Disturbance and Discordance

Bard listened to the music and internally began to imagine playing the notes that would harmonize to the song of the forest. The more he listened, the more he recognized that the song was incomplete. Missing a vital yet unnoticeable part. He began to wonder if this was the part often sung by the elder tree in the past before he became a War Tree. He wouldn’t know until he approached War Tree, and he would only get one time to try this. He hoped he got the song right, and could change the War Tree from this bloody, unfulfilling path. He knew full well that his life was on the line.

As he sat there, meditating, he began to process what had happened to him in the past few days. Between encountering the dryads of this forest, meeting Sen’s family, and having her thrust a marriage to her on him, no doubt to save his life, he felt overwhelmed to say the least. That and learning that the elder tree had changed into some war tree and his song was strangely missing from the forest. Was there more to this? Some hidden force at play? Hardly. He surmised that the Dryads would have stopped anything like that from happening, unless they were involved.

He inwardly sighed. If being pledged was that serious of a deal that they wouldn’t kill him, but await the judgment of the elder tree. He wasn’t sure what it all entailed, but it would be far more than what humans called an engagement.

Sen seemed smart, but naive. He wondered if he would really be required to marry her. Would the dryads honor the elder tree’s decision? If it was his death, oh yes, without a doubt, but to be allowed to marry Sen. He supposed he would have to face this life event eventually, but this was a bit too absurd.

To be fair he did find her cute, and he had no idea if he refused the pledge if that would mean his death, or perhaps hunted vigorously by the dryads of this forest. That would be a pain. However, she seemed a bit young, perhaps a bit immature sometimes. And with the long lifespan of dryads, he would die whilst she lived on. The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. In any case, he would have to ask her and perhaps her grandpa what all this entailed. Thankfully, most if not every other Dryad didn’t know human tongue.

He knew that Sen’s vocabulary was limited, so it was quite possible she wouldn’t be able to explain what he needed to know. That narrowed it down to just her grandfather. He sighed and banished the thoughts, focusing on the song and feeling grateful that he had learned to join the songs of other forests, to commune with their elders.

However, he felt inadequate in this situation. Not only was a vital part missing, he was having to come up with it. He knew that he could change the song, direct it with this part, and hence, he was worried he might not find the right part that the elder sang, and instead come up with his own. The weight of this realization was heavy, to say the least. Bard took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions. For now, he needed to focus on the task at hand. With that he tucked away those thought and emptied his mind and listened. Gradually his mind faded into the music

Bard wasn’t sure how long he had been there when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He opened his eyes and noted that the shadows were lengthening and that the temperature had begun to drop, indicating that evening was fast approaching. Bard turned toward the footsteps and saw Keith approaching him “Times up for today, Teka” he said as he came up to him. Bard nodded his head to him and then stood and bowed toward Sparring Tree. “Thank you, friend,” he said as the Tree returned the bow.

Another Dryad approached and held out his hands to Bard. Bard looked at Keith, who glanced at his ‘weapon’. He realized what was implied and handed the fiddle to the Dryad, who flinched, letting out an uneasy breath, before leaving with the instrument. Bard looked around and realized that there were far fewer spectators than before.

“I suppose I’m not that entertaining,” he muttered to himself. He was led back to his quarters, where a delighted Kai anxiously awaited him. Not even a few steps into the cage, and the oversized wolf pounced on him, licking his face happily.

“Yes, yes, I get it. I’m glad to see you too, buddy. Now move over, you weigh a ton,” he growled out the last part. Kai stepped off, but not before pouting.

“I can’t help these accommodations. And I certainly do not think they would allow you to come with me. And frankly, it’s not that much more exciting. I can promise you that.”

Kai sighed, looking defeated. Then gave him a furtive glance.

“No…. Look, I’ll ask, but don’t expect much,” Bard sighed.

The very next day, he noticed the curious Dryads almost avoiding and fleeing from around him. No doubt, the large wolf walking a few paces behind him didn’t help. There also seemed to be an increase in guards as they walked, and Bard sighed. This was certainly more unwanted attention. Perhaps the golden haired relatives of Sen had agreed, just to see his reaction, see how he would behave if he had less strings attached, or perhaps because yesterday was so boring that it would be an amusing spectacle.

There was also the strange influence that Sen had over her family. And he didn’t want to think about the eventuality of what this whole ordeal entailed.

“Marriage.” He stilled his hands. He wanted to pull at his hair and vent his frustrations out loud. But he didn’t need the sort of attention that might bring. At least the elder Dryad, Sen’s grandfather, seemed aware of the situation and his unknowing stumble into this.

They came to the training grounds where Sen was once again finishing her training. She seemed delighted to see Kai and ran over and past Bard as she embraced the oversized creature. Bard sighed.

“Hello, Sen,” he said, and she snickered as she nuzzled into Kai’s fur. Then with equal excitement she looked at Bard.

“Hi Bard. They let him out?” She asked and Bard chuckled. It was an obvious question, one that he didn’t need to answer. Though he was just a bit jealous. She seemed way more favorable of Kai than to him. He seriously wanted to question if she had made the pledge just so she could be around Kai more, or if she really liked him.

As if sensing his thoughts, she turned and grabbed his hand and smiled.

“Bard. I be back at lunch,” she said and Bard looked at her a bit surprised as she skipped off.

“What was that about?” His gaze lingered on her before noticing Amir fuming. “I should try to not aggravate him more.” He thought as he received the case with his fiddle. He sighed. Sen seemed perfectly capable of making him her father’s enemy without him assisting. At the very least he should avoid adding fuel to the fire that was her dad’s frustration and resentment.

Bard looked at Sparring Tree and Keith as they waited for him to approach. He bowed to the tree as Keith stepped back and Sparring Tree quickly bowed back. Bard sat down and opened his fiddle. He had an idea of how he would handle this and last time, Sparring Tree was more than a little helpful. He hoped to get similar results today.

The hours began to pass and Bard felt a bit tired. This level of concentration and continual formulation was beginning to tax his mind. He looked away at Kai, whose head perked up. He motioned for the wolf to keep relaxing in the shadows.

Then he noticed a bird fly in. Bard’s eyes watched it fly over before circling around Sparring Tree and landing on one of its branches. It let out a few chirps before flying away.

Bard wouldn’t have thought more about it, till he looked around at the others. The Dryads who seemed the most trained and experienced were whispering or looking like they had just been slapped in the face. Was that little bird a big deal?

“Where is Keith?” he mused as his eyes scanned. Then he saw the Dryad leaning against another tree. His expression was full of so many emotions that it was hard to understand what was going on with him. Bard took a deep breath and listened again. Then he paused and looked up at Sparring Tree.

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Keith was about to step in, till he noticed the teka rise to his feet, looking confused and shocked. Keith’s brows furrowed. “Has the teka noticed it as well? How is that possible?” In all Keith’s years fighting, not a single teka had reacted to something like this. He looked to Amir and noted the small nod.

He smirked as he kept in the shadows. So this wasn’t some farce after all. The teka had some guts. Keith’s interest was growing. Perhaps this is what had first gotten Sen to let the teka live instead of killing him on sight. If so, he would need to talk to his niece after all.