The Comyenti Series Book Bundle, Volume 1 and 2 (Epic Romantic Supernatural Fantasy)

by Natasja Hellenthal

  ‘My name is Sula, not Miss Sula!’ she snarled back.

  ‘We always regard young women as 'Miss' in these parts. I apologise if I’ve offended you in any way. Where do you come from, if I may ask?’

  ‘How many people are there here anyway?’ She ignored his last question and made light conversation in order to distract him from any more unwanted questions.

  ‘In my village? Not many. It’s quite modest; you’ll see.’

  Soon enough they came across a low slope of a valley scattered with birch trees. About twenty round houses with thatched roofs were spread here and there. It looked cosy, especially with the smoke plumes rising from the chimneys and the orange lights behind the small glass windows. It gave Sula a sudden warm feeling around her heart; a feeling she had not felt in ages. It surprised her but then the sounds that she heard somehow made this village feel a little sad as well.

  From one of the houses she heard a baby crying and from behind her, in the surrounding woods, a tree scraping heavily against another, moaning.

  Symbols, all symbols! she thought wearily.

  Chapter 3 Hunger

  They ambled past most of the brown-grey round houses with the sound of their feet crunching in the snow until he apologised for the slightly steep hill they had to climb. Felix went a little ahead and glanced back, reaching out his hand for her but she refused his help. She didn’t seem to be struggling much, so he went on. It seemed that his house was on the top.

  Felix stopped when they reached the brow of the hill and announced, ‘This is where I live,’ as he pointed to a small cottage. It was dark inside, but Sula felt relieved it was on the outskirts of the village, overlooking it. ‘We don’t have an inn because there’s hardly ever a traveller in these parts and if any ever pass through then we offer them our hospitality. You met me!’

  ‘I don’t have much choice do I?’ she replied half-heartedly.

  He grinned widely at her showing his white teeth, ‘Nope.’ It was the grin of a boy; fresh and honest and it made her feel regretful. Intuitively she felt she could trust him and if not she always had the wolf inside of her.

  ‘A blizzard is coming, we must hurry,’ she stated confidently when she looked at the heavy dark sky while narrowing her eyes against the whirling snowflakes. Her warm breath circled like smoke from her mouth. Felix had his back turned to her for a moment. The thought crossed her mind to use this opportunity to go into a Mindmode. She concentrated on the giant-winged albatross that could glide in windy conditions perfectly for hundreds of miles with scarcely a wing-beat. Visualising its large wings, the biggest wings of any bird, she knew she had to make use of a steep cliff to take off to simply tumble into the air and then use the wind to glide on. The albatross wouldn’t do in this moment of time. The goose might, but it could prove to be dangerous to fly right into a storm and then change into the albatross. Before she had the strength to do anything and risk exposure, Felix glanced back at her for a brief moment as if he felt her hesitation.

  He fiddled with the door handle and glanced at the sky with piercing eyes. He, being a farmer and herdsman, knew a lot about weather predictions by looking at the behaviour of animals and even plants. In the summer it was a lot easier though, when there were swallows that would fly high when it was going to be clear skies and sunny and fly low when it was going to rain. Bees would be returning to their hives when a thunderstorm was on its way and most flowers would close their petals and some even their leaves when rain was due.

  Now, with many of the animals in hibernation and flowers absent, he just had the clouds and the sky to look at. For Felix, and most farmers like him, it was almost impossible to predict the weather in wintertime. Although Felix’s mother would claim that she could feel a tingling up her spine when it was going to snow, and she was usually right. Perhaps Sula had something similar. He’d always known women were more sensitive to these things anyway.

  ‘Maybe you’re right.’

  She opened her mouth to say that she was right, but snapped it shut again just in time. He just stared into her eyes for a moment and was startled by the life in them. She looked away quickly but he thought he had seen them change shades from jade to emerald with orange specks!

  He decided it must have been his imagination. His parents always told him he had too much of that.

  Felix opened the door and out of respect let her in first. She cautiously stepped inside. She hoped he lived alone for she was not up to facing yet another curious talkative human.

  Then he closed the door behind them, hung his coat and scarf on a hook on the wall and put his axe in one corner next to the door and walked straight to the fireplace opposite the entrance to build the fire up from the smouldering coals. His blond locks came almost down to his shoulders.

  It was then that she saw two cats lying curled up on a couple of pillows before the fire; one was grey and the other a black and brown striped one.

  Of course…Sula thought.

  They greeted Felix enthusiastically by rubbing their furry bodies against his legs. She heard him talking softly to them with warmth in his voice.

  He used a lit stick to light some candles that were spread along the walls. It grew warmer and light in the house within no time.

  When Felix turned to face her he found her standing at the very place he’d left her, with her cloak still dripping wet.

  ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, where are my manners?’ he said uneasily and took her heavy leather bag from her. As he turned and placed it near the warm fire to dry it out she noticed he was indeed young, in his early or mid twenties with a slim and toned gracious body; perhaps a bit on the skinny side. He wore a dark blue woollen jumper and brown breeches. His blond hair was longer than she had ever seen on a man. It suited him very well.

  ‘Small as it is, you must be a lumberjack to have carried this rucksack. Are you carrying stones in there?!’ Felix grunted when he had dropped the bag, glancing from her bag to her.

  She just stared at him and when she did not respond he bit his lip and added softly, ‘That was a joke.’

  Sula saw how neatly and cosily he had decorated his small house. There was only one big round window with blue curtains by the bed with a dark brown cover. Next to his bed was the fireplace with a comfy big orange woollen cushion and some smaller red ones. Left of the fireplace was a large wooden chest with tiny carved wooden figurines. In the middle of his house was a small round chestnut table with two chairs. Right of the entrance, where Sula stood, was a book case filled with many books. Her eyes grew bigger, for she’d always loved stories. Perhaps because of the history of her people and her search, but she had always been intrigued to hear tales of long ago, even as a small child.

  Several sheep skins covered most of floor. Sula looked in disgust at them. Felix who had stared at her while she was studying his house interpreted it right away. She had had the same look on her face when he had told her he was trying to catch fish. He seemed to be able to read her facial expressions and could understand them at once.

  ‘Don’t worry. The sheep died, but not at my hands, or the hands of the villagers.’

  She was stunned that he knew what she was thinking but managed to respond, ‘How then?’

  He sighed, ‘A wolf mauled three of them about a year ago. The sheep were part of my parent’s flock,’ he assured her with sadness in his eyes. ‘The last sheep they had kept in fact. It’s just goats now. My dad is too old to go up with them into the mountains, so I took over last year. We’ve got twelve goats and I’m protecting them with my life.’

  Sula nodded sombrely, wondering what had happened to the wolf. She too tried to only use fur and leather from animals that had died from natural causes for her clothes and gear. And only then because there were not many alternative materials suitable for her rough lifestyle. She went through too many clothes in a short space of time and had tried many materials but found that leather and fur were still the best. Unfortunately for her, as she loved animals, she hated t
he fact she had to wear their dead skins. But she supposed it was also a way to make use of something that would have gone to waste otherwise. Wearing their shells also made her feel less lonely.

  How pathetic am I? she thought at that.

  Sula looked at the loam walls which were painted in a soft yellow pastel, like a warm autumn day. She immediately loved the smell in this house; sweet and earthy with the burning of pine and birch wood.

  ‘Very tasteful,’ she nodded approvingly.

  ‘Why, thank you,’ Felix beamed proudly at the compliment, which he knew didn’t come easily. He spread his arms wide. ‘It might not be a castle, but it’s what I call home,’ and he walked over to her and their eyes met when he added, ‘For what is a home if you can’t relax in it?’

  Sula avoided his stare, instead fiddled with the brooch on her cloak.

  I wish I had something like this, she thought but just nodded. Then I would stay a while.

  ‘Now, try to relax and warm yourself by the fire. May I take your cloak?’

  Sula suddenly felt very vulnerable and tired as she unbuttoned her heavy wet cloak with numb fingers, shaking her head. He went on with tidying his house at her refusal which he took for granted. There were several books and carpenter tools spread about all over the house. She slowly took off her gloves and hood and made sure her long brown wavy hair covered her pointed ears; unmistakably inhuman.

  The cats had discovered her and the grey one came to examine her first. Sula held out a hand to stroke its back and the cat whirled around her legs, purring and rubbing its head flirtatiously against her.

  When Felix finished tidying and turned around to glance at Sula again, her remarkable beauty stunned him. As if struck by lightning he stood in awe. Never in his life had he seen anyone like her. He could not guess her age for some reason; she could have been in her early twenties, but something in her eyes and the way she acted told him she had to be older. Her wavy long hair was a blending of dark brown and almost black and fell around her face and shoulders like waves. Her skin was like a bronze pearl, her mouth a rose and her eyes...mysteriously sometimes dark jade and the next moment emerald...

  Yes, they had again changed colour and it wasn’t his imagination or the light that shone in them. No, it were her eyes themselves or rather her mood it seemed.

  He walked over as in a trance, took her cloak from her and couldn’t help but stare at the rest of her. She wore dark-brown tight suede leggings with black knee high boots and a long moss green woollen tight fitting tunic, with a leather purple sleeveless vest lined with scarlet.

  Men's clothes but very suitable for travelling in weather like today.

  They did suit her very well; matching her eyes and hair. He noticed with his observing eyes that she was slender, athletically built, but unmistakably feminine. It made him feel drunk. She was so stunning that he almost dropped her weighty wet cloak on the floor in wonder.

  Sula didn’t notice him staring because she had fallen in love with the two cats both whirling about her.

  ‘I see they like you,’ Felix said with an astonished voice.

  ‘They probably treat everyone like that,’ she responded with the kindest voice he had heard from her so far.

  ‘Actually no! Usually they are a bit shy at first but this is quite rare. They really do like you.’

  Sula knelt to touch their soft fur.

  ‘That one is Wave,’ he pointed to the grey female cat. ‘And this one is called Tiger, no explanation needed.’

  ‘I know,’ she said without thinking, for she could communicate easily with most animals almost instantly; especially mammals and birds. More so after a full Mindmerge, and the two cats had just told her their given human names.

  ‘What?’ Felix said confused.

  ‘I said…,’ she remarked quickly, a little flushed, ‘Hello.’

  He looked suspiciously at her, cocking his head, while she sat on the floor, trying in vain to remove her boots. Her hurt shoulder ached and her body was too weak.

  ‘Here, let me help you.’ He leaned towards her, held her foot, and pulled her first boot off with a little effort. Whilst trying to remove the second Felix fell backwards and laughed while lying stretched out on his floor. His laughter was contagious so much that Sula had to turn her face to hide her smile behind her hair. She still felt cold but had thawed a little whilst she sat near the hissing and popping fire. At last she could start to feel the blood returning to her face, so that her cheeks turned hot and red. She touched the side of her head and felt her ears getting warmer too, underneath her hair and made sure she covered them.

  ***

  Felix warmed up some soup for both of them.

  It had been a long time since Sula had stayed in a house.

  “We are not born to live our lives in houses,” her mother had always said and Sula understood that very well. The immense sense of freedom and space she felt when she travelled could never be beaten by staying between four walls in one single place for every season; let alone several years. To feel at home outside, almost everywhere she went; be it mountains, woods or plains being a part of her. The adventure of it all and thrill of not always knowing where she would lay down her head for the night would always pull her back. But somehow it was nice and familiar to be here and she would try to enjoy it while it lasted. Looking into the dancing flames, she suddenly saw the beautiful face of her mother who died from a serious fever twenty years before. She still missed her terribly.

  ‘I myself have travelled some,’ Felix interrupted her thoughts as they moved to the table to eat their hot soup while the cats were running around the room after a little ball of wool. ‘But at this time of year I prefer to stay close to home unlike my twin sister.’

  ‘Of course.’

  When she didn’t comment further, Felix left it at that; assuming she was too weary to listen to his or his sister’s adventures. He had wanted to impress her with his tales, not tire her.

  ‘What about you? And what are you doing in Northland at this time of year?’

  ‘Like I said, just passing through,’ she answered plainly and he nodded politely, taking the hint.

  Sula savoured the soup and ate it with delight whilst glaring at Felix for eating his so fast. She suddenly remembered he had talked about hunger in this village and she ceased eating.

  ‘I don’t want to be any trouble to you,’ she began staring at her bowl, avoiding his eyes.

  ‘You are not,’ he responded questioningly.

  ‘But you already have so little to spare and-’

  ‘Look,’ he sighed. ‘I don’t know how they treat visitors where you come from but here we share everything, even if we have little. I think it only fair, and besides…’ he glanced shyly at her and bit his lower lip. ‘I love the company. I don’t get that many visitors you know, and certainly not from travellers!’

  She took another spoonful of her potato soup and watched the cats play. ‘I can pay you for the bed and board. I… have some coins.’

  ‘Now you’ve offended me!’ he said while shooting her a look of disdain through narrowed blue eyes with his lips tightly pressed together. She heard him breathing fast while he clenched the bowl of soup firmly in his hands.

  People can do it too…Sula thought, slightly confused, but then she remembered that all animals showed their personalities through their eyes; like mirrors to the soul.

  She stayed calm, for she could really see the hurt in his eyes; not blind anger, and she shot Felix an apologetic glance.

  ‘We will just pretend we didn’t hear that,’ he added softly, looking at the cats, and placed the bowl again to his lips.

  They sat in silence for a while staring at the licking flames like dragons with long tongues spewing fire. What was she doing anyway? She was perfectly able to look after herself, even in a storm, and now she was eating the last of this man’s food!

  ‘I am sorry,’ Sula whispered sadly, at which Felix turned to face her. ‘I realise I’ve not bee
n that kind to you. It’s just…I’m not that used to having company.’

  His eyes grew warmer and he accepted the apology.

  ‘How come?’ But immediately Felix lowered his head in regret. ‘Now I’m sorry,’ he added. ‘Everyone always tell me I ask too much.’ He sighed.

  She smiled at him, a warm soothing broad smile this time, showing her teeth. Her canine teeth were pointy like his, cat like. Sula accompanied the smile with tender bright eyes; the warmest he had seen so far. Felix felt his heart melting like the ice on his doorstep.

  He made her some herbal tea and gave it to her in a homemade ceramic cup.

  ‘I’m just a little tired. I have come a long way,’ she explained to him.

  ‘You have?’ But then he bit his lip angry with himself again, drawing in a sharp breath and slapping his own head. It made Sula laugh again and forget her troubles for the moment. She was also starting to feel better with a full stomach and warm body.

  ‘How much food have you got left?’

  He let go of his breath.

  ‘Me personally; a few onions, apples, carrots, some potatoes, a small piece of cheese and half a loaf of bread. My goats still give a little milk, although during the cold season it’s always less, it’s not a lot. It’s for the children.’

  ‘Didn’t you all build up enough supplies to see you through the winter?’

  ‘We did, all of us. We have a system here; we share the profits of the land. I grow fruit and my goats produce milk and I make cheese. Others grow barley, corn, onions and potatoes. At harvest time, because most people lack the storage space, the majority of the harvest goes into one big stock barn. We normally have enough left to feed the whole village during wintertime. We rely on that barn so much that we build little in terms of supplies in our own homes. And if something happens to that one barn, well… All my apples and cheeses were in there!’ he added upset.