“Do you know anything about the witch?” Valentin asked the large boy working next to him.
“I’ve heard of her, but I’ve only been told to stay away from her,” Darri replied in a distracted tone.
Darri lifted the axe over his head and slammed it into the log he had set on the stump in front of him. The two halves clattered to either side of the stump and one of the children scurried in and set one of the halves down before running away. The relentless storms of the past days had briefly subsided and the village scrambled to accomplish any remaining tasks that required an outdoor presence before the long storms of Faur returned to drench them again. Darri and the other children were set aside with an axe to chop and store the rest of the firewood. Valentin was in Darri’s care while Bassett was preoccupied with other jobs.
“Anything other than that is just rumors,” Darri commented before he split the log into quarters. Valentin noticed that he got on his tip toes when he lifted the axe over his head. “Nasty rumors. If I were you, I’d stay far out of the way just to be cautious.”
A child grabbed the quarter logs and schlepped the unwieldy wood in her small hands to a storage shed nearby. They were delivered into the hands of another waiting child to become a relay of children to stack the wood in the difficult to reach areas of the shed.
“Have you met her?”
Another crack of wood and another child hustling away. “I haven’t met her. I have seen her. She doesn’t usually appear in the main longhouse but I have seen her wandering around the outskirts of the village when I do jobs. Why are you asking?”
“Morna warned me about her a few days ago but I didn't want to ask her more about it. She seemed sore about the subject.” And there was no real reason for Valentin to risk Morna’s displeasure when he could ask others in her stead.
“I’m sure we’re all sore about it,” Darri spoke between methodical axe swings. “It’s difficult to trust someone that reads the future in a puddle of blood. At least when the druids read omens, someone else could see the same future. You can see the arrangement of chicken bones or the splatters of blood on the soil or even the arrangement of the clouds and at least understand what the druids see. But I’ve heard that the blood that a witch looks into is unmoving. To have one in your longhouse sleeping near where you sleep is unsettling.”
Crack
“I didn’t know you knew so much about druidic practices, Darri,” Valentin complimented as he set up a half log for the boy.
“I don’t. All I did was repeat things that Maeve says and what I’ve heard from the other villagers. Truthfully, I was never spiritually gifted nor do I know anything about the magic of blood sight.” Darri wiped his brow of sweat with the sleeve of his tunic. “All I know is what I’ve heard and I trust the druids and Maeve enough to believe them on this as well.”
The clouds had parted and Ortus greeted the village with brilliant light and a blue blanket overhead. Valentin heard a clamor from the longhouse behind him. A group of villages had scaled the walls of the building and were using mud and thatch to patch the holes that exposed everyone inside to the cold deluge of water. With the clear skies, it was hopeful that Ortus’ light could dry the mud and other materials in time for it to properly set.
“So what does she look like? I’ve also been told to avoid her,” Valentin collected a bundle of logs and moved them closer to Darri, who had been making rapid progress through the work.
Darri split another log and thought for a moment. “Colorful. She wears colors in her clothing that I thought only kings could afford. Makes her impossible to miss. If you see a woman that dresses like Ortus shines, you’ve found her. Not to mention a sour faced warrior follows her around. There is no one else along this entire coastline that she could be mistaken for.”
Valentin later had the news confirmed that the person that caused him to panic was the witch’s body guard. His ears burned with embarrassment when Morna came to him with the news. However, he felt the need to learn more about this mysterious woman. After all, anyone that can harness the blood of others to use their abilities would salivate at the knowledge of the highly favored blood that flowed in his veins.
More than anything, the knowledge of his own powerlessness to defend himself from these external threats is what truly ate at the boy. Gervin’s rebuke still rang freshly in his mind and redoubled the shame whenever the thought journeyed across his mind. His carnal contract with Morna could be entirely avoided if he had even a scrap of prowess to put his abilities to use. But where to begin?
Another crack of the wood splitting under Darri’s axe. His oversized body had torn small holes in the seams of his tunic revealed bulging flesh pinked by the exertion. Valentin looked at his comparatively undersized frame and wondered.
“Darri, I can take some swings for you if you need to rest.”
“It’s no trouble,” Darri assured with a confident smile. “I told you that when nobody’s around to watch you don’t need to help.”
Valentin felt strangely embarrassed to request that he chop some wood. He had never done it before. It was a task reserved for others, “lesser,” if the tones of his family and peers were to be believed. However, it was no longer the time to welcome these lazy and dismissive feelings towards hard work. Darri worked and he was strong. Valentin, by contrast, had proven to be impotent and wasted away quickly. The approach that he had been using would no longer satisfy.
“I want to chop the wood,” Valentin said with a semblance of assertiveness. He took a few steps towards the older boy and reached his hand out.
Darri was perplexed at the actions of the noble Valentin. He looked down at the axe in his hand and back to Valentin. “I don’t understand. Isn’t this sort of work beneath you?”
Valentin shook his head. “Standing around and watching isn’t going to help me. I don’t want to continue hiding behind everyone.” He tried to maintain his composure but it was clear that his frustration leaked through into his voice in a pathetic squeak. A further humiliation in a long string of failures.
The handle of the axe was placed in Valentin’s palm. He passively ran his hand along the wood and felt the inconsistencies from knots and grain. Darri set a log on the stump and took a few steps away.
“You get one swing to show me that you can do this capably. I’m not going to humor you and let you slog along and get the rest of us belted just so you can prove something.”
Valentin nodded his understanding. The other children relied on this work to be fed by the village during the winter. Valentin’s languid approach to work at the Duvin Estate would only lead to bruises and empty stomachs for everyone else.
Valentin attempted to mimic Darri’s posture. He straightened his back and squared his shoulders at the log. One hand was placed on the bottom of the handle and the other at the top near the head. The axe head was raised over his head and his hands came together. He got on his tiptoes and swung down with all his might.
The sound of splitting wood entered Valentin’s ears and the two halves clattered off of the stump and onto the soil. Vibration rattled up his arms when iron dug into the stump below. Valentin exhaled in relief that the log had split without issue.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Darri set one of the halves in front of Valentin. “Not bad. Take a step back and don’t swing so hard. You’ll just make yourself tired quickly if you put too much into it.”
Valentin took a step back and repeated the motion. However, this time, he let the axe head fall towards the ground. He gently guided the destructive metal towards his target and the half log effortlessly split in half. Valentin was uncertain how to feel that his efforts in the first swing seemed to not have amounted to much.
Darri grinned. “Better, but can you do it quickly?” Another target for the axe was set before Valentin. “Again.”
Valentin quickly returned to position but did not rush his swing. The axe impassively tore all before it asunder. Darri would rapidly place more and more before the voracious tool and bark the same command.
Again. Again. Again.
The boy that held the tool was all too compliant in following through on the command. The splitting of the wood in front of him filled him with feelings of power. Sweat beaded on his brow and he wiped them along his sleeve while he lifted the axe again.
More than anything, Valentin felt trapped in the many layers of his situation. The destruction of the objects in front of him provided him with a formless catharsis. He had been wallowing in his own helplessness and needed anything, no matter how trivial, to show him that he was capable of more.
However, what he had claimed was quickly taken.
“Hand it back. I’ll finish it from here,” Darri requested with his hand outstretched, reaching for Valentin’s source of power.
“But I thought I was doing a good job,” Valentin pouted, holding the tool with covetous hands. “I’m not tired yet. I can keep going.”
“You were doing fine, yes. But I can do better.” Darri grabbed the handle in his stone mitts and pulled it away from Valentin in a rapid motion. “Just stand over there for a little and we will be done before Guin decides to check in on us.”
Valentin obeyed the older boy and stood off to the side. He watched Darri smoothly set his own logs and quickly split them. He confidently found his form between each strike and struck the true spot without fail. Undoubtedly, he was dispatching the work faster than the two of them had been together. Valentin not only felt the humiliation of his pride in the task before him, but that Darri felt the need to entertain him at all.
The pile quickly shrank into nothing and all of the wood had been secured within the shed. Darri emitted a relieved sigh and smiled at the children that assembled around him. They looked up to their leader with shining eyes of reverence.
“Well done, everyone,” Darri praised the group and sat down on the stump that he had been using to set the logs. He slapped his large hands on his knees. “Let’s relax a little while before we go back inside.”
No longer trapped by the storm or by work, the children roamed rambunctiously around Darri. One clambered up a tree and sat on one of the thick lower branches. Others chased each other around. Two threw a small sack stuffed with straw between each other.
Valentin stood aloof to the outskirts of the group. He didn’t wish for his sulking to bother the rest of them. Darri was too occupied watching the children to think about the stray boy. However, watching the exuberance of the children did serve to bring a little light to his self-focused hostilities.
He couldn’t help being reminded of memories of Orsulie as the children played. It was odd that even though just seasons ago he was running around the village with the same carefree attitude that these children exuded. He wondered how everyone was doing back in the estate. He could imagine Jeanne endlessly pacing back and forth anxiously waiting for news to reveal his safety. Did she ever agree to marry Vincent?
What were his mother and father doing? Were they continuing as normal, confident that Gilles had carried out his promise dutifully? Valentin wondered if Roland truly worried about his son or if it was his ambitions in jeopardy that iced his veins and kept him up at night. Regardless of his yearning, his rescue would not result in his return home. Instead he would go to a different estate under a different ruler.
“You all seem to be enjoying yourselves,” an ethereal voice snuck up on Valentin and interrupted his reverie.
“Oh, Bassett,” Darri hailed his friend. “Are you all done with your tasks?”
Bassett joined Darri on the stump and relaxed his body, leaning into the larger boy. “Thankfully. Sometimes, I think they give me tasks just for the sake of it. They seemed to be straining themselves to think of new things.”
“Oh?” Darri perked up with interest as a juvenile smile crossed his lips. “What sort of things did those mush brains find appropriate?”
Unbeknownst to Darri, Bassett’s eyes widened as though he had erred in some way. He waved his hand dismissively before chuckling. “It’s so tedious that it borders on funny. I think that next time they may ask me to rid the forest of twigs.”
“It’s demeaning is what it is,” Darri spat. “And why is it always you for these jobs? Do they just find you an easy target? It doesn’t sit well with me, Bassett.”
Bassett softly placed one of his hands on Darri’s. “If that is true, they chose the wrong target. I feel it is better that it is me. While I find it funny, you’d likely punch one in the face. And where would we be then?”
Darri looked at the shed where they stored away the axe. “Maybe I should show them what I’m capable of. It’s humiliating to know that the unfavored sneer down on me. I have greater responsibilities than to be a servant to a village that hates us.”
Valentin tilted his head at Darri’s threats. He watched Bassett glare at the larger boy and glance quickly over his shoulder to see if anyone else was around. Sure, Valentin could admit that Darri was quite powerfully built, but what could he realistically do against a group of villagers even with the axe? A word that Darri said stood out the most to Valentin and prompted the boy to inquire.
“Darri, are you-”
“Valentin,” Bassett interrupted. His harsh look quickly softened. “I haven’t asked you any prying questions, I’d like you to do the same.”
Valentin nodded and pressed no further. His question had not been asked, but it had certainly been answered. While he had no malicious intentions with the information, an idea sprung into his head.
“Anyways,” Bassett looked at the sky to change the topic. “Ortus is getting lower, did the high and mighty Guin and his misshapen Cnap not grace you with an appearance yet?”
“Nope, it seems that the roof is giving our hosts more trouble than they were expecting. Maybe they’ll spend the night up there,” Darri chuckled. He stood up and adjusted his ill-fitting tunic. “Do you mind taking the kids back? I told Maeve I’d meet her at the temple and walk back to the longhouse together.”
“Oh, a romantic meeting perhaps?” Bassett teased before placing his hands over his chest dramatically. “Oh be still, heart.”
Darri turned red, “What are you-” the boy pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, I just have some things I want to discuss with her.”
“Can I come with you, Darri?” Valentin interrupted the interaction.
“No.”
“Yeah, Valentin,” Bassett added, still pretending he had been mortally wounded. “You would only serve to be a wedge between their budding love.”
Darri’s face reddened as he got more flustered. “Why do you want to come along anyways?”
“I wanted to talk to you about something privately,” Valentin stated matter-of-factly. He saw no real reason in waiting to ask Darri about his hunch and Bassett would never let him ask it.
Bassett swooned and lay flat upon the stump. “Even Valentin isn’t immune to Darri’s charm. What am I to do?”
“Enough!” Darri ordered and all of the surrounding children went quiet. “I’ll take you with me. If only to prove that I’m not up to something.”
He beckoned Valentin to join him as he walked towards the forest. Valentin shot a look to Bassett who had already gotten up from the stump. The boy looked at Valentin and offered him a mischievous smile. Valentin couldn’t help but giggle at the display and Darri looked over his shoulder to survey what other antics had just happened.
“Honestly,” Darri said breathlessly to himself. However, Valentin could not mistake the grin that Darri tried to hide.
At the backside of the longhouse, a trail of upturned soil snaked into the trees towards the mountains. At the trailhead, Valentin could pick out the distinct odor of a chicken coop. Baskets with eggs were brought inside the longhouse. Those that walked past the pair of boys offered them a quick look of derision before heading inside.
Nearby was the community oven, the large clay structure glowed red with the echoes of the red embers that had risen it to those heats. Assorted loaves sat in the oven each belonging to different families inside. Valentin recalled the loaves the laborers ate had distinct markings carved into the tops to ensure that none were taken from their rightful owners. This late into the day must mean that the low temperature bakes were residing within. Sweaty, red-faced attendants monitored the oven while villagers milled out of the range of the heat and engaged in conversation while waiting for their food to finish.
The two boys walked in silence while they skirted around the villagers. Valentin noticed that the deference always put the older boy in a sour mood and it was likely best for all parties that they avoided each other entirely.
Once Darri had felt satisfied with his distance to the longhouse and, now that the trail carried them up an incline towards the temple, he spoke.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Darri asked.
Valentin had wondered when on their walk would be best to broach the topic. However, Darri asked without hesitation, saving Valentin the trouble. He pursed his lips. Darri seemed like a straightforward person and there was no better option than a direct question. If he denied Valentin, then it was no real loss. At least that was the mindset Valentin brought with him for this conversation. In truth, he’d be a bit disappointed.
“How do you channel favor?”