Calm Before the Storm
1247 Words
Oliver POV
It was still dark when I woke up, probably around 5am, as the moon was nearly over the horizon. I slept on the floor again last night, our house only has one small bed which, more often than not, my brother sleeps in. As the oldest, it’s my job to take care of my brother, Luke, letting him get the prime sleeping spot being one of the many responsibilities I must bare.
It isn’t uncommon for me to wake up this early, the earlier you wake up, the more chance you have of getting bread from the bakery and fresh meat from the butcher further into the village before they sell out. The early bird gets the worm, people like to say.
Working as a blacksmith apprentice can only get me so much money, I can usually only buy one loaf and some pork for the entire week, so it’s imperative I store our food in the cellar as fast as possible for safe keeping and to ensure a long shelf life.
I hear my bones crack as I stand up to stretch, I swear, for being 16, it sure feels like I live in the body of a 60 year old. I can’t help but chuckle as I look down at the sorry excuse of a bed behind me, consisting of a blanket and an old pillow. I guess I was a bit too loud as I heard Luke shift in his bed.
“Olvie?”
“I’m sorry Luke, I didn’t wake you up did I?”
“Is it time to get up already?”
“No, I just need to go get our food, I won’t be gone for long, ok? You can go back to sleep.”
“Ok, don’t take too long.”
“I won’t.”
I picked up my blanket off the floor and walked over to Luke. Placing the blanket over his small form, I listened to his breathing, waiting for him to fall back asleep before I left to go into the village.
Our house was quite small, compared to the multiple roomed houses that populated the majority of the village, our house was more like a one room hut. I wasn’t able to afford much furniture so all we had was a bed, dresser, and a dining table. I cooked outside, where we had a small fire pit and a well. It wasn’t much, but it was livable. Our house was on the outskirts of the village so it took me around a 10 minute walk to get to the market.
Our village was a quaint one, consisting of mainly humans with a small population of witches and dwarfs. Being the only village for days, we often kept to ourselves. I liked it here because it was quiet, and the villagers were nice and excepting of my kind.
Making my way through the market, I was hit with the best smell in the whole wide world, freshly baked bread.
“Good morning Oliver! You’re right on time, I just finished baking our last batch of the day.”
“Good morning Mrs. Alwyn! I’ll have my regular please, one loaf of your delectable rye bread.”
“Of course hun, I’ll pick out a nice big one for you.”
As she walked to the back of her shop, I couldn’t help myself from drooling over the breads and pastries scattered on the counter; cakes and pies, strudels and tarts, I’ve never seen such a beautiful site.
“Here you go sweetheart, the biggest one in the batch, still nice and warm.”
“Thank you! I also wanted to ask if you had any leftover firewood from this morning?”
“I sure do, I’ll be right back.”
The bread warmed my hands as I held it, attacking me with its sweet scent. It nearly killed me that I couldn’t take a bite out of it right away. A loud thump on the counter pulled me out of my trance.
“I was able to scavenge 6 logs for you hun, is that enough?”
“That’s more than enough! Thank you again Mrs. Alwyn! Here’s the 3 coin for the bread.”
“No problem, let me know if you need anything else.”
“I will!”
I walked out of the bakery with a spring in my step, carrying enough wood for a couple weeks, I wouldn’t have to worry about traveling far to chop wood like I had previously planned. I walked past many other stands and stores, selling woodcarvings to roasted nuts, the market gave me an odd sense of belonging. My attention was drawn to a stand I’ve never seen before, beautiful rock engravings littered the shelves and countertop. My eyes stopped at a small piece of petrified wood with the engraving of a fox.
“Anything catch your eye young man?”
An older gentleman with white hair looked up at my with a gentle smile.
“These a beautiful, how did you make them?”
“A sharp knife is all I need, I’ve been engraving these said rocks for decades.”
“How much for the fox?”
“Well, as it’s my first time seeing a fox shifter in person, I’ll give that to you free of charge.”
“Really?”
“Of course! It’s quite small anyway, I can whip up another one with my eyes closed.”
“Thank you! Ummm, I’m sorry sir, I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting you, what is your name?”
“Hahaha! I’m Ezra, Ezra Badden.”
“Well thank you so much Mr. Badden! I’m Oliver.”
“Nice to meet you Oliver. I shall be leaving before sunset, if fate allows it I hope to see you again someday.”
“If fate allows it.”
After giving my farewells, I continued towards the butcher, a smile growing on my face as I neared the stand.
“Good morning Mr. Lannister!”
“Oh good morning Oliver! You here for some more pork?”
“Yes sir!”
“I got some good fat this morning, I know how you like to make tallow for your cooking.”
“If you’re willing to give it to me as well, I would love to have it!”
“Of course my son, it would just be given to the dogs if you didn’t claim it. The regular amount of pork I assume?”
“Yes sir. Thanks again for the fat! Here’s the five coin for the pork.”
“You have a good day now. I’ll see tomorrow.”
“You too, bye!”
With the wood in one hand and food in the other, it was time to head back home. I took longer than I thought I would, I hope Luke isn’t too hungry.
“AHHHHHHH!”
A loud scream shook me to my core, causing me to loose my grip on the wood, sending it crashing down to the ground. I frantically scanned my surroundings, my eyes stopping at the rock engraving stand I was at before, where did the old man go? A pound crash, followed by screaming told me that something was undoubtedly wrong. A group of men ran into the street from the shadows of the village, attacking those within. Dropping the food in my hands, I could only think of one thing, Luke.
- Writer
