Chosen (32 page)
He knocked softly on the front
door. The door cracked open an inch, ‘yes?’ came a young female
voice, ‘can I help you?’
‘We’re looking for Mother
Pendle, does she still live here?’
An old, husk of a voice spoke
from behind the young woman. ‘Is that you Thomas, come in lad, I
haven’t seen you for years. Open the door girl, he’s my friend,’
she snapped as only an old woman can. The young girl opened the
door; wrapped around her shoulders was a tattered black shawl and
her feet were bare.
‘I have others with me,’ said
Thomas, not wanting to frighten Mother Pendle.
‘Bring them in, bring them in,
any friend of yours is welcome in my home.’
They entered the small room, it
was dark and the smell of herbs and spices was almost overpowering.
Small bunches of herbs hung from the low rafters and two of the
walls were line with hundreds of small jars, each filled with a
different coloured liquid. Once all were inside it was a tight
squeeze.
‘I’ll keep watch,’ said Tallon
opening the door to leave.
‘Why haven’t I seen you,
Thomas, I looked forward to your visits.’
‘My fath . . . ,’ before he
could finish the old woman yelled.
‘Boil up some water girl, and
get some bread and cheese for these people, where’s ya manners. You
were saying Thomas?’ The sudden change in conversation had thrown
Thomas. ‘You mentioned your father,’ Mother Pendle continued,
‘horrible man, I’m sorry Thomas, but it’s the truth and sometimes
the truth hurts. He is a mean, nasty, small- minded man and you’re
better off without him.’
Getting his voice back, Thomas
continued, ‘I’ve left him Mother, these people are my family
now.’
‘And a much better family if I
say so myself,’ said Mother Pendle casting an appreciative eye over
the friends. ‘Where’s that food,’ she shouted, ‘come on Sasha,
these people are hungry.’
‘Coming mother,’ said the young
girl as she carried a large wooden plate full of food and placed it
on the table. Haven jumped on the food like a ravenous wolf until
he saw the looks he was receiving.
‘Sorry,’ he said with a mouth
full of cheese and bread. ‘I feel like I haven’t eaten for
weeks.’
Mother Pendle grinned a
toothless grin. ‘It’s a long time since I’ve had such a big
handsome man in my house. What’s the old saying? Big man, big
appetites,’ she winked at Haven who had the courtesy to blush.
While everyone was eating and
talking Max quietly slipped out the door with a plate of food for
Tallon. She found him sitting on a log about twenty yards
re-stringing his bow.
‘What do you want,’ he said
without turning around. Max walked up and sat next to him on the
log.
‘I thought you might be
hungry,’ she said offering him the plate, ‘it’s a long time since
we’ve eaten and who knows when we might get the chance again.’ When
he didn’t take the plate from her she placed it on the ground
between them. ‘Well, it’s here if you want it.’ The silence between
them became awkward. ‘Is there something you’d like to talk about,’
she said softly. ‘You’ve been keeping to yourself a lot
lately.’
He stopped stringing his bow
and turned to face her. He wanted to hold her, to rain kisses on
her upturned face, he wanted to press his lips to hers and feel her
respond like she did that night, he wanted her to say it was him
she wanted, he wanted to feel her moving beneath him as they made
love, he wanted to hear her moan softly when he touched her body.
But most of all he wanted to say, ‘I love you’. ‘But what he said
was, ‘we should leave soon, I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay
too long in one place.’
Before she could reply they
heard Haven calling. ‘TALLON, they need you inside.’
Max stood, put her hand on
Tallon’s shoulder and said, ‘I’m here if you want to talk,’ then
she walked towards Haven standing in the doorway. As she passed
him, she said, ‘I’ll be inside.’
Haven hesitated, turned to walk
inside and then changed his mind.
‘I should speak with him,’ he
thought. Tallon had gone back to stringing his bow when Haven came
up behind him. ‘I believe I need to thank you,’ he said.
‘For what?’
‘The others have told me how
you carried me on your back, I wouldn’t be here, if it wasn’t for
you.’
‘It was nothing,’ said
Tallon.
Haven felt he should say more.
‘If ever the chance comes to repay the favour, you have my word,
I’ll be there for you.’
‘I don’t want or need your
help,’ said Tallon, ‘please . . . leave me alone, I’m busy.’
Haven felt uncomfortable, ‘yes
. . . yes of course . . . well . . . I’ll see you inside then. I
think Mother Pendle wants to explain how to get to the shrine, and
I thought as you were leading . . .’ He left without finishing his
sentence. Tallon waited a few minutes before following.
‘Ah, here is the young warrior
I need to speak to,’ said Mother Pendle as Tallon entered the room.
‘Come, sit beside me and I’ll explain the route you must take to
the shrine.’ Tallon hesitated, his eyes not yet adjusted to the
sudden lack of light. ‘Hurry warrior, your time grows short,’ said
Mother Pendle, patting the seat.
Mother Pendle explained the
directions, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure as it had been many
decades since she had left her hut, but she told them to look for a
circle of stones surrounding four large, flat rocks, this was the
shrine to Epona. When Mother Pendle finished she had Sasha pack a
small bag of food for the journey. Farewells were exchanged and she
wished them luck with their final task.
As they travelled to their
final destination each was lost in their own thoughts. Haven was
thinking about his talk with Tallon, Max was wondering how her
child was faring left behind in another world, Elkeira was worried
how Thomas would react if they were attacked, would he stand and
fight with them or would his natural instinct to run be too strong,
Thomas was wondering the same. Gilster was glad the journey was
almost finished but sadness overcame him when he thought about
Daria and how she would not be with them when the final portal was
opened. Tallon was thinking about when the journey was over, not
for one minute did he think they would fail. How could he watch Max
leave with Haven, he couldn’t, but she had made it clear he was not
the one she wanted, he could not live with that, so he had decided
he would take on his bear form and never return to human form
again, that way, when bear eventually took over he would never
remember Max and the pain would finally leave him, he felt better
knowing he had made a decision.
Mother Pendle had told them the
journey – if her directions were correct – should take about two
days. That night they made camp for what they hoped would be one
last time. Tallon led them into the forest and off the trail they
were following. The weather had warmed slightly since their arrival
in Chaos and the snow and ice had melted, leaving behind puddles
and mud, but they could also see small plants pushing up through
the soil and buds beginning to grow on tree limbs.
‘I think spring is coming,’
said Max examining a branch, ‘look, I can see blossom buds.’
‘A good omen,’ said Gilster
coming up behind her and looking over her shoulder, ‘new beginnings
and all that.’
Elkeira started a small fire
and Tallon went hunting with his bow, ‘I need meat,’ was all he
said as he left. They settled themselves around the small fire to
await his return. Suddenly Max bolted upright, the colour draining
from her face, ‘the scrolls,’ she said patting herself down in a
panic, ‘where are they?’
‘Calm down,’ said Elkeira,
‘they are safe, I picked up your bag when I rescued you from the
cell and I have carried them with me ever since,’ she pulled a bag
from under her jerkin and gave it to Max.
‘How could I have been so
stupid,’ said Max, what if I had lost them.’ Her voice cracked with
emotion. Elkeira, thinking she had done something wrong tried to
offer words of comfort.
‘I’m so sorry Max, I should
have told you sooner, but with everything that’s been happening, I
completely forgot until you just mentioned them. Please forgive
me.’
‘There’s nothing to forgive,’
said Max. Noticing the young woman’s distress Max wiped her eyes
with the back of her hand and continued. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said,
‘I’ve had so much on mind lately, what with worrying about Ti Athra
and then Haven getting sick, thank you for being so
observant.’
‘You saved us a trip back to
the keep,’ smiled Gilster, ‘although I’m sure Fischer and Benitoff
would have welcomed us back with a nice cosy cell.’
Haven put his arm around Max,
‘don’t be upset,’ he said, ‘all is still well.’
Max stood, ‘I think I need some
time to myself,’ she said walking into the forest.
Max wandered aimlessly, going
where he feet took her, oblivious to direction or landmarks, until
eventually she found a fallen log lying in the middle of a pretty
little glade. The glade was protected from the worst of the weather
and small, colourful flowers were poking their heads up searching
for warmth. Max saw none of this, she sat down, put her head in her
hands and cried. ‘I think I’m losing it,’ she thought, ‘the stress
is starting to get to me.’ After a few minutes the tears began to
slow and Max regained some of her composure. ‘I must pull myself
together,’ said out loud, ‘it’s nearly over, soon I’ll be going
home – with my daughter,’ she added with conviction.
‘It’s lucky you tromp through
the forest like a herd of buffalo or I might have shot you,’ said
Tallon emerging from the trees at the edge of the glade.
So startled was Max by his
sudden appearance that she bolted upright, lost her balance and
fell backwards over the log. Tallon dropped his bow and the brace
of rabbits he’d been carrying and was at her side in seconds.
‘Are you alright, little one,’
he said softly, cradling her face in his big, warm hands. ‘Forgive
me, I didn’t mean to startle you.’
Max, opened her eyes, ‘I’m ok,
I just bumped my head and knocked the wind out of myself -- help me
up.’ Tallon lifted her into a sitting position, brushing the wet
leaves from her back. ‘How come I always hit my head when you’re
around,’ she laughed.
‘I don’t know,’ said Tallon
smiling, ‘just luck I suppose.’ He helped her to her feet, holding
her tightly around the waist, ‘how do you feel,’ he asked. She
wobbled slightly before her legs buckled and gave way. Tallon held
her so she didn’t fall. ‘Here, sit back down on the log until you
feel better, then we should head back, the others will wonder where
we are.’ A few minutes passed and Max began to feel better.
‘I think I’m ready now,’ she
said attempting to stand again. Her head started spinning, causing
her to grab onto Tallon to keep from falling.
‘This is no good,’ said Tallon
sitting her back on the log. ‘Wait here.’ He retrieved his bow and
rabbits and returned. ‘Here, hold these,’ he said giving them to
Max before lifting her off the ground.
‘What are you doing,’ said Max,
‘you can’t carry me all the way back, it’s too far.’
‘Can’t I,’ said Tallon striding
back towards camp, ‘just watch me.’
They talked of many things on
the journey back to camp, it had been a long time since they had
been alone together. They laughed at silly things and slowly the
old bond between them was renewed. When they reached camp the
sparkle had returned to Tallon’s eyes and the smile to his lips.
They were still laughing as they came through trees and saw the
others sitting around the fire. Elkeira noticed the change in
Tallon immediately.
‘Oh no, there’s going to be
trouble,’ she thought, as she looked from Tallon to Haven and back
again. In an effort to diffuse the situation, Gilster stood.
‘Ah, good, you’re back, and I
see you have some rabbits, let’s prepare them so we can eat.’
Oblivious to the tension, lost
in her newly renewed bond, Max said, ‘you’ll never guess what
happened, I . . . ,’
‘What is this?’ said Haven
rising from where he had been sitting. ‘What went on between you
two while I was sick?’
Ignoring Haven, Tallon gently
lowered Max to the ground, his smile had vanished, like his good
mood. ‘Are you feeling better,’ he asked.
‘Yes, thank you,’ said Max who
had been embarrassed by Haven’s out-burst.
Tallon turned to face Haven
whose face was now burning red with anger, ‘nothing happened
between us then or now,’ he said menacingly, ‘perhaps you should
have more faith in Maxine.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ shouted
Haven, ‘nobody who saw your faces when you returned would believe
you either.’
‘It’s true,’ said Max, shocked
at the bitterness in Haven’s voice, ‘nothing happened.’ She was
becoming angry herself at being so unjustly accused. ‘In fact,’ she
said, her voice rising with rage, ‘you wouldn’t even be here now if
it wasn’t for Tallon.’
‘ENOUGH,’ roared Gilster
drawing every eye and shocking everyone into silence. Elkeira rose
silently and retrieved the rabbits.
‘Come,’ she said, beckoning to
Thomas, ‘help me prepare them so we can eat.’ The two walked off
into the forest, glad to get away from the tension.
Dinner was a sombre and silent
affair. After eating, Tallon left to sit watch. His leaving made no
difference to the mood of the camp. Each wrapped themselves in
whatever they had at hand and settled down for the long night
ahead. No one wanted to be the first to break the silence and risk
starting the fight over again. The atmosphere was thick with an
under-current of boiling rage and anger.
Morning dawned with an angry,
red sky, reflecting the mood of the camp. They packed silently and
were ready to leave within a few minutes.
door. The door cracked open an inch, ‘yes?’ came a young female
voice, ‘can I help you?’
‘We’re looking for Mother
Pendle, does she still live here?’
An old, husk of a voice spoke
from behind the young woman. ‘Is that you Thomas, come in lad, I
haven’t seen you for years. Open the door girl, he’s my friend,’
she snapped as only an old woman can. The young girl opened the
door; wrapped around her shoulders was a tattered black shawl and
her feet were bare.
‘I have others with me,’ said
Thomas, not wanting to frighten Mother Pendle.
‘Bring them in, bring them in,
any friend of yours is welcome in my home.’
They entered the small room, it
was dark and the smell of herbs and spices was almost overpowering.
Small bunches of herbs hung from the low rafters and two of the
walls were line with hundreds of small jars, each filled with a
different coloured liquid. Once all were inside it was a tight
squeeze.
‘I’ll keep watch,’ said Tallon
opening the door to leave.
‘Why haven’t I seen you,
Thomas, I looked forward to your visits.’
‘My fath . . . ,’ before he
could finish the old woman yelled.
‘Boil up some water girl, and
get some bread and cheese for these people, where’s ya manners. You
were saying Thomas?’ The sudden change in conversation had thrown
Thomas. ‘You mentioned your father,’ Mother Pendle continued,
‘horrible man, I’m sorry Thomas, but it’s the truth and sometimes
the truth hurts. He is a mean, nasty, small- minded man and you’re
better off without him.’
Getting his voice back, Thomas
continued, ‘I’ve left him Mother, these people are my family
now.’
‘And a much better family if I
say so myself,’ said Mother Pendle casting an appreciative eye over
the friends. ‘Where’s that food,’ she shouted, ‘come on Sasha,
these people are hungry.’
‘Coming mother,’ said the young
girl as she carried a large wooden plate full of food and placed it
on the table. Haven jumped on the food like a ravenous wolf until
he saw the looks he was receiving.
‘Sorry,’ he said with a mouth
full of cheese and bread. ‘I feel like I haven’t eaten for
weeks.’
Mother Pendle grinned a
toothless grin. ‘It’s a long time since I’ve had such a big
handsome man in my house. What’s the old saying? Big man, big
appetites,’ she winked at Haven who had the courtesy to blush.
While everyone was eating and
talking Max quietly slipped out the door with a plate of food for
Tallon. She found him sitting on a log about twenty yards
re-stringing his bow.
‘What do you want,’ he said
without turning around. Max walked up and sat next to him on the
log.
‘I thought you might be
hungry,’ she said offering him the plate, ‘it’s a long time since
we’ve eaten and who knows when we might get the chance again.’ When
he didn’t take the plate from her she placed it on the ground
between them. ‘Well, it’s here if you want it.’ The silence between
them became awkward. ‘Is there something you’d like to talk about,’
she said softly. ‘You’ve been keeping to yourself a lot
lately.’
He stopped stringing his bow
and turned to face her. He wanted to hold her, to rain kisses on
her upturned face, he wanted to press his lips to hers and feel her
respond like she did that night, he wanted her to say it was him
she wanted, he wanted to feel her moving beneath him as they made
love, he wanted to hear her moan softly when he touched her body.
But most of all he wanted to say, ‘I love you’. ‘But what he said
was, ‘we should leave soon, I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay
too long in one place.’
Before she could reply they
heard Haven calling. ‘TALLON, they need you inside.’
Max stood, put her hand on
Tallon’s shoulder and said, ‘I’m here if you want to talk,’ then
she walked towards Haven standing in the doorway. As she passed
him, she said, ‘I’ll be inside.’
Haven hesitated, turned to walk
inside and then changed his mind.
‘I should speak with him,’ he
thought. Tallon had gone back to stringing his bow when Haven came
up behind him. ‘I believe I need to thank you,’ he said.
‘For what?’
‘The others have told me how
you carried me on your back, I wouldn’t be here, if it wasn’t for
you.’
‘It was nothing,’ said
Tallon.
Haven felt he should say more.
‘If ever the chance comes to repay the favour, you have my word,
I’ll be there for you.’
‘I don’t want or need your
help,’ said Tallon, ‘please . . . leave me alone, I’m busy.’
Haven felt uncomfortable, ‘yes
. . . yes of course . . . well . . . I’ll see you inside then. I
think Mother Pendle wants to explain how to get to the shrine, and
I thought as you were leading . . .’ He left without finishing his
sentence. Tallon waited a few minutes before following.
‘Ah, here is the young warrior
I need to speak to,’ said Mother Pendle as Tallon entered the room.
‘Come, sit beside me and I’ll explain the route you must take to
the shrine.’ Tallon hesitated, his eyes not yet adjusted to the
sudden lack of light. ‘Hurry warrior, your time grows short,’ said
Mother Pendle, patting the seat.
Mother Pendle explained the
directions, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure as it had been many
decades since she had left her hut, but she told them to look for a
circle of stones surrounding four large, flat rocks, this was the
shrine to Epona. When Mother Pendle finished she had Sasha pack a
small bag of food for the journey. Farewells were exchanged and she
wished them luck with their final task.
As they travelled to their
final destination each was lost in their own thoughts. Haven was
thinking about his talk with Tallon, Max was wondering how her
child was faring left behind in another world, Elkeira was worried
how Thomas would react if they were attacked, would he stand and
fight with them or would his natural instinct to run be too strong,
Thomas was wondering the same. Gilster was glad the journey was
almost finished but sadness overcame him when he thought about
Daria and how she would not be with them when the final portal was
opened. Tallon was thinking about when the journey was over, not
for one minute did he think they would fail. How could he watch Max
leave with Haven, he couldn’t, but she had made it clear he was not
the one she wanted, he could not live with that, so he had decided
he would take on his bear form and never return to human form
again, that way, when bear eventually took over he would never
remember Max and the pain would finally leave him, he felt better
knowing he had made a decision.
Mother Pendle had told them the
journey – if her directions were correct – should take about two
days. That night they made camp for what they hoped would be one
last time. Tallon led them into the forest and off the trail they
were following. The weather had warmed slightly since their arrival
in Chaos and the snow and ice had melted, leaving behind puddles
and mud, but they could also see small plants pushing up through
the soil and buds beginning to grow on tree limbs.
‘I think spring is coming,’
said Max examining a branch, ‘look, I can see blossom buds.’
‘A good omen,’ said Gilster
coming up behind her and looking over her shoulder, ‘new beginnings
and all that.’
Elkeira started a small fire
and Tallon went hunting with his bow, ‘I need meat,’ was all he
said as he left. They settled themselves around the small fire to
await his return. Suddenly Max bolted upright, the colour draining
from her face, ‘the scrolls,’ she said patting herself down in a
panic, ‘where are they?’
‘Calm down,’ said Elkeira,
‘they are safe, I picked up your bag when I rescued you from the
cell and I have carried them with me ever since,’ she pulled a bag
from under her jerkin and gave it to Max.
‘How could I have been so
stupid,’ said Max, what if I had lost them.’ Her voice cracked with
emotion. Elkeira, thinking she had done something wrong tried to
offer words of comfort.
‘I’m so sorry Max, I should
have told you sooner, but with everything that’s been happening, I
completely forgot until you just mentioned them. Please forgive
me.’
‘There’s nothing to forgive,’
said Max. Noticing the young woman’s distress Max wiped her eyes
with the back of her hand and continued. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said,
‘I’ve had so much on mind lately, what with worrying about Ti Athra
and then Haven getting sick, thank you for being so
observant.’
‘You saved us a trip back to
the keep,’ smiled Gilster, ‘although I’m sure Fischer and Benitoff
would have welcomed us back with a nice cosy cell.’
Haven put his arm around Max,
‘don’t be upset,’ he said, ‘all is still well.’
Max stood, ‘I think I need some
time to myself,’ she said walking into the forest.
Max wandered aimlessly, going
where he feet took her, oblivious to direction or landmarks, until
eventually she found a fallen log lying in the middle of a pretty
little glade. The glade was protected from the worst of the weather
and small, colourful flowers were poking their heads up searching
for warmth. Max saw none of this, she sat down, put her head in her
hands and cried. ‘I think I’m losing it,’ she thought, ‘the stress
is starting to get to me.’ After a few minutes the tears began to
slow and Max regained some of her composure. ‘I must pull myself
together,’ said out loud, ‘it’s nearly over, soon I’ll be going
home – with my daughter,’ she added with conviction.
‘It’s lucky you tromp through
the forest like a herd of buffalo or I might have shot you,’ said
Tallon emerging from the trees at the edge of the glade.
So startled was Max by his
sudden appearance that she bolted upright, lost her balance and
fell backwards over the log. Tallon dropped his bow and the brace
of rabbits he’d been carrying and was at her side in seconds.
‘Are you alright, little one,’
he said softly, cradling her face in his big, warm hands. ‘Forgive
me, I didn’t mean to startle you.’
Max, opened her eyes, ‘I’m ok,
I just bumped my head and knocked the wind out of myself -- help me
up.’ Tallon lifted her into a sitting position, brushing the wet
leaves from her back. ‘How come I always hit my head when you’re
around,’ she laughed.
‘I don’t know,’ said Tallon
smiling, ‘just luck I suppose.’ He helped her to her feet, holding
her tightly around the waist, ‘how do you feel,’ he asked. She
wobbled slightly before her legs buckled and gave way. Tallon held
her so she didn’t fall. ‘Here, sit back down on the log until you
feel better, then we should head back, the others will wonder where
we are.’ A few minutes passed and Max began to feel better.
‘I think I’m ready now,’ she
said attempting to stand again. Her head started spinning, causing
her to grab onto Tallon to keep from falling.
‘This is no good,’ said Tallon
sitting her back on the log. ‘Wait here.’ He retrieved his bow and
rabbits and returned. ‘Here, hold these,’ he said giving them to
Max before lifting her off the ground.
‘What are you doing,’ said Max,
‘you can’t carry me all the way back, it’s too far.’
‘Can’t I,’ said Tallon striding
back towards camp, ‘just watch me.’
They talked of many things on
the journey back to camp, it had been a long time since they had
been alone together. They laughed at silly things and slowly the
old bond between them was renewed. When they reached camp the
sparkle had returned to Tallon’s eyes and the smile to his lips.
They were still laughing as they came through trees and saw the
others sitting around the fire. Elkeira noticed the change in
Tallon immediately.
‘Oh no, there’s going to be
trouble,’ she thought, as she looked from Tallon to Haven and back
again. In an effort to diffuse the situation, Gilster stood.
‘Ah, good, you’re back, and I
see you have some rabbits, let’s prepare them so we can eat.’
Oblivious to the tension, lost
in her newly renewed bond, Max said, ‘you’ll never guess what
happened, I . . . ,’
‘What is this?’ said Haven
rising from where he had been sitting. ‘What went on between you
two while I was sick?’
Ignoring Haven, Tallon gently
lowered Max to the ground, his smile had vanished, like his good
mood. ‘Are you feeling better,’ he asked.
‘Yes, thank you,’ said Max who
had been embarrassed by Haven’s out-burst.
Tallon turned to face Haven
whose face was now burning red with anger, ‘nothing happened
between us then or now,’ he said menacingly, ‘perhaps you should
have more faith in Maxine.’
‘I don’t believe you,’ shouted
Haven, ‘nobody who saw your faces when you returned would believe
you either.’
‘It’s true,’ said Max, shocked
at the bitterness in Haven’s voice, ‘nothing happened.’ She was
becoming angry herself at being so unjustly accused. ‘In fact,’ she
said, her voice rising with rage, ‘you wouldn’t even be here now if
it wasn’t for Tallon.’
‘ENOUGH,’ roared Gilster
drawing every eye and shocking everyone into silence. Elkeira rose
silently and retrieved the rabbits.
‘Come,’ she said, beckoning to
Thomas, ‘help me prepare them so we can eat.’ The two walked off
into the forest, glad to get away from the tension.
Dinner was a sombre and silent
affair. After eating, Tallon left to sit watch. His leaving made no
difference to the mood of the camp. Each wrapped themselves in
whatever they had at hand and settled down for the long night
ahead. No one wanted to be the first to break the silence and risk
starting the fight over again. The atmosphere was thick with an
under-current of boiling rage and anger.
Morning dawned with an angry,
red sky, reflecting the mood of the camp. They packed silently and
were ready to leave within a few minutes.
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