AN: This is actually a little sweet plot bunny that attacked me before I hired a werewolf to gobble them up for me... ('cept he didn't do such a good job...)
Eventually I want to do a fic in Tortall, and this is a prelude to that...
The Green Thumb
It was not quite dawn yet, though the evidently close arrival of the sun brought streaks of bright color to pierce the otherwise dark sky, as if to celebrate the coming of the great orb of fire and light. Smiling slightly, Candace snuggled closer to her husband.
She realized that she had to get up, but was reluctant to do so just yet. The birds had just begun to sing, but not so loudly that they forced her to extract herself from the covers yet…. Yawning, she laughed to herself as she thought about the man beside her, the tree turned man.
She never would have believed it, if she had not seen it for herself. She had been picnicking with her sisters and their friends from the village, gossiping and giggling about handsome young men, when one appeared right before their eyes in the place of the yew tree they had all been sitting under. Terrified, nearly all of them had fled, except for Candace and one of her older sisters, both of whom had too much sense and enough of that unusual Gift to keep them from shrieking their heads off at the sight of something out of the ordinary. Jacinta had simply tossed him the cloth that they had been using to sit on and told him to wear it.
It was the strangest occurrence, one that the man- who had told them his name was Ehren- had little understanding of. He had been a tree; now, for no apparent reason, he was a man. It was then only a matter of a few months of explanations and embarrassing moments, most of which were- thankfully- handled by Jacinta's beau, who had invited the odd young man to live with his family. Candace had taken to visiting everyday, mainly because she was intrigued with the treeman and was curious to know what it was like to be a tree….
And one thing led to another, and now they were happily married with one son….
Her eyes flew open. Eoghan! She had not heard him cry out at all, throughout the night.
Pushing her blond hair behind her ears as she rose, the young woman crossed the room quietly to look in his cradle.
A cry escaped her as her gray eyes found only blankets! Ehren woke instantly. Noiselessly rising, he watched his wife as she whirled around frantically.
"Han's not in his bed" she called out softly. Ehren's jaw set grimly; it was not safe for a child to be outside, in the wilderness- there were immortals, and wolves-!
Without another word, he strode outside, his bow and quiver in hand. He had needed them at hand on more than one occasion; now, he kept them close. Just in case.
Another exclaimation left Candace's lips as she followed him outside. Ehren just stared for a long moment, and then smiled quietly.
Candace's garden- one she worked hard to prune and cultivate- had grown wild overnight. Vines pushed up everywhere, crawling out onto the path and road by their cottage as if they were in the forest.
"I believe I know what's happened," Ehren said quietly, chuckling to himself. Candace glared at him, but he only jerked his head towards the garden. Mystified, she wandered over to the botanical mess, mind still on her son-
"Eoghan Vidar Laeg-" Then she stopped to stare, dumbfounded.
The little boy lay in the dirt, one thumb in his mouth, the other hand wrapped around a plant which was inexplicably growing out of the soil as she watched. Hastily, she stepped over a prickly rosebush, swept down, and snatched up before carrying him over to where his father waited. Candace frowned and began muttering furiously, surveying his dirty clothes and mussed hair.
Stunned himself- though not as good at expressing it- Ehren inspected the overgrown garden and the plant that had sped up its growing process when Eoghan had held it.
"Look at this, Candace," he said, fascinated. "It seems like our boy's inherited your Gift… but my own plant skill has given him some sort of-" He trailed off, musing. As he did, Eoghan turned in his sleep and mumbled something. One hand fell from his mouth and landed on a leaf, which instantly swelled. Candace leapt back with a yelp, pulling her small son against her tightly.
"Well…," Ehren said slowly, then chuckled. "Now there's a green thumb."
AN: As I said, quick and cute. Eoghan means 'born of a yew tree', Vidar refers to a forest warrior god of Norse mythology, and Laeg means 'green' in Sindarin. 'Legolas' is actually derived from it, a combo of 'laeg' and 'go-lass', meaning leaves. At least, according to the internet... you can decide how trustworthy the info is, lol...
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