Marcie stared down at the bottle she held in her hands.
It still held a little of the liquid her father once lived on.
She had thought no longer. And yet here it was.
She felt anger rise up and snuff out the growing sadness.
She turned and threw the bottle against the wall, glass exploded on the stonework and tinkled to the floor. She left it there and marched out of the house.
Late winter was the time her mother had died, of a chill she had never recovered from. Even Dafne had been unable to save her.
Marcie should have known it would be too much for her father to take. But she had been distracted, not paying attention when she should have. She should not be surprised but she had held out hope that he would give it up for good. Silly of her. To hope.
She walked into the village, her anger abated a little and her feet began to feel heavy, as if she were weighed down by an invisible burden.
The Tavern steps seemed steeper, she opened the door and looked around.
Jin, Aldren and Sebastian sat at their usual table, a few other patrons sat with them, Callia was sweeping in the corner, humming quietly to herself, and the smell of Luce's famous soup wafted from the kitchen, where she no doubt laboured with little Myriam held against her in a sling.
Marcie saw none of this, her eyes went straight to the bar where her father was slumped in one of the stools, his back held up by one of the support columns for the building.
She stepped softly up to the hunched figure. The Barman spotted her, his eyes filled with sympathy before he averted them. Junca held an empty tankard in his hand, Marcie felt her temper rise again.
"Father" she said softly,
He did not move.
"Father" she said louder, placing her hand on his shoulder and shaking gently.
The man jerked up, he looked at her, then through her. He banged his tankard on the bar,
"Barman, another!" he rasped,
The Barman glanced at Marcie, meeting her eyes quickly before looking down and shaking his head.
"Wha, come on!" Junca said, lifting the tankard to his lips, finding it empty he let it fall to the floor in disgust, he made to get up,
"Now see ere-" he started to say before he stumbled, grabbing the bar as his crippled leg tried and failed to support his weight.
Marcie reached out and grabbed him under the arms to stop him from falling, she pulled him back up gently but he yanked himself away from her with a "Ge off"
He put his back to the bar to hold himself up and glared at Marcie, as much as he could, his eyes were bloodshot and he did not appear to be able to focus on her,
"You leave me alone ya wench" he spat,
Marcie swallowed the tears that were gathering,
"Father-" she started to say,
"No no no!" her father said, shaking his head from side to side, "Go away, haunting wench, always near, always watching, watching with those freak eyes, why wont you leave me alone!"
Marcie stepped forward, reaching out. Her father knocked her hand away then drew back his fist and landed a strike across her cheek that threw her to the floor, causing her vision to double. Dara felt the blow through her and reeled himself, the pain doubled as the Dragon felt it also and then anger rose up as Dara tried to find the source of her hurt and hurt them back.
While she blinked her vision clear and tried to separate her feelings from Dara's, The Barman threw down his rag and reaching over the bar, wrapped one of his thick corded arms around Junca's throat and held it there while the smaller man choked and struggled feebly.
The Tavern was silent.
Marcie felt tears fall, and she could not decide if they were because of the pain in her cheek or her heart. Dara's anger lessened as he realised that it was her sire who had inflicted the hurt upon her, he was confused why someone who she loved would do such a thing, she wondered herself.
She pulled herself up using a bar stool and, without looking at her father, walked away.
Later Marcie found herself sitting by the lake holding a handful of snow to her cheek, which smarted. She did not know how long she had been sitting there. She felt nothing, absolutely nothing, even Dara was numb, a small piece of consciousness not her own at the back of her mind. And yet tears still fell, drying on her neck and on the collar of her shirt.
She became aware of someone standing behind her. Looking around she saw it was Jin and Aldren, Sebastian evidently not caring enough to come see to her.
She turned her back on them.
So Jin came and sat beside her, with a shiver because there was still a little snow on the ground.
He did not say anything for a while, Marcie sat, staring over the water as the snow melted through her fingers.
Eventually Jin turned to her and said,
"Your fathers a bit of a prick ain't he"
Marcie laughed aloud then winced as it pulled on her cheek.
"Let me see" Jin said, indicating her cheek.
She removed her hand, he gripped her chin and angled it so he could see better,
"Yep" he said cheerfully, "Gonna have one big ole bruise my lady"
Marcie nodded and felt another tear fall, she took a deep breath to steady herself,
"Hey now" Jin said softly, he pulled a hanky from his pocket and handed it to her,
"Fella like that don't deserve no tears, not from you"
Marcie smiled at him and wiped her face, dabbing carefully where it was painful.
"He still in there?" she asked, jerking her head in the direction of the tavern,
"Think so" jin said, he tilted his head questioningly,
"You couldn't go smack him for me could you?" she asked him,
"Really?"
"Really"
Jin abruptly grinned, he leapt to his feet, bowed grandly and said,
"My Lady, it would be my pleasure"
Then he ran off towards the Tavern.
Marcie watched him go,
"You sure you want him to be that" Aldren asked, breaking his silence,
"Yes" she said, then she glanced at him and away, "Maybe, I Dunno" she sighed and grabbed another handful of snow for her cheek.
Aldren came and took the place Jin had just vacated,
"Does your father often hit you?" he asked,
Marcie looked at him then looked back across the lake, staying silent.
Aldren waited then shrugged,
"I am the oldest of four" he said, looking out over the lake to where some young boys were baiting their hooks,
"I am my fathers heir and so will inherit all his land and assets when he dies. This puts a huge pressure on me and...he can be cruel, if he does not think I am meeting his expectations"
The boys began to cast their lines, full of childish enthusiasm.
"I don't believe my father is disappointed in me" Marcie said, somewhat scornfully,
"He is usually so drunk he does not know where he is most of the time",
"Maybe..."Aldren paused, clearly thinking, "Your mother is dead yes?"
"Yes"
"He called you haunting"
"What?"
"Your father. He called you haunting, a haunting wench."
Marcie winced,
"What of it?" she asked,
"What if he thought you were you mother? You have her eyes yes?"
"...yes"
"He believes you to be the spirit of your mother, his wife, haunting him"
Marcie dwelled upon this,
"I do not wish look like her" she whispered,
Aldren waved his hand dismissively,
"The likeness may exists only in his drink addled mind" he said, "Tis his obstacle, one of his own making. It Is not for you to take responsibility"
Marcie smiled, he smiled back. Oddly, his flippancy was exactly what she needed. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Gently, measuring. When he leaned into it she placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him again.
After a while they pulled apart. Marcie was flushed, she looked hurriedly around to make sure they had not been seen and stiffened when she saw, in the distance, the hunched limping figure of her father leave the Tavern, he stumbled off in the direction of the Hunters houses. Probably to get more drink. Old Man Dill made his own strong stuff, which he sold to anyone with the coin, he and father had been friends for years.
No doubt he would not be home for a while.
She clenched her fists and stood up, suddenly furious,
"What is it?" Aldren asked, looking in the same direction,
Marcie ignored the question and looked at him closely,
"Would you like to see where I live?" she asked after a moments hesitation.
Aldren turned to her his eyebrow raised, his mouth quirked,
"I would very much like to" he said, without hesitation.
"Good, its this way" she said,
"Lead on my lady"
Aldren followed closely behind Marcie, the sun was setting and the temperature had dropped.
She led him through the trees until they came to a small cottage, built the same as all the others in the village. Different to the ones in Thoughts Burrow, which were several stories tall and made of criss crossing planks of wood.
The forgotten built theirs with a bed of stones a foot high, and then sectioned with wooden beams and filled in with clay, the ceiling was slate tiles with a stone chimney. It appeared sturdy and well maintained, even though it appeared to be listing to one side. The windows were glass, and the door wooden, a small growing patch sat silent and waiting, ready for spring and a very large old tree stood behind the house, seeming to guard it with its reaching branches.
Marcie went straight to the door and walked in. Aldren followed.
The inside (all one room) was clean and neat. Two beds, one in the corner untended, the other in the opposite corner, with makeshift curtains surrounding it, it was very comfy looking.
Marcie threw off her furs and put a log on the small stove/fireplace in the centre of the room. He watched her perform this small task.
When she was finished and a small fire burned she straightened and looked at him.
He crossed the room and held her face in his hands as he kissed her, she responded and ran her hands down his chest to untuck his shirt from his trousers, he did the same with hers, undid the buttons and pulled it off, revealing glorious bare skin.
Straight away however she shrank, turning away from him and wrapping her arms around herself. He stopped her and slowly moved her arms.
Branching off from the centre of her chest was a remarkable tattoo. It almost looked like flames, reaching from her heart over her left breast.
"I did not know The Forgotten partook in marking their flesh" he whispered,
"Not everyone does" she breathed,
He bend and kissed where the mark began then moved to where it led causing Marcie to gasp.
"Beautiful" he said, capturing her mouth in another hungry kiss, mid kiss he scooped her up and laid her down on the bed, breaking off just long enough to remove her boots and trousers he then spent a long time getting her temperature good and raised before divesting of his own trousers and starting in earnest.
Along time later Marcie lay next to Aldren on her cramped bed, wishing it were bigger. The layer of sweat coating her whole body began to cool and Aldren began to shiver in his sleep. Carefully she extricated herself from his embrace and padded over to the stove and threw some more wood in.
She ached pleasantly and now understood why Kena was so keen when it came to her many suitors, however Marcie also felt dirty. She longed to wash the sweat off and remove unseen grit from her pores.
Aldren did not appear to be moving any time soon so she slipped on her furs and boots and tiptoed out of the house, shutting the door quietly.
It was somewhere in the early hours of the morning, the sky clear with a touch of frost in the air, but not enough to actually freeze.
The whole village sat within a large clearing in, supposedly, the very centre of The Forgotten Forest. Most of the clearing was thick grasses that the villagers cobbled over to make streets or ploughed for their fields. The rest was taken up with a large deep lake, that provided the few fisherman with catch year round and fresh water as well as convenient washing and bathing.
Most of the village was situated on the east bank of the lake, while Marcie's house was on the south side. She walked for a little bit until she came to her own private bathing and fishing area.
The moon hung huge and full over the black water, the rest of the villagers hiding from its pale light while she bathed under it.
She stripped off her clothes, planning to jump in and out quickly and not catch a chill. She stepped into the water and hissed at how cold it was.
Dara jumped to the forefront of her mind. She had tried to keep him separate for obvious reasons while she was with Aldren but relaxed now she was alone. He felt her cold and sent her a little warmth through their bond which was welcome.
She stepped further into the water wincing all the way until she was was submerged up to her neck, she felt her fingers and toes growing numb and wished she were warm.
Strangely the water began to warm around her, until she could feel her fingers and toes again, she moved further into the lake, water weeds twining around her legs, and yet it was still warm. She closed her eyes and wished that it were not warm.
The water began to cool almost instantly until she 'pushed' it warm again, how peculiar.
Dara sent her a congratulatory feeling of happiness. She had found another ability.
She took her time washing as it was quite pleasant then stood on the bank of the river to dry off, finding that she could remain warm even out of the water just by thinking that that it what she would like.
In no time at all she made it back to the house and crawled back into bed, just in time to pretend to sleep before Aldren woke up.