A Beginning and an End
It should have been like any other morning. And at first, it was. The chill in the crisp air cut through her lungs like a scythe. Meredith Brisbane had gotten up before dawn to check on their chickens. Half as many eggs as the last batch, but that was to be expected with the cold and snowfall that had set in over night. After setting the eggs inside their home, packaged and ready for their afternoon delivery as she did every Eiroldas, she set back outside. Her eyes pinched closed, squinting as the sun rose above the hilltop and set the first warmth of the day upon her frostbitten cheeks and the surrounded snow-blanketed landscape. Soft stands of brown hair fell over her brow as she wiped a cold sweat from her forehead and trudged off towards the stable where four horses had poked their heads out in anticipation of fresh hay. But something was different. Her eyes widened, she blinked rapidly as if not believing what she was seeing, and rushed towards the object of her curiosity.
Nestled in the middle of dozens of bales of hay in the entrance to the stable was a basket. Covered in a wool blanket, and twitching. She dropped a careful hand to the blanket and pulled back, heart racing while horses whinnied in the background. What was revealed to her in that moment nearly shattered the poor woman's heart; a baby. A tiny, fragile thing with pink skin and soft red hair matted to the top of it's head. A small necklace with a black and metal ring was wrapped around a piece of parchment sat atop it's blanket-wrapped body. She unwrapped the parchment, it's page sticking to itself and ruined wet from the falling snow. The ink had bled out leaving no legible words except one- Fawn.
Meredith snatched the baby up into her arms, tears in her eyes, and rushed back into her small cottage.
___
Twelve Years Later, 12th of Solace, 110
"But I didn't do it!" It was the first time she had lied.
"FAWN BRISBANE! So help me, child-"
Fawn glared with fire in her eyes up towards her mother whos fingers began to massage her temples. Worry lines had molded themselves on her face like a mountainside, revealing the strain of Meredith's life raising such a stubborn child. The girl, covered in mud with leaves and hay poking out from the mess of her curly red hair, held back salty tears.
"If it wasn't you, then how did you get all that mud on you, hm? Or the hay? You realize without our horses we cannot make a living? Why would you do such a foolish thing?! And how long have the horses been gone?! Your father is out right now fixing your mistake. It doesn't matter how much you wanted to ride today, when I say NO, you listen."
Fawn had opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it as her jaw clenched.
"Fine."
She ran out the front door, as her mother screamed her name behind her. Whether in worry or anger she wasn't sure, but she knew the woman couldn't follow. Two years prior she'd fallen and injured her hip. While yard work had only become minorly inconvenient, running was not an option anymore. And Fawn knew it. The mud beneath her feet from the rainfall the previous night kicked up underneath her boots and coated her calves in even more mud. Adrenaline still rushed through her veins as the girl yanked a halter and lead rope from one of the stall hooks that nearly ripped off it's hinges as she rushed out the back exit and into the forest.
'Horses are herd animals. Find one, find them all. Poppy likes swimming and shade, and she's the leader. So if I follow the river..."
The first few hours were easy, but come dusk she was weary. Following hoofprints as well as broken tree limbs, loose horse hair, and the river, she'd used up all of the knowledge she had on how to find a lost animal. And it seemed all was lost, but stubborn as she was no amount of loss of hope would keep her from returning home without the horses. She mumbled to herself as guilt dragged her feet through the underbrush. She'd lied...
It had been at dawn. She had snuck out early against her mothers wishes- school or no school she would be riding that day. So, as quietly as she could, she slipped on a pair of boots and crept through the house. Avoiding plants of wood she knew would creek, using carpet to her advantage so her boots wouldn't tap against the ground, and then gently shutting the front door before taking off in a spring towards the paddock. Her nimble hands made quick work of the gate and she shoved it to close behind her, foolishly forgetting to check the latch. It was then that the gate swung open as a gust of early morning wind barreled through the farmland. It brought with it the cawing of the neighbors roosters and barking of dogs that instantly set off the horses in a panic. They reared their head and bolted shocking Fawn to fall to the ground as they splashed mud up from their galloping hooves that nearly crushed her legs. And then it was silent. The horses had run off into the forest as spooked as ever and Fawn was left laying on the ground covered in hay and mud.
Her heart raced. What would mother think? How does she get them back? The girl rushed back on inside and mirrored her exit- taking the carpet and sturdy floors back to her room before tucking into bed. Maybe they wouldn't know. Maybe they'd be back when she woke up...
Rustling leaves from behind jolted her in every direction. Her shame stirring her panic, but the forest was kind and only revealed small finches and other fauna, none more dangerous than a frog or raven. She'd been warned of the dangers of the wilderness a few times but never had she gone this far into it, she'd never had a reason to before. Perhaps if her life were a tragedy this is where she would be mauled to death by a bear, or taken hostage by a group of evil-doers.
But Fawn was a lucky sort. Just as the sun disappeared and left only moonlight guiding her path, the soft snorting of horses alerted her attention to their presence. Her ears perked up, her heart fluttered, and she jogged forward through a maze of trees to come across a small clearing where Poppy and the rest of the herd of four was seen grazing on riverside grass. Their heads lifted, soft whinnies erupted from their throats as they recognized Fawn and began trotting over to her as if they'd missed her just as much as she'd missed them. She was, after all, a part of their herd.
__
Four hours later Fawn, riding her chestnut mare with nothing but a halter, appeared through the clearing of the forest leading the other three horses behind. Her body caked in mud, her hair a birdsnest, and the horses clearly tired on their own. She had followed the stars like mother had taught her, and left her own pathway of disturbed brush to follow back, but what had gotten her home faster than anything was her guilt. It erupted from her in harsh sobs as her mother came limping in a rush down the cottage steps in a fit of her own tears.
"Travis! Travis come quickly- she's back!"
Fawn slid off the back of Poppy as her mother collapsed to her knees in front of her, holding her tiny, fragile thing like the first day she'd laid eyes on her. She scanned the girl from head to toe with reddened, raw eyes. "How dare you leave like that- have you any idea how worried we were?!"
The girls answer came in a waterfall of tears. "I-I'm sorry- I lied- I didn't mean to let them out- I just- I wanted to ride and the doors weren't latched- and then-th-then they spooked them and they ran- and I didn't want to tell you-"
Meredith pulled her daughter in close as she sobbed her apology into her chest. Her father, now close behind, headed straight for the horses and quickly being to put them away in their respective stalls before returning to his family. His face was painted with worry. His glasses speckled with tears that he pulled back well and hid. He listened to his daughter sob and then silently sat behind to envelop the girl in a much needed embrace. For the both of them.
That night she decided; she would never lie again.
14th day of Glacial Dusk, 98
Nestled in the middle of dozens of bales of hay in the entrance to the stable was a basket. Covered in a wool blanket, and twitching. She dropped a careful hand to the blanket and pulled back, heart racing while horses whinnied in the background. What was revealed to her in that moment nearly shattered the poor woman's heart; a baby. A tiny, fragile thing with pink skin and soft red hair matted to the top of it's head. A small necklace with a black and metal ring was wrapped around a piece of parchment sat atop it's blanket-wrapped body. She unwrapped the parchment, it's page sticking to itself and ruined wet from the falling snow. The ink had bled out leaving no legible words except one- Fawn.
Meredith snatched the baby up into her arms, tears in her eyes, and rushed back into her small cottage.
___
Twelve Years Later, 12th of Solace, 110
"But I didn't do it!" It was the first time she had lied.
"FAWN BRISBANE! So help me, child-"
Fawn glared with fire in her eyes up towards her mother whos fingers began to massage her temples. Worry lines had molded themselves on her face like a mountainside, revealing the strain of Meredith's life raising such a stubborn child. The girl, covered in mud with leaves and hay poking out from the mess of her curly red hair, held back salty tears.
"If it wasn't you, then how did you get all that mud on you, hm? Or the hay? You realize without our horses we cannot make a living? Why would you do such a foolish thing?! And how long have the horses been gone?! Your father is out right now fixing your mistake. It doesn't matter how much you wanted to ride today, when I say NO, you listen."
Fawn had opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it as her jaw clenched.
"Fine."
She ran out the front door, as her mother screamed her name behind her. Whether in worry or anger she wasn't sure, but she knew the woman couldn't follow. Two years prior she'd fallen and injured her hip. While yard work had only become minorly inconvenient, running was not an option anymore. And Fawn knew it. The mud beneath her feet from the rainfall the previous night kicked up underneath her boots and coated her calves in even more mud. Adrenaline still rushed through her veins as the girl yanked a halter and lead rope from one of the stall hooks that nearly ripped off it's hinges as she rushed out the back exit and into the forest.
'Horses are herd animals. Find one, find them all. Poppy likes swimming and shade, and she's the leader. So if I follow the river..."
The first few hours were easy, but come dusk she was weary. Following hoofprints as well as broken tree limbs, loose horse hair, and the river, she'd used up all of the knowledge she had on how to find a lost animal. And it seemed all was lost, but stubborn as she was no amount of loss of hope would keep her from returning home without the horses. She mumbled to herself as guilt dragged her feet through the underbrush. She'd lied...
It had been at dawn. She had snuck out early against her mothers wishes- school or no school she would be riding that day. So, as quietly as she could, she slipped on a pair of boots and crept through the house. Avoiding plants of wood she knew would creek, using carpet to her advantage so her boots wouldn't tap against the ground, and then gently shutting the front door before taking off in a spring towards the paddock. Her nimble hands made quick work of the gate and she shoved it to close behind her, foolishly forgetting to check the latch. It was then that the gate swung open as a gust of early morning wind barreled through the farmland. It brought with it the cawing of the neighbors roosters and barking of dogs that instantly set off the horses in a panic. They reared their head and bolted shocking Fawn to fall to the ground as they splashed mud up from their galloping hooves that nearly crushed her legs. And then it was silent. The horses had run off into the forest as spooked as ever and Fawn was left laying on the ground covered in hay and mud.
Her heart raced. What would mother think? How does she get them back? The girl rushed back on inside and mirrored her exit- taking the carpet and sturdy floors back to her room before tucking into bed. Maybe they wouldn't know. Maybe they'd be back when she woke up...
Rustling leaves from behind jolted her in every direction. Her shame stirring her panic, but the forest was kind and only revealed small finches and other fauna, none more dangerous than a frog or raven. She'd been warned of the dangers of the wilderness a few times but never had she gone this far into it, she'd never had a reason to before. Perhaps if her life were a tragedy this is where she would be mauled to death by a bear, or taken hostage by a group of evil-doers.
But Fawn was a lucky sort. Just as the sun disappeared and left only moonlight guiding her path, the soft snorting of horses alerted her attention to their presence. Her ears perked up, her heart fluttered, and she jogged forward through a maze of trees to come across a small clearing where Poppy and the rest of the herd of four was seen grazing on riverside grass. Their heads lifted, soft whinnies erupted from their throats as they recognized Fawn and began trotting over to her as if they'd missed her just as much as she'd missed them. She was, after all, a part of their herd.
__
Four hours later Fawn, riding her chestnut mare with nothing but a halter, appeared through the clearing of the forest leading the other three horses behind. Her body caked in mud, her hair a birdsnest, and the horses clearly tired on their own. She had followed the stars like mother had taught her, and left her own pathway of disturbed brush to follow back, but what had gotten her home faster than anything was her guilt. It erupted from her in harsh sobs as her mother came limping in a rush down the cottage steps in a fit of her own tears.
"Travis! Travis come quickly- she's back!"
Fawn slid off the back of Poppy as her mother collapsed to her knees in front of her, holding her tiny, fragile thing like the first day she'd laid eyes on her. She scanned the girl from head to toe with reddened, raw eyes. "How dare you leave like that- have you any idea how worried we were?!"
The girls answer came in a waterfall of tears. "I-I'm sorry- I lied- I didn't mean to let them out- I just- I wanted to ride and the doors weren't latched- and then-th-then they spooked them and they ran- and I didn't want to tell you-"
Meredith pulled her daughter in close as she sobbed her apology into her chest. Her father, now close behind, headed straight for the horses and quickly being to put them away in their respective stalls before returning to his family. His face was painted with worry. His glasses speckled with tears that he pulled back well and hid. He listened to his daughter sob and then silently sat behind to envelop the girl in a much needed embrace. For the both of them.
That night she decided; she would never lie again.
