Wild Hearts, Chapter One: Almost

Land drove his hoe deep into the earth, intent in his work—a fierce gleam shone in his grey eyes.  He now faced his final opponent, his most dangerous foe.  It was a monster of a weed, bearing long, twisted roots that wound their way deep into the ground below.  No matter which way Land dug around it, he couldn't find a way to get under its roots.

In the back of his mind, he had half a thought to just give up and leave it—if it clung to life so strongly, why not let it?

That thought was gone almost before it was there at all.  Land was not a man who left any work half-finished, no matter how tedious.  Once begun, Land would follow his task through to the end.  No matter how much it hurt.

With a sigh, he cast the hoe aside and clasped the base of the weed with his bare hands.  He pulled up on it, every muscle in his lean, lithe form straining from the effort.  Finally, the weed gave in and popped out of the ground with a sickening noise as Land was showered with earth.

Normally he would've smiled as he finished his work for the day, but not this time.  He could only stare at the dark scar in the earth where the weed had been as his mind drifted elsewhere.  To a place miles, years distant.

A sound brought Land back to the present; the sound of loud and robust laughter.  He turned slowly toward the owner of that laugh, a small half-smile bringing sad grace to Land's features.  It was Rorn, who he had been working for all day, clearing the field for his good friend.

“That was some look you had in you eyes, boy,” Rorn chuckled as he glanced around the field with approval.

Land walked over to the discarded hoe and picked it up.  “Ah, well... It was a strong one.  I had to be fierce to defeat it.  I wasn't about to let a mere weed get the best of me.”

Rorn smiled and clapped Land on the shoulder.  “I've said it before, lad.  I know this is the life you want, the life you've chosen for yourself...”

Land glared at him, and for once Rorn went silent.  Land knew all too well what Rorn wanted to tell him.  Rorn had told him the same countless times since their first meeting.

Rorn had been a soldier once, in service to the king, but he'd retired years ago—Land himself had probably barely known to walk at the time.  Since then, Rorn had settled down, started a family—he had two small daughters and an older son.  He'd taken up farming, learned to grow things rather than cut them down...

“Lad,” Rorn sighed.  “I don't know what happened that has given you such weariness at such a young age... But I think it'd do you good to see more of the world before you choose to settle here.”

Land set the hoe over his shoulder and walked away.  “Oh, don't worry,” Land muttered, under his breath.  “I've seen a lot more of the world than you think.”

Land felt Rorn's silent gaze on his back all the way down the worn forest path that led to his house on the outskirts of the village.  Of all the people here, Rorn was the person Land spoke with most often—the older man had taken Land under his wing when he'd first come to the vale as a boy.  Of all the people here, Rorn knew him best—they were much alike, truly.  He saw through the mask Land wore to his wounded, weary heart.

But Land still had secrets that even Rorn never could have guessed.  Rorn had seen war, had trained soldiers; he knew the look of a warrior when he saw one.  He wasn't stupid.  He knew Land had potential—perhaps even knew Land had already held a sword before.  Had already fought in battle, had seen men die, had killed men himself...  Maybe Rorn had seen all of that deep in Land's stormy blue-grey eyes that were far too old for a man his age.  Rorn knew what to look for to see all of that.

There were some things that Rorn simply could not see; things that no ordinary mortal ever really could.  But such things were better left hidden—Land knew better than to awaken those ghosts of his past.  There was a reason he'd chosen to settle in this quiet vale, away from the rest of the world.   Here, in this little town where no one knew the truth about him, he could almost forget the life he had lived before.  

Almost.

As Land wandered homeward down the path that led through town, he found Aurelia waiting for him on the bridge over Elwood Creek, her golden hair gleaming in the slanted light of the setting sun.  In such light, she almost looked like a creature from another world—silent and still, unmoved by time.  Then she caught sight of him and a broad smile crossed her face, and the spell was broken.

“Land, are you finished your day's work?”

“Yes,” he said, smiling back at her.  He couldn't help it—her smiles were contagious.

“Good then,” she beamed.  “And have you plans for to-morrow?”

“Um, well...” Land thought for a moment, rubbing the back of his head.  “I actually planned to venture into the forest a little, there's some oddities I've been needing to check on...”

At the mention of the forest, the air became suddenly heavy again.  Land looked at Aurelia and saw that her smile had completely vanished—she looked sad and anxious.  “Not that again,” she said.  “Land, that's the one thing I don't understand.  No one but you goes anywhere near it... It's dangerous.  People who venture too far into Elwood never come back, or come back mad.  The spirits take them.  Everyone knows that—don't you?”

“Yes,” Land said carefully, looking her in the eye.  “I know what they say—and it's mostly true, for what it's worth.  But I'm different, Aurelia... I've never felt threatened by the forest.”

Aurelia was quiet for a moment, staring at Land's feet instead of his face.  In that moment, a pang of sorrow ate at Land's heart once again.  “Aurelia...” he muttered, but she turned and looked away; her eyes lingered on the worn road that led, winding, in the direction of Elwood.

“I remember,” she mused, “the day you first wandered down this road here, into our vale.  It was so strange—they distrusted you at first, thought you might be one of the forest's children yourself.  Some of them still think you might be, the way you keep going back to it so often.”

Land laughed a little.  “I can't blame them, really... But I'm human.  You can be sure of that.”

Aurelia smiled.  “Oh, I know that.  It's just... You can be odd sometimes, Land.”

Land shook his head and sighed.  “I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize!” Aurelia huffed.  She then took a deep breath and let it out again slowly before speaking again.  “Fine.  Have it your way...  Go off into your forest, Land.  But I'd like for you to spend time with me as well.  You've been working yourself so hard lately...  I never see much of you anymore.”

It was true enough.  Land had been throwing himself headlong into project after project for the past few weeks—trying in vain to ward off the memories that threatened to surface because of the nightmares he'd been having.  In fact, those very dreams were the reason he felt so strongly that he had to go into the forest soon.  He was worried, and only a venture into the forest would be able to put him at ease again.

“I'll see you the day after tomorrow,” Land told Aurelia, hoping to console her.  She smiled a bit at his words and nodded.

“Alright, Land.  I'll be waiting!”  Her smile was beaming once again as she gave him a little curtsy and ran off down the road to her father's house, high on the hill.  Land sighed, taking a deep breath.  In one sense, he could breathe easier now that he was alone again... But the air was heavy again without Aurelia's attitude to brighten it.

It was so much easier to forget when he was with her or Rorn.  When talking and laughing with them, he could pretend he'd never been happier.  Sometimes, he thought he might actually be happier here than he'd ever been elsewhere.

Happiness was such a fleeting thing, so hard to keep a hold on.

“One of the forest's children,” Land laughed bitterly to himself as he wandered alone beneath the trees.  “Whatever else I may be, I am human.”

That night, Land dreamt of fire and ash, of the forest burning in the darkness.  

No matter what he tried, he could not quench the ever-hungry flames.  They consumed everything—all that was alive in the forest.  In the shadows of the flame, he saw a figure clad in green with hair like liquid silver—and he knew it was her, and he tried to call her back, but she could not hear him.

And he was helpless to stop her, just as he had been before.