The Call of the Woodland Spirit

Chapter 2

I squeezed my coat closer to my freezing frame as I trudged timidly on through the snow, leaving deep footprints in the once smooth ground, I almost felt bad ruining whoever worked so hard to get this snow so perfectly even. But I had no choice but to step through it, since there was no walkway I could see leading straight to the cabin.

Once I had reached the small wooden house I climbed quietly up the stairs, which were just as beautifully carved as the door. And yet, I was surprised when I placed my feet on them, as they didn't creak loudly like the stairs at Miss Eden's which made it almost impossible to sneak downstairs just in case you wanted to run away in the dead of night.

When I had reached the door, the steps directly behind me, I found myself reluctant as I raised my fist to knock on the shiny oak wood. But I did it anyways. Knock, knock.

I stood patiently, shivering in my space as I waited for an answer. There was no slab of roof above the door, leaving the cold to get to me from the top as well as the sides, which didn't help my current state. I waited for what seemed like almost a minute, until I was sure my instant hopefulness had faltered, and no one was home. I was just about to turn, to leave, when the door slowly creaked open, making me almost instinctively whip back around.

Standing in the half-open doorway was a handsome young man with extremely fair skin and light brown locks tumbling in smooth strands down the front of his shoulders and ending slightly past his chest. From what I could see, he was wearing a thin coat, not even furred like mine, in a dark shade of an alluring olive green. His trousers were black and even thinner than his jacket that looked so slim, I'm sure it would've done nothing against the cold.

I looked up from his clothes into his face, which looked only a mere few years older than myself. I gazed into his eyes, which were a vivid green, only to see that the man wasn't looking back at me. First, he was looking around me, as if checking to see if anyone else had shown up unexpectedly at his doorway all the while keeping a firm grip so tight on the doorknob his hand was shaking. But it was just me, leading him to have nothing else to look at. His brows were furrowed as his eyes were slightly widened, seeming rather scared as he peered down at me.

"Can I help you..?" his voice was quiet and smooth as silk to reach my painfully red ears.

I nodded weakly, wanting nothing more than to run into the warmth of the cabin and flop down on a soft bed, finally be able to rest my aching body. "Please, mister." I pleaded desperately, the man looked somewhat worried as I choked back a sob. "I have been walking out here in the cold for many days.. I ran out of food and the lakes are freezing over. I need s-shelter, sir.. please help me.. I promise.. only for a little bit..." I coughed slightly into my clenched fist, shivering even harder.

The man looked around once more, then breathed heavily. "Come in, I'll get a fire going—mind your head, please. The door is a little low." he said, opening the door even wider and waiting patiently for me to pass. I sighed in relief and bustled in, trying not to seem too desperate. The second my savoir closed the door, I felt instant warmth seep through my clothes. It felt so good I just wanted to curl up and fall asleep, even if it was on the floor. The cabin, which I thought was small, was pretty moderate on the toasty inside.

The cabin was more homey looking than the orphanage had ever been. A pleasant scent almost immediately hit my nose. I breathed it in with content, feeling something I haven't had in a long time... a sense of enjoyment. It smelled like fresh lavenders, and sure enough, when I turned to the right, there they were, a beautiful shade of violet and planted in a small circular vase-like pot on the sill of the square window. There was a fireplace at the far right of the cabin, just beside the lavender flower window that had dark firewood seated at the bottom with no grate.