Hey :) I know it's been a while, but I had some health issues.
Three months later
"Wendy..."
Wendy turned around in the saddle.
Suddenly David stumbled out of the bushes.
Wendy smiled and held back her laughter, as the young boy got up.
His cheeks burned red, and his nose was running.
"What are you doing out here?" She asked and pulled her shawl closer.
The little boy shook the snow off himself. "Mother was worried. You have been out here a long time."
Wendy gave him a strange look. "I have?"
David nodded slowly. He was clearly freezing.
Wendy turned Temper around and guided David to a snow-covered tree stump.
She really could not understand … she had just stopped for a moment.
David climbed up on the tree stump.
He could still barely reach her, but Wendy managed to pull him up on the front of the saddle.
David leaned as far back against her, as he could.
Wendy smiled and pulled her shawl over his shoulder.
"Let us get home before we get colds."
She kicked Temper and the horse sat off towards the inn.
All around them snow and ice twinkled in the sun.
David frowned at the frozen branches. "Do you think the trees will ever grow leaves again?"
Wendy giggled and squeezed him with her arms.
She remembered having the same fear once.
"They will come back when the snow melts." She smiled and put her chin on her brother's shoulder.
David cuddled closer to her for warmth just as the inn started coming into view.
Their mother was waiting for them outside, clutching her shawl hard.
She almost fell to the ground, when they came toward her.
Wendy immediately got scared.
Their mother was not dressed for the snow.
"What is wrong?" She asked as she pulled Temper to a stop.
Her mother stared confused at her.
"You were supposed to exercise all the horses this morning, it is already past lunch." Her mother scolded.
Wendy was completely blank.
She could have sworn she had just stopped for a moment. They had not even gone past the river.
"I am really sorry." She said and helped David get off of Temper.
The little boy glided down the horse and into his mother's arms.
Before Wendy could pull back her hand, her mother touched it.
She pulled David closer to her and felt her daughter's hand.
"You are ice cold." She looked up at her daughter. "Forget about Daffodil and Dilidon and come inside for some lunch."
"But..."
"No excuses, get Temper unsaddled and come inside." Her mother scolded her and went toward the kitchen.
Wendy patted Temper's neck. "Did you think, something was wrong in the forest?"
The horse snorted.
The dining room was warm, as Wendy stepped inside and pulled off her shawl.
"Wendy, you are back!" Eva came running towards her from her place by the fire.
Wendy slipped off her father's overcoat and caught her little sister in a hug.
Arthur babbled irritably because his playmate had disappeared. He threw a toy across the blanket, that had been spread out in front of the fireplace.
"Now, now, little one." Their grandmother scolded from her rocking chair by the fire.
"Come play," Eva said and started pulling Wendy towards the fire.
"She needs to eat something first." Their mother said as she came out of the kitchen with a mug and a warm plate of food.
Eva nodded and rejoined Arthur on the blanket.
Wendy looked at them and back to her mother.
Her mother sighed and smiled. "Alright, but just this once."
Wendy sat down next to Arthur and Eva.
Arthur stared at her as she put food in her mouth.
Wendy giggled. Eva and Arthur were playing with the same wooden toys, Wendy had played with as a baby.
Arthur babbled irritated and pushed himself closer to Wendy and her food.
"We..." he almost sounded a baring sheep.
Wendy pointed at him with her spoon. "My food." She said in a childish voice.
Arthur leaned forward and tried to close his mouth over the empty spoon.
Their grandmother laughed. "The little ones can always eat."
As his older sister put another spoonful of hot vegetable mash in her mouth, the little boy followed her hands' every movement with his own gabbing little mouth.
Eva let two wooden horses run across the blanket, while she narrated a story about how they had gotten loose from stables and run away.
Arthur looked back at her and giggled, as he grabbed at the toys.
Eva let him have them and he swung them around.
"...but they were found by a giant, who wanted them to play with." Eva continued her story.
Wendy slurped her hot tea and listened with interest.
The firewood crackled, as Eva acted out her story with wooden figurines and Arthur laughed with glee and shook his tiny hands at her.
Normally it was their grandmother, who told stories with them all sitting near the fireplace. Arthur did not seem to mind though, as a small wooden farmer crawled up his knee, because he thought it was a mountain.
Wendy looked around the hall. She had not noticed, but … where was David?
Their mother had taken him into the kitchen. Was he still there?
Suddenly the door to the outside flew open blowing cold wind into the hall.
The children shook, as the man, who had just stepped inside, closed the door.
He huffed loudly still with his hands on the door.
Their mother rushed out of the kitchen and stopped at the sight of the large man.
Their grandmother rose from her rocking chair.
"Are you all right, sir?" She said and pulled her shawl closer around her.
The man continued to huff, as he started pulling off his thick coat.
"I do apologize … it began to snow … I have been traveling for … days..." he said in between huffs.
Their grandmother and mother looked at each other.
"Do not worry about something like that at the moment," her mother said and gestured to the tables in the hall. "Sit anywhere you would like, and I will bring you some food."
The children watched him from afar as their mother served him mash and a hot drink.
"He is a real giant..." Eva whispered to Wendy.
The youngest girl put her arms around her little brother protectively. The boy did not understand and leaned against his sister giggling and smiling.
Their grandmother stepped closer to the man. "Are you sure, there is nothing? You look rather sickly."
The man nodded as he ate. "There is nothing wrong, safe for the storm outside."
Their grandmother looked like she wanted to ask something else, but then the door opened again.
Their father hobbled in on his crutches. Followed by Edward and David, who both carried a lot of firewood.
Edward shook the snow off and David sniffled as he tried to keep hold of the big logs.
"It is going to be quiet the storm tonight," their father said and took off his coat, as their mother came out of the kitchen. "We should get all the beds ready. The travelers who pass by are not going further tonight. Some of the villagers will come shelter too."
Wendy swallowed the last of her food and stood up. "I am supposed to exercise the horses."
"Leave that for the morning. We need to get everything ready for the storm."
It was absolutely freezing outside.
Wendy pulled the shawl closer and shook off a large amount of snow.
The pantry was just as cold as the outside.
Wendy looked around at the different kinds of meat.
Her mother had told her to get four or five rabbits and as many vegetables as she could. Though … she could not carry it all at once.
Her eyes fell on her shawl hanging around her shoulder.
She really did not want to go back and forth.
In a quick motion, she pulled the shawl off and put it on the floor.
After she pulled five rabbits down from their hooks and put them on the shawl, she took a big handful of each of the different vegetables and put them on top of the rabbits.
When she had tied the shawl in a tight knot, she pushed the door open with her foot.
It almost felt like teeth, when the snow hit her bare face and hands and the sharp wind pushed against her.
There were only 10 feet to the kitchen, so why was it so hard to get there?
A strong wind pushes her over and sent the bundle in her hands flying.
Wendy let out a hiss when she hit snow.
She quickly got up and looked for the food. She could not see it in the storm.
She huffed and wrapped her arms around herself as she looked.
She had no idea where she was going. She could barely see a thing.
"Wendy...?" She could hear her mother call through the storm. It sounded like a whisper on the howling wind.
"Wendy!" a woman's voice sounded from just behind her.
She turned around and saw two big dark figures. One of them held a lantern and when they lifted it, Wendy could see that it was Mina and her father.
"What are you doing out here dressed like that?" Mina yelled over the wind and pulled her coat closer.
"...The … food..." Wendy stammered.
Suddenly a door opened and the snow was flooded with light.
Despite the snow, Wendy could see the bundle of food lying just a bit back.
She had walked right past it.
"Mary!" Her father, who stood in the doorway dressed for the storm and wobbling on his crutches, yelled back into the dining hall. "She is here."
Wendy picked up the bundle and lead the weaver and Mina into the inn.
She shook, as her mother came out of the kitchen to look at her.
"You are not going outside for a while." Her mother said as she inspected the frozen girl's face. "You should have taken your coat and the big basket." She continued, as she saw the bundle of food. "There is a snowstorm outside!"
"Enough of that, Mary." Her husband said gently and patted her shoulder. "All the children are safe inside." Then he turned to the weaver and his daughter. "Good to see you brave the storm."
The older man smiled sheepishly. "The storm rattled the house." He explained. "And we hoped you had room for us."
The innkeeper smiled warmly at the two of them. "Of course, if there is not enough room, we will make some room here in the hall."
Edward laughed, as David made strange faces.
Their grandmother patted him on the head.
"Ga..." Arthur, who was sitting in her lab, made a sound and pulled on her sleeve.
"There is something wrong with this soup..." Eva whispered to Wendy, after chewing on a spoonful with a suspicious face.
"It is just a bit oily," Mina said and ate more.
Eva did not seem to believe her.
Half the village and a lot of travelers had gathered at the inn, and the hall and all its tables were full.
"There is no worry." The giant stranger said from another table as if he had heard them. "We have shelter and food, that is all we need for now."
Their father smiled and agreed.
"We have a sturdy place to hold out the storm and a warm fire going."
The dining hall cheered and glass clinked all around them.
As if to answer the roof banged loudly.
The hall fell silent, as the inn's wall continued creaking under the wind.
The only sound was the crackling of the fire.
"This inn has been through worse storms. It will not fall apart now." Their grandmother said in a loud and clear voice.
Slowly the laughter and conversations returned.
As Wendy was fetching soup for some of the elder villagers, her father stopped her.
"Would you get me some too?"
When she returned, she heard her father tell the giant about the inn.
The giant turned and looked at her with interest.
but then turned back around.
"So, where did you travel from?" Her father asked him.
Wendy did not move. She was interested in where the giant was from. There had been tall men staying at the inn before, that called themselves Highlanders. Was he one of them?
"I have traveled around this country for a while..." The man continued to tell her father about his travels, But he was a very bad storyteller, so Wendy went back to her own table.
The evening went on. The wind continued to pull at the inn, but her father kept the mood jovial.
As Wendy and the others helped their mother clear the tables, a villager raised his mug.
"Magdalene, tell us one of your stories."
The wind banged against the roof in agreement.
Wendy looked over at her grandmother. She rose from her seat with a proud smile.
"Well … if all are in agreement..." She said.
The rest of the inn raised their mugs and cheered in response.
The grandmother let out a gentle laugh and almost seemed to grow a little taller.
"Then I will tell you of the elven folk that dwells in the forest." She started. The crowd cheered and then quieted down, as she continued. "As all of you know the elvenfolk live in the forest around our village, some of you call them fairies. If you go berry picking, some of you might have seen one of them run past you. They are the most beautiful thing you will see in this world, and they like you if you are beautiful too." As she talked, she walked around the hall. When she passed Eva, she put a gentle hand on her head. "And then they will want to have you."
Eva squealed, as the old woman formed her hand into a claw.
The inn creaked loudly and everyone looked to the roof, as the candles on the tables flickered.
"That was what happened to a certain shepherd some years ago." The grandmother said and smiled at Jacob. "He lived and worked at the best farmer in the village and was quite the handsome young man, but warm summer day a sheep had wandered deep into the forest and the shepherd went in to find it. As he looked around suddenly a woman appeared before him..."
Wendy looked on mesmerized. Her grandmother had the entire hall spellbound, as she elegantly moved around the room. She was almost gliding.
"She was the most beautiful girl, he had ever seen. Her hair was pure gold and her eyes were like lightning. Her skin was like the beautiful white stones that lie on the softest sand beaches and was covered in thin, sparkling fabric. He looked lovingly into the girl's eyes." The grandmother let out a cackling giggle. "He was much so shy to talk to such a beauty, so he had to work up the courage. He stood and smiled at her for a long time. Once he tried to speak, but her smile made him weak in the knees. He did not know her name, but he was sure they were to be married. He tried once again to speak, and she giggled. He knew, that he was being very rude to the beauty by not making an introduction and so he spoke again. Though this time a hand grabbed his shoulder before he could speak." The loud banging of the roof interrupted the old woman and quite a few people shook from goosebumps. "It was his fellow villagers searching for him with lanterns. When he looked towards the girl, there was nothing there and he and the other villagers were standing in a dark forest."
The grandmother continued her story of the shepherd every day going into the forest looking for the beautiful girl.
Wendy looked around. She had heard the story before. The shepherd and the elven girl fell in love and he followed her to her home, but he could never leave.
Her eyes fell on the giant sitting by her father.
He was listening so intently to her grandmother, that his hood had slipped without him noticing.
He looked … kind of odd and he had long, thick, curly hair like a woman.
Suddenly people around her clapped and her grandmother took a small bow.
Wendy stared terrified at her grandmother. She had stared at the giant for the second half of her grandmother's story, and she had not even realized it.
Was he perhaps one of the elven folk?
As if they could read her mind, someone yelled to the grandmother. "What about the elven queen?"
The old woman smiled and went to her rocking chair, while Edward fed the fire.
"She is the most beautiful and elegant creature you could ever think of. So beautiful that if you looked at one, you would stop breathing. She rules the forest with compassion and grace and protects everything within. Be it a tree, animal, or spider." Even as she sat down the old woman's voice rang out clear across the room.
Everyone was silent in anticipation, but she did not begin another story.
"Are those things not evil?" Someone yelled to the old woman after she had been silent for a while.
By the haughty voice, Wendy knew who it was.
The grandmother looked around at the people surrounding her.
"No," she said. "The elven folk are neither evil nor righteous. They are what they have always been. But … if you happen to win their favor, happiness will always be two steps ahead." She let out a long sigh, but then lightly slapped the armrest of the rocking chair. "Well … since it is a snowstorm outside, how about I tell you of the creatures, that at this moment roam around the inn at this very moment?"
The crowd cheered as the grandmother started a story about the lantern people. Creatures that wandered the dark with blue lanterns stirring travelers and such off their path.
Wendy smiled, as she passed the fireplace. The children of the village along with Arthur, Eva, and David had gathered on the blanket and listened to the old woman with big ears and glittering eyes.
She listened in as she and her mother went around the hall, serving the guest warm drinks.
After a while and her grandmother had moved on to the howling wind. Wendy's mother patted her on the back.
"I can take care of the rest. Go join the rest of the children on the blanket." She smiled down at her girl.
Wendy hesitated, but her mother just shook her head.
"It is almost bedtime, go listen to your grandmother a bit before then." She said gently and pushed her daughter towards the fireplace. She then nodded to a man asking for warm beer.
"After the child was safely inside the house, his parent turned to invite the kind stranger in, but there was nothing there but snow..."
Some of the children gasped at the surprise ending, but most were yawning and trying to keep their eyes open.
"It looks like the children are ready for bed." The innkeeper's wife said with a smile.
The children protested but went along when the grandmother rose from her chair.
"I do believe it is my bedtime," she said.
"You three go with your grandmother." Their mother put gentle hands on David's and Eva's shoulders. "Then there is room for the children in your bed."
The two of them nodded sleepy and Eva looked down at Arthur, who had fallen asleep against her.
Her mother smiled and picked up the sleeping child. "I will take him."
Wendy blinked a couple of times, but it was only when one of the younger children pulled at her sleeve she realized she had to guide them upstairs and put them to bed.
She looked to her mother, who smiled gently, her eyes glittered in the light of the fire.
"Just go to bed my dear, your father and I will handle everything."
Wendy and Edward then lead the six other children up to their room.
She help the girls untie their aprons, but let them keep the rest on because it was quite cold in the room.
For some reason, Edward stood off to the side, while the rest got into bed.
That was strange. Edward had not been clinging to Wendy for a while. Was he scared of the storm?
The roof above them creaked and the little children giggled tiredly, remembering the woman's stories about the wind.
Wendy looked at her brother. "Get in." She said and nodded towards the bed.
He blinked, like he had forgotten he had to go to bed, and crawled in.
It was a good thing the bed was so large, even though seven children were lying in it, there was still room enough for Wendy.
After she had blown out the candle and slipped into bed Edward hugged her.
Wendy turned to him."Are you scared?"
She could barely see his outline.
The wind banged against the roof again.
Edward tightened his grip and there was silent for a moment, then the rest of the children's soft snores filled the room.
"The big man..." Edward whispered.
His voice was so low that Wendy could barely hear him.
Did he mean the giant?
"... I saw him outside … he … was bleeding … a lot."
So that is it for now. I hope you enjoy :)
I don't think I will be able to update weekly, but we will see how it goes.