The sword goes south
When Hanna saw the hunting lodge of Leah in the distant twilight, she did a little dance of joy. She broke into a run through the trees, gasping for breath as she did. Her feet jumped and skipped through trip holes and roots with a practised ease. Her pounded in her chest at the thought of seeing her beloved again after being apart. She flew up the porch steps and almost broke down the door as she charged her way in. She tripped over a rug and fell straight into Matthew.
"Matthew, oh Matthew. It is good to see you again." "Yes it is, my love. If you want it, stew's on the table." Hanna leaped from the floor in one fluid motion that surprised even Matthew and bolted towards the table. "Did you get it? The sword, I mean." "Yes, it's here across my shoulder." "And was it as easy as I said was. Did it make your heart pound and blood run hot as you crept right under the druid's very nose and pulled out his treasure?" "Yes and more. If the druids really were protectors of the people, they would be out there doing just that; protecting the four lands. Instead, I walk in casually to see not a soul about and steal one of their most precious talismans. They really are a lot of foolish old men, just like you said."
Over a large dinner, Hanna relayed the details of her expedition to Matthew and watched as his face smiled and danced as he looked at her. She had crept from their last home in Tyrsis into Paranor and stolen the Sword of Shannara from the druids! Matthew praised on her initiative and said that she'd come on a lot since last fall when they'd first set out together from her home in Shady Vale. She seldom thought of Shady Vale as home anymore; it felt more like another one of their inns or campsites they'd visited on their travels, just another place to be forgotten and left behind. Matthew was her mentor, teacher, friend and lover. He was her everything. She remembered the first time they met in the vale when stumbled into it after being set upon by angry wolves. She had nursed him back to health and fallen in love with him. It wasn't until much later that she learned that the true cause of his injuries was a druid named Walker, who relentlessly stalked him after Matthew rejected his offer to become a druid. Matthew had often said that one-day, Walker would come after her for her magic, just as he had for his. He was determined to prepare her for that day and to stand by her side.
"So, where next then?" She asked him, as she was always enthusiastic about their travelling. "I was thinking of going into the deep Southland, Wayford direction perhaps." "Great, I've never been below the Duln. When do we go?" "Goodness, you are anxious my love. Tomorrow twilight will do fine I think. But since this will be our last night here for a while, come lie down with me and get some rest."
When Hanna saw the hunting lodge of Leah in the distant twilight, she did a little dance of joy. She broke into a run through the trees, gasping for breath as she did. Her feet jumped and skipped through trip holes and roots with a practised ease. Her pounded in her chest at the thought of seeing her beloved again after being apart. She flew up the porch steps and almost broke down the door as she charged her way in. She tripped over a rug and fell straight into Matthew.
"Matthew, oh Matthew. It is good to see you again." "Yes it is, my love. If you want it, stew's on the table." Hanna leaped from the floor in one fluid motion that surprised even Matthew and bolted towards the table. "Did you get it? The sword, I mean." "Yes, it's here across my shoulder." "And was it as easy as I said was. Did it make your heart pound and blood run hot as you crept right under the druid's very nose and pulled out his treasure?" "Yes and more. If the druids really were protectors of the people, they would be out there doing just that; protecting the four lands. Instead, I walk in casually to see not a soul about and steal one of their most precious talismans. They really are a lot of foolish old men, just like you said."
Over a large dinner, Hanna relayed the details of her expedition to Matthew and watched as his face smiled and danced as he looked at her. She had crept from their last home in Tyrsis into Paranor and stolen the Sword of Shannara from the druids! Matthew praised on her initiative and said that she'd come on a lot since last fall when they'd first set out together from her home in Shady Vale. She seldom thought of Shady Vale as home anymore; it felt more like another one of their inns or campsites they'd visited on their travels, just another place to be forgotten and left behind. Matthew was her mentor, teacher, friend and lover. He was her everything. She remembered the first time they met in the vale when stumbled into it after being set upon by angry wolves. She had nursed him back to health and fallen in love with him. It wasn't until much later that she learned that the true cause of his injuries was a druid named Walker, who relentlessly stalked him after Matthew rejected his offer to become a druid. Matthew had often said that one-day, Walker would come after her for her magic, just as he had for his. He was determined to prepare her for that day and to stand by her side.
"So, where next then?" She asked him, as she was always enthusiastic about their travelling. "I was thinking of going into the deep Southland, Wayford direction perhaps." "Great, I've never been below the Duln. When do we go?" "Goodness, you are anxious my love. Tomorrow twilight will do fine I think. But since this will be our last night here for a while, come lie down with me and get some rest."