The Destiny of Matthew

by Jason Nevercott

Chapter Five

  Matthew was dreaming that someone was holding his mouth. He woke up suddenly to find Hannah doing just that. He got up and was about to say something when he saw her put a finger to her mouth for him to be silent. It was still dark but he could see she had a lamp.

  ‘Hurry up and get ready. We have to leave before my grandfather gets up. I’ll meet you downstairs in the kitchen,’ whispered Hannah, who then left the room.

  Matthew had not had the most comfortable night’s sleep on the small bed and yawned and stretched. It was almost becoming a habit, he then thought, Hannah waking him up suddenly. He quickly put his boots and hoodie on and as quietly as he could went down the stairs. At the bottom, he could see Hannah with her cape on, finishing putting some food in her bag on the table.

  ‘Here, drink this water,’ she said giving him a cup. She beckoned him to hurry and he drank it down, before following her outside.

  Outside it was a little chilly and Matthew hesitated, remembering that he had left his jacket behind. But Hannah pulled him away, saying, ‘You won’t need it: it’ll be quite warm later.’ He did not argue with her; he did not have the strength of personality to do so. Ever since last night’s experience with her grandfather he had been feeling his usual negative self. Added to this, he was totally disorientated in this new world and felt that he would be too scared to even attempt to return to the clearing alone and then maybe the museum - if he could. It was easier to just do what he was told for now and see what happened.

  They moved into the forest with Hannah leading at a brisk pace. After about an hour of walking down a few paths that Matthew could just about make out and nearly tripped over on, Hannah slowed down. She seemed to sense something up ahead. He could see that it was now getting lighter and could hear the birds singing, but nothing else.

  ‘Get down!’ she suddenly whispered. He obeyed her. Then he heard the sound of horses again coming towards them. Hannah crawled behind some bushes and Matthew followed her. Then about ten metres in front of them, Matthew could make out some horsemen in the same uniforms as before, approaching on what must be a wide track or road. He could not see how many there were but there were at least 10 of them, and they seemed in as much a hurry as the ones yesterday. Eventually, they passed and Hannah motioned for him to get up.

  ‘Before the Baron returned you would never see horsemen from the Castle at this time,’ she said. ‘Now they’re always around at strange times. Come on. We’ll soon be at a place where we can safely eat.’ Matthew followed after her, thinking it was perhaps him they were after, with a little fear.

  Half an hour or so later, they came to a stream with a log over it. ‘When we get to the other side we can rest. We should be safe from the Baron’s men there,’ Hannah said as she quickly walked over the log. Matthew followed after her more carefully and clumsily. It was now light.

  Hannah walked over to the bottom of a small grassy hillock near the edge of the stream, which had the ubiquitous reeds in it. They stopped and sat down. Matthew watched with interest as Hannah got some bread, dried sausage, cheese, and fruit out of her bag and put it on a picnic cloth. Back home he would not have thought much of this as breakfast but here it seemed very appealing. He began to eat ravenously; she did the same. It was a good place for a picnic, he thought, as he looked at the now brighter sky and saw a couple of magpies fly by.

  He then asked Hannah about her parents.

  ‘I’ve never met my father and my mother is dead,’ she said with a little sadness.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Matthew. He felt himself go red. I should have realised something happened to them. Why do I always seem to say the wrong thing? he asked himself.

  He tried to change the subject and asked her about Martha.

  ‘No one knows much about her origins,’ Hannah replied, now back to her cheerful self. ‘She seems to have always been in the Land, though I suppose she must have been born at some time. She used to be seen a lot and was always helping people with illnesses or farmers with their animals or crops.

  She’s very old but still full of life. When the Baron returned she disappeared into the forest and is not seen as much. But I see her from time to time,’ said Hannah while she was eating.

  ‘Why do you think she can help us?’ asked Matthew.

  ‘If anyone will know what to do she will. She is not only intelligent and knowledgeable but she seems able to foresee the future; some even say that she knows magic. But anyway, she’s not called the Wise woman for nothing,’ answered Hannah. ‘It was her that first told me that I should study my dreams and what they could mean. But she has taught me other things as well.’

  ‘So why doesn’t your grandfather – I’ve just realised I don’t even know his name,’ Matthew said.

  ‘Walter,’ said Hannah.

  ‘Why doesn’t “Walter” like Martha?,’ asked Matthew thinking that he probably did not want his granddaughter to become a witch as well.

  ‘That’s difficult for me to answer and concerns my mother’s death,’ she said. ‘Well, I suppose I can tell you but it’s not a nice memory. You see my mother died when giving birth to me and it was Martha who was the midwife. My grandfather blames her for his daughter’s death.’ Hannah looked sad again saying this and Matthew again wished he had not asked her such a question and decided not to ask any more personal ones.

  Hannah stared into the stream. Matthew then asked how long it would take them to get to Martha; he wanted to make her think of something else.

  ‘Oh, it’s still far away. In fact, we’d better leave now,’ she answered, tossing a few strands of her long hair back. Matthew helped her clean the cutlery in the stream and refill the water flask. He then remembered something else.

  ‘Who’s Tobias?’ he asked.

  ‘Oh, he’s a friend of the family, another farmer,’ answered Hannah. They then set off again.

  They did not talk much during the rest of the journey, partly because of the quick pace Hannah was setting them. There were a few times when Matthew would liked to have had a break but he felt a little ashamed at a girl being fitter than he and carried on. The forest was not mountainous but was a little hilly.

  He did feel better about himself, however, probably because he was with an attractive girl, he thought, which had never happened before - at least not with one that seemed to like him. He was also enjoying being in the forest with its beautiful trees and foliage and wildlife, which Hannah had assured him was largely harmless except for the boars and occasional bear, which were rarely seen. The word ‘rarely’ mostly assured Matthew. In addition the weather was nice: much warmer than wintry Vienna though certainly not too hot.

  Eventually, after what seemed like hours, they reached Martha’s cottage. It was near a stream. But it did not look like the quaint thatched old woman’s cottage that Matthew had imagined it would be. Instead it looked quite dark and seemed to be built with large stones in the face of a small woodland cliff. There was a small chimney on the right and a couple of windows on either side of a wooden door, which was a little open.

  ‘We must be careful,’ said Hannah. ‘There may be some traps for unwanted visitors.’

  Matthew suddenly felt a little nervous. Hell, he thought to himself, I’m about to enter a witch’s home with booby traps. Is this really a good idea?

  Hannah went first - as usual, thought Matthew - and they approached the doorway with caution. There were lots of what Matthew thought were weeds at the front of the “cottage,” which he felt gave it a scruffy look with some old untidy vines growing on its stone face.

  Hannah reached the door. ‘Hello, It’s Hannah,’ she said as she pushed it more open. Matthew was feeling tense behind her.

  Eventually the door creaked open onto a small dark smoky room. There was a big fireplace on the right and rocking chair next to it, which seemed to be moving, even though no one was on it. Matthew was beginning to get a little freaked out. Probably this was not such a good idea after all, coming here,
he thought.

  They entered the room fully, wondering where Martha was. There was a small fire going so she must be somewhere nearby. Then suddenly the door slammed shut behind them. Matthew felt his heart miss a beat and his body freeze with fear. Bloody hell. Why did he put himself in these situations? he asked himself.