Authors: Eli Harlow
“Hello everyone,” Marcus called out to them. “Thank you very much for the delicious breakfast Alyssa, it was very kind.” Marcus walked over to the little gray mare that was with them and laid his hand upon the star of her forehead. “Hello lady Iris, it is a pleasure to meet you.” He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a few oats for the mare who sniffed at them with her large nostrils.
When she had been satisfied that the food was not harmful, she eagerly gobbled it down.
“Welcome to the garden, please feel free to call it home for as long as you wish.”
Iris eyed him quizzically and responded to him in the language of horses, “Thank you master Marcus, I greatly appreciate your hospitality.”
Marcus responded in kind, using the same tongue, “Please Iris, simply call me Marcus, all of my good friends do.”
Alyssa smiled at him and shook her head in disbelief. “You have many surprises Marcus. But I guess I should have expected this one.” She took a step toward him and ran her fingers over his stomach playfully. Her wings purposefully brushed his cheek as she walked past.
“I’ll see you later Marcus,” Alyssa said to him. “I’m going to relax by the river today.” She began walking and wrapped her wings around her shoulders.
“The river is in the other direction,” he reminded her as she began walking toward the cabin. She laughed and looked over her shoulder at him. “I need something from the cabin first.” He nodded and she disappeared into the tall grass.
The angel walked into the cabin and quickly grabbed the bag that lay in the corner of the room. She peeked inside to make sure the parcel was still there. It was. She clutched it in her hand and walked out of the cabin. Alyssa walked quickly through the fields and into the forest.
She leaned against the trunk of a large oak tree and slid down into the grass. She looked up at the faint traces of sunlight as they filtered through the thick canopy. In her hands lay the writing book she had bought from Carl. Alyssa flipped through the crisp pages and sighed at the letters scrawled across them.
“How am I ever going to learn this?” she uttered miserably.
Her fingers traced the small letters and she forced herself to try to recall what they had meant. She had learned to read a little when she was younger, but Ruben had eventually given up on that subject to teach her others. Dancing had replaced reading just as cooking had done to writing. He had almost been able to pass for a loving caregiver, but those days were long gone now. She tossed the book to the side and concentrated on drawing the shapes she had seen in it.
Most of the letters came naturally, as did the words. Some of them though she struggled over until her head began pounding in her ears. Periodically she looked back over the book to check her work before turning back to her words in the wet riverbank. The sun rose steadily in the sky and her back and neck were starting to get hot. She brushed her hair away from her face and tried to focus on the words.
Sweat trickled over her neck and shoulders and she swept her long hair off her back.
Finally she groaned in desperation and slipped out of her clothes. She stacked them into a small pile in the grass and waded into the river. The river swirled around her and she dove into the cool water. As she came up her hair lay plastered against her forehead and she giggled. Brightly colored fish nibbled on her toes as she slid into the water. She let it wash against her shoulders as she closed her eyes and gave into the pleasure. A twig crunched behind her but she brushed it off as nothing.
There was a laugh followed by a footstep and another twig crunching. Alyssa opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes instantly widened and she smiled at the boy behind her. “Hi,” she said uncertainly.
“Hello Alyssa,” the boy replied.
“How do you know my name?”
The boy laughed and sat in the water next to Alyssa. “We know everything that happens in the forest.”
“Who’s we?”
The boy giggled and brushed his long dark hair behind his ears. Alyssa smiled at him. “You’re an elf.”
“Yep, and you’re an angel,” the child replied.
“What’s your name?”
“Willow,” he replied softly. “You’re pretty.” He blushed deeply and looked into the water. Alyssa ruffled his hair. “How old are you?”
“Twelve.” He paused and smiled hopefully at her. “But I’m mature for my age. Check out my muscles. My father says I’m going to grow up to be strong someday.” Willow insisted as he flexed his arms.
Alyssa giggled and smiled at him. “How long were you watching me?”
He blushed and looked away. “Long enough.”
She blushed too. “Ah. No spying again okay?”
Willow nodded. “Thanks for not being mad.”
“How could I be mad at such a cute little boy?” Alyssa smiled at him and quickly planted a kiss on his cheek.
He blushed deeply and pressed his hand to the ground. “Watch this.” Willow smiled at her and his hand shone brightly. As he pulled his hand away it revealed a small pink rosebud. Alyssa gasped and smiled at him. “For you,” he whispered as he handed the flower to her. She smelled it and blushed deeply.
“Thank you Willow.”
He chuckled and smiled at her. “I have to go. Bye Alyssa.”
“Bye Willow.”
“See you later?” he asked as he stood up.
“Sure.”
They waved goodbye to each other and then he disappeared into the forest. Alyssa slid back into the water and closed her eyes as she cool blue river lapped against her body. Her mind wandered to Marcus and her cheeks instantly flushed a dark red. His face and smile filled her mind. Alyssa’s lips trembled as she thought their short time together. She found herself quickly falling in love with him, despite her resistance. He had always treated her like a lady, like the women in fairy tales were treated.
Men weren’t mean to the princesses of the childhood stories, they didn’t hurt them, ever. Although Marcus was private, he wasn’t secretive. Alyssa knew that if she ever wanted to know something about him, all she had to do was ask. She wanted to tell him everything about herself, but the hesitation and fear of rejection were still strong within her.
Alyssa shrugged and decided to give it some time and just let whatever happened happen. It was her first real friendship with any human and she didn’t want to ruin it. Humans can be tricky creatures, she thought to herself.
She lifted a slender hand out of the water and watched the streams cascade off her fingertips like millions of tiny blue diamonds. Marcus had been so good to her over the past few days. She wanted to repay him, but all the ways she knew of were too disgusting to think about, even though she had done them many times before. He made her feel flustered, giddy, and exposed all at the same time. She felt naked in front of him; completely vulnerable and blushing from head to toe. Just one look, one glace even, was enough to send shivers up and down her back. Alyssa thought of his pale blue eyes. He had eyes like the sky on a pale summer’s day. They were the color of the calm before a storm, when the world feels safe and wonderful.
The angel kept expecting her human to snap, to lose it one day and turn on her like all the others had. They had all turned on her at some point, even the ones that said that they wouldn’t. Marcus would try to break her down, just like all the others. But even as the thoughts clouded her mind, she didn’t believe them. Marcus was nothing like the other men. He was good and gentle and kind. She trembled lightly as she thought about how much she wanted his touch, how much she wanted to be near him. As long as he was close to her she felt safe. Never before had she felt safe around a human.
She hadn’t allowed herself to feel anything besides numb in over six years. Not since Sage. He had been her first love. They were only children, but it had been love. He had been human, but that term was used loosely around him. Sage was a child of the forest. He had known every tree, every rock, and every flower. He knew all the animals by name, and he had shown her how to speak with many of the ones that she couldn’t already. Alyssa remembered their first kiss; it had been her first intimate experience with anyone after all. His lips were soft and delicate, just like he was. A few years with
Ruben changed all that though. Sage eventually turned angry and resentful.
In the beginning, when Ruben first allowed the boy to stay at the manor, Alyssa thought he had been a playmate for her. She had found him in the woods outside of Ruben’s home. There used to be woods there, before Ruben cut down the trees to make fires in the winter. Sage told her that he could hear their screams. He had cried for hours that day, huddled into a ball in the corner. He had never forgiven
Ruben for killing the trees. They were his friends after all. Ruben didn’t care much though. Sage was only a child back then. Furthermore, he was a child afraid of violence that would have never gotten revenge, even if the idea had come to him often during those years. He was innocent, even more so than she. Ruben only wanted him for his connection to the woods and all living creatures, she thought bitterly.
Sage’s first hunt came only months after his arrival. Alyssa would never forget the look of sheer terror that played in his eyes that day. He had never lost that first shock, even as the number of hunts grew into the hundreds. Sage never killed any of the animals of course, but Ruben used his abilities to find them. He had never forgiven himself for any of it.
Alyssa sighed sadly and forced herself to think of something else, but Sage’s gentle face continued to dance through her mind, causing a soft smile to go across her lips. She put him out of her brain and opened her eyes to the early afternoon sun. The river was cool against her body and it felt like a wonderful release from the heat of the day. She slipped up to her ears in the cool water and looked around the riverbank, her eyes slowly adjusting to the small amount of light that trickled down from the canopy. A yellow butterfly landed on a flower near her and she smiled at it. There was so much life in the forest, much more than she had even seen before.
Even in Ruben’s gardens she had rarely come across anything besides insects. Birds were scarce and she had rarely ever seen a butterfly. The life she had known for almost her entire existence was turning into just another memory. Even the horrors she had endured for so long seemed far away in such a tranquil place. Somehow being with Marcus had made her feel safe, as if nothing in the world could hurt her as long as she stayed near him. The only thing that could have made her new reality even more perfect would have been the company of her friends. She longed to be with them again, if only for an instant. Not knowing what happened to any of them had plagued her mind for years. Alyssa used to ask Ruben what he did with them all, but her questions were only answered with a mumbled response, if even that. Most of the time he had ignored her. It was when he didn’t that tormented her. But thoughts like those were out of place on such a perfect day.
The leaves off to her left rustled. Alyssa sighed and rolled her eyes. A small glimmer of hope crept into her mind at the possibility that the rustle was caused by Marcus, but it was a dim glimmer. She realized that he had things to do and was most likely busy. But still, she had hope.
The rustling ceased without producing anything more than a young, very fat, squirrel. She sighed and closed her eyes. The sunlight felt blissfully sweet on her cheeks and shoulders. Alyssa rose to her feet, reluctant to find herself wanting something to do. She looked around at the forest and sighed. With
Ruben she had been given tasks that took up much of her day. She didn’t know how to spend her days now that she was with Marcus.
With a bored need to spend time with people she decided to take a walk into town. It would take up the better part of the day, especially if she walked slowly. She waded to the bank of the river and pulled the small white dress over her head. Marcus might wonder where she was, she would have to let him know where she was going. Her damp wings helped to keep her bare shoulders cool against the sweltering summer heat. In the cabin her cloak hung on a hook, but she decided that the day was too hot for it. She would just have to risk people knowing what she was.
Luca would have gone with her as protection, but she would rather go alone. Alyssa remembered his nervousness around the humans at town. She didn’t blame him for being apprehensive. The long grass of the fields brushed against her bare legs as she made her way to the cabin. She thought Marcus might be there, but she couldn’t be certain. If he wasn’t though she decided that she would leave a note for him to find whenever he returned.
The cabin was dark as she entered it. A quick search of the rooms told her that Marcus was not there. She shrugged and found a small writing box among his possessions in the bedroom. With a quill and a pot of black ink she wrote him a small letter on a small sheet of paper. Alyssa left it on the dining table and smiled at her cloak. It could be useful in case there was anyone in town that she wanted to avoid. She pulled it over her shoulders and closed the door behind her.