The Botone family had lived in the Whitmore Estate at Pinedale for over a hundred years. Aaron Botone had in fact bought it from a friend one hundred and twelve years back. It was said that the Estate was surrounded by lush green forests and the nearest town was twenty five miles to the south and no other living soul in any other direction. The trees grew so tall that in the undergrowth it was difficult to say if it was twilight or mid day. Wild animals roamed freely in the estate for there was no boundary separating the estate from the forest. The house itself was small in comparison to the size of the estate. But the teak and mahogany were strong enough to keep any wild animals at bay.
Aaron Botone was a self made man who made his wealth running a trade ship importing silks and spices from far off nations. He had traveled around the world in his youth and when the time came to settle down he chose a place far off from the sea. He took a young wife who was nineteen when he was already pushing forty. Other men would have been afraid of the woods and the animals that frequented the forest but Aaron Botone was no ordinary man. It was rumored that he could kill a bear with his bare hands. It was said that he wasn't afraid of anything except the Lord who reigned over life and death. After buying the estate, Aaron set up a wood mill and sold wood to far off villages. He had bought slaves who worked for him and he treated them fairly providing them with food and shelter.
In the next hundred years villages mushroomed in all directions of the estate except the North. The North still remained pristine teeming with wild life. It made for good game. The current day Botone family was headed by Christopher Botone who was a big fan of hunting. It was said that there was no better hunter than him in the whole province. He was running fifty and had hunted more than hundred animals which included prized possessions like the Four Jaguars that adorned the Estate Entrance, the six bears he shot and many more other smaller animals. The family business was run by his elder son Stephen who himself was a good hunter having killed more than a dozen wild animals. The same couldn't be said of Stephen's younger brother Derik though.
Derik had taken up the physician's profession. He was a man of words and books. The townsfolk joked that Derik was the "Sheep among the Wolves" for he was a vegetarian something as rare as two headed snake.
His father almost stopped speaking to him when he declared that he no longer wanted to eat meat. Christopher felt that his son was queer. It took a lot of persuasion from his elder brother stephen before normalcy could be restored in their relations. But he was still an outcast in the family. While growing up his cousins used to taunt him by making up jokes - "Do you know they have discovered a new species of man? Yeah and what's that.. It's called Derik and it doesn't eat meat apparently!!".
It wasn't always like that. Derik used to enjoy the little hunting trips with his father. He used to shoot down a few quails himself. But it all changed when his father shot down a deer and the fawn didn't leave its side until they shot it too. Something in him told him that this wasn't right. His father tried reasoning with him saying - "It was for the best since the fawn would anyway not survive without its mother. What if it was a tiger that killed him?". But Derik felt that humans were made better - To think and reason out. Ever since that day he had given up eating meat,became a vegan and gave up hunting.
Derik sat by the fireplace reading about a new discovery in the field of medicine. He was alone in the house. His father and brother had traveled to the nearby city to close off a deal. The servants had gone to the Pilgrim festival where people from around the state gathered once a year to sell their wares. It made for good purchases because the servants received a one time bonus payment from their owners around that time as tradition dictated. The fair was a half days journey from the Whitmore Estate and the servants had set out in the afternoon after making arrangements for him for the next day. Only the night guard Ramon remained.
Ramon was a youth of twenty who worked as the night guard for the Botones. Ramon had fled Mexico when the bandits raided his village and killed his parents. He took up work with the Botones when he was nine years old. He didn't know how to read or write but if someone ever wanted a partner for a hunting expeditions Ramon was the best. He was good at spotting game and had patience to wait for the prey to walk in to the trap. Christopher Botone had personally taught him how to wield a gun and he hadn't looked back since. He never left duty except when he went to the whore houses in the nearby town. Ramon was coming of age and discovering passions that he didn't know existed before.
Derik looked out the window and saw that the sentry post was vacant. He decided to have a quick chat with Ramon when he returned. Ramon's night sojourns had become far too frequent. He fell asleep in his chair while reading the book when something disturbed his sleep. He heard a loud sound and thought that the cat dropped something on the floor above. But then he heard some more. They sounded like muffled foot steps on the floor above. He was surprised at first and focussed harder to listen again. The sounds were no doubt made by someone who was tip toeing on the wooden planks. He told himself that the thief should be really stupid. Hasn't he heard of Joseph Steadfast? How dare he rob in Steadfast's town?
Joseph Steadfast was the Town Sheriff of Pinedale which housed the Whitmore Estate. He was the most jovial man that town had ever seen. But things took a turn for the worse when his son got killed when he accidentally discovered someone robbing his uncle's place. The thieves in their panic stabbed his son while trying to make haste. Joseph has never been the same. He decreed that any thief who dare lay an eye on another man's wealth was to have his hands chopped off without substitution. And he followed the decree religiously.
Derik was in two minds whether to go up and confront the robber or wait till he leaves and call for help. But then it stuck him that his mother's heirloom was in the safe above. The jewels were the only memory of his mother apart from her the picture his father had commissioned an artist to draw when she was young. He couldn't let the last memory of his mother fall into some stranger's hands. He made up his mind.
He went to his brother's room and looked for the revolver in the shelf but he couldn't find it. There was shot gun and a rifle hanging on the wall. He decided that the shot gun would best serve the purpose. He wasn't entirely convinced that he was up to the task but did not see any other option. Sweat was dripping from his brow as he loaded the shot gun. His father's words kept ringing in his head as he gathered courage to walk up the stairs - "Fear kills a man way before he is dead". He told himself that this was not the time to be afraid.
He picked up a torch while walking up the stairs. He reasoned that the fire would warn off the robber and he wouldn't have to face him or at least that was what he hoped for. As he slowly crouched beside the door thinking of the next course of action, he could still hear the muffled sounds from inside the room. He decided that he wanted to catch the thief unawares . He immediately sprang through the door with a gun in his right hand, the torch in the left and shouted out - " Surrender yourself!!You have no way of escaping"
What he saw next was not what he had imagined is his mind as he walked up the stairs. He saw a growling wolf with dark blue eyes staring right at him baring his teeth. The wolf was bigger than any other he had seen. For an instant he froze. He didn't know what happened next. In an instant the wolf leapt at him and pinned him to the ground. He could feel the wolf's foul breath from its muzzle. His right hand was under the wolf's paw and he could feel a sharp stinging pain as blood trickled down from his veins. But then a strange thing happened. Instead of going for his jugular, the wolf studied its prey for a second. It was all the time Derik needed to compose himself. He quickly moved his left hand and swung the torch in a wild arc. The torch hit something in its path. The wolf shrieked in pain and jumped away from him. But before he could get up on his feet the wolf had disappeared. He quickly shut door and fired a few rounds in the air to scare it off. Then he peered through the door to make sure that it wasn't around. He didn't dare to go down and chase it away.
He bolted the door hard and leaned his back against the door. He looked at his hand and realized that he had to bandage it before there was further blood loss. He quickly tore off the window curtains and dressed the wound. He didn't know when he fell asleep. He was too tired to think of anything else.
Ramon came up in the morning after he realized that Derik hadn't come down for breakfast. He told Ramon about what had happened last night and gave him a piece of his mind. Derik had thought about that night for a long time after. He woke up with nightmares dreaming of the grey wolf with blue eyes. He often wondered why the wolf hesitated. Was it providence that intervened? Was it his good deed when he gave up hunting that saved him or was it plain luck? He had no way of knowing....
Aaron Botone was a self made man who made his wealth running a trade ship importing silks and spices from far off nations. He had traveled around the world in his youth and when the time came to settle down he chose a place far off from the sea. He took a young wife who was nineteen when he was already pushing forty. Other men would have been afraid of the woods and the animals that frequented the forest but Aaron Botone was no ordinary man. It was rumored that he could kill a bear with his bare hands. It was said that he wasn't afraid of anything except the Lord who reigned over life and death. After buying the estate, Aaron set up a wood mill and sold wood to far off villages. He had bought slaves who worked for him and he treated them fairly providing them with food and shelter.
In the next hundred years villages mushroomed in all directions of the estate except the North. The North still remained pristine teeming with wild life. It made for good game. The current day Botone family was headed by Christopher Botone who was a big fan of hunting. It was said that there was no better hunter than him in the whole province. He was running fifty and had hunted more than hundred animals which included prized possessions like the Four Jaguars that adorned the Estate Entrance, the six bears he shot and many more other smaller animals. The family business was run by his elder son Stephen who himself was a good hunter having killed more than a dozen wild animals. The same couldn't be said of Stephen's younger brother Derik though.
Derik had taken up the physician's profession. He was a man of words and books. The townsfolk joked that Derik was the "Sheep among the Wolves" for he was a vegetarian something as rare as two headed snake.
His father almost stopped speaking to him when he declared that he no longer wanted to eat meat. Christopher felt that his son was queer. It took a lot of persuasion from his elder brother stephen before normalcy could be restored in their relations. But he was still an outcast in the family. While growing up his cousins used to taunt him by making up jokes - "Do you know they have discovered a new species of man? Yeah and what's that.. It's called Derik and it doesn't eat meat apparently!!".
It wasn't always like that. Derik used to enjoy the little hunting trips with his father. He used to shoot down a few quails himself. But it all changed when his father shot down a deer and the fawn didn't leave its side until they shot it too. Something in him told him that this wasn't right. His father tried reasoning with him saying - "It was for the best since the fawn would anyway not survive without its mother. What if it was a tiger that killed him?". But Derik felt that humans were made better - To think and reason out. Ever since that day he had given up eating meat,became a vegan and gave up hunting.
Derik sat by the fireplace reading about a new discovery in the field of medicine. He was alone in the house. His father and brother had traveled to the nearby city to close off a deal. The servants had gone to the Pilgrim festival where people from around the state gathered once a year to sell their wares. It made for good purchases because the servants received a one time bonus payment from their owners around that time as tradition dictated. The fair was a half days journey from the Whitmore Estate and the servants had set out in the afternoon after making arrangements for him for the next day. Only the night guard Ramon remained.
Ramon was a youth of twenty who worked as the night guard for the Botones. Ramon had fled Mexico when the bandits raided his village and killed his parents. He took up work with the Botones when he was nine years old. He didn't know how to read or write but if someone ever wanted a partner for a hunting expeditions Ramon was the best. He was good at spotting game and had patience to wait for the prey to walk in to the trap. Christopher Botone had personally taught him how to wield a gun and he hadn't looked back since. He never left duty except when he went to the whore houses in the nearby town. Ramon was coming of age and discovering passions that he didn't know existed before.
Derik looked out the window and saw that the sentry post was vacant. He decided to have a quick chat with Ramon when he returned. Ramon's night sojourns had become far too frequent. He fell asleep in his chair while reading the book when something disturbed his sleep. He heard a loud sound and thought that the cat dropped something on the floor above. But then he heard some more. They sounded like muffled foot steps on the floor above. He was surprised at first and focussed harder to listen again. The sounds were no doubt made by someone who was tip toeing on the wooden planks. He told himself that the thief should be really stupid. Hasn't he heard of Joseph Steadfast? How dare he rob in Steadfast's town?
Joseph Steadfast was the Town Sheriff of Pinedale which housed the Whitmore Estate. He was the most jovial man that town had ever seen. But things took a turn for the worse when his son got killed when he accidentally discovered someone robbing his uncle's place. The thieves in their panic stabbed his son while trying to make haste. Joseph has never been the same. He decreed that any thief who dare lay an eye on another man's wealth was to have his hands chopped off without substitution. And he followed the decree religiously.
Derik was in two minds whether to go up and confront the robber or wait till he leaves and call for help. But then it stuck him that his mother's heirloom was in the safe above. The jewels were the only memory of his mother apart from her the picture his father had commissioned an artist to draw when she was young. He couldn't let the last memory of his mother fall into some stranger's hands. He made up his mind.
He went to his brother's room and looked for the revolver in the shelf but he couldn't find it. There was shot gun and a rifle hanging on the wall. He decided that the shot gun would best serve the purpose. He wasn't entirely convinced that he was up to the task but did not see any other option. Sweat was dripping from his brow as he loaded the shot gun. His father's words kept ringing in his head as he gathered courage to walk up the stairs - "Fear kills a man way before he is dead". He told himself that this was not the time to be afraid.
He picked up a torch while walking up the stairs. He reasoned that the fire would warn off the robber and he wouldn't have to face him or at least that was what he hoped for. As he slowly crouched beside the door thinking of the next course of action, he could still hear the muffled sounds from inside the room. He decided that he wanted to catch the thief unawares . He immediately sprang through the door with a gun in his right hand, the torch in the left and shouted out - " Surrender yourself!!You have no way of escaping"
What he saw next was not what he had imagined is his mind as he walked up the stairs. He saw a growling wolf with dark blue eyes staring right at him baring his teeth. The wolf was bigger than any other he had seen. For an instant he froze. He didn't know what happened next. In an instant the wolf leapt at him and pinned him to the ground. He could feel the wolf's foul breath from its muzzle. His right hand was under the wolf's paw and he could feel a sharp stinging pain as blood trickled down from his veins. But then a strange thing happened. Instead of going for his jugular, the wolf studied its prey for a second. It was all the time Derik needed to compose himself. He quickly moved his left hand and swung the torch in a wild arc. The torch hit something in its path. The wolf shrieked in pain and jumped away from him. But before he could get up on his feet the wolf had disappeared. He quickly shut door and fired a few rounds in the air to scare it off. Then he peered through the door to make sure that it wasn't around. He didn't dare to go down and chase it away.
He bolted the door hard and leaned his back against the door. He looked at his hand and realized that he had to bandage it before there was further blood loss. He quickly tore off the window curtains and dressed the wound. He didn't know when he fell asleep. He was too tired to think of anything else.
Ramon came up in the morning after he realized that Derik hadn't come down for breakfast. He told Ramon about what had happened last night and gave him a piece of his mind. Derik had thought about that night for a long time after. He woke up with nightmares dreaming of the grey wolf with blue eyes. He often wondered why the wolf hesitated. Was it providence that intervened? Was it his good deed when he gave up hunting that saved him or was it plain luck? He had no way of knowing....
