The path through the forest was narrow and overgrown. Vines of ivy trickled through any available opening, desperately searching for a glimpse of sunlight. Most of the villagers avoided this path, preferring to take the long and easy way into town. There were numerous stories and tales of the woods being haunted, surely fabricated to keep the villagers out of woodland. But Armus, on the other hand, loved everything about the forest and tried to travel this way way as often as possible.
He had been playing in these woods since he was a small boy. It was in these woods that he defeated armies of knights, slayed dragons and even discovered and conquered new lands. These woods were home to him and he often sought solace amongst the silence of the trees.
His favorite place was a small opening towards the center of the forest. The clearing was carpeted in soft grass and decorated with patches of bluebells and snowdrops. Here he would contemplate life and retreat from the ever increasing demands of his father. His father’s latest obsession was marrying him off to a local maiden that Armus had no desire for.
Armus began to take off his shirt so he could stretch out in the tall grass when something flickered in the sunlight and caught his eye. But before he could focus – it was gone. Strange he thought, and plucked a long blade of grass to soulfully gnaw. But there, closer than he realized, was Nissa. She had been impatiently waiting for his return.
Nissa made herself comfortable atop a white snowdrop, swoonfully resting her head in her hands. She watched as the sun glistened off the smooth, chiseled muscles of his chest. She leaned forward, longing to reach out and just touch him and have him touch her. She was so instantly caught up in the moment that she lost her balance and went tumbling to the ground. She landed in a heap, flustered and mortified. Well, that was quite unfairy like she sighed. Thankfully, Armus did not notice. What would it take to get him to finally notice her? It was the question she pondered since the day she set eyes on him, many moons ago.
For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, lisa challenged me with “Write a story about the two mostly unlikely people you can think of falling in love” and I challenged Heather with “Write about the fickle finger of fate“.
This was cute! I really liked it! Also great description of the words…I felt like I was right there@
I spent countless hours in the woods as a child. In fact, my poor parents typically thought I was playing with the neighborhood children when actually I was usually deep in the woods behind our house. It was part fantasy-land – moss-lined holes at the bottoms of trees were surely faerie houses – and part naturalist stomping ground where one could learn what the birds were saying, and where the fox lived.
This sounds like a fun challenge. Poor Nissa, a speck trying to be noticed by a grown man.