Faery Devilry

He ducked inside the dank room through the curtain of putrid rags that served as a door to the hut. Kade stood motionless and silent, respectfully allowing the woman of the well to speak first. She looked over him, criticizing him, with two dark eyes in a web of wrinkles,“Ach, thar ye be lad.” He nodded, “aye.” She stirred the boiling dye in the pot with a mottled ladle. “Thar be the hatchet.” Kade reached out and took it, accidentally brushing against her dress. He hefted it up onto his shoulder and noticed how suddenly motionless she had become. “Kade...come here, to me...” Her voice had changed immensely, gone was the thick accent, and gone was the raspy, aged tone. He lowered the hatchet threateningly. The old woman turned toward him, she reached out with knobbly grasping hands, her eyes had come alight with greed, “come here!” Kade’s chest heaved as she came closer, he feared her, and did not know why the deep-set dread had washed over him, leaving him lightheaded and sick. “No.” The single word resounded in the little hut, the pots and pans hanging on the walls swayed, and she stopped shuffling towards him, as he had hardly noticed her doing. The woman had suddenly gone back to normal and berated him, “Why are ye jes standin’ thar lad?! Di nae waste my time!” Kade hefted the axe back onto his shoulder, “Aye, where do ye want me tae chop your wood?” “In the Silvae.” Kade blinked, somehow this seemed wrong to him. He had always, and until now, successfully, avoided cutting down trees in the Silvae. “Aye.”

He ducked out of the hut and straightened himself. He glanced up and down the dirt road, meager huts lined the road, street urchins played in the bushes alongside it, further along was the main town, where the blacksmith, and all the craftsmen and farmers lived. But here, lining the dirty road, was where the fieldworkers, the beggars, the bond-servants, and other non-landowning churls lived. Kade pushed away the nagging feeling of injustice and walked quietly across the road to the other side.

Mammoth trees leaned over him, their dark shapes silhouetted against the overcast sky. He heaved a sigh of contentment, this was where he felt truly safe and at home, here, in the forest. Kade walked silently through the behemoth trees, the giant monarchs of the forest, smaller trees grew around them. The density of the forest gradually thickened until Kade literally had to crawl on his belly at times. He had natural flexibility, Kade was skinny, but somehow seemed graceful and purposeful in his movements so that he moved noiselessly and easily through the complex web of trees, vines and branches, as if he were part of the gnarled and intertwined forest.

The deeper Kade went into the Silvae, the more troubled he became. Finding a suitable tree he lifted the axe. Despite all his efforts, he could not bring himself to strike, even one blow. His breathing became irregular, and a rushing sound filled his ears, a cold sweat broke over him and his hands trembled, even holding up the accustomed weight of the hatchet was a trial. Finally he dropped the axe, picked it up, and walked away towards the outer edge of the forest, where it felt safe to chop trees down, hoping desperately that the woman would not somehow know that the wood did not come from the forest.

Kade ducked back into the hut, the woman was no longer stirring dye, but had now pinned the pieces of colored cloth to cord that crisscrossed around the ceiling of the hut. He stood quietly with the wood, after a minute of her silence, Kade walked back out of the hut to place the logs in the wood-box. He was ducking back out when her voice stopped him, “Lad...let me see them logs.” He turned back and handed her a piece. The woman scrutinized the wood, feeling it’s grain and lifting it to feel the weight, finally she muttered a series of nonsensical words, licked her finger, and placed a drop of sap on it. She stared at it quietly. “This wood did nae come from the silvae lad.” Kade stood quietly. “Prove it” The woman smirked, “Thar be no need to when both o’ us know whar it come from.” Kade frowned, “But you don’t.” The woman dropped the wood and grabbed his arm in her brown, claw-like hand, “Why couldn’t you lad?” The piercing eyes delved into him, and yet he couldn't look away. “I see how it be...” She let go and furrowed her brow, closing her eyes, “Then ye can nae work for meh.” Kade clenched his teeth, “Why not?” The woman answered without looking at him, “If I were a normal old woman I’d ‘ave said tis because you lack truthfulness, but I ain’t.” She took a deep breath, “I can nae have ye in my house. Go.”

Kade stumbled out of the ramshackle hut, confused. He ground his teeth, brow furrowed, it had been rumored that the woman of the well was insane. He had not believed it until now. There was no other explanation for her behavior, but nevertheless, he would pay for her insanity. Taking a deep breath to compose himself and his spinning mind, he jumped out of the ditch alongside the road where the hovel was, and walked down it, mingling inconspicuously with the rest of the crowd. Kade could walk through a crowd with the same ease that he could make his way through the Silvae. As he neared the center of town his sharp blue eyes saw every detail of the crowded scene. The stalls of different goods lined the town square, they cried out in loud shrill voices, urging customers that their goods were superior to others. In the center of the town square, towering over the scene like a dark omen was the gallows, the rope noose hung down, swaying slightly in the breeze. Kade shuddered, next to the gallows was a large bared cage, inside the cage were the stocks for criminals guilty of large offense, outside the cage were stocks for criminals held for common offenses. The sound of the church bells ringing boomed over the bustling square, a respectful silence fell over the area, and Kade slipped away as three prisoners were lead to the platform, the only thing he took the time to notice, was that one of them, was a girl. Women rarely committed crimes, they were all well subdued within the home.