Darker than Blanc

1:8| Thorin ✦ Spring

Darker than Blanc
1st Life | Daybreak
©Emika_3206

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[1: 8] — Thorin ✦ spring

Thorin's life had been different with her. Since the death of his family, he was truly alone in this world. He had forgotten the feeling of loneliness since he already was used to it. He lived a life with the goal of only hate and vengeance in his mind.

But this life with her—

"Patience, my little apprentice," Rosephayne said in a teasing voice, and she wore an equally teasing smile.

He was getting annoyed by every second a fish didn't take the bait. He held his fishing rod tighter, as if that would urge fish to take bait.

Then he felt a small, but distinct pull. He looked at Rosephayne, eyes blown wide. She tapped his shoulder excitedly.

"Pull, that's it. Pull it!"

A few minutes later, he did manage to pull a large carp, which they placed on a pail.

"That's my apprentice, see? Beginner's luck!" Rosephayne was grinning brightly, that he also, unconsciously smiled back. Thorin fears that he is getting too complacent, to relaxed.

"Let's go back, I think we'll have fish for dinner!" He felt her arm over his shoulders, as they merrily made their way back to her hut. The sun was setting and the frost was slowly melting. It was peaceful, so peaceful he felt so out of place.

There's a nagging feeling in his mind that his bad luck, his pursuers would catch up to him. But maybe that's just his paranoia talking since he'd spent most of his life on the run, desperately trying to survive. Now he's at a peaceful point of his life, he didn't know what to do with himself.

When a weird turn of events. Now he's learning how to debone fish and chop potatoes and add seasonings. His life before he had been testing just the right amount of dosage of how much poison it would be to wipe out an entire human village. He didn't stop with wells, he poisoned their crops as well, bringing forth calamity and much devastation. The justice of all the fallen faeries were on his shoulders.

Now he's watching the fish bake in the stone oven, and watching the fire dance reflected in Rosephayne's green eyes.

Then she turned to him, with a bit of an unsure expression on her face.

"Thorin, would you like to stay for a bit longer?" She asked shyly. "I'm enjoying having apprentice too much. At least, stay until there's nothing more I can teach you."

Rosephayne must've lived most of her life secluded in this forest. For the few times they went out to trade, the plague hasn't reached those places. She didn't know about the plague, and that he was the cause of it.

Would she still look at him the same way— so trusting— if she knew he was causing a calamity outside her forest?

"... then I'll stay just a bit longer," He conceded. "But make sure to teach me lots of things." He added, and she beamed brightly once more.

No one has ever wanted him just for his company. They all wanted him for his nonexistent fairy abilities, only to find out about his poison blood and covet it. For the past months, his arms healed, and there wasn't even a drop of his blood leaked.

He knew one day he had to leave. The Anamniseis royalty is still out there. But this, right now is training.

It wouldn't be bad to know about herbal medicines, and Rosephayne is a master at that. He's also learning life skills from her, that he'd learn better from a mentor rather than on the run himself. He rationalized, this is training. He wasn't staying just because. He was learning something. Be it herbal medicine, literacy, gardening, or even cooking.

He'll leave the next spring.

To be continued...