The Weaver's Source

Chapter 2

"I won't be alone forever, I'm sure." I promised, laughing, thankful that I had someone who loved me so much she would worry about my future. "And if I am to never marry, that's fine as well. I have you, Gabi, Otto and David. That's love enough for me."

Ibolya smiled thinly, her old eyes glimmering with worry. I knew she wanted me to have the life full of love she had, a husband to build a home with, but I was aware I likely wouldn't. Men never showed interest me, in fact I seemed to repulse them, and my Weaver...while my dreams may try to lure me with wild dreams into seeing him as a lover, I knew that was unlikely to be the case, if I ever met him. I was to hunt beside him and slay monsters, not love him.

"Yes." She murmured softly. "Well I'll go get you some tea." Ibolya said. "Get through as much of the pile as you can. It grows all the time, no matter how hard I try and get it to go down."

I got to work as she left me alone. I helped her with her job of fixing peoples clothing and fabrics. With money scarce and cloth being expensive, it was cheaper to get things repaired than to replace them. Her husband used to fix boots and shoes until he could no longer move, then my father took over his job and together we scraped in enough money to get by. I helped as soon as I could sew but no one in the town knew this. Ibolya would lose her customers in a matter of seconds if it became common knowledge I was the one who fixed their clothes.

We sat there for hours, talking sometimes but mostly working in silence, content to simply be in one another's company. As night began to flood in I took my leave and sought out Gabi. She was just closing up the bakery and locking the door when I arrived and put up no fight in coming to my home with me and shouted her farewells to her large boisterous family at the windows above.

"I want to find Otto first." I told her.

She didn't argue and together we roamed the town, asking after Otto. Eventually we found him not too far from the southern farmstead, a ten minute walk away from town. He smiled at us, pleased that I had obeyed his demands in not being alone.

"Have you found anything?" I asked nervously. 

My magic wasn't happy here but as I glanced about the fields of the farm and large river that swept softly around the town, I still couldn't see anything abnormal.

"Not yet." Otto grumbled. "There are no monsters out here. Are you certain your magic senses one?"

I nodded my head firmly. "I can feel danger. Wherever it is, it's hidden somewhere nearby."

"Then it's best you leave. I'll continue the search until we find it." He promised and turned his gaze onto Gabi. "Keep her out of trouble."

Gabi simply bobbed her head and dragged me away as soon as we said farewell, pulling me quickly back to my house. My magic thankfully grew quieter as we put more distance between myself and the town but it never truly settled. It unnerved me. There was a monster out there but it couldn't come to me and neither could Otto find it. It had to be there, there was nothing else that would make my magic so upset, so just where was it?

Gabi ate noisily, talking loudly over the table as we finished off the remainder of the pie I had made yesterday. I sat quietly opposite her, smiling and agreeing to her usual ranting about her numerous brothers and some bothersome suitor's advances she didn't appreciate. I always enjoyed Gabi's company. The loneliness vanished with her around and broke the quiet in my house. Her loud and passionate nature was just what it needed to be filled with life.

We secured my house together and it was as we locked the windows that a strange sound began to echo in the air. Gabi glanced at me then took my hand as we stepped cautiously outside. We stood still in the cool darkness, listening to the voice that drifted over the fields. A wordless song drifted on the autumn wind. It was soft and lovely but my magic shivered within me, as if it was repulsed by the sound. The more I listened, the more fear began to envelope me.

Gabi shifted her weight and twirled a lock of long blonde hair in her finger. 

"I wonder who that is." She murmured. "It's beautiful."

"It's bad." I murmured stiffly and swiftly obeyed the magic that begged for me to retreat.

Guiding Gabi back into the house, I locked all windows and shoved a chair under the door handle. Gabi gave me an odd look but didn't question it, simply helped me double check the windows and did her best not to pay attention to the song drifting outside.

As soon as we were in bed, I blew the tiny fire that burned in the lamp and lay awake, worrying, while Gabi drifted off into an easy sleep. Eventually I curled into a ball and held Gabi's hand tightly in mine as a way of comfort. The chorus of voices had scared me more than I realised. Whatever had been the source of it, I was certain it wasn't human.