Week Six Storytelling: Violet Eyes

It wasn’t a rooster that woke me in the morning but an unfamiliar man’s voice.

“Nessa! It’s been so long!” His laughter drifted up to me as the horse snorted. I quickly slid my helmet over my head as my mother’s words echoed through my head.

No one can ever know, Alicina. But you are safe as long as you are with me. I touched the smooth purple stone of the necklace she left me.

Leaning over the edge of the loft, I could see the man’s pale skin and brown hair from under the rim of the helmet.

He’s definitely a Barric. I think Charleigh said they have a son. I climbed down the ladder, landing silently on the floor.

“And you are?” I asked quietly, authority and distrust evident in my voice. Even from my limited field of vision, I could see him jump in surprise.

“Who are—oh! My mom talked about you in her letters!” He crossed the room quickly. “Thank you for helping us. I’m Kolos.”

“Alicina.” Light was already beginning to peak through the gaps in the wood of the barn as I heard the rooster crow. Automatically, I turned to start taking care of the animals before heading to the fields.

“Wait! Let me help,” Kolos asked.

“I’m fine.”

“No really! Just give me something to do.” The childish excitement in his voice made him seem younger than me. “Please? I promise I’ll stay out of your way.”

“Alright.”

*

It felt strange to finish my work before the sun did. When I headed into the kitchen, laughter filled it instead of the usual silence.

“Alicina!” Charleigh wrapped her arm around me before guiding me to the table.

Kolos recounted a tale from his time spent studying as his parents and I listened until the sun finally went down.

When he finally finished, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You are so beautiful when you laugh.” Kolos’s words sounded certain and guileless.

“You know, I think this is the first time I’ve heard it,” Charleigh said.

“I apologize for any rudeness—” I began, but she cut me off.

“No, no. Anyway, get along to bed you two.”

I nodded, slipping out the back door.

*

I slid my helmet off before splashing water onto my face. Just as I relished the coolness of my skin, I heard the barn door open. Ducking my head down, I wrapped the top of my face in my scarf.

“Alicina?” Kolos asked quietly. “Why do you hide? I have seen your skin, I thought you might have a burn or a scar, but it is flawless.”

“It is what I have always done,” I answered. “What do you need?”

“I can’t sleep. When I was little, I’d sneak out of my room and sleep next to Nessa. She never seemed to mind.”

“She’s very sweet.”

“I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. She seems to like you more now.” He laughed self-deprecatingly.

“Your mom said I had a magic touch.”

“Even my mother likes you better! Traitors.”

*

As weeks passed, we fell into a routine. Each week, Kolos worked in town for four days and on the farm for three.

It felt dangerous how much I cared about him. Kolos never asked about my helmet or scarf again, but he asked me about my family and what happened to them.

I didn’t want to tell him, but suddenly, I had to.

It wasn’t supposed to happen the way it did. We were repairing an old building on the edge of the property, hoping to make room for more animals.

Kolos pulled one board too many. The walls rumbled, and he dove for me, trying to shove me through the door as the building collapsed around us.

Kolos’s body took the brunt of the wood, pinning my legs beneath him as the planks dug into his body. The impact knocked my helmet off and out of reach, but I didn’t care.

“Kolos!” I shook his shoulder gently, praying his eyes would flicker open. I tried to move the boards I could reach off of his back, but they were too heavy. “Kolos, please.”

Taking in a sharp breath, he moved slightly, his eyes filled with pain.

“I think we’re trapped.” I stilled him with my hand. “Someone will come rescue us.”

“I’m just glad you’re sa—” He froze.

I tried to shut my eyes, but it was too late.

“Alicina? Is that it?” The fingers of his free hand brushed over my eyelids.

“It’s bad enough I’m left handed, but this too? I’d be burned at the stake.” I turned away.

“Your eyes are beautiful. They match your—” he drew in a rough breath, “necklace.”

“My mom gave it to me before…”

“I’m glad I got to see them.” His gaze was sure. He coughed hard as a pool of red seeped out from under him.

“No. Kolos, you can’t die.”

He smiled faintly. “I’m glad I met you Alicina.”

“No!” I shoved the earth below me hard, sliding out from under him with more strength than I naturally had. Kolos barely flinched as he hit the ground, and the wooden beams shifted around him. I yanked them off as my hands glowed, matching the purple of my eyes. “I will not let you die!”

His legs weren’t bent right, and his back was bloody. I ripped a section of my skirt off before wiping as much of the blood from him as I could. Sliding my hands across his back, I concentrated, trying to force everything back into its rightful place.

Kolos groaned in pain as I finished and set to work on his legs. I pushed them into the proper alignment. “I’m so sorry.”

He cried out as I accelerated his healing, knitting his bones back together.

“Where else does it hurt?” I glanced around his body for more injuries.

Kolos shook his head weakly before his hand found mine.

He would live.

Author's Note: Once again, I came in at exactly 1000 words. The myth I reworked this week is from the "Japanese Fairy Tales" unit. It is about a girl that is so lovely, her mother makes her cover her face with a helmet. When her parents die, she goes and works on a farm. The couple she works for's son comes home while she is washing her face (without the helmet on), and he falls in love with her instantly. They get married and live happily ever after. 

Out of all of the stories I've done, this one is probably the closest to the original myth. I knew I had to make her secret different, and purple eyes was the first thing I thought of. The very first short story I wrote as a PW major involved a world where purple eyes meant you were magic so I just adapted that concept here. 

As for names, according to different corners of the internet, Charleigh means farm, Barric means grain farm, Kolos means scholar, and Alcina is a Greek sorceress. I added an extra letter because it felt like it needed one more syllable for some reason. 

Bibliography: "The Maiden With the Wooden Helmet" by Andrew Lang.

Image Information: Personal photo taken by my mom.