Soup

In the snow-covered forest stood a small hut where those who had been banished from the golden palace were hiding, promising to kill them if they dared to return. The two outcasts had been hiding in their little hut for years, not wanting to hurt anyone. But then a mysterious stranger broke into their carefree life, changing their lives forever. The young and naive Vidar could not leave the sick man in the woods to die, so he brought him to his guardian Ulfrun who, in turn, could not refuse the boy and so decided to take the stranger out until he was healed of his wounds. They eventually took him into their home, trying to keep an eye on him day and night to avoid complications. Every morning the woman had to change the bandages on the man's body, for black rot was oozing out of him without end. He was decomposing before her eyes, slowly shrinking in muscle mass and becoming more like a skeleton than an Olympian. And one such morning, when she had finished dressing him and went into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner. From the stranger's room began mumbling, and at the same moment she realized that he might be about to wake up, she slowly approached the room while righting the knife behind her back. In her graceful gait one could immediately discern the features of the former warrior. And so she would not hesitate to kill the man she had been treating for so many days.

As she approached the door, she began to listen carefully, trying to make out the mumblings, "Where is she? But aren't you both!? Wait, I want answers!?" The man's voice was full of pain rather than anger and anger, thus letting Ulfrun know that she could relax a little. But it was still worth keeping her distance just in case. Slowly opening the door, Ulfrun knocked to warn the stranger that she wished to enter. After waiting for a little while for an answer and not getting one, she entered the room without hesitation to greet the giant with a wake-up call. A thin, black-haired man was sitting on the bed with his head down. His cold gaze was fixed on his own hands, or rather on his black claws. He didn't even look at the visitor who had disturbed his peace, his blood red eyes emotionlessly continuing to stare at the black claws. "Oh you're finally awake!" The girl tried to pretend that she was very happy about the stranger's awakening as she carefully entered the room. Trying to act natural, she slowly began to approach the warrior, carefully watching his every move. "I'm sorry if the bandages are a little tight. It's been a long time since I've practiced something like this, so I might have overdone it a little!" Hiding the knife in one hand and making a gesture with the other to signify the slightest bit. Ulfrun herself unknowingly drew the warrior's attention, he slightly lifted his head looking at the healer like a dog left out in the rain.

"I hope you weren't cold at night. You know, Winter is why the weather here gets nastier and nastier every day. That's probably rare in your homeland, isn't it? You're an Olympian, aren't you?" Clutching the hilt of her knife tighter, she slowly took two steps back, her eye carefully examining the Olympian for aggression. The man only slowly lifted his head completely, showing his broken spirit. His scarlet eyes were filled with pain rather than anger, in them Ulfrun could see not a monster or a powerful lord at all, oh no she saw before her an old warrior crippled by fate. Her heart clenched for she did not want to hurt someone who had already passed through the ashes of despair. "If you want to kill, then don't hesitate and get down to business!" Slowly, with pain in his voice, the giant whispered, opening his own chest with trembling hands. "What makes you think I want to kill you?" The girl asked curiously, tilting her head slightly. "That's what the knife you're hiding is for, isn't it? Ha-ha you must be disgusted to see something like me in your house?" Coughing up blood, the warrior smiled weakly, baring his fangs. "Ha ha sorry about that honestly! It's just that living away from others all the time, I've stopped knowing what to expect from them myself. Am I that rusty in my skills? Hmmm, no one could even understand my intentions before, and now I'm read like an open scroll. I hope you won't hold a grudge against me for this." Smiling softly, Ulfrun placed the knife on the table and then walked over to the stranger and held out her hand in apology. "What are you extending your hand to me even seeing how disgusting I am?" The giant's eyes stared at the medicine woman in shock, his voice trembling with incomprehension.

"What do you mean?" The woman replied, showing with her face that she did not understand the stranger. "Don't you see my scars and ugliness on my face?" The warrior's eyes stared intently at the girl expecting to see disgust or at least signs of it, but to his surprise she really didn't know what he was talking about! In her eyes he was perfectly normal and without any limitations or flaws. "Oh you must be talking about the scars!? My mother told me about how Olympians care very much about their physical incarnation, but I didn't even think you were disgusted by scars, because how can you hate something that has become part of your body's history? In our land, a strong man is one who has more scars than back hair ha-ha. And you obviously have more, so I'd say you defended your manhood with honor. If you're worried about your nose, believe me, I've seen worse. Ha-ha you know, but you have beautiful eyes whereas I only have one!" Sitting down next to the Olympian, the woman pulled back the hair that hid her right eye thus showing her guest the bloody meat where the eye should have been. "I'm sorry!" The warrior whispered softly, smiling weakly. Apparently the world could still surprise a madman by proving that it wasn't all rotten. And not every soul in it yearns only to suffer others. Who still drills with their demons wanting to help.

"It's all right, and you know I think it was fate itself that sent you to us for people like us to stick together!" Continuing to smile, the healer began to examine the wounds on the warrior's body to see if they were beginning to heal. "Such as we are? You mean crippled and destitute ha ha!" Helping the woman remove the bandages from her body, the warrior mocked her words thinking that she was thus veiledly trying to say scum. "Of course you could call us that, but still to me we are just good people doomed to not the sweetest life" Her gentle voice could mesmerize anyone, she was like a beanie flying on the battlefield among the corpses and blood. Beautiful yet courageous, thus creating a balance between outer and inner beauty. "You're weird!" The warrior said calmly, looking into the face of the healer, and the latter only laughed, saying that she had often heard this before.

As she examined the wounds, she wondered how they had begun to heal so quickly, since only a couple of days ago they were oozing rotten blood. And now she could see with the naked eye how the flesh was regenerating on its own, and she couldn't help but notice how she began to feel the stranger's skin. "Unbelievable!" Ulfrun muttered in delight as she continued to feel the wounds, she wasn't even embarrassed by the slanted look from the Olympian, she was simply completely immersed in her own thoughts. (Hmmm, is he wearing the same curse as that boy? Then who was he fighting if he could be wounded?) The woman was about to deepen her thoughts when the Olympian turned to her. "Stop it, my skin may be scarred, but it's very sensitive" His hand gently touched her arm. Their gazes met each other again for a moment, and though the Olympian continued to remain cold and calm in the moment. His sensitive ears picked up how the woman's heartbeat quickened dramatically, making her white cheeks more ruddy. She smiled nervously and tried to explain her act, but nothing she could think of, except that I was genuinely curious how your flesh heals itself. She did not dare to make such an absurd speech and so she stared at the warrior in silence. He, in turn, stared at her curiously as he continued to hold her hand. It was the first time he had ever been able to touch a woman's flesh that did not try to kill or maim him. In time the strange gentle warmth stopped seeming uncomfortable to him, and on the contrary, he began to feel the sensation of someone else's gentle and warm hand. The long-vanished desires slowly began to reawaken in the Olympian, but he immediately felt them and quickly let go of the girl's hand and tried to silence the long-standing desires.

She looked at him in surprise, and wanted to ask what happened, but a knock on the door drew the attention of both of them, thus preventing the situation from developing further. In the doorway stood Vidar, holding several fat rabbits. His little goblin smile made it clear that he had been standing near the door, watching for a long time. Ulfrun gritted her teeth to restrain herself from strangling the little rascal. " Oh, Vidar, you're back from the hunt already, and not empty-handed I see! I'll get down to cooking them now!" Clapping her hands, Ulfrun quickly stood up and grabbed the rabbits and headed for the kitchen when the Olympian addressed her, "Healer!" Freezing in place and turning slowly she asked: "Do you need something?" The stranger pointed a long finger at the table and reminded her of the knife. "You're not going to cook with your bare hands, are you?" The warrior's emotionless voice only made the situation worse, making the woman feel out of place. With the words, "Oh yes of course how could I forget!" Ulfrun quickly grabbed a knife and dragging Vidar out of the room she headed into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

A few hours later there was another knock on the door, but this time inviting the Olympian to join them for dinner. He didn't turn them down and after putting on his clothes that were on the chair beside the bed, he went to get acquainted with his saviors. The rooms were very spacious, so he did not have to worry about hitting the doorway with his forehead. All the furniture was made of wood reminiscent of his father's home, and if there weren't so many animal skins he would have thought he was back home again. Where the flowers always bloomed and at night the river nymphs sang songs to lull all the inhabitants of the forest. When the smell of homemade food hit his nose his soul immediately howled with longing. How many centuries had passed since the day he could taste home-cooked food. His eyes flashed back to long-forgotten memories of dining with his father on the terrace while the bees tried to steal the honey they smeared on the bread his father had brought from the royal palace. Those times turned into a nightmare that would haunt him for a long time to come.

In the center of the room there was a wooden table with three chairs, and on one of them, smiling good-naturedly and waving his hand, sat a red-haired boy of about thirteen. His body was quite sturdy for his age, and his eyes, though full of joy, gleamed with the fire of excitement and hunting. The Olympian nodded his head in greeting and sat down opposite the young man. He in turn began to examine him with obvious curiosity, the young man's childlike nature could not restrain itself at the sight of a real warrior covered from head to toe with battle scars. He wanted to question the stranger, to know what it was like to fight monsters? Had he ever seen a lords' battles? Had he fought in a war and been a general there? So many questions couldn't fit into the mind of a small child, and if Ulfrun hadn't been here he would have tortured the stranger with them. The woman forbade asking a man about his past, much less his scars. While the two sat at the table Ulfrun quickly wielded her knife, chopping various herbs at the soup. She was pleased to know that someone would be sharing a meal with him today, and so she tried her best. Trying to make something worthwhile.

When she had finished with the herbs, she stirred the soup a few times and after a few minutes began to pour it into bowls. After placing three servings of soup and freshly baked bread on the table, she could finally sit down at the table with peace of mind. There was joy on her face from the feeling of peace after so many days of anxiety and stress. The Olympian himself smiled weakly and sincerely. He really felt good at this moment, from some strange feeling he had forgotten long ago. The young man turned to his guardian, patting her on the arm. "Yes?" She asked, breaking off a piece of bread for each. Vidar began to quickly show something with his hand gestures without making a sound. The girl looked intently at the young man and then at the Olympian and after thinking for a moment said: "Hmm, I guess that's okay to ask?" At the answer the boy immediately glowered with joy looking at the warrior. "Ask what?" The warrior turned softly to the woman. "Vidar wants to know your name, if you don't mind of course? By the way, I wouldn't mind that either!" Told Ulfrun, holding out a piece of bread to the Olympian. Taking the generous gift in his hands, the Olympian thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "My name is Haemon," the man said softly, pointing a finger at himself.