Year 1246, seventh month
A groan of pain echoed from deep within the forest. Aedric pressed his head in a useless attempt to calm the pain caused by the startle. The boy turned around to look with hatred at his noisy dog; the fear he had a moment ago completely vanished. He gathered his courage and approached the tree again.
His head peeked out through the tree hollow and he managed to glimpse a small figure; the darkness made it impossible for him to observe her in detail. His dog looked up at the dark sky, blue with the moon, to bark for the last time before finally falling silent.
Taking it as a good sign, the boy held the figure, a little smaller than him, and took her out of the hollow with his arms and slowly set her on the earth under his feet.
—What is a child doing in a place like this? Could it be that babies are born like this? That makes no sense, babies are not big! Mom has a lot of explaining to do. I didn't see any stork leaving him— His head spun trying to find the logic in something so rare.
A child, of a similar age to him, rested unconscious on the earth. He was dressed in torn clothes; a tunic and pants were the only things covering his body in this icy forest.
Aedric did not know what to do next; he immersed himself in his thoughts trying to find the answer. This process was interrupted when a cold gust of air hit his back, causing him to shiver.
—I don't like the cold, I guess this kid doesn't like it either— That was all he needed to rationalize to reach a conclusion.
Once decided, Aedric crouched down carefully and, softly, his small arms wrapped around the child's icy body: one hand behind his back and the other under his knees.
The weight made his steps leave footprints in the damp earth, marking his path, as if the forest wanted to remember that he had passed through there. He felt uncomfortable in this posture, so he leaned him even closer against him, the other child's head resting on his shoulder.
"And just like that, I've made another friend!!" —he announced with childish conviction, without asking permission or considering the opinion of the little one who slept in his arms, Aedric had already decided—
The moonlight fell on the face of the sleeping child, finally revealing his quiet features to Aedric. His hair was even longer than Aedric's, differentiated by its onyx black color, a few white strands like marble were scattered throughout his hair, his skin was an unhealthy pale and his face contained delicate and refined features.
—He doesn't seem to have eaten well— He realized how thin the child was just by seeing his face.
Leaving the curiosity for later, he continued his way through the forest illuminated in light blue.
Some time later…
A thundering voice echoed through the forest entrance.
—AEDRIC! DO YOU HEAR ME?!— Garreth yelled as loud as he could.
He finished his chat with Duncan a while ago, he felt worried at first, but he calmed down in the end, his son was going to be under the care of a very kind person.
But when he finished, Aedric was not outside. He had heard Angel's barks, he thought his son was playing with the dog so he didn't pay much attention, now that caused him to imagine terrifying scenarios about what happened to his son.
It was at that moment that a figure approached him from the depths of the forest, an arm waving to him.
The first thing Garreth wanted to do was reprimand his foolish son, but he kept quiet when he saw that he was carrying something in his arms.
A human figure was held by Aedric as he approached him.
"What are you carrying there?" —He asked in a low voice, once he closed the distance between his son and him—
"A kid!" —Aedric said excitedly, as if he had found a new victim to play with—
"Did you kidnap a kid from the village and take her into the forest?" —Garreth said in an incredulous voice, he did not remember having taught his son such things—
"No!" —He replied— "I found her," —He said naturally—
"How the hell did you find a kid deep in the forest, and at night on top of that?" —He questioned without understanding anything, he thought his son was lying—
"Angel started barking and ran into the forest, I followed him and ended up finding her," —He said it as if it were something normal— "Mom lied to me, storks bring babies, they grow inside trees!" —He said completely convinced—
"…" —Garreth looked at him in silence, without responding, it may be that children do grow inside trees after all, he felt sure that his son did not lie at any time, that was what most disconcerted him—
An involuntary sigh escapes him, he left the deep thoughts for another time and approached his son, taking the child from his arms to carry her himself.
As he approached, he heard the screams of his wife and the old man, who separated to search for the missing Aedric.
He gestured to them with his hand, with his son at his side. Both stopped shouting and approached running, if the old man's slow steps can be called running.
"The situation is a bit complicated so I'll explain it later, go rest Duncan, it's already night," —He advised the old man—
"I understand," —He said briefly, while looking at the child the man was holding— "Have a good night."
Duncan turned around and walked towards the village, his hunched back seemed full of tiredness.
"What are you doing with a child in your arms?!" —She said in a sharp tone questioning her husband— "And where were you?!" —She immediately turned to her son, who almost caused her a heart attack from his disappearance—
"Do kids grow inside trees?" —Garreth asked—
"Why did you lie to me?!" —The boy replied furiously to his mother— "Storks don't bring kids, they grow inside trees!"
"…" —Mildred should have been the one who was furious, but her son was just as angry and both were talking nonsense, silence was the only response she could offer—
Later, that same night…
Aedric was sleeping with the other child beside him, sharing the bed.
On the other hand, both adults were at the table discussing.
"And you believe him?!" —The woman replied to the man— "It's more possible that he chased him all over the village with his wooden axe until he fell asleep from exhaustion!"
"You, as his mother, should already know that he didn't lie," —He said softly—
"Well, it's true… But it makes no sense!" —She grabbed her head—
"I guess her parents abandoned him in the forest, leaving him to die there," —Garreth said coldly—
"In that case it would be useless to ask the villagers if you recognize him, they will repeat it again and even worse so that no one finds him…" —She said with sadness and indignation in her words—
A silence invaded the cabin, only the soft snores of the children and the crackling of the fire were heard.
"What if we adopt him?" —Mildred broke the silence first— "Our son will surely like having a little brother," —A hint of emotion evident in her tone—
"It may be, we have enough resources," —He replied in agreement with his wife's proposal—
They had thought about having another child, but raising Aedric was already exhausting enough; it was surprising how much he could eat considering his size, not to mention his hyperactive behavior.
"Besides... You saw his hands," —Garreth asked tentatively—
"How could I not see them?" —She started to feel uncomfortable—
All the skin on the arm was dark red, and not only that, the skin was far from soft to the touch; it was rough, hard, and wrinkled, something completely unnatural. Both thought the boy's arms were burned on purpose by his parents; it was impossible it was an accident, it was a human action that caused such an abnormality.
Another silence fell over the cabin; this time the silence was loud.
"And so... do kids really not grow inside trees?" —He asked with a mocking smile, trying to break the heavy atmosphere—
"Ugh..." —She grabbed her head from the stress; tomorrow she would have a lot of explaining to do to her son—
They finally went to sleep, totally exhausted by the events of today.
Year 1246, seventh month
"Congratulations, son! Now you have a brother!" —She said, trying to sound excited. She didn't expect Aedric to give a positive response, as children can be very jealous in these cases—
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeee!" —A weird scream came from him; it sounded like a sheep—
—Finally I can have fun all day without having to wait for Rinella to come— He briefly remembered his friend, Rinella.
"And what is his name?" —He continued, while giving a sidelong glance at the emotionless child sitting on his bed—
"Well, he doesn't answer or show any signs of answering..." —Mildred replied, worried—
"Maybe we could give him a name," —Garreth suggested, who had been silent until now—
"Elian, I think that sounds cute," —A satisfied smile adorned her face—
"I like the idea of calling him Gunnarfrøyrdottir more; it sounds powerful," —Garreth said, very sure that both of them would like the name—
"How long!" —Aedric said, surprised—
"NO WAY!" —Mildred shouted, completely outraged—
"Okay..." —He said in a low voice, feeling sad at the immediate rejection—
"How about calling him Noren?" —Aedric suggested the name he liked after a lot of thought—
Both parents looked into each other's eyes and nodded their heads. That was how the name of the new family member, Noren, was decided.
Moments later…
Inside a large wooden bucket, the hot water was full to the top. Two children were waiting on one side, one who followed everything the other child did, and that child undressing excitedly. Aedric threw himself into the bucket; he loved bathing in hot water due to the constant cold of the north.
On the other hand, the other boy tried to imitate what he did, but his tunic got stuck on his head. Aedric had no choice but to get out of the water and help him take off his clothes.
When he finally took off the tunic, he noticed his red arms.
"Do they hurt?" —He asked the other boy; he thought it looked painful, so he asked to be sure, worried that the hot water would hurt him—
"…"
Silence was the only answer; there were no signs that he had understood his words.
—Forgive me for what I am about to do— He thought to himself as he took some water in his palms and poured it gently over the red skin of the arm.
The child only showed a slight startle from the surprise, but there were no grimaces of pain. That gave him the confidence to continue undressing him and then he guided him slowly to get into the bathtub.
It was a peculiar bath; one part was silent and the other part wouldn't stop talking.
Year 1246, seventh month
Aedric and Duncan were walking through the village; they were on their way to the chapel. The boy felt excited, as the day before he had received the cassock he was now wearing, and Duncan told him that he had prepared a very incredible surprise for him at the chapel.
"Have a good day," —A kind lady from a fruit stand greeted him, extended her hand and offered him a fruit—
"Thank you, I appreciate it very much, Miss Nonalith!"
That lady was a friend of his mother's; whenever he saw her, she would give him a fruit. He was very grateful that she was always there; she was a nice person, he should give her a gift someday too for her constant gifts.
They both didn't take long to reach the chapel; the wooden door creaked as always when it opened. Empty as always, Duncan made sure that no one would interrupt when he brought his little friend for his spiritual sessions.
"Do you remember the stigma on your chest, the bird one?" —Duncan asked gently—
"Of course, but why do you mention it?" —Aedric asked, curious—
"Well, today I will teach you about your stigma."
—End of Chapter 6—