the rain is falling
The sound of the weeds rushing past her ears was the only thing she heard. Her labored breath and pounding heart muffled by the dry cracking of dead foliage in her ears as she sped through the underbrush.
Her auburn hair swayed and flowed as she ran giving it the appearance of a torch setting the fields on fire. Eyes grey as fog and sharp as a blade scanned the area for any sign of her pursuer. She was ready at a moments notice to fight or flee her sense keen and ever watchful.
Her life had been spent under the rule of her mother the queen in a land far to the west. She had wanted to run for a very long time, to be free of her mothers rule and tyranny. She wanted to be whatever it was she wanted to be. Her need to be free was overpowering.
You could see in her eyes the burning desire. There was still joy in her heart and yet, in her eyes you could see an unfed drive and years of struggle. There was sadness to them that ran deep clouding joy, imprisoning a spirit of unfathomable joy. This is why she ran.
Her mind was clear, not panicked as she ran. There was purpose to her flight. She would go east, to the sea and once there she would find safe passage across the waters to someplace far out reach of her mother’s hand. A place that would accept her for who she was, so that she might begin a life filled with joyful days and peaceful nights. It would be the happily ever after she had read about in so many tomes.
Her feet, light and quick, avoided any obstacle and it looked to many as if she were not touching the ground at all. It was as if the wind was her chariot and the rising sun the steeds that drew it.
As she made her way across the countryside she saw a deep gloom gathering before her. Clouds dark, cold and unsympathetic gathered in her path, threatening to rain on her parade. She tucked her head just a little bit more and with an iron resolve moved even faster.
As the clouds approached and the wind chilled she found herself breaking free of the tall grass and could see the ruins of a village not too far off and she thought to herself that perhaps she could find suitable shelter until the storm passed. She always had a plan, as the plan formed, there were plans in place incase of threat. She was a magnificent creature of nature, a force to be reckoned with.
He lay in his despair sniveling in his sleep. The cold floor of the throne room offered neither warmth nor comfort and it was not meant to. As he slept the murder of crows, ever watchful began to cry out, sounding an alarm. There was something different in the land. Different was danger.
Slowly he woke to the shrieking of the flock, wiping his eyes he cleared his head and sat up.
“Strangers.” He muttered as his face twisted in rage.
Just as the rain began to fall, she had found a home with more than enough of a roof and dry space to start a small fire for warmth. As she looked around she saw a blanket that was not too torn or worn out to wrap herself in and so then settled down by her fire to rest.
The house was a modest place. The hole in the roof let in enough light so that she could see and the furnishings, though decaying, spoke of a happy place, perhaps a merchant with children playing. It was a comfort to her to imagine what it must have been like in the home, when it was I use.
Outside she could hear crows screaming and a rhythmic pounding of thunder. Boom, Boom. It seemed to rattle off in a curious pattern, once to her left, then to her right. It rattled the little house as the thunder rolled from north to south as if it were searching, almost hunting for her.
She tucked herself deeper into the blanket, little needles of uncertainty and fear began to crawl up her spine as her imagination to hold of the gloom and the storm. She knew there was nothing out there but sound and fury, but still…
Suddenly with a deafening roar and gust of wind, the house rocked, like it had been struck by something very large and very terrible. With a start, she gathered the blanket around her face, sprung to her feet and ran to the door.
No sooner did she clear the threshold, she struck something full on. Falling backwards and to the ground she saw the most horrible sight she had seen. Standing there before her, in all its terrible countenance, an ogre!
She struggled to clear the rain from her eyes as she clambered backwards trying to get back inside the house. The ground was soaked and the blanket hindered her movement. This was terror in her eyes now. She thought she was dead.
The ogre looked down at her, this little mess wallowing in the mud. The fear in her eyes told him all he needed to know. She was an intruder and she feared him just like all the others.
As he bent down over her he looked into her eyes. Her eyes, grey and wonderful filled with horror and yet peaking out of the dread he could see there was happiness in them. A real joy.
“What are you?!” He demanded in a voice loud and rude.
The girl squealed in terror.
The ogre lifted a leg and slammed it down just inches from her head.
“I said, what are you?”
“I… I’m a girl… I’m, I’m a girl” She stammered.
“Well I know that. I’m not blind! Are you Ahzeen? Are you Wortnot?” he bent closer squinting his eyes.
“You one of those Imaji?” he sneered a threatening grin.
“I don know what any of those are.” She said trying not to choke on the rain spilling over her face.
The ogre looked her over. He inspected the girl from head to toe and with a dissatisfied snort stood upright scanning the land. He down to her once more and said,
“That’s my blanket. Everything here is mine. You can use it, but it stays here.”
“Thank you?” she spoke in confusion.
“What?” the ogre sneered looking down at her with one eye closed.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but aren’t ogre’s supposed to eat people? I mean, you don’t want to eat me?”
“More than you know.” He cackled with laughter.
“I would lick you like a lollypop, feast on your thighs and roast your ass to perfection. Is that what you wanna hear?” he snorted and turned away.
“Besides, you would only serve to wake up my appetite without bedding it back down.”
“Hay!” She yelled insulted.
“There’s no need to be rude!”
The ogre turned to face her, rain pouring down his face. He smiled a sinister smile and winked at her as he pointed to himself.
“Ogre, remember?”