Lost Kingdom

She had been up before dawn eating a modest breakfast, then tending to her garden, weeding it and watering. She lived up in the mountains away from anyone. She preferred this life than one with people and noise to take away from nature. She was a Wiccan and this was her land. A small cabin, garden, and a river filled pond to fish and swim in on the hotter days. Many believed Wiccan were harmless and we are but we can cast spells and heal using what the earth gives us.
She was taking a break sipping some tea when she felt a tingle go up her spine. She stood and listened. She could hear the faint sound of a gunshot and perhaps a helicopter. She frowned, that meant someone was hunting. She hated hunters, they destroyed without thought. She went back into her cabin and grabbed her medicine bag she kept well stocked with herbs and bandages. She would go and see if perhaps the animal was wounded instead of dead. She had attended enough of them to know many were terrible shots.

Grabbing her walking stick she made her way to the pond and followed it up towards the river opening. That’s when she saw the animal in the water floating near the edge of the pond. She dropped her things and waded out grabbing it around its neck and pulled it to shore. The poor dog had a huge gunshot wound to his back leg.
“Who in the world hunts dog?” She checked to see if he was still alive, and then set about fixing his wound to stop the blood flow, adding herbs and a healing chant as she went. Once that was done she lifted him and took him back to her cabin.

It was several hours before the large dog opened his eyes, the soft lighting of the open fire flickered in the room, and he wasn't cold any more. His leg was still in pain, but nowhere near as painful as it should have been, he tried to stand up and whimpered as the pain in the leg struck his body hard.

She saw the dog shift and try to stand.
“Easy boy,” She walked up to him slowly with a bowl of water. “No one here will harm you.” She offered her hand to him palm up and smiled.

He practically jumped out of his skin when she talked; he wasn't prepared to see anyone. He felt threatened by her; he backed away, his tail between his legs and growled. His icy blue eyes never leaving her.

She set the water down. "Okay I understand." She stood back up and went back to sit outside giving him room and leaving the door open so he could see he was not a prisoner.

He kept his eyes on her until she was out of sight, he slowly walked up to the bowl of water, sniffed it and started to drink, he was so thirsty that he tried to drink so fast that most of the water splashed against his mouth and down on the old wooden floor, who in turn drank the spare water itself with ease. He huffed at the wood for stealing his water in frustration.

She peaked in on him hearing him drink. It was good to see, he was a strong dog and healthy aside from his wound. He would recover nicely. She turned back around and took up her quilting again. Getting needle and thread she started to sew the pieces together to make a new quilt for winter. A bell rang and she jumped up running to the pond where her pole was in the water. Grabbing it she yanked then brought the fish in. It was a large trout and she smiled. Taking it off the hook she put it on the ground, re baited and tossed it out again. Grabbing the fish she returned to the cabin and dropped him into a bucket with water.
"Looks like we are blessed with fish tonight my new friend." She wiped her hands.

He tilted his head to the side, trying to peek inside the bucket from the curiosity of what kind of fish and the size of it. He pushed the bowl with his nose towards her.

“Still thirsty, huh? Alright let’s get you some more.” She grabbed a pitcher and refilled it for him. “You’re a very nice boy and handsome too. “ She tried again to offer her hand.

He carefully picked up the bowl, water and all in his mouth and moved away from her, then started to drink again, this time much slower.

She chuckled at his antics. “Okay so not ready for a friendship. I understand that. By the looks of things you probably have little trust in humans.” She returned to her chair outside, returning to her quilt.

He finished the water, walked over to the spot where he had been laying before and laid down.
She worked on her quilt and caught two more fish for the evening meal. As the day passed she checked on her visitor who slept the afternoon away. Putting away her sewing she went out to her garden and harvested some fresh veggies to go along with her fish and a few herbs. She washed them well then chopped and put them in a pot to cook, then grabbed the fish one at a time, gutting and preparing them. She stuffed them with herbs, packed them in heavy mud, and then put them in the coals of her fire to cook. On her way out of her cabin to wash up she checked on his bandage without touching him. The bandage looked clean still so the bleeding had stopped.

He woke up by the smell that filled the cabin, giving him a good long stretch and a yawn he also shook off the stiffness in his body. He then just sat there and looked at her.

She had washed her hands and was stirring her veggies when she felt someone staring at her. “The smell of food woke you up didn’t it? Well I hope you don’t mind fish or cooked one for that matter. I know you don’t care but you’re a guest so I cooked it up for you anyways.” She grabbed a pair of tongs and dragged the fish from the coals. “Smells good, huh? ” She let them cool for a moment while she grabbed a plate. Returning she knocked the dried mud from them then put one on a plate for him and slid it to him. “There you go.” Taking her own fish and veggies she sat down to eat.

He sniffed the food and laid down with the plate between his front paws, he licked he food and chewed on the fish, his tongue going in and out with wide movements as if he it was slightly too hot for him.

She chuckled. "Sorry i guess it should have let it cool a bit more for you." She ate in silence for a bit. "I wish you could tell me who was hunting you. That is why I live out here. The human population is downright stupid sometimes." she sighed.

He tilted his head slightly as he listened to her; the fish was hanging out the side of his mouth.
She laughed. "I am glad I was blessed with you being here. I will have to give a special thanks to mother earth this evening." She finished her meal and tossed the bones into her garden then washed up. "There is another fish there is you wish to have it." She pointed at it with her fork. "It grows dark fast here because of the mountains, so I am going to go and wash for the night." She grabbed her evening clothes, robe and towel, heading out the door to the pond.

He had finished the whole fish, bone and all when he grabbed the last one and watched her as she left, when she was out of view he followed her.

She walked to the ponds edge where she had flattened an area and laid flat rocks to sit on, put her clothes and make it easier to get in and out of the water. She slowly stripped her clothes off then walked into the cold water, taking her homemade soap with her. She wasted little time in cleaning her body and washing her hair, rinsed then got back out. She shook herself as she grabbed her quilted towel. "Ohhh so cold but feels good on the way out." She dried her hair then her body.

He had been sitting a short distance from her, eating the fish and then watching her as she bathe.

She looked up and saw him. "Glad you’re enjoying the fish." She draped the towel over a rock to dry, picked up a brush and brushed her hair until it was knot free then braided it. The sun was starting to go down behind the mountain, leaving long shadows on the ground. Grabbing her night clothes she slipped them on then her robe, tying the front as she walked barefoot back to her cabin.

He kept watching her as she walked away; the sight of the sunset was quite spectacular. He looked around to see that there was no one around, he shifted and stood up on two legs. His human physique was quite impressive, looking very much like a body builder; it was the result of years and years of training. He looked at the injury on his leg before walking in to the pond to wash himself off.

She went in, lit her candles beside her chair, took up her book and began to read. It was a book of herbs and spells, she had read many times. She had left the door open for her guest.

An hour later the K9 came strutting through the door and lay down in his corner.

She saw him pass and return to his bed. Getting up she went to the door and wedged it open enough so that he could leave if he chose too. She stretched, put her book down. "I bid you a good rest." She banked the fire coals, removed her robe lying across her chair then crawled into her bed. She sat up and waved her hand causing the candles to go out. "I almost forgot about them. That would not have been a good thing." She lay back down with her back to the room.

His eyes glowed threw the darkness of the room, starring at her fine back lines, the sounds of him licking his mouth could be heard in the silent room.

She could hear him as she drifted to sleep. "The big bad wolf going to try to eat little red Robin Hood? " she mumbled.

When he knew she was asleep, he walked up to her, shifted to his human form and looked down at her. He didn't trust any human, hell he didn't even trust most of his own kind any more. Being royalty had left him with few to trust and many enemies.