The small village of plumshire was well known for their large harvest of plums. The vast majority of the land was littered with plum trees. It was a beautiful sight in spring, if not for the large number of workers milling between the trees. If anything, Angelina preferred the winter branches since the place was left bare and perfect for her peace and quiet adventures. The nights were her favourite to blend in as a wolf. To run, to be free and to be at one with nature.

During the day, it was a different story. Angelina had to dress up in what the tailor thought was her brother Theron's clothes. It wasn't hard to fool them by giving her measurement and claiming that they were for someone else. Plus, money did a lot of talking so most tailors took Angelina's instructions without ever seeing her brother come to their store once.

Her outfit would cause outrage if she was caught by anyone, but she didn't care. Either she would take care of the problem quickly or her brothers world. It was their fault that she was forced into hiding so much. Angelina decided to spend the day climbing the naked branches of the trees under the winter sun. She enjoyed the exercise and the views from the different heights. Just another way to pass time in this new village.

Her brothers had decided to move to this small village, knowing that there was plenty of land for them to explore. Furthermore, the lord of the building they had purchased, had made it extremely great offer since that lord had an extremely large gambling debt to pay off. The new building that they were supposed to call home was just a draft building, even a cave was warmer than it in Angelina's opinion. It was not different from her spending the day outside.

The most annoying aspect about the new place was the servants that they had inherited from the previous owners. The head maid kept acting like Angelina was a pest that needed to get married as soon as possible. The old hag had even tried to forbid her from leaving her chambers and reducing her meals. That old hag was just lucky that Micah had stepped in otherwise she wouldn't join the long list of missing people that started whenever the Lykos came to town.

The sun was starting to set, and Angelina was looking forward to dinner. Her family loved to dine together and there was apricot pie for dessert. They only thing she loved about the outside world was the new food she got to try. Angelina hopped down from the branch with ease. She sensed someone was watching her but did not care for them. If they confronted her, then it was their funeral.

"Did you climb that tree by yourself?" the man asked. He was a few meters behind her. He stopped at that distance.

"Yes, I did," Angelina replied, without glancing behind her. She had been through so many of these situations before. Either the man would call her a witch, a liar or make a lewd suggestion. It was something about a woman just existing that brought out the worst in men. She had seen in her own brothers.

"Amazing," he complimented. Angelina was not starved from compliments so the reason she turned around was actually there was something else in this man's voice. Something she had never quite put her finger on.

She smiled at the aristocrat, dressed in the millions of layers that were current in fashion. It was the only payment that she was willing to pay for the compliment. Then she left without looking back but the man was still in the same spot watching her disappear between the branches.

It was only the next time that Angelina went to climb some trees that she found the same man wondering within the orchards. It was still midday, and the winter sun was nowhere to be seen. It was rather cloudy with a promise of raining soon. That didn't stop Angelina from coming outside since she had been stuck indoors due to some storm these past few days.

"Can I help you?" Angelina asked, despite her polite words, she ignored him, trying to figure out which branch was sturdy enough to use to start her climb. The wood was wet, which wasn't going to help with her grip.

"I was hoping to see you again. I thought you were just a figment of my imagination," he confessed. He tugged at the sleeves of his white gloves; his shoes muddy from all the soft ground.

"Climbing a tree during a storm is pure stupidity." The tree wasn't going to work so Angelina went to the next one. The man followed at a steady distance, as if he was too afraid of scaring her.

As if a mere human could scare her.

"Well good thing I wasn't foolish enough to seek you out during the storm."

"My Lady-"

"You are bold to assume my station," Angelina cut him out. If he found out she was a part of the family you bought the new home, he might make a play for her hand claiming that since they spent some time alone, he was entitled to her life. It was better to keep her true identity a secret.

"Everyone is a lady to me," he rebutted. He tugged on the cravat around his neck. Maybe he would choke on Angelina's bluntness. He wouldn't be the first man to do so.

"Again, how can I help you?" Angelina ignoring his sweet words. Everyone is a lady to a man as long as they fit in the role of a lady. Angelina never fitted in the role of being a lady and she doubt she ever would.

"Teach me how to climb a tree, please."

And since Angelina felt like she had nothing better to do, she decided to use the man as her entainment and teach him how to climb a tree.

~*~

Climbing trees is fun when you are young and you are not worried about breaking bones.

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