Chapter 3: Premonition

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of spiders

Dusk

It grew chilly as the sun began to make it's set, the sounds of crickets came up about. It was just about dinner time, Francis and Arthur were now sitting at the old wooden table in the house of their new caretaker, Anais. In the bowls given was stew, it had a rich caramel color to it as pieces of carrot and green onion float about it. The two were eager to finally eat, it had been a long day for them being out in the dirty wild nature that is the woods. As Francis and Arthur began to eat up, Anais turned to the small window at the dark corner of the room. She stared outside, admiring the beautiful view. Clouds began to cover the golden ball of sun, it aroused nature which such colors like violet and peach from the lighting. The trees appeared navy blue within the shadows once the sun was no longer around, all that was left was just the dark skies and the cool winds that seeped through the window, into her home. She glanced back at Francis and Arthur, who were just finishing up their last meal of the day.

"Are you little ones ready for bed time?" She smiled. They both nodded in response, they couldn't think of anything to say. All on the their minds was the prayer before bed and all the dreams that awaits them in their future slumber. Anais led the two into the small bed chamber at the other side of the one candle-lit room, it was partially dark and small. Each side of the small room were two small beds, the wooden legs were coated in dust and bits of cobweb and small strands of hay lied on the floor. The hay acted as a mattress and was covered up by cloth sheets to prevent any itching or discomfort. After a small prayer before bed, Anais tucked in Francis and Arthur before heading out of the room. She blew the candle light out, making darkness consume it's away around the three of them.

Dawn; Sunday

It was even more humid and sticky than it was yesterday, all the peasants that worked in the fields began to sweat sooner than you'd expect. Anais stayed inside her small cottage home to do some cleaning while Francis and Arthur ventured around the new small town. As Anais set her broom aside the stone walls, she grabbed a nearby handkerchief and wiped the droplets of sweat off her forehead and underarms, the heat made her face flush a deep violet. 'It is too hot for spring..' she thought to herself, stepping outside in the heat once again. She went around the right side of her home, to check up on her garden. Anais stepped over small bushes and another plants to get to the other side of the tiny yard, and there it was.. a tiny, safe, green, and calm spot was set up with beautiful blooming flowers scattered about. Some other plants carried fruit and vegetables, Anais went over to a small shrub at the corner of the wooden fence that blossomed beautiful blueberries. Their color ranged from a navy blue to some even bright baby blue. One by one while on her knees, she placed each one of them into the basket aside from her. After some time, Anais' basket was already full of the blueberries she had picked. When she picked it up, the weight of the basket was now heavy; but not too heavy for her to be able to carry back inside her cottage home. As she went around the corner to the front of the garden, she was suddenly stopped by the elderly peasant from yesterday. Her expression revealed an angry furrow.

"Good Morning, madame.." Anais greeted the old woman, with her voice becoming soft and her tone becoming sincere.

"Don't you good morning madame, me!" She snapped, Anais quickly had set her blueberry basket down. She began to approach the old peasant but had paused when she heard the sound of crying and shouting from the other side of the bushes. Anais walked past the old peasant, not knowing that she would follow her. Francis and Arthur tumbled out of shrubs and bushes, twigs stuck in their hair and dirt now coating their outfits. In Arthur's hands was a giant twig, Francis was on the dirt floor. Tears were coming out of his eyes like juice, and Arthur was angry whacking at something on the ground, Anais quickly ran over to comfort Francis but then froze when she saw what Arthur was hitting at.

"Die you monstrous fiend!" The little English boy shouted. A massive fuzzy little brown tarantula ran past Anais' ankles, but she didn't had enough to look at it because it had dashed off so quickly. She turned back to Arthur, and then down at Francis who was starting to calm down. The mean old peasant stood at the corner of the dirt road, in shock yet in such curiosity. "What in the lord's name did you two do?" She asked, Francis, finally calm, ran over back to Arthur as he grew a smirk. The two children looked at the old peasant who was watching everything, her hooded eyes blinked and her honey pupils looked around curiously. She came out from the corner, cautiously approaching the two. Francis and Arthur stared at her, feeling a such a vibe that made them feel heavily uncomfortable. The sunlight had hit her hair, it was brown as your morning espresso. Her lips were as dry and thin, but had kept their pinkish color. Her honey eyes then drew towards Anais as she eventually came to a pause. Her angry furrow returned as she marched up to lavender lady.

"Are these your kids? Are you teaching them to be savages?" Her voice was stinging.

Anais finally stood up and said, "They were trying to kill a spider, it doesn't make they are savages! They're my brothers!" Anais didn't yell, she spoke reasonably and very vividly enough for other peers to hear her. She held Francis and Arthur close to her as she began to make her back to the little cottage, Anais looked back at the elderly peasant. "Madame, me and my brothers have good intentions. It is immoral to judge." Anais motioned the two to head back inside the house as she turned back to the Honey-eyed peasant. She crossed her arms, she softly spoke to Anais once again with her ominous tone. She looked dead straight into Anais' innocent moonlight blue pupils, Anais backed away as the old peasant began to approach her.

"Listen, I don't take kind into people like you. Having lavender skin and savage brothers? I think you must be some kind of witch!" Anais kept looking back, nearly about to hit a bush with prickly vines and thorns, she raised her hands up to signal the woman to stop. She didn't listen and kept going, rambling on how she was a witch sent from the belly of hell. Fear and adrenaline rushed through Anais' body like a freeway, as her back came closer and closer to the thorny bush. Suddenly, she saw the same brown tarantula that Arthur tried to kill earlier, crawl up on the right side of the old peasant's shoulder. Anais finally stopped as a smirk grew on her face, watching the little arachnid curiously crawled around her shoulder. Funny to the lavender lady, the old peasant didn't notice that a spider was closer than she thought would be.

"Well, I see that another so-called witch has made a nice home on your shoulder."

The old peasant froze in place, she looked over her shoulder to see where the "witch" was, and there crawling on it was the brown and fuzzy tarantula. She yelped and began running in a circle, desperately trying to take the tarantula off. The tarantula panicked and crawled into her chest, the old peasant began running down the dirty road, hollering "SPIDER WITCH! THAT LAVENDER FIEND IS A SPIDER WITCH!". Her shrill shrieks echoed, Anais chuckled softly as she made her way back inside the garden. It was about time one's big mouth and lie spreading got what they deserved. Everything was now quiet and peaceful once again at Anais' home, but little did she know that the old peasant had been telling others in the village, and the rumors were quickly spreading like a chain reaction.

Soon, she would be watched by others.. even in bed.