Should be Day 224. This is the last picture I have to write about.
The nobleman was stunned. "I have to know who that girl is." He shook his horse's reigns and galloped after the girl. As soon as she slipped into the trees though, he lost sight of her. Crestfallen, the nobleman turned around and headed back to the clearing where the rest of his hunting party had been waiting.
As soon as he had left, the ginger-haired girl crept out from behind the branches. "Don't worry, Tawny," she soothed as she stroked the fox's fur, "you're safe now. Be more careful next time." She set the fox down, and it scampered away. Then the girl pulled back some willow tree branches and slipped down the large hollow in the tree.
The image of the girl haunted the nobleman for the rest of the day, even seeping into his dreams. Seeing her face while he was hunting made him feel so guilty that he went home, only to sulk around his home, unable to concentrate. Food was tasteless, so he stopped trying after a few bites. He rose out of bed at dawn, after tossing for most of the night, determined to find the girl.
He saddled his horse and rode to the spot where he had seen her last. The forest was so still that the crunching of his boots sounded like tree branches cracking. Behind every tree he expected to see her lovely face, only to be disappointed again.
"Please come out," he called softly. "I need to see you again, just once more."
After searching for an hour, he had nearly given up hope on finding her. He had one more idea though. A buck was lapping up a drink to wash down the grass he had nibbled for breakfast. The nobleman pulled an arrow out of his quiver and aimed it towards the buck, his bow tautly drawn back. Just as he was about to release his hold, the girl strode through the trees and dashed in front of the buck. The nobleman dropped his bow and ran out from the bush he had been in.
"Don't go away. I've been trying to find you all day."
Her eyes were like fire as they stared at him, but she was also softened by his earnestness.
"What is your name?"
Silence, then she spoke with the purest voice he had ever heard, "I am known as the Guardian. I come without fail to save the forest creatures from threats both natural and human."
She glared at him at the last word, but with such regal beauty, how could he not be captivated by her. He dared to move a step closer. Sun rays glistened through the canopy of the trees and dripped on her head. The nobleman wished he had a painter to capture that moment. It was then that he came to the conclusion that it was impossible she was a human. She was no more than an angel, no less than an eternal spirit of the wood.
No comments:
Post a Comment