The village had needed a hunter so he moved. He was in no way a great sportsmen, but he knew the basics, had the supplies and was in dire need of employment. It was a symbiotic relationship, one that satisfied the base needs and not much else. He supposed when the village sent word to other villages searching for a hunter they were expecting an upright pillar of the community, instead of a silent bookworm who'd rather spent his days reading in the town square. Implied qualifications are rarely filled though.
In villages as small as his new home, even with his standoffish nature, he was on a first name basis with every resident by his first Sunday. On his second Sunday he had an admirer. "Samuel! Just the man I was hoping to see." He nodded in her direction but kept his attention on his book. Giselle could carry a conversation with a tree for days without getting bored. "My father was hoping you could come to dinner tonight, to celebrate your first true hunt." Flipping a page in his book Samuel wondered if the weak hunt he had just returned from was worth celebrating, but knew arguing such a point would lead him nowhere. He let his eyes slide away from the page to meet the ocean blue of the mayor's daughter.
"Tell your father I would be honored, I will see you tonight." Her eyes flashed as her lips broke into a broad smile. "Wonderful! Until tonight!" She scampered away to her friends and left him with his book as the background of village bustled around him. Giselle's infatuation with him seemed to baffle the villagers but the answer was simple to him. He was new. While it was a commonly accepted fact that the mayor's daughter was the prettiest girl in the village, she was still young and attracted to the novelty of a new villager. He had no interest in courting the girl even though the entire village seemed to be waiting for him to act. He had never been one to stay in one place for long and he didn't expect this village to give him any reason to stay any more than the last had.
It only took one look at the mayor and his daughter to realize they were related. The slightly tanned skin, paired with the warm dark hair, both carrying the slightly upturned nose and large smiles. The only trace of her mother's northern heritage were the bright blue eyes that Giselle displayed her every emotion through. Giselle quickly ushered him in the house while the mayor and his wife shared knowing smiles behind their backs.
Samuel had never been one for small talk but he had never felt as much pressure to speak meaningless pleasantries as he did while sitting at the dining table. Even as a child his mother had called him her little ghost because of how silent he was in comparison to his siblings. It was actually Lucinda, as she insisted he should call her who broke the silence. "I hope the superstitions of the villagers have not worried you at all, Samuel." His head shot up, before he collected himself. Somewhere deep in the back of his mind he could hear the stories from his own childhood home on repeat. "Mother, no one truly believes those silly stories." Though Giselle's tone was light and teasing he could tell she was uncomfortable with the subject. His mind screamed danger but he moved forward with purpose and allowed himself to speak.
"I'm afraid I've yet to hear them, perhaps you could share them." The greying blonde smiled, and gave her daughter a look. "Well if there are no objections I don't see why not." Giselle fidgeted in her seat as if an old wives tale would somehow ruin dinner.
"In our sleepy little town, it is common knowledge that the forest is off limits for the unprepared. It's said if you go in too deep you have no chance of returning."
"No chance…?" his eyebrow raised as he took a slow sip of wine, ignoring the dark taste.
"Because of the stone princess!" Giselle jumped in, leaning over the table. Lady Lucinda nodded at her daughter and started again. "The local duke who owned our lands had two daughters. The lovely Evangeline and her jealous younger sister."
The two sisters did everything together, and spent each day in each other's company, but it was obvious to anyone that Evangeline was the true beauty inside and out. On Evangeline's 21st birthday though her sister found out she was chosen to be the duke's heir and went into a jealous rage. She tricked the Duke's adviser to create a potion that would turn her sister to stone and allow her to become the heir. The potion caused her sister to turn to stone and the betrothed was chased away. Regretting his actions the adviser put a curse on the younger sister. She would never age and everyone she touched would turn to stone. Alone she was cursed to sit in the castle. Supposedly if a hero is brave enough to get past the jealous sister and gift the stone Evangeline with true love's kiss she will awaken and free everyone her sister has punished.
The fog cleared from his mind as the tale ended. The family chatted amicably long into dinner, not even noticing how far off he seemed as he said goodbye.