Finding a Wolf In the Trees

Chapter 2~

Nydia opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling of her small bedroom. She vaguely remembered crawling into bed, long after her mother had left the room. Quietly, she got out of bed, so she would not wake her mother if she was still sleeping. She stretched her naked limbs and hurried to get dressed. After donning another faded brown dress Nydia looked at her reflection in her small mirror.

Her hair was a tangled mess from being whipped around in the rain the night before; however, it was nothing that she couldn’t straighten out with her comb. Her face is what interested her most. She let out a little sigh of relief when she saw that no bruise had been left on her cheek. Last time her mother had hit her, Nydia had been left with a bruise for six days. It had supplied a months worth of gossip for the women circle.

Nydia had to live with her mother until she was married, as was the tradition of the village. And now, she was left alone with her mother except for the occasional visits from her brothers and their wives and children. Of course there were parties that both she and her mother were invited to, if only because people thought it the politeng tng to do, but she hated those parties just as much as she hated being at the house with her mother. Whenever there was a party you could count on Guthrie Hawking being there, and the man made Nydia retch.

Abandoning that train of thought, Nydia picked up her wooden comb from the table that the mirror rested on and began to untangle the knots in her hair. The comb had been a gift from her father for her fifteenth birthday, and was her favorite possession. The painted patterns on the handle had long since faded away, but Nydia would not trade it for anything in the world. It was all she had left of her father, for he had died only months after, the comb was her last gift from him.

Nydia reflected on the past as she used the comb to brush out her long hair. It was a long task, but she didn’t mind. After about an hour she placed the comb back on the small table. Her hair was now shinning from the light coming in from her bedroom window. She was tempted to leave it down, it was the way she liked it best, but instead she twisted it into a long braid. She was seeing Guthrie Hawking that afternoon, and she didn’t want to give him any ideas.

She opened her door and walked out of her room. Finding her still damp clothes from the night before, she picked them up and took them outside. There was a line of rope running from the back of her house to a nearby tree that she used for a wash line. She hung the dress and under clothes on the line and was just about to go back inside when she heard someone come up behind her. The lightly blowing breeze, still smelling slightly of the storm, brought her an unwelcome scent. It was the reeking smell of Guthrie Hawking. She turned around slowly, “Good morning, Master Hawking.”

“Good morning my dear Nydia, it is a true pleasure to see you again.” Guthrie said smoothly. He took her hand and kissed it, the physical contact made her skin crawl. “I know I am early, but I could not wait to see your beautiful face any longer.” He said it sincerely enough, but his beetle-like eyes betrayed him. They spoke of his true intention, he was only interested in bringing the wedding forward a few more days so he could get her in bed faster.

“I am sorry Master Hawking, but since we did not think you would be arriving until later my mother and I are not ready to receive you. Perhaps you would like to have some ale and rest at the inn while we finish the preparations?” Nydia said, just wanting to be away from him for a little longer.

“Nydia my love, when will you stop calling me Master Hawking? It distresses me so to know that you don’t view yourself as my equal when it has been arranged for us to be married.” He said with a false sweetness that caused Nydia to wish that her oldest brother Ewan was there.

“We are not married yet Master Hawking.” Nydia said and she turned back to the laundry, arranging the already straight clothes. “I will come and tell you when we are ready for your arrival.” She waited, her body tense, for him to leave.
Suddenly she felt warm breath on her neck and clammy hands on her arms. “Yes, I will be looking forward to your arrival at the inn, Nydia my dear. Perhaps I will rent a room for tonight so we can... explore a little. His tongue darted out and licked her ear. Nydia shivered from disgust, but he took it as an invitation. “We could have much fun.”

“I think you should go now Master Hawking.” Nydia said, and she gripped the clothing line to keep her hands from shaking. “I will come for you when my mother and I are ready for your arrival.” She kept her eyes fixed ahead not daring to look at him.

“Very well then,” Guthrie sighed, stepping back, “I shall wait for your arrival. He turned and left quickly, leaving a slightly shaking Nydia behind him.


AN: I took a day off of writing my other story to give you this chapter... don\'t you feel special? I don\'t know how long it will take me to post the next chapter because as it is, it\'s total crap. I\'ll try to fix it up as best as I can, wish me luck... please read and review because reviews make me do funny things :)