4 Reimund's Son

Reimund of House Chairn grew from a boy into a strong young man, and though the prophecy of the troll king haunted his dreams, it soon faded in his memory. He courted Anne of House Newell and married her. Fourteen years into a happy marriage, they found themselves constantly busy with raising three children: Nessa, Wilhelm, and Tristan. After several of his relatives grew old or passed away, Reimund rose in the ranks of his house and became well known in Misthaven.

One evening, Reimund was tending to a fence post when he looked out over the misty hills and saw a woman approaching. She was his same age, with dirty-blonde hair and green eyes. When she came close, a smile grew large on her face. "Hello Reimund! It's been such a long time."

Reimund glared at her, then remembered and furrowed his brow. "Helen. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your troll family?" At that her smile faded.

"I'm sorry I led you into that valley years ago, Reimund. I didn't know you were from House Chairn then. But, we were just children then. All children make mistakes."

Reimund huffed. "Well, I hope you remember what the King of the Trolls told me then. I saw a vision while he recited that prophecy. It was bloody terrifying!"

Helen nodded, "Yes, I cannot forget. I fear that prophecy may come true one day, but how are we to know that troll magic wasn't a lie? I hope it was."

Reimund turned to look at his fence, stretching across his property. He sighed. "Helen," he said, "Please, just leave me alone. Go back to your home."

Helen frowned and looked at her feet. "I am no longer welcome at the valley of the trolls."

Reimund turned back to her. "What happened?" He said.

"After you got scared and ran away," she explained, "Fern banished me from the valley. She hasn't been my mother for years."

He looked her up and down. Now that he thought about it, she was no longer wearing that mossy dress. She wore a pale green dress with long, white, sleeves, and her hair was tied back in a bun. She looked like any other peasant woman in Misthaven, it was a very plain outfit.

"Where are you living now?"

"I live in Wintercrest," she said, "A kind old woman took me in after I was banished. She took care of me while I grew up."

The sun was setting now, and it lit up the sky and its many clouds as though it was on fire. It was another beautiful evening in their fair land. It was hard to have any bad feelings with such a view. Reimund sighed and they shared a quiet moment. "I should head back inside my home, Helen. My wife and children are probably wondering what's taking me so long."

His old friend gave a small smile and curtsied. "It was nice to see you, Reimund. I've been meaning to come back here for many years and apologize for what happened that day. I hope you can forgive me."

He nodded, "Farewell Helen." Then he turned and began walking back to his cottage.

Helen spoke softly as he walked away. "Farewell Reimund." She left to return to the village. She was still a very fast runner, but women in Misthaven only ran when no one could see them. The night was great for that.

Reimund entered the cottage to see his wife Anne and his daughter Nessa cooking dinner. His two sons were playing with wooden swords in a mock duel. As he closed the door behind him, Anne dropped a ladle into a pot and span around to face him, her dress twirling as she did so. "Finally done mending that fence, my love?"

He smiled, "I should have learned better how to work with my hands in my youth. I'd have more time with you, my dearest." He came up to her and kissed her cheek.

"Take a lesson from your father, boys." Anne chirped as her sons put down their swords, "If you do your chores every day, someday you'll have so much practice it'll be easy work. Well, dinner is ready everyone!" She filled wooden bowls with soup and Nessa carried them over to the table.

Reimund's family sat down at the table and began to eat. They chatted, and laughed at small jokes shared between them. When they were finished, they all cleaned using pots of water heated over the fire and small bars of lye soap. When that was done, each of the children hugged their parents.

"Mama," Tristan said, "Do I have to go to bed?"

Anne smiled, "It's late, little one. You need a good night's sleep. Nessa, take your brothers to bed please." Nessa grabbed her youngest brother's hand and started for the stairs.

Just when Wilhelm started to follow, his father called to him, "Come sit with me, son. We need to talk." The brown-haired eleven year old obeyed and joined his father at a chair by the fireplace. Anne came up behind her husband and put her hands on his shoulders.

Reimund cleared his throat. "Wilhelm, it's time that I told you about something I've wanted to tell you ever since I was about your age."

"What is it, Papa?"

"When I was a boy, I met a strange girl. She was raised by trolls. She took me to their valley deep in the forest. There, I met the Troll King." Reimund sighed, "He had a vision that day. He told me of a prophecy."

"A prophecy?" the boy's eyes grew wide with curiosity.

Wilhelm's mother spoke then with worry in her voice, "Reimund, dear, are you sure you want to tell our son about this?"

Reimund nodded grimly, "He has to know, Anne." He looked back at his son, and put his hand on his knee. "The prophecy said that a child will be born to House Chairn that shall have a frozen heart and rule a frozen world. The child will have skin white as snow, hair black as raven feathers, and blue eyes cold as ice. I'm afraid it could be one of your future children, Wilhelm, or one of your nieces or nephews... that is, if the Troll King's vision was true."

Wilhelm was shocked. Suddenly, he rose to his feet and yelled, "No! It can't be true, father!"

"Wilhelm, please listen to your father. He wouldn't tell you this if it wasn't serious." Anne said sternly.

"I don't believe in visions from trolls! It was a lie, father, how could you believe such nonsense?" Wilhelm shouted angrily, "I'm going to bed!"

Their son stomped on his way upstairs. Anne came around the chair to her husband and fell into his lap, crying. "Reimund, I'm so scared. I don't want one of our grandchildren to be cruel and evil. What if this prophecy comes true? House Chairn would never be the same again. What are we to do?"

Reimund wouldn't allow himself to be swayed by emotions such as fear anymore. He was a man now, no longer a child. "Don't worry, my beautiful wife. It'll be alright." He stroked her hair as she sobbed.