High Elve of Red Hallow

CHAPTER 17: Love and Loss

The night was beautiful.

Even at the memorial. Priestess Hilda and Squire Samson felt the stillness of the long hours. The shadows and sounds of nature rang through Hilltop. Chirping bugs buzzing in the air. The young Samson lay on the seat Hilda had erected in the Westerian memorial. Sometimes he actually began to drift off, floating away in a soothing sense of sleep. He'd awaken with Hilda still decorating, hanging pretty slats of lilac and strung poppy. A few butterflies and fireflies fluttered by. It was a charming, magical monument indeed.

There was no other like it, none more tranquil.

Samson sat up and watched Hilda put the finishing touches on the stones. Sensing that Samson was watching her, Hilda turned to him with a warm smile.

"Samson?"

He adjusted the strap of his jawbone pauldron's harness. He exhaled and scratched the back of his neck then looked off into the distance. He regarded the night. His handsome and youthful features suffused with deep thought.

"What is it, Samson?" Asked Hilda, walking over and sitting down beside him.

Samson cleared his throat. His voice had begun to change and he was nervous around women of any beauty. He was silent for a moment and finally spoke. 

"Eddipus. What's he like?"

"He is so brave and so handsome. He is strong and would always sacrifice his own time for others. I don't know if you remember, but when you were younger, between years you and other boys would watch him practice. It was glorious." She smiled in reflection. "He was glorious and very beautiful. In fact, you reminded me of him a few days ago when you came to Sister Lisa's hut."

"Me?" snorted Samson. "No, I could never hold a candle to him." He blushed.

"Don't say that, Samson," she hugged him with a bemused smile like a mother to her child. "Work hard, keep training and you will be as much of a warrior as Eddipus. Only you'll be your own man." 

"But my master," he spoke. "Elijah had been slain. There's nobody to teach--"

"Then keep his counsel. Remember his teachings and commit."

"It's not the same." The words snapped from his throat. He was angry. "I miss him. He was strict but loving like a father."

"You'll get by," Hilda said. "Keep your chin up, you never know what you'll find..."

"Yes, my lady." he felt a flare of emotion at her words. "I understand."

"Good"

"You know, now that your father, our leader has gone missing, you could be with Eddipus without fear."

"I know. Thank you for reminding me, young one." Hilda hid her excitement. She kept it behind a bright smile and a hidden kiss, a kiss she saved for Eddipus.

The darkness, accompanied by a lite breeze calmed Samson's nerves. Hilda saw a sparkle in his eyes as he became flustered at a distant figure.

"Who is she?"

Hilda looked toward the girl. She had black hair and wore dark clothes.

"I'm not sure." She raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you go and see who it is? Maybe she can cheer you up."

"Maybe." His cheeks flushed. Samson rose from the seat, left the garden memorial, and walked along the village street. He approached the shrubbery, towers, and gate. For him, there was nothing more exciting than meeting someone new. From where he stood, the girl looked mysterious. As he came closer, he beamed at her exotic beauty, now refracted in the moonlight. Her short, black hair was tied but it was her eyes that captured him. The girl's eyes were completely black. Her skin was pale in the fine threads of light that showed on her. To Samson, she looked different but more than different. She intrigued him.