Boelik (3 page)

“
Yes, Olea?”

“
I love you.”

Boelik started, hesitating a moment before
even opening his mouth. “I think you should go home now.”

Olea was silent. Then she rose, and Boelik
walked her to the edge of the forest, silence enveloping them as
even the forest had nothing to add but the scent of blossoms. Olea
began walking down the path to the village when Boelik said,
“Olea?” and she turned around.

“…
I love you,
too.”

Olea beamed so widely that she seemed to be a
single ray of light. From there, she ran up and hugged him, and as
he wrapped his arm around her she said, “You should talk to my
father and tell him you want to marry me then! He’ll accept, I know
he will. Especially if I tell him that I love you, too.”

“
I have nothing for trade,
though,” Boelik said, furrowing his brow.

Olea pushed herself back from him in a moment
of inspiration. “The wolf’s pelt!” she exclaimed. “You didn’t sell
it, did you?”

Boelik shook his head. “No. I will give him
that, then. But are you sure you will settle for this imperfect
man?” he asked.

Olea looked at him in adoration. “Every man
is imperfect, Bo. None can ever be otherwise. But you are the
closest there is.” Then she put her hand on his cheek as he glanced
away sheepishly. “Promise me I’ll see you in the village
tomorrow?”

“
I promise. Now go home,
before you anger your father and he never lets you marry any man.
Or worse, gives you to the next one he sees.”

The next day, Boelik walked into the village,
his beige cloak draped over his frame and hood cast over his face,
carrying the wolf hide over his shoulder. He was greeted by the
sight of a large crowd in the village plaza, waves of voices
churning in the late afternoon air. Fortunately, he could see over
most of the people with ease. In the center of the crowd was a man
riding a horse that was black as sin adorned with the royal crest
of a raven, followed by several sword paladins on bays. Curious,
Boelik tuned into the whispers of the crowd.

“
It’s prince
Mar!”

“
Captain of the King
Olamis’s knights
and
a prince!”

“
Isn’t he a handsome
one?”

At last, Boelik tuned into something
interesting. “They say he’s a hero.”

“
What for?”

“
Saving villages or
something.”

“
What’s he
here
for, then?”

“
Patrol, I’d wager. Captain
of the guard out to patrol the whole kingdom once in his life.
Double if he’s prince, too. Not like it’s a big one to begin
with.”

Boelik returned his gaze to the man on the
black—to the prince. “A hero, huh?” he muttered under his
breath.

The prince had pale skin and black hair, a
lean build, and pale green eyes that seemed to analyze everything
and find it all to be lacking. A sword was sheathed on his belt.
Then he spoke, hushing the crowd. “Hello. I am prince Mar, as you
may well know.” His voice resonated with a cold tone that made
Boelik scowl from under his hood. “As you may not know, I am
searching the land for a wife,” he said, pausing as he locked his
gaze onto something. “And I think I may have just found her.” He
walked his horse over to the side of the crowd and held out his
hand.

“
No, no,” a woman’s voice
said, bashful. She was obscured from Boelik by the prince’s steed
and the crowd. “I’m quite fine here, thank you.”

“
Nonsense. You shall be my
bride and have the most wonderful jewels to accent your beautiful
frame and never go hungry in the winter. Does that not sound like a
good offer?”

“
I’m sorry. I’m not
interested in jewels, and I love my life here.” The woman was quite
firm now.

Mar’s face darkened. “I’m afraid you do not
have a choice, my dear. You
will
be my
bride, and you will love your life with me.” The rat that
masqueraded as a prince began trying to pull the poor woman to his
horse’s back.

Forcing his way through the crowd, Boelik
growled at the man. “Leave the woman alone.”

“
And who commands me?” Mar
challenged, glaring at Boelik, who removed his hood, careful not to
drop the pelt draped over his shoulder.

“
I do.”

“
You?” the prince sneered,
not letting go of his woman but turning his steed enough to face
Boelik, giving him a good view of her. She saw him as well. “You
look like a mere robber. I would bet that you have stolen from half
of these people.”

“
You're wrong!” Olea cried,
tugging her wrist in vain to break free of Mar’s iron grasp as she
looked with pleading eyes to Boelik. “That man is fair and honest
and kind! He has stolen nothing from the people here!”

“
Oh, nothing you say?” Mar
said, his cold eyes boring down at her. “Because it sounds to me
like he has stolen your heart; I think I shall just have to take it
back.”

Casting Olea aside, Mar trotted his steed
over to Boelik and leaned into his face. “You are undeserving of
such a beautiful woman. She will be mine, you filthy lowlife,” he
hissed. “And then if still she is not content, I will put her to
work in the kitchens until she appreciates the life I gave
her.”

Boelik’s lip turned up in a snarl as fury
pulsed through him, and in an instant his fist had met Mar’s face,
the pelt dropping from his shoulder. As Mar jerked back Boelik
snarled, “Oh, I’m sorry. Did I mar that pretty face of yours? Maybe
you should say that again so that I can make it look like it
should
, you vagabond.” Boelik was
quivering with anger, and Mar was staring at him, wide-eyed with
rage, his hand on his jaw.

“
How
dare
you hit me, rat!” he yelled, jerking his horse
forward and attempting to grab Boelik. But, without thinking,
Boelik stepped backward into the crowd as Mar grabbed his beige
cloak and the navy one underneath.

As they pulled free of him and floated to the
ground, Boelik felt a breeze around both arms. In another instant,
a woman began to scream and Boelik slowly looked down at his left
arm as if in a dream. Then, as he realized what was happening,
everything sped back up to reality.

Bo glanced over at Olea, frightened for a
moment of what she might think of him. But before either got to say
anything, Mar yelled, “Monster! Men, kill this beast!” and Bo was
off running to the woods, the knights on his heels.

“
Wait!” Olea screamed after
them, stumbling to a run, picking up Bo’s things on the way. She
ran after the knights and the man she thought she’d known, hoping
to stop the absurd hunt. “Wait!” she yelled again, bursting through
the hole that the men had made in the crowd and up to the
forest.

Olea made it into the woods following the
horse tracks, discarding Bo’s belongings by the edge. “I can’t
carry these things fast enough, Bo, I’m sorry. They’ll be there,”
she muttered as she continued to run. She followed the trail of
destruction the horses left behind in the forest at a pace she knew
she couldn’t keep, hoping with all of her heart that Bo wouldn’t be
caught and quartered before she got to him.

***

Bo’s heart pounded as he ran just fast enough
to keep ahead of the horses. That was the good thing his mother
gave him, he’d always thought; the speed to get away from those who
saw his defect and desired to rip him apart as if he were some
beast. As far as he was concerned, it was the human race that was
the beast—if something was unfavorable or difficult to understand,
they lashed out to kill it just the same.

Bo raced through the bushes and over rocks
and branches, finding the narrowest routes he could to try and stop
the horses. But they were relentless. The knights were fox hunters,
and Bo was the prize that they would stop at nothing to gain and
destroy.

He remembered well the first time he had been
chased like this. He had been no more than eight. A village mother
had seen his arm and had shouted about a monster trying to attack
her son. Then she had pointed at him. And from there, the hunt was
on. The village had picked up every torch and sharp blade it had,
hoping to destroy him. Bo had only wanted to have a playmate.
Living with his fox-demon mother and seeing the boy play with
parents that looked like him, Bo had wanted to join. But he’d left
his arm uncovered, despite his mother’s warnings, unperturbed
himself by how it appeared. That night he had been chased back to
his mother’s side. At the sight of the villagers, she had made
herself look the size of a home and had whipped her nine tails
menacingly. And when she couldn’t scare them off…

Bo had kept his mother, but the village had
paid the price. As soon as he could after that, he left her side,
and she bade him a tearful farewell. But Bo resolved then that he
would find a way to live in coexistence with humans. “I don’t want
anyone else to die because of me,” he had told her, stroking the
tears from her fur.

Now, though, he had no mother to defend him,
and he was going to die.

***

Olea stumbled through the woods, desperately
trying to find the trail that she lost. “Bo!” she cried into the
woods, branches whipping her in the face as she rushed. She finally
stumbled over a root and dug into the ground. Trying for a moment
to get up, she was suddenly tackled by despair and hopelessness.
Olea began to sob then, her feelings washing over her as she curled
into a ball. “Bo…” she wept, “…I’ll never make it. I can’t save
you. I can’t even keep myself from getting lost, let alone stop
Mar.”

Just then, though, Olea heard a muffled
sound. Her gaze shot up and she blinked away the tears in her eyes
to see something she wouldn’t have noticed before; a little home.
It was overgrown with plant life—so much so that it was hardly
recognizable as someone’s dwelling. But there was a little light
shining through the crack of a door.

“
Bo?” Olea whispered,
staggering to her feet with a sniffle. She walked over to the house
and knocked on the grassy door, the sound echoing in the
woods.

Soon the door was opened by a lithe, young
woman. “Yes?” she said in a kind voice, gray eyes scanning Olea in
a way that betrayed her tone. Her hair was a silvery white, and she
wore a simple dress adorned with flowers and herbs. She smelled of
them as well.

“
I’m looking…for a man
named Boelik,” Olea choked.

“
I’m sorry, I don’t know
anyone by that name,” the woman said. “But come in. You seem like
you’ve been through quite the ordeal.”

Olea shook her head. “No, I can’t. I have to
help him.”

The woman gave her a quizzical look, cocking
her head slightly and raising an eyebrow. “What for?”

“
The prince thinks he’s
some monster, and so Boelik is being hunted by him right
now.”

“
And is he a
monster?”

Olea paused. “He has a strange arm. But Bo is
no monster.”

“
And?” the woman pried,
sensing something more.

“
And I love
him.”

The woman smiled. “Now, that is worth my
help. My name is Helena. Come in, and we’ll see how I can help
you.”

Olea stepped in tentatively, and Helena
closed the door. There were workbenches and strange herbs and
liquids in vials scattered through the house. The house itself had
a hundred different scents that assaulted Olea’s nose.

“
So, do you know where he
might be?” Helena asked, going over to a shelf filled with the
vials, lifting and turning some to better inspect their
contents.

“
No, I lost the trail some
while back.”

“
Well, then I have just the
thing,” Helena said, bringing over a golden liquid in a small
gourd-shaped vial. “Hold this, please.”

“
Okay,” Olea said,
carefully taking the bottle between her hands.

Helena grabbed a long, twisted stick from
where it leaned against a workbench.

“
Why are you bringing a
stick?”

“
Staff,” Helena corrected.
“I’m a white witch, dear.” She walked over to Olea’s side and held
her around the waist. “Now, drink the vial and imagine your Bo on
his given path. We should appear a few strides ahead of him, so be
prepared to step aside.”

Olea looked over at her and nodded, uncorking
the vial and downing it. She closed her eyes and envisioned Bo. A
breeze churned around her and there was a bout of nausea for a
moment, and then both were gone. Opening her eyes, she and Helena
instantly parted as Bo ran through them, skidding to a stop.

“
Olea?” he exclaimed,
breathless, whipping around.

“
Bo!” she cried, throwing
her arms around him. He started at her touch.

“
What are you doing here?”
he asked as he refrained from returning the embrace.

“
Helping you. This is
Helena; she helped me find you.”

Helena did a little wave as Bo peered over at
her. “Hello. Now, I believe we have a prince to throw off?” Bo and
Olea separated and nodded. “All right then. Now, hide behind those
bushes, both of you,” she commanded, pointing to some bushes next
to a broad tree. “I’ll be up in the branches of this tree. Don’t
come out until I tell you to, and then seem as threatening as you
can.”

“
What are you going to do?”
Bo asked.

“
I’m going to shake a
powder from my staff that I mixed to scare off troublemakers. It
makes a person see anything as its most horrifying possibility. For
example, I would seem a horrid black witch,” Helena said with a
mischievous smirk.