DRAGON LONGZE ENCOUNTERS FREYA (BY BOST, 2026- PART 6)
Freya was happy to have encountered the very young man (Dragon Longze) she had sought to find and now after the knock and facing him, manners dictated that she wait at the doorstep to be invited in; she had therefore, expectantly stared at him, her words temporarily frozen on her tongue while her mind ran a prolific assortment of frenzied thoughts and feelings never before experienced. The young man’s awkward, prolonged response was unnerving; nevertheless, she had felt completely safe, unable to detect least malice, no threat or hostility in his keen gaze.
Longze on his part, had stood inexplicably (enigmatically) immobile because he had been thunderstruck (shocked) to see her there and remaining perfectly still, he was processing inwardly what he faced.
Freya’s concern for her father’s welfare being a vociferous siren, however, she was the first to break the spell, and the moment her senses snapped back to reality, she said: “Sir, please forgive my rude intrusion; my name is Freya Aquila and I am the daughter of hunter Hans Aquila. I have been beset (overcome) with worry since my father had gone on a routine hunting trip five days prior and has not yet returned; hence, I would like to know if you have come across him or know any news of him. He is my sole living kin, and I fear that something awful (dreadful) might have befallen him in these woods. So, kind sir, is there any chance of you having seen or heard anything about him?”
The girl spoke so quietly and looked at him so vulnerably that Longze deeply affected by her angst, rushed to at once bow his head in greeting and politely introduce himself as Longze, no last name was given; subsequently, he in quick succession, with a gentle voice and demeanor, uttered reassuring words to comfort her. Afterwards, he fell silent, not knowing what else to say.
Dragon Longze thereupon had discreetly observed her, this time being up close and really seeing her, he’d noted that for a human, particularly since her cheeks were tinged with crimson hue (shyness being the most delightful characteristics of humans), she looked as beautiful as a flower, akin those lovely blossoms in spring. Her braided blond hair (locks), meanwhile, disordered as it were, because of the prevailing winds and the storm, falling over her shoulders, swayed like the graceful branches of a willow tree. Even though her large emerald, green eyes were sad, they held worders of the Universe as it glistened like the stars on a clear night; and, it seemed to Longze that she could not belong to the human species on earth, that she must be a fairy—an angel from Heaven.
“For heaven’s sake, what are you waiting for, have you lost your wits entirely, Longze? Can’t you see she is cold; invite her in!” The impatient voice of his guardian Asmund, audible only to Longze, snapped (busted the trance) Longze at once from his trance like obsession, his fascination of Freya.
“Am I allowed?” Longze abruptly looked up and silently asked Asmund; then straightaway feeling foolish, Longze opened the door wider. He declared that she would be safer and more comfortable inside; thence, with a polite sweeping gesture of his hand accompanying the words of, “Please come in,” he promptly stepped aside, and invited Freya into his humble abode.
Freya, now uttering her thanks, after moment’s hesitation, for her boots were all covered in mud, quickly stepped over the threshold but nervously remained inside by the door.
“She’s worried about dirtying the floor.” Asmund’s voice chimed in Longze’s ears.
Longze quickly responded with his placating (conciliating) vernacular, reassuring her that a little dirt on the floor was inconsequential, then bade (invited) her to please take a seat by the hearth, as she would be more comfortable and warmer there.
Subsequently, she was shown to a seat and then offered steeping hot cup of tea. Longze, then asking, “May I?” and receiving an affirmative nod from Freya, he set across from her and tilted his head and politely inquired: “Tell me, if you please, bit more about your concerns, and more precisely, more details about your father so that I may rightly assist you in finding him; I will listen to your story, however long in its entirety, if you trust me enough to tell it to me. Hopefully, your father will be found safe, and…” he hesitated before speaking again, “and if you don’t think me too brazen, are you spoken for?” Longze had regretted asking that the moment the words had escaped his lips; he had innately understood the inappropriateness of it, and so, blushing, he averted his gaze and looked down, suddenly discomfited (embarrassed, flustered) and felt gauche (uncouth, tactless). “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that!” He then quickly added, trying to remedy his transgression.
“Now you’ve done it; and you were doing so well up till then too.” Asmund’s bemused snicker made Longze further disconcerted (embarrassed), as he had revealed not only to her but to his guardian his maladroitness (unsophistication, callowness, inelegance).
Asmund sensing his deep hurt, relented: “But I see that I am making you uncomfortable; so, I shall take my leave of you for a while. I have other matters to address anyhow. But Longze, do not try so hard; relax, and be yourself, all will be fine. I will check back on your progress tomorrow. “
Longze was grateful for Asmund’s tolerance and faith in him. He nodded his head, to his guardian; then, his attention was at once reverted (directed back) to her.
Freya, meanwhile, was taken back, baffled even, by his sudden awkwardness, his unusual candor and delightfully innocent nature, and so she had stared at him in silence, for so long that, he thought he’d definitely overstepped some boundary and breached some human decorum (propriety, modesty, tact, politeness) that she was cross with him and therefore, would not answer. But when he dared to meet her eyes again, he saw that there was no judgement, no anger or repulsion, only kindness and tolerance and something resembling his akin intense curiosity, in her eyes. This elated him, and so encouraged, he was about to speak, when the sudden gusting wind that shook the shutters, drew both their attention to it.
The sudden hurricane force wind again rising, had this time seriously shaken the dilapidated structure, which he had found (detected) curiously enough earlier that day. Having decided on spending the night there, after his brief repose which he had spent playing the flute, he was about to more scrupulously examine the structure, explore and identify the possible hazards (pitfalls, snares, dangers) of the interior, when she had quite unexpectedly shown up at the cabin’s doorstep. Meanwhile he could not shake the sensation that something was amiss (wrong, awry) or odd about this structure being mysteriously manifested (appearing) there, when there had been no such cabin prior. He had meant to ask Asmund about it, only, he did not get the chance.
Longze, five days erstwhile, as part of his extensive training, had been assigned to complete his eight challenging tasks by his demanding yet fair, current guardian Asmund- as means to assess (evaluate) his growing innate prowess (skill aptitude). The project entailed, that he promptly (within a month) capture and then eliminate the highly volatile, trickster demon incarnates, the ersatz (artificial) black panther, Sedit, that sometimes simulated (sham, fake) human warrior or a ruffian.
Escaping from the high security, penal colony, on Star Treon and, having set his sights on Earth, Sedit during the last six months had left immense carnage and vile (abominable) destruction in his wake, before, quite recently absconding (fleeing) to this remote region and then taking refuge (hiding) within the enchanted (magical, protected), inhospitable dark forest.
Longze two days earlier, on his routine reconnaissance had flown through the clouds over the said forest. Quite by chance spotting the elusive demon panther’s sometimes ally (contact) red tailed fox spirit, sneakily crossing into this segment of the forest, Longze had tracked her progress, deeming the fox spirit being up to no good, as well, hoping that she would eventually lead him to demon panther Sedit’s current recondite (abstruse) hideout (lair, den).
Suddenly, once more, the violent winds shook the walls of the cabin so powerfully (mightily) that Longze worried (fretted) whether the precarious structure would stand the next onslaught or simply collapse, tumble over their heads. He of course was beyond harming but the frail mortal girl before him could seriously be harmed. Strangely enough, he felt intensely protective of this girl; just then the wind, the air rushing through whistled through the chinks and crannies of the old building, while from the garden came the mournful howling of wolves, followed by the sudden cry of an owl. An owl? That was an impossibility in this part of the forest?
Longze noted that Freya was still very much frightened and beset with worry; and so, trying his best to distract (divert)her mind and ease her anxiety and concerns- he smiled at her reassuringly and then he repeated his prior request to learn of her story and her troubles, so that he may better assist her in resolving it.
The wind and the raging storm at outside, had indeed re-hashed (re-kindled) Freya’s apprehension (fretfulness) about her father Hans Aquila. Thinking of him forlorn, lost or injured somewhere in the wilderness- therefore, feeling sorrow to the quick, her eyes had defiantly brimmed with fresh tears; however, next instant defiantly, angrily, she had wiped her eyes and resumed her story:
“I am the daughter of a most wonderful, heroic warrior that was long ago falsely accused of a crime he did not commit and was banished to the edge of this Kingdom. He was stripped of his former status, disowned by his father and worst of it, his wife who was not my mother, formally divorced him and later married to his ardent foe. Subsequently, with not a single coin on him, with just clothes on his back, he was driven from the state. Yet he survived, hoping one day to clear his name and regain his honor. He never told me of the details of the crime, though I had implored him countless times, to tell me of it. Each time he would promise me that he would one day reveal all to me when passed my eighteenth birthday. As time went by however, he was disheartened, and burying the past completely in his subconscious, he (let go) also entirely forsook any notion of retribution. Meanwhile, my father’s travels had at one point led him to this inhospitable region. Furthermore, he had successfully bypassed all the blocks and barriers which had made this region impenetrable and chanced on this very remote village that had been permanently, for a decade, closed to all outsiders. He had succeeded where only few hardy warriors in a decade had done and unwittingly discover the hidden Village in this most inaccessible sector, well hidden from any civilized world.”
“The stringent rules were explained to him by the chief elders, and he was given the choice to either forfeit his life by his own sword (blade) that instant, or accept to immerse in their community, culture, by living henceforth, as one of them. It was made clear to him that once he accepted to live there, he would be forever forbidden to leave and would remain hidden from the rest of the world, for the rest of his life. He accepted the choice to stay, which of course, came with a trial period. He had to first prove he was worthy to be one of them (for the immersion into their group). After a gruelling inquisition and hair-rising tests, recognising his prowess’s and valuable mantle (mantle, role), they had accepted him into their folds. He was warned however of their very extensive rigid rules which meant no second chances and, any violation meant his immediate demise. After he had became a citizen, he eventually met my mother when she tended to his serious wounds from a hunting accident. She was beautiful, good hearted, and excellent heeler; to cut the story short, because she was so good, he could not help but fall in love with her and they were married soon after. Then first my brother Alec and then I was born.”
“Winter months are (harsh) most severe in this region and so, my father wanting to secure us some meat for the duration, left on his final hunt, before the onset of winter, some days prior. “Freya lowered her head as she with a trembling voice next said: “He had been absent for unusually long time; he should have returned well before this day. Fearing the worse, but then suddenly hearing the melody of your flute, and hoping you had seen my father, I ventured into the forest to accost you and thus happened to come here.”
“My brother Alec was lost to us recently; I cannot bear to have my father be lost to me as well! How can I exist, without them? I still grieve for my brother Alec’s absence; but I know it in my heart he is still alive somewhere. He cannot be dead, otherwise I would have known it…I would sense it deep in my heart! That said, I miss him so terribly. In the mornings when it rains and, in the evenings, when the winds are fierce, I longed for him to be not at outside vulnerable and at the mercy of elements, but instead, to once more be seated besides me near the hearth, sheltered, safe and warm, us chatting about (talking of) this and that.”
As Longze with undivided attention listened to her story, inwardly however, he had quietly questioned whether the young warrior he had saved and is now convalescing in a cave could be her brother Alec. What if he is not; he should not give her hope, only to disappoint her, if he proved not to be him. Meanwhile, he should search for her father, and find out if he is all right or, if in trouble, rescue him also, before it is too late. Longze then quietly hoped and prayed, that Hans Aquila had not, not at any point (chanced) encountered the demon Sedit.
(END OF PART 6)
(Characters: , Dragon Longze, Elof Bijarke, son Jedrik, Jedrik’s trump card, trusted and esteemed (valued) friend Haldor Yon, from prominent aristocratic family, and a valued elite guard, serving under Elof Bijarke. Halder Yon’s secret intimate partner Archilles Elof. Hans Aquila, wife, Nora, Alec and Freya, guardian Asmund, the trickster demon incarnate, the ersatz (artificial) black panther Sedit, bandit Chief Loki, Immortal warrior Erland, Mayor Gudmund Kirk’s youngest, his still unmarried son Hagen, his wife Selma, his two other sons, the ranchers, named, Agil and Corey Kirk, Olga, Heavenly Emperor’s niece, one selected to be Longze’s future mate)
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