Chapter 5
The rays of dawn etched through the creaks of Ishild's window, but the young woman was already awake. She had prepared her arrows and her bow, she was planning on making a bow for Meinrad, once he got the hang of it. She puts on warm clothes, a fur coat, and covers her bruised forehead with a fur hat.
Ishild quietly creeps out of the hut, making sure that her father and brother were still sleeping. The village was covered in a new sheet of snow and people were starting fires in the chimneys.
Ishild saddles Willahelm and leaves the village. It was dreadfully cold and both Ishild's and Willahelm's breaths could be seen. The young woman gets on her horse and he trots into the forest.
The forest floor was also covered in fresh snow and Ishild saw wolf paw prints. They were recent, so Ishild looks around, but no wolf in sight. Willahelm walks on, but Ishild's bruised head throbbed with every step.
They go deeper into the forest, coming to the river, and that was when they see Runa and Hartwig. "Ishild! We knew you would come back!" Runa exclaims.
Ishild dismounts and Willahelm begins to snort when the ground began to shake. Meinrad appears and the horse neighs, but Ishild calms him down.
Meinrad looks at Willahelm and both horse and beast snort. Willahelm slams his hoof on the ground and Meinrad did the same. "What are you doing?" Ishild asks.
"He's never seen a horse up close before," Runa answers and Ishild looks at Meinrad. Willahelm neighs and Meinrad gives a roar.
"Meinrad! Be quiet!" Hartwig demands as the roar was heard all around. The roar also frightened the horse and he backs away from the creature. Ishild calms him down and looks at Meinrad.
At that moment, Meinrad points with a long finger at Ishild's forehead. "Your head, what happened?" he asks in a deep voice. Ishild did not cover the bruise properly.
"I slipped, it's all right," she lies, she was not sure what Meinrad would think if she told him about what happened.
"You slipped?" Meinrad asks and Ishild nods. He breathes in something, Ishild was not sure why he did that, but she knew that he could smell a lie. "The truth Ishild, tell me the truth," he demands, his voice was deeper now.
Ishild takes a deep breath and answers, "I was running after an intruder last night. He threw a rock at my head and knocked me out." Meinrad touches the bruise with a claw.
"Does it hurt?" he asks and Ishild nods a little.
"Meinrad does not like bad people," Runa said to Ishild. Meinrad touches Ishild's forehead with the fleshly part of his finger and a chill goes down her spine. He then points to the arrows in Ishild's quiver.
"You kept your promise," he said and Ishild nods.
"Watch me first," she replies and pulls out an arrow. She sets her bow and pulls back on the arrow. She lets it loose and it hits a hole in a tree. Meinrad was amazed by this and points to the bow.
Ishild gives him the bow, it was just the right size for him to hold, and he pulls back on the string. "Not too hard," Ishild said and Meinrad loosens it. She gives him an arrow, but he had trouble arranging it.
"Here, like this," Ishild said, helping Meinrad with the arrow. "Draw it back. Now, loose!" she commands and Meinrad lets go of the arrow.
It hits the ground and Meinrad frowns. "Not bad," Ishild said and gives him another arrow. He shoots it and it hits close to the tree.
"You're getting it," Ishild comments and gives him another arrow.
Meinrad fires the arrow and hits the bark of the tree. "Very good," Runa said and Ishild nods.
"It takes time, but I say you're on the right track," she replies and arranges Meinrad's clawed hands on the bow.
Ishild then looks over him, taking mental notes on his posture and hand arrangements. "I think I can find a bow that is big enough for you," she said.
Just then, they hear rustling noises. "Get down!" Hartwig demands and they lay down on the snowy ground.
Ishild sees a buck with large antlers just a little further away from their position. She takes her bow and gets into position. The buck looks around and doesn't seem to notice them.
Ishild takes out an arrow and pulls it back. Meinrad watches her breathe and looks into her blue eyes.
She then lets it loose and it flies toward the buck. The arrow makes a through and through with the eyes and the buck falls down dead.
Ishild and Meinrad walk up to the dead buck. Meinrad sniffs in the scent. "You killed it," he said and points to the arrow, "Through its eyes. How did you do that?" he asks.
"It takes practice to kill an animal in the right spot, the head or the heart," Ishild replies and removes the arrow from the buck's eye.
"I must go, my father insisted that I not stay out here for too long," she adds and tries to move the buck, but it was heavy.
Meinrad takes the buck into his arms and Ishild has him take it to Willahelm. She ties the buck's back legs with rope and attaches it to her saddle.
"Will you teach me to hunt with arrows?" Meinrad asks and Ishild gets on her horse.
"Yes, but once you have mastered the bow first, then we'll hunt," she answers and Willahelm begins to walk. He dragged the buck behind him and the horse and rider were gone.
"I told you you can trust her," Runa said to Meinrad.
Meinrad frowns and walks up to the tree where it still had an arrow. He takes it out and says to the two dwarfs, "She is beautiful and skillful, but I'm just a-"
"Don't you dare speak negatively about yourself," Hartwig demands and Meinrad goes silent. "You're not a monster, you don't act like one," he adds and Meinrad nods.
"She will be back tomorrow, you'll see," Runa said and they turn around and head deep into the forest.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Ishild returns to the village just before midday and the people were astonished when they saw the big buck.
"Where did you find that?" a woman asks.
"In the forest," Ishild simply answers, but then catches sight of her father and brother.
"Ishild! What did I say to you about going into the forest?!" Gerhard shouts at his daughter.
"You didn't tell me anything about going into the forest. You told me not to go wandering after dark," Ishild reminds him.
Gerhard looked taken-aback and doesn't say anything. However, Gerlach steps up to his sister, "You don't take to father like that! You are so stupid Ishild!" he shouts.
"Gerlach! Apologize to your sister!" Gerhard demands, but Gerlach turns around and leaves.
"Father, there's something wrong with him," Ishild said.
"There's a dark aura surrounding him Lord Gerhard," a woman's voice said and Oda appears.
"Nonsense, he is not possessed by the Devil," Gerhard replies.
"The Devil is real, he is a cruel trickster," Oda warns Gerhard, but he doesn't pay attention to the old woman and he leaves.
"Be careful child," Oda said to Ishild, "Your brother has a dark heart."
Some of the people take the buck to the hut where they kept the meat. "We're going to have a good banquet this year," someone said to Ishild.
Ishild takes Willahelm to the stable and mucks out his stall. She was thinking about Oda's words about her brother. Ishild knew that her brother had a dark heart.
She had a hard time believing that the Devil was possessing her brother, but it was possible. "Lucifer, if you bring harm to my brother, I will hunt you down. Even if it takes an eternity," she vows to herself.
Ishild finishes up in the stall and feeds Willahelm. The horse neighs at her, "I swear Willahelm, I will find and take down this evil that is haunting our village. And I am sure Meinrad is not behind it all," Ishild said and leaves the stables.
From the author: There is trouble brewing, but will Ishild find it before it takes over the village? Stay tuned for more!