1.4 Capsicum Annum
I looked at him with some trepidation. He was exquisite, but he was a stranger, and I was alone in the woods with nothing but a basket full of lavender blossoms and blueberries.
His gaze appeared to be transfixed, and his lips were moving as if he was speaking to himself. I wondered if he could be a witch casting a spell, but I had been labeled that so often myself due to my herbal concoctions that I knew it was ridiculously easy to just assume things we didn´t know and be cruel merely out of fear.
I moved to start walking away in the direction of my home. That seemed to break him of his reverie and he took a step towards me, making me freeze.
"Hello?" he asked, sounding like he wasn´t sure I would understand.
"Um… hello," I answered as confidently as I could.
He breathed out, looking relieved, and shook his head, blinking several times. Finally, his features settled in a beautiful, lopsided smile.
He raised a rabbit he had in his left hand.
"I´ve been hunting. What do you have there?" he inquired, pointing at my basket.
I felt my eyes grow wide with alarm. "That´s… that´s illegal!" I squeaked, looking around the clearing as if expecting the Duke´s guard to suddenly surround us.