Chapter Three: The Vicar's Daughter


She had been with them for over a year now. She is the vicar's daughter of a distant village, far remote than this one where Yuri grew up. When her father died fighting the fire that burned the church, Alice gathered whatever she could salvage and decided to live with her last surviving relatives.

On her way here, the farmer who was kind enough to give her a ride had to make a turn at the cross road and she had to walk the remaining miles to the village. The fields were golden at that time, the barley nearly ready for harvest. It was a serene late afternoon, and she was enjoying her walk, when a band of bandits, apparently heading for the village thundered from behind her.

Alice scurried at the side of the dirt road, and looked with huge, violet eyes as masked men, dressed in all black and riding mules rode past her, there were perhaps 10 or 15 of them.

In normal circumstances, the leader of the pack would ignore anyone they met on the way, but the sight of her fair hair, glistening against the afternoon light, an angel in drab clothing, drew his attention like magnet and he pulled on the reigns, causing his mount to protest with a resounding neigh.

Just when Alice thought they would leave her alone, the pack of bandits rode back to her. Apprehension filled her entire being, but she refused to show any of it. The masked riders encircled her, cutting off all escape routes. One of them, apparently their leader, rode closer to her. He lowered the scarf that was tied around the lower half of his face, and spoke to her then, showing badly decayed teeth that made Alice grateful he was not standing close to her, that putrid breath would no doubt make her throw up the small meal she had managed to eat that day.

"Well, seems we got here a pretty piece of baggage. Come without a fuss girlie, ain't need ta hurt you if ye'd just be nice to me an' me men." The rest of the pack guffawed with him, making Alice cringe in fear. She's all alone, out of earshot even if she screamed for help, no one would come to rescue her.

The men drew nearer, snickering behind their masks. Bile rose in her throat making her feel sick, Alice fought nausea even as cold sweat broke in her skin, but despite her fear, she was determined to fight them with all she got, she's not going to give in meekly, like a sheep to be slaughtered—she slapped the hand that reached to touch her, making the owner pull back startled.

"This here gal got starch. I like me women feisty…"

Suddenly there was a scream from behind them, from the bandits that were at the periphery. The leader looked behind him to see what the fuss was all about, it was then that both Alice and he saw the creature, a dark form, sweep through from the sky like a giant bat. But it wasn't a giant bat, it was a monster with horned head and great wings. The ground trembled as he landed on huge legs, bulging with muscles, he was such a magnificent beast, larger and taller than man by at least 2 feet. Then with a swipe of his arms, he sent the rogues nearest to him, flying in all directions.

While some cringed in fear, others fought back. It's times like this when one can prove himself better than the rest and be elected leader. But nothing seem to hurt the creature, throwing knives fell to the ground without even leaving a scratch, their axes proved futile, while the monster simply stood there doing nothing, mocking their useless efforts.

Then as if finally coming to their senses that the beast was merely toying with them, they scurried back to their mules to escape, while others ran on foot. But apparently, the monster wasn't through with them. With one powerful flap of his wings he flew over to block their way.

It was then that the sounds of new hooves behind them caught their attention. It was the village magistrate along with his men. The bandits cursed as they realized they were caught in a trap, they have dropped their weapons and were clearly outnumbered.

When the agents of the law were close enough to capture the rogues, the monster flew away, leaving a trail of cursing bandits behind him.

All this time, Alice had stood transfixed in her place. She had once bemoaned just how ordinary her life was as the vicar's daughter, but seeing too much excitement in one day—Suddenly, something behind her rustled, Alice stepped back hoping it wasn't another monster, she'd had enough, one more and she'd surely go mad!

It was his eyes that first caught her attention, neither blue nor green but somewhere in between. They were full of life, bright against his tanned face and dark, brown hair, well from the long locks that escaped his straw hat. He was tugging a donkey by the reigns.

Alice let out a breath she wasn't aware of holding. An ordinary, normal, human being at last!

He tipped his hat in greeting as he pulled his donkey to the road. He smiled at her, a lopsided smile that enhanced his features, making him look handsome, if not for the unkempt locks of hair that fell on his face. He smelled like the fields, grass, earthy, and a bit wild.

"New here?" He asked.

Alice nodded, fumbling with her belongings she had wrapped in a big scarf.

"Come to visit someone?" Surprisingly, he didn't go on his way.

Again she nodded her head.

"Who? Mayhap I can help you, I know everyone in the village."

His words revitalized her, while her hopes rose up, fatigue was forgotten. "My Uncle, Uncle Gepetto. You know where he lives? I haven't visited since I was a small girl."

The man looked at her, though there was nothing rude or malicious in his perusal, it made her blush self consciously. "You're still small." He said, his eyes smiling so charmingly that she forgot to be offended.

"Well Lady Luck seems to smile on you, sweet one. Gepetto lives not far from where I live, we're neighbors."

"Really?" Alice asked eagerly, for the first time smiling since that tragic fire accident that took her father's life.

"Yes." He said, tugging the donkey until it stood in front of her. "Just hop in err—"

"Alice. And I can walk, thank you." She said, though her limbs were fairly trembling from the strain.

"Well Alice, you've come from a long way, accept help when it's offered sweet." He insisted. When she remained there indecisively, he plucked her like she weighted no heavier than a mite and placed her on his donkey.

She thought of protesting, but it felt so good to be able to sit again that she gave in.

He smiled again and rearranged his hat, brushing back long locks that kept on falling in his face. He led the donkey towards the village, keeping a steady pace.

"You never told me your name." Alice said, as she studied his back. He was bigger than the average man, broad shouldered and perhaps older than her by only a few years.

"Oh sorry about that, sweet." He looked back at her briefly and walked on.

Sweet? She thought, nobody ever called her sweet before, it must be his habit to call every girls he meet 'sweet.'

"People here call me Uru, after that wild, long horned ox. They say I was such a little devil that brewed mischief, and disorder to our cozy little village."

"Was it true?" She asked, her interest piqued. He seemed to be the responsible type, not the daredevil his words envisioned.

"Oh, when I was small, I guess I did stir up some trouble…but when my old man Samus taught me smithing, the folks here have grudgingly accepted me." He winked at her and then continued walking.

"So what's your real name? Or shall I call you Uru too?"

"My mother named me Yuri." He said after a brief pause.

"It's Yuri then." She said, looking around her. Now that her legs have rested, she started to enjoy the surroundings once more. She loved the fields, especially at this time of the year, the fields promised a plentiful yield, a good boon to the hard working people.

The sun has almost set when they arrived at Gepetto's door step. The old man wept tears of joy at the sight of her, her uncle looked older than she expected. Yuri's old man Samus was with him, apparently the two men have just sat down to eat dinner. Alice had been teary eyed as well, she had felt so alone ever since her father passed away, to hold another loved one was a sweet balm that eased, at least a little, the loneliness to her own heart.