#cursed2020

By:angvalkyrie on Wattpad

💫Chapter:2💫

A/N:

Major spoilers ahead!!! I'd suggest you to only read the story if you've already watched the show to it's end.

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For the next few weeks I lived with Clementine in her small woodland cottage. I discovered a lot of things about her that I didn't know before.

She was very messy despite her appearance. Her workspace for sewing was always in complete chaos, but she knew where each thread lay and she could tell you exactly how many needles were lying on the ground. She was also not a very good cook but she could make the acceptable basics. After my first morning in the cottage I decided to make something for her and found she had all the ingredients to make honey cake. The oven was new to me even though it was a literal ancient oven, but I figured it out eventually. Clementine liked to sleep in late too so that provided me with enough time to prepare everything.

She was so amazed when she tasted the honey cake that she asked me for baking lessons. It was such a simple thing but I was happy that I could contribute to my stay here.

I also discovered that despite her human appearance she was in fact a sky fey. She said she preferred not to live in the village because she wasn't accepted her husband was human and the fey elders didn't approve of that. To curb the loneliness she liked to help traveling fey with a roof over their heads in exchange for their story. Probably why she took so easily to my company.

People didn't often come by her little cottage but when they did they were some interesting characters indeed. She told me stories of fauns who liked to get drunk and run amuck. Woodland fey who enjoyed braiding her hair and making her jewellery o say thank you for letting them stay and countless other comedic tales.

I even had the chance to go into town to deliver pieces of clothing we had repaired and to buy food. It was not what I expected, but I was kind of expecting the unexpected at this point.

It was smelly from the waste they had thrown out into the streets, the only semi clean place was the market place which held the faint scent of baked books and fresh meat. Their fruit was fresh and everything was 100% organic as you'd expect from medieval times. It wasn't horrible all in all. Eventually I would go into town on my own now and again.

I was also still training in my spare time trying to improve my fighting skills as much as I could. I even challenged Clementine to a stick duel. Clementine was not one for dueling and much more preferred the comfort of her needle over the broad sharp edge of the sword. Her late husband was a soldier who served the king but he died in battle a few years earlier and their daughter had passed before that from the plague. I suddenly understood why Clementine was such a lonely individual and why she preferred to stay away from the other fey villages.

As a result, Clementine kept all her husbands old weapons but never found any use for them. She decided to give them to me to say thank you for the company and help I provided. At first I had refused saying that she was already helping me by letting me live with her but she insisted. Eventually I gave in and accepted the weapons. I would need them if I ever did run into Nimue or even the red paladins for that matter.

The thought made me shudder as I stepped through the little stone doorway I pulled my cloak over my head, looking back at Clementine I shouted. "I'm going to buy some more cheese and milk. Do you need anything?"

She sat for a second lifting her head from her needle work to look around her room before she retorted. "Just some white thread and twine if they have any. I'm almost out. Also, I might not be here when you get back, I will be visiting my relatives in the sky folk village where I used to live. I should get back tonight it isn't very far from here." She lowered her head again intently focusing on fixing the butchers pants which he had ripped for the third time in the last two weeks.

It still amazed me how she knew exactly where everything was and how much she needed just by looking around. She was extremely perceptive.

Shaking the thought out of my head I nodded. Clementine had one beautiful brown mare in her possession which she often used for travel. Her name was Elisa and she was a timid animal. I mounted her and continued on my way to the town.

It takes a few hours to get there but once I did I dismounted Elisa and walk alongside her the reigns in hand. I usually pay one of the boys near the stables a few copper coins to look after her while I was shopping. His name is Jack and he had mousey blonde hair and a cute face. He was easily thirteen.

"Good morning Jack. I've brought Elisa again. Do you think you could comb her for me? I'll give you an extra silver." He smiled brightly taking the reigns from me and leading Elisa to her usual pen. It was pretty well maintained for a stable all thank to Jack's brother Thomas who helped look after the family. Their father was a blacksmith and their mother had passed a year ago deu to an unknown illness they couldn't cure. Thomas was around my age and was always flirting and trying to buy me a drink at the local pub.

"Good morning mi'lady."

Speak of the devil.

I turned to face Thomas his strong build in my view. He was quite tall about 6ft 1 or somewhere around there. His hair was a darker brown than that of his younger brother and longer too. I always struggled to keep eye contact with people in my world but for some reason this world made it a bit easier. Thomas' eyes were a pretty brown colour which contrasted beautifully against his freckled skin he said to me that they were his mother's eyes. I had my mother's eyes from what I could remember about her. I didn't miss my world too much, I mostly missed my family that I had left behind. Sometimes I still think I'll wake up in my bed and this would all be a dream, maybe that's why it was easier for me to talk to people. It just felt like I belonged here.

I grinned.

"Good morning Thomas. I see you have a lot of horses in today. What's the occasion?"

I asked genuinely curious, they almost never had this many horses in the stables, it was concerning to say the least.

His bright smile, similar to that of his brother's, flashed across his face.

"Isn't it wonderful. We have mercenaries passing through town for a week. They even paid us in mostly silver coins. Would mi'lady like to join me for a mug of ale to celebrate the occasion?"

I was usually busy whenever he asked me, but this time there were no pressing matters to attend to and I thought I'd indulge him a bit. I might as well enjoy myself while I was here and I was alot less likely to get roofied here than in my world which was the main reason I denied drinks from strangers if I went out with my friends.

The only thing weighing on my mind was the pit at the bottom of my stomach that I usually got when I was forgetting something. What could I possibly be forgetting? It's not like I left the damn stove on at home so why was I feeling like this. It's like my mind is trying to warn me about something.

I was lead into the local pub that I had seen many times before now. The barkeep asked us to make her some new aprons for the kitchen staff and I had come to take measurements with Clementine. They were not surprised that Clementine had another visitor. They were more surprised with the fact that I had been living there for two weeks.

She never asked someone to stay more than a week at most. It didn't really bother me since they thought she missed her daughter.

Thomas lead me to a table near the wall calling a barmaid closer and ordering two ales. The moment the barmaid turned her back Thomas turned to me his grin nearly splitting his face in half. "So mi'lady, what made you decide to finally have a drink with me?"

His question was full of curiosity much like his eyes which were teeming with wonder. He reminded me of my dog back home when I feed him or gave him a treat.

"I wasn't as busy as I usually am so I just decided to take a chance." A genuine warm smile graced my face. He really was a good guy. He was great conversation to have and no conversation ever really fell flat. He wasn't too bad looking either. He had that stable boy charm that characters often had in books and considering we were technically in a book I guess you could say he was basically a fangirl's dream come true. But I didn't know whether I wanted to initiate a relationship with him yet. I still had to find a way back to my family. The scraps of information I got regarding Merlin was few and far between and I just couldn't figure out a way into the palace without it involving some sort of war crime for which I would most likely be beheaded, burned or hanged. I like my head very much and I'd like to keep it on my shoulders.

His cheesy little grin was enough to make any girl's heart melt and those pretty brown eyes of his twinkled with curiosity. "Well then I'm glad that Clementine is at least giving you a day off. Now I have a chance to get to know you a bit better. Besides the small talk I mean." A low chuckle escaped his lips and in turn it made me laugh half heartedly.

I felt uneasy. Not with Thomas though. He was one of the more respectable people I've met in this place. So then why did I feel like I wanted to throw up?

Red cloth passed my vision and I finally realised why I felt so uneasy.

Red paladins.

They walked in silently and sat down at a table in the far corner past some mercenaries. They scanned the bar for any fey they might need to exterminate. Everyone was silent as they entered and didn't make a sound until they were quietly seated again.

I heard Thomas give a low growl across from me. "Damned bastards. Why don't they just stay in their church? Murder follows them wherever they go." I raised my eyebrow at his hostile attitude, his eyes softened when they finally met mine and he shook his head. "Sorry Kayda. I just can't stand the sight of them. What right do they have to say the fey are demons and burn down entire villages."

Fear swept through me and another panic attack threatened to take hold.

They were already burning the fey villages? I though I would have at least a bit more time to figure out how to warn them but it's already happening. My lip quivered slightly so I slapped a hand over my mouth and took a deep breath. There was no way that I could have known when it would happen. I couldn't blame myself. But I could prevent it from happening again couldn't I?

If I rode now I would be able to warn the sky folk.... Oh God!!

Adruptly I stood up as my eyes grew wide and I heart beat like a jackhammer against my chest. "Clementine!!" I yelled out loud for a few people near our table to hear. Thomas immediately jumped over to me and held my shoulders. "What's wrong Kayda? What's going on?" His eyes searched for an answer on my panic strikken face I just shook my head. "I have to go, Thomas I'm so sorry but I have to go Clementine needs me. She's in danger. I can't explain it now but I need my horse quickly."

Thomas was clearly confused but he could see the desperation in my eyes and he knew I didn't lie. "Alright we'll go fetch the horse from my brother. Come on."

He lead me outside as we ran towards the stables. Jack was standing outside with Elisa brushing her through like I had asked him to. He must've heard us running because he lifted his head in our direction. He was baffled once he saw the horrified look on my face.

"What's wrong mi'lady? Did Thomas ask you to drink ale with him and get in a fight again?"

I was out of breath so I took two deep breaths before speaking. I could already see the red paladins looking strangely at my panicked figure. I whispered as I spoke, loud enough for only Jack and Thomas to hear.

"I need Elisa Jack. You can keep the silvers I gave you. I think Clementine is in danger."

Jack leaned in closer and eyed a passing paladin. "How come?"

I would have to explain to them now since I wouldn't be able to if I did get caught up in an attack against the fey. "Clementine went to go visit the sky folk village this morning."

He didn't seem to catch my drift and neither did Thomas. "So, she visits them every so often?"

I shook my head in protest.

"No, you don't understand. The paladins know where the sky folk village is."

Thomas let out a disgruntled noise while Jack looked on his face filled with dread. I continued. "If I ride out now I might be able to intercept them and warn the village to have their people run."

Jack sprang into action as he placed the saddle back on Elisa and got to work on tightening the straps. Thomas faced me his eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't quite crack. "Kayda, I'm coming with you. I know the fastest route to their village."

I felt guilty, but I knew Thomas and once he made up his mind about something no one could persuade him otherwise. I nodded giving in. "Alright but I need you to take this." I reached into Elisa's saddle and pulled out a simple short sword that Clementine's husband used to use and handed it to him. He was mesmerised by the craftsmanship of the sword. He quickly clipped it onto his belt as a few paladins passed by us.

"I'll take my father's horse, Snow. That way we'll be faster." Jack ran off and quickly came back with a dappled grey mare with white spots that resembled freshly fallen snow.

Thomas approached his brother and hugged him tightly. "Take care of pa Jack. I'll be back before you know it." Luckily he still had his father to take care of him. I wasn't planning on letting Thomas join any fighting. He would hide a good safe distance away so no paladins would see him if they did come. The short sword was merely a tool to defend himself with if push came to shove.

I really was hoping he wouldn't get hurt though.

With a few final words of goodbye, Thomas and I set off as fast as we could. He took us off trail through his so called shortcut. That way if the paladins were traveling on the road they wouldn't see us. Even if we followed them quietly the weeping monk would be able to sniff us out. I didn't want to take that chance.

That reminded me of another problem I needed to adress after this. Lancelot. The true identity of the weeping monk. He didn't scare me when I thought about him because I knew inside he was just a broken fey boy who was taken from his parents and forced to serve a religion that wasn't his. I grew up Christian. My mother was atheist as far as I knew, but my father was Christian, he never had a problem with my mother's choice and neither did I. I wasn't atheist per say but I wasn't Christian either. I was still trying to figure out this whole religion thing so it was never a pressing matter to me. And I wasn't going to adress it now.

For now I needed to focus on warning the fey. Even an hour's warning would be enough for them to mostly escape the clutches of death. I knew one thing and that was that Lenore would probably stay behind to defend the sword and wait for her daughter.

Nimue would have to go to the village even if she did run into the paladins. Hopefully if I got there early enough I would be able to get everyone out and the paladins would just pass by. Unlikely although not impossible.

I rode Elisa as fast as she could go with Snow hot on our tail. Elisa was a war horse so I knew she could handle rough terrain. Surprisingly it felt like we were running smoothly. Almost as if the roots and trees moved out of the way for us to pass.

Kayda...

I almost stopped in my tracks when I heard someone whisper my name. It was so clear in my mind that it felt like the person was standing next to me. But it didn't come again.

I decided to pay it no mind as I continued my journey, all the while hoping and praying that I would make it in time...