𝙰 𝙲𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝙴𝚖𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎 (wlw)

Chapter Twenty-Four

As it was instructed of him, exactly a week to the day since he was visited by his mysterious employer, Timothy bought and loaded the things he was asked to deliver into his cart with blind obedience. During the time he gathered the food and while he travelled to deliver them, he questioned his reason for following through. The stern woman had entrusted him with a great deal of money; he could’ve eloped, headed north and spend it all on beautiful lassies and weeks' worth of wine. However, there he was instead, headed to the strange place out in the middle of nowhere, fulfilling the strange woman’s request.

It was before noon when he finished purchasing what he was told to. He then made for the woodlands, the wheels on his cart wobbled over the rough roads of town until they rolled along the grassy paths leading to the wood itself. The ruckus his cart made never ceased, it was only that the trees and the earth did not complain and he was used to the noise he made. Timothy was so used to the rattle he made that he even felt comfortable enough to whistle a folk song often performed by local bards.

Two hours of non-stop travelling and several known ballads later, the man arrived at the spot. Jumping down from the cart, he walked over to his horse, giving the animal a quick pat on the head while he surveyed the wood in silence.

A chill crept up the back of his neck just then, the sort of chill one gets when they feel they’re being watched. Only he wasn’t being watched, just his fear that being there would somehow turn out to be a test of compliance and obedience and just when he would’ve dropped the food off and perched himself on top of the cart ready to leave, his employer would reveal herself, chastising him for doing something wrong.

Again, it wasn’t so. No one came out from behind the trees or elsewhere to tell him he did his job wrong.

Unpacking the food from his cart one at a time and placing them on the forest floor, Timothy stopped mid-action as a thought came to him. How was this person going to know he came by and brought their things? What if he left them there and a wild animal or passerby got a hold of the food? Wouldn’t that be a waste of money? How would he truly know if the recipient ever got the delivery? He wouldn’t want them not to.

One by one Timothy reloaded everything into his cart and once they were packed in place, he jumped onto his usual seat, grabbed the reins, tapped it lightly and the horse moved in the direction he was steered.

The man hadn't the slightest clue where he was going but he’d know when he got there he thought to himself and he did. For less than a half hour’s ride, an old cottage tucked mostly behind the trees appeared. Smoke curled from the little chimney that peeked out just a little, signalling that someone lived there and that they were home.

Dismounting the cart yet again, Timothy led the horse up the pathway to the back of the house. The closer he got to the home, he heard a child’s voice as they spoke but he couldn’t quite make out what they said, the language sounded foreign to his ears. But after a minute or two of suspense, he was able to put a face to the voice— a child probably no older than six locked eyes with him when he neared the home. At first glance he couldn’t decipher whether the child was a boy or a girl— their wavy hair flowed over their shoulders, framing a somewhat chubby face with ruddy cheeks. Nestled in their oval-shaped face was the most beautiful pair of eyes he'd ever seen, and eyes that were intense and curious.

Timothy quickly realized once he took in the child's attire as they ran from him that they were a boy. And after the thought, the man chuckled to himself at the speed in which the boy fled the vicinity.

Rounding the corner some minutes later with the boy beside her was a woman. Her face was plastered with a look of anger or annoyance maybe. Curiosity also mingled there but it was quite subtle.