Over the river and through the woods
He had packed a few things in his bag – plain shirts, spare trousers, his new ledger – the old one gone forever – and a copy of The Auction House and You. He thought it was time to work on the revision.
Bjorke knocked on the doorjam and peeked her head in the open door. “Ready?” She held out a skin to him. “Give this to her, will you? My lastest batch. Pretty damn close to the original, I think.”
Truitt looked at her, frowning. “Odd thing to take to my hostess.”
She merely grinned at him. “The girl does love her stout. Trust me.”
Nodding, he tucked the skin into his satchel, then latched it. He bent to scoop up the tiny white kitten.
Bjorke reached out a finger to scratch it on the head. “I’m going to miss having this little fellow underfoot.” She looked at Truitt, smiling sadly. “You, too. But it won’t be long, and then it will all be over, eh?” It was the cat that got the patting, and the kiss goodbye at the Flight Master.
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Truitt walked along the road, satchel in hand, kitten following happily at his heels. It was well past noon, and he was glad the road was shaded by trees. Finally, the cottage came into view. Truitt recognized it right away. He’d been told it looked straight out of a child’s story, and that it did. It was a small stone cottage, with flowering vines trailing up the walls, and rows of smooth white stones lining the walkway to the front. A haphazard tangle of flowers made up the front garden, populated by dozens of butterflies. The house even had a turret – not a grand one, to be sure, and somehow, it suited the small building perfectly. As he grew closer, the babbling of a brook could be heard from behind the house.
The wooden door had an round arched top, and was painted bright blue. He knocked, and held his breath. It had been a long time since he had seen Mabon Lightpath. He’d been warned about her state of mind, and not to mention her children. “She’s fine, mostly,” Bjorke had said. “She just tends to forget things, like what happened. So… just don’t correct her if she calls you by their names, alright?” Truitt knocked again, a bit harder, and finally he heard noises within.
Mabon opened the door. The petite red-head was a bit curvier than before – sewing fine ladies’ dresses was a bit less calorie consuming than swinging a pair of maces at things – but it seemed to suit her. She was only a few years older than Truitt, still very young and beautiful, until you looked in her eyes. Those teal eyes held a depth of sadness such as Truitt had never seen before, and it took his breath away. He just stood there, mouth open, staring at her.
“Truitt!” She threw her arms around him, standing on tiptoe to hug his neck. “Come in! Come in! Oh, by the Light, it’s good to see you!” She tugged him by the arm, pulling him into the house. She ushered him into a sitting room — the woman was used to living simply, but well, given the sumptuous couches, hand carved tables, and simple draperies. Spread throughout the room, on just about every flat surface were figurines of children — mostly elven children, but human, dwarf and gnome children figures littered the room.
“I’m so glad you’ve come to visit me!” She pulled him to the couch, holding his hands, and sat. “You must catch me up on everything and everyone.”
A sudden hiss caught their attention. A large, fat orange cat laid back his ears, and was telling this young intruder just what he thought. “Mouse!” cried Mabon. “You be nice.”
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, I sort of … forgot about him. I… hope it’s alright I brought him along.” Truitt picked up the ball of fluff, who was doing his best to puff up larger, but only succeeded in looking more comical.
“Yes, yes, it’s fine. Mouse doesn’t get many visitors and forgets his manners.” She scolded the cat and he rubbed his head against Truitt.
“And what of you? Someone special in your life?” Mabon asked him.
Truitt’s ears turned pink, and he started stammering, “It… it’s complicated….”
She cut him off. “Oh, I should see about some lunch or something! You must be starving, Arminas!” She jumped up and hurried off to the back of the house.
“No, I’m fine… really… don’t go to any…. trouble…” his voice trailed off futilely, and he sat, looking at Topper. “Uh oh…”
