Chapter Three

She casted a stern glance at him, getting absorbed into his pose. He looked so stoic, so serious…and so loveable! When half the village girls were after him, it was her who had somehow won his heart, and it was her whom he always paid attention to. Even now, when he was focused on bringing a shape out of that wooden branch in his hands, she could notice the muscles, the clenched jaw and the eyes with a concern she was unaware of. No wonder the village girls were mad for him. With every strike of the knife, he whipped that wooden branch into shape, and she could notice his bare arms, muscled to a maiden’s fantasy.

“Hi sweetheart!” he spoke, his polite tone dying out in the sounds of laughter in the background. Letting his eyes meet hers, he slowly lifted the head, putting the knife away. There was someone else now, someone…who he could engage his mind to.

“Hello, my love!” she let the elder sister behind hear her. And especially the neighbor Ella who had been trying to break free from the whirling circle around the bonfire and drift straight here. There were whispers, along with a few words that spoke, “what a bitch!”. She enjoyed every bit of it. Strutting in her red cloak, she made it certain to display that he was hers, nobody else’s but hers.

“Care for a dance?” her words caught his attention and he got up. But not like before.

Always before, whenever he used to hear her voice, he had something like a rejuvenation in his eyes. Just yesterday he had given her daffodils which he had somehow found frozen somewhere. However, today she wasn’t able to push back that concern in his eyes, whatever it was. She vowed that after this dance, she would ask him and not retreat until he had told her something. They were to share a life together, or so was what she had thought. To share griefs would be the least of their bonds.

“Is my pa bothering you again? I can speak to him on your behalf!” she conversed, keeping the air light. Unknowingly, she had invoked a response…a heated one in him. It was easy to spot the tint of red that gathered around his cheeks in such cold.

“No darling! I have spoken to him and even when he was a bit reluctant, he agrees. Shall we dance?” he let his hands slide into hers, walking her past the crackling woods that fueled the bonfire at a distance and finally let her feel his arm’s strength.

The colors mixed and whirled around her, as he lifted her and up and danced in circles around her. His feet were graceful…and her heart was giddy. Trance overwhelmed her as she found herself drawn to him. For now, he was the flame, and she was the moth even though the roles often switched. He held her calmly once more, lifting her up and then letting her boots burry in the snow once more. It required effort to do so but he managed it with perfect combination of grace and strength. She realized what grave sin she had committed in eyes of the lasses around, their stares ready to tear her apart. She enjoyed every bit of it…

“Why did we stop Neyru?” her voice sung to him. He didn’t respond, the short-lived glimmer in his eyes fading the next moment. The grim nervousness returned with a show, as she saw his eyes hosting a different color than usual. Was there…anger in them? She promised herself that she would do whatever it took to help him.

Despite her utmost annoyance and vexation, he didn’t answer her, only sliding back into the crowd. She had a grunt over seeing one of her sisters and a few more girls drooling after him, chasing him as he drifted away from the sight of bonfire. Why had he stopped? Only a while ago, she felt becoming one with the colors and wildest sensations. And right now, he was gone…

The moment she turned around, she realized why he had done so. At a distance, right beside the hovel that was her home, she could see her youngest sister whispering something into her father’s ears. Foul sibling! Must be poisoning his ears against whatever she had going on with Neyru.

She decided to stomp there, and interrupt whatever discussion her sister was having with her father. He was currently eyeing her, his stern gaze inspecting her from top to bottom. Wrapping the strings of her scarlet cloak, she strutted in her fur vest buried deep within. She knew her own strengths, one of them being the dark hair and the sharp obsidian eyes she had. A few boys raised their heads. She paid them no mind, composing herself while heading straight to her father.

He was expecting her, his shriveled bald face shining with anticipation. His eyes were dull and grey, like the winter around. For too long, he had been dealing in trade of fish and furs. She had never asked him about those villages or towns he dealt with.

“Blanchett…my girl!”

His voice was softer, and far politer than she had expected. He looked frailer than ever, standing in the shadow while shivering due to the cold gusts of the wind.

“Papa…what is going on? What is Scarlet talking about?”

She emphasized her little sister’s name, her dark eyes menacingly making contact with her brown ones. What had that little prick been whispering?

“Blanchett…listen to me…what I am about to say to you will surely offend you, but it is for your own good. You must stop seeing Neyru at once! Scarlet here tells me that you have been personally involved with that boy for quite some time”

There it was! If only pa wasn’t here, she would have stepped forward and slapped her sister hard. Scarlet sensed her anger, taking a step back. She then gathered enough courage to speak to her elder sister directly.

“Listen, it is not what you think, Blanchett. You don’t understand. There is something wrong with Neyru. I have seen him going out at night, heading straight into the forest in the thick of midnight. And I am not the only one. Glinda too sighted him last night. I feel as if he is not well in the head. Believe it or not…but I worry for you!”

Of course, she didn’t care. It was only a ruse…a very convincing one but a ruse nonetheless to steal that perfect man from her.

“Yes…and now you will say that he is perfect for you, or Rubena, who is five years elder than me. I will not fall for any of these kinds of tricks… you hear me? Pa, she is telling you the lies. I assure you, Neyru is a good lad…” she paused midway, watching that old man wrapping that fur shawl around his body while sighing.

“Listen to me, Blanchett. Scarlet is not wrong at all. I was approached by the chief of the village last night… He threatened me that if you don’t stop seeing his boy, there would be consequences. The worst part is that…he wasn’t threatening me directly. He was just stating the consequences…apparently, Neyru has been depicting some behavior that is concerning for many villagers around”

 There was fear in his voice, as Blanchett realized he wasn’t shivering from the cold.

It took her a few moments to realize that she wasn’t hearing this from her sister’s mouth, but rather from her father’s. He could never make up this kind of stories just to keep her away.

Reason wasn’t her strong suit at this time. Especially when he was all on her mind and soul, and perhaps body too. She often felt as if they shared a bond, his blue eyes always penetrating deeper into hers.

Her teeth ground and her temples tensed. She didn’t wish to hear another word, about Neyru or anything at all.

“I don’t care at all! I will deal with his father if it comes to that. But leaving Neyru…is not in my control!” she hissed.