And I am back again.
One month later
Wendy held a hand to her mouth to stifle the laughter, as Edward clumsily tried to get bow over his head.
He shot her an irritated glare and angrily pulled the bow into place.
For a moment Wendy thought the string would snap.
"Are you ready?" She asked and looked down at Dilidon.
"Of course!" Edward said proudly.
Wendy smiled and kicked at Temper's side and the horse went toward the forest entrance.
She heard Edward following behind her.
As they speed through the trees Wendy spotted a herd of deer. One of which were white.
She patted Temper's neck and the horse followed the white deer as it broke away from the herd.
When they came to the clearing temper slowed his pace and Wendy heard Edward grunting behind her.
"Do not waste your arrows on the white doe." She smiled knowingly. "You will never hit it."
"You do not know that!" Edward spat as he tried get the bow over his head.
Wendy shrugged and turned back to the white doe, which in streams of life turned into the elven queen.
"Wha…" She heard Edward gasp behind her and smiled.
Wendy slid down from the horse. "Good morning, your majesty."
Good morning… the figure sparkled in the sunlight, as the voice echoed around them. There is more than one hunter in the forest today…
"Yes, my brother has taken to hunting too." Wendy smiled and peered back at Edward.
"Did you come out here just to chat?" Edward sounded irritated.
Wendy nodded. "Yes, that is usually how I do this…"
"We need to get food for the guest!" Edward snapped at her.
"We have plenty of time before the afternoon."
Edward shook his head. "You can stay and talk the day away. I will go catch something for dinner."
Wendy shook her head, as Edward turned the horse around and left.
"When you are done for the day, come back here." She called after him.
Young ones… it echoed through the clearing.
"He will be fine…" Wendy said. "Though he is rather clumsy, he has practiced a lot."
Wendy sat down in the long grass. "I cannot stay long this time; I will be playing my fiddle again this evening."
Is that which paints your face…?
Wendy touched her face confused. "What do you mean?"
The elven queen's giggle rang out through the trees surrounding them.
Your worries … young one…
"Oh," Wendy said and looked down. "It is not really anything … it does not bother me that Edward is hunting, and I have so much fun playing with my other siblings, when I am not…"
The endless blue eyes of the elven queen were hypnotic as ever.
Wendy bit into her lip and said what was really on her mind. "My grandmother's coughs are getting ready and … no one is doing anything about it."
The elven queen tilted her head but just sat there silent.
Wendy felt tears run down her face.
A humming rose from the forest floor. With time it turned into quiet whispers.
What is wrong musician…?
Wendy looked up and saw all kinds of creatures of the forest standing around and watching her, worried.
"My grandmother is sick…" She sobbed.
Through the tears, she watched as the creatures all turned to their queen and then back to Wendy with confused expressions.
Wendy continued to sob as her friend put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
You are beautiful … and strong… a gentle voice wrapped around her. At this time … your bravery is needed…
Wendy sucked in a hankered breath and forced a smile, as she whipped away her tears.
One landed in the elven queen's palm and she smiled and lifted it to her face.
She said something, but for once Wendy could not hear it.
The elven queen got up and pulled Wendy up by her hands.
Let us dance our cares away … for but a moment… the beautiful woman smiled as she pulled the young girl around in a dance.
"I have my chores…" Wendy said unsure.
For but a moment… the gentle voice echoed around her and Wendy smiled for real this time, as the music flowed around them.
The arrow hit its mark and Wendy smiled as she slid down from Temper to get the rabbit.
As she secured it to the saddle, she looked up to the sky.
It was getting dark blue, so she returned to the clearing.
Edward was not there.
She waited for some time, drank some water, patted Temper, and talked to him. But Edward did not come.
She tried to call his name, but nothing came back.
In a panic, she called for the elven queen.
She appeared and before Wendy could ask, the elven pointed in one direction.
Wendy looked in the direction of the pale finger and then back to her majesty. "Is he in danger?"
Not for me … but maybe for you… the elven queen whispered.
Nervous, she kicked at Temper's side.
She froze and then started laughing when she saw Edward.
He was standing in a muddy puddle, two birds layed on Dilidon's saddle, while Edward was holding a third and tangled in a rope.
He caught her eye and frowned.
"Can you help me instead of laughing?"
Wendy glided down from her horse and stepped into the mud puddle.
She chuckled as she gently pulled at the web of rope around Edward's arms.
"I asked you to stop!" Edward said and moved his arm in frustration.
The movement pulled at the rope end Wendy held in her hand and she lost her balance and pulled Edward down with her.
As they both lied in the muddy water and tried to get up, they busted out in laughter.
Wendy managed to pull the rest of the rope off Edward and he almost threw the bird he had held onto the dry grass.
"Well, I hope we have time for a bath before dinner," Edward said as he carefully stood up.
"Because of you we might not," Wendy said. "The sky is already getting dark."
"Oh, relax Female hunter…" Edward said and pushed her.
Wendy landed in the muddy water again, as her little brother laughed at her.
She smiled back at him as she took a handful of mud and slung it at him.
"Oh, dear." Their mother looked exhorted just by seeing them.
They had presented her with their caught, but she was more interested in getting them to the bathhouse so they could wash off before dinner.
She carefully pulled at Wendy's muddy, soaked-trough shirt.
"We will not have time to clean your clothes, so … Wendy wear your good dress, and Edward? Ask your father for his spare skirt…"
As they went to the bathhouse, they heard their grandmother's muffled cough from her room.
Wendy pulled at the beautiful blue skirt. The skirt barely showed her toes, but she kind of liked it.
She spun around and barely remembered to put her shoes on before she went down to the dining hall.
There were a few guests, who eyed her with interest. Though she did not mind that so much anymore, she had grown used to the stares.
She went toward the kitchen, but her father stopped her.
"Can you help me get the guests something to drink?"
She smiled and nodded and took the mugs of beer that he had already set up on the table next to the barrels of beer and other drinks.
When she was finished handing the mugs out, David and Edward came out with two big plates of meat and vegetables.
Her father sat on a chair as he cut the meat and her mother put it on plates with vegetables for the children to serve to the guests.
"Hmm…" their grandma said as they finally were able to sit down and eat. "There is nothing better than a good, cooked meal."
Little Arthur pointed to his plate and looked at the twins with a serious expression. "Meal."
The twins did not seem to care and instead made faces at whoever caught their eye.
Wendy finished her dinner quickly and rocked from side to side excitedly waiting for her time to play the fiddle.
"So is the female hunter as good a musician as she is a hunter?" A rather drunk, young man called out.
Some people from the village called for him to be quiet while they ate.
Since Wendy had started playing her fiddle after dinner from time to time about a month ago, the inn had gotten more guests, both from the village and from town.
Wendy did not mind, though.
As soon as the last plate was brought to the kitchen, she stood ready with the fiddle and her chin.
Her fingers danced along the strings like her feet danced on the floor.
There were many people who had told her she looked like a fairy when she danced around like that. But she had really never thought of how she danced. Her feet always knew where to go. No matter the melody.
After the third song, she stopped, and people clapped all around her.
She smiled and took a big gulp of her mug of water.
As she turned to her family, she saw her grandmother looking at her with adoring eyes.
"You are so talented, my little one." The old woman said in a raspy voice and reached out for her.
Wendy stepped closer and let the old woman cherish her cheek.
"I am so happy that I got to see you become this amazing young lady." Her grandmother whispered gently.
Wendy smiled and gently took hold of the old woman's hand on her face. "Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"
Three weeks later.
Wendy stared at the hole in the ground that was slowly being filled in with shovels.
She really wished that she could have stayed home with the twins, but at the same time, she wanted to be there.
David and Eva were both clutching each of their hands. They were crying.
The priest says some things, but Wendy could not hear what it was.
She tried to blink the tears away.
Eva buried her face in Wendy's coat. "I want her to come back."
Wendy pulled her hand free from Eva's and put her arm around her little sister instead. "I know."
After the funeral, they all got up in a big carriage to take them back to the village.
It hurt to know that they had to go to a different village to see their grandmother again, but their own village did not have a church.
They wrote in somewhat silence, back to the village.
A worker from one of the farms was steering the carriage. Their father had said that none of them were in the state to command the horses themselves.
As they pulled up to the inn, the farmworker helped them out of the carriage.
"I will tell the villagers that there will be no eating at the inn tonight." The farmworker said in a somber tone.
"Yes, thank you." Your father said as they slowly went inside the inn.
Inside, they all stood frozen, like they did not know where to go or what to do.
The spell was only broken when the twins started fussing.
"Go, sweethearts, I'll get you something to eat." Their mother said in a cooing voice and went to the kitchen.
The children still stood, confused about what to do.
Their father sat down on the chair and spread out his arms.
All five children went to him and cried in his arms.
"I know," he whispered and pressed the children against his chest. "I know, and I am sad too."
The rest of the day was off.
At one point when he went to her grandmother's room, just to see if she was there. But of course, she was not.
"Wendy," her mother hesitated before she continued. "Are you feeling all right…"
The twins had been put to bed and Everyone else was doing chores. Well, her father was working on some wood thing.
Wendy did not know what to do or what to say. So, she got up.
"I am going to exercise Temper." She said and went to the stables.
Temper galloped through the trees like everything was fine.
Wendy laid down over the horse and just let him run.
she had no idea where the horse went until it stopped.
When she saw the elven queen, she just slid off the horse and ran towards the beautiful woman.
She sobbed loudly as pale arms closed around her.
I told you young one … you need to be brave…
"Did you know this would happen?" Wendy asked.
The elven queen gently put a hand on each of Wendy's cheeks and leaned her forehead against Wendy's.
So did you…
tears ran down Wendy's face. "I wish I could see her again."
She noticed that her majesty's face was very calm.
"Does this not bother you?" Wendy irritated.
The elven queen just pushed a rogue curl behind Wendy's ear and smiled gently at her.
This is all part of nature… her voice echoed all around them.
Wendy bid into her lip – frustrated – and pulled away. "I wish, it was not."
Everyone does … at some moment... The elven queen echoed. That is why we mourn and respect … Yet we will not live in the past…
Wendy felt her legs grow weak and the tears busted through again.
The elvens softly whispered all around her in comfort as she fell to the forest floor to cry.
Please just tell me what you think :)