Ol' Flint the Crow

The Princess's Tale pt. 7 / Finale

A full month had past. While I was outside bathing (for it was a strangely hot day) in a nearby pond, I examined my grim face. Oh how in had transformed. Two deep wrinkles lined my cheeks besides my sharp nose. The scar on my forehead was prominent, marring my once childlike appearance. I was a grown woman now. Frowning at myself, I angrily slammed my fist into the pond sending a wave of ripples shooting in all directions.

Without realizing it, I spoke a name quietly to myself. It took me a moment to think before I could recall what I had just said. When I did remember, my mind wandered back to my youth. It had been ages since my pet left me to die in that dudgeon. Where was he now?

"Flint!" my words frothed out of my lips. "Where are you hiding?!"

As if answering me, there was the flutter of wings that flapped from behind. Foolishly, I thought Flint had returned. Hissing, I leered upwards to the sky. However, no crow was there to be found. Instead, it was Vesper screaming of news. I was greatly surprised to see the dear little bat again. It had been so long since he and his kind visited. You see, Hobble's death had been a hard blow on the creature. I didn't realize how much this animal loved the ranger until I had killed him with my own hand. Although, Vesper did not witness the incident, he knew that something was suspicious about Hobble's death. The bat's instincts told him that Shrouder's story was not entirely true. I knew it because of Vesper's sudden disappearance. However, perhaps the creature had finally accepted the account as truth, and he now just wanted more of the berries he loved.

"What is it?" I asked while giving him a well-deserved treat. "Speak slowly. It's hard to understand you."

Vesper landed on my shoulder and enunciated each word clearly as he could.

You see, we had sent Granny and the townsfolk off to pick fruits and nuts since we were in desperate need of food for my nobles to recover. None of the rangers went with them. If the commoner blundered about the wilderness and were eaten by a wild animal, I wouldn't care.

In an excited voice, I repeated in my tongue Vesper's words. "Granny's injured? She took a tumble. Hm! Take her to me!"

The bat took off, passing massive oak trees as he went. I followed Vesper, calling out to him every once in a while to wait for me.

We arrived on a rocky slope with loose pebbles that wobbled underneath my boots. Having trouble maneuvering down the hill myself, I knew the old woman was in danger. All the way at the bottom of the hill there was a group of three children hovering over a crumpled up body that refused to move even though they desperately shook it.

"Please get up, Granny!" one of the children whom I recognized as the girl named Miranda from the night I escaped the dudgeon. "Y-you can't be dead!"

Granny groaned in annoyance. "I'm not a goner yet, child. Just give me some water."

The girl was about to hand the hag what she asked for but stopped once she saw me. With a cry, Miranda pointed at the old woman and begged that I help. Meanwhile the other children bowed their heads low out of respect... no, fear of me.

"Child! Water!" gasped Granny.

My voice shook with excitement as I spoke to the woman. "Refrain from any unnecessary movement. You must have taken quite the tumble; you look awful!"

"Merely a scratch," winced the hag.

She even turned herself around to face me. Beads of sweat poured off of her. The flaming sun beat down on her like a beacon.

However, I bent on one knee and shoved her back to the ground. "Don't be a fool. You could be internally bleeding as we speak." I beckoned the children close to me and said, "Go back to the hideout. Seek no one but Shrouder. He's the only one that knows how to treat her. Hurry, or Granny may not make it. GO!"