Beasts - The slayer and the wolf king

I took a deep breath of cool morning air. Light shone through the leaves of the forest canopy, illuminating my Mother’s grave. It was why I had chosen it. It was quiet here, and beautiful. The one place I could be myself. I pulled a cloth out of the pocket of my apron and wiped down the headstone. That done, I exchanged it for a crumpled paper bag and sat down.

My aunt had rolled her eyes when she’d seen I’d bought them.

“You’re too old for sweets, Rose. There are better things to be spending your money on. The spirits know- there’s little enough of it to be going around.”

I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I didn’t want to bring that kind of anger to my mother. I had come here for quiet. The town had been in a stir this morning.

I carefully extracted two peppermints from the bag. I unwrapped one and placed it swiftly on the headstone. I felt a tiny jolt of happiness wash over me. I popped the other peppermint in my mouth and leaned back against the stone.

While I liked the folk of Aberberry they thought me strange, and to be honest, I thought the same of them. People around her don’t bury their dead, and I suppose sitting on a grave is considered ungodly. I tried to explain that I needed to make contact directly to something that was hers. She’d been here long enough that I could feel her in the soil, in the plants...And even in the towering trees.

My mother had never been able to sit still for long. She’d been born in a land far to the West. Had sung with a band of travelling minstrels before serving in the old King’s court. The only thing that had been able to snare her for any time was my father, and for my earliest years me. But that urge to wander had seized her, right about the time I learned to walk. So my memories of her are fragmented, but full of warmth. She would come home smelling of people, of spices and of strange creatures. She’d lift me up and press all manner of strange confectionery into my hands. Then my Father would burst out of his workshop and we’d sit out in our tiny garden. I’d be nestled in between them, and my parents would talk about far-off places or catch up on the town gossip, and I’d be there safe and warm, working my way through my latest treasure.

Times are much harder now. Which is why I’d brought her the peppermints. While they were hardly exotic, they were something we could share.

I’d been with my mother an hour or so when I noticed the shift. The animals had been stirred up. There was something unusual happening. I slid a dagger out of my boots. I moved to a crouching position and studied my environment. All sorts of creatures stalked these woods, and I had killed many of them. All sorts of strange creatures had been entering the woods recently. I wondered what kind of creature it would be this time. I caught a pair of yellow eyes in the distance. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. For years, I had stalked these woods, but I hadn’t seen a wolf since my mother’s death. I had sworn to kill them all in revenge.