Chapter 8
advice on letting one’s guard down
Annika woke up fairly early the next morning but didn’t open her eyes right away. Instead she opened her ears and listened to the birds singing outside her bedroom window. For a moment she thought she heard Vince scrambling around the house, trying to get ready for another day of chasing bugs in the countryside of Bulgaria. But her ears had deceived her, and her eyes were met with a grand quilt over her body and tapestries that hung on the walls.
She stepped onto the cold stone floor and walked to the window. The bright yellow sunshine was blinding, and it promised to be another beautiful day like the one before. A wool cardigan had mysteriously appeared on the table overnight, and after pulling it on and stopping by the bathroom she made her way into the empty kitchen.
Is it really that late? Maybe I do sleep like a bear in winter, she wondered as she looked around. The air was sweetened by the dried herbs that hung overhead. She walked around the room, exploring and touching everything curiously. There was a large sink with a water pump beside it, and the black hearth needed to be cleaned. The dishes from last night were clean and piled in a massive drying rack on the counter, and a ceramic pitcher of fresh milk sat on an island in the middle of the cooking area. A high-pitched shriek broke the silence followed by a giggle, announcing the arrival of the children with Anthea chasing after them.
“Good morning,” Annika said as Sloan toddled up to her leg and Stella hopped around her, meowing like a cat.
“I’m sorry. Playing kitties is her new favorite game ever since the stable cats had kittens,” Anthea apologized. Her hair had come loose and she’d given up trying to pin it back into place.
“It’s okay,” she said, crawling on her hands and knees to mew back at Stella. “I used to baby-sit a lot growing up. They seem really well-behaved.” Anthea laughed, putting her hair in place.
“If you still think that after being here a full day, let me know. It would be nice to take a nap like my lazy little brother does so often.”
“I’ll let you know, don’t worry,” Annika smiled.
“Did you have breakfast yet?”
“No I just woke up.”
“Lucky you. Well, here…” she said, and walked over to a smaller cauldron in the hearth. After spooning some oatmeal into a small wooden bowl, she poured some of the milk into it and set it on the table beside a honey pot.
“Spoons are in the drawer to the right of the sink.”
“Thanks,” Annika said as she fetched one and sat down at the table. “Hey, this is pretty good!”
“Eat it like a kitty! Eat it like a kitty!” Stella urged in her little voice as her mother set a shallow dish of milk on the floor. The little girl stuck her nose in it and focused on drinking it like a cat until Annika’s spoon was scraping the bottom of an empty bowl.
“I think that’s where the big girls are; in the barn playing with the kittens. Do you know where that is?”
“Yep. Hey, thanks for breakfast Anthea.”
She buttoned up her sweater and ventured outside in the crisp air towards the stable. She saw Finn down at the far end lifting a pitchfork of hay from a wagon in the aisle and tossing into a stall. A round of laughter erupted from nearby, and she turned to see Sariel, Hilda, Runa and Yuri lying in a huge pile of straw, covered by scampering kittens.
“Good morning,” Runa called to her.
“Did you sleep well?” Yuri asked.
“Oh, it was great. The bed’s super comfy.”
“How’s your foot?” Hilda asked, pulling a kitten off her shoulder. “Is it better?” Annika rotated her ankle in a circle and was pleasantly surprised to find it had returned to normal.
“Yeah, it’s just fine.”
“Didn’t you say that you could use your foot as a weapon?” Runa asked. Yuri’s eyes lit up.
“I want to see!” she said. Annika was pleased at the opportunity to finally show off some of her skills.
“Well, one of you has to attack me. I’ll try to go easy on you. I did just wake up, after all.”
“Count me out,” Sariel said.
“Me too. I’m content to watch,” Hilda said with a smile.
“I don’t know if I can attack you. You’re so nice!” Runa pouted. Annika smiled and led them to the lawn outside, where there would be no chance of accidentally stepping on the small, fluffy kittens hiding in the straw.
“Just run at me, or try to grab me. Do anything; I don’t care. I’m probably rusty anyway,” she instructed, planting her feet far apart on the ground. She heard running feet, and then Yuri was grabbing her elbow. With ease, Annika took hold of her arm with her free hand and flipped the tall elven girl right over her back. Yuri landed on a soft bed of grass and leaves just as Runa jumped on her back, trying to tackle her. With expert skill, Annika flung Runa over her just like Yuri. They each tried twice more, but every time they landed on their backs. Finally Runa gave one last run, and was met with a roundabout kick to the chest that sent her flying a few feet back onto the ground.
“Ugh, I can’t even imagine what that would feel like if you weren’t going easy on me!” Runa winced from her spot on the ground. While Annika was surprised by her abilities, she was more concerned about Runa.
“Are you okay?” she asked, kneeling down beside her. Runa smiled weakly, gasping for air.
“I will be,” she wheezed. “I’ll get over it soon enough.” Annika let her lay for a moment, while she caught her breath.
“I didn’t mean to kick you so hard,” she said. But Runa wasn’t mad in the slightest as she waved her hand in dismissal.
“Will you teach me how to do that later?” she squeaked from the ground. Annika laughed and held out a hand to help her up.
“Of course.” Just then a powerful force struck her from the side, sending her to the ground. Strong hands had pinned her wrists close to her ears with her back against the ground, and there was Talvi, gloating over her.
“Are you really that proud that you’ve tackled a woman almost half your size?” she asked him. “Because I know I’m not very impressed.” He frowned a little, but his impish grin returned as he leaned down close to her face.
“I’m just trying to keep you on your toes. You let your guard down; that was your mistake. The next time you do that around me, you may not be so lucky to have an audience to save you,” he said in a soft whisper that only she could hear. She grinned and nodded in total agreement. “Or perhaps you don’t mind having an audience?” he asked in a very low voice.
“Actually, I prefer it,” she challenged, laying on a thick dose of flirtatious charm. She pulled her knees up towards her chest, brushing the sides of his torso with them. His eyes widened, thinking she was going to wrap her legs around him. He dipped his head down to touch her lips and that’s when she pushed her feet with all her strength against his hipbones, sending him flying backwards. She jumped to her feet and heard Finn, Runa, and Hilda roaring with laughter. Even Yuri and Sariel couldn’t contain themselves.
“I’m just trying to keep you on your toes, Talvi!” Annika sang playfully as he stood up, brushing dried grass and leaves off his shirt and pants. He wore an unusual expression, a combination of chagrin and intrigue. He was at a loss for words as the laughter died down, and he gave an arrogant toss of his head before walking back into the house. After a few congratulatory remarks, Finn hauled a burlap target from out of the barn and left the girls to their archery practice. Yuri shared her bow with Annika, giving pointers here and there, and although she said nothing about her weapon’s girth, she did insist that Annika keep her legs apart.
“Once you get really good, we’ll try it from horseback. If you can’t shoot from a horse, you’re in trouble,” she said, then sunk an arrow slightly off center of the target.
“That doesn’t sound like something I’d need to worry about. When’s the last time you were in a situation where you needed to shoot something from horseback?” Annika asked her. “I
t’s not like you go hunting. Aren’t you vegetarian?”
“Yes, but one time Talvi and I ran into a handful of maenads, and it got a little messy.”
“Maenads? What are those?”
“They’re some of the nastiest demons around,” Yuri shuddered. “They’re as mad as they are deadly. They poison their bodies to the point of insanity with alcohol and other substances, and then mutilate anything or anyone that crosses their path. Sometimes they’ll lure you close with a song or a dance, but they’re like piranhas—they’ll rip you to shreds.”
“That’s messed up. Are they common around here?”
“Not at all. They’re much farther west,” she said offhandedly while she brought another arrow from the quiver at her side. “I’m so glad Talvi was with me that day or we never would’ve made it back alive. It was terrible.” Annika lowered her bow and looked at her curiously.
“What happened? What did he do?”
Yuri grew quiet as she positioned her arrow and pulled back on the bowstring.
“I’d rather not go into detail about what he did.” Annika watched as she released the string and pierced the target with a perfectly clean shot. “Like I said, it got messy.”