Upon arriving at the small village’s monastery, thinking it was the best place to ask for shelter and a place to rest before moving on, Earle was met by the intimidated, almost wary glances of the monastery’s apprentices. They all looked at him from the corners of their eyes, much like young but fiery pups ready to snap and bite if one happened to provoke them.
Alas, the monastery’s abbess finally appeared. She curtly informed Earle that he could stay at the monastery for as much as he’d like before moving on with his traveling and that a certain Aeneas would show him the village and town. As soon as she said that, the abbess disappeared, leaving the man to the nasty looks of the apprentices.
It did not take long for somebody to walk into the monastery’s garden out of the scribes’ chambers. It was a girl wearing a white headdress tied under her chin and a black-and-red dress that still revealed her pretty marble neck and collarbones. Her features were soft and gentle, her dark eyebrows accentuated with coal – she looked extraordinary pretty.
And, much to Earle’s surprise, she walked over to him. “Well then, you must be that traveler who arrived at our humble monastery, aren’t you?” she blinked up at him with her large, clear blue eyes. Upon hearing the man’s confused questions about her and the certain Aeneas who was supposed to show him around, the girl gave a shrill laugh. “Oh, that Aeneas is nobody else but me!” she giggled, introducing herself as Eneya… or, as the others would sometimes call her, Aeneas.
She did not seem to mind Earle’s visible confusion. Instead, she immediately led him to a small barn in the monastery’s garden where they kept their horses. Eneya rode a pitch-black Friesian whom she addressed to as Augustine, while she offered Earle a grayish-white, strong Percheron mare.
The two of them rode together through the village. “Watch out, don’t get Lilith’s fetlocks dirty,” Eneya threw a glance over her shoulder, looking back at Earle, who was riding behind her and Augustine, “the path is rather… muddy.”
And indeed it was, but the girl rode on the Friesian so deftly that his fuzzy fetlock barely caught any mud tangled within the hairs. Earle was lucky that Lilith – the mare – was already used to the dirty paths, so she did not mind the slippery ground beneath her hooves.
“I know that the village is small,” Eneya admitted in a sheepish tone after she had shown Earle all the humble houses and narrow streets, “but that is exactly what makes your visit here so much more interesting!”
She flashed Earle a warm look as Lilith caught up with Augustine, “May I know what brings you here?”
She intently listened to the man’s story about how he was banished from his own kingdom, completely unaware of the most important details of his curse. Nevertheless, it still made Eneya feel pity for him, and with a small sigh, she shook her head, “Don’t you worry… sometimes, it’s actually better and… and easier to live the life of a commoner than the life of a royal. Then again, I might be wrong. After all, I’ve never been on a royal court.”
With a soft laugh, the girl spurred Augustine, seemingly offering Earle to race him through the village. She did not have the time to look back as she urged Augustine in a gallop, quickly reaching the village’s edge. The grasslands outstretched far into the distance, and the restless surface of a lake shimmered on the rays of the sun that caressed them from above. Pulling at the reins, Eneya slowed Augustine, and the stallion snorted and pranced, wanting to continue his gallop.
Turning around, Eneya’s eyes met the one of Earl as he finally caught up with her. She giggled, but decided not to tease him with the race as she spoke up with a smile, “I thought you’d like this place more than the town… it’s so noisy and crowded, while here… here it’s so calm…”
As she said that, Eneya dismounted from her stallion and tied him to a nearby willow tree, using it as some sort of hitching post. As Earle dismounted as well, she took Lilith’s reins and tied her nearby Augustine, too. The two horses softly sniffed each other’s muzzles and flicked their tails.
Giggling, Eneya turned away from the horses, just to see that Earle had already settled at the grassy shore of the lake. The girl pulled the fabric of her dress up and sat next to him, still keeping a polite distance. The headdress suddenly felt so choking, and as nobody else seemed to be around, she decided to slowly take it off, letting her wild, raven-black hair cascade down her shoulders in a tempest of black.
“So…” Eneya softly cleared her throat, blinking up at the man next to her, “You’ve been traveling a lot, right? You must have some interesting stories to share!”
At first, Earle was being his cold, almost pompous self. Eneya did not like such people, but she thought that she could give him a try. After all, she ADORED listening to travelers’ stories, and she’d often envy their freedom of traveling around while she was confined in the monastery as a mere scribe.
Nevertheless, as Earle began unraveling his story – his full story – Eneya’s eyes widened with both fear and curiosity. As he eventually told her almost everything that had happened to him before, the girl swallowed hard and just slightly moved on the grass, claiming that the spot she was sitting at was uncomfortable, while in fact, she was just trying to move slightly further away from him.
“Oh… s-so, you can turn p-people into animals, huh?” Eneya shakily asked, her eyes nervously blinking. Eventually, her nervousness washed over into a mirthless laugh, “You know… people used to call me a ‘crow’. And I can’t deny… I’m kind of curious which animal you think would fit me the best?”
She silently prayed he understood her words as just a joke, for that was what they were.
Feel free to use any of my charas if you think Eneya doesn't fit your story/concept!! <33
Marclyn ALKSHK I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR RESPONSE!! Especially the fact that poor Marcus thinks Eneya is a witch PFFFFT--- Can't blame him tho 😭 🤣
