2
Veleda
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The sun had already passed its zenith by the time the two men descended the mountain. Between them hung a large boar, with its legs tied onto the spear and resting on their shoulders. And finally, Alduin could let out a sigh of relief.
‘Torture,’ Alduin thought, his eyes had been hazy for a while now as his energy was completely depleted. Not to mention the fact that he didn't dare to grumble.
“Shitty brat. Look how much time you wasted complaining,” Edward said loudly.
“Yes, yes, it’s my fault,” Alduin replied without hesitation, but inside he wanted to beat up the old man. ‘Every time I say something you drop that boar and tell me to go carry it on my own.' Alduin's glanced behind him with frustration. 'Not just that, why am I the one walking in front?!’
“I feel like you’re complaining inside.” Edward started lowering the spear from his shoulder.
The weight of the boar had shifted and Alduin felt cold shivers run up his spine, their arrival would be delayed again.
“No no no, I wouldn’t dare, let’s continue gramps!” Alduin appeased the whimsical old man with feigned joy. He knew he stood no chance.
‘I’m getting tired.’ Alduin was clearly on the losing side of their skirmishes. But now the village was finally in front of them. Their delayed arrival was finally near.
From the mountainside several plants could finally be seen, a wood mill, a blacksmith, and stonemasons. Each working on produce from the mountain. There were even dairy and cheese farms. The side of the mountain finally showed signs of civilization, albeit slightly outdated.
But it was the river Alduin was staring at.
This river originated from somewhere in the mountains and separated the ‘industrial area’ from the rest of the village. And it was an old bridge that connected this area with the rest of the village. And at the very center stood a town square marked by a rather large church, at least compared to the other buildings here.
‘She’s probably angry right?’ Alduin looked forward to seeing her. But his anticipation quickly changed to anxiousness.
As they were nearing the wood mill, an adjacent rustic house became visible.
“We’re finally home,” Edward grumbled, he didn't live in the village itself but on this side of the river.
Having passed his driveway they finally laid the boar on a large wooden table in his backyard. Almost at the same instant, the back door of his home swung open as a soft voice rang out.
“You’re finally home.”
“Ohh my dear Veleda, did you miss me?” Edward said as he turned with surprise.
Quick steps carried him closer to the blond-haired girl as he spoke with an uncharacteristically soft voice.
“Yes! I did grandpa, you took a long time getting back.” Veleda said with enthusiasm as she came close to hug him but suddenly stopped her approach. “You stink. I don’t want to hug you.”
Cough cough Edward stopped with surprise and sniffed himself. Unbeknownst to him, he had been walking through whatever the wild game dropped in front of him. Something that the person walking second would always encounter.
“Alduin.” Veleda ignored Edward and came closer. With intense blue eyes, she scrutinized the young man. “Did you get hurt like last time?”
“Hey,” Alduin replied with a guilty smile. “I’m fine this time, sorry we took so long to get back.”
Veleda however walked closer and pulled up his shirt.
“I’ll need to check, wait a second.” Veleda stared at him with sharp eyes.
“I’m fine, I’m fine, let’s go home." Alduin pushed her hands away and looked at Edward.
Tsk yet his ears had clearly caught her complaint.
“Brat, what do you think you're doing in front of me?” Edward who was swiftly ignored now knocked Alduin on his head
“Shit, that hurts!” Alduin bent forward.
“Grandpa!” Veleda looked with an angry pouting face towards Edward. However, her eyes shone sharply.
“Yeah yeah, I’ll go and take a shower,” Edward said as he turned to walk away.
“Are you alright?” Veleda asked with concern. “Let me check.” before pulling his shirt up again.
‘God, what did I do wrong.’ Alduin lamented his powerless fate with the last of his energy 'Why am I always on the receiving end.'
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“Brat, Ben and I shall butcher the boar, you can go home,” Edward spoke with a sigh before closing the door behind him.
“Let’s go home.” Alduin smiled brightly as he held back Veleda’s inquisitory hands.
Only a couple of hours were left until dinner. With the end of October nearing, the days were gradually becoming shorter and the temperature was dropping. This meant that the time he had left to hang out with Veleda was also decreasing. Alduin lamented as he stared at the sun which had changed its position.
“Are you really alright?” Veleda asked with worry.
“I’m fine, I just hurt my hands slightly but it went better than expected.” Alduin smiled gently at the gold-haired girl.
“Come down here then.” Veleda walked a bit ahead towards the stone bridge. But instead of crossing it, she walked down to the riverbank. While signaling toward him to come closer, Veleda said, “Come clean up a bit before you go home.”
“Alright,” Alduin answered. His smile showed a hint of embarrassment.
The young pair perched near the river. Veleda pulled a cleaning gauze from somewhere and dipped it in the river. With a small gesture, she took his hands and began cleaning the dirt while checking for any wounds.
“Why didn’t you come to wake me up?” The short silence was followed by a question.
“You would have wanted to come with me, it’s too dangerous this time of the year,” A soft voice replied. While pouting with feigned anger she continued,
“You know I don’t like you getting hurt, besides, you said that it was our free day today.”
The flustered Alduin couldn't find his words. It was only after a short pause that he dared to reply teasingly, “I said it was my free day, not ou-“
Auch
“Ok, ok, you’re right!” Alduin quickly surrendered as he felt her pinching his arm. “So what do you have in mind for ‘our’ day off?”
“I’m fine if we’re together,” Veleda answered without hesitation.
“Oh.” Alduin stared with wide eyes at Veleda as her confident declaration caused his heart to beat faster. “Uhm.” The young man that faced the boar had completely disappeared.
Seeing his expression she looked to the side with a hidden victorious smile. Veleda stood up after wetting her hands. “Well let’s go.”
“Also,“ She continued as she walked closer and stroked his hair. “I like it better when I can see your face.” Standing on her toes they were finally face to face.
Veleda slicked Alduin’s pitch-black hair backward and gave a smile before turning around.
Her heart was beating fast. The moment she turned her back towards Alduin she started blushing uncontrollably. But even so, the victorious smile she tried to hide now bloomed completely. 'Don’t even think about running away.’ Veleda started humming as she skipped toward the old stone bridge
Alduin, on his end, also felt his heart skip a beat. But his gentle smile only showed affection. A serene feeling overwhelmed him whenever he spent time with her. It felt as if he hadn’t just returned from the mountain. 'This year I will finally succeed.’ After his accomplishment against the boar, he felt his confidence rise.
Alduin in turn followed after Veleda as they both crossed the river. The bright sun was gently shining its light upon them.
The town was built in a cross shape. One main street and one smaller street intersected with the center being the church and the town square. The main street itself was only wide enough to fit two cars driving next to each other, not that it was necessary since not many drove a car that far in. The smaller street was a single road and wound back around to the entrance of the Town.
The oval-shaped town had plenty of houses built close to each other yet not many had actual gardens. And while the alleys allowed some passage between the streets, in reality, there was nothing to see there besides the residences of the townspeople.
Except for the occasional car or electricity pole, there weren’t many signs of modern life present. Well, that was if you ignored the people walking around with a smartphone, especially at the end of the Saturday market.
Alduin and Veleda naturally stood out. The young pair walked closely together as multiple people said hello. But it was only natural, a rural village with little to no signs of modern life naturally had a small population of younger people.
That was the largest problem in this place, a lack of young people.
No. A severe lack of young people.
And for young people, there was hardly any entertainment either, which was why most moved towards a big city as they grew up. Out of the few thousand residents, most were elderly, and the young people followed classes online until they moved out.
But in turn, young people did look out for each other, especially young adults. Alduin and Veleda were not the only ones their age.
Alduin didn’t really pay this much attention since most of his remaining attention went toward Veleda.
‘Should I try?’ Alduin nervously wiped his hand on his pants. ‘I’m 19 I shouldn’t be embarrassed.’
He suddenly realized how ridiculous it was. But then again, he had no experience when it came to women. Not that he wanted to anyway, with Veleda being the person he-
As his mind wandered and his courage peaked he gently grabbed her hand.
“Oh aren’t you two quite the lovebirds,” A teasing voice said from behind.
‘Is this for real?!’ Alduin wanted to curse as he suddenly arrived back on earth. As he turned around he reflexively let go of her hand.
“Oh, aren’t you quite nosy,” Veleda replied with a cold smile.
“What a coincidence meeting you here, how are you doing?” The teasing voice had changed into a joyful one.
“Yes, it is quite a coincidence to meet on the sole street of this town. Where’s Leon?” Veleda asked back.
Alduin also gave his greeting but was promptly ignored.
“Hmm they’re having another wrestling competition,” Frieda replied with grievance.
“No-“ Veleda, who sensed the flow going in the wrong direction immediately looked toward Alduin.
“Oh, are they now, let’s go take a look!” Alduin suggested with a joyful smile, he clearly wanted to go.
Shock painted Veleda's face, but as tough as she was, she couldn't say no either. “F-fine,” Veleda replied after a short contemplation.
‘You bitch.’ Veleda glanced with venom toward Frieda.
‘Serves you right.’ Frieda looked back in sorrow, she had finally found her kindred spirit.
“So this is why you’re ruining my day?” Veleda whispered as she followed Alduin.
“How would you feel if he ignored you, just to go and have a fight with his friends?” Frieda said in anguish.
Veleda, in turn, felt her blood boil, she had spent almost half a day waiting for Alduin to finally come back. “I hope you end up alone,” Veleda said tearfully.
Frieda who looked towards a gymnasium past the alleyway replied with a smile, “My, my, let’s get along, besides it’s been a while since we last hung out with the entire group!” After walking up to Veleda she inquired with a whisper, “Have you talked with him about what you want to do next year?”
“No... Not yet,” Veleda tempered out as she replied dispiritedly.
“If you want to become a doctor then you’ll probably have to move to the city, but...” Frieda looked at Alduin’s back.
He had graduated last year, and this year would be Veleda and Frieda’s turn. As they would soon turn 18.