Hooded

Druid entered the house and found Sirona sitting at the table. She was staring at the table with her head down and she seemed tense. He could only imagine what had happened while he was gone.
Maybe nothing had happened and she just wanted to talk about what had been bothering her for the past few days, but he sensed Arawn’s presence. He had been back to see her sometime today and had likely just left before he arrived.
“Are you okay, Sirona?’ Druid asked a bit warily. He was concerned.
He didn’t think Arawn was the sort to offend people unnecessarily, but Sirona was young and she may not have been prepared for the harsh reality of Arawn’s personality.
“I’m… fine. Can we talk?”
Druid crossed the room and took a seat across from her, “Of course. What’s on your mind? I promise to do my best to give you a patient ear if you need it or counsel if you wish.”
Sirona glanced up at him and sighed, rubbing her head, “I… made a bargain with Arawn.”
“And this bargain is troubling you?”
“Not exactly,” Sirona said looking up at him and waiting for him to put together some meaning behind her words, but he remained quiet, waiting for her to go on.
“I just… wonder if it’s okay.”
“Do you feel it is okay?”
“He wants to train me to use magic,” Sirona winced, “In exchange for information about where I’m from.”
That was a surprisingly innocent bargain. Druid was surprised. He didn’t think Arawn was the sort to barter for sex, but he half expected him to request an untold favor. The apparent ease of the bargain gave him pause. Arawn wasn’t the type to not get something out of this deal, so what was he getting out of this deal?
It could be that Arawn saw a kindred spirit in her for some reason. Druid was suspicious about Sirona’s humanity, but that wasn’t enough. Maybe he was using it as an excuse to seduce her, but that wasn’t exactly nefarious and seemed like a bit more trouble than it would be worth for him.
He reached out with a silent prayer for information or some idea about the path ahead, but nothing came of it. He had planned to teach her magic, but he wasn’t sure if his form of magic would be compatible with hers.
If she was a deity, it would be easier to let Arawn teach her.
“That seems… reasonable.”
Sirona blinked at him, “Reasonable?”
“I cannot see anything nefarious about the deal,” Druid shrugged, “I can only suggest that you protect your heart and your peace.”
Sirona shook her head, “I want revenge against the people who forced me from my home and killed my father.”
Druid nodded solemnly, “That is understandable.”
Sirona winced, “You don’t agree?”
He shrugged, “I have found that revenge never brings peace, but my experiences should not hinder you from pursuing what you want. I would challenge you to think if it is revenge you are looking for or if you want justice done.”
Justice.
The word rang in her ears and made her smile. It made her sit up a little taller, “You’re right… Revenge feels… petty.”
Her father had died proud and innocent. He didn’t need to be avenged. He deserved justice. Maybe those led to the same end but the paths could be different.
“Thank you,” Sirona said. “I was a bit nervous that you would be against it.”
He chuckled, “I am honored that you think so highly of me and my counsel to be worried about such a thing.”
He sat back and Sirona let out a sigh of relief. She felt better about it knowing that Druid wasn’t against it. He seemed almost supportive of going to train with Arawn. It was good since she wasn’t sure that she would want to back out of the deal.
A while later, they stood in the kitchen chopping vegetables for dinner as Druid told her about what had kept him out in the village all day. It’s a warm, gentle feeling like a slow-burning fire in the middle of winter and completely different from the searing heat of Arawn.
Where being with Druid felt like a long-standing companionship, being with Arawn felt hot and heavy like the middle of summer. As he followed Druid to the top of the house, up the winding stairs, she smiled. She liked both feelings, and she wondered if one day she would feel the sweet, wild burning of attraction with Druid one day or if there would always just be this comforting warmth between them.
Would she one day feel the fire between her and Arawn die down to a low-burning sweetness? She didn’t know if that was in Arawn’s personality or if a deity could change over time, but neither idea seemed better than the other.
“Let’s see,” Druid said, sitting in the center of the room. “Let’s start with the major constellations."
Sirona sat beside him as he pointed at the brightest star, “That is the north star, Cyron.”
He lowered his hand to a smaller collection of stars that were sort of shaped like a trumpet and called it the constellation Bhal. He went on, tracing a map of the stars, but she couldn’t keep track of what he was saying or the names of the stars.
Her attention started to drift until she found herself staring at the side of his face.
“Druid.”
“Yes?” He asked, turning his head. The nearly unnerving darkness of his hood looked at her. “Should I go back?”
“When we’re alone, could you take off your hood?”
Druid tilted his head, “What a strange request.”
Sirona chuckled, “It’s just that I can’t see your face.”
“What do you mean?”
“The inside of your hood is so dark and it’s so large that I can’t see your face.”
“Really?”
“I don’t think anyone can see your face with your hood on,” Sirona said. “I’m sorry if it’s a religious thing or something like that…”
“No. It’s just habit.” Druid pulled his hood down revealing his face.
While she knew he couldn’t see her, his eyes seemed focused on her face though their gazes didn’t meet. It struck her truly that this was probably the most normal thing about his blindness.
“To think all this time people have been letting me walk around as this hooded, faceless being.”
She sputtered a laugh at the bright shock in his voice.
“Why would no one say anything?”
“I guess that they just figured it was part of your religion?” Sirona said, “I mean, you look far more mysterious with the hood on.”
He laughed, “I bet. Perhaps that has simply added to the moniker of Druid.”
Sirona nodded looking at him as he grinned at her. She stared in a daze at his handsome face. Her gaze dropped to his lips and she turned away with regret.
Perhaps she should have said anything if simply seeing his face was distracting her like this. =
She felt ridiculous. She was never like this before crossing the Tara River. Maybe its waters had done something and changed her somehow.
“I’m a bit tired,” Sirona said, “I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate properly on the stars tonight.”
Druid chuckled, “We have plenty of time in the future. We can pick up the lesson of the stars some other time.”
Sirona nodded, “Thanks, Druid. Have a goodnight. Don’t stay up too late.”
Druid waved her goodbye and listened to her descending the stairs as he looked back up at the stars. They were one of the few things he was always sure of as they never changed color or vanished.
Suddenly, the sound of the night faded away. He felt the familiar surge of power that usually preluded a vision and closed his eyes.
The bright burning star rose from the distance and a vine began to grow ahead of it, sprawling and flourishing ahead and leading the star forward toward a blue glow. The star cut went through the glowing wall and the vine spread along the bank of it.
On the other side of the blue glow, the star set fire to forests and trees before rolling on top of a mountain and settling on it as if it were a crown.
The blue glow vanished and the vines began to spread across the land until they reached the star’s seat. They grew over the mountain and formed a cage around the star, but the star seemed content to stay in the cage of vines until he could no longer see its light.
As the vision faded, Druid shuddered. The star’s heat had felt burning and cool at the same time. It had been the second vision he’d had about Sirona. He could guess that the vines, as willful and wild as they were, represented Arawn, but he didn’t know what it all meant together.
He supposed only time would tell.