Autumns lie

Smoke rose high into the yellow tinted sky from the large crackling fire - many happy faces sat, swapping stories and eating boar. Joy floated through the crisp autumn air; you never would have guessed that beyond the high wooden walls something unnerving was stirring. Not far from the roaring fire, a young child filled with innocence, curiosity and determination roamed through the long grass - a small dagger in one hand and her eyes set on her prey. A half-pint rabbit sat metres away, but it would only take one mistake for it to go scuttering out of sight. One delicate step at a time she inched closer, and closer.. and closer. "Willow!" A deep gruff voice bellowed - the hope of catching the rabbit vanished into the undergrowth. Standing up with a loud sigh, the child pushed her bushy ginger her out her face and replied moodily "Whaaaaaat?" "Your mother wishes to see you!" The voice yelled back, this voice belonged to a tall man - broad in structure, and rather muscular - an auburn beard resembled a bushy creature attacking the man's face, but behind this messy beard a kind face peered out. "Fine! Tell her I'll be there in a minute!" This seemed like a fair compromise to Willow, after all her mother had just cost her a rabbit, just think of how much she could have gloated about it to all the boys; she a girl, someone they all thought was weak, bested them all by being the first to actually hunt something and kill it while they were all still throwing spears at thin air! This feeling of disappointment struck the bright haired child as she collected up her knife and took one last look at the spot in which her prey at sat moments ago. Head hanging low she made her way towards the hut which she knew her mother would be sitting, waiting for her. Upon entering the rather large mud and straw hut, Willows nose was attacked by the smell of burning flowers - her mother sat on a cloth situated in front of a small flame. "Come my child, your father has been telling me you've been trying to hunt again." Although her voice soft, her deep green eyes glared into Willows very soul. Willow and her mother shared the same elegant beauty, although Willow's may have been hidden under some layer of dirt. Both had the same slender face, deep green eyes and freckles adorned their noses, the main difference being Willows bright ginger hair, her mother's on the other hand now resembled the colour of fresh snow. "I'm sorry mother, it was just for fun!" The child exclaimed in her defence - this didn't shift the disapproval from her mother's face. "There is no time for fun my child, you do understand who you are? Who you are meant to be? You are the next leader of this tribe! The fate of this colonie rests on your shoulders! You have no time for fun." Chuckling came from outside the hut, after this great speech the kind faced man from earlier entered. "No time for fun? My dear! Our daughter is only young, she can worry about the tribe when me and you have passed, and from what I can tell me and you are still very much alive!" He chuckled once more and snuck a quick wink to Willow, who replied with a small but grateful smile. " Besides, she must learn to hunt one way or another, if she is to become a strong leader she must learn to provide for herself!" "No! No! No! She is a lady! She must learn to act like one, only then may she find a suitable mate who will do all the hunting for her. I will not have my child doing a man's job when she needs to learn the art of magic and healing!" The mother protested, fire seemed to dance in eyes as she stared at her husband, his smile did not waver as he came to sit down with the two ladies. "Your way of thinking is old my love, you know as well as I do the gods are getting restless, magic and healing won't protect us when the creatures of the abiss come storming our little village!" Even when talking about monsters invading, his smile never dipped - confidence seemed to glow from every inch of him. While this was enough to convince Willow she was right, her mother seemed less than impressed. "Perhaps, Solveig, you should go outside and talk to the men, I hear them singing and as it's getting dark we don't want them attracting unwanted visitors." With this final say from his wife, he knew it was time to take his leave. The sky outside was turning a dark navy and the drunken tunes of the guards could be heard loud and clear. Standing up, he picked up a large bear skin cloak from a hand crafted table and swung it over his broad shoulders. He turned to his wife and dipped his head, a small smile upon his lips, he glanced at his daughter before turning to leave. Just before the father reached the door way, he stopped turned to his daughter once more and spoke. "Oh, by the way, I had the black Smith make you something, a little gift I hope you'll treasure and find useful." And with this final word he left and disappeared into the darkness. Willow began to rise from the spot which she has perched when her mother caught her by the arm. "I know we do not see eye to eye, but please my child, listen to me - I want what's best for you, to keep you safe and protect you. The best thing for you to do is to follow my path, become a healer, learn magic for the greater good - you have a gift in your blood so many wish to obtain!" She stared into her daughter's eyes, no longer with the fearce scowl but a look of absolute sincerity. Willow sighed before breaking lose from her mother's grasp - she knew she was lucky, she knew she had power many have killed trying to obtain, but a part of her just wanted to grow up normal or just become another soldier, she didn't want to lead a tribe, she didn't want play this role planned out for her.