Spindle Wood (COMPLETED)

Chapter 11

And it was almost exactly a year later when something happened.

Six year old Pat was walking back from the river with Remus, chatting excitedly about everything and anything. The spare shirt Virgil had insisted he pack was buttoned loosely around him and the bottoms of his trouser legs were soaked. Droplets of water ran down from his curls and onto his glasses and he was smiling like anything.

"-and I can say my 'r's now!" He finished excitedly. "I can! I can!"

Remus grinned. "Go on, then. Show me."

Pat nodded and his smile faded to a look of complete concentration. "Uncle We-Remus." He grinned at Remus. Remus was open-mouthed, smiling proudly.

"That's awesome, kid!" He grinned. "What did I say, told you you could do it."

Pat giggled. "Mhm. Anyway, I can say all sorts now!" He continued. "I can say river and rock and round and roll and rag and rug and-"

Remus shushed him quickly, looking around. Horse hooves.

"What?" Pat asked. Remus blinked and looked back at the prince.

"Hey, wanna play a game?" He asked. Pat grinned and nodded. "Great. Hear the horses in the distance?" Pat cocked his head to the side, listening, before nodding. "We are gonna climb..." Remus looked around and pointed. "That tree as far as we can before they get here. Okay? Whoever gets highest first wins."

Pat's grin grew sunnier and he nodded again, scampering over to the tree Remus had pointed at. He grabbed a low-hanging branch and levered himself up, beginning to climb. Remus hid the basket with Pat's wet clothes in behind the tree and - making sure they couldn't be seen - looked up.

"Come on, Uncle Remus!" Pat called.

"Shh." Remus hushed, beginning his ascent too. "That's a rule I forgot to mention. We must be very, very quiet."

Pat clapped a hand over his mouth dramatically and nodded. "Great." Remus whispered. "Now, come on. I'm gonna win."

Pat shook his head firmly and kept climbing. He reached a branch wide enough to sit on and plonked himself down quietly comfortably, swinging his legs. Through the canopy of leaves there was a clear view of the forest floor.

Remus pulled himself up beside the six year old. "Okay, you win." He hissed. "Now, we need to stay very, very, very quiet. Okay?"

"Like another competition?" Pat asked quietly. Remus nodded. Pat grinned again and pressed a finger to his lips.

"Oscar, I'm bored!" Came a whine through the trees. "Can we go back home now?"

"Lo, if we could, I would let us." An older voice now. Remus guessed around ten or eleven. Human. The both of them were. "But dad doesn't want us back for at least another hour."

The younger voice groaned. This was accompanied by the snort of a horse. "See? Even Sampson says we need to go home."

Pat stared down through the canopy, eyes shining. He'd never seen anyone else apart from Virgil, Roman and Remus, it was understandable that he was entranced. Plus, these humans were closer to his age.

The younger one came into view first. Six, maybe seven. Either way, they were young. They pulled the reins and the horse stopped. They crossed their arms and pouted, ready to sulk.

"I'm going home!" They declared. "And if you don't come with me, I'll eat all the scones! Your share too."

The older one stopped beside their (Remus guessed) sibling. Both had glasses, the same shade of brown hair and were both dressed in similar finery. He knew the older one from somewhere but where?

"You wouldn't dare."

"Would too!" The younger one insisted. "Why? What're you going to do to me?"

"You just wait and see. I'll... I'll..." The older one stumbled over their words, looking for a threat. "Next time Ax comes over to visit, I won't stop xem from chasing you all over the castle."

"You wouldn't dare." The younger one mimicked.

"Oh yeah?" The older one asked. They stuck out their tongue. "Just watch me!" And with a tug at the reins, they were off, back the way they came.

The younger one turned their back, sulking. After a while, they realised their sibling wasn't coming back.

"Hey, Oscar!" They tugged at Sampson's reins. "Wait up! Hey!" And they were gone.

Long after the horse hooves had retreated, when Pat and Remus were on their way to the clearing, Pat looked up at Remus.

"Uncle Remus?"

"Hm?"

"Who were they?"

"Who were who?" Remus asked, though he already knew the answer.

"The two people we saw earlier." Pat said. "I've never seen anyone like them before. Why were they dressed so funny?"

"Because they were going to a very special event." It could be true or a complete fabrication. Remus didn't know, it was just the first thing to come to mind.

"Did you know them?"

"No." Lie. Remus knew exactly who they were. Or, at least, he knew who the elder was.

No, this does not count as Lo and Pat's first meeting. Why? Cause I made a promise to myself not to let them meet until after the minimum number of chapters.
Bye,
Blaize