Wildhafer Pt. 01: Young Love Ch. 03

A young gangly man in a dark gray tunic with greasy black shoulder-length hair and a large nose led a white horse down a dirt path. He looked down the trail with small azure eyes, past the wheat field to the large manor house. He finally reached the outside of the home in front of two large doors. On the left side there was a smaller door inset into the larger one which he knocked several times with a spiral bronze door knocker. The door opened and a short plain looking man in a long tunic with dark brown hair peered from the interior.

"Hello, who are you and what business do you have at Meikell Manor?" he asked, looking the young man up and down.

"I am Deikuneist, son of Etae the Tailor," he said with confidence. "I come from Kirsgar with a mended dress for the daughter of the Viscount."

"Wait here. I will announce you."

The thin young man nodded, while the other closed the door with a click. After a minute the door opened again.

"Come inside."

Deikuneist did as instructed, entering into a large room with high ceilings about twenty feet up, braced with pillars and beams. There was a fire at the far end of the hall. In the center was a long table with many people eating meat and vegetables on flat stale bread. The young man was led to an older woman at the end of the table with small blue eyes. She wore a white wimple affixed around her head with a gold colored headband. A maroon dress covered her from neck to floor, with azure sleeves tied at the elbows and wrists.

"Viscountess Farnei, this is Deikuneist from Kirsgar, the son of Etae the tailor."

"Ah yes, thank you Powel," she said.

"Viscountess," the gangly youth said, bowing deeply as he came close. She nodded.

"Open the case up for me to see, my boy," she asked.

Powel grabbed a chair and the young man set the case on the seat and opened it, revealing a white dress.

"Take it out," she said.

He held it up, the fabric flowing down from the garment. It was very detailed work with the bodice section having a beautiful white on white flower and ivy patterned stitching. There were thin rows of eyelets across the skirt section. Lady Farnei looked at it and then stood from her seat, getting closer, but holding her wet fingers back as she examined it. The young man turned it around so she could see the back.

"It looks excellent. Tell your father for me."

"Yes Viscountess."

"You may wait outside as I finish supper. I shall get my daughter to try it on, to make sure it still fits, then I shall get the remaining payment."

"Yes of course," he said with a bow and going outside through the door. Powel closed it behind him.

Deikuneist pat his horse affectionately and took a skin of water from the side. He was waiting nearly half an hour when the one who had announced him came outside with a bag of coins.

"Here You go sir." Powel emptied the bag of several silver coins into the young man's hands.

"Thank you. Might I see how the dress fits on the Viscountess's daughter?" Deikuneist asked. Powel raised one eyebrow.

"No," he replied flatly. "The Viscountess thanks you for a job well done. Goodbye." He went back into the house and closed the door soundly.

Deikuneist walked back down the path from whence he came, when he saw a figure on a balcony in the corner room of the manor. It was a fair maiden with dark black hair and large bright blue eyes. He paused there, watching her go back inside. Then he continued to walk with his horse, looking back over his shoulder. The raven haired young woman closed the door to the balcony behind her as she went inside.

"Spending every waking moment in our room is so boring," she said.

Her identical sister sat on the edge of the bed. Their hair was uncovered and braided along the crown of their heads and in a ponytail. They wore identical simple long scarlet dresses, which were tightly-belted with tied gold cord and embellished with small white flower embroidery at the hemline and ends of the long sleeves. The room had an ornate canopy bed with the head and footboards carved with cherubs hugging. There was a tall armoire next to their window, and a large chest at the foot of the bed. She bowed her head and turned to her sister.

"I miss picking flowers and feeling the grass between my toes."

"Oh me too, Allora. As long as we don't make any more mistakes, mother should let us out."

"It seems to happen quite often as of late."

"Yes, mother gets mad at everything we do, but-." Just then there was the sound of something hitting the outside stone wall by the balcony.

"What was that Adalla?"

There was another sound a few seconds later.

"Sounds like a knocking," Allora said with curiosity.

Adalla stepped onto the balcony and a small rock grazed the side of her head.

"Ow!" she cried.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant not to hit you. I did not know if you heard the rocks," she heard from below. Adalla looked down and saw the gangly young man, Deikuneist, his horse behind him and tied to the nearest tree. He looked back towards the front of the manor, as if he was worried someone would notice him.

"Uh, who are you?" she said, as she held her hand to her forehead.

"Deiky," he replied softly.

"Huh?" she said.

"Deikuneist, but friends call me Deiky. I.. I had to see you again," he stammered.

"Me?"

"I delivered your dress to your mother just now," he said. "I was about to leave, but I saw you on this balcony. Y-your hair looked so beautiful... and I couldn't.. I've been thinking often of the day I first saw you and I haven't been able to sleep," he stammered, fumbling for words. "Might I climb up to see you?" he said pleadingly. Firmly, he grabbed hold of a trellis that guided long vines up the stone wall and past the twins' small balcony.

"I do not know you," she said as he began his ascent.

"My father is the cloth merchant, the one who fixed your dress," he tried to explain, pulling himself farther up.

"Oh, I don't think--"

"I had to see you again. Your skin and hair are so silky smooth. Your big bright eyes are like... pure clear ocean water. And your smile is more winsome than any girl-"

"Who's that?" her sister asked from inside.

"He's the son of the cloth merchant. He says there is no other smile as winsome as mine."

"Who are you talking to?" he asked with a frown, slowing as he neared the window. "Was I a fool for coming?" he asked. "Are you married?" he asked.

Allora popped forth into view and the sight of the two identical sisters wearing the same clothes shocked him.

"Whaaa?" he exclaimed, and fell backwards into the bushes below.

Adalla winced in empathy and Allora looked down with concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I think so... ow," Deikeid replied, righting himself. He picked a few leaves from his hair.

"So what do you think about there not being another smile as winsome as mine?" Adalla asked with a knowing smile.

"You are both... the same," he replied. "But how?"

"You saw my sister Allora in Kirsgar," Adalla said with a nod to her smiling sibling. "I was waiting in the carriage outside."

"Yes Allora. Such a beautiful name and a smile so sweet," he replied. "One such as you I could wed," he replied.

"Oh, I'm already betrothed," she said.

"It is as I feared then," he said, looking down. "It was foolish of me not to recognize the dress as being for a wedding." Then he looked up with hope. "And you?"

"I am also betrothed."

"Terrible fortune," he said, crestfallen.

"Who did you say you are?" Allora asked.

"The cloth merchant is my father. I saw you days ago at our shop."

She looked up, trying to remember.

"Deikuneist," he said.

"Yes I remember," she said with a smile.

He looked up and grinned. "Your smile makes me giddy."

"But shhh our parents might hear," Adalla explained.

"Yes I understand, I'l come back at a more opportune time." He rushed off to his horse.

"No you should not come back," Adalla said, but he was too far off to hear. Deikuneist walked away with his horse. They watched him leave past the line of trees.

"A boy came all the way from the city to see you in the middle of the day?" Adalla said with a smile as they left the balcony and went back to the bed. They lay next to each other.

"He was very kind, but-"

The sisters locked eyes and they seemed to communicate without talking. Allora turned away towards the wall. There was a silence between them for a minute.

"Allora?" She didn't respond. "Allora, do you want to get married?" Allora rolled over to face her sister.

"Yes," she said slowly. "I mean I suppose so. What else is there to do?"

"Nothing," Adalla replied. Allora turned away again.

The twins lay there quietly. It was a cold autumn day and they hugged each other for warmth.

* *

There was a click and an older woman with graying hair walked in. She wore a long brown dress from neck to hemline and a gray wimple over her head, revealing only her aged round face with peach skin, small brown eyes, a wide nose and thin lips. She picked up a flat wooden platter from the floor with empty bowls and fabric napkins.

"The Viscountess says you are joining us downstairs for dinner."

"Wonderful Denda," Adalla said with genuine happiness. "Although we just ate, we are already eager for dinner. It seems like that's all we do lately. Eat and practice with our recorders."

"What is that on your forehead?"

"Hmm?"

"There is a bump on your head," Denda said, furrowing her brow as she approached.

"Oh yes, umm... I just knocked it on the door to the balcony," she lied.

"Oh my it's getting quite big. When did you hit it?"

"Oh, uh just after we ate."

"I shall make a poultice from some datlesht root then."

"It's not that bad is it?"

"It's getting pretty big," Allora said.

"I'll gather the roots," Denda said, leaving quickly with the platter.

"I don't want mother to see though," Adalla complained.

"You could wear a wimple to hide it," Adalla said with a shrug.

* *

In the kitchen, the servant Denda grabbed a trowel and a basket before leaving out of the door towards the front of the manor. She made her way along the path quite far, near the main road when she veered off on the left into the short grass of a hillock. Crouched in the short brush, she squinted her brown eyes, looking for something. Then she smiled with discovery. The small shovel went into the ground with little difficulty and she pried out a green leafed plant with red veins and stems. The pink root, covered in dirt was a few inches long, like a beet or radish.

"Hello young man!" came a voice from the road. Denda turned to see a grizzled old timer with a bald pate and shoulder length hair on the sides in tattered traveling clothes.

"Woman," she retorted.

"Sorry, young woman, where do you hail from?"

"I'm fifty-four."

"What?" he asked.

"I'm not young anymore," she said with a laugh.

"Very well, old woman," he said with a cocked smile.

"I'm not quite old yet," she countered.

"Fine. What do I call you?" His voice was tinged with anger.

"I am Dendraona of Meikell, servant of the Viscount and Viscountess." She bowed.

"Awful mouthy for a servant," he whispered.

"What was that?"

"Greetings Dendraona, I am Gergein of Douber. I'm a wandering storyteller."

"Oh," Denda's eyes lit up.

"I'm looking for Bausheiv manor."

"It's very near here," she replied.

"Good."

"But could you stop at Meikell manor first?"

"Meikell?"

"Yes, it's on the way. The twins love stories," she said with a smile.

"Twins?"

"The Viscount's daughters. I'm sure they would love you to come to the manor and tell stories."

"By all means."

"But please, don't let the Viscount know I suggested it."

"It will be our secret," he said, showing a smile with several missing teeth.

* *

The twins finished supper that evening without their mother noticing the poultice around Adalla's head. As those assembled were finishing, the Viscountess stood.

"Everyone gather around the fire," she said loudly. "We have the luck of a Storyteller this evening."

The younger folk began smiling and speaking together in hushed tones. The Viscountess sat in the middle of a wooden bench near the hearth. On one side of the Viscountess sat her daughters and on the other side of her was the twins' cousin Sartei, wearing a long green dress and a white veil over the back of her braided hair. IHer thin lips were smiling and her small blue eyes were turned towards the old man with dirty brown clothes. He was sitting opposite the fire on a stool.

"How about the tale of... Rauda the Lustful Maiden?" the storyteller asked of the crowd in a charismatic voice.

"My great-aunt," the Viscountess muttered with a wan grin. "Very well," she said with a nod. The others murmured their agreement as well.

"Good then, find a seat and I'll begin."

Nearly seven decades ago, during the Tocosi-Deiru war, a beautiful young maiden named Rauda lived in a small castle north of here with her father and mother the Count and Countess of Dukaut. She was pale and had none of the suggestive body shape that a strong diet of the vegetable gives. Unfortunately she was an only child, as her birth was a miracle blessed by Fareik. Her parents loved her very much, but they did not let her go outside of their castle.

When she was born, the priest that held her up into the first light of morning to bless her had a powerful vision. He saw the child captured by a monster, and brought to a dark forest to be tortured. The priest saw this as a sign that the Count should be vigilant and not let his daughter out of the castle for any but the gravest of reasons. The Count dare not tell Rauda what would befall her for fear it would terrify her every waking moment.

Rauda grew from a child to a young woman, only ever knowing the castle. She had desires to leave and explore. She knew not why her father kept her inside. One day while she was on her balcony gazing out at the beautiful clouds and listening to the chirping birds that she was often entertained by, she noticed a solitary figure riding through the forest outside towards the castle. It was a handsome youth in shining armor astride a beautiful horse. The knight's eyes seemed to glimmer and she felt her heartbeat quicken as he glanced up to the balcony where she stood, her hands pressed against the railing. Upon seeing her, he approached the balcony from beneath with his horse.

"Good morning fair maiden. Might I ask whose castle is this?" His voice was deep and he bowed on his steed.

"It is the castle of my father, Count Rudaif," she said.

"And what is your name?" the knight asked.

"Lady Rauda," she replied with a slight bow of her head.

"Ah fair maiden, your name is as sweet and beautiful as you are," he said with a youthful smile. "Fair one, I have traveled far, might I rest a while until I continue?"

"Oh yes I-- er... my family would not refuse to take in someone with such... vigor," she said with a red face. "But you have not yet told me your name."

"It is Manrait. Might you come down from your room that you couldst parlay with me? I fear I am unable to enter," he said.

"But why?" she asked.

"It is part of the oath I gave," he explained. "I did pledge to take care of my cousin, but he was slain by the Tocosi. Now I rest not inside any comfortable abode until I have told my uncle of his son's death," he said, clanging his gauntlet to his breastplate.

"Oh, but my parents have forbade me to leave the castle," she said with lament.

"It is only to speak and care for a knight of the realm, beautiful maiden. Surely that is allowed?" he asked. The maiden was taken with the knight's handsome flesh and honeyed words, believing him fully.

"Very well, I will come to you," the maiden said.

"I am pleased," the knight replied.

So it was that she put herself in a hooded cloak and snuck down from her room out of the back door to the youth's side.

"Please mount the horse with me," he said.

"But I thought--" she started to say, but he abruptly interrupted her.

"I have a camp not far from here. Be not afraid it is less than a league from this very spot."

She grabbed his outstretched hand and he pulled her up behind him. She grasped his belt which was strangely rough with thick fur as they rode off into the forest. Her heart did flutter as they rode away. Now, her loving father did come for her as the horse galloped from the castle. He had entered her room and stood looking out from her balcony as he saw his daughter ride away with a stranger.

"Stop!" he shouted, but by then they were too far away and the maiden could not hear him. Her father immediately went to the stable to ride out and follow his daughter.

Rauda felt guilty on the back of the knight's steed. She had disobeyed her parents, but she also felt a thrill being with the handsome knight. When they had entered the forest, the darkness of the shadowy trees did obscure the maiden's vision so she could not see. She became very afraid.

"Oh sir, it is so dark where have you taken me?" she asked.

"I take you to my camp," she heard the knight say in grim and feral tone.

"What has happened to your voice?" she asked with fear.

"My throat is dry from much travel," he said with a cough, "Nothing more." He coughed again. "Hold on tight. The road ahead is rough," he said quickly.

Then with a sudden jolt the maiden was unmounted, falling to the grass with a hard thud. The horse had jumped over something, her fingers slipped off of the knight's furry belt and she was knocked off the horse. The maiden rolled over and sat up. She looked forward to see a Kabrate in a clearing in from of her. She saw no sign of the knight.

The Kabrate turned his head as she looked in horror. It was a creature with the body of a huge goat, and where a goat's head would be, instead was a humanoid torso. Atop his forehead were long black horns. His only clothing was a leather strap strung with human skulls across his chest. A bow hung on his other shoulder and a quiver around his waist.

"What are you?" she said with fear. The Kabrate grinned like a devil and trotted deeper into the forest, away from view. She shivered and peered around into the darkness around her.

The storyteller paused.

"Now anyone that wishes to hear more, surely you can open your purse?" he asked.

"Alright," the Viscountess smiled. She took her purse that hung from her belt and removed a small coin. She nodded to a few of the men, who removed a copper coin or two from their purses and dropped them in the Storyteller's weathered hand.

"Thank ye all," he said with a small bow and placed the coins within his shoulder bag. "I will continue..."

The maiden was in the dark forest alone, and the Kabrate had just disappeared past the clearing. There was no sign of the armored youth or his steed.

"Where are you my knight?" the maiden asked of the forest. "Please help me!"

Then there was shouting in a dark language. She was very frightened. She turned and began rushing back towards the castle.

"Wait!" she heard the knight's say from behind her.

She turned to see him approach from the clearing.

"What? What happened?" she asked.

"You didst fall from the horse," he said. "Sorry it was difficult to find you. Art you unhurt?"

"No there was... a terrible creature in the clearing behind you," Rauda pointed.

"Fear not for it," he said. "I saw it too, so I snuck behind it and did defeat it." He said.

"Truely?" she asked dubiously.

"Yes," he answered with a smile. "Now come with me to my camp," he said. He rode the steed forward as she followed.

He turned the mare around near the center of a clearing. There were faintly burning torches surrounded by rocks. And nearby a large flat table waist high, made of black stone as dark as night and carved in runes and obscure pictures. The vegetation around it seemed thick and wild.