Darque Wants (52 page)

*****

              Kirrowind woke up before the sun that morning.  He had barely slept the night before due to the excitement.  For 14 long years, he had been waiting for this day.  Lillian was finally of age to join on her first hunt.  It was something that he had been looking forward to since the day she was born.  He crawled out of bed as gently as possible to avoid waking Katrina.  In the darkness, he could make out the faint outlines of Katrina's form and he smiled looking at her sleeping so peacefully. 

              Silently, he walked to the other side of the house to Lillian's room.  He walked into her bedroom and crept to her bedside without making a sound.  Softly, he put a hand on her shoulder and shook her to bring her out of her sleep.

              “Lillian, wake up,” he whispered as he lit a candle on the table near her bed to illuminate the room. 

              “Nope, too early,” Lillian mumbled pulling the blanket over her head to block out the light.

              “Come daughter, today is the day,” Kirrowind whispered pulling the blankets back down. 

              Immediately, Lillian shot up.  Her eyes opened wide and she smiled.  Kirrowind knew that Lillian had been looking forward to this day for a long time, nearly as long as he had.

              “It's the first hunt of spring!” Lillian shouted with excitement.

              “Quiet, Lillian.  Your mother is still sleeping.  Get dressed and I will prepare breakfast,” Kirrowind said appreciating his daughter's anticipation.

              “I'll meet you in the kitchen in five minutes, father,” Lillian said rolling out of bed.

              Kirrowind left the room to allow Lillian to get dressed and ready for the day.  When he walked into the kitchen he was surprised to see Katrina walking out of the bedroom.

              “I'm sorry, Katrina.  I tried not to wake you up,” Kirrowind said as he walked to the fire place to start a fire.  It was still early in the season and mornings still had the bite of winter in them. 

              “I wasn't really sleeping,” Katrina admitted.  “I'm nervous about today.  Do you really think Lillian is ready to hunt?”

              “Of course she is.  I've been teaching her to hunt since she could walk.  She learned from the best,” Kirrowind bragged.

              “I'm just scared.  What if she gets hurt out there? You know how common it is to get injured on hunts,” Katrina said setting the table for a family breakfast.

              “The entire tribe is going to be there.  I will be by her side the entire time.  Even my father is joining us on the hunt.”

              “Your father? I thought he gave up hunting after he broke his leg two winters ago.”

              “He did, but it is Lillian's first hunt and my father wants to be there for this,” Kirrowind said.  “A child's first hunt is it's entrance to adulthood.”

              “I just can't believe our little girl is so grown up,” Katrina said.  “I just wish she had become a Cook.  I was adopted into the Cook tribe, so Lillian had the option to join the Cooks this year.”

              “And be stuck in a kitchen all day? I can't think of anything worse,” Lillian said entering the room and sitting at the table.

              “You are definitely my daughter,” Kirrowind said to Lillian.  “Out in the forest with a bow in my hand is where I was born to be and you certainly seemed to have been born with the same trait.”

              Kirrowind sat at the table next to his daughter.  He could hardly believe how quickly she had grown.  It seemed to him that she was only born yesterday and now she was going on her first hunt.  He adored the way her dark red hair flowed down her back, barely contained by the straps of leather that Lillian used to tie her hair back.  He loved the way her blue eyes reflected his.  Kirrowind stared at her sitting next to him, afraid to look away for even a moment in case she became even more of a woman and he would miss it.

              “I got another letter from my mother yesterday,” Katrina said.  Kirrowind knew that she was trying to change the subject.  Talking about Lillian growing up always caused Katrina to become upset.

              “How is your mother?” Kirrowind asked, playing along for Katrina's sake.

              “She's fine.  She wants to come visit in the summer,” Katrina said as she served breakfast..

              “That would be great,” Lillian added.  “I haven't seen Grandmother in a very long time.  Is Grandfather Pieter going to join her this time?” she asked.

              “I really doubt it,” Kirrowind interjected.  “He hates coming down here.  He says it's too 'savage' in Oldwoods.”

              “Maybe we can go to New Atlantis to visit them after the hunt,” Katrina said hopefully.

              “That would be nice,” Lillian said through a mouthful of food.

              The rest of the meal was quiet.  Kirrowind switched his focus to the upcoming hunt.  He had been leading the hunts for several years now, but each year brought different challenges.  New hunters, new patterns in animal behavior, all of it had to be taken into account.  Now he had the added challenge of watching out for Lillian during the hunt.  As he took his last bite, there was a knock outside the door.  Kirrowind walked towards the doorway and pulled back the hide that covered the entrance way.  He was surprised to see his father standing there.

              “Good morning, Father.  Come on in and sit with us,” Kirrowind said gesturing for his father to enter.  “What brings you here so early?”

              “I'm afraid I have some bad news,” Strotwater said with a frown.

              “What's wrong?” Lillian asked, worried.

              Strotwater walked into the room.  Kirrowind could see how he still limped after he broke his leg two years ago when a wild boar had charged at him.  Taking a seat at the table, Strotwater sighed and looked sadly at Lillian and Kirrowind.

              “I'm afraid that the other Hunters refuse to hunt with Lillian,” Strotwater blurted out.

              “What? Why?” Kirrowind asked, confused.  He looked over to Lillian and saw the blood drain out of her face hearing that news.

              “They all came to me late last night,” Strotwater explained.  “They feel that if Lillian hunts with the tribe, it will bring bad luck to the hunt.  They fear that her mixed heritage is a curse to the tribe.”

              “Lillian is my daughter.  She is your granddaughter.  My wife has been adopted into the Cook tribe.  Lillian is just as Tribal as anyone else in the Valley,” Kirrowind said, struggling to keep his anger under control.

              “So what did you tell them, Grandfather?” Lillian asked, fighting back her own emotions.

              “I told them what your father just told me,” Strotwater told her.  “I told them that you are one of us, but they refused to hunt with you.  They said that if you hunt, they will not.  I told them that I will think on it for a night and I will make a decision by sunrise.  I wanted to speak to you first.”

              “My daughter deserves to hunt.  She is a Hunter by birth and nobody is going to keep her from hunting.  If the other Hunters will not hunt that is their problem.  My daughter and I will hunt without them,” Kirrowind said firmly.

              “My son,” Strotwater said, “you have grown so much these past years, but you are still so young.  You and Lillian cannot provide for the entire village and still provide meat to trade with New Atlantis.”  Strotwater took a deep breath and looked Kirrowind in the eye.  “It pains me to say this, my son, but Lillian cannot hunt.”

              “Why not, Grandfather?” Lillian asked with tears beginning to stream down her face.

              “Lillian when you are older you may understand,” Strotwater said solemnly.  “I am charged with the protection of all Tribals.  Sometimes that means I must do things that I do not enjoy.  Today I had to break my granddaughter's heart and that saddens me deeply.”

              Lillian jumped up from the table and sprinted to her room sobbing the entire way.  Kirrowind slammed his fist on the table in anger.  Katrina followed Lillian to her bedroom and Strotwater sat in silence with that stoic look still plastered to his face.

              “Father, I understand that you have to do what is best for Oldwoods, but my daughter has been looking forward to this her entire life.  What should she do now?  She loves the hunt.  She has been training with me her entire life to become a hunter.  Do you suppose that I should sentence her to the kitchens with her mother? That would be a fate worse than death to her,” Kirrowind shouted.  The anger he felt seeing his daughter in pain was more than he could handle.

              “I cannot tell you how to handle your family.  You are a good father, you will do what is best,” Strotwater said plainly.

              “Perhaps,” Kirrowind said trying to recollect his control over his emotions.  “I'm sure you need to go tell the other Hunters the news.  Good luck, Father.”  Kirrowind turned to join his wife in the effort to console Lillian.  As he walked away he heard his father call after him.

              “I assume you will not be joining us today,” Strotwater said.

              “Not until my daughter is allowed to hunt alongside me and the rest of the tribe,” Kirrowind said without looking back.  As he walked away, Kirrowind knew that as kind as everyone had been to them, deep in their hearts the Tribals refused to accept Lillian.  He wondered how accepted Katrina truly was.  Kirrowind knew that it was his father's job to look out for the Village.  He also knew that it was his responsibility to care for his wife and daughter.  He decided in that moment that if his daughter was going to find happiness and acceptance in the world, it wouldn't be in Oldwoods.  Perhaps the people of New Atlantis would find space in their hearts for her.

              “This seems like a sudden decision,” Katrina told her husband that night in bed when he mentioned moving to New Atlantis.

              “I have thought about this all day,” Kirrowind told her.  “You know that Lillian has never made friends here and after being shunned by the Hunters today, I just don't see why we would stay here.  Our daughter has no place in Oldwoods anymore.”

              “It just seems very hasty.  I don't want our family uprooted just because you are upset right now,” Katrina said.

              “I thought you would be excited to be going back to the palace.  You can be among your own people again.”

              “I am happy,” Katrina said, “but I will miss it here.  I have grown very fond of our lifestyle.  But, I think you are right.  The people here have been polite, but they have clearly not accepted Lillian as one of their own.  Maybe New Atlantis will be a good place for us all to be.”

              “I am not excited about this move,” Kirrowind added.  “I have loved being able to raise our daughter in the forests.  I have loved teaching her to hunt and how to be free.”

              “I know, my love,” Katrina said, understanding.  “But, Lillian is becoming a woman and perhaps she should be in the Royal Court now.  She should learn to be a proper Princess.”

              It was about a half day's walk from their home in Oldwoods to the palace in New Atlantis.  When they arrived Katrina took a deep breath in.  The palace had come a long way in the past 14 years.  What was once a humble castle was now a glorious palace.  The Builder tribe from Oldwoods had been hired by King Pieter to assist in the construction.  Their natural skill with tools and their hard work overshadowed the builders of New Atlantis by far.  King Pieter and Queen Anna were told by the palace guards of their approach and met them by the palace gate.

              “Welcome, Katrina,” Queen Anna said hugging her daughter.  “What brings you all here? We were not expecting a visit.”

              “We have decided to come live here in the palace,” Katrina said simply.

              “And what brings you to that decision?” King Pieter asked.

              “Are you complaining?” Kirrowind asked, sounding rather impolite.

              “It's complicated, but Kirrowind and I have decided that it's time for Lillian to come live in New Atlantis,” Katrina said before a fight erupted between her husband and her father.  “I will explain it all to you both later.”

              “Either way, I'm glad to see you and Lillian here in the palace where you belong,” King Pieter said to Katrina.

              Katrina had hoped that Lillian would adapt to life in the Royal Court, but as time went on it became more and more clear that she was not enjoying palace life.  Lillian had spent too long living the Tribal lifestyle.  She constantly complained about the long dresses that she was now required to wear and fought tooth and nail against wearing shoes.  Table manners were difficult to teach and simple court etiquette that is required of a princess was nearly impossible to teach.  As much as Katrina saw Lillian struggle, she watched Kirrowind struggle ten times as much.