Chapter - 4

We had set our first row of nets far out at sea, my father had found a spot of the sea where the fish made the water dark with their shadows, it was destined to be a great haul. Asta and I sat patiently on the boat, both of our heads still bowed as we were uncomfortable showing our true feelings for each other in front of my father. My father watched us both with a miserable expression on his face, he finally broke the silence and said "Right you two, as I have said you need not hide our feelings for one another while around me. No one else is here, just the three of us" Asta and I both looked at him with unconvinced looks on our faces, my father sat back down with a sigh, I looked at Asta and saw her face was still red, she looked at me and as she did this I smiled at her and let out a soft chuckle, she gave me an angered look but it soon faded into a smile. I stood up and walked over to Asta and said "May I sit beside such a gorgeous woman?" I had a beaming smile on my face now, she looked up at me and gave me a cheeky smile and said "Well perhaps not" I gave her a cheeky look and said "Well then, the hard way then" she gave me a confused look. I grabbed her by the waist and picked her up, her face went a worrying shade of red, I sat down and placed her on my lap, her head resting on my chest, she wrapped her arms around me and lifted her legs so that they crossed mine. I chuckled and she said, "You are far too cheeky Hunter" she looked at me with her dazzling eyes and smiled. My father watched us do this with a large grin on his face, I looked at my father and nodded in thanks as I finally trusted his word enough to show my true feelings for Asta in his presence. Asta kept her head buried in my neck, she started to breathe heavily, her warm breath had made the hairs on my neck stand and send pulses through my body. It was a moment of total ecstasy, unfortunately, it was short-lived, my father stood and said: "Right its time to haul in the nets" he still had a smile on his face, Asta and I got up lazily and started to pull the nets in. The nets felt heavier than they should, at first my father was thrilled about this fact as he thought it may have just been an immense haul, but as we drew near to the bottom of the net we saw something strange clinging to the bottom of the net. This thing was large, all we saw was white dagger-like objects holding onto the net, each one as big as a full-grown man's arm, as soon as we saw these daggers my father immediately shouted to drop the nets, we did without hesitation. He cut the nets and ordered us to start rowing as fast as we could, we did not disobey him, I looked my father straight in the eyes and asked "Father what's happening?" he looked back with a grim expression and said "Boy, it is a foul beast, one that has not been seen for many decades, it is the beast Vuldrag" I had never heard that name before, but for some reason, it sends a chill down my spine, i looked over to Asta and saw that she was terrified, her grey eyes were now filled with fear, my heart stopped, I remembered my promise I made to Asta, I would never leave her side nor fail her. I rowed with all my might, the saltwater filled the air as we paddled. We were halfway back to the shallows when we saw something move on the horizon, it was big, a wave the size of a ship had formed and from it, one cold green eye, the sight of it made us all freeze with fear, it was filled with hate and sorrow, it stared at us for a moment and then closed and dove back down to the depths of the sea. After seeing it I was no longer filled with hate, an overwhelming feeling of sadness and remorse washed over me, I looked at my father and Asta, they where both a deathly shade of white, all the color drained from their body, and with that, we rowed faster than any man could back to shore.

We made it back to the village and agreed that we would not tell anyone what we had witnessed that day. Asta once again stayed at my home, she was far too scared to leave my side. It was now sunset and my father had prepared us a meal. We sat at the table but we did not eat we all just looked at each other with that same grim look. Finally, my father broke the silence and said "That beast is named Vuldrag, it has been alive longer than any man, and has destroyed more ships than any storm." he took a deep breath and continued "That thing... Took your mother from us Hunter" as my father said this my heart stopped, I looked at him with sad eyes and said "What do you mean father" my father looked at the ground and said in a shaky tone "That beast killed your mother." I stood up, my face filled with horror and hate, I dropped to my knees, I balled my fists up and hit the ground with all my might. I had never known my mother and my father never spoke of her, she was apparently the greatest fisherwoman in our village until one day she went out fishing, but all that came back was my father and a bloody necklace. I looked back up to my father, he now had tears streaming down his face, the thought of my mother broke him to his core as it did to me. Asta came and kneeled next to me placing her hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me, I looked at her with tears streaming down my face, she had started to cry as well as the pain of seeing me broken hurt her. She pulled me to my feet and pulled me close, I tucked my head into her neck and wept, she then pushed me away and told me to go to my father, I did so without hesitation, my father pulled me into his arms while weeping on my shoulder, I had never seen my father cry nor have I ever seen him cry since that day. We held each other for a moment reassuring each other that we would be alright, I then walked upstairs to my bed and sat there with Asta beside me, I looked at Asta and once again started to weep, she pulled me close and whispered "Hunter, do not let that beast be a reminder of what you lost, but let it be a reminder of what you have. Your father came back that day, he came back for you." I took a deep breath and said "I am sorry Asta, I did not intend for any of this to happen" she pulled me in close and stroked my hair, she said "Hunter you need not apologize, I will always be here for you, no matter the situation." with this she pulled my head up next to hers and put her arms around me, holding me close. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her down beside me, we now laid in each other's arms, she continued to stroke my hair while trying to soothe me to sleep. As I was about to sleep she whispered "I love you Hunter" and with that, I drifted to sleep.