Chapter 3: The search.
The next day, being a Sunday, Guinevere got up quite early, carried out all her chores in the house, and then proceeded to follow her father to the church, something she didn't always do. But today, in order to take her mind off things, she decided to get dressed and follow him.
The people of Llanrwst, although united in most other things, were a religiously divided people. Before the arrival of Christianity to the kingdom, the people all worshipped the old gods of the land. That changed when Christianity reached the land a couple of years ago. Slowly, gradually, some of the people began to embrace it. The others, however, simply weren't interested in the teachings of God and the Christ, choosing to stick with the old ways. Guinevere's mom, Ariana, was a part of the latter. Even though her husband Kendryck was welcoming of the change, she stuck to her own beliefs. However, that didn't in any way affect their relationship with each other. Guinevere, for her part, was rather unperturbed about all of this, sticking to neither this one nor the other. She chose to be free to do as she pleased.
Throughout the over two hours that Guinevere spent in the church that day, it could be said that she was right there physically, but at the same time, she was far, far away. The words that the preacher that stood on the pulpit was speaking were not reaching her at all. Her mind was at the river and the events that happened the previous day. The mysterious man who saved her, who was he? That was all she could think about.
Immediately the sermon and the entire service was over, she hurriedly left the church, not bothering to wait for her father. She reached the house, changed her clothes and grabbed her buckets and yoke. Any one would have thought that she was simply heading off to the river to fetch some water, but truly, Guinevere couldn't care less about the water. Her main purpose was to see if by any chance, she could stumble upon her mystery man where she first met him.
She got to the river in no time, filled her pails with water, then proceeded to wait. She waited there, hoping that somehow the universe would bring him to her today. In order not to look so odd standing there by herself, waiting for God knows what, she engaged in small talk with the rest of the people there, all the while keeping her eyes out for her prize.
After some time, gradually, all the other people that she met at the stream began to leave one after the other, but she remained there, patiently waiting. Still, there was no sign of him. Eventually she got tired of waiting, picked up her buckets of water and left for home. It was when she got home that she realized that she had spent over three hours at the river that day.
The next day, Guinevere went to her place of work where she worked as a seamstress. By mid-day, she was back home. As she expected, her father was not home. He too, had gone out for work. So as soon as she got back from work, she hurriedly took all her dirty clothes, plus some of her father's, and took them all with her to the river to wash them all there. The main reason she was there? Same as the previous day; to search for that man. This time, however, she came prepared, bringing along something to actually occupy her while she waited. So she sat down on a rock, took out the clothes and got to work washing them, all the while keeping her eyes out, waiting for him to make an appearance as people kept on coming and going.
As the afternoon slowly turned into the evening, the shadows grew taller and the number of people at the river began to steadily decrease. Still she remained there, washing and watching, patiently waiting, but there was no sign of him. When she eventually finished washing the clothes, there was nobody else at the river. It was just her, alone. But for some reason, Guinevere didn't feel alone.
Ever since everyone else left, leaving her by herself beside the river, she had had this feeling that someone was somewhere watching her. She had initially ignored it at first, but the longer she remained there, the stronger the feeling became. She couldn't quite explain it, but it was there. She stood up on her feet and looked around her, but there was no other person around. At a point, she felt she heard a sound, a slight rustle coming from the bushes behind her, but turning around towards that direction, she didn't see anybody, no matter how hard she looked. There was no one in sight. Maybe it was just the rustling of the trees which were dancing to the evening breeze, Guinevere eventually thought to herself.
Darkness was fast approaching as the evening went on, and so Guinevere finally decided that she had better head home, or her father might become worried. Before leaving, however, she decided to take a bath at the river.
Moving away from that area to a more concealed part of the river, she first of all took off her slippers and put them by the side. Then she loosened the straps that held her dress from the back, and slowly took if off. Lastly she took off her underwear, and put them all in a heap by the side, on a flat rock. Totally naked now, she walked into the cool water to have herself a refreshing bath after a long day. And indeed, it was a truly refreshing one for her, one that calmed her nerves and made her feel good. Not wanting to leave the water just yet, she decided to splash around for a bit, taking a dive to the deeper parts of the river for a swim.
As she came up from the surface of the water, the evening sun preparing to disappear below the western horizon cast its golden rays upon her, making Guinevere's wet body glisten and shine as water dripped down her body. The warm light of dusk highlighted the edifices of her body, from her long, blond hair that seemed to blend so well with the colour of the sun's rays, to her fairly large, firm breasts and taut nipples that stood out like two little sentries, to her eccentric curve down her waistline, she looked like a goddess in her prime.
And then Guinevere felt it once more, that feeling that someone was watching her. What was this obnoxious feeling, she thought. Once again, she looked around, but there was nobody in sight.
"Why does my mind keep on playing tricks on me for God's sake?" She wondered to herself.
With that thought in mind, she made her way out of the river, quickly got dressed, packed all the clothes she had washed that day into her buckets in a wet bunch and headed home. By the time she got home, it was already dark.
This time, her father was home by the time she arrived, and not surprisingly, he was beginning to worry as to where she was.
"Where have you been Guinevere? Where did you put your head to this ti..." Kendryck began, but paused when he saw the buckets full of clothes in her hand.
"Are you coming from the river?" He questioned, rightly guessing that she took those clothes to the river to wash.
"Yes father, I am." Came Guinevere's answer.
"By this time, Guinevere? You took clothes to the river to wash in the evening? Then when exactly do you want to spread them out and let them dry? During the night, under the moon?" He rhetorically shot at her.
"Yeah well, I couldn't go in the morning because I was at work, remember? So immediately I came back from work, I headed to the river with them. And before you ask if it had to be today, yes, it had to. I didn't want to wait until the weekend or some other day before I wash them, I had to wash them today because I was running out of clothes to wear. I also washed some of yours too, so thank me dad." She explained.
"Even if you had to do it this evening, why do you have to come back by this time? Look, it's dark already. Don't you know how dangerous that is? Or haven't you heard the rumours going around?"
"What rumours?" Guinevere inquired curiously.
"The rumours about 'the wolf'." Kendryck revealed.
"The wolf? What do you mean 'the wolf'? What's up with wolves, what wolf are you talking about? Wait, don't tell me you're referring to the ridiculous stories of the beastly wolf-like monster that is said to patrol the woods at night, the one the one which the say is born by the devil himself. Those made-up tales that are told to children in order to scare them and force them to be good, is that what you're referring to here, pa?" Guinevere asked, bemused, almost breaking into a laugh as she spoke.
"Yes Guinevere, that is what I am referring to. Just so you..." Kendryck began to explain, but was interrupted by his daughter's sudden laughter.
"Oh no no, come on father, those are just fables, made-up stories. No way you're actually among those who believe in that stuff." Guinevere said after her round of laughter.
"They are not made-up stories, Guinevere, neither are they fables. I'm afraid they are quite true, as there are multiple accounts of people in the kingdom who claim they have seen it. Just today, in fact, my good hunter friend, Miguel, claimed that he caught sight of a 'strange creature' in the forest last night when he was out hunting, and he said he was sure that it was the beast in question." Kendryck revealed to her unbelieving daughter.
"Then father, perhaps your friend Miguel was just telling tall tales. Or perhaps he was drunk or something and decided to tell jokes. Because, dad, werewolves don't exist..."
"Werewolves?" Kendryck repeated after her, a bit confused.
"Yeah, werewolves. That's what they are called. Large, fearsome beasts resembling wolves that roam around at night, killing unsuspecting humans. I mean, that's what the stories going around describe them to be like, yeah? That description fits the definition of werewolves I've read about in fictional books and stuff..."
"I see..."
"Yeah. Father, such things are just fictional, they don't exist. Even if, by any wild chance, they did exist, they certainly don't exist here in the Wales with us. I don't know what some of the people in this kingdom are on nowadays. They've probably told the same story so much they start to believe it now. Crazy." Guinevere concluded.
"Oh well, real or not Guinevere, I need you to be careful regarding your movements. I wouldn't want you to get harmed or hurt by anything or anyone. You're my only child you know, and I just want you to be safe." Kendryck expressed.
"I know father, I know. And yeah, I appreciate your care for me. I'll try my best to be careful in whatever I do." She assured her father.
That not withstanding, Guinevere continued to go to the river everday in hopes of finding her man. Any chance she had, she would go there and spend hours upon hours, hoping that he would just show up and crown her efforts with success, but no, it never happened. Sometimes she would even take a stroll into the woods across the river, who knows, by any wild stroke of luck, she might find him there, but no. It was almost like she imagined the entire encounter with him, because it seemed like the man really didn't exist at that point, and that she only imagined him.
However, as bizarre as the fact that she couldn't find him anywhere was, even more bizarre was the fact that each time she went to that area and was by herself, it was as if she could somehow sense that someone was watching her. She couldn't quite explain it, but it felt as if there was a pair of watchful eyes following her the past few days, always hiding from her sight, but there nonetheless. She could feel its presence around. This time, she was so sure that it couldn't be her mind playing tricks on her, she was convinced of it now.
A situation like this would be sure to send shivers down the spine of anybody and, truth be told, the thought that she was being constantly watched by something or someone ominous, that was practically invisible to her scared Guinevere. What if whatever it was decided to harm her? But Guinevere was such a wild, daring spirit! Her curiosity to find out who or whatever it was outweighed her fear. Also, she was convinced that the person who had been watching her whenever she came to this place, was the person that she had been looking for — the man from the river!
On one of the days when she came to the river and was once more overwhelmed by that feeling, she took a very bold step; she attempted to call him out! She patiently waited till every one else had left, and she was sure that she was alone. Then she cried out with a loud voice:
"Hey mystery man! Oh my mystery man, where are you? Where are you hiding? I know you can hear me, I know you've been watching me, I can tell you've had your sights on me for a while now. Well, when are you going to show yourself to me? Why do you keep hiding yourself from me?"
She could as well as well have been crying out to herself, because there wasn't any response.
"Show yourself, mystery man!" She shouted out again, almost as if she was giving an order. However, there was no one answering. She tried again, but the response she got was the same — none. The next day she came to the river, she did the exact same thing, using the exact words as she did the previous day, but not surprisingly, she was left without any answer.
Guinevere was frustrated. She could somehow tell that he was around and that he could hear her calls, yet he would not reveal himself to her, he would not answer her.
"Why won't you answer?!" She muttered exasperatingly to herself, kicking the ground. She then sat down to think of what exactly she could do in this case.
And then a plan came to mind. It was one that, on a normal day, she wouldn't attempt, but seeing that she had tried everything else and they were all ineffective, this was like a last resort to her, a final option. After deliberating on the issue for a while, she made her decision. She will do it! With that thought in mind, she went home.
The following morning, she arrived at the river once more to execute her plan. She first of all made sure that no one was around. Then, when that feeling of being watched came over her again, she made her way up along the riverside, until she got to a cliff, a high precipice. Below the precipice was the flowing river, the deep parts of it. She stood on the cliff and looked out at the river below, and the evergreen scenery beyond her that stretched out for miles around. The morning breeze blew across her face, whipping her now untied hair all around and making her dress flap.
She took a moment to concentrate, trying to make sure that she could actually feel his presence around. Yes, she was quite sure she could feel it, it was there. Or more accurately, he was there. Having made sure of the fact, she walked over to the very tip of the precipice and looked down at the water below. She was going to jump!
Guinevere remembered her experience, how she had encountered him for the first time; he had shown up when she was in danger and dived into the water to save her. Well she intended to recreate that scene today! Her plan was to jump into the water, or perhaps attempt to, and hope and pray that he will come out once more to stop her, or save her, whichever way it went. Standing on the edge of the cliff and looking down, she said a silent prayer within her, hoping that this crazy, absurd plan of hers would actually work, and that he would come out to stop her or save her, should she jump.
She took a deep breath, then uttered the words: "Come save me, mystery man." As she did, she shut her eyes, leaned over, and took the jump!
She could have sworn that she was in the air, falling off already. After all, she shut her eyes up real tightly, so she didn't know exactly what happened. But as she was about falling off the edge, she felt a pair of arms grab her tightly by the waist and pull her back to safety.
In shock, Guinevere abruptly opened her eyes and swung around, turning to see who it was.
It was a man, towering over her, with a broad, hairy chest that was visible through the shirt he wore. He had this long dark hair that fell all the way down to his shoulders.
It was him, the man from that day. The mystery man.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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