The Hidden Glade: Part Three

Sonja finds the meaning of the circle.

“Afternoon, Sonja!” The butcher, Hugo, grinned cheerfully at Sonja as she entered the shop. He was a thickset man with bright eyes and a warm, friendly smile. “What can I get you today?”

“Do you have any ham?” Sonja tried to ignore the joints of meat hanging from hooks on the ceiling and the heavy smell of blood in the air.

“We do. How much do you want?”

“Can you spare three slices?”

Hugo peered over his shoulder. “Frieda! Bring out three slices of ham!” He frowned at Sonja. “Is that all you want?”

“It is. Thank you.” Like all servants at Lady Adessa’s house, Sonja had eaten a substantial and healthy meal at noon; a light supper would be enough for her.

Frieda, Hugo’s daughter, entered with a package wrapped in white paper. She eyed Sonja warily as she handed it over. Sonja nodded and smiled at her.

“How much?”

“It’s two copper coins a slice,” Frieda told her.

Sonja slipped her hand into the bag at her waist; fortunately, she had brought the right amount.

Footsteps sounded behind them. Both girls looked to see a man enter the shop, a deer draped over his shoulder. A quiver hung from the other, and he carried his bow in one hand.

“You know where to take it, Oren.” Hugo motioned towards the room Frieda had just left. As Oren walked past him, he said: “You might have to wait a while to get your share.”

“That’s fine with me,” Oren called back.

Hugo turned back to Sonja. “Have you heard about the soldier?”

“Yes. I saw him. How are the twins?”

“They were a little scared, but they’re back to their usual selves now.” Hugo frowned. “Wait - did you say you saw him as well?”

Sonja nodded. “What do you think he wanted?”

“The Flame knows. There’s nothing here that would interest a soldier.”

Frieda glanced towards the shop door; someone else was waiting outside. Taking the hint, Sonja bid Hugo and Frieda goodbye and left the shop with the package.

The butcher’s shop was close to the centre of Wildkeep. All of the buildings in the village were made from logs, and the village itself was built in a large clearing in the middle of the woods. Sonja’s house was a short walk away from the village outskirts.

As she walked towards the small path that led to her house, Sonja heard someone calling her name. She turned around to see Oren coming up behind her.

“I heard what you were saying to Hugo,” he said. “The twins didn’t say you were there too.”

“Do you think Hugo’s right about there being nothing here a soldier would want? He must have been there on General Aleksei’s orders.”

Oren shrugged. “I know these woods better than anyone here. Wildkeep means nothing to Queen Perchta.”

Sonja’s heart sank. If there was anything strange in the area, Oren would have known - unless he simply didn’t want to tell her. Sonja wouldn’t have blamed him at all if that was the case.

“At least the soldier didn’t hurt anyone,” she said.

“True, but I’m curious as to what the twins were doing out there in the first place. Hopefully seeing a soldier will scare Gunter and Hareld out of trouble.”

“I doubt it - and they’re too old to believe a Silent One will come for them if they misbehave.”

“I wish one would come for them,” Oren remarked. “That way, we might finally have some peace around here. Sorry,” he said quickly when he saw the look on Sonja’s face. “I shouldn’t joke about things like that. So, what is our noble landowner like? I’ve heard about her, but nobody here has met her.”

“She’s firm but fair. And she’s an excellent mistress.” Servants in Lady Adessa’s household received five gold coins every twenty days, meals and a place to live in the servant quarters unless they had family living in Kenauste.

“Good,” Oren said, nodding. “I’m glad to hear that. I suppose she can’t be a bad mistress if she gave you a house.”

Sonja nodded, but her mind was elsewhere. Why couldn’t she get that circle out of her head? And why was she so convinced that it meant something?

Lady Adessa must have had a reason for ordering her to keep quiet. The villagers either didn’t know anything about it or they weren’t going to tell her. Sonja was on her own.

If she remembered correctly, the circle wasn’t that far away from her house - and the sun wouldn’t set for a good long while.

Sonja slipped out of her house and looked around. Nobody was there. She shut the door, walked around the back of the house and headed towards what she thought was the centre of the woods.

If she kept walking in a straight line, she wouldn’t lose her way.

The only sounds among the trees were birdsong and Sonja’s footsteps. Every so often, she would glance behind her, afraid she had heard someone else swishing through the leaves.

Eventually she came across two robar trees; their branches seemed to entwine over Sonja’s head. She looked through the gap and saw a path leading further into the trees. It looked as though it had once been well-worn, but was now partially faded and covered with fallen leaves.

Sonja hesitated. She had a feeling that if she stepped onto the path, there would be no turning back.

It might be possible to ignore a path in the woods, but she couldn’t ignore the nudge she felt to move on. Sonja moved between the robars and headed down the path.

The sun was beginning to set now. If she kept walking, she might find herself alone in the woods at night, and that was not encouraged at Wildkeep. Already twilight was starting to seep into the trees.

Sonja stopped walking.

It was far too early for twilight. The sun hadn’t even halfway set yet, but there was a faint blue sheen in the air.

Her heart started pounding in her throat. She swallowed and started walking again. The sheen seemed to grow stronger and stronger as she journeyed on. Soon, it was as if she was walking through evening.

Then she couldn’t see any trees at all. The air had thickened into a glistening cerulean wall that stretched across the path and as far as Sonja could see.

She had found it. The circle was real. But what was it?

Breathing out in wonder, Sonja raised her right hand and touched it.

Flames blossomed from her palm. Sonja yelped and stepped backwards, staring in shock as the flames licked away at the wall, melting it until there was an archway just touching the edges of the path, which continued past the veil. Blue embers flickered at the edges of the arch.

Sonja swallowed. Her fingers tingled and her heart was racing so hard, it was painful. But she had wanted to find the circle, and she had. She couldn’t turn away from it now.

Slowly, she forced herself to take one step down the path and then another. When she looked up, all she saw was more blue.

A fizzing sound from behind made her turn around; the archway was slowly sealing itself shut. Sonja fought the urge to run back through it until the wall was intact again. As she walked, she kept her eyes on the trees lining the pathway; it would be so easy for something or someone to leap out and attack her.

Then she stepped off the path and into a large, circular glade. In the middle of the open space was a log house about the same size as the ones in Wildkeep. There were no lights on in the windows.

Sonja clenched her hands together in front of her. She was unable to bring herself to move. What was a house doing here? It looked starkly alone, standing there all by itself.

Curiosity warred with fear for several moments. Then Sonja moved forward, keeping her eyes on the windows in case anything moved inside. She glanced to her left and saw a small pool a few steps away from the house; the surface reflected the shield above.

Sonja knocked on the door. The sound was muffled, but it was almost as loud as a drum in the silent glade.

There was no reply.

Sonja waited a little longer, then placed her hand on the latch. Holding her breath, she opened the door and stepped inside.

It looked like a simple place: a table and chairs in one half of the room, with the other half serving as a kitchen. In fact, it wasn’t dissimilar to Sonja’s own house. The table and chairs were covered with a thick blanket of dust; from the looks of things, nobody had been inside for a very long time. Hanna would have a fit if she saw the place.

Sonja spotted a door close to the table. She walked across, leaving footprints in the dust. Inside the other room lay a bed large enough for two people; it had been stripped of blankets, leaving only the bare frame.

What kind of person had lived in the house? What kind of person had built the house?

She didn’t have time to think about that. This was a wonderful discovery, but Sonja didn’t want to take any more risks today. If she didn’t leave now, she really would be alone in the woods at night.

The house would still be there when she came back.