The Olive Branch

Chapter One

**Reader’s POV**

Laughter coming from outside as Fern enters her home with two pails of water. She puts the pails in the kitchen and sits on one of the stools. She brushes her wavy brunette hair out of her sunburnt face and wipes the sweat off of her brow. She watches her young teenager daughter, Olive, play outside and shakes her head.

“Come inside and stop messing with that frog Olive before you get warts!” Fern scolds.

“Mama, I won’t get warts.” Olive challenges her mother as she gently sits the lumpy, brown frog down and says, ``I have been playing Stumpy for weeks now.”

Fern sternly looks into Olive's striking green eyes as she sets the table. “You’ve named that poor, disguising creature,” Fern questions. “That isn’t very ladylike.”

“I don’t care! He’s my only friend” Olive proclaims.

Fern sadly sighs, praying that statement is far from the truth, while serving the fish stew. She begins questioning Olive about her friends at school. Olive dips some bread into her stew and shakes her head. Then Fern asks about the friendship with her nephew, Benedict, who's just a couple months older than Olive. Olive again shakes her head and slurps the stew. Fern bitterly stares at her bowl.

“Where did you get the cheese from?” Olive inquiries after noticing her mother’s silence.

“I traded some herbs with your aunt.” Fern responds while proudly looking at her plants through the small window. She knows without them that feeding Olive would be more difficult than it already was. Being a single mother isn’t for the faint of heart. They finish dinner in silence.

Fern smells smoke as she washes the dishes and watches Olive play on their hay-bed, however, she doesn’t think any of it. Once Fern finishes putting her food in the fuam, pot-in-pot storage, she goes to the water pails near the window.

“Olive….” Fern inhales trying to stay as calm as possible. “I need you to put on your shoes.”

“Mmooommma, I don’t need shoes for the river” Olive replies, doesn’t even look up to see what her mother is looking at.

“Olive, I need you to put on your shoes now” Fern demands while turning from the flames to her daughter.

“But Momma, why?” Olive is still preoccupied and wondering why she is acting weird. Fern rushed to her daughter, giving her the necklace that stays on her neck. These actions cause Olive to finally look up and see what caused her mother’s panic. The flames were so bright and close enough that their lights were flickering on the walls of the home. Olive freezes in shock and is paralyzes in fear looking at the flames. Fern tosses Olive’s shoes at her and a bag that she had packed. Then she goes to look outside the window again.

“Olive! I need you to get your shoes and climb outside the kitchen window now.” Fern pushes their small table to the door, hoping it would slow the Reptians down. The bag hitting Olive’s face seems to snap her back to consciousness.

“Wheere do we head?” Olive stutters as she scrambles to put on her shoes.

“To your aunt’s” Fern says as she shoves the bag out the window and goes to help Olive. As she helps Olive out the window, she hears the door slapping force against the door. “Run, Olive!” Fern turns around, knowing she needs to cause a distraction to save her daughter, as she watches the door fly off the hinges.

**Olive’s POV**

As my feet hit the ground, I grab the bag and run as fast as I can into the field of grains to hide from the Reptian. This is something that has been rumored but said not to be true. I realized momma wasn’t behind and I turned to look back at the place I once called home burning. I know I can’t run back, no matter how bad I want to, and that momma isn’t alive. I take a deep breath in and start looking for hole to wait in until daylight.

I tramp through the field, trying my best not to fall into any of the full channels. I find a channel mostly empty of water and decide that it’s the best place to sleep for the night. Being a little wet won’t kill me and I’ll be dry by the time the Ra is at his peak. I drifted off to a light sleep, not wanting to go into the realm of the Hypnos.

I wake to the sound of what I assume is the language and footsteps of the Reptians. A language I didn't learn in school because they weren’t supposed to be this North of the Border. I try to stay calm and try my best to sink myself into the dirt walls of the channel.

“Muku guyn jugf” I hear one of them hiss and they sound very close. I hear their footsteps stop and it’s so quiet, you could hear the wings of the Luna faere. I held my breath and listened.

“Kuhu ivken?” A Reptian chuckled. “Niyu ekit jugn itt.”

I can hear their footsteps slowly disappear but I don’t dare to move an inch. It felt like hours before I rolled into a comfortable position to sleep.

Chapter Two

**Olive’s POV**

“It will be okay”

“Momma, stay with me! Don’t leave!”

I wake in a cold sweat and tears running down my face with Ra’s rays beaming on my face. He isn’t at his peak yet. I took a minute to remember what happened the night before. I have to keep my composure and go to my aunt’s house across the field. I know it isn’t a long term solution but maybe I can get one warm meal.

I grab my things that are now covered in mud. I begin my trek and think about momma along the way. I stop when I find the road to my aunt’s home and rub the necklace that momma gave.

“Momma! Momma! Tell me where you got that pretty necklace again.”

“Okay, I will just give me a minute.” Momma chuckles. “It was from your father.”

“I know that Momma. Tell me the story though”

“Okay,” Momma shakes her head. “It was the fourth time I had snuck out to see your father. He was the most handsomest man I have ever seen, however, your grandmother didn’t want me to fall for some traveling man. She used to tell me that he would never love me like I loved him. But back to the story, I had gone to go see him on a night the Luna had decided to hide her glow. It was dark and cold and wet. We talked all night long and at the end of our night he looked at me. And said close your eyes I got you something special. Then wrap his hands around my….”

The sound of hoofs knocked me out of my daze. I looked up to see a wagon heading my way fast so I scurry out of the middle of the road. I’m so glad I did because the wagon blew past me and didn’t even stop to see if I was okay. The rudeness of some people or maybe I should say being since now I know Reptians actually exist.

I looked at the Ra seeing that he still had met his peak. I should probably get moving but it’s dark again. If I get there before dark, maybe Aunt Abigail will actually feed me after I do some chores for her. I started my trek again and about an hour later, I could see my aunt’s village. Also the Ra has almost met his peak.

I slowly walked down the hills being vigilant, just in case, the Reptian had made it here. Also my older cousin, Benedict, and his friend, Adolf, aren’t the nicest people. They’re worse than the forest pixies. Others say they’re just being boys.

“Hello Olive, right?” a small girl appeared out of the berries bushes on the side of the road.

“What the….!!!!!!!” I yelled and jumped back.

The little girl chuckled, “ I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well you did,” I snapped. “How do you know my name?”

“You’re the only bastard in our school,” she states proudly. “Also my name is Mimi.” Mimi sticks out her hand towards me, I ignore it and push past her. I hate shaking hands with strangers, especially rude ones. It isn’t the first time that word was used to describe me and if I stay it won’t be the last. I took a deep breath in and picked up my speed once I noticed the evil, blue-eyed girl following me. A couple minutes later, I got to Aunt Abigail's home with the devil still following.

“What do you want?!?” I snap again hoping she’ll leave me alone.

“Just being curious” she smiled at me with a smile that met her blue eyes. I rolled my eyes at her as I walked into the hut. Bigger than the hut that used to be mine but that’s what you get when you’ve a husband, I guess. I admired the cobblestone walls and moss ceilings. Running straight into Uncle Alfonzo’s ale gut.

“What are you doing here?” He grunts at me and pushes me away.

“Momma had to go into the burg for herbs for the neighbor’s wife.” I lied. Knowing if I told the truth I would be held hostage. I don’t need their help, just a place to stay for the night.

“Go help your aunt in the field,” Uncle Alfonzo doesn’t seem to notice how rough I am currently looking. I set my things down and head to the field that my family has owned for hundreds of generations. Until the last generation gave birth to all girls and none to pass on the family name. I noticed again the devil of a little girl is following me and that Ra is at his peak. I don’t go to find my aunt because I know what to do to get food for dinner and start my normal chores.

Mimi stopped following me at some point in the day and I stopped working when I noticed that Ra was about to stop also. I go through my mental list of things that needed to be done for me to get food tonight: Chicken fed? Check! Milk the cows? Check! Weeding the garden? Check! Ooof I ran straight into a wall, reminding me that I need to pay more attention to where I am going.

Something Momma always said and secondly to slow down. As I got closer to my aunt’s hut, I could hear people talking about how my mother is a terrible mother and person because she left with me.

Noone had called my mother out of her name, just yet but I knew it was coming. I knocked before they could say anything they would regret once they knew my mother was dead.

That may be one of the only things that I get from my mother, other than my brunette curly hair. That I hate with a passion. I entered the hut and said “Hello” to everyone. I noticed the scraps of food that my aunt left me. Something I have gotten used to when Momma used to go to the burgs and they wonder why I haven’t developed yet.

For generations, the women in my family all had very feminine features but were probably fed better then I am most of the time. At the age of 15, I still looked a lot like a little boy. Momma did her best but I also needed to make sure there was enough for her. My aunt, on the other hand, hates my gut and thinks I ruined her sister’s life.

She allows her children to treat me like a war slave or a maid instead of a cousin. She forces me to sleep on the floor without a blanket most of the time. Like now, feeding me scraps that should be fed to the pigs or neighbor, stray dogs; when she can afford to fed me better. This is the reason, I can’t stay and need to find my father.

After I ate my dinner, I prepared myself to walk to the riverside for a peaceful bath. I knew I needed to wait until Luna had arose from her hypnos and Luna faera were out. Once everything was in place, I walked to the river and bathed in peace returning to the hut to rest.

Chapter Three

**Olive’s POV**

I woke up just before the Ra woken, just to repack my bags and start my journey to find my father. I decided to head towards Ra into the swamp forest, somewhere no one would look due to fear of what lays behind.

I slip out of the hut very quietly trying not to wake the entire village up. I enter the forest with a brave look on my face hoping to help my subconscious get to the right place.

My plan is to travel until I can’t anymore than stop for the night. The first day was the worst. I had no idea what I was doing. Momma packed me enough food that I could ration for at least three days. I forgot to fill my flask up with clean drink water. I thought about turning around and living with my aunt until I get married. Just no, I need to have positive thoughts to get through this.

I was exhausted by day three in the swamp. I had not drank clean water in three days and I just finished the last rationing of food. My stomach was bubbling and not in a good way. My hair was a hot mess with leaves, even though, I braided it to keep safe. I haven't really had a good night sleep in the last three days. And now, all I really wanted was my old life back.

Just I heard a moving stream ever so slightly. I rushed in the direction of the water and as I get closer the louder it gets. I find the smallest stream knew to man. Drink some water out of the stream and the follow it up stream leading to a pond and river.