The night came in a blink of an eye. Stars were shining, but the moon was brighter. The wind came crashing with the dust, leaves, and mud. But what was more fascinating was that it still had a hint of a flower's smell in it. No matter how bright the moon was, it was still incapable of warming the fragile air.
Damien was outside his house. He could clearly see a dim light that shined through a small window of his house. The air was cold like ice; if his house wasn't warmed from a small candle, it would be the same as outside—an unbearable cold that could easily kill a wet man in one night.
A chill came from his back. Damien was at the backside of the house where they had a small farm. Many other villagers usually had big farms that could hold up to ten to twenty animals, and that would be mostly pigs or cows.
But their farm only had five cows and two pigs. This was due to Loria's hatred towards capturing animals and stealing their freedom. But to villagers, it was a common thing. For villagers, hunting and farming were the only stable incomes they could rely on. Other than that, only in Flowerfield village did some villagers choose to grow flower farms on their land.
He remembered his mother's saying: "No matter what anyone says, you should always choose what you want to do. What your heart wants to follow."
Damien was on a pile of rocks. Even though it kind of hurt his butt, he didn't mind it a bit. He was used to this.
A cow snored. Damien looked behind his back; his favorite cow, Roxy, was staring at him continuously.
Her eyes shined in the dark. Besides Roxy, the others were on the ground or half-asleep standing.
Since he was a child, animals and he had some kind of connection. Like he could speak with them. Once, he really tried to speak with a bird. But it just bit his face, and before he could catch the bird, it flew away. Since then, he never tried to do that again.
Damien stared again at the dark sky. Stars were glowing like diamonds placed in a suit. The moon was brighter, but a slow cloud quickly swallowed it, leaving just the stars alone.
"They were real… what does it mean?" scratching his nose, he thought to himself.:
"Maybe some kind of animal… like a unicorn. Yeh, if I could hunt a unicorn, I could sell it, and it would be enough to last a decade. Maybe even enough for me to attend an academy."
"Moooo."
Roxy mooed again behind his back. Damien turned around."Huh, you don't want me to leave, do you?" he said while rubbing Roxy's face. Her eyes were still staring. She let out a warm breath and mooed again.
"Don't worry, Roxy. Even if I want to go… I can't."
Damien sighed and again thought,"If I want to get close to the Dark Forest, I need to get past the guards."
Flowerfield village was one of the villages of Kingdom Rainheart, and it was the closest to the Dark Forest. Because of this, the village's South Gate was heavily guarded. This gateway was built not to cross, but to guard.Usually, to enter Flowerfield village, not just commoners but even royalty used the North Gate.
Flowerfield was located in the southern part of the Kingdom. It was the farthest from the kingdom's capital, and because there were few rules, it might have been due to being so far away and less like other villages. And among the 27 kingdoms of Rainheart, it was the most peaceful village.
So why didn't other villagers come to live in this village? It was because of the Dark Forest—the closest village to it, and the only way to enter it.Some even said it was the path to the Dark Forest.
No matter how beautiful Flowerfield village was, no one thought about living there. And the guards were not just there to prevent anyone from entering the Dark Forest; it was quite the opposite. It was to prevent things from the Dark Forest from getting in.
Damien stood up, laughing to himself."Ha-ha, let's see tomorrow if these guards are as smart as they say."
"Mooooo."Roxy mooed like she was applauding his plan.