Vaslavis Clan: The Past (2)

"Of course! We'll enter the forest once it's night!"

Zarya's voice echoed loudly within the village. Even her mother heard what she had to say. At that very moment, Threya approached their circle and stood behind her daughter.

"Since it's night, it's dark! Our parents won't see us! They will be asleep!"

While Zarya continued to tattle her plans, the other children only had smiles on their faces. They were smiles of nervousness without a doubt.

When her plan received a cold reception, Zarya frowned once more. She crossed her arms and gave her friends a snort.

"Zarya…"

"What?!"

Because of her disappointment, Zarya was late in recognizing her mother's voice. She quickly turned around and looked up at her mother.

"Mo-- mommy, what are you doing here?" Zarya asked as she retreated a couple of steps.

Threya took an equal stride forward, smiling at her daughter as she replied, "Me? I heard something interesting, Zarya. What's this about going inside the forest at night?"

"No! I didn't say that! It's Lorco's fault! I'm only repeating what he said!"

The innocent Lorco's mouth went agape. The boy glared at Zarya, and after sticking his tongue out to tease her, he ran away from them. No one tried to stop him, being that they also wanted to escape Zarya's mother's scolding.

"I definitely heard that it was you. So tell me, what are you planning to do inside the forest?"

"Nothing! I don't want to go to the forest!"

As Zarya took a few more steps back, her foot got caught up in the hole she had dug up. She fell on the ground with a thud, earning her a scrape on her palms.

Threya and the other children sighed at the sight. Neverio stood up and helped Zarya stand up. However, the little girl refused his hand. Afterward, she began throwing tantrums on the dirt.

"No! Mommy is a meanie! I want to go to the forest and go treasure hunting! Mommy doesn't want me to have fun!"

Zarya cried as she screamed her frustrations out. Having no choice, Threya approached her daughter and picked her up. It was a struggle for the woman since Zarya was quite persistent.

"We're going home. You're not allowed to go outside for a week."

Of course, Threya's words only served to provoke Zarya's tantrums even more. The woman gave a nod to the other children and walked her way back to their house.

Once they were inside, Threya dropped Zarya on her bed. The little girl immediately grabbed a pillow, buried her face on it, and began to wail. Threya just let her daughter cry and went back to finishing her chores.

And just like that, the sun descended the horizon.

Night came for the ever peaceful dwelling place of the Vaslavis Clan.

Hearing a couple of knocks on the door, Threya wiped her wet hands with the kitchen cloth before answering.

"Who is it?"

"Dear, it's me."

Threya hurriedly opened the door and welcomed her husband.

"The moon is already out. How come you're late?" Threya asked as she went to the kitchen to prepare her husband a meal.

Grego, on the other hand, sat on his chair at the dining table and brushed his face with his hands.

"It's more difficult than we thought." He replied, leaning his back on the wooden seat, "Initially, we cut down a few trees and trimmed their trunks. We tried to pile them up high but it's not sturdy enough. We'll have to dig deep and procure some ropes."

Threya laid two wooden plates down on the table, heaving a sigh at the news. She then took a seat beside him and partook of her own meal.

"We've only settled in this area after being banished. There's no other choice for us but to make this our home. Wild beasts might attack us all of a sudden." The woman said after swallowing her food.

Because of his long day, Grego scarfed down the meal that Threya had prepared. He didn't say a word for the duration of the meal, and so did the woman.

Once they were both done, Threya cleaned up the table straightaway. Meanwhile, Grego looked around, wondering why the house was so at peace.

"Threya, is Zarya outside again?"

"No, she's in her room. She cried all afternoon since I told her that she would be grounded for a week."

The man chuckled as he stood up. He immediately went to Zarya's room and opened the door as quietly as he could. Grego flinched when he met Zarya's eyes, giving her a smile afterward.

"Zarya, dear, daddy's here."

Zarya didn't say a word of reply to her father. She just crossed her arms, the frown on her face growing by the second.

The man entered the room and approached the small. He knelt beside the bed and looked at Zarya.

'What's the matter, dear? Did something happen today?"

Though Threya had already informed Grego, the man was hoping that Zarya had already forgotten her mother's warning. But that didn't seem to be the case.

"Daddy, mommy said I can't go outside for a week. That's," Zarya slowly counted with her fingers, showing her hand to her father when she's done, "Five days, I can't go outside for five days."

Despite saying five, only four of the girl's fingers were raised. Grego would always make sure to correct her daughter's mistakes, Withal, he refrained from doing so this time.

'If she knew that a week is seven days, she would cry again.'

"But mommy must have a reason for not allowing you to go outside. What did Zarya do?"

"Hmph, I didn't say anything. Mommy just doesn't want me to go outside."

"That's not true, isn't it?"

Grego held his daughter's hand and massaged her knuckles with his thumbs.

"I heard from mommy that you want to go to the forest?"

Zarya laggardly nodded her head, mumbling, "Yes, I want to go treasure hunting."

"Well then, why don't we go together?"