the winter and the like.
After Anwyn had swept the room clean, she put the used clothes in a basket and carried them to the spring to wash them. Although it was still quite early in the morning and the heat of the day was not yet apparent, Anwyn could feel the sweat on the back of her neck. After wringing out the laundry and spreading it out on some large stones lying nearby, she scooped up some water with her hands and rubbed it on the back of her neck.
Finally, she went back, fed the animals and let them out into the run. She was standing by the fence and scratching Oska's ears extensively when she heard the snorting of Arod, who was already announcing his arrival and thus ruining Trálír's surprise appearance.
Smiling, Anwyn patted the donkey's back, then turned and raised her hand in greeting.
"Trálír," she called out delightedly.
Her gaze swept over him, who was dismounting from his stallion at that moment, dressed in dark brown leather trousers and a white shirt with a V-collar. Eyelets were worked into the fabric at intervals of just two centimeters and connected by a narrow cord made of suede.
Trálír's hair was tied back at the nape of his neck and cascaded down his back. He smiled as he leashed the stallion's reins at the stable door and strode towards her.
"Anwyn, it's good to see you," he greeted her with a gentle smile.
"I can say the same for myself," she replied, clearing her throat sheepishly. Anwyn felt her cheeks turn red, stepped past him and in front of Arod, who looked at her with upturned ears and dark brown eyes. She carefully raised her hand towards his nostrils and offered him her palm. Arod took a step towards her and laid his head in her palm. He gave a relaxed growl and Anwyn smiled.
"He likes you," she heard Trálír say and looked up at him as he suddenly stood next to her. "Arod is very picky when it comes to who gets his attention and who doesn't."
"He's a beautiful animal," Anwyn whispered and stroked his fur gently.
"Yes, he is," Trálír replied. "But today he will have to earn our attention. I have already harnessed a kumt* to him and I will stretch a large cloth between the chains in the forest so that we can store the branches on it and Arod can pull them to the house."
"Normally that's the work of a cold-blooded stallion, right?," Anwyn replied and Trálír raised an eyebrow in surprise at this knowledge. "Arod doesn't look like he's used to such work."
"Arod has many talents. He's not often used as a back horse but he knows the work."
He grabbed the reins and led his stallion back onto the path.
"Oh, wait a minute," Anwyn called suddenly and ran back into the house. When she stepped out again and pulled the door shut behind her, she was carrying a basket in the crook of her arm.
"To eat on the way," she explained to Trálír and joined him.
As they walked together towards the forest, Anwyn asked with interest about his morning and Trálír told her that after getting up he had taken care of the horses in the stables and then helped the hunting master feed the hounds.
He concealed the fact that this was no work for the heir to the ruler, just like the breakfast they had eaten together with his father and brother in icy silence. He also kept quiet about the history lessons with the First Monk.
"And that was all the work you had to do?" Anwyn asked, carefully climbing over a few thin branches lying on the ground. As they walked closer and closer to the forest, the sandy bay receded and was replaced by the forest floor, which was littered with a mixture of leaves, needles and other plant layers.
"I'll go hunting after I've helped you," Trálír said quickly and Anwyn frowned.
"You don't have a bow or arrow with you. Are you going to throw yourself at a bear and hope its heart fails?"
Trálír laughed out loud and Anwyn grinned.
"Well, we High Elves have certain talents that are not well known. Our charm on bears has a stupefying effect."
"It should be the same with boars, shouldn't it?"
"If I encounter a boar, I would like to have a sword at hand," Trálír replied.
"Since you have neither bow nor arrow and there is no sword in sight, you will probably have to make do with my hand when I reach for you to escape," Anwyn said lightly and smiled.
"I would not oppose that," the tall Elf replied and smiled. Anwyn's cheeks reddened slightly and she glanced quickly past him into the increasingly dense forest. He felt her heartbeat quicken as well as her breathing.
"I think we should stop here," Trálír said and looked at the clearing that suddenly opened up in front of them. "I could attach Arod's reins to the big oak tree and stretch the cloth between the chains so that we can put the wood we've collected on it."
Anwyn nodded.
They walked into the clearing together and Arod followed his master obediently. While Trálír leaned forward to stretch the cloth he had mentioned, Anwyn put down her basket and let her gaze glide over the clearing. She was already beginning to pick up thin deadwood around Arod, as it was only permitted for people to gather branches in this land. The felling of trees was reserved only for the Elves and for the people which lived at the castle or worked for it. While Anwyn gathered the wood, she kept glancing at Trálír, who stretched the cloth with skillful hands, finally straightened up and gave her a look. His smile was warm and he gave her an encouraging nod.
For the next few hours, they were both absorbed in their work and worked their way across the clearing to the edge where the forest became more impenetrable again. The tall trees made it pleasantly cool and the pile of wood on the stretched cloth grew larger and larger.
"Let's take a little break," Trálír called to Anwyn, who was just reaching for another branch lying on the ground a few meters away from him. She nodded in reply, walked over to Arod and lowered the pile of wood in her arms onto the already impressively grown heap. She wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled as Trálír dropped his collected wood to the ground as well.
Anwyn looked around and, to her surprise, pointed to a large beech tree with a few primroses growing next to its trunk. Instantly she remembered her second meeting with the elf and the flowers he had brought her. She went to her basket, picked it up and walked to the spot she had chosen. She took a blanket out of it and laid it on the floor, then knelt down and brought all sorts of things to light.
Tralir watched in surprise as she placed a loaf of bread and ham, cheese, honey, wild strawberries, butter, eggs and milk on the blanket and then looked up at him.
"I know it's not much," she said apologetically. "But I hope it's enough to fill you up."
Trálír settled down next to her and shook his head.
"That would be enough for a family of four."
To his own surprise, he was uncomfortable that Anwyn had gone to such trouble, for he knew that neither cheese nor ham could be bought cheaply.
It would have been easy for him to go to the castle pantry and help himself, but the thought had not occurred to him.
"You shouldn't have gone to such trouble," he said quietly as Anwyn cut the bread. "Dried fish and some water would have sufficed."
"I've seen, processed, dried and eaten so many fish in my life that I was happy to do without."
She reached for the butter and spread it on the slices of bread.
"And I wanted it to be something special," she whispered, avoiding his gaze. Trálír smiled.
"It is," he replied.
Cheese and ham were also cut into pieces and Anwyn looked at him invitingly.
"Help yourself."
Trálír reached for a slice of bread and took a bite.
"I know ham and cheese aren't cheap," he said, chewing and reaching for a piece of cheese. "Did you spend a lot on this meal?"
"It doesn't matter," Anwyn replied, sheepishly brushing a strand of hair from her face that had come loose from her braided pigtail.
He nodded and respected her answer, asking no further questions although he suspected that she had sacrificed part of her savings. Trálír knew that her father's pay barely allowed for coin to be set aside. "How do you know that only a cold-blooded horse can do good work as a back horse? Many an elf has no idea," he said, changing the direction of the conversation.
"When I was young, we had a mare that was trained as a back horse. Saelind was a beautiful white mare. Not big, but with a strong spirit," Anwyn replied and poured the milk into two wooden mugs. "She was already old when I was born, but she lived until I was seven. I learned to ride on her."
"You can ride?" Trálír asked in surprise and Anwyn nodded shyly in reply.
"You surprise me with each passing day that I get to know you, Anwyn."
She looked up and met Tralir's gaze from deep-set blue-green eyes.
"I thank the gods that I crossed your path four weeks ago."
"You should rather thank the root I stumbled over," Anwyn replied with a grin and handed Trálír the cup of milk. He laughed, raised the cup and toasted her. "To the root!"
"To the root," she repeated with a cheeky grin.
Then they both enjoyed their meal together until they were full. With the last bite, Trálír let out a contented sigh and sank onto his back.
"That was the best meal I've had in a long time," he said with his eyes closed. Anwyn, who was sitting next to him, supported herself with her hands and looked at the elf. Her eyes slid over his hairline to his finely arched dark eyebrows. His eyelashes were long, his nose narrow and his lips finely curved.
Anwyn felt the urge to touch the elf's smooth skin with her fingertips and feel the warmth of his body. If she were brave like many a woman, she would lean over and gently touch his lips with hers, but she unconsciously shook her head and called herself to her senses.
Instead, she did as Trálír did and let herself sink onto her back.
They both lay on the blanket with their eyes closed and listened to each other's breathing.
Trálír, who had the ability to sense what his counterpart was thinking and feeling, had decided not to do so and to trust his instincts. A small branch, or perhaps a stone, pricked his shoulder and he shifted slightly to the right to reposition himself when he suddenly felt Anwyn's warm skin on his little finger. He opened his eyes and saw out of the corner of it that his hand and hers were touching. His heartbeat quickened as he made the decision to touch his little finger to hers and gently encircle it.
He held his breath but Anwyn did not withdraw her hand. Instead, he heard her breathing quicken as well.
And this confirmed Tralir's decision to take the next step by clasping her hand and intertwining their fingers.
Tralir waited with a pounding heart for Anwyn's reaction, but again she did not withdraw her hand.
Slowly, the Elf straightened up and looked at Anwyn lying next to him with her eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell slightly and her cheeks were a little a bit flushed. Gently, Trálír leaned over her and supported himself with his left arm so that his weight would not burden her. A few centimeters from her face, he paused and asked her softly: "Anwyn? Will you give me your permission?"
She opened her eyes, her gaze was warm and full of affection. A smile that warmed Trálír's heart was her answer and as he leaned forward. Anwyn closed her eyes.
His lips gently touched her lower lip and their first kiss was full of innocence. The grip of her fingers on Trálír's right hand tightened as his lips pressed gently against hers.
* = A horse collar is a part of a horse harness that is used to distribute the load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plough. The collar often supports and pads a pair of curved metal or wooden pieces, called hames, to which the traces of the harness are attached. The collar allows the horse to use its full strength when pulling, essentially enabling the animal to push forward with its hindquarters into the collar. If wearing a yoke or a breastcollar, the horse had to pull with its less-powerful shoulders. The collar had another advantage over the yoke as it reduced pressure on the horse's windpipe.
(Source: Wikipedia)
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Date: 2024-01-29 03:42 pm (UTC)