I turned and took a couple of steps, and something stood in front of me. Or rather, someone. That spruce tree again. First, it scared the crap out of me. Then it healed me. And now it's blocking my way?
-Wait, where are you going?
I looked at him with a withering gaze. My left eye trembled, looking at him. It felt like if he blocked my path for another second, a fire would start in his branches. The blood in my veins boiled, and my teeth began to grind painfully against each other.
A wind blew between us, as if trying to calm my intentions of chopping this tree down to the roots right then and there, if there was even one.
Even such a powerful being as Mikua decided to step back. He was clearly taken back and couldn't have foreseen that such a small girl could do anything against him. Although it was only a visual exchange, one could say he had lost it miserably.
As he stepped away from the girl, he saw her fly toward the entrance of the house.
-An interesting person, however.
I quickly opened the door, almost knocking it off its hinges, and hurried to my sword. It lay leaning against the wall. Clean and sharp. I always cleaned it after using it. I just needed water, of which there was plenty during the winter. I just thought cleaning it was the right thing to do. Simply because it looked more beautiful than usual. Of course, the sight of the bloody blade was also something unusual.
Approaching the sword, I removed the bandage from my hand, revealing healthy skin, without a trace of a wound. My other hand grabbed the sword. Making a small cut, I felt pain and relief at the same time.
Red blood, like the rosehip I so often drink, began to flow from my hand through the wound. Looking at the blood, I felt neither disgust nor fear. For me, it was almost natural. As if it was supposed to be this way.
Seeing a large amount of it on my hand and some droplets on the floor, I quickly rinsed my hand in the pot of water I had recently prepared to get rid of the excess blood and wrapped the bandage around my wound.
The bandage became even redder. It hadn't looked like it had before, and now it was completely black and red. Finally feeling the complete pleasure of my body being free of any burden, I took a deep breath and simply sat on the floor.
Until I felt someone's gaze. And yes. That fir tree again!
I walked up to the entrance and asked him:
-So what do you want?
Mikua, standing in front of me, or rather his wooden legs, wobbled slightly in surprise. He didn't think she would be insolent to him again.
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-I'd like you to leave the house first so we can talk face to face.
I stared blankly at his feet, remembering that in the last five minutes he had caused me more problems than anyone else. Should I even go to him?
-No. I don't want to. I don't want to get into trouble again.
I heard a quiet voice. I knew who was speaking, of course, but on the other hand, I wouldn't say he wanted to harm me. But I don't want to go talk to him again either.
Not knowing what to do, I just closed my eyes and fell asleep.
And I want to say that this fir tree is quite stubborn and persistent. She comes up to me every day and tries to ask me something. EVERY DAY. It's annoying.
Of course, every time I saw him, I simply walked around him, ignoring him, or simply went back into the house. It would be too much of a hassle to negotiate with him. Especially when I have to lift my head so high.
-Leave me alone. What do you want from me?
-Young miss, I see potential in you to...
I interrupted him, not even wanting to hear what the tree had to offer me. Heh... I read a book about carpentry... Heh, what if...
-I don't care what you have to say. You're just too... Strange for me? If you were even a little like... Well, like some kind of animal, I'd think so.
-Stop! Please, listen to me! I can help you!
My ears involuntarily twitched as soon as I heard the words "books." They really meant a lot to me... Besides, there might be books in there that I really need. A dictionary, for example. Because there were a lot of words I couldn't even understand, since I had nothing to compare them to.
I turned to Mikua and stared at him very intently. My gaze was a little distrustful, because how could HE even have books? Although the fact that he was talking to me didn't bother me... So wait. How is he even talking to me? He's literally an inhabitant of this forest. And I've never seen a single creature that can communicate with me. Everyone I've met has been completely hostile towards me. Except for the fox. She's pretty.
-So you're saying you have books?
-Of course! I'm the protector of the forest. Besides, there are people who settled near this place, and they had quite a few. I think you might have met them. Incidentally, they were very interested in this place when smoke started coming out of the abandoned hut. It really attracted them, and they wanted to check it out, but I warned them very well and told them it would be better if they didn't come here.
-And? What about books? I need books.
-Yes... Books. I can bring them the next day when I return to my lair. But for now, let's make a deal?
Somehow I don't really like this idea of ??a "deal." Especially if I even knew what that word meant. I just looked at him, and I could tell he was sweating. Only in his case, it was spruce resin.
-Well... I can think about it...
-Yes? That's good, then I want to...
-And what is a "deal"? The words seemed to fly from my lips, quickly and seriously. But my seriousness apparently didn't particularly please Mikua, and he quickly and forcefully hit himself in the face with a multitude of branches.