Here we go again. The story's growing a little darker now... In more ways than one. Thank you very much for the nice reviews I've got so far; let me know what you think about the new chapter.


Chapter two: (No) Teenage dream - Part 1

The shadows beneath the leafs of the forest were growing longer and darker from minute to minute. All the deer, pigs and squirrels - animals of the day - went to sleep and vanished to make way for the creatures of the dark. In the distance, one could hear the howling of a lonely wolf. Was it a trick of the light that the apples in the trees appeared like glowing red eyes?

Every villager had retreated to his home long before nightfall, but still one person remained in the woods. Her long, red hair shone like a redstone torch in the last beams of sunlight while she was secretly sneaking past the suspicious apple tree. Her brown leather boots hardly caused any noise, a pair of brown eyes scanned the twilight all around. The young, slender teenage girl winced when the first signs of monster reached her ears and drew her iron sword, a gift to her sixteenth birthday. Adrenaline rushed in her ears and sharpened all her senses - and she loved it!

Carefully, she sneaked past a group of oak trees when, all of a sudden, a zombie spawned nearby her and limped into her direction, growling in anger. A fierce grin appeared on her face - challenge accepted!

Giving out a remarkable scream, she met the zombie head on and swung her sword. Two times it damaged the zombie before she sent him to the Nothing with the last strike. Her reward wasn't the best one to expect - a piece of rotten flesh - be nevertheless she was proud of herself. One step closer to becoming the best female warrior ever seen!

A hiss, coming out from somewhere behind her, made her turn around and face a clearly aggressive spider. The creature hissed again and jumped at her, but Petra stepped aside quickly and let it jump right into her blade. It vanished in a few smoke circles and left nothing behind, but its eye. Collecting the loot, Petra straightened her back and looked around when an arrow flew past her right ear and nailed itself into the tree behind her. Letting out an alarmed squeak, she dodged to the left and took cover behind the tree. "A skeleton, shit!" she cursed.

She didn't have much experience with those monsters yet and the only weapons she had with her were either her sword or a pickaxe. Both not the best tools to fight a bowman. And there were only spawning more and more beasts beneath the trees as the night grew darker. She had to act quickly.

Deciding that she shouldn't try her luck on the archer right now, she made a run for it and sliced herself a way through the monsters. Actually, she had intended to find a zombie brain this afternoon to impress Oliver, but now she had to admit that she'd been a bit too optimistic about that. She was quickly circled by creatures and started getting slightly nervous. What to do now? She couldn't fight her way through them on her own; for that, she was still too much of a rookie.

"Petra!"

A zombie next to her was smashed to the ground and vanished when she wheeled around and recognized her older brother. "Oliver!"

"Damn it, what were you thinking running so deep into the forest?! This is the fifteenth time in three months!"

Sparing an answer for later, she damaged a spider next to her with her sword and together they made their way out of the forest, stabbing the monsters they couldn't avoid.

"It's not the fifteenth time!" she said finally.
"Right, the twentieth!"

She stabbed a zombie in the back and gave her brother and angry gaze. "Well then, what are you doing here? Sightseeing?"
"What about taking my pick-headed sister back home?!" was his answer, while he was literally kicking a skeleton's ass, "You owe me more than one, I'm still counting!"
"In your dreams!"

Finally, they had made it out of the forest, reached the grassy plain near their home and stopped running. Petra stoke a few sweat-soaked strands aside and looked up. The windows of the cottage were bright alit.

"You don't have to thank me." Oliver commented sarcastically.
"I had everything under control." she replied, "That was until you showed up! Why would you never give me a chance?! I can fight!"

"Petra, listen for once!" He stopped and faced her. "Hunting monsters in a dark forest at night is not about fighting skills or bravery! Do you have a death wish?! You nearly got yourself killed - again!"

She groaned and crossed her arms. "I was far away from even getting a few bumps!"

"Indeed, it was close to getting your arms ripped out!" Oliver fixed her eyes with his. "Listen, I don't want to suppress you or anything. But there's a very small path between bravery and stupidity. And you definitely crossed it today!"

His little sister let out a heavy breath, stemmed her hands on her hips and tossed her hair back with a move of her head. "And what shall I do then, oh wise brother? Stick to training with dummies and armor stands while you're running around earning titles?!"

"Hold it, I didn't say that!"

"But you thought it!"

"Don't accuse me of things that aren't true!" He sighed, crossed his arms and measured her with an estimating look. "You are right, you're no baby anymore. And you have the talent to become a great sword fighter one day. So... perhaps I should consider starting to train you in the way you deserve it."

Petra was flashed. Her anger about his interruption in the woods faded away. "You really mean that?!"
Oliver smiled at her. "Yeah, I think so. C'mon, let's get inside. It's getting fresh out here."

Side by side, they approached the cottage - which had gotten a new pasture with two horses in it to it the past days. A dark brown stallion and a blue-silver mare raised their heads when the two siblings went past them.

"I don't get why I'm still not allowed to own a pet while you just bought Bill and Mindy." Petra pointed out, "Don't get me wrong, I like them and all that, but it's just not fair."
"At last, I'm an adult, sweetie." Oliver joked, "Don't bitter; I didn't make the rules. But I can teach you a little horse riding, if I have the time and you want to."

Petra gave him an skeptical gaze, but smiled briefly. "No hasty promises, brother."


Thankfully, the rain of the last week had finally passed and one could go outside and enjoy the sunshine again. There were a few reparations to get done on the cottage and the fence of the pasture, which is why the whole family spent almost the entire weekend outside, crafting new wooden planks and fitting them into the broken parts. Some of the roof planks had to be removed as well. So Petra had more than enough to get done and was momentarily kneeling on the grass, repainting the fence when, unexpectedly, a voice called out for her: "Hey Petra!"

She jumped to her feet and turned around to see a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes crossing the meadow at high speed. She waved back enthusiastically. "Hey Lynn!"

Lynn was the daughter of a farmer just across the river that parted these lands, and therefore her indirect neighbor. They had met the first time as little kids when Petra's Mom had taken her to the farmer to trade a few things, and they were like best friends ever since. Countless times they had been caught in the stables, playing in the hay and hunting the chickens. Their creativity had been endless when it came to outside activity - even the pigs hadn't been safe from them.
But nowadays, as teenagers, Lynn didn't have so much spare time anymore since she was taught a farmer's daily work by her parents. She was supposed to lead the farm on her own one day.
That was why Petra was even more excited to see her, dropped the bucket wit color and hugged her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking after my best friend, what do you think?" Lynn laughed, "You look brilliant, how are you?"

"Oh, don't you slip on your slime! I'm cool, what about you?"

"Brilliant, now that I'm here!"

"Slime ball!"

Both girls laughed again and Petra softly punched her friend's shoulder. "Hey, do you mind hard work? I need to get this painting done."

"Not at all, give me a paintbrush and I'm your man."

"Woman."

"Whatever."

Giggling, they got to work - of course chatting the whole time while painting. Lynn had a lot to tell about a boy she'd gotten to know last week in town, Petra on the other hand gave a lot of input about horse riding and sword fighting. After finishing the fence, they were allowed a cool drink inside - if Petra knew where to find the drinks. She could bet that her parents had hidden them from her and Oliver until all the work was done.
Therefore, she ran back outside only to find her mother leaning against the wall of the cottage, completely out of breath. The sight gave Petra a heart attack. "Mom?!"

The red-haired woman opened her eyes and attempted a smile. "Hey darling."

"Are you okay?"

"What? Yes, I'm fine, just ran out of breath for a sec."

"Shall I bring you a glass of water?"

"Oh, that would be nice, sweetheart."

Nodding briefly, the teenage girl rushed inside and returned within two minutes. "Here you go." she said and handed her the drink; she was still concerned about her mother's current state. But she seemed to be a little better after finishing the drink.

"Thank you. Don't worry, Petra, I'm fine."

But a few hours later, Lynn has already gone home, Petra found her worries confirmed. Her mother coughed heavily from time to time and felt weaker than normal after a hard day's work.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Oliver asked when they'd finally made her lay down on the sofa, "When did this all start?"

"Around afternoon, after we were done with the roof." Despite her state, she gave her kids an encouraging smile. "I just need a bit sleep, it's fine. Get something for dinner, I taught you how to cook, Petra, right?"
"I assume." her daughter answered, "But not as good as you."
Her mother chuckled and commented "At least I have to defend my rightful place!" while Petra vanished in the kitchen. When she brought her some toast and eggs a few minutes later, she had fallen fast asleep though.


The water was already overflowing because of the heat, so Petra had to drop the saddle quickly and rushed over to the fire place. Protecting her hands with a towel, she got the teapot on the table and poured the water into two cups. One was for her, the other one for her mother, who was lying on the sofa, covered by a soft blanket.

"Sorry Mom!" she said loud enough that she could be heard in the living room, "Mindy just didn't want to get inside and the weather is awful."

As if to confirm what she'd just said, the wind outside howled even louder and a few rain drops hit the kitchen window. The young woman sighed, put the cups, sugar and honey on a tablet and carried it to her mother who was barely awake. The sight squeezed her heart; the pretty woman who'd given birth to her had lost a lot of weight during fall and her once shiny, red hair was now dull and streaked with grey strands. But she's made it from the bedroom upstairs to the living room today. That was a good sign.

"Hey." Petra spoke up and sat down in a chair next to her, "I've got some tea for you."
Groaning slightly, her mother opened her eyes, smelled the tea and rose a little from her pillow. "Oh, that's nice, darling."

Her voice sounded so weak and broken, it gave Petra the chills. She put both her hands around the hot mug and enjoyed the smell of the warm tea. "Have you taken your medicine yet?"
"Yes, I did." the older one answered, waiting for the tea to cool down, "The potion only worsened the headache for the first two hours."
Petra sighed. "If only I knew how to get around this..."
"It's allright, don't blame yourself."

But the talking didn't do much good for the sick woman and she had to cough again, putting the mug back on the table with shaking hands. Feeling helpless, the daughter placed a hand on her mother's shoulder. "Okay, it's okay, don't speak. I'll go and get you a pain killer."

She rose from her chair and headed for the bathroom upstairs where they kept all their medicine. She grabbed a small phial with pain killer potion inside, returned to her mother and gave three drops into her tea. "It's going to be allright soon. Listen, I don't want to leave you alone, but I have to feed the horses before the storm is getting worse."

"No apologies, it's fine. Go."

Petra nodded, left the potion on the couch table and went into the corridor where she grabbed her rain jacked before leaving the house. Outside, the wind immediately messed with her hair and rain hit her face; the cap helping not in the slightest. Fortunately, the stable wasn't far ahead but Petra still got soaked. Her jeans trousers stuck to her skin and her boots were full of mud.

"Allright, buddies, ready for dinner?" she talked to the two horses in their boxes while untying a bunch of hay, "Be grateful that you don't have to be outside today. You're spoiled, both of you. You know that?"

But when Mindy rubbed her silver forehead against her shoulder, Petra welcomed the chance for a short hug. She'd grown very fond of the two horses during the last months.
"Stop weeping." she told the mare a few seconds later and straightened her body, "I have to get back inside."

She quickly checked the water buckets in both boxes, freed the salt stones from hay and gave the animals what they got for dinner today: hay and wheat. For a few seconds, she granted herself a break and watched them enjoying their food. Though she knew there were other duties waiting.

Giving Mindy a short claps on the neck, she left the stable and made her way back to the cottage - where she almost ran into a wet Oliver who was standing right behind the door.

"Woah, hey!" she said in surprise, "Back already?"

"Yes, lucky me. This weather's only getting worse. Where do you come from?"

"Just fed Bill and Mindy before nightfall."

"Oh, you're great! Thanks a lot!"

"No problem."

Both got rid of their stiff, wet jackets and muddy boots. When she looked into the mirror on the wall, Petra noticed her messy hair, watered and full of hay. She sighed; she definitely needed a shower, but this had to wait until later. First, she had to take care of her mother.
"How's she doing?" Oliver asked silently. Petra let out a long breath and her shoulders dropped. "Not that well, actually. But she made it down here around midday, so that's a good sign."

"I guess."

They got a look in the living room where their mother again had fallen asleep. Petra sighed. "I'm gonna make dinner. You help me?"
"Of course, tell me what to do."

ooo

It was about half an hour later when their father came back home. Just right before nightfall - the sky was already growing completely black. And he seemed very exhausted.

"Thanks for backing me up, you two." he said at dinner. They ate in the living room, for moving to the kitchen was too much for their Mom.
"Stop it, Dad." Oliver answered, "I wish we could do more."
"Me too." Petra agreed, "I was thinking about threatening the doctor."

Oliver's spoon hit his plate with a bright clinging. "This is not funny, Petra!"
She met his glance without blinking once. "I didn't make fun."

For a few minutes, they just ate in silence, everyone in his own thoughts. Until their father broke it with a announcement: "Listen, I got a new task from my employee. He wants me and George and Fred to go on an... excursion."

"Excursion?" their mother echoed.

"Yes, he's run out of... supplies like cacao and stuff and needs someone to secure them."

"Wait, cocoa?" Petra interfered. "You only get supplies like that from a trader or in the jungle biome."

"Yes... exactly, Petra."

Everyone's jaw dropped, but his wife was staring at him in pure shock. "You must be kidding" she whispered.
Finn seemed to feel very uncomfortable right now. He reached out for her hand and covered it with his. "Unfortunately, I'm not. We have to be ready to leave tomorrow around midday."

"Wow..." Petra commented, "That's... hardcore." Somehow, her dinner wasn't tasty at all anymore.