8 ~ Blind Nightingale
2342 Words
Tala wakes up the next morning feeling rested and refreshed.
As she lay in bed staring unseeingly at the ceiling, she wonders if this is what one feels when one is in love, but quickly dismisses the idea as nonsense.
She's not the type to fall in love so easily after a few flirtatious exchanges.
What it is, she thinks, is probably just attraction to his lovely, soothing voice, which is a weakness of hers, given that she cannot see, but it doesn't mean she's in love, that's crazy!
It's simply an appreciation for his gentle, smooth baritone voice.
An artistic acknowledgement of something that sounds pleasant…as a singer and music lover would.
She giggles. If she had a conscience, she'd hear it snorting for sure.
Anyway, she doesn't know anything about him except for his name and that he has a dog.
And seriously, she should even be worried that he's visiting her at strange hours.
A blind girl who lives alone.
To those who don't know her, it might look like she's easy prey.
Unprotected and alone.
Even if she can defend herself, it is still an unnecessary risk.
Perhaps she should just avoid him. Better careful than sorry.
Maybe tomorrow she'll ask Cal if he can find someone to keep her company for a little while.
The man has not done anything strange other than come to visit and talk to her at an ungodly hour and he hasn't done anything suspicious or worrisome. He's always polite, perhaps just a little flirty, but always remains a good distance away.
And yet…it cannot be normal.
Does he think she's an easy prey?
Tala frowns.
He's sorely mistaken if he really thinks that.
She'll make sure the next time she goes to the balcony she'll have a dagger at hand. And her stick.
Oh, but why is she even working herself up to a frenzy?
Maybe she can ask Lucy to stay over for a night, just to see what she thinks of him.
She rises from the bed, annoyed with herself for just going round and round in circles, obsessing about Wolfe.
This is not healthy. She warns herself.
But it feels alright, a part of her argues.
"Grrrrr….don't start again." She berates herself.
She starts doing her morning tasks, eats her breakfast at the terrace (secretly hoping Wolfe would show up at a decent hour but he doesn't), and does her physical training in the garden for a change.
The sound of approaching footsteps makes her turn, her heart thudding excitedly thinking it's Wolfe, but a different voice speaks and she frowns.
"Still going on about this nonsense training? If you simply marry like any normal girl your age, you can forget about it and just be a happy little wife."
It's Ares.
His words were followed by a burst of wheezing laughter and she recognizes Ares's friend Marty.
She blinks. "I could say the same thing to you. The difference is I'm too polite to actually tell you so."
Marty laughs again but stops short when she hears a smack, probably courtesy of Ares.
"What do you want?" She asks testily, whirling her stick.
She never liked him. He's the personification of arrogance and chauvinism.
It irks him that she's very independent and actually capable. And he knows, even if they have never actually tried, that she has more than a small chance to win against him, should they fight.
They rub each other the wrong way and it started long ago, since her childhood, especially since the grown man she had bested in front of everyone in town when she was twelve and he was sixteen, was his father.
So cocky like him.
More than twice her weight and just as tall as his son.
Went down like a rock in two strikes.
Only because she took pity on him and gave him a chance.
She could have done it in one, but it had seemed too cruel back then.
He was all brawl and did not have much brain or technique at all.
"The town council wanted me to relay a message to you." He says in a bored tone but there is also a hint of annoyance. "They want you to consider temporarily staying in the town centre because the other night, a wolf has been heard in the vicinity and it might be prudent for you to be in a more secure place while we hunt it down."
"Thank you for telling me."
Ares frowns. "You're staying put, huh?"
She raises an eyebrow. "Did you expect otherwise?"
He sighs, irritated. "Oh well, it's your neck. I did my civil duty. It's probably the wolves who should be wary of you anyway." He mutters the last part under his breath but she hears it nonetheless.
It's almost laughable how he thinks that is some sort of insult to her.
"Did you find anything about the wolf yet? Perhaps it's merely passing through and is long gone now."
Ares laughs. "It's a wild beast, woman. It's bound to be dangerous and unless we're 100% certain it is gone and no longer a threat, as the head hunter, it is my duty to catch that thing and make sure nobody gets hurt. We don't even know yet if it's just a lone wolf or more. I went out the other night but found nothing yet, those gypsies who live nearby must have let it escape. But we're organizing an official hunt later tonight to assure the villagers that it's no longer a threat… so try to stay inside where you'll be…safer."
Less of a nuisance, sounds more like it, based on his tone. The obnoxious and condescending tone is not lost on Tala.
She ignores it.
Argue with a fool and you're an even bigger one than he is.
She nods and goes back to training.
She hears them walking away and her sharp ears listen as they whisper loudly.
"Aren't we supposed to tell her not to go out to go to the tavern tonight?" Marty asks. "She always comes home late at night, it could be dangerous."
Ares snorts. "You heard the woman, she's not afraid. It's pointless anyway, she'd still do as she pleases, whatever I tell her. Why waste my breath? If the wolves do attack her, it's only her fault for her arrogance and hardheadedness, hardly mine. Then again, perhaps it would be a good thing. We'd finally be rid of a dead weight and a freak of nature."
"You know, I do wonder why you're not pursuing her instead of picking fights with her. She's not bad looking and is very strong for a girl and also very talented…potentially, she could produce beautiful, strong, and talented children with you." Marty said thoughtfully.
There is a sneer in Ares's voice. "Are you stupid? She'll also produce blind ones! Why would I or any sane man….."
His voice fades as they walk farther away.
Tala sighs. She suddenly doesn't feel like training anymore.
"Rule number two." She whispers bitterly. "Hit your opponent where it hurts the most."
Ares just scored a direct one without even knowing it.
A**hole.
The risk of passing on her degenerative condition to a child is her greatest nightmare.
It's why she has accepted her fate as a future spinster.
No child should suffer this much.
She had been lucky to have had her parents' guidance back then, but her training had been gruesome and brutal…and fear of when the darkness finally claimed her eyes had been a constant companion as a child.
No other child should suffer that again.
Just because she had made peace with it doesn't mean another child could, would, and should.
"Try again."
Her father's voice echoes in her mind before she can go back inside the house.
She remembers her young self being down on the ground, hurting from an attack she hadn't foreseen.
"Get up and try again!" Her father's voice booms over and over every time she fails.
It's how one survives, he said.
One's strength is measured not because he or she never falls or doesn't break.
Not by always winning.
Not by never failing.
One is strong because one never gives up the fight and tries again and again, no matter how hard.
Tala grits her teeth and imagines Ares in front of her instead of the scarecrow she previously filled with sand instead of hay.
She yells all her frustrations and fears away as she attacks the scarecrow over and over again, scaring the birds on a nearby tree and making them scatter without direction when they flew away in fright.
The scarecrow is emptied of sand in less than half a minute, the sturdy branch that served as spine cut in half with its cabbage head rolling away, battered.
Damn it, she broke her dummy. Now she has to make another one.
Bloody jerk made her lose it.
She sits down on the ground in a lotus position and takes a deep calming breath.
Focus.
No thoughts.
Just breathe.
Just listen.
She stays like that for a few hours before finally reclaiming her peace and balance.
She opens her eyes and whispers.
"It won't happen again."
Her grumbling stomach reminds her that she missed lunch. By the looks of it, she has two hours before she has to leave to go to the tavern.
She fixes a quick light lunch and rests before finally stepping out again, refreshed and determined not to let anything or anyone dampen her spirits again.
Cal was surprised to see her at the tavern.
"My dear, what are you doing here? I thought the council sent Ares to tell you about the wolf."
She nods. "He did. What does that have to do with my being here tonight?" She asks, feigning ignorance.
Cal sighs. "It's not safe to wander at night right now, especially you, who have to go home very late. Perhaps we can arrange a bed, at least for tonight…"
Tala frowns. "There's no need to arrange anything…I'm going home, same as always."
"Tala, I cannot risk sending Alex with you, it could be dangerous for him on the way back."
She nods. "I understand. You don't need to, Cal. I'm not exactly defenceless, you know that."
"But what if it's not just a lone wolf, what if it's a pack of wolves and they attack you? Be reasonable, child. I don't want to have to tell you not to come to the tavern until Ares and his team have captured that wolf." Cal tries again.
"I'm more than capable of facing a few wolves. I will be alright, Cal, I promise. Now do us both a favour and drop this, please. You know you need the income for the roof."
"I'd rather have a leaking roof than a ghost that haunts my sleep."
She laughs. "My father would have been the first to tell you that I'll be fine. Come on, I promise to walk faster than usual so I will be home sooner. I need the familiarity of my own house."
Cal sighs. "I don't know…"
"Tell you what, you can make Alex accompany me up to the bridge, it's still safe there… then let him wait for a few minutes. I will blow a whistle as soon as I arrive home. He'll hear it and let you know I'm safe. If he doesn't hear it, you can send the battalion." She teases.
After a few more cajoling Cal finally relents.
"You better not forget to blow that whistle or I swear to your parents' grave I'm gonna tie you on a chair the next time you come to work."
She laughs. "I'll remember, don't fret."
"Ooh, I'm fretting, I'm fretting alright."
The tavern is even more crowded tonight, word has spread to the visitors of the fair about the "blind nightingale".
The fiddler takes a seat on the makeshift stage next to her and excitedly whispers. "Full house tonight, Tala, overflowing, actually. Even the chairs outside are occupied. I'm so glad you didn't get scared of the wolf. The missus will be happy again when I bring home a fortune!"
Tala laughs. "Glad to be of service. I'll tell Marina you deserve a nice steak tomorrow."
Tom laughs as well. "You won't have to. She already bought one for me today. So, what song do we do first tonight?"
The tavern grows quiet when the first chords of the instrument are struck and their performance begins.
Throughout the evening, Tala received and satisfied requests. Even during her short break to catch her breath, some people want to talk to her.
When the time for the last song came, Tala refused any more requests.
It is getting late and most of the other customers have gone home, but the remaining crowd is silent as they wait in trepidation for the final serenade.
Tom, the fiddler, goes off the stage. He doesn't know the song so she'll be doing an 'a cappella' and she takes a deep breath to calm herself, imagining herself alone, on her balcony, with only the moon for company.
.
The north wind blows
It brings your scent to me
The north wind blows
and the moon is blind
The moon is blind…
.
When darkness takes the world
You light it up, you light it up
You fill the void
The emptiness is gone
And I know we are one.
.
The stars are too far
And wishes never reach them
But the blind moon
The blind moon can hear you…
.
When the north wind blows
It carries all my dreams
To the blind moon…
To the blind moon!
.
I know this for certain
For somehow the burden
is gone
As the north wind blows
And the blind moon glows…
Now you're here.
.
As the song fades away, the tavern is filled with more applause and a figure left silently, with no one the wiser, lips curling into a small smile.
- Writer
