The Wolf Heir

Chapter Three: Elizabeth

The ride to Elizabeth’s house took less than I would’ve liked; I still felt unsure of what had happened back at the Gordon Residence. Especially since I had never been interested in men, much less a boy who used to go to school with me. Elizabeth had always considered me odd for it since she had experienced many crushes during our academic life. For some reason, I couldn’t imagine myself like that, not then, not now. I remembered my friend, talking endlessly about the boys she liked and how her eyes seemed to sparkle when she thought of them, I even recalled the time she told me a boy from our class had kissed her unexpectedly one afternoon after classes were over. I had looked at her with a bewildered look on my face, she had let a boy kiss her and she looked dazed and her head in the clouds, the reason why wasn’t one I could understand. I had never been open to the possibility of dating a boy, much less kiss him. I knew my parents were going to find me a husband one day but before then, I had no plans on developing any sort of relationship with a man other than polite greetings and a few words.

But with Jonas, something had felt different, something had changed inside of me. I had to admit that Gordon wasn’t bad-looking, he was very handsome with his bright green eyes, his dirty-blonde hair and charming smile. Not to mention he was very tall with strong arms and fit torso. I quickly shook the thoughts of Jonas away and got off my horse’s back.

I had put Mrs. Gordon’s ingredients inside my lucky bag. It wasn’t exactly lucky, but it was the last thing I had from my mother. When my parents had taken me in, they saw me crying inside a basket and beside the basket, was a brown leather bag, inside was a brush, a letter I have never read and a compass I always carried with me inside my bag. On the blanket I had been wrapped in was my name engraved, those were all the things I owned from my first months of life.

I was standing in front of Elizabeth’s home, the walls outside needed a new coat of white paint and in the distance, I could hear people talking in the fields, probably Elizabeth’s uncles, they weren’t as fortunate as the Allen family, they barely got around to make enough to eat, that’s why they worked for Elizabeth’s father, that way they could all have food on their plates and the crops were always tended. I never liked my friend’s uncles, they were rude and lacked manners, not to mention they were men who enjoyed to drink a lot of alcohol and when they were under its effects, they looked at me in a way that made my skin crawl.

Just at remembering that I shivered and quickly knocked on the door. Inside, I heard someone walk slowly to the door until I was standing face-to-face with Mrs. Allen. The woman smiled kindly at me and stepped aside to let me in. “Hello Katherine, it’s good to see you. Let me call Elizabeth, she’s outside tending the chickens,” she said before closing the door after me and making her way through the kitchen to get to the door leading to the backyard.

I sat on the couch in front of the front door as I waited for Elizabeth and her mother to come back. I had been here many times as a child and knew this place like my own home. I remember playing with Elizabeth on the staircase with our dolls and doing chores together when we wanted to spend the day beside the lake. It all felt so far away now, we still saw each other but not as much as we used to, maybe once or twice a week if we were lucky.

“Yes mother, I checked under all the hens, there were just three eggs,” I heard Elizabeth say grumpily as she walked in through the door. Her mother trailing behind her with a frown on her face as she examined the basket with only three eggs.

Elizabeth walked to the living room, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulder and her blue eyes stared at me with joy. “Katherine! Thank God you’re here, you saved me from my mother’s sermon,” she whispered as she hugged me tightly.

I laughed and rolled my eyes, “why doesn’t it surprise me that you’re already getting into trouble and it’s only noon?” Elizabeth stuck her tongue out at me and shoved me playfully.

Mrs. Allen appeared after our encounter and turned to us, “considering the hens only laid three eggs today, I am going to need more for tonight, Elizabeth. It’s important.” The woman was staring sternly at her daughter as she put her arms on her hips and raised an eyebrow as if challenging her daughter to respond.

“I know mother. Katherine and I can go over to the Jackson’s to see if they have some eggs to spare,” Elizabeth said in defeat and her mother nodded in approval. She went over to a jar beside the sink and took out some coins before handing them to my friend.

“Be careful and hurry back,” her mother said, this time looking at both of us like a worried mother looks at her children before sending the off on their own for the first time.

“Don’t worry Mrs. Allen, I’ll take care of her,” I said with a smile as I pointed at my friend who was already at the door.  Mrs. Allen only nodded and watched us go.

“Should we take the horses?” I asked Elizabeth once I had caught up to her.

Elizabeth scoffed and shook her head, “nah, there is no need. The Jackson’s don’t live very far away and besides, I know a shortcut.” I stiffened slightly at the sound of that, Elizabeth wasn’t exactly the most reliable person to not get lost and her shortcuts often included losing sight of the trail and venturing through hard parts of the forest.

“Let me tie up Storm then,” I said as I jogged over to Storm who was waiting patiently for me. “Let’s go boy, I won’t be long,” I whispered soothingly as I led the grey horse over to the corral and tied him to the post. I knew he would try to follow me; he has been taking care of me since I was little.

“All set,” I said to Elizabeth as I walked over to her. She was leaning over the fence, watching with a bored look on her face.

“Finally!” she said excitedly and both of us walked into the forest, Storm’s neighs of desperation calling behind us.

…

As we started to lose track of the path, I reached into my bag and took out the compass I always carried with me. “There’s no need for that, we’re not going to get lost,” Elizabeth said with confidence in her voice as she eyed me from the corner of her eye.

I shrugged, “better safe than sorry.” She didn’t respond but I could tell she was rolling her eyes.

After a couple of moments of silence and walking, I finally asked her what was on my mind, “why is tonight’s dinner so important?”

A slight smile appeared on my friend’s face, “well, my parents are going to introduce me to my betrothed and his family.” She spoke with so much calmness that it took me aback. I had always guessed Elizabeth would accept any man to be her husband and she’d have no problem with him but all I could think about was how this was going to change everything for us. In a year time, Elizabeth will be living someplace else, maybe near, maybe far, hopefully with a man who respected her, and she’d probably have a baby or would be expecting one. We would no longer be as close as we were now. It was inevitable but I whished we still had more time to enjoy our limited freedom before being married to a stranger.

“Woah, that’s… fast. Do you know the man?” I asked warily, trying to make a conversation and sound supportive at the same time.

Elizabeth remained silent for a moment before shaking her head, “no, I had never heard from him. He’s not from our side of the village. I just know his family name is Johnson.” I pursed my lips into a line and nodded. What I feared, Elizabeth will be moving far away.

“And, I’m guessing you’re okay with it,” I said slowly, and my friend shrugged.

“I guess, I mean, I have never seen the man, I cannot say if he’s attractive or not but, I always knew my parents had arranged a marriage not long after I was born. I guess that’s why I always acted as if any day was my last to be my own person, to be Elizabeth Allen and not Elizabeth Johnson,” there was a slight sadness on her voice but she quickly masked it with a smile.

I nodded my head and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Strangely, Elizabeth jumped and seemed to tense up at my touch. I quickly pulled my hand back and remained quiet for the rest of the way.

“We’re here. See? I told you I knew how to get here without getting lost,” Elizabeth said smugly, returning to her old self.

I chuckled and shook my head, “there’s always a first time for everything.” My friend rolled her eyes and quickened her pace towards the door. She knocked rapidly on the door making me stiffen, not a lot of people appreciated the racket. “Elizabeth,” I whispered with wide eyes, to which she ignored and kept on knocking.

Moments later, a woman appeared at the door, she was wiping her hands on a cloth. “Elizabeth, I thought that was you,” the woman said with a slight annoyance in her tone. Elizabeth smiled charmingly.

“Good afternoon Mrs. Jackson. I was wondering, do you have any eggs you could spare today? We are in need of some for tonight, you see, it’s my engagement dinner,” Elizabeth said honestly.

Mrs. Jackson’s eyes widened, and she quickly nodded, “sure Elizabeth. Why don’t you girls come in while I get them?” The woman stepped aside to let us through, and she disappeared into a room next to the kitchen. Both Elizabeth and I looked around, trying to make time, until Mrs. Jackson returned with four eggs. “Will these be enough? They are the only ones I can spare at the moment,” she said kindly and Elizabeth nodded her head in relief.

“Yes, thank you, Mrs. Jackson. Here you go,” she said handing the older woman the coins her mother had given her. Mrs. Jackson smiled and led us to the door.

“Thank you, Elizabeth and may your marriage be blessed,” the woman said kindly as we stepped outside.

…

We were walking back to Elizabeth’s house when I heard my friend start to gag. I looked at her worriedly. In just minutes she had lost all color from her face, replaced by a green hue and her eyes seemed less bright now. She looked really sick. “Elizabeth, are you alright?” I asked even though the answer was evident on her face.

My friend shook her head and stopped. She handed me the paper bag with four eggs and I carefully put them in my bag.

“I don’t know what’s wrong. Suddenly I started feeling queasy and my eyesight started to blur. My head is throbbing as well, but I cannot be sick, I am meeting my fiancé tonight,” she said, her tone held a certain amount of desperation.

“Maybe you’re just tired. Yes, that must be it. Let’s get you home so you can rest before tonight,” I suggested. “I’ll help you walk, we are not very far now,” I said as I reached for her and let her weight lean on me as we walked. I was thankful Elizabeth was smaller than me, or else, her weight would’ve knocked us both over.

As we walked, I kept repeating words of encouragement to her and just as I was starting to worry, she would faint, her house came to view. “Come on, Elizabeth, just a bit more,” I said confidently, feeling a new surge of strength course through me.  

Storm was neighing frantically in the corral, probably sensing Elizabeth’s illness as he saw us. I ignored him and kept on walking until I managed to get her inside.

“Do you want me to help you upstairs?” I asked worriedly, I wasn’t sure if my friend was still conscious. But Elizabeth nodded her head slightly at me and I let out a sigh of relief.

Just as we were m=walking up the first steps, Mrs. Allen appeared at the top. “Elizabeth! What happened?” her mother was instantly by our side, helping us up the stairs.

“She is just feeling under the weather, I think she just needs to rest,” I said as we reached the top of the stairs. Mrs. Allen quickly led us into my friend’s room, and we laid her down on her bed. She looked worse now. Sweat covered her forehead and signs of pain were evident on her expression.

As her mother tended her, I stood at the door, unsure of what to do. After a couple of minutes, Mrs. Allen realized I was still standing there and she quickly got us out of the room. “I do not want you getting sick too, Katherine. I’ll call the doctor to have her checked. Thank you for helping her get home, you should go as well, you can come back tomorrow to see how she is,” the woman said kindly and I nodded.

I was about to head down the stairs when I remembered the bag inside my satchel. I quickly opened mine and got out the paper bag with the eggs. “These are all the eggs Mrs. Jackson could spare,” I said and Elizabeth’s mother looked at me thankfully as she nodded.

Without another word, I walked down the stairs and through the front door. As I was untying Storm from the post, I couldn’t help worrying about my friend and for some reason, I felt as if it had been my fault she was feeling sick now. Maybe I shouldn’t have touched her, I thought, but that didn’t make any sense, I wasn’t sick and that couldn’t be the reason why.

I sighed and shook my head before getting onto Storm’s back and riding back home, quickly.