Chapter 1: Arthur’s Hometown
ARTHUR was born in a country town on the edge of a lake. He and Olivia arrived there four days after leaving Soup Forest in a carriage.
Vacant buildings tend to fall apart quickly, and this house was horribly decrepit. A huge hole gaped in the roof of the one-story building, and weeds sprouted inside. They likely grew thanks to the light and rain coming in from the hole.
“It’s been ten years,” murmured Arthur, peering in through the entrance, the door hanging crooked on its broken hinges. “Seeing it now makes me realize how small it was. I feel kind of bad bringing you all the way out here just to see something in this shape, Olivia.”
“Don’t.”
Olivia’s response was so short Arthur turned around to look at her and saw her eyes closed and hands clasped in front of her chest in prayer. “Thank you,” he said. “My parents and sister are this way.”
“I just wanted to say thank you to the home that protected you as a child,” said Olivia.
I married such a good person, he thought. He often had that thought. His wife was born a noble but lived a commoner’s life and could find it in her to offer a prayer of thanks to even a house as run-down as this. To him, she seemed so very kind.
The two walked into the forest to a clearing filled with wild plants and a few small trees.
“They’re here. These three trees are their grave markers, instead of headstones,” said Arthur. “I dug the graves deep so they wouldn’t be disturbed by animals, then I planted these trees here. They’ve grown a lot since the last time I was here.”
They were three silverberry trees. Arthur moved over to them and placed a hand on each one in turn.
“This one is my dad’s tree,” he said. “This is Mom, and this is my little sister. I didn’t have the money to buy real headstones, and I wasn’t strong enough to drag some stones over from somewhere. Instead, I pulled three silverberry seedlings from the forest and planted them here to mark their graves. You get all sorts of little birds here when the trees get berries. I figured the birds would make for decent company, even if I wasn’t here…”
“You did all that and you were only fourteen… I’m sure they can feel how much you care about them,” said Olivia.
Hi, everyone, thought Arthur in prayer. I brought my wife to see you. She’s such a compassionate person, and a hard worker. I’m doing good. I’m sorry I haven’t been back for so long. But, now, I finally got the courage to come back to visit, thanks to Olivia.
Olivia stood beside him, also praying. Hello. My name is Olivia. I’m Arthur’s wife. He’s such a kind, strong, wonderful man, and I promise to cherish him. Please be at peace. You won’t have to worry about him.
After their prayers, they raised their heads to look at each other and smiled.
“Let’s take the horses over here. I want to give them a drink. There’s a creek,” said Arthur.
“We’re lucky that horse we borrowed is so hard working and obedient. He’s been getting along well with Annie, too.”
“Yeah. It sure helps there hasn’t been any bickering between those two.”
Their hands naturally clasped together as they walked towards the creek. The horses’ steps grew lighter when they smelled the fresh water. The creek was narrow and gentle, and the horses gulped down water with relish.
Water! Yum!
Nice cool water!
They must have been quite thirsty.
“My dad said he built our house there ’cause of this creek,” said Arthur. “A well might dry up during a sunny summer, but a creek won’t ever run out of water.”
“It’s a beautiful creek. It seems perfect for children to play in, too.”
“I had a lot of fun catching little fish. My sister and I’d use a net to catch them, then Mom’d cook them up and serve them.”
“I get emotional every time you tell a story about your family. You sound like you were all very close.”
“Thinking back now, yeah, I suppose we were. I didn’t think much of it at the time, though.”
They drew the horses away once they’d had their fill to drink, then Arthur led them to the lake where he learned to swim. It was a vast lake with small fishing boats dotting the center.
That’s when Olivia realized Rob wasn’t with them.
“Rob!” she called. “Rob? Oh, no. He just disappeared at some point. He must have found a rabbit or something.” She put her fingers to her lips and whistled, then waited.
After some time, Rob came running back, making a racket rustling through the foliage. And behind him…
“Oh my! You came all the way out here?” cried Olivia.
“Whoa, that’s a huge buck. And it really is gold,” said Arthur.
“I was certain you would’ve gone to one of the areas next to Marlais. Why in the world are you here?”
The golden deer appeared slowly from the forest, though he didn’t step beyond the forest boundary. Perhaps he was worried about people seeing him, or perhaps it was because Arthur was there.
You well? he thought.
“Yes, I’m doing very well,” said Olivia. “I can’t believe you came this far.”
Many humans.
His memories flowed into her. It seemed he’d been hunted in Marlais’s neighboring regions as well.
Oliva then saw four does hanging back silently behind the golden deer. “Oh, are those your wives behind you?”
Yes. That human is male?
“Oh, yes. This is my husband. We’re married.”
The golden deer looked at Arthur with his red-tinged eyes. Mate?
“Yes. We can see into each other’s hearts.”
True mate?
“I think it’s likely, yes.”
Arthur was guessing what the deer and Olivia were talking about based on what he could hear from her. She spoke to the deer like she was speaking to a human, but Arthur couldn’t hear what the deer said.
Live well. Bear children, said the deer.
“We will, eventually. Thank you,” said Olivia.
The golden deer turned to the does waiting for him and disappeared into the forest without looking back.
“Well, that was short,” said Arthur.
“Yeah. It was sort of a one-sided attachment from me, after all.”
“Are you sure you’re done? I can wait here,” he offered.
“No, I’m done. I’m happy just knowing he’s alive and well. I’m glad I saw him.”
“You said we’ll do something eventually. What did you mean by that?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m sure we’ll talk about it. Eventually.”
Arthur didn’t push any more on that since Olivia’s cheeks turned pink, and so the two went off to the inn where they would be staying the night.
Olivia had said she was perfectly happy to sleep in the carriage they’d rented for this trip, but Arthur insisted, both here and on the road, that they stay in actual inns.
“We can splurge just a little, now if no other time,” he’d said. “I want to. It’s nice to stretch out and relax on clean sheets when traveling. I want that for my wife.”
They arrived at the inn and were eating in the restaurant on the first floor when Olivia called Arthur by his name while they were talking. The man at the table next to them froze for a second and stared at them with a look of shock on his face. Olivia wondered what that was about, but she soon found out because the man could apparently no longer hold back his curiosity and finally said, “Arthur? Arthur, is that really you?”
“Yes, sir, my name is Arthur. And you are?” said Arthur.
“It’s me, Carl, an old friend of your dad’s. You don’t remember me, do you? Guess that’d be the case ’cause it’s been so long since I last saw you. But I knew it was you right away. You look just like your dad.”
“I do? Makes me happy to hear it. Actually, I’m here with my wife. We came to see my old home while taking some time off after getting married.”
“You got married? Congratulations!”
Arthur and Carl continued chatting after that, while Olivia listened with a small smile.
But her expression stiffened as the conversation continued.
“There’s going to be a big hunt here real soon, hosted by the royal family,” said Carl.
“A hunt hosted by the royal family?” said Arthur.
“Yep. It’s ’cause there’s been sightings of this golden deer in the forest nearby lately. Apparently, the local lord told one of his relatives who works in the castle all about it. The story’s obviously just going to keep on spreading after that. So now the whole area’s buzzing with talk about it.”
“Huh.”
Arthur, thinking of Olivia, found an appropriate point to break off the conversation, and the two went up to their room.
“Arthur, what do we do?” she said. “A hunt hosted by the royal family? All sorts of nobles and hunters with the best hunting hounds will take part. It’ll be filled with only the most skilled hunters.”
“Should we go warn him?” he asked.
“Yes! We have to warn him as soon as possible!”
“All right. At dawn tomorrow. We’ll leave the inn before the sun even comes up.”