We keep walking through the dark until we come across a small cottage. We share a look and walk towards the door. The windows emit some light and the cottage feels warm and inviting. I walk up to the door and raise my fist to knock.
"Arwyn, what are you doing?" Beorn asks me angrily and he grabs my wrist, bringing my hand down.
"What does it look like? I'm knocking on the door," I answer him with a raised eyebrow.
Beorn shakes his head, "we can't just knock on the door."
"Then where would you want to sleep tonight? On the rocks?"
"You better get used to sleeping on the ground Arwyn, you'll be doing that more often," he scoffs and I fold my arms over my chest.
"Exactly why we better use this opportunity to sleep inside," I fire back and before I can give him the chance to answer, I knock on the door
and only seconds later an old man with friendly eyes opens the door. He smiles and his almost toothless mouth causes me to crack a smile as well.
"Visitors," he beams and opens the some more, "It's been such a long time since I've had visitors"
His voice sounds delicate and his hand shakes a little when he motions for us to follow him.
"What are such young Valians like you two doing out there at this hour?" He asks us curiously while shuffling around. He balances on his walking cone, which is shaking gently.
"When I was young we weren't allowed to walk outside at this hour," he continues and waves his cone in the air when talks.
He continues to blabber about his time as a young Valian while messing around with what looks like a kettle. A chance to reply is something we don't get until he puts two damping wooden cups in front of us.
"I'm sorry, I don't think," the man starts off and shakes his head, "No, I don't remember hearing your names," he says as he finally sits down. Even though the man appears as old as the mountains the castle is built on, he sure is a man who likes to talk.
Beorn lets out a hearty chuckle, "It's okay, my name is Beorn and-,"
"I'm Aryana," I cut him off. Beorn looks surprised and throws me a questioning look but to my relief, he doesn't ask and lets it slide. I can't throw my name around right now, I will be found within a day if I do that.
The hot beverage in front of me smells delicious and I blow on it to let it cool down faster. Beorn follows my lead and just as I take a sip I hear him cough and spit out the liquid. Though, I don't understand why. The taste is something new but appealing. It's a perfect balance of sweet and sour.
"Beorn, what's wrong?"
"How can you drink that? It's as bitter as those red fruits in the castle and to top that it feels like it burns my mouth away," he tells me with a pained expression on his face. Before I can ask what he meant the old man begins to speak.
"D'ierfa, ce orasa d'ierfa," he mutters and looks at me.
"I've waited so long for this moment. No one has passed the test before," his shaking has stopped and his voice sounds stronger. He looks at me, forest green pits judge me and I feel a little creeped out. Why is this man looking at me like I just murdered his arch enemy for him?
"I'm sorry?" I squeak and glance at Beorn. He's watching the elderly man with confusion.
"It's you, we've finally found you," he rambles on with a smile on his face. Still, he's not making any sense at all.
"What am I? What are you talking about?" I ask slowly, hoping he would notice he wasn't making any sense to me. I literally understand more about the royal etiquette and I never paid any attention to those classes.
"Oh god, you're not telling us she is your daughter, are you?" Beorn butts in and I shake my head. That's ridiculous. It seems to have caught the man's attention cause he snaps out of his daze.
"No, she isn't. Why for the love of the gods would you say that?" He asks sounding genuinely insulted and glares at Beorn. Beorn notices the sound of the man's voice and backs away. He takes the cup of hot beverage in his hands and sniffs it. But his reaction stays the same.
"Who are you?" I ask the man. I have never met a stranger elven being than this old man. He just sits there across of me, fingertips against each other and his legs folded over each other with this smile on his face, like he knows the secrets of the universe. Maybe he does.
"My name is Dovenan. That's all you need to know," he answers casually, "for now." Dovenan clasps his hands together and jumps up, "I best be off to bed." With that, he starts to walk to the corridor but turns around when he reaches the door.
"You two can sleep on the rug in front of the fireplace, it's comfier than it looks," he grins and disappears.
Staying the night inside the cottage of the elderly man was somewhat unnerving. I just couldn't help thinking about his words. And the weird language he spoke. The way he changed from a fragile old man to a strong immortal looking elf with years of wisdom.
So this morning, sitting at the table isn't the scenario I pictured when I left last night.
The porridge in front of me is still damping with heat. I just can't get myself to eat it. Beorn is seated on the opposite side of me, silently scooping the porridge up and shoving it into his mouth. He doesn't seem to mind the goo and sticky stuff inside the bowl.
His acceptance of the food makes me realise I shouldn't be picky. I can't eat the same food I did at the castle, there is simply no way we can get it. The old man has disappeared a few minutes ago, may the goddess know where he is now. I pick up my spoon and try to scoop up the tiniest bit. If I ignore the slimy texture it isn't that bad.
I'm unaware of the time that has passed. Just as I've decided to ask Beorn when we are going to leave the man comes back. He rummages through the cupboards and drawers before muttering a few incoherent words. He leaves again, talking to himself. It's like he is looking for something he can't seem to find. I push my half-empty bowl aside and nudge Beorn.
"Now is our chance to leave quietly," I whisper to him and motion for the door. He nods, scoops the last remaining porridge onto his spoon and with his mouth full he starts to pack his stuff. I try to slide off my stool as silent as I can but with my luck, the stool makes a horrible screeching sound when I push it back. I close my eyes and scold myself for being clumsy. I carefully open one eye and then the other when the odd man doesn't enter the room. We pack our remaining stuff and just as Beorn reaches for the door we hear the voice belonging to Dovenan.
"Wait," he hollers. Beorn and I share a look, both not really wanting to talk with the man anymore. But as the polite elves we are, we turn around with a nice smile. The man doesn't seem upset nor surprised to see us trying to sneak out. It's almost like he knew we were going to and expected it of us.
"I was hoping I could ask for a favour," he asks and before we can even ask what the favour was going to be he tells us all about it.
"Could you two deliver this to my friend up North?"
In his wrinkly hands lies a beautiful compass. One I have never seen before, flaming decorations and fiery colours are the components that make it so mesmerizing. The rays reflecting from the odd relic have a golden colour. The object itself feels warm in my hand, it is a strange and familiar piece at the same time.
"I borrowed it a long time ago from a dear friend of mine. I realise I haven't been the best host two young Valian like yourselves." He explains and closes his hands around mine.
His choice of words confuse me, "Sorry, Valian?" I ask him confused. He used that word yesterday as well but I didn't pay much attention to it. The man replies with a knowing smile.
"You'll find out soon enough dear."
We leave soon after. It's still early and the sun hasn't quite risen yet. The air is chilly and fog covers the forest ground. The first rays cast an orange glow on it. All in all, it feels peaceful. I have never been as far away from the castle as today but the forest doesn't seem a stranger to me. To be honest, it feels more of a home to me than the castle ever did.
"So, up North," I trail off. Beorn stays silent. The only sound he makes is his footsteps crunching on old fallen leaves. I unfold the little paper the man has given us and look at the swirly handwriting. 'Cucera' it says. I've never visited it, then again, I was never really allowed to leave the castle walls. And when I was, one of the servants would always have to come along. I always had to stay behind when my parents went away, I was never allowed to be present when they came to us.
My train of thoughts is cut short. A fast-paced sound enters my ears and only a few seconds later a fairly large shadow emerges. It appears to be a black hound. And it doesn't seem all too friendly. He snarls and bares its teeth. Saliva drips down his canines and it starts to howl.
That is when I recognize it.
"Beorn, we have to run," I tell him whilst panicking and furiously tapping on his shoulder.
"Why, what's wrong?" He asks eying the hound.
"That," I say while pointing at the beast, "is one of the hounds they use at the castle. They are looking for us and they are hunting us down. I don't know why, but they are hunting us down. We have to run."
"Why? You are the Princess?" He asks me cocking his head. I shake my head tugging his arm.
"I don't know and I don't want to find out. Run!" This time I stop tugging and turn around. Bad choice. The hound howls again and this time the sound is answered by trumpets, Royal trumpets. Beorn thankfully decides to follow my lead.
We whizz through the trees and low hanging branches scrape my face and arms. The hound is closing in on us. Without any further doubt, I take an arrow and place it on my bow.
"I'm sorry boy," I whisper as I let the arrow fly through the air recalling many memories when I played with the pups within the castle halls. A sharp yelp cuts through the air and after that everything is followed by silence for a moment. Beorn checks if the hound is really dead and when he discovers the poor animal is still breathing he gives the final blow.
"Let's go," he mutters while walking past me. Clearly, he didn't want to kill the hound, just like I didn't. Beorn picks up his pace to a gentle jog just to be sure.
"Let's go that way, there are some rocks, so it will be difficult for them to follow," he says, leading the way. I follow him without question but I make sure to look behind a couple of times.
I just went from a runaway to a fugitive and I don't know why.
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Good morning/evening/day!
I've decided to move my updates to Wednesday. I thought it will be better timing since no-one really likes Wednesdays right? So from now on an update every Wednesday to give you guys something to do in the middle of the week.
What do you think of Arwyn so far? Do you agree with her? And Beorn?
Comment your thoughts below ⬇️
Thank you for reading, also don't forget to hit that little star ;)
Much love,
OJI