Chapter 2: Introductions
Vaughan:
Sometimes when I spent too long in my bird form, I felt jiggly when I tried to walk on two legs again.
I walked up their drive now. Having flown down the hill, only to walk up it in another form. Best to let them see me coming for a time.
The gates were still open, and maybe they didn't shut, from the rusted look of them. The manor was in good shape, for having no staff. The girl I had thought was maid was the daughter of the lord who lived here. She would never saddle a horse herself if there was anyone else to do it. Three children, or so the lord had said, the girl was likely the oldest, leaving her the only protector of the other two.
The snow I had seen an hour ago was gone. The sun had risen and melted it all. The girl, Holly, was still outside. The three horses that remained, were standing on the edge of a field patch. The girl was hooking a large piece of metal to them. Straps led from the contraption to latch around the horses' chests. The smallest horse, didn't quite fit in the harness, and the other two would likely suffer the extra weight for it.
I watched silently, not wanting to scare her. She patted the lead horse's rump. This black one was matching to Wrecker, whom her father rode, led to the way down the patch of garden.
A plow had been hooked to the horses, they pulled it and the machine turned the soil. Smart invention, how it got up here I'd never know. The patch of soil was small, but certainly enough for a full residence here, and they didn't have anywhere close to a full house. The horses knew when to turn and how fast to go. Holly didn't bother saying a thing to them. Well practiced, I supposed. She pulled the upturned roots from the ground tossing them to the side.
When she finished the first row and turned to the next, she noticed me.
Her eyes bulged and her stance went totally straight, alert. A lady even if she was wearing dirty overalls.
"This is private property." She informed me, her tone was clear. Get out.
I leaned against the well wall. "I was looking for a place to stay for a week or so. I could help out around the estate." I said calmly.
She looked me over. My size, my ears. Obviously, she needed the help, being the only caretaker here. She was a lady who would never have lifted a finger if things hadn't gone to shit in her country.
"We don't need help." She evenly. A court voice, or one she used with strangers at the very least. Guarded and calm.
I crossed my arms, letting the bulge of them be what drew her attention. "I'll chop firewood and hunt for fresh game, for everyone at this estate."
"How did you find this place?" She asked, ignoring my offer.
"I'm Fae."
She snorted.
"I have an animal form. I was sent by my queen to hunt down a criminal we believe is hiding in these woods. I was flying over the land and saw your manor. I would like a warm bed for a few nights before I continue further north." I explained carefully.
"What queen do you serve?" She asked quickly. Her sapphire eyes were insanely wide. Sapphire eyes and blonde hair, there was no more noble combination, well at least in Terrasen. Blonde hair was a mark of fire, and blue eyes was the mark of two of Brannon's children. Though half the people in the north had one or the other.
Ah, but did I lie or not. She likely didn't get much news this far north, but she hadn't said a word against Maeve, only the Valg. Maeve would never side with the Valg, so the truth would likely not be too destructive. "Maeve," I straightened fully. She again assessed me.
"How do I know the criminal isn't you." She asked, still calm and kind.
I raised a brow. "I have an osprey form, I was sent north to cover more ground. The one I'm hunting has a wolf form."
She narrowed her eyes, "That's not proof." She shook her head. Her first movement.
"I can offer you none. You know little about the court happenings in Doranelle, and so there is no way corroborate my story." If she wanted to play smart, so would I.
"You were sent North to look for the criminal?" She asked, and I nodded my answer. "Why would you only want to stay only a few days, and not all of winter, surely that the better option."
"I didn't want to assume you were that generous. I will also have to follow the whispers of where he is, I hear something, and I'll be off." I tried to make myself seem not so intimating. There was no getting around the fact that I was high Fae, but she didn't need to know I had been trained to kill since I could walk.
"You'll stay in the southern wing of the house, taking care of your own needs there. I have no real abilities to force you out of my house or off my land. If your criminal comes creeping around, I expect you keep them from this house and the children inside." She informed me. She turned back to the dirt.
"Should I let myself inside or do the children not scare easy?" I asked half-hearted. I expected to watched, aggressively.
"If you remain in the southern wing, you won't see them when in the house." She said with a huff of breath.
I pushed off of the well. "I'll just put my things inside, then start hunting." I told her.
"Check the fish traps while you're out." She called. Not an order, but not really a request.
In the house was warm. Well, the northern wing was warm, the middling rooms was as well. Likely they never bothered with the southern half of the place. It was still warmer than anything outside. I opted for the first room on the ground floor. It was closest to the door and had a window large enough for my bird form to fit out of. I'd just have to get the boards off. I didn't think she would mind. There was no bathing room reserved for me, but there was a shared one with the next room. It was small, but well made. The bed wasn't made, but there were linens in the top drawer of the dresser. Everything was very nice. An insane price would have to be paid to get everything up here in the first place.
I made the bed and little flowers decorated the comforter. I might have to steal the next rooms blankets as well. Or build a fire in the little sitting room. There was no chimney here. After I chopped wood and hunted though.