Aeliana held the basket in one hand which was already half-way filled with the various berries she had picked. Usually the woodland creatures would help her but because this tree was rooted at the side of the forest it made them too vulnerable for hunters.
Aeliana hummed a tune to herself as she continued the picking until a minor movement caught her ear's attention. She slowly turned towards the movement in raised alarm. Aeliana knew the woods like the back of her hand but when one was alone you could never be careful enough. She squeezed her eyes trying to see if there was something peculiar. Waiting silently for another movement.
She only had to wait for a second before a teeny figure loomed out of the leaves. It was a small bird that was watching her from a branch. With a sigh of relief, Aeliana turned herself carefully to the little sparrow so as not to scare him. The soft buzzing sound of tiny wings filled Aeliana's ears and a soft smile brushed across her lips. The tiny bird darted right in front of her face and Aeliana raised her finger. The little bird let out a happy squeak before settling down on it. ''Hey there little one.'' Aeliana said laughing at the small bird which was chirping happily. ''You're a brave one.'' The bird twittered in approval as it began to repeat the melody Aeliana just had hummed to herself and she began to sing along.
Theon and Felix were passing a pond when Theon's attention was awoken by a sound. At first, he thought it was just the ringing in his ears from the volume of the wind during their race but then he heard it again. A voice. A beautiful voice that seemed too wonderful to be real. He turned his head to try and locate the melody as he reigned his horse to a halt.
''Do you hear that Felix?... it's beautiful.'' He stood up in the stirrups and looked back from where he and Felix had just come. The voice seemed to be coming from the beginning of the woods.
''No, I don't hear the sound of your victory because you did not win.'' Felix said defensively.
''No not that.'' Theon said while shaking his head in incredulity. ''That voice.''
Felix made an effort to hear what his friend meant.
''Let's find out who that voice belongs to. Come on,'' he said to Hero who was trying to go the other way. Hero held firm and continued to walk in the wrong direction.
''Oh come on, '' Theon pleaded, pulling the horse's reins tighter. When Hero came to a stop, the prince leaned forward teasingly, patting his horse's neck. ''For an extra bucket of oats? And a few… carrots?''
Hero's eyes widened at the sound of these magical words. He whinnied in approval and turned to make his way towards the place where the voice came from.
''Oh no. No no, no no. We're not going there. We need to get back for the meeting. Your father is going to kill us if we are late.'' Felix said admonishing. Hero stopped in his tracks, not knowing to whom he should listen.
The other boy made a dismissive gesture. ''The meeting is not until two hours, but fine take Hero home than I'm going to find out who this voice belongs to.'' The boy jumped off his horse and led it to his friend.
''If you're late, I won't give your father the pleasure of killing you because seriously then I will.''
''Felix take a deep breath, we're going to be there on time.'' Theon said in mock seriousness, while he patted Felix on his leg. The prince turned around and increased the distance between him and Felix. His friends grumbling faded with each step Theon took.
Feeling curious his legs led him to the side of the woods. Theon knew he was close because with every step he was able to hear the voice better, and with every step he was more enchanted by it. Who was this person? It was a woman's voice for sure but he had never, ever heard such a voice before.
When he turned the last corner Theon saw her. It was a girl, standing at the side of the forest with her back facing him. He felt a tingle in his skin, realizing that the voice he heard, had not belonged to a mysterious being or and old women, but rather to a fairly young girl. What did she look like? Where did she come from? How come Theon had not encountered her before in all the trips he had made? It were these questions that troubled his mind as he approached her.