First night at glen
Maureen did not sleep the first night in Glen.
She lay on her side awake on the narrow bed, Draven curled against her chest, his breathing slow and even. Outside, the village was quiet in a way their kingdom had never been. No guards patrolling the streets. No bells.,No distant prayers muttered in fear,,Only the wind moving through trees and the low hum of insects hidden in the grass and bird singing into the night.
She should have been at peace, but Instead, her fear deepened.
She watched her son's face in the dark, memorizing every line, every soft rise and fall of his breathes, as if the world might try to steal him away the moment she closed her eyes. He looked like any other child, small, fragile, calm and honest human. Yet Maureen knew better. She had felt it the night he was born, the way the storm had folded itself into silence for him. She had felt it again when the priests touched his skin and found nothing, and fear had sharpened behind their relief.
Nothing, they had said.
But nothing did not stop stone from mending beneath his feet. Nothing did not calm animals at the sound of his voice. Nothing did not quiet the wind when he cried.
In Glen, Maureen tried to make them ordinary.
She taught him to keep his voice low, even when he spoke to animals and to ignore them in the presence of people . She scolded him gently when cups move on the table or when cracked wood seemed to smooth beneath his fingers. Some things are meant to be ignored .Draven listened, though she was never sure how much he truly understood.
The villagers were kind,
They saw only a fragile woman and her obedient son. Maureen worked different jobs, mending clothes, baking bread, keeping her head down. She learnt their ways, and blend with them,She told herself that here, far from the kingdom, nobody will look for them or bother them.
But the world does not forget what it has marked.
Animals stayed near their cottages longer than they should have. Birds perched on the roof at dawn, singing in strange, uneven patterns. when Draven tripped and scraped his knee, the pain heal faster,than usual,the skin healed as Maureen watched in stunned silence.
That night, she cried quietly so he would not hear.
She love him so much, but fear lived beside that love.Not fear of him,but fear for him. Fear of what the kingdom would do if they learned the truth. Fear of what the world might think of a innocent child who held it together without knowing how.
As Draven slept, Maureen pressed a hand to his chest and whispered a promise she did not know how to keep.
I will protect you,from the world,From fate. From whatever thinks it owns you.
Outside, the wind stilled, as if listening.
By the next morning , a stranger arrived.
He wore no crest, no priest's ,just like any or he travelled,He stayed at the inn, spoke little,but,listened much. When Draven laughed outside,softly, carefully,the stranger looked up as if hearing a bell no one else could hear, and Maureen saw the look on his face.
That night, Maureen barred the door for the first time.
She packed bread, a knife, the small pouch of coins she had hidden under the bed,Draven watched her, movement.
Are we leaving? he asked.
Maureen knelt and held his hands, forcing a smile she did not feel.
No she said. But you must remember what I taught you.
Draven nodded solemnly. Be obedient he whispered.
The wind outside stirred, restless.
Maureen held him close, knowing with a certainty that hurt more than fear,
Glen was not the end of their running.
Then a knock on the door,
Maureen opened the door with fear and the knife already in her hand.
I won't cross your threshold,doorway he said stepping back. Not without you leaving she said.
His voice was calm, and hiding .
I know what you're hiding,he said.
Maureen's hold Draven tightened holding him against her side, silent as she had taught him.
I'm not here to take the boy, the man said. If I were, you'd would have been running already.
That was true. She hated that he was right.
I'm Edrin, he said,the way watcher.
Maureen did not lower the knife.
One who watches old paths,and keeps records of movements most kingdoms pretend no longer matter. He continued
That's not my concern,Maureen said.
It became mine the moment I saw the signs,he replied,Land that listens. Animals that stayed longer than they should.His eyes shifted, settling gently on Draven at her side.
Draven tightened his grip on Maureen's sleeve.
Edrin looks at Draven more closely now,not studying , not weighing. His expression changed, softened. He doesn't know what he is yet, he said.
Maureen's jaw tightened. Not ever, if I can help it.
Edrin nodded once. Then let me help you keep it a secret.
I can't stay, here for a long time . But I can leave something that will help.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object wrapped in a piece of cloth. Maureen opened it slowly a simple necklace, a single pendant carved from dark stone.
What is it?"she said,
Nothing special,he said But it will help him, Calm the world around him when he does not intend it. Keep him small when he must be small.
Maureen held the pendant in her palm. It was warm, almost alive as if it had a heartbeat of its own.
Will it hurt him?" she asked.
No,It will only guides. It's a promise, not a leash. But he must wear it. And he most never know the reason,the moment he knows, it loses its power,
Maureen placed the necklace around Draven's neck while he slept, holding it against his soft chest. Listening to his little heartbeat.
Edrin gave her a final nod,
Keep him hidden,for as long as you can.
With that, he turned and leave. Maureen stayed by the bed , clutching the warmth of the necklace and the faint echoes of Edrin's presence, knowing that from now on, the world would still try to touch her son,but at least, for now, she had a shield.