The Goddess and the Farmboy

Oscar rarely left the farm he was born on. He lived on the wildlife around him and the garden he grew produce in. He only went to the town when he needed to see the blacksmith for new equipment or he needed new clothes from the seamstress and cobbler. The price was always reduced since he could supply his own pelts and tanned hides. He also made money by selling the extra furs and harvest that he could never eat on his own. It was a little lonely, but it was still a life he loved.

He was hunting in the woods near his cottage when that life changed.

The woods in the winter were always unnerving. The tree's branches were like long, boney fingers clawing at an overcast sky. Oscar remembered being terrified of the forest as a child. Now he hunted for game with ease, navigating the terrain cautiously but also with confidence. He couldn't let his guard down, but he also couldn't second guess every step.

As a rule, Oscar didn't hunt with iron traps. One reason was that he didn't want to forget about its placement and end up snapping his leg in it. The second reason was that it seemed unnecessarily cruel. Simple rabbit snares with some thin rope were enough for him, or even his bow to snag a squirrel or raccoon.

Oscar knew he always had to watch for them though. Others did not share his ideals and it wasn't like he was the only one who hunted in these parts of the woods. However, that didn't stop him from disarming and discarding the monstrous things.

Today, he was unfortunately too late.

He heard the whimpering before he saw the creature. Oscar had finished his hunting and sported a lean rabbit for his spoils. When he got in sight of the pained cries his mouth actually dropped open.

The wolf was lean with a shiny reddish black coat that was striking against the patches of frost and snow on the forest floor. Its silver eyes appeared to almost glow as the creature stopped howling, focusing its intense gaze on him instead. Oscar didn't look away, despite the unnerving intelligence behind those eyes.

Slowly, Oscar set down his bow and giver before approaching the wolf. The best let out a low growl as Oscar approached. He flinched and began to question whether or not freeing a wild animal like this was a good idea. He shook off the doubt and began to approach again.

"It won't hurt you," Oscar said softly and offered the back of his hand for the wolf to sniff.

The wolf still seemed uneasy, but sniffed his hand. Oscar sighed in relief that the creature didn't decide to take a bit out of him before shifting closer., a hand gently moving across the soft fur of the wolf's pelt.

"Good girl," he said as his hand moved across the wolf's side and down her flank.

"This is going to hurt," Oscar warned before he began to pry the trap open. She howled but made no move to snap at him. When the trap finally opened enough, the wolf shot forward and Oscar let the trap snap shut again before throwing the sprung trap down into a nearby ravine.

Oscar stood and gathered his bow and quiver. He expected to find the wolf gone but instead she sat near him—licking her leg to clean her wound. He shook his head in mild bemusement before beginning on his way back to his cottage.

As he walked he could hear the sound of something limping behind him, signaled only by the faint crunch of the remaining leaves of autumn. Oscar stopped and so did the noise. He peaked back out of curiosity and what he expected to see. The wolf had decided it was going to follow him. Oscar vaguely wondered if it was the rabbit still attached to his side that was attracting the creature. If that was the case though, it would have made more sense for the wolf to just jump him already.

"I'll share the rabbit but you need to wait for me to get back to my house first OK?" Oscar asked the wolf and it let out a small yelp before letting its tongue roll out of its mouth as its tail began to wag happily. Oscar let out a small laugh before continuing to walk, only this time the wolf was hobbling to its side.

…

Oscar reached his home a good half hour later, the wolf still to his side. He did have to flick it's nose a few times to stop it from trying to steal a bite of the rabbit but the she-wolf only let out a throaty noise almost equivalent to a laugh.

His cottage was simple and the wolf followed him with minimal hesitation, instead, it ran straight for his bed covered in some thick blankets of cotton and a few larger sheep pelts he trades for some potatoes with the Shepard, Jaune, the next farm over.

"Glad you like my house," Oscar teased the wolf before he began to clean the rabbit and start a fire so as to boil water for stew. The pelt would help make him a nice pair of mittens for the winter. He used the guts normally as fertilizer in the spring but today he supposed they would go to the wolf. Then he would carve part of the meat off to add to his mixture of milk from the old cow he had and vegetables he grew from his own garden.

He could feel the wolf's eyes on him as he worked. He had placed a plate of the innards in front of the she-wolf and she eagerly ate them up as if she hadn't had a good meal in weeks. Considering she was a wild animal that was always possible. Still, he felt like she was watching him and studying him. Maybe she was figuring out the best time to eat him alive.

"Stew is done," Oscar said to himself but partly the wolf. He fixed up a bowl and placed it on the floor by the table, prompting the wolf to head over to where he was sitting. "Careful, it's hot."

The wolf didn't listen though and went straight in only to yelp and hop back as it burned its tongue on the hot food.

"I told you it was hot," Oscar said with a laugh before digging into his own food, blowing on his own food to make sure he didn't repeat the wolf's mistake. They ate in silence together and for once Oscar didn't quite feel as lonely as he normally did.

…

"Hold still, you're not sleeping on my bed with an open wound." Oscar was struggling to get the wolf to hold still while he tried to wrap bandages around the wolf's leg wound. She playfully tried to bite at him as he tried to wrap the wound. He just ignored it and kept bandaging the wound.

"There was that so bad," Oscar said when the wound was finally dressed. The wolf had a look on its face that reminded him of how the baker in town, Ren, looked at his wife Nora when she did something particularly mischievous. Oscar could only laugh in response before he wiggled his way around the wolf to get under the pelts and blankets.

"Good night," he said to the wolf as it nuzzled closer to his chest and buried its cold snout in the crook of his neck. Oscar laughed again before he finally blew out the candle on the side of his bed and let sleep take him.

…

Oscar woke up to something warm and soft touching his face. The smell of the woods was thick in his nose and something like hair tickled his cheeks. When he opened his eyes he about fell out of the bed. Where the wolf had been now laid a girl with short reddish dark hair and skin milky white.

"Umm…." Oscar started to stammer, his body almost handing off of the bed.

"Just five more minutes," the girl whined in a sweet voice—attempting to pull his body closer for warmth.

"Can you please tell me while you're in my bed?" Oscar finally yelled and the girl's eyes flew open. Oscar could feel his breath hitch in his throat. The girl had the same silver eyes at the wolf, with the same haunting beauty and intelligence the animals had held.

"What you don't remember?" She asked and she stood causing Oscar to quickly avert his eyes.

Of course, she was also naked.

"You could at least look me in the eyes."

"You would need to put some clothes on first."

"What are you talking about. I am dressed."

Cautiously Oscar looked up and sure enough, she was now dressed in a flowing red dress, accented with silver, diamonds, and rubies. Suddenly his heart wanted to stop in his chest and he felt like an idiot. It all made sense. The wolf. The intelligence. Now the girl with silver eyes.

"You're the goddess of the woods and hunting, Ruby." She smiled softly as his recognition.

"And your Oscar Pine, a farm-boy who hunts in these woods."

"H-how do you know that?"

"I've been watching you as you hunt in these woods I frequent. You always treat nature with respect and kindness and so I grew curious." She paused for a moment as she smiled fondly again. "However, my sister decided to play a prank on me and left me stuck in that form for a day. Embarrassingly I wasn't paying attention and walked into that trap when you found me."

Oscar's head was spinning. Everything seemed crazy to him. Was he dying of hyperthermia in the woods? That seemed more logical then him talking to a goddess in his house.

"And, I had a gift for you." Oscar looked up at her curious now. She had a blush spread across her cheeks but she hopped down from his bed and pulling him outside. He was already in some clothes as it was too cold to sleep without, but it was still brisk when she dragged him outside. It was warmer though then it had been. Signs that spring was fast approaching.

She stopped in his garden before smiling broadly with a giggle, making his heart flutter a bit again. Leaning down she touched the ground and from where she touched, sprouted thorny stems and finally velvet soft-looking petals as red as the dress the goddess was wearing.

"What's it called?" Oscar asked as he walked closer, terrified to actually touch the beautiful flower.

"It's called a rose," Ruby said as she stood shoulder to shoulder with him before kissing him on the cheek. "And it's my gift to you."

"Thank you," he said though it came out as more of a breathless sigh.

"Also, if it isn't too much," Ruby started again her face just as red as before. "Would you mind if I came for dinner again sometime?"

Oscar smiled softly.

"I could never refuse you."

BRK: This is what happens when you go to a theme park. You sleep all day Sunday and forget to post the first day of Rosegarden week.