Chapter 4

Ishild could not sleep all through the night, instead she thought about Meinrad. His eyes beamed like the moon and Ishild could not get them out of her head. Meinrad did look like a monster, but he did not like one. He saved her life, a deed that Ishild felt grateful for.

She tried to remember the stories she heard about the creature born with Devil features. Ishild decided to go meet Oda. She dresses in comfortable clothes and a fur coat and quietly creeps out of the hut. It was snowing lightly and wolves were howling in the distance.

Ishild locates Oda's hut and sees a fire burning in the front room. "Oda?" she whispers.

"Speak up child, my hearing is not good," the old woman said and Ishild sees her. She was seated by the window, looking at the dark village.

"Oda, you told me stories about a creature with Delivish features," Ishild said to the old woman.

"Ah, so you did find him?" Oda asks and Ishild stares at her.

"I...I rather not..." she stutters, but Oda holds up a hand.

"Your secret is safe," the old woman replied.

Ishild decides to speak about Meinrad, "He saved my life. I thought monsters eat people."

"Oh, I don't believe that. Some beings are born with hideous features, but have a beautiful soul," Oda said to Ishild.

"I was wondering, does the creature have a name?" Ishild asks the old woman.

"The Devil would give him a cruel name, I know for sure, but I just don't know what it is," Oda replies.

"Is there a devil?" Ishild asks and Oda nods.

"Lucifer, the fallen angel. He was cast out of Heaven by God for many reasons, but mostly for being a cruel trickster. You best keep your eyes and ears open, he may sneak up on you," Oda said, but Ishild thought she was playing another joke.

"So my dear child," Oda adds, "Your friend, he has a beautiful soul, but I see darkness coming for him in due time. He will change."

Ishild was shocked to hear this. "Will Lucifer come for Meinrad?" she gasps.

"It is hard to say, Meinrad's future is foggy," Oda said and places a hand on Ishild's shoulder. "Ishild, protect him," she adds.

Ishild decides to leave Oda's hut and it was starting to snow more heavily. She turns and then stops when she sees a figure; it was small, but the darkness covered its features well. Ishild goes after it, "Stop!" she shouts, but the figure does not stop running.

It runs into a lane where Ishild knew that it would be trapped. She turns the corner, but suddenly, she was hit by something hard. The object was hard as a rock and it knocks Ishild out cold.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Ishild?" a voice said to the young woman. Ishild was slowly regaining consciousness, but she could tell that her father was beside her. She opens her eyes to see her father, Gerhard, her brother Gerlach, and Adalhard.

"What...what happened?" she asks them.

"I found you unconscious, it seems that you knocked out by something," Adalhard answers.

"Ishild, what were you doing out there in the middle of the night?" her father demands. She remembers visiting Oda and then seeing a mysterious figure and she went after it.

"I...I went to visit Oda," she begins, but her brother snorts.

"Why would you visit that crazy old lady?" Gerlach asks in a rude tone.

"Gerlach, now's not the time," his father demands and turns to his daughter, "Why Ishild?"

Ishild knew that if she spoke of Meinrad, he will be hunted down and perhaps killed. "I wanted to ask her something, but she told me to wait until morning as she was asleep," she lies.

"Ask her what?" Gerhard asks.

"About mother," Ishild immediately answers and hoped that her father would believe her.

"Well, you should've waited until light," Adalhard replies and asks, "But what happened before you got knocked out?"

"I saw a strange figure, I thought it was an intruder, so I gave chase. I got hit in the head and then blacked out," Ishild answers.

"We did find a rock close to you," Adalhard replies, "Maybe this figure did not want to be followed. What did it look like?"

"I couldn't tell, it was dark, and it looked to be covered in furs," Ishild answers and Adalhard scratches his beard.

"I'll some men do patrol around the village and the forest, but it might've gotten away," he said and he leaves the hut.

"Get some sleep Ishild and for Heaven's sake, don't go wandering after dark, it's not safe," Gerhard demands his daughter and Gerlach gives a grin, he assumed by his father's words.

Ishild did not like the attitude her brother had; he always enjoyed their father's negative words to Ishild. Both her father and her brother leave her room. Ishild looks at her hand mirror to see that she received a bruise on her forehead.

Ishild thought she was hit by a horse's hoof and it did hurt. She did wonder what Meinrad would think if he saw it. She puts away the mirror and finally succumbs to sleep.

From the author: Just who is this mysterious figure? And will Ishild find it before something happens? Find out next time!