I am back with new energy. :)
A month later
Temper slowed to a halt and Wendy took a moment to take in her surroundings.
The forest was so calm and quiet.
She smiled.
It would not last much longer. Edward was trying to get Daffodil and Dilidon used to hunting and the moment one of them was ready, he would be riding through the forest with her.
It was odd to think about how Edward was 11 years old now. The same age she was when she started hunting … when did he grow up?
She looked to the sky. She had lots of time.
Wendy kicked at Temper's side and he galloped through the forest.
David stood ready at the kitchen door, as she came out of the forest.
She smiled proudly as she handed three large rabbits over to him. There was no meat left in the pantry, so dinner depended on her bringing something home.
Arthur appeared in the doorway and frowned at the rabbit.
"Not happy rabbits," He said and pointed.
"Rabit," she heard the twins echo in the kitchen.
Wendy smiled and got down from Temper.
"I will go and feed Temper," she said.
"Take your time," David smiled and patted Arthur on the head. "There are a few guests tonight."
Wendy did not really know what to do with that information. They always had guests, so what was different today?
She stepped into the stable and Temper wandered into his stall.
"Did it go well?" Edward was oddly aggressive as he was fixing a saddle.
"Is there something wrong?" Wendy asked and went to pour fed into a bucket.
"No."
He still sounded angry, but Wendy decided to let him be.
He did not say anything as Wendy fed and groomed Temper, and he even fixed the saddle but just sat there.
As Wendy left the stable, he mumbled something, but she could not hear what.
She shook her head, as she pulled off her socks.
When she entered the dining hall, it had been oddly quiet and the guests had eyed her in silence, as she went up the stairs.
She pulled off the pants and pulled her skirts out of the drawer on her nightstand.
She was really glad Mina had made her an underskirt that fit with one of her mother's old skirts. It helped when she had to change her clothes.
She tied the two skirts around her waist as tightly as she could and studied her reflection in the small window.
Sometimes she wished she could have a mirror.
Some red locks had gotten loose from the braid, so she tried to insert them back into the braid.
The door creaked open, and Eva peered into the room. "You look beautiful."
Wendy turned to her and smiled.
"Have you seen the guests?" Eva asked excitedly.
"Yes," Wendy said and sat down to put on her shoes.
"Is it not great?" Eva asked.
Wendy smiled. "Eva, we always have guests, what is it about these ones?"
"But Wendy," Eva almost got up on her lap and looked at her with big eyes. "They are here because of you."
Wendy poked at the roasting rabbit.
"They were staring at me." She mumbled.
"I know sweetheart…" her mother said with a tired smile. Before she could say anything else, she got distracted by the twins.
"Why do they want to see Wendy so badly anyway?" Edward grumbled.
"Well," Their grandmother started from her place by the sink. "It is not common for a girl to hunt, so I am guessing, they came to see what kind of girl she was."
Edward grumbled some more, but their grandmother scolded him. "Wendy did not ask these people to come here, young man. And you should not hold it against her."
The boy looked down but did not say anything.
Their grandmother then began to cough violently.
Wendy fished the kettle out of the fire and poured the tea into a mug.
"Do not mind me, dear…" she said in between coughs. "It is just … my old bones … rattling…"
Wendy handed her the mug, and the old woman sipped the tea and grimaced. "Utterly terrible…"
"Well done, sweetheart." Wendy's mother smiled at her over the twins' heads.
"Wendy?" They heard from the dining hall.
Wendy looked out of the doorway and she remembered that she had invited the girls from the village to come dance at the inn while she played her fiddle.
The group of men stared at her, as she put down their food.
"Are you the female hunter?" One of them asked and looked her up and down.
His words were polite and clear like a nobleman's, but Wendy took a step backward regardless.
"Yes," she said with a nervous smile.
"Hmm," the man hummed and looked her up and down again. "For a beauty such as you that must be dangerous."
Wendy did not know what he meant, but luckily her friends from the village called her over to get something to drink.
"Well," one of the guests leaned back in his chair. "What kind of entertainment do you have out here in the countryside?"
The children looked at each other confused.
Were they supposed to entertain the guest?
"Well," their father said very slowly. "Usually my mother tells stories…"
He gestured to the grandmother, who had sat herself in the rocking chair by the fire.
"But Wendy was supposed to play for us, so we could dance," Sarah said.
The guests looked at Wendy expectingly, and David ran upstairs to get her fiddle.
Wendy felt like something was pressing against her stomach and she breathed deeply, as David handed her the instrument.
Edward helped push the tables out of the way,
Despite her nervousness, her hands were still, and she lifted the fiddle to her neck and gently placed the bow on the strings.
As the melody glided through the room, she smiled confidently and moved the bow faster, as some of the girls began to twirl across the floor.
The guests looked at her with interest and a few of the younger ones pulled some of the girls into a dance.
Wendy felt a rush as they danced to the sound of her fiddle.
As she continued to play, she kicked off her shoes and danced along.
She heard laughter and saw that some of the girls had done the same.
She smiled mischievously and played the melody faster and faster.
The young men and women laughed and tried their best to avoid stepping on each other's feet.
When Wendy ended the melody, a few of the men almost lost their footing.
The dancers clapped and smiled at Wendy and she felt her cheeks grow warm.
She looked around the room and saw her grandmother smiling back at her.
"Hunting and musical talent?" The guest from before said. "I must admit I thought it was some kind of wild tale."
Wendy's father smiled proudly and gestured for Wendy to come over to him.
"She does me proud." He said and squeezed her shoulders.
Wendy just looked at the floor.
"Did you teach her yourself?" Another guest asked her father.
He sounded odd, but maybe it was because he had his nose pointed upward.
"Hunting, yes, but the music she learned mostly on her own. She received the fiddle last year and … just kind of started playing it." Her father said, still with his hands on Wendy's shoulders, who daringly peered up at the male guests.
"Fiddle? Oh, you mean that violin." The oddly sounding man said and looked down at Wendy and her fiddle with a frown.
"Amazing talent with no real training? Have you thought of sending her to school?" The young man asked with a smile.
"Calm yourself, nephew." The oddly sounding man said. "despite the talent, a girl could still not get into any good school. At least…"
"I wanted to stay here no matter what, so that is not too worrisome," Wendy said and looked straight up at him.
The man frowned, but the other men laughed.
Her father squeezed her shoulders reassuringly.
"Well, could you play another song for us young lady?" the young man asked gently.
Wendy looked up at her father, who nodded. She then turned to the others and nodded excitedly.
She stepped onto the floor with a smile and readied the fiddle.
She started playing a melody that she and the man in the lake had played together before. It was softer than the other one but had a few quick jumps that turned it into a happy melody.
Instead of dancing, everyone stared at her with odd eyes. She was too caught up in the melody to care.
Her bare feet started moving to the music and she spun around herself. As soon as one foot touched the floor, the other lifted off the ground and spun around showing the bare legs under her long skirt.
No one joined her in her dance but made room so she could dance around the small space clear off tables.
Wendy hoped she at least looked a little graceful as she danced like the elvens did. Though even if she did not, she had so much fun doing it.
As she ended the melody, the dining hall was quiet.
Wendy looked around at everyone confused, before the sound of clapping moved around the room.
She sighed relieved and smiled as she saw Eva's beaming eyes.
"That was amazing!" Lily suddenly stood behind her.
Wendy turned around to the other girls from the village.
"I did not know you could dance like that," Maya said. "It looked so fun."
"It was rather unladylike…" Mathilda added.
"What does that matter?" Alice asked as she joined the younger girls and waved to one of the young men she had danced with. "You looked like the most beautiful little fairy." She added while smiling at Wendy.
Wendy smiled back brightly.
Wendy sighed in relief and rubbed her tired eyes. The guests had finally gone to sleep, and she had just finished the last of the dishes.
Everyone else had been sent to bed already, so she was just going to take her fiddle and go to bed.
As she stepped out into the dining hall her father stopped her.
"We need to talk about something before you go to bed, Wendy." He gestured to her mother and grandmother.
"Should we not wait 'til tomorrow?" Her grandmother asked. "The poor girl looks ready to fall into her bed."
"I know," her father sounded apologetic. "But we need to discuss this."
Wendy was far too tired to worry or care what they were talking about.
She sat down with them.
"Sweetheart, if this makes you uncomfortable … we will deal with it." Her mother said gently and took hold of her hands.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Those guests that came today?" Her father said. "There will come more guests like that in the future, who come to see you to hear about your hunting and see you play music…"
"Then I can just play for them." Wendy yawned, hoping she could go to bed soon.
"Child, they will pester you and look down on you for what you do." Her grandmother said and coughed.
"But they seem to like my playing." Wendy blinked a couple of times to keep herself awake.
"It will be troublesome in time." Her mother reasoned.
"I thought that we could have you play your fiddle for the dinner guest … sometimes. Just like how your grandmother tells her stories."
Wendy blinked a few times and was completely awake. "I can play for other people."
The thought of doing what she had done this evening every day made her stomach flutter.
"It will be very hard…" her mother said gently.
Wendy smiled at her. "But it was so much fun."
"She looked rather beautiful, and the music was very enticing…" Her grandmother smiled softly and coughed again.
"Wendy…" her mother tried again.
"I really want to do this mother," Wendy got up. "And it might help the inn if more guests come."
She skipped up the stairs with her fiddle.
"That child is growing up fast," the grandmother said. "And she is becoming quite stubborn."
Wendy tried to slip silently into the room, but everyone else was still awake and waiting for her.
"You should be sleeping." She scolded.
"You should sing for us!" Arthur said from his place under the covers.
"We wanted to tell you how amazing you looked when you played the fiddle," David said as he sat on the edge of the bed with Edward.
"That is very sweet," she smiled gently and put the fiddle on the nightstand. "But you should all get to bed."
"You danced just like a fairy," Eva smiled. "I hope I can dance like that."
"Yes, because of course Wendy can do everything and everyone comes because of her." Edward sneered.
Wendy pulled off her outer skirt as she sighed.
She put a hand on Edward's head. "I know you mean well." She smiled and lightly pushed him backward, so he landed on the bed.
Edward was jealous of the attention, but he had apparently forgotten how important it was that he went to other villages to trade and buy goods.
She pulled off her apron but kept her underskirt on.
"Do not do that," Edward said and sat up.
"Go to sleep," Wendy said, and irritated realized she had left her shoes in the dining hall.
"Will you play for the guests again?" Eva sounded excited.
"Yes," Wendy sighed and smiled. "Father said I could do it, but you really all need to go to sleep. We have to get up and tend to the guests."
That of course did not make anyone of them go to sleep, instead, they just got into bed and kept talking.
Only Arthur seemed to fall asleep, as he was too tired to stay awake.
Wendy got into bed and turned away from Eva, Edward, and David, who whispered to each other.
Sometimes she wished, she could have her own room.
Please tell me what you think.
I have some great ideas for the next few chapters.