It has been about a month since Ezhno told the story to the many villagers of Forest Shadow, Ever since that day they returned from the forest, Odilia had never once visited him. The whispers and the gossip had slowly died down throughout the weeks, There were still some that spoke of the story from time to time, but those were in passing to kill time as the villagers did there duties throughout the long hours of the day.

Ezhno was distressed and was getting very anxious for Odilia, he did not know if something had happened to her. He just wanted any news on how she was doing and if she was in good health. He had wanted to visit her on many occasions but he knew his place in the village and knew he did not have the right to go see Odilia at her home. He was just a parent-less stable boy who tended to the horses. He knew he was blessed enough for her to teach him how to read and write, and to play with on days he was free.

Even though he did not have the right to go knocking on her door to see her, he would still find an excuse to walk by the house a couple times a day hoping he would see her outside, maybe a glance though the window to see that she was not injured and was going on with her day to day life.

He also slowly walked around the village to possibly hear any news and gossip about anyone in the Redfield manor. He had heard anything from marrying her off to some rich aristocrat, to the manor was hit with a very contagious and serious illness and would soon spread to everyone in the village. All this passed though Ezhno's ears and made him more anxious than not knowing anything at all.

The following day, Ezhno worked with much haste to finish up all of his stable duties, He had a lot of anxiety from the night before and did not get much sleep. Today was the day he would steel his resolve, he would go knock on the Redfield manor gate and see what was going on once and for all. He stayed up most of the night trying to figure out an excuse to visit. Even though he was scared witless, he knew that there was a high possibility that he would be replaced at the stables and chased out of the village for not knowing his place in society. But Ezhno's anxiety had built up to the point that he really needed to know when, where or how Odilia was doing. If she would have said something weeks ago to him, then he would not have all these bottled up emotions welling up inside of him.

Ezhno's plan was to go knock on the gate with a worried expression on his face. He would act like he did not know what to do and with great concern for the situation that he had no choice. He would then tell whoever was at the gate, that the masters prized stallion has not been looking too well, and that he needed to have someone look over him as soon as possible. He would then nonchalantly ask whoever If Lady Odilia was not feeling well and that many of the villagers were concerned for her well being.

If he got an answer, then all the anxiety that was bottling up inside would melt away, He would just await for her to show up whenever she was available to do so.

Ezhno did not think further ahead after this point. He figured, when the doctor noticed nothing was wrong with the horse that he would feign ignorance. He would then swear to the heavens that the horse was not doing well and it must have recovered right then and there. He was not very confident in himself, he did not want to lie, but this was all he could think of at the time. Ezhno shivered at the possible punishments that were awaiting him. He knew he would either get his rations cut for the month, or possibly, would get a severe beating. The one thing he dreaded the most was being replaced at the stables and ran out of the village.

After knowing all of the possible outcomes that would take place, he still would weather it all to know what was going on with Odilia. His heart was truly aching inside and thoughts of her were the only thing on his mind. He did not know why he was feeling the way he did. After his parents died, Odilia was the only one in the village that would show any kind intentions towards him. Ezhno felt that if she was missing from his life, he would feel empty again. He did not want to go back to those days after he found out that his parents were dead.

While running the horses around in the pasture, he went over the plan in his head many times. Once in awhile, his mind would venture off, and he would remember the times, laughing at all the silly things Odilia would say or do when they were together.

He also remembered the one night when Odilia snuck out of her house and they went and watch the night sky together. They did not speak the entire time, but to him just laying there with her was one of the most cherished moments in his life.

Ezhno blushed at the thought, he did not know why, but the scene made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

He would also have thoughts of possibly sharing a nice supper together with her. Ezhno had not ate a meal with anyone in a long time. His eyes would grow slightly misty with the thoughts of the last meal he had with his parents before the news of their deaths.

Ezhno remembered sharing conversations around the dinner table, and the silly games they used to play to pass the time before they went to bed, One of his favorite memories he had was when is mother would sit him on the floor in front of her and groom his hair while checking for lice, at the same time she would hum a soft beautiful melody that would instantly make him fall asleep. However, during the time nearing the death of his parents, these times were few and far between. Sometimes he would go to sleep only to wake up to his parents arguing outside. He often heard other villagers doing the same, so thought it was just a normal thing adults did.

Now that he was older and had a better understanding of things, he worried that it was possible that this had something to do with why they were killed. He wondered if his parents had stumbled upon something, or if they had done something that angered others. Did they steal something? He had a sinking feeling that something terrible had caused their death. He could not bring himself to think about it anymore for this moment. At this moment, he needed to focus on getting his work done as quickly as possible, before he lost his resolve and chickened out.

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After housing the last horse in the stable, he headed towards his master's manor. At times he would run, at times he would slow down. The whole way, he repeated what he would say over and over again, until he finally reached the manor.

As he walked up, his heart started pounding more and more. Every step he took towards the gate felt heavy, as if he had hundreds of pounds strapped to his legs. The manor looked as it it were alive, as if it was pulsating like a beating heart. He felt like a small ant approaching a large mountain as the manor got larger and larger. He was sweating profusely. Before he was able to take another step towards the gate, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. The hallucination he was in shattered and brought him back to reality. He was scared out of his mind, and fell on his butt.

He turned his head around to see who it was, only to see that it was the same middle aged lady he helped out with the water that day. He quickly brought himself back to his feet. His face was pale white, like a ghost. His head was drenched in so much sweat it was as if he had just stepped out of the rain.

With an air of arrogance spewing out from her, she said, "You lazy shit, I never saw you around anymore after the day I hired you to fetch my water. It must be destined that we met each other again today. As a reward, I will allow you to help me fetch some water again today. You should feel honored that I am allowing you to help me once more. You should feel gratitude that someone as lowly as you will have the pleasure to be around the company of myself and my home."

Laughing while spewing arrogance from every orifice of her body, at the same time her inner thoughts were, "I may not be someone of much status but compared to you I am like the queen of the kingdom and a peasant should prostrate themselves and do whatever the queen tells them." She was laughing even more manically out loud, while spacing out in her own little world.

After witnessing this woman's comical banter, his dreary, pale look disappeared and the color returned to his face. With his wits about him again, his fragile mind regained clarity. He wiped the sweat off his face, He took in a large breath, A whiff of something foul lingered in the air, Ezhno had felt wetness near his bottom region.

He again looked at the woman who seems to not even be paying attention to him anymore, laughing like a lunatic with an arrogant smile on her face with continues mumbling. He then turned around and ran to the direction of his home as fast as possible.

After cleaning up and changing into a fresh pair of pants. he says to himself, "I can't believe i shit myself. That woman literally scared the crap out of me. I really want to see how Odilia is doing, but as of right now my body is spent and i have no will

at all to go back to the manor anymore today. It will be hard but i need to steel my resolve once more and set out what I plan to do tomorrow.

Not knowing what he should do for the rest of the day, He decided to go back to the stable and clean up a little more to calm his heart and mind.

Ezhno walked towards the stable, As he walked around the corner, Startled upon the scene in front of him, he jumped back like a frightened kitten. After the initial shock, Ezhno stood in place, his eyes were misting up at the scene in front of him. A mixture of emotions were raging around in his mind like a large flowing river.

The person he was longing to see for so long was standing right in front of him. He held back the tears and rubbed his face quickly. Ezhno was puzzled to see that she had an angry expression on her face. With hastened steps he walked towards Odilia. He stopped in front of her and says. "Odilia you scared the crap out of me, why did you not call for me, I would have gladly dropped everything I was doing to come to you."

After a minute of silence, Odilia did not reply, After the long period of silence, Ezhno was feeling slightly awkward, To try and break this awkward tension he put his hand behind his head, looked at Odilia again, and said, "Hahaha Odilia, It has been awhile since we last saw one another. You probably just wanted to give me a good scare, and it worked so well. I nearly pooped myself again today!"

Embarrassment set in and his face turned bright red after thinking of what he just said.

Did I just tell her that I pooped myself today and nearly did it again just now? Not knowing if he should crawl under a rock, he looked back up to odilia with a flushed, embarrassed look.

Odilia did not laugh and was still standing there with anger on her face.

Putting the embarrassing thought in the back of his mind, he continued to look at her, but saw no difference in her facial expression.

Odilia what is wrong?

We have not seen each other in over a month, You have anger written all over your face, Did something happen?

Did your grandfather hit you?

Is someone bulling you?

Many questions were racing through Ezhno's mind a mile a minute. He was concerned after the initial week of not seeing each other, and within the month his worries only grew. The situation must be sever if she can only see him now and tell him what was going on. The questions kept stacking up, he had so much he wanted to ask and say to her, Five minutes finally passed by,

Odilia finally opened her mouth and yelled, "Why did you tell the story to everyone in the village?!... Do you know how much trouble I am in!?!... My grandfather, after he heard the story, came home right away and started questioning me about what happened that day. After I told him what happened, he turned bright red in anger. I have never seen grandfather so angry before.

He said he was so embarrassed that even he could not stay in the village one minute longer, We went straight to Aneurin City and stayed with my parents for a month's time, before finally deciding to return to Forest Shadow Village.

Ezhno says, "Why would your grandfather be angry and embarrassed? Why would he take you away for a whole month? I know we are just children but still... You entered the Grand Sea forest that only the strongest adults venture into, against all odds you slayed a wild beast all by yourself. He should be full of praises and parade you around the village on his shoulders like a hero!"

As Ezhno spoke his words got louder and louder, one could hear the passion in his voice as he went on about Odilia achievements.

"I just don't get it, you.... are the bravest and one of the strongest people in Shadow Forest Village, I don't care how people may perceive me, from this day forth, no matter where I go, every person I speak to at any place or at anytime, when I say your name I will not be embarrassed or afraid to call you...."

Ezhno, with every breath in his body, screamed at the top of his lungs. He wanted the whole world to hear his words, to let everyone know that,

"ODILIA REDFIELD IS THE HERO OF FOREST SHADOW VILLAGE! AND SHE IS MY FRIEND!"