The Origin Story and Nancy's Affection
1136 Words
It was morning, birds were heard chirping, and the voices of children playing outside the mud house.
Nancy is not used to these beautiful morning greetings of Mother Nature, instead, throughout her night, she heard howls and barks before it was morning.
This was a new day for her. “Why do people wake up so early around here?”, she wondered. Still not having enough of her sleep, Nancy decided to step outside.
She met up with the people who were friendly to her but there was one person she didn't find, the archer.
She wants to see him as she wants to know more about what she felt after gazing at him for moments the day before.
Nancy found the old woman and walked to her. She was sitting on a log as if she was waiting for Nancy's arrival.
“Have you taken anything in?” the old woman asked as Nancy approached.
“I'm not hungry” Nancy replied. “ I couldn't sleep well last night”, she said as she positioned herself on the log the old woman was sitting on.
“This is no better than my couch back in the castle”, she said to herself.
Nancy: At the pack, we eat a lot of meat and that has grown to be my choice of food.
The old woman reached for something from the leaf bag she had beside her. It was a bowl of soup.
“Take this, it will make you feel better,” the old woman said, as she handed the bowl of soup to Nancy.
Nancy gratefully took the bowl and gulped down its contents. She wiped her mouth with her arm. “A napkin would have been better!” she thought to herself.
After drinking a calabash of stream water, Nancy continued her search for her pack's history from the old woman.
Nancy: Before you tell me about the rest of the story, how did you know I was the daughter of the Alpha when I got here?
Old woman: I was on the hill meditating when I heard murmuring sounds down the village, I decided to check out as the wise chief of the village. We Nomads are kind-hearted.
Nancy nodded attentively. Undisturbed, the old lady continued,
Old woman:I got into the midst of the crowd and they paved the way for me to walk through. I got closer and saw you lying deathlike on the ground.
As a sacred rule of our village, no outsider is allowed. I wanted to let the soldiers do away with you when I realized something about you.
Nancy gulped a couple of saliva in relief.
Old woman: You had a lot of hairs on your skin which was very rare in our surroundings.
“Could it be”, I thought to myself as I gently stood low to check the color of your eyeball.
I flipped your eye cover open and I saw the color of your eyeball. It looked like that of Zika.
I immediately knew that the time had come. I ordered the men to carry you to my hut and ordered a pair of my women to get me some herbs, blueberries, and pelican flowers for medicine.
The pelican flowers reduced the pain in your body rapidly and healed you.
Nancy: Really? I still felt pain in my head and lower back when I woke up!
Old woman: That's because you are a wolf blood. And what did I tell you about what pelican flowers do to werewolves?
“They repel wolf blood,” Nancy said as she nodded her head understandably.
Old woman: Yes!
Just when she was about to start the story about Nancy's origin, Khalood was seen approaching and Nancy blushed.
Khalood: Grandmother, the job has been done. I led a few of our women to plant pelican flowers in the north to replace the ones destroyed by the flood.
Old woman: Very well my lad.
The old woman noticing Nancy's undivided attention gaze on Khalood, pretended to leave,
“I have a meeting to attend to, you two can have some time together,” she said as she walked gently out of their sight.
After what seemed like moments of silence, Khalood decided to throw the first stone.
Khalood: How is your pain? Hope your body is getting better.
Nancy: I'm still trying to get the hang of all the effects of the pelican flower on my body.
Khalood sat on the log to have a longer relationship with the lady. Khalood's heart was not that of a bud to be easily opened by the sunshine. He was neutral in his relationship with people and spent most of his time in the woods.
He is the only one the chief of the village entrusts to battle, and to handle the dangers in the woods all alone.
Nancy made sure to get the words out of her mouth romantically so she wouldn't ruin what looked like her first date.
Khalood: I heard you are half wolf blood. Grandmother told me.
“Unfortunately,” Nancy said, disgusted.
Khalood: I find it amazing to be that kind of a being.
Nancy: Easier for you to say, I can't even transform into a werewolf at night. If I try howling at full moon, my skqin hairs will just stand up straight and be visible like goosebumps.
Khalood gave a short laugh as he was amused by Nancy's description of her inability to transform into a werewolf at full moon.
Nancy smiled back. She recalled beautiful times she had with her parents at the open field of their castle. She hadn't smiled with a similar countenance as she just did listening to Khalood's remarks about her inability to transform into a werewolf.
“This boy is special “ she beautifully thought to herself and caught every movement Khalood made sitting next to her.
Curious about knowing more of her charming archer, Nancy asked,
“Where are your parents?
Khalood: My parents were killed a long time ago when I was only eight months old. I was fortunate to be found by my grandmother at the back of a cedar tree crying.
This incident happened during the great famine when the wolves attacked. She has been taking care of me since then.
When I was 11, I showed interest and talent in archery. My grandmother recruited me in the village soldiers and that was how I became an archer.
I wasn't the best on the first try, it took 5 years of hitting the wrong target to be the most accurate archer in the village.
So don't give up because you can't transform, find a way.
Nancy, encouraged by Khalood's words, nodded her head and promised to always keep on trying…
- Writer
