"You rejected her lady, Meryl?" Two lads yelled in front of him, eyes widened in surprise and lips temporarily parted.
It was morning when he told them about it. The sun has risen from the womb of the globe. The dawn ended in sheer seconds and it was another day to spend. He was called by his father inside a house full of animals, a barn, and asked him to fetch a horse for himself. They were after the trees harvested fruits and goods. They lack stocks again in their village.
Going back to the two lads. They were questioning him madly endless. After they saw him last night with a woman, the two never left his sight even for a second. They were the ones named Sebastian and Pilvo. Who was also part of the trial session the past year ago? Early in the morning and they wreaked havoc in his head.
"I don't like repeating myself, it should be clear now that I have rejected her." He exclaimed and fixed his boots.
The two whispered things before chattering with him again.
"How could you reject her, chief? With a beautiful and delicate woman and yet you, you, you—" Pilvo dramatically made a movement. Holding his chest and displaying his palm to his face while saying those words in a trembling lip. He slowly drooped. "—Just rejected her..."
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. This two never said one worthwhile thing to him. Always after a woman's hand but is the one getting rejected.
"Must be nice being the former chief's son, huh?" Sebastian exclaimed and leaned onto a wall.
He rose his brow and with that look as if imploring what he was trying to imply.
"Surely, the woman would gather around me and fantasize me every moment. Give me lots of good and kisses on my cheek. Cook me breakfast and dinner. Welcome me with soothing limbs and touches. Hah, how I wish I was you, chief." Pilvo sighed and tilted his body towards Sebastian who shortly pushed him away.
"Apart from that, I will also be respected and looked up to. Just like you, chief. If I was respected at least, the concept of my life would have a stir. Sheer chance, huh?" Sebastian went on with his reverie as well.
The two stared at the sky, pretending as if they were praying for that desires to come true. He even glances above and sees through what they were staring at, the blue cloudy sky was revealed then.
Ambroz silently sighed. "How could the two of you be chiefs when you only care about what you benefit from it? Thinking about what can you do to heighten our village, there, you shall start. These people need no noble-like pretentious chief. Stop your blabber and hand me that saddle!" He instructed in a serious note, adding to his statement was his furrowed brows and mad complexion.
"Yikes! Yes, chief!" The two shrieked and hurriedly run over inside the barn and took one saddle to hand on his hands.
He harshly took it and glared at them making the two flinch. 'Oh, his chief is scary, alright.'
He left the two and headed to the area where horses were tied to. An area with brown fences, keeping the horses safe and secured with a thick rope.
"What a bunch of knuckleheads." He muttered then biting the insides of his mouth.
However, what waiting for him was a frown plastered on a woman's face.
"Do you plan to make me wait here for decades, chief? What took you so long?" Lucy asked shaking her head and raising her hand.
She was currently untying the rope from the fence. Ambroz saw the bare agitation on her complexion. He does not want for Lucy to look like that, it's frightening. But so does he need to act more as a chief than as a student. However, he can avoid the fact that she was the one who taught him a lot of things in life and infighting.
"Some knuckleheads gave me a hard time finding a way to escape their senseless talks." He reasoned out.
Lucy groaned and landed her palm. He got confused and so her raised his brow. She only indicated a facepalm, conveying as if she had enough of him. "The saddle, chief. Come on, do you want your father scolding you again? Spare me your idiocy, please."
He awkwardly handed her the saddle. The saddle was settled on the horse's back. The horse had black hair and skin. It was as black as the raven in the night sky. He stroked his hands through its hair and the horse neighed. The throatlatch was a bit off so he tightened it up a bit. Afterwards, he stepped onto the stirrup iron and climbed up the horse. Parting his legs and settling down on the seat. His hands gripped the reins. After fixing his shirt, he looked at Lucy who was fixing the brushes and washing them inside the bucket.
"Have you heard about me rejecting your sister?" He suddenly asked.
Lucy paused and lifted her body from bowing too much. She twisted the small blanket and removed excess water from it. Without turning her body around to face him, she said, "Of course, I have. How could I not when she was crying and whining endless last night." She complained and continued doing her chores.
"Then, since when has she liked me? How come you know it?" He continued with another question.
"Long ago, chief. And I have known it ever since she was a child. Dressing up like a lady, she says. Sabotaging my image with my parents and she accidentally told them that you won't ever like someone like me, continued on saying that she was prettier than me and you would absolutely fall for her. Isn't that enough details to guess she does like you?" She counted on the story of her past. It happened years ago and she is still mad about it.
"In some ways, you are her elder sister. Do you not bother yourself and tell her?"
"Tell her what? That you don't need a woman in your life? Chief, this conversation's done. I can't control what she's thinking inside her head. And why are we talking irrelevant things? Staying here a bit long when you should be following your father, they're waiting." She exclaimed and slapped the horse's legs.
"Very well then, Lucy." He bid his farewell before hitting the horse with the use of the stirrup iron.
It neighed once more before galloping just after he gripped the reins. "H'ya!" He expressed.
"What took you so long?" His father asked.
He almost let out a chuckle when he remembered that Lucy asked him the same exact question to him a while ago.
"Nothing in particular, shall we head in?" He dodged the question.
"Right at your back, son." Tis what came out of his father mouth.
The reason his father called out to him was that the forest has been having difficulties recently. Many trees have been falling apart, the leaves were decaying, and with its dry posture, it appeared moribund. The river has been remotely close to piling up into a certain disclosure. The animals indulged was affected by the dreadful changes. They are still figuring out whether they will start a sterile chore or replant the trees again. Their land has been suffering from these mild disruptions.
Nature is experiencing blight and is affected by a plague.
"So, what did it go?" They were on their way to these places where the parts affected by the plague when suddenly his father raise a question.
He did not know what to answer. He raised his brow. "What went to what, actually?"
His father made a face. "Last night, you went on with a lady just right after me and your mother left. Hah, you were making such a huge fuss about giving you time, son, and yet you already got a woman." He raised the edge of his lips and threw out a scoff.
"Father? How could you assume it was something like that happened? You are getting the wrong hunch in this one." He replied without even looking at his father's face. Ambroz shook his head horizontally.
"Oh, but son? What did happened?" With a gullible face, his former chief, the father wriggled his brows.
"That lady confessed to me." He admittedly said.
"What a piece of marvellous news this is. Hey, Zergee, did you hear that a lady confessed to my son! When's the wedding held?" The happiness traced in his voice went over the place.
His men laughed at him ad that includes Zergee. "That's not right, Logan. You should hear the rest of the story." Zergee added while sneering.
'Seems like they knew about it.' Ambroz thought.
"I rejected her, father." He blurted out.
His father widened his eyes and the men laughed at him seeing how he reacted.
"Told you, Logan. You just got your hopes up again." Zergee augmented and shook his head with how hilarious the situation is.
"What have you done, son? You rejected that lady? I reckoned she was Lucy's sister? What a beautiful lady having to receive your cruel words. If it isn't her, don't you dare tell me you like the elder one?" His father panicked.
He indicated a facepalm, massaging his creased forehead. His father truly is a pain at the bottom. How could he say such things when Lucy was his...
"Lucy's a teacher, father. Nothing like what you're saying. And besides, I think someone's waiting for me somewhere in the galaxy." He said his retort to his father's endless dispute.
He witnessed his father grow wrinkles on his one eye. "Galaxy? What are you saying? You'll go to different other lands only to search for this someone?" Logan asked as if his son said something utterly ridiculous.
He immediately turned back with a response. "No, father! I meant that there will come a time that I will meet someone truly for me. Not someone who you forced me with."
After that long quarrel. They decided to stop. Ambroz could not believe his father. Forcing him to love someone to benefit his honour? What is he some sort of contracted king who gives his son, perhaps a prince, away for the usefulness in the future? Anybody can be the chief. It's not as if it's by blood choice. He just hates the fact he's being forced. Well, he still won't avoid himself with destiny, if the time comes, he will surely accept this wife and create a child with her.
'But now? It's just not the right time for me.' He thought.
Their horses neighed as they hit its tummy with the stirrup iron they were stepping. Whack the reins on his neck and made it gallop. They were getting deeper into the forest when they heard someone shout from the front.
"Logan, chief, come take a look at this!" It was Zergee's voice.
He and his father stared at each other before catching up to them. When they reached to his position all they see was trees lining up almost dying. The trunk turned pitch black just like its leaves. It was supposed to be green and radiant looking. Something is terribly suspicious.
"The crew— I mean, our people have seen this two days ago now, chief. A scourge of our trees and wilderness. It has been called as the beginning of a terrible plague. Trees start here all throughout the end. This has never happened before, what now?" Zergee reported.
Ambroz was startled when Zergee said the crew and corrected himself afterwards. Nevertheless, this commotion truly has never happened before. This is the first they've seen something an outrageous catastrophe emerging.
"Within your decree time, did a thing like this never touch the ground?" He asked his father.
"Never once did, son." He responded.
In Ambroz's peripheral view, he saw Zergee whisper something to his father. He did not bother to ask. He went down the horse and headed over the trees. The moment his hands touched the dark trunk of the tree, an image flashed back through his head.
Fire, flames, burning of houses and screams from frightened people. Her mother shouting and his father lying on the ground. Everything turned black and his eyes were full of nothing hatred and wrath. In that image, he was way above them and in that image, he saw a woman. A woman whose eyes was as violet as death. It was terrifying.
"It's that, again." He muttered with trembling and panting noises. He immediately retrieved his hands from touching the tree.
"Son, are you alright?" Behind him was his father's worried complexion.
He blinked his eyes a few times and gulped hard. "Y-Yes, father. I think... I think we should check the other locations that have been affected by the plague. And these trees, we should all remove them and replant." He suggested and hurriedly head back to his horse.
"You're panting, are you sure you're alright? Have all the runs made you tired?" His father asked again. He can see his worries with brows met and curved.
"I'm the chief, father. This is nothing. I just had a short breath for a while. Shall we go?" He gripped his reins and avoided the gaze they were giving.
Something about what he saw from back then and now has got to be a sign. But what sign is it? That image kept on show. It was dark and evil, imagining it twists his stomach and makes him lose his breath. He's having a turmoil seizure inside his head.
While they were also heading for another path, in particular, the river that has been blocked and piled with the dark leaves, they were stopped by a powerful force of breeze. So powerful that the leaves were released from their weakened grasp and surrounded them, making the horses neigh in panic. Then a voice appeared.
"You mortals! What have you done to my forest?" An uproar like voice echoed and surrounded them.
Ambroz started shifting his gaze everywhere trying to find where the voice was coming from. His pupils were shaking as her voice escalated, sending shivers running down his spine. He glanced to his father only to see that he was shaking himself. Zergee looked at his father.
"I have trusted you and this is what I get in return? You imbeciles!" She shouted one more time.
"Goddess Aranyani! This is not our doing, we have come to settle this problem." His father uttered, voice shaking in tremor.
"If not you, when someone's trying to break the border! Someone from outside! I can feel it through the roots of my heart. Don't you sit there, mortals, fix this matter or I will punish every single human standing on my land." She exclaimed.
The leaves that were twirling around them halted and in an instant, they fell down. The breeze subsided and the horses have calmed down. They roamed around again to check if everything has unravelled. Fortunately, it has.
"We should... We should head over to the river." Logan spoke and led them towards that river.
Ambroz was stunned. How come they weren't shocked after what just come to pass? It was definitely a woman's voice who was ravaged with anger and outrage and his father mentioned a name, 'Aranyani?'. He has never heard of a thing or two. The men did not even bother to ask? How did his father know about that anonymous being?
"H'ya." He yelled and followed them.
After they arrived at the river, he had no chance to ask as his father instructed them almost immediately to remove the leaves placed on the river, which was slowing the rivers flow. With their bare hands, they picked those leave and piled them up to the side. All of them cooperated without a say, with their face frightened by something, definitely the happening earlier. After doing as instructed, they rested their body, now soaked and dripping with water.
The river attained its normal flow and it was neat again. They all heaved a sigh after panting, chasing their breath.
It was getting dark, the sun was about to set when his father declared that they should already leave. They all grabbed their horses and run back to the village. When they were already close, Ambroz looked at his father. The horses have mellowed and gallop walk.
Has the moon risen, the crows scattered, and the bats surrounded. The trees let not shed light. Their shadows were hidden. He was dying to know. For the past few years, he had an idea that they were not originally from this place. After he heard his parent's conversation when he was in his youth, there, he realized that to even his own kin, he knows nothing about them.
Not knowing where the place they belong, what happened in the past, and what has led them to come across this odd land. But, the elders talked about how they suffered before, his hunch that they have escaped from an unknown land must be true.
Lucy has also been giving him her knowledge throughout the years. Now that it was the time, he is now the chief, he should already be aware.
"Father," he rendered a call to him.
"What is it, son?"
"I have something to ask you." He responded.
The father was sn open book, waiting for what he had to implore.
"Is there something you're hiding from me? I am now the chief, all those odd and unspecified things that happened a while ago. Those are not mere illusions! Those happened in my time. So, tell me, father. What is it that you, mother, and the rest of the elders trying to hide from us?" He asked.
His father widened his eyes before clearing his throat. "Son, the thing is, we're—"
To be continued...
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ABYSSCESS