Comet

Chapter three

On the edge of the forest, in the middle of a desolate village, lived a boy named Xavier. He and his family were very poor, for his father tended a small farm, while his mother was a lowly maid. But together they were happy, for they loved each other dearly.

One day his mom was in the house cooking dinner. Xavier peeked into the pot, asking what was to eat. "Cabbage stew." His mother replied solemnly. "But aren't we supposed to sell the cabbage to buy better food?" He asked. His mother focused on the stew, thinking of the right thing to say. "The cabbage sales aren't going as good as we thought." Xavier looked down at his feet, for his parents say this every year during cabbage season.

"But if we eat what we have to sell, how will we afford the other things we need?" Xavier's mother ladled him a bowl of stew. "Go and eat son." She said without looking at him. Xavier took the bowel without question and gobbled it down in one. It was a very small serving of stew. "Thanks mum." He said, grabbing his bow and arrows.

"Son?" She asked noticing his actions. "Son what are you doing?" His mother asked again, more frightened. "I'm going to get us a real meal." He said throwing on his tattered jacket. "Son no, it's dangerous!" But Xavier had already walked out the door with his quiver on his back. Surely it cant be that bad in the woods.

He made his way to the end of the forest. Xavier, along with everyone else, had been warned tremendously about not going into the forest. But it had been so long since someone had gone into the woods, some speculated that the "Forest Guardian" didn't exist. Xavier assumed it was probably only fear of the dangerous creatures that kept people out of the forest.

"I can take on a pack of lions." He said, mostly to himself. Sprinting into the forest he would find some sort of meat. He had barely entered the woods when a robin spotted him. Seeing the robin, Xavier took aim and fired at the bird. The bird flew off to warn Comet. Of course he didn't know that, he was more angry at himself for not killing the bird then worried. Taking a few steps foward, he crouched low, listening for the sounds of a boar or something. Little did he know that merely two short miles away, was a girl soaring the forest, focusing only on stopping Xavier. But he was busy aiming one of his arrows at the head of the boar.

"Ready." He whispered to himself. "Aim." He said making small adjustments. "Fire." He released the arrow, sending it straight at the boars head. You could imagine the surprise Xavier had when a flash of white caught the arrow, snapped it in half, and pinned Xavier to the ground, his own arrow at his throat. Grunting, Xavier heard a voice calling out to him. "What is the meaning of this!?" Not fully comprehending the situation, Xavier looked up at a blurred image staring down at him. His vision was blurry from hitting the the back of his head on the ground so hard.

"Um, food?" He said, not being so sure of himself all of a sudden. "You were intending on EATING my people." She said with a voice angry yet clear. "Your- Your people?" He stammered. "YES!" She responded, clearly angry and disgusted. "How would you like it if i ate your father?" She said, completly livid. "Well." He said, relaxing a bit. "That would be pretty bad. But it would be better then him dying hungry."

His vision cleared and when he saw the girl towering above him, he instantly realized something. She was beautiful. He stared at her for a long time before answering. "Look, my family going hungry, I just wanted to hunt them a meal, just this once." He looked at her with soulful eyes. Comet felt a tinge of guilt. She released her grip on him. "Come with me." Xavier walked behind Comet, following down a twisty trail, going deeper and deeper into the forest, until she stopped at a apple tree.

"This tree bears the best apples in the forest." She said with pride. He only hesitated a moment before climbing the tree and picking the juicy apples and storing it in his jacket. He looked back towards Comet.

"What's your name?" He asked. She looked back at him, startled. "C-Comet." She stuttered. "Why?" "Well." He answered. "I might want to see you again." She froze. "Why would you want to do that?" He leaned against the side of a tree." I need food, and I can't get here without your guidance." She shrugged. "Okay, but you musn't kill any animals, or tell others about me. He nodded in agreement. "Until tomorrow, Comet." Then he turned and bounded toward home.