Red River Fan Fiction ❯ The Happening of After the End ❯ The Hedge Witch ( Chapter 4 )

All right, here's your next chapter my friends, enjoy it! I apologize for this chapter's lateness but the matter wasn't in my hands since my memory stick is dead never to live again and so now I have to use my other one. The next is that for some reason I couldn't get on my login page and I wondered is everyone else was experiencing the same difficulties since there hasn't been any new updates and there is always and update. So yeah here it is.

 

The Hedge witch

 

A crying child of nine ran blindly through the dusty streets, past hordes of staring people though none reached out to ask her what was the matter. Some were people she'd seen everyday all her life whilst there were some she just laid eyes on and this would be the last time she ever saw them again. All that didn't stopped to glance at the back of the fleeing black haired girl as she raced past them. The permanent residents shouted after her but allowed her to run, fearing what plagued the poor girl from behind their booths.

 

Ouch, many of them thought as she ran straight into a woman but due to her size, as small as she was, barely bumped her.

 

“Child, now why are you crying?” the old woman asked, Sayuri the woman's iron gray eyes with her black ones, full of innocent youth. The small inkling almost immediately grabbed her round the waist and hugged the woman close as hard as a nine year old could manage. This motherly figure provided warmth her father couldn't give, no matter how much he tried.

 

“Come, let's go dry your eyes and brush those tangles out of your hair.' She said and picked her up as if she weighed nothing. She probably did but that was beside the point. Together they walked back down the street the way Sayuri had come and went into an adobe building where the woman set her down on a bed and went to a chest.

 

“This was my mother's brush that she got in the capital twelve years ago. She died just last year and gave me this. See? It has the engraving of the king's flag on it.” She elaborated and glowed as Sayuri gently brushed the impressions on the comb. The wooden handle had the picture of Ishtar on it, a flag that she had never seen since it was now Prince Juda's flag. After the king went missing the more conservative senators insisted the prince take the thrown, which he promptly denied, telling them he would act as a steward till the younger heir was of age.

 

“It's so pretty…” Sayuri murmured and the old women gleamed at the compliment before commencing to brush the knots out of her wind blown hair.

 

“My own mother used to do this to me each night before I went to sleep.” She explained with her crackly voice but that unfortunately made the little girl cry harder and tremors shook her whole body with each sob.

 

“My father won't tell me about my mother. He said she died giving birth to me but won't say anything else. It's not fair!” she gasped, snatching one of the biscuit from in the bowl on the table and started to nibble on it.

 

“Sayuri, you want to know about the night your father first came to this village?”

 

She nodded vigorously.

 

“Well, it was during the rainy season and it was indeed raining. Everyone was already in their houses and asleep but I was coming home from delivering medicine to a family with a sick baby. I was trying to hurry, it was so cold, but I could only go so fast when I heard a horse approaching, and fast too. Down the street came a man riding with a baby not two days old, you. He was so sick from the storm, who knows how far he'd been traveling. So I had him put his horse round back and brought him into this very house.” She told her. Sayuri had stopped crying now and was pleasantly listening whilst eating.

 

“I barely had time to wrestle you from him before he passed out on the bed. Not from exhaustion, though that played a hand, but his fever was higher than I've ever seen one. You were in much better condition than him though you hadn't had enough milk and were crying from being taken away from your father's familiar warmth. Babies are said to know who their parents are and instinctively feel safe with them. So I gave you to a young mother to feed in a nearby hut and nursed your father. Suddenly though then strangest thing happened,” she stopped and Sayuri turned around to see what the matter was. The old woman had a crinkled hand up against her face and seemed to be pondering something.

 

“The door flew open and a blonde man waltzed in, looked at your father in the bed and then said sorry for barging in and left. I wonder if he knew your father. Anyway so after that, in the morning your father woke up and almost passed out again when trying to get up so fast. He didn't know where you were and it wasn't until he saw you being that he calmed down enough to speak. You stayed with me while he built your house, with the help of some other men that is.” Sayuri turned around again.

 

“Did he tell you anything about Mother?”

 

“I did ask him, but all he said was that she died on the same day as Ishtar.”

 

“So I was born the day Queen Yuri died.” She whispered in amazement at the thought. “What is your name Auntie?”

 

“Fatama child, now I think your father will be worried so why don't you put his mind at rest. Just tell him Old Fatama set you straight.” She instructed and grunted as she picked her old body up and shuffled Sayuri to the door where they both saw a worried Kail in the street outside.

 

“Kail!” Auntie Fatama called and he looked over. Instantly his face lit up in relief and he quickly jogged over to where they were standing in the doorway.

 

“Sayuri… so this is where you've been! I've been searching everywhere.” He gasped in satisfaction at finding her and smiled at the young girl.

 

“I'm sorry, Father.” She apologized and jumped into his ready arms fluidly. He gazed over her shoulder to the woman standing in front of him.

 

“Fatama.” He nodded in greeting.

 

“Kail, you take good care of your girl, she's awful sweet.” She said sternly and he once again nodded his thanks. “Don't deny your daughter information, Majesty.” She laughed quietly as Kail frowned slightly and it was all he could do not to tense in this awkward situation. Luckily though, his daughter came to his rescue without knowing it.

 

“Heeheehee, he does act like a king doesn't he? He stands really tall and walks all funny.” She giggled and the king put her down at her bidding and she exaggerated his walk. Puffing up her chest and throwing back her petite shoulders and walking slowly.

 

“Hmm.” He grunted and without another word took her hand and gently led her back down the street.

 

Tadaa! This was a kinda short chapter and the next one might be too but after that they'll get much longer, I promise you.