Chapter Three-Part One

I was a rock. I was a smooth grey pebble lying on the roadside, watching the traffic pass by me. A horse trod past me lazily, the cart it was pulling was kicking up dirt; the dust settled over me, covering me in the fine brown powder.

‘Tasia’ I heard my father calling my name.

‘I can’t come right now Father,’ I replied, ‘I am lying in the road, watching a horse as he goes by.’

‘Tasia, honey?’ Father called again.

‘Yes Father?’

‘Tasia, get up dear.’

‘I can’t Father. I’m a pebble.’

‘Tasia…’

‘I’ll come as soon as I can Father.’

“Tasia! Wake up!”

I sat upright on my cot, hitting my head off of the low ceiling above me. I groaned and fell back onto my blankets, holding my head in my hands.

“Tasia!”

“I’m awake Father,” I grumbled.

I stiffly sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. The orange glow of sunrise was spilling in through the windows over the sink.

Oh shoot. I must’ve overslept…probably because I was a lazy pebble…where did that even come from? A pebble, I snorted, of all the things I could’ve been in my dream, I chose a pebble.

I quickly pulled the comb through my long blond hair; jerking the knots out with a deft flick of my wrist. Soon my hair was pulled back into a sloppy pony tail; and my comb was lying on the floor, full of the knots that had been in my hair.

“Tasia,” Father said warningly.

I scoffed, “Jeez, you fall back asleep one time and he never lets you live it down.”

“You are coming?”

“Yes sir.” I pulled my shirt off and threw it out of the loft; it landed in a wrinkled mess by the ladder.

I opened the chest sitting at the foot of my cot and retrieved a fresh cotton shirt. A moment later it was donned, and I was three rungs down the ladder. I was about to jump the rest of the way down, when a thought crossed my mind.

If I want Father to treat me like an adult, I need to act like one.

I climbed back into my loft and quickly smoothed my rough wool blanket down over my cot. I righted the shard of mirror that Kyan had salvaged for me; I caught a glimpse at my already disheveled appearance. I couldn’t completely correct it, my clothes were hand-me-downs from Kyan, and were several sizes too big for me; I quickly tucked the bottom of my shirt into my pants.

I quickly climbed part of the way down the stairs.

“Tasia.”

“Yes Father.”

I was halfway down the ladder.

“Don’t-“

I landed on the kitchen floor.

“Don’t what?” I asked, as I stood.

He sighed. “Jump.”

“Oh.” I crumpled my shirt into a ball and tossed it in the laundry crate in the corner.

I slowly walked to Father’s bedside and helped him to sit up. Slowly, using a mixture of the strength in his arms and my support, he managed to move himself into his chair. I quickly retrieved his Bible from its shelf and handed it to him.

“Thank you dear… Is your shirt tucked in?”

I grinned triumphantly, “Yes sir.”

“Why?”

“Why? Well…‘cause I’m a big girl. That’s what we do.”

Father sighed. “Oh dear…dear Tasia…”

“I made my bed too, Father,” I said smugly, certain that he’d be impressed with me.

He sighed again. “Tasia, dear, there is far more to being an adult than tucking in your shirt and making your bed.”

“But, I…well what do I have to do?” I asked sadly.

Father rubbed his face, brushing a strand of his gray hair behind his ear, and looking at me carefully. “It’s not

something you do, dear. It’s something that happens when you get older.”

“How much older, Father?” I asked, placing my hand on his knee hopefully.

“I don’t know, Tasi…it’s different for everyone.”

“How old were you Father?”

He chuckled. “I’m not sure I’m an adult yet.”

I smiled weakly, trying to appreciate his humor. “You’re joking, right Father?”

He nodded, “I am…” he sighed. “Honestly Tasi, I don’t think I really grew up until your Mama got a hold of me.”

“Mama made you a man?”

Father nodded. “That she did.”

“How could she do that?”

Father smiled, remembering Mama, no doubt. “She was so…beautiful. I had never seen anything as pretty as

her before, and I told her so.”

I giggled. “You just walked up to her and told her she was pretty?”

“No, I didn’t have the guts for that. I talked to her for a long time before I told her how pretty she was.”

“How did you meet?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun was bright and small rays of it shined through holes in the canopy, falling across the forest floor, warming everything it touched. The wind toyed with the leaves, making them rustle softly over head, where squirrels and chipmunks were chattering at each other; birds were twittering high in the branches.

Papa, Kenna, and I had finished gathering boughs for Papa to weave early in the morning, and it hadn’t taken long to mend the fence with David’s help. Having our work completed long before mid-day I begged David and Kenna to take a ride with me, but Kenna had to help our Mama with the baking, and David had to go to the palace, to receive the training needed to become a guard; leaving me, the baby of the family, with nothing to do.

I had decided to take a ride by myself, and rode for hours, climbing higher and higher into the mountains. Finally I had dismounted, and sat on the river bank, enjoying the broken rays of sunlight that fell across my shoulders, and lazily casting my line into the water. My half-hearted attempts hadn’t landed me any fish, and, after a while, I tossed my pole aside and flopped onto my back.

That was when I saw her. She was perched in the oak tree to my right, casually stretching across the branch over my head, reaching for something in a thicket of leaves just beyond the length of her arm. Her fiery hair was in a tangled mess in front of her face, her skirt hiked up nearly to her thighs; sheer determination dominated her

every move.

 I watched her pull her knee towards her chest, and then dig her toenails into the branch beneath her, her dirty toes holding her in the air, her fingers stretching towards the leaves. She glanced down, saw me, and grinned mischievously. She slowly pushed herself away from the limb, and then leapt towards leaves; she snatched something, and twisted around as she plummeted towards the ground.

I gasped and jumped forward, trying to get under her before she landed, to catch her so she wouldn’t get hurt, but I was too late; her knees buckled as she landed, toppling her over onto her side. I rushed over to her.

“Hey! Are you alright?”

She shook her head, making her hair fall out of her face, and stood up, grinning impishly. “I’m fine.”

“Oh...are you sure?”

She nodded.

“W-what were you doing up there?”

She triumphantly held her hands out to me. I looked at them suspiciously, and then back at her. “A nest?”

She nodded.

“What do you want a nest for?”

“I don’t care about the nest. I want a meal.”

“You’re going to eat the eggs?”

“Probably not.”

“Are you going to eat the nest?”

She giggled and shook her head. “No silly. I’m going to-“

A small bird squawked angrily and dove toward her head. She spun around, yanking a spear from her back, and

running it through the bird’s chest; she pulled the bird from the spear and dropped it to the ground by her feet, carefully watching the air above our heads.

“Why did you-“

A second bird dove towards us, screeching angrily, only to meet the fate of the first. She pulled it too from the spear, and then drove the spear into the ground by her feet. “It’s a law of nature- mamas and papas want to save their babies from harm. If you jeopardize their young, they’ll try to rescue them...then you can eat mama and papa.”

“You mean...I've never met a girl who can...well...that is okay with that."

"Are you okay with it?"

"I think it's great!"

She giggled. “You’re just saying that ‘cause you want some Papa bird too.”

“No! I mean it.  I’ve never met a girl who likes to hunt.”

She shrugged. “It’s not really hunting, if you think about it. I actually don’t like to hunt. Hunting requires effort- you’ve got to sit perfectly still, and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait...all I had to do was a climb a tree and spear a couple birds.”

“Who are you?”

“I am a girl of many secrets.”

“Do you reveal any of your secrets?”

“Sometimes.”

“Who do ya tell?”

“People who use correct grammar,” she said.

My face flushed red. “Erm, yeah, sorry...will you tell me any secrets?”

“Will you keep them?”

“Yes.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I will. I promise.”

“And what’s to make me trust your word?”

“I’m Timothy, John’s son, of District 12.”

“So?”

“So?” I repeated incredulously. “My father is-“

“It doesn’t matter what your father has done. Trust is earned, not inherited. What have you done?” She

challenged.

I was, for the first time, speechless. I had never been doubted. I was the son of John of District 12. My

reputation had been established long before my birth. I hadn’t ever really done anything to deserve it; being John’s son had always been enough.

“That’s what I thought. You’re just like the rest.”  She gathered up her birds and slipped her spear into a holder on her back.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that you have no initiative. You are perfectly alright with relying on your father’s wonderfulness to get you through your miserable existence. I bet you’ve never had to do a thing in your life- just like a rich boy’s son should.”

“I-I-well-I resent that.” I spluttered, shocked that she had the nerve to speak rudely to me.

“So what?”

“I’ll have you know-“

She whirled around with surprisingly ferocity. “You’ll have me know, what?”

“...I work too.”

“What do you do?”

“I gather boughs.”

“Ooh, I hope you don’t strain yourself.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

She sighed, “Fine. What are the boughs for?”

“My father weaves them.”

She snorted. “And it still goes back to your father.”

I looked at my feet, suddenly abashed, realizing that she was right; I hadn’t ever done anything truly difficult,

and I was like the other wealthy boys- I had nothing to distinguish myself from anyone else. Her demeanor softened and she gently patted my shoulder rather awkwardly. “Hey now, it’s alright. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so sharp with you.”

I sighed deeply. “No, you’re right. I’m not worth anything, without my Papa’s name to get me places.”

She shrugged. “It takes time to learn to depend on yourself. You’ll get the hang of it.”

I looked into her clear blue eyes, intrigued by her once more. “When did you learn?”

She turned and started up deeper into the woods, up the steep hill. “Recently.”

“What made you want to try?”

“I was tired of being dependent on other people.”

“And you’re independent now?”

“Yes.”

“Where do you live?”

“Wherever I choose.”

“Are you an orphan, then?”

Her back stiffened. “Some would say.”

“Would you?”

“I would say that I answer to only myself, which is more than most girls can say.”

We had been climbing the hill the whole time, and now came up on a large boulder, which the girl walked around, and untied a horse’s reigns.

“And is it better that way? Answering only to yourself?”

She threw the birds in a saddle bag.“Better? Yes. Easier? No”

“Who said I wanted ease?”

“You did.” She mounted her horse.

“When?”

“By not seizing your own independence,” she replied simply.

There was a moment of silence.

“I’m leaving.”

“Don’t go yet.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“I want you to stay.”

“Well I want to go. Why should I do what you want?”

“You ask impossible questions, you know.”

“Yes...I do know.”

“How am I supposed to answer you?”

“Now that’s the question, isn’t it?”

“No, the question is why you should do what I want.”

She grinned. “You’re quicker than I thought.”

I hesitated, wondering whether that worked out to a compliment for me or not. “...You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

“That is such a vague question. Of course I’m leaving. Eventually you’ll leave too. We all have to leave one place to get to the next.”

“But you’re going to leave this place?”

“Yes, very shortly.”

I sighed. “Will you come with me?”

“No.”

“Can I come with you?”

“No.”

“Can I see you again?”

“Can you catch me?”

“What?”

She smirked, her face being taken captive by the same troublesome, irresistible look I had seen when she had been in the tree. “Your horse, down the hill a quarter mile, tied to the little pine tree-is he fast?”

I nodded, “He is.”

“Let’s race.”

“Why would I do that?” I asked, trying to pretend not to be too interested in her suggestion. I was itching to ride with somebody-racing was even better-but I was wary of being too eager with this girl.

She shrugged. “That’s a question you’ll have to answer yourself.”

“You want me to answer your questions.”

“I haven’t asked you any questions that I haven’t answered myself.”

“Even your statements are difficult to answer.”

She grinned again. “Good.”

“I don’t think so.”

“No?”

“No.”

“That’s too bad. I think so.”

I sighed.  “I’m sure.”

“...Fine, if we race, and you win, I’ll tell you where to meet me tomorrow. If I win, you clean my birds for me.”

“You’re on.”

I hurried to my little paint, and swung myself on his back as the girl came galloping down the hill. I swung his head around and dug my heels into his sides, making him jump forward as the girl went thundering past us; a second later we were on her tail.

We dashed down the narrow path, her horse’s tail mere inches in front of my horse’s nose. My entire body was energized as adrenaline coursed through my veins; not only did I get the rush of the speed-the usual prize I got when I raced- this time more was on the line, making the feeling that much better.

The girl gradually got further and further ahead of me, until she started disappearing around the turns; soon I found myself alone once more, and slowed my panting horse to a walk. I couldn’t hear her horse anymore, which I should’ve been able to, had she been anywhere near us. I was surprised, and disgusted, at how disappointed I was that she was already gone.

I sat for a few minutes on my horse’s back, until his sides stopped heaving as hard, and then, realizing that there was nothing else to do, I sullenly walked home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That can’t be right. If you lost her, then how am I here?” I protested.

Father smiled. “Well I didn’t give up. I went home that night, but the next day I was still thinking about her.”

“What did you do?” I asked eagerly, learning forward to be sure I didn’t miss a single word.

“I annoyed my family.” Father laughed. “I was scared to tell my parents about my mystery girl, but eager to see her again, and couldn’t keep myself calm...I finally broke down and told David.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was twilight by the time I got to my family’s estate; but I was moving slothfully, my drive robbed from me by the girl, taken with my good mood. I walked into the barn with my horse, and slowly unsaddled him; cooled by walking the rest of the way home, my horse patiently waited as I rubbed him down with an old towel and then brushed his fur down.

“Mam’ is madder ‘en a wet hen, waitin’ for you in the house.”

I looked up and saw David standing by the door of the stall, leaning on the doorframe. “What did I do?”

“Well you didna make it ‘ome fo’ dinner, to start with.”

I sighed. “Is Papa home?”

“Aye. He’s not too happy with ya either.”

I sighed again and slowly pulled the bridle from my horse’s head. “Tell them I’m un-tacking, um, oh shoot, what did Kenna name this horse?”

“It was somethin’ like Star, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know, I guess. Tell Mama and Papa that I’m un-tacking Star...I’ll be in a bit later on.”

David shrugged. “A’ight, it’s your hide...but you might wanna hurry up. Pap does’na seem to be in a very patient mood tonight.”

I nodded. “Yeah, whatever.”

David returned to the house, leaving me alone with Star. I patted Star’s neck and sighed. “What do I tell them, Star? They’re going to want to know why I was out so late, and they’re not going to believe me about the girl.”

Star nudged me with his muzzle, so I petted him for a moment, trying to form an alibi; I reluctantly walked into the house. Papa was sitting by the dying fire, smoking his pipe and reading a book in the dim light; Mama was sweeping in the kitchen, trying to busy herself, to keep from worrying so much about me.

As I opened the door, I heard David talking to Mama, “Yes’m, he’s a in the stable now. He says he’ll be in the house soon enough.”

“Well he’d better, or else-“

“I’m in Mama, there’s no need for ‘or else’s.”

Mama started towards me, broom in hand; Papa closed his book and stood, fixing me in a cold stare.

“Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick about you!” Mama scolded angrily.

“In the woods.”

“’In the woods’? In the woods!” She smacked me with the handle of her broom. “I’ve been fretting and worrying all night, and all you can say is that you’ve been in the woods?”

I rubbed my chest, and retreated a few steps as she took another swing at me.

Father stepped forward and put his hand on Mama’s shoulder; she stopped swinging her broom at me, but continued to scowl at me. “What were you doing in the woods, Boy?”

“I- I had been fishing...I got a bit further away than I usually do-and-misjudged-the...time-it would-take-to-get-home...I’m sorry?” I said slowly, trying to step around the lecture I was about to get.

“Hah, little Timmy’s been fishin’ in the woods. I bet he saw a mermaid, is what made him late,” David hooted.

“Shut up David!” I snarled.

“Go to your room, David,” Mama and Papa said simultaneously.

David climbed the ladder into our room, laughing the whole way.

“Timothy, your mother and I trusted to get home by dark- that’s when you always have to get home- and you let us down. If you can’t be trusted, then we’re going to have to stop letting you go places by yourself.”

“Oh my god, Pa! Don’t act like I’m a kid! I’m nineteen years old!”

“I know!” he shouted, “That’s why I expect you to be able to get home by dark.”

“It was one time! Can’t a man misjudge time once in a while?”

“Not when he lives with his parents.”

“Then I’ll move out.”

“Don’t be stupid. Where would you go?”

My thoughts wandered back to the girl, and I wondered where she had gone, and how she at done it. I really wished I had found out.

“I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out if you keep treating me like a child.”

“If you’d act like a man, for once, I might treat you like one.”

“It wasn’t my fault. I was trying to catch our supper for tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah, ‘cause we’re starving. That’s obvious.”

“I was trying to feed the family, regardless of how well you’ve done it in the past.”

“Fine. Where is your catch then? Are we going to eat tomorrow?”

“I had to abandon my quest early. I was trying to get home before dark, because I knew you’d act like this if I

was the tiniest bit late.”

“Your quest?” Papa laughed scornfully. “Well that it explains it then, if catching fish is a ‘quest’ for you.”

My face flushed crimson, but I didn’t reply. He cuffed my ears, knocking me sideways. “Go to bed...then you’ll

be able to dream about your big quest.”

I resentfully climbed the ladder into our room, where David was sitting on the edge of his bed, smirking, waiting for me. “The grand quest o’ gatherin’ fish,” David cackled.

“Shut up.”

“You got off easy, ya know.”

“Shut up.” I growled, as I flopped down onto my bed and jerked the blankets over me.

“You ain’t gonna even get outa your quest clothes.”

“Just mind your own business.” I rolled over, turning my back on him.

“Go to sleep boys!” Papa shouted.

David lay back in his bed, grinning stupidly. I lay in my bed, fuming and waiting for sleep to overtake me; but as soon as my anger melted away, it was replaced by her memory. Her grin, the way she tossed her hair, the carefree way she did everything haunted me; I wanted to see her again, more than anything. I wished I had gotten her name. I wished I could visit her again.

Everything got quiet and dark downstairs; David got up and crept across the floor, sitting down on the edge of my bed. He put his hand on my shoulder. “Hey Bub, what’s the matter?”

He was met by silence.

“I know you’re not asleep.”

I sniffed, trying to wipe the tears off my face.  “So what.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing. I misjudged time, for once in my life.”

“Look, it’s great that you were able t’ sell yer story t’ them, but I ain’t buyin’.”

“I just got too far away.”

“You expect me t’ believe that? You know them woods like the back o’ yer hand.”

I sighed.

“Come on, you can tell me.”

“You promise not to tell Mama and Papa?”

“Cross m’ heart and hope t’ die.”

“...I met a girl.”

“...a girl?”

“Yes, a girl.”

“I see...what type o’ girl?”

“An amazing one...she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever met.”

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yet you’re all upset ‘bout her?”

“You didn’t see her David,” I said as I rolled over. “She wasn’t like any other girl.”

“Well where does she live?”

“I don’t know.”

David sighed. “Well if you do’na know where she lives, and you do’na know who she is, then how d’ ya expect t’

find her again?”

“That’s the problem! I don’t know!” I wiped at rebel tears that streamed down my face again.

“Hmm...Well maybe she’ll come ‘round again.”

“How? She doesn’t know where I live either.”

David bit his lip, thinking. “Well how about we ride out t’morrow t’ where y’ saw her...Maybe she’ll go back too.”

I sniffed, the tears coming to a stop. “That might work.”

David nodded. “Then it’s a plan. We go in t’ the woods t’morrow, and we find th’ girl.”

“Alright.”

He punched my shoulder and stood. “Good. Get t’ sleep Timmy-boy, we’ve got maidens t’ chase soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What happened? Did you find Mama? Did she fall in love with you?” I asked eagerly.

Father chuckled. “Wait a minute. You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

“But you did find her. You had to have.”

“Well it sounds like you know the story better than I do.”

“I’m sorry Father...please finish your story.”

“Well I suppose there’s not much left to tell. You’ve already figured out the end.”

“Oh please tell me what happened next. Please Father.”

“Oh, alright...David and I finally fell asleep. The next morning we both worked twice as hard as usual, trying to get our chores done early.”

“So you could try to find Mama?”

“Yes. We got done at mid-morning, and saddled up our horses.  David and I said that we were just going for a ride together, but, as I had forgotten my fishing pole, we had an excuse to return to the mountains.”