The Light of My Hearts

A/N: A shorter chapter ...kinda all I felt like writing this week...more to come

Gillam and Helia stayed another day with Twillow and Kendrick before it was time for them to set off again on their journey. Fall was approaching and Helia wanted to get a few more jobs before heading south to Tegath for the winter months. In addition, she needed to find that merchant who sold her the giantsbane, purchase his supply, and figure out his sourcing for the plant. (Kendrick had been adamant about that task.)

When they left, they were sent off with extra food stuffs for their trip. Gillam stashed it away in his “bottomless” bag which despite its average size hid many supplies by means of magic.

Twillow finished waving as they disappeared into the woods and looked up at Kendrick, “That was a nice visit.”

“Not too bad.” He agreed.

She smiled but then asked in all seriousness, “When does our wager begin?”

He glanced at her and shrugged, “Tomorrow I suppose.”

Twillow nodded. She knew Kendrick wasn’t excited about the prospect of making peace with humans. But she had a feeling deep down that Sig and his family weren’t an anomaly. She knew that if other humans could witness Kendrick’s gentle side, then peace could be possible.

Kendrick on the other hand was certain it was going to be a long thirty days of rejection and getting shot. But he knew he was right. Twillow would finally understand and see the ugly truth of things.

...

Day 1 ...

Kendrick was awakened by a gentle tickling of his ear.

“Wake up, Sweethearts.” Twillow’s voice coaxed.

He made a tired noise, shifting minutely, “Mm...”

The fae buzzed her wings in his ear before fluttering over and landing on his cheek, “Come on. Get up.”

His eye cracked open, “You know...it’s unwise to wake a sleeping giant.”

From her stance on his cheekbone, he could clearly see up her dress. A smile lifted his lips.

“But...I suppose I can wake up for that.”

She laughed, her cheeks flashing greener, “I know you would...but you’ve got good deeds to do today.”

A sigh left his huge chest, “Hm. I’d much rather do good deeds for you.”

“But that’s not the wager.” She insisted. “So, get up.”

He groaned and slowly sat up. Twillow fluttered off of his face and in front of him. His huge body stretched as he rubbed his eyes. Twillow kissed him before he got ready to leave.

...

Though loath to begin, Kendrick set out on his usual walk through his territory. Only this time he was planning on leaving the forest in order to find some sort of “good deed” he could perform. He wasn’t even sure what that might be. In fact, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t even get a chance because no sane human would stick around when they saw or heard him coming. But for Twillow he’d try.

After a couple hours he finally came to one of the borders of his forest where he knew a human settlement rested. He knew of only three human settlements that were very close to the borders of his forest. The rest were further out.

Around fifty years prior, Kendrick would come around and pilfer crops or livestock from those settlements simply out of convenience. No one stopped him. No one could stop him. Why humans decided to settle there was inconceivable. But as he’d grown older and more mature, he started to feel more prideful about taking care of himself without human assistance. Thus, he hadn’t visited those settlements in a few decades. Given the shortness of human lifespans he wondered if any of them could recollect that history.

Kendrick softened his approach, walking as quietly as possible when he neared the settlement. When he was a few hundred yards away he stopped to observe. It was decently sized for a human town. A log wall surrounded the town and at its center was a sizable square dominated by a taller wood structure at its center. The wall was a few feet higher than Kendrick’s knees.

That was new. Fifty years ago, there wasn’t a wall.

As he recalled, this particular settlement specialized in flocks of sheep and he could already see the little white and black creatures dotting the green countryside outside the wall, their “baas” echoing out from flock to flock.

Kendrick watched the town, holding very still behind the concealment of the taller trees. The scents of humans and sheep was strong as the calm, yet busy bustling of everyday life continued, unaware of his presence.

“Good deeds...good deeds...good deeds...” Kendrick’s mind pondered in a mantra as he tried to figure out what he could do to fulfill his end of the bet.

He and Twillow never really stipulated what would happen if he couldn’t perform a good deed every day. A more unscrupulous person would simply lie and say the deed had been done with no proof. But Kendrick was an honest being. He would be honorable...even if he loathed this entire farce.

For more than an hour he stood, silent and still. He was beginning to grow a bit bored when he heard the approach of something through the undergrowth. Instinctually he drew in a scenting breath. It didn’t smell like a human. In a few seconds he spotted a sheep trotting around a few yards from him, nibbling on some bushes. Then he heard a distinct call from a man near the border of the trees. It sounded like the man was searching for the animal but wasn’t going to risk go into the forest to do so.

A lost sheep? Perfect. Returning a lost sheep would be an easy good deed.

Carefully, he reached down to pick up the unsuspecting creature. But much to his surprise it lifted its head and darted away. His eyes followed it as he stood and took careful, quiet steps after it. After a bit the sheep slowed, stopped, and glanced around with a quiet bleat. Kendrick bent down, reaching for the animal again. But again, it saw his hand coming and darted away.

Kendrick huffed with frustration, “Come here you little...”

This went on for several minutes with the agile, wily sheep getting the better of the giant with every attempted capture. Finally, Kendrick growled deeply, tired of being outwitted. The last time the sheep darted away from him he grabbed a tree with force, uprooted it, and tossed it in front of the animal. That made the sheep run in a different direction but Kendrick was ready and threw another tree in its path and then another until the animal was trapped. Then with a curt pinch he plucked up the frightened, woolly animal. It bleated plaintively.

“Ha! Got you! You little nuisance.” He barked triumphantly.

Unfortunately, behind him, the town erupted with sounds of panic after the ruckus he had caused trying to catch the sheep. Horns from all corners were blaring. He stood up and through the trees he could see the flocks of sheep getting herded back through the wooden gates of the town by frantic shepherds.

He heaved a deep knowing sigh and then gave the sheep in his hand an annoyed look, “Now see what you did? If you had just let me catch you in the first place, that wouldn’t have happened!”

The animal bleated.

Kendrick sighed again and decided he’d just do what he’d intended. With direct but careful steps he moved through the trees toward the wall. The big gate was just shutting as he appeared. (Not that it could stop him if he wanted to get in.) He moved around to the other gate where the shepherds had funneled their flocks into the town. It was only starting to shut as the last sheep were pushed inside.

Even though he could’ve easily put the lost sheep over the wall, Kendrick took a quick step toward the closing gate, leaned down, and held it open with two fingers. Whomever was tasked with closing the gate screamed. Anyone in sight of that gate screamed. Despite his better judgement, Kendrick held the gate open, put his other hand through, and deposited the wayward sheep inside. The screams beyond only intensified.

“You...lost something.” He stated in a gentle, even tone as he withdrew his hand and allowed them to close their gate.

He waited for a minute or two on one knee for any sort of reaction. Honestly, he was surprised he wasn’t getting filled with arrows or pelted with stones. But though there was a log wall surrounding the settlement it wasn’t a fortified settlement. These were shepherds not warriors.

All was quiet save for the bleats of sheep within.

Kendrick gave another sigh, stood back up, and walked toward his home. One good deed done. But he was winning the wager thusly.

...

Day 6

Bringing a lost sheep back, fixing a broken fence, lifting a stuck cart out of some deep mud, one day of nothing, and stacking some logs for a woodcutter were the deeds Kendrick had managed to accomplish. But Twillow was still losing their wager; no one had come forward to thank Kendrick for any of the actions. Despite that, Twillow was proud of her mate’s good deeds. There were times she wanted to accompany him, but he told her he didn’t want the humans to know of her. It wasn’t safe. Even though he adamantly refused her request, she still wanted to witness his actions.

So, a few hours after he left, Twillow finally decided to follow him from high in the air. High above the forest she flew, her keen eyes trying to find his distinct movement through the trees. It wasn’t quite as easy as she envisioned. One would think finding a giant would be as simple as finding a tree in an open field. After a while Twillow was beginning to grow frustrated and considered heading back home until he returned. But suddenly the deafening crack of what sounded like falling rocks echoed out over the forest. Twillow jumped midair but instantly saw a thick cloud of dust rising from between a small fragment of the mountain range that ran through Kendrick’s territory.

A rockslide?

But then a second loud impact from the mountains disturbed the silence, followed by another. And then a thunderous roar followed.

That was Kendrick...and he sounded pissed.

Not sure what was happening or why, Twillow rushed toward the chaotic sounds. Even at her top speed it took her ten minutes to reach the small chain of mountains. She heard several more crashes on her trip over. From her high vantage she could see down between the peaks. At first, she didn’t see anything odd, just trees, rocks, and a river carving through it. And then movement caught her eye in the air. Her keen eyes zeroed in on the object and realized it was a boulder taller than three horses stacked on top of each other hurtling through the air. It flew for a few seconds before impacting the stony ground near the river. Water and debris flew everywhere under the massive projectile until it came to a grinding stop.

Then she saw Kendrick further down the river, straddling the banks with no shirt. He seemed to be recoiling from throwing the boulder in his motions and was breathing heavily. After a moment he moved to the left of the water and sat heavily. Twillow flew closer and as she came near, she could see the blood across his right side, upper arm, shoulder, and neck, trickling out from beneath a coat of arrows and spears. His hand came up and began plucking the tiny projectiles when in an instant he smelled her, head shooting up.

“T-Twillow?” he sounded shocked.

"Oh...Sweethearts.” She was almost crying as she covered her mouth.

He lowered his head in a shameful manner, “You...you weren’t supposed to see this.”

The little green fae flew in, touching his face. He didn’t act like he wanted to look at her as his eyes flicked away.

“What happened?”

His jaw tightened and his lip pulled back exposing one of his sharper canines, “Tried to fix a damaged wall.” He lifted his arrow prickled arm, “No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.” He looked at her directly, “Why did you try to follow me?”

“I-I wanted to see you doing these good deeds. I’ve been so proud of your efforts that I wanted to see it.”

He shook his head dismally “It’s not working, Twillow. It’s a waste of time.”

Twillow shook her head in disagreement, “An attempt at peace is never a waste of time.”

“Does this look peaceful to you?” he snapped, voice rising angrily.

Twillow remained calm. Any other person would’ve cowed beneath the dangerous sounding tone. But she knew he was feeling frustrated and probably very angry too.

“I’m not saying they were right. I hate that they hurt you. But...you can’t expect their perceptions of you to change so quickly. It will take time.”

“I know that.” He answered with bitterness.

He started plucking some arrows out if his arm.

“You know, it took me several weeks of being close to you and seeing your gentle side for me to not fear you anymore.” she offered and then smiled at him. “Now look at us.”

He managed a small quick smile in return but it faded under the heavier mood.

She tipped her head, “What were you doing just now?”

A sigh escaped him, “J-just...venting my anger before I came home.” That ashamed frown closed his eyes, “I didn’t want you to see that. I’m sorry.”

Twillow blinked back her tears and gestured to the arrows, “Well...let’s get these out, ok?”

He nodded, reached over and continued pulling the patch of arrows out of his arm. Though she had kept her attitude positive despite his frustrations, Twillow still felt terrible seeing her mate bleeding and hurt. A small part of her wanted to concede that the danger was too great and he shouldn’t put himself in that position. But she didn’t want him to give up.

She touched her belly. He couldn’t...not yet.