Opa brought us to where he wished through his touch.

Cold rain pattered against the leaf covered ground, sounding like thousands of finger taps against window glass. A boy, wrapped in so many layers of worn out and ill fitting clothes that he could only waddle, followed in his daddy’s footsteps. He was cold, tired, and wanted to go home so he could play with kitty by the fireplace, but he stayed quiet. He stayed quiet because his daddy had told him he was a good boy and good boys didn’t make noise when they were hunting. One of his too small boots had come untied. He didn’t notice it until he stepped on one of the laces and went tumbling to the wet ground. His fall did not hurt, the thick layers of clothes had seen to that, but it did scare him. With gentle hands, his daddy picked him up and brushed the leaves off of him. He spoke gently to the boy, calming him and making faces until he let out a little laugh. They went on their way then, but the boy could not help feeling like he should have been at home. He used to stay with his momma when his daddy went hunting, but she wasn’t around to watch him anymore.

The vision went dark like the slow blink of a tired eye.

The boy sat squatted with his back against a tree. Underbrush and the thick branches above kept most of the rain from reaching his already soaked clothes. His daddy lay flat on his stomach atop the wet leaves with his rifle in his hands. There was a deer, the kind with antlers, and they had been watching it nose around the ground for a long time. The boy thought it was pretty. He wondered if it would like getting scratched behind the ear like kitty did, but he knew his daddy would shoot it. It wasn’t the first deer he had seen die, and he didn’t like watching it happen, but he knew it meant that they would eat that night. He knew they would eat the deer because his daddy had told him he was a strong boy and strong boys knew they had to eat. The deer raised its head and sniffed the air just as a tickle in the boys nose made him sneeze. His daddy shot his rifle, the deer ran, and the boy covered his ears with his hands. The deer fell behind a bunch of limbs and briars. The boy's daddy jumped up and told him to stay as he left their hiding place and went towards the deer with his rifle raised. The deer jumped up and ran suddenly and the boy's daddy ran after it, leaving the boy where he leaned against the tree.

Another slow blink.

The boy was alone. He knew it wasn’t nighttime yet, but the rain got harder and the woods got darker until he could only see a few steps in front of himself. He had waited by the tree as long as he could, even after he heard the second shot of his daddy’s rifle, he had waited. Then, the cold had gotten through his clothes and made his body shake and he had known he had to find his daddy. He left the tree and waddled deeper into the woods. It did not not take him long to get lost, but he knew what to do. Sticking his little hands out of his sleeves, he clapped three times and listened for his daddy to clap back. He knew that he should clap because his daddy had told him he was a smart boy and smart boys clapped when they were lost. When he didn’t hear a response, he would walk for a while and clap again. Too long he walked and too many times he clapped without hearing anything but the rain. By the time he found where his daddy had gone, he shook from the cold so harshly that he could barely keep himself on his feet. His daddy laid on his stomach at the bottom of gully like when they had been watching the deer. Not like when they had been watching, the rifle was half covered with leaves beside him and his face was down on the ground. The boy clapped three more times, hoping his daddy would wake up so he didn’t have to try and climb down, but his daddy never moved.

Darkness came again.

The boy had wedged himself under his daddy’s limp arm to try and get warm. He lay on his side with his knees tucked to his chest so he wouldn’t get any of the blood under his daddy’s belly on him. His daddy was dead, dead like the deer, the boy knew that. He was cold, hungry, tired, sad, and scared. Still, did not cry or panic. He knew he had to stay calm because his daddy had told him he was a brave boy and brave boys stayed calm when they were scared. He had fallen down the gully when he had tried to climb down. Clapping, pushing, talking he had tried everything to wake his daddy up, but he couldn’t. His daddy was dead like the deer. He couldn’t leave him. He didn’t know where he would go or what he would do, so he had laid down thinking that he would die too. He did get warmer and the cold rain tapered off, but he didn’t move again until well after night had come. His eyes grew heavy. Between thoughts of kitty and his momma, he knew he couldn’t go to sleep. He had to stay and watch his daddy because his daddy was all he had. Just before sleep took him away, an owl flew down from the tree tops and landed on the leafy ground in front of him. It did not stay long and did nothing but watch, but the boy began to wish he could be like the owl. If he was an owl and not a boy, he could stay up all night and watch his daddy. He wouldn’t need to sleep. If he was like the owl, he wouldn’t be cold and he could get dry high up in a tree. Something began to happen to the boy. He didn’t know what it was, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t dying or falling asleep. He knew, somewhere deep inside him, that he would be able to do what he wished.

Darkness.

From high above the ground, perched within the shadows of an old pine, the boy watched a new boy walking through the trees. The squirrels, rabbits, deer, and all the creatures he had come to know since he had gotten lost had all run and hid, but the boy had stayed and followed and watched all the way until it got dark. The new boy was lost, he had been wandering in circles for a very long time before he had huddled down inside the leaf mounded roots of a fallen tree. The new boy was not smart. The boy knew that because his daddy had told him a long time ago that smart boys clapped when they were lost. The new boy never clapped. Staying out of sight as he hopped from branch to branch, the boy led the new boy out of the woods and back to the big house where his little house used to be. It was easy, he had the shape of the owl when he wanted and arms and legs when he didn’t. When the new boy was out of the woods and back with the girl and his mommy, the boy stayed and watched until morning came, wondering what ever happened to kitty.

Light.

The boy left the woods for the first time since the morning his daddy had died. He had watched as the new boy had gotten bigger and older, knowing that he wasn’t smart and might need his help again. Monsters had come into the woods and everyone in the big house was in danger.

Darkness.

Blood. The monster had hurt the new boy and he was dying like a deer. He bled from his stomach like the boy's daddy had in the gully. He wasn’t smart, but he was brave. The boy knew that because his daddy had told him along time ago that brave boys stayed calm when they were scared. The new boy wasn’t screaming or crying. The girl, the new girl, and his mommy was, but he wasn’t. He was dying like a deer. Without knowing what he was doing, the boy pushed himself into the new boy, sharing his light and life with him so he wouldn’t die, so he wouldn’t be lost.

Light.

The vision ended and my mind was returned to the garden alcove in a stomach turning back slide. Arthur and Anna both looked as sick as I felt, but all of us were focused on the spirit.

“Found. Found. Found.” Opa said, his crystalline voice full of cheer. He squeezed my hand with his little cold fingers three times before letting go and shaking himself back down into his owl shape.

“Opa. . .” Arthur said softly, reaching towards the spirit with tears in his eyes.

The spirit clicked his beak three times. Click. Click. Click.

Without a word, All three of us clapped three times in response.

The pale blue owl did a strange little dance, hopping from one foot to the other and fluttering his wings in obvious delight. He bounced over to Arthur and nipped at the tall man's fingers with his beak before vanishing into his hand in a blue stream.

Silence settled over the garden. It was not awkward. There was no feeling that one of us should talk. We sat quietly atop the blanket and let the weight of what we had been shown settle over us.

“My Lady. Arthur. Let us begin. The night grows late,” Sam said, his deep voice breaking the silence like a hammer would glass. “Mortal, you may stay and watch.”

“Oh, right, thanks for your permission. I would have hated to have get up and go inside for no reason at all.” Anna said, wiping her eyes and returning the bottle of wine to its rightful place in her hand.

“You are welcome.” Sam stated simply. He bounded off the top of the bench and landed on the ground as if there had been no impact. Any trace of the blood that he had been smattered with before had been evidently groomed away while I had been focused on other things.

A question that I was hesitant to ask came to me. I did not need or wish to know if Sam had ever thought about children. Opa’s vision and my familiars admitted similarity had brought me something much less hypothetical.

I left the blanket and joined him opposite Arthur. As quietly as I could, I asked him what I wanted to know. “Do you ever wonder who you were before?”

“Unless your intention is to make me writhe in agony, do not ask me this again.” Sam responded without meeting my eyes.

Barriers and binds can be bent and broken. The Autumn I had made a habit of listening to as of late said in my mind. Yet again, it was right. I had overcome the trimetal walls in The Well and the stone walls surrounding the manor. My mother, in her own upsetting manner, had found ways to teach and assist me despite the binds of The Mothers.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“I can help you, if you ever want me to.” I told him, feeling somewhat certain that what I said was true.

Sam did not acknowledge my offer, but I knew he heard it and I knew he would remember it. Which, was enough for me to not push the issue because he was going to teach me how to beat Arthur.

“If it is not for the purpose of a game, you should never be so foolish as to allow your opponent to become so close. You are a sorceress,” Sam began, the same interested tone in his voice that had been there before. “Prepare yourself.”

The tall man did as my familiar told, but he could not hide the silly grin that had spread across his face.

It was a strange sight after all. Sam could not assume the stance, point his fingers, or hold his arm behind his back. Still, the same tension that came before every game was present between my friend and my familiar.

Without warning, Sam leapt forward and the match began.

Arthur sidestepped and swung his arm forward, a maneuver he had bested me with more times than I could count.

Sam twisted in the air without losing speed and kicked off of the side of Arthur’s arm untouched. My familiars forepaws struck first and were quickly followed by his back two as he pushed himself off of the tall man’s face. Seconds after he had left it, Sam landed back on the ground as the victor.

“That’s the first time I’ve lost in months.” Arthur said like he could not believe it had happened.

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that?” I asked Sam, not understanding what I was supposed to learn from what he had done.

“You are not. It is the intention that you should mimic. The false attacks and trickery I have seen you use before are not why you fail. You lack an understanding of what you are meant to do.” Sam said.

“Go on.” I demanded, still as lost as I had been a moment ago.

“As I did, you must use your speed and slightness as a weapon. You are not playing a game. You are not trying to score points. You are hunting. A trapped beast will defend itself by any means necessary. Be it talons, tusks, or hooves, but they are inferior. You are the predator, not the prey.” Sam said, so much weight in his deep voice that I thought I felt the ground shaking.

I bit my tongue to stop myself from repeating my first question. He was trying to teach me and I doubted he would have much patience for a poor student.

If I was the predator, that meant Arthur was my prey. To the extent of my knowledge, the tall man did not have talons, tusks, or hooves. He did have back steps, long arms, and counter attacks. I couldn’t kick myself off of Arthur like Sam had, but I was quick enough to slip past him.

“I understand.” I said, taking up my stance and waiting for Arthur to do the same.

“How many times have we played? It won’t be different this-“

The moment Arthur got set, I began to hunt.

My prey fell quickly and felt no pain.

“Well done, my lady.” Sam said, walking towards the garden path.

“Again. I wasn’t ready and you know it.” Arthur laughed. The tall man gave me a playful shove and reset himself.

I moved first.

Arthur back stepped.

Before, I would have hesitated or tried to avoid his counterattack, but I was no longer playing.

I was hunting.

The difference, was that my goal remained the same no matter what my prey did. The purpose was not to evade him or to enter an exchange of strikes.

The purpose was to kill my prey, and kill I did.

I followed him through his back step and prevented him from gaining the space he needed to touch me. The tips of my two fingers pressed against his brow and sent a wave of shock over his face.

“Again.” He grunted, shoving me away again.

We played a furious series of matches until I was bent over and gasping for air. Keeping count had become impossible for me as I had gotten lost in the pursuit. Once Arthur had adjusted, I lost most of them, but Sam’s teaching had given me something to pursue. It would not be long before the tall man wouldn’t be able to do much as touch me.

“Can we go to bed now?” Anna asked from her place on the blanket.

“You can go to bed whenever you want.” Arthur said, rolling his shoulder and glaring at his sister.

“Why did you even sign her up for your stupid little,” Hiccup. Anna closed her eyes and held her fist to her lips. “Why did you sign her up,” Hiccup. “anyways?”

“She likes playing, I knew Patience wouldn’t be there, there were a lot of reasons.” Arthur answered.

Hiccup. Anna took one final swig of her wine and turned the bottle upside down to see if anything was left.

There wasn’t, not a single drop, in either bottle.

“Bullshit,” Anna threw her head back and laughed. “I’m gonna tell her about Craig if you don’t stop lying.”

Arthur’s eyes went wide before his mask of stone settled over his face. “You wouldn’t.”

“When we were kids, there was this boy named Craig that-“ Anna started telling me without hesitation.

“It’s just that we get to live in the place and do whatever we want. It’s always sunny, the food is good, I’ve got the guards to hang out with,” Arthur said, cutting his sister off and speaking only to her. “When she is playing, she isn’t worrying about The Mothers or The Well, she is just her. She’s just Autumn.”

“Oh.” Anna said softly, looking like her brother’s answer had confused her.

There was nothing confusing about what he had said. The tall man was right. I had not thought about anything but what was in the garden for hours. Points, Opa, Sam, and Arthur and Anna had been all that existed to me since I had left the well house.

No Mothers, no punishments, and no Well.

Arthur had thought about me enough to try and create a situation where I could be myself, even if it was under the cover of glamor and a false name.

I dropped back into my stance and stared Arthur down with as much intensity as I could summon.

“Really? You wanna go again?” Arthur asked.

“No,” Anna whined and let herself fall to her side atop the blanket. “It’s late, let’s go to bed.”

I held my position until Arthur shrugged his shoulders and mirrored me.

Just like before, I did as Sam had taught me and hunted. Slipping past Arthur’s range and following him through his back step, I did not strike him despite the ease with which I could have.

I threw my arms around his middle and squeezed.

“Uh, I don’t think you get points for this.” Arthur said with a laugh.

“For your words and for thinking of me, thank you.” I hugged him tighter.

Gently, almost timidly, the tall man hugged me back. “Just don’t think this means I’m gonna let you win if we have to play against one another.”

“You will not have to let me. I will do it on my own.” I said, leaving him and going to help Anna off the ground.

It was not difficult.

Keeping her upright proved to be the true challenge.

I told Arthur goodnight and abandoned all hope of collecting the remnants of Anna’s picnic. With her arm thrown over my shoulder, I managed to lead her through the garden path and into the manor in a slow stumbling walk. The moment we reached the top of the stairs, she tipped forward and pulled me down with her.

“You know, I drink the same every night, but I forgot to,” Hiccup. She leaned all of her weight onto me and I put myself behind her like she did when she was braiding my hair. “Eat.”

“Do you need me to get you food?” I asked, ready and willing to do whatever she needed me to.

Anna shook her head no against my chest. “Opa hates me. The only reason I saw what he showed you and Arthur was because I was touching you.”

“That’s not true!” I answered just as the memory of Arthur telling me about his spirit’s feelings towards her came to the front of my mind.

“And Samsara. He hates me too. You’re probably the only person here that actually likes me.” She said, her words sloping into a mutter by the end of them.

I did not know what to say. The sudden downturn of her mood had caught me off guard.

Then, she laughed.

Hiccup.

“I can literally feel you trying to figure out what to say. It doesn't matter. I don't need them to like me as long as you do. Let’s go to bed.” She said, wobbling to her feet and pulling me along after her.

She was wrong. I did not like her. I felt much, much, more than that.

She was asleep before I could change into my night clothes.

Later, I do not know how long, I woke and found her sitting straight up on her side of the bed. She faced away from me and had taken off her dress at some point while I had been asleep.

“Anna?” I said, reaching out and placing my hand on her back with a groan. I did not anticipate that I would be so sore so soon.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.” She whispered.

“Are you okay?” I asked, knowing she wasn’t by the sound of her voice.

“Yeah, it was just a bad dream,” A heavy sigh came from her. “Do you ever think about-“

“The lich?” I said, not knowing how I knew but knowing that was what she was going to say.

“Yeah.” She whispered back.

“Sometimes.” I answered honestly, in full awareness of the fear that came with those thoughts.

“I dream about it. Not a lot, but it’s hard for me to sleep when I do.” She said.

I ignored my soreness and moved towards her, pulling her back to the bed. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled the blanket over us.

After all the times she had been kind to me, it was my turn to comfort her.

“I’m stronger now. If anything like that ever happens again, I will protect you.” I told her, meaning every word with every part of myself. She didn’t respond and I didn’t need her to. I held her until I felt her drift back to sleep and then decided that I would continue until I did the same.

Opa had not been the only one who had been found.

I had found the siblings and they had found me.

With my pointer finger, I tapped three times against Anna’s skin and gently fell asleep.