This is a story of Ara your everyday-ordinary-simple-minded girl. She is poor, alone (not by choice) and lived in a shabby shack(the only property she owned). Her lifestyle is far worst than ours, she survived mainly on what she can produce (farming), worked for (odd jobs for house chores) or find (wild fruits, broken goods). Her dad left her after her mom died, she was still a child then. Nevertheless, she never hold it against him because he did built the shack she is staying in now. Although the roof leaked every time it rains, it gets cold time to time due to its poor thin walls and worn out flooring is not much to call a home but it was better than with nothing at all.
After 16 years for the first time Ara peaceful sleep was disturbed by an unexpected visitor. A fox of the most beautiful flaming silky red and gold fur, eyes the colour of imperial topaz and a husky voice of a cultured well-bred lady. A husky voice?! It took Ara quite sometime to snap out of her shocking discovery. She decide that after 16th years living in poverty finally she had gone bonkers and went straight to bed.
In the next morning, Ara realized she wasn't dreaming at all or is she going crazy. A talking fox did come to house last night and took the liberty of leeching her off her humble shelter and food at the same time. Although, the house is big enough for two of them but food is hard to come by. Ara barely eat enough on a regular basis put aside to feed a hungry fox of such glut, its an impossible task.
It'd been a week since the fox doesn't seem want to leave at all. While, Ara was out doing odd jobs in the nearby town to get what she can like food, old wearable clothes and make some money, the fox at home would nap all day and order Ara around like a servant when she came back. She tried to shoo the fox away but every time the fox will give her an excuse that wins her pity. Today, her excuse was to recuperate and rebuild her health from an illness. Ara simply relent and quietly convincing herself that the fox will gets better and leave as soon as possible or so she thought.
The next morning the Fox seem agitated and restless. It keeps sniffing the air and pacing around the house. Every slightest noise or movements irritates her. However, Ara was still in her usual ditsy indifferent self. She was happy because, finally one of her pumpkins was ready to be reaped and she happily decided to make pumpkin soup. Ara were showing too much happiness that it annoyed the fox so much she decided to nap it off. While Ara was preparing the soup suddenly, the fox shot out pass her, out of the back door and gone into the woods. Confused Ara call Out to the fox many time, she even reminded it to come back for supper later. Through the open window facing the town, in a distance Ara saw a glimpsed of a group of men on horses galloping their way towards the shack. Some of them were bearing flags of the royal family, Ara thought the Princes must be at their sports again. A crowd of 'Bloodhounds' surprised her, they surround the shack, barked adamantly and leading the crowd straight to her home.
Instead of seeing pampered princes on prancing ponies, Ara only saw men on noble steeds. They were no ordinary hunters or were they on any ordinary sports. They were on a hunt, tracking a fox a certain fox with gleaming silky red and gold fur, eyes of imperial topaz and with a certain regal attitude to top it of. they were looking for 'The Fox'. The leader prince, decided Ara dismounted awhile ago and was checking the perimeter of her shabby shack with much unconcealed disgust. Feeling humbled Ara stood outside of her shack looking at places the prince was looking. Coolly she asked "anything amiss, your highness?"
Between The the towering leader Prince (7'2") and petite Ara (5'2") its nothing more than between a powerful landlord and his lowly servant. She bowed down before a man that look more magnified than the rest.
"How could anyone or anything live in 'this'?" inquired the prince. The rest of the Princes laughed on their proud planks.
Slowly, Ara raised her voice to speak while still looking down not brave enough to meet the prince's icy glare and said in a soft quiver "I guess a certain peasant girl of lowly ranks and 'this' happens to be the best of shelter she could ever asked for. Your highness." . She spoke with much honesty although, lacking in eloquence and while her heart is still beating rapidly ready to explode, the prince shout a laughter at her insolent answered remarks and the rest followed with a loud guffaw.
The prince inspected Ara with a sudden interest but put the thought aside, instead he demanded if she had saw a fox. Ara shook her head and told him that it had been a while since fox came trotting through this side of town. She even suggested the prince to ask the town's folk, he would've but he received the same answers as her. The prince was annoyed by her involuntary suggestion and all the while she was talking she never looked up at him even once. Without a warning and to his own surprise, he gently hold her chins up and looked into Ara's magnificent and wide-startled eyes. In that quick instant he caught her sight of vision, her eyes were the dark colour of deep chestnut and quickly her long black lashes leveled casting shadows over her eyes as if she is concealing herself from him. Her soft smooth skin is an evidence to her tender age and there's nothing lowly of her features, especially her lips, lush and inviting. Ara could feel her face flushed, warming up and her clenched fingers starting to sweats off. The prince was truly a good looking young men, well chiseled to perfection, deep blue eyes-sharp and intent, a grim smile and a stubborn chin that flawed his could be angelic face to a devilish ones.
From afar the fox saw the little onstage performance of her pursuer and benefactor. Three men dismounted and went into the shack. After a thorough checked, they reported back to the leader prince and gain not much of a reaction. She found it both amusing and interesting. Nevertheless, honored that the princes would go to the trouble as to be thorough in their little pursuits for her. Before the prince went away he told Ara that he never met a woman who as much invoked both his irritation and interest at the same time it was amusing. A dumbfounded Ara who didn't know how to react only purely acting on a sudden impulse. She invited the prince and his royal consorts to supper and generously informed it's nothing like a royal sumptuous spread but a humble pumpkin soup from her backyard. They laughed again and the prince for the first time did not know how to react to a pheasant meaningless invitation. All his life he has been trained to avoid close contacts with the common and more or less dubious characters and Ara is definitely one of those suspicious sorts. Instead of turning his back, mount his ride, joining the rest of his stewards and galloped away he did the opposite by touching Ara's face and slowly whisper in her ear "When..I am craving for pumpkin, and a good laugh..I shall know where to head to.." The prince didn't saw Ara red blushing face nor she saw the prince's wide satisfied smile. He went off without looking back even once and for the first time looking at the prince wide strong back Ara saw a piece of her heart flew away with him.
Once they were out of sight the fox came trotting back with her head held high. Not much of a word from the fox she went straight in the shack to reclaim her favourite spot, while sitting erect and comfortably demand for pumpkin soup. Ara smile and slowly humming a cheerful song while serving to the regal fox. Before they ate, the fox told Ara a crime of foolery is to be put in the gallows and beheading follows. Ara gasp and felt she just swallowed a rock down her throat. The fox add on "of course if you were ever caught on the acts.." and she laughed her sinister laugh that made Ara more determined to kick the fox out of her house.
That night before going to bed as usual, Ara told the fox that she can stay as long as she would like. She suggest her to leave maybe after the hunting season. The fox didn't say anything and both of them went to sleep. While Ara was deep in her slumber, the fox slowly trot her way to the pumpkin yards at the back of the shack. She stood on her two hind legs, eyes closed facing up to the sky, chanting and mumbling a weird incantation over and over. The earth glow, a bright green light slowly ascending from beneath and upwards into the pumpkins. They slowly glow into magnificent golden orbs and grew splendidly, ready to be plucked.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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