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What were they to me if not the heartache and nightmares that I suffered from daily. Surely, they were not that valuable, not to me. If giving the Goblin King my memories removed all this dark and pain that wreaked havoc on my heart- and allowed me to live a peaceful life- it was worth the risk.
Was it not?
“Done.”
The gleam in his eyes was frightening as he accepted my deal. His callous laugh echoed off the trees and around me as light flared up where he’d been standing. Covering my eyes, his voice echoed in my head.
“I’ll be seeing you again, Princess.”
As the light dimmed, my eyes tried to recover in the darkness. The crickets’ familiar chirps grounded me. A raven calls in the distance. Drawing my eyebrows together, I stood alone in the garden, a basket full of flowers. The confusion washes over me, the last thing I could remember was walking home from the tavern.
The sun had yet to set then, but now. . . I was unable to grasp the time. What was I doing? Why was I standing here? Glancing upon the horizon, fear washed over me- the sun had set in my distraction.
Now was not a time to be out in the dark. Creatures roamed and people went missing. But for the life of me, I could not recall the last hour. How quickly the sun had set. I must have been dreaming again but there were no thoughts or ideas left. My mind was utterly blank, calm. It was as if time had escaped, and I couldn’t retain the remembrance of it.
ChapterThree
SERRA
The sound of the morning songbirds and the rays from the sun shining through the cracked window of my bedroom roused me from sleep. The nightmare I had the night before was making it difficult to open my eyes. I tossed and turned all night, rest never coming easily. It felt like I had lost something, something was taken and missing. The feeling left me empty and incomplete. The never-ending nagging that someone was gone. Something just wasn’t right.
I’d lived with this feeling for far too long now. And truthfully, it was really starting to irritate me. Week after week this feeling hung over me. Day after day I chased after it, trying to figure out what it was. What was eating away at me.
As much as I wanted to grasp why it was there, why it bothered me so, I could not neglect my duties. I was due at the Tavern this afternoon and I still had work to do in the garden. The beds had been planted and the seeds would soon sprout. Another day, another set of tasks to be done. Sleep, tend the farm, work the Tavern.
Every day.
I yawned and stretched, my feet finding their way to the worn wooden floorboards of my cottage. Each step produced a familiar creak, the sound echoing through the silent room. I made my way over to the fireplace where the dying embers were still glowing faintly. I picked up a log and carefully placed it on top, watching as the flames leapt up hungrily.
The heat was welcome against my skin, chasing away the chill of the night. I reached for the old copper kettle- its handle worn smooth from years of use. As I lifted it, I could feel the weight of sleep still clinging to my head, my movements slow and deliberate. With a soft clink, I hung the kettle on the hook above the flames, listening as it began to hiss and steam.
It was only quiet this morning, too quiet. Glancing about the room, everything was in its place. The cups on the shelves, the chair by the fireplace, the mirror by the door. Nothing was missing, nothing had been moved. But something was still lacking.
A heaviness sat upon the place.
And no matter how hard I tried, I could not figure out what it was. The whistle from the kettle drew me from my stupor. Pulling a mug from the shelf and adding a small satchel of tea leaves to it before pouring in the hot water, a list of today’s tasks sat on the counter next to me. I read over it again, committing it to memory.
The words across the small piece of parchment muddled together for a moment as my mind refocused. My own script staring back at me. It took another moment for the fog of last night’s sleep to finally clear my head.
Plant tomato sprouts
Install trellis for green beans
Move lavender and dill weed
Fertilize and till soil for carrots, garlic, onions and potatoes, to be planted
I’d read over it one more time as I brought the mug to my lips, the steam from the brewing tea assaulted my nose. I could not afford the beans of the koffie plant from Elliner, the continent to the south. Its warm waters and tropical climate were perfect for growing the plant. With its recent demand, it’s been all the rage for the Nobles of Rothnia and the Lands. So much so that the merchants had trouble keeping shipments on a constant delivery schedule. The most recent header talked that a ship had gone down in a winter storm a few months ago, and with it all its crew and stores.
The crates of beans are lost to the sea forever.
It was a stretch, getting it during those cold frigid months. However, the price on the precious beans made it next to impossible for anyone but the Nobility to obtain. So those, like me, relied on brewed tea leaves. Taking a sip, the brew burned my tongue. Still too hot, the shock and sharp intake of breath had the tea spilling all over my list.
A sigh of defeat forces itself out as I set the mug down and reach for a cloth off the water basin to dab up the spilled amber colored liquid. I’d been so focused on the mess I’d made that I didn’t notice at first.
A flutter of movement caught my attention. My peripheral vision caught it as I tossed the cloth back into the water basin. Although the grime on the window made it difficult to see, I had to check again. Unsure what I saw was real. While it wasn’t the dirt or the smudges that had caught my attention, it was the animal outside.On the stone wall out front, a black raven sat, watching me from its perch. As it cocked its head to the side, another movement down the lane pulled my eyes away from it. It took off before they stopped outside my gate. The four of them were hesitant as they watched the raven fly away.
I pulled a blanket off the armchair by the fire and wrapped it around my shoulders. My reflection in the mirror by the door was a sight to behold. My hair was untamed, and I wore dark circles under my eyes. But I yanked the door open anyway, I was not going to hide. While I probably looked like a right mess to them, they looked uneasy to me as I approached them.
